2010 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 3

Problem

A drawer contains red, green, blue, and white socks with at least 2 of each color. What is the minimum number of socks that must be pulled from the drawer to guarantee a matching pair?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 3 \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 4 \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 5 \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 8 \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ 9$

Solution

After you draw $4$ socks, you can have one of each color, so (according to the pigeonhole principle), if you pull $\boxed{\textbf{(C)}\ 5}$ then you will be guaranteed a matching pair.

2010 AMC 10B (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 2	Followed by Problem 4
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.

Page

Toolbox

Search

2010 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 3

Problem

Solution

See Also