Difference between revisions of "2007 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 11"

(See also)
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[[Category:Introductory Algebra Problems]]
 
[[Category:Introductory Algebra Problems]]
 
[[Category:Introductory Number Theory Problems]]
 
[[Category:Introductory Number Theory Problems]]
You can also choose 111 as the first number, which then repeats, giving you once more 111k, but with k being the number of terms in the sequence
 

Revision as of 19:09, 8 January 2011

The following problem is from both the 2007 AMC 12A #11 and 2007 AMC 10A #22, so both problems redirect to this page.

Problem

A finite sequence of three-digit integers has the property that the tens and units digits of each term are, respectively, the hundreds and tens digits of the next term, and the tens and units digits of the last term are, respectively, the hundreds and tens digits of the first term. For example, such a sequence might begin with the terms 247, 475, and 756 and end with the term 824. Let $S$ be the sum of all the terms in the sequence. What is the largest prime factor that always divides $S$?

$\mathrm{(A)}\ 3\qquad \mathrm{(B)}\ 7\qquad \mathrm{(C)}\ 13\qquad \mathrm{(D)}\ 37\qquad \mathrm{(E)}\ 43$

Solution

A given digit appears as the hundreds digit, the tens digit, and the units digit of a term the same number of times. Let $k$ be the sum of the units digits in all the terms. Then $S=111k=3*37k$, so $S$ must be divisible by $37\ \mathrm{(D)}$. To see that it need not be divisible by any larger prime, the sequence $123, 231, 312$ gives $S=666=2 \cdot 3^2 \cdot 37$.

See also

2007 AMC 12A (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 10
Followed by
Problem 12
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
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions
2007 AMC 10A (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 21
Followed by
Problem 23
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
All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions