2000 AMC 12 Problems/Problem 1

The following problem is from both the 2000 AMC 12 #1 and 2000 AMC 10 #1, so both problems redirect to this page.

Problem

In the year $2001$ , the United States will host the International Mathematical Olympiad. Let $I,M,$ and $O$ be distinct positive integers such that the product $I \cdot M \cdot O = 2001$ . What is the largest possible value of the sum $I + M + O$ ?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 23 \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 55 \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 99 \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 111 \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ 671$

Solution 1 (Verifying a Statement)

First, we need to recognize that a number is going to be lowest only if, of the $3$ factors, two of them are small. If we want to make sure that this is correct, we could test with a smaller number, like $30$ . It becomes much more clear that this is true, and in this situation, the value of $I + M + O$ would be $18$ . Now, we use this process on $2001$ to get $667 * 3 * 1$ as our $3$ factors. Hence, we have $667 + 3 + 1 = \boxed{\text{(E) 671}}$

Solution

The sum is the highest if two factors are the lowest.

So, $1 \cdot 3 \cdot 667 = 2001$ and $1+3+667=671 \Longrightarrow \boxed{\text{(E)}}$ .

2000 AMC 12 (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by First Question	Followed by Problem 2
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All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

2000 AMC 10 (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by First Question	Followed by Problem 2
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.

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2000 AMC 12 Problems/Problem 1

Contents

Problem

Solution 1 (Verifying a Statement)

Solution

See Also