Difference between revisions of "1968 AHSME Problems/Problem 20"

m (See also)
(Solution)
 
Line 19: Line 19:
 
Plugging this into the formula for finding the sum of an arithmetic sequence...
 
Plugging this into the formula for finding the sum of an arithmetic sequence...
  
<math>n(\frac{160+160-5(n-1)}{2})=180(n-2)</math>.
+
<math>n\left(\frac{160+160-5(n-1)}{2}\right)=180(n-2)</math>.
  
 
Simplifying, we get <math>n^2+7n-144</math>.
 
Simplifying, we get <math>n^2+7n-144</math>.

Latest revision as of 19:07, 16 August 2024

Problem

The measures of the interior angles of a convex polygon of $n$ sides are in arithmetic progression. If the common difference is $5^{\circ}$ and the largest angle is $160^{\circ}$, then $n$ equals:

$\text{(A) } 9\quad \text{(B) } 10\quad \text{(C) } 12\quad \text{(D) } 16\quad \text{(E) } 32$

Solution

The formula for the sum of the angles in any polygon is $180(n-2)$. Because this particular polygon is convex and has its angles in an arithmetic sequence with its largest angle being $160$, we can find the sum of the angles.

$a_{n}=160$

$a_{1}=160-5(n-1)$

Plugging this into the formula for finding the sum of an arithmetic sequence...

$n\left(\frac{160+160-5(n-1)}{2}\right)=180(n-2)$.

Simplifying, we get $n^2+7n-144$.

Since we want the positive solution to the quadratic, we can easily factor and find the answer is $n=\boxed{9}$.

Hence the answer is$\fbox{A}$

See also

1968 AHSC (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 19
Followed by
Problem 21
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
All AHSME Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png