2002 AMC 12P Problems/Problem 7

Problem

How many three-digit numbers have at least one $2$ and at least one $3$ ?

$\text{(A) }52 \qquad \text{(B) }54 \qquad \text{(C) }56 \qquad \text{(D) }58 \qquad \text{(E) }60$

Solution

We can do this problem with some simple case work.

Case 1: The hundreds place is not $2$ or $3.$ This means that the tens place and ones place must be $2$ and $3$ respectively or $3$ and $2$ respectively. This case covers $1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,$ and $9,$ so it gives us $2 \cdot 7 = 14$ cases.

Case 2: The hundreds place is $2.$ This means that $3$ must be in the tens place or ones place. Starting with cases in which the tens place is not $3$ , we get $203, 213, 223, 243, 253, 263, 273, 283,$ and $293.$ With cases in which the tens place is $3$ , we have $230-239$ , or $10$ more cases. This gives us $9 + 10=19$ cases.

Case 3: The hundreds place is $3.$ This case is almost identical to the second case, just swap the $2$ s with $3$ s and $3$ s with $2$ s in the reasoning and its the same, giving us an additional $19$ cases.

Adding up all of these cases gives $14+19+19=52$ cases, or $\boxed{\textbf{(A) }52}.$

2002 AMC 12P (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 6	Followed by Problem 8
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
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2002 AMC 12P Problems/Problem 7

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