Difference between revisions of "2010 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 18"

(Solution 1)
Line 4: Line 4:
 
<math>\textbf{(A)}\ \dfrac{1}{3} \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ \dfrac{29}{81} \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ \dfrac{31}{81} \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ \dfrac{11}{27} \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ \dfrac{13}{27}</math>
 
<math>\textbf{(A)}\ \dfrac{1}{3} \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ \dfrac{29}{81} \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ \dfrac{31}{81} \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ \dfrac{11}{27} \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ \dfrac{13}{27}</math>
  
==Solution 1==
+
==Solution==
 
First we factor <math>abc+ab+a</math> into <math>a(b(c+1)+1)</math>. For <math>a(b(c+1)+1)</math> to be divisible by three we  can either have <math>a</math> be a multiple of 3 or <math>b(c+1)+1</math> be a multiple of three. Adding the probability of these two being divisible by 3 we get that the probability is <math>\boxed{\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{13}{27}}</math>
 
First we factor <math>abc+ab+a</math> into <math>a(b(c+1)+1)</math>. For <math>a(b(c+1)+1)</math> to be divisible by three we  can either have <math>a</math> be a multiple of 3 or <math>b(c+1)+1</math> be a multiple of three. Adding the probability of these two being divisible by 3 we get that the probability is <math>\boxed{\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{13}{27}}</math>
  

Revision as of 21:24, 9 February 2014

Problem

Positive integers $a$, $b$, and $c$ are randomly and independently selected with replacement from the set $\{1, 2, 3,\dots, 2010\}$. What is the probability that $abc + ab + a$ is divisible by $3$?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \dfrac{1}{3} \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ \dfrac{29}{81} \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ \dfrac{31}{81} \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ \dfrac{11}{27} \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ \dfrac{13}{27}$

Solution

First we factor $abc+ab+a$ into $a(b(c+1)+1)$. For $a(b(c+1)+1)$ to be divisible by three we can either have $a$ be a multiple of 3 or $b(c+1)+1$ be a multiple of three. Adding the probability of these two being divisible by 3 we get that the probability is $\boxed{\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{13}{27}}$

See Also

2010 AMC 10B (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 17
Followed by
Problem 19
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

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