2002 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 16

The following problem is from both the 2002 AMC 12A #16 and 2002 AMC 10A #24, so both problems redirect to this page.

Problem

Tina randomly selects two distinct numbers from the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and Sergio randomly selects a number from the set {1, 2, ..., 10}. What is the probability that Sergio's number is larger than the sum of the two numbers chosen by Tina?

$\text{(A)}\ 2/5 \qquad \text{(B)}\ 9/20 \qquad \text{(C)}\ 1/2 \qquad \text{(D)}\ 11/20 \qquad \text{(E)}\ 24/25$

Solution

This is not too bad using casework.

Tina gets a sum of 3: This happens in only one way (1,2) and Sergio can choose a number from 4 to 10, inclusive. There are 7 ways that Sergio gets a desirable number here.

Tina gets a sum of 4: This once again happens in only one way (1,3). Sergio can choose a number from 5 to 10, so 6 ways here.

Tina gets a sum of 5: This can happen in two ways (1,4) and (2,3). Sergio can choose a number from 6 to 10, so 2*5=10 ways here.

Tina gets a sum of 6: Two ways here (1,5) and (2,4). Sergio can choose a number from 7 to 10, so 2*4=8 here.

Tina gets a sum of 7: Two ways here (2,5) and (3,4). Sergio can choose from 8 to 10, so 2*3=6 ways here.

Tina gets a sum of 8: Only one way possible (3,5). Sergio chooses 9 or 10, so 2 ways here.

Tina gets a sum of 9: Only one way (4,5). Sergio must choose 10, so 1 way.

In all, there are $7+6+10+8+6+2+1=40$ ways. Tina chooses two distinct numbers in $\binom{5}{2}=10$ ways while Sergio chooses a number in $10$ ways, so there are $10\cdot 10=100$ ways in all. Since $\frac{40}{100}=\frac{2}{5}$ , our answer is $\boxed{\text{(A)}\ 2/5}$ .

An alternative way is to find the average of the smallest possible chance of Sergio winning and the largest possible chance of Sergio winning. This is because the probability decreases linearly. The largest possibility of Sergio winning if Tina chooses a 1 and a 2. The chances of Sergio winning is then $\frac{7}{10}$ . The smallest possibility of Sergio winning is if Tina chooses a 4 and a 5. The chances of Sergio winning then is $\frac{1}{10}$ . The average of $\frac{7}{10}$ and $\frac{1}{10}$ is $\frac{2}{5}$ .

2002 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 15	Followed by Problem 17
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All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

2002 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 23	Followed by Problem 25
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All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

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2002 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 16

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