2023 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 25

Problem

If A and B are vertices of a polyhedron, define the distance d(A, B) to be the minimum number of edges of the polyhedron one must traverse in order to connect A and B. For example, $\overline{AB}$ is an edge of the polyhedron, then $d(A, B) = 1$ , but if $\overline{AC}$ and $\overline{CB}$ are edges and $\overline{AB}$ is not an edge, then $d(A, B) = 2$ . Let Q, R, and S be randomly chosen distinct vertices of a regular icosahedron (regular polyhedron made up of 20 equilateral triangles). What is the probability that $d(Q, R) > d(R, S)$ ?

$\textbf{(A) }\frac{7}{22}\qquad\textbf{(B) }\frac{1}{3}\qquad\textbf{(C) }\frac{3}{8}\qquad\textbf{(D) }\frac{5}{12}\qquad\textbf{(E) }\frac{1}{2}$

Video Solution 1 by OmegaLearn

https://youtu.be/Wc6PFNq5PAM

Solution 1

We can imagine the icosahedron as having 3 layers. 1 vertex at the top, 5 vertices below connected to the top vertex, 5 vertices below that which are 2 edges away from the top vertex, and one vertex at the bottom that is 3 edges away. WLOG because the icosahedron is symmetric around all vertices, we can say that R is the vertex at the top. So now, we just need to find the probability that S is on a layer closer to the top than Q. We can do casework on the layer S is on to get $\frac{5}{11} \cdot \frac{6}{10} + \frac{5}{11} \cdot \frac{1}{10} = \frac{35}{110} = \frac{7}{22}$ So the answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(A) }\frac{7}{22}}$ . -awesomeparrot

Solution 2

We can actually see that the probability that $d(Q, R) > d(R, S)$ is the exact same as $d(Q, R) < d(R, S)$ because $d(Q, R)$ and $d(R, S)$ have no difference. (In other words, we can just swap Q and S, meaning that can be called the same.) Therefore, we want to find the probability that $d(Q, R) = d(R, S)$ .

WLOG, we can rotate the icosahedron so that R is the top of the icosahedron. Then we can divide this into 2 cases:

1. They are on the second layer

There are 5 ways to put one point, and 4 ways to put the other point such that $d(Q, R) = d(R, S) = 1$ . So, there are $5 \cdot 4 = 20$ ways to put them on the second layer.

2. They are on the third layer

There are 5 ways to put one point, and 4 ways to put the other point such that $d(Q, R) = d(R, S) = 2$ . So, there are $5 \cdot 4 = 20$ ways to put them on the third layer.

The total number of ways to choose P and S are $11 \cdot 10 = 110$ (because there are 12 vertices), so the probability that $d(Q, R) = d(R, S)$ is $\frac{20+20}{110} = \frac{4}{11}$ .

Therefore, the probability that $d(Q, R) > d(R, S)$ is $\frac{1 - \frac{4}{11}}{2} = \boxed{\textbf{(A) }\frac{7}{22}}$

~Ethanzhang1001

Solution 3

We know that there are $20$ faces. Each of those faces has $3$ borders (since each is a triangle), and each edge is used as a border twice (for each face on either side). Thus, there are $\dfrac{20\cdot3}2=30$ edges.

By Euler's formula, which states that $v-e+f=2$ for all convex polyhedra, we know that there are $2-f+e=12$ vertices.

The answer can be counted by first counting the number of possible paths that will yield $d(Q, R) > d(R, S)$ and dividing it by $12\cdot11\cdot10$ (or $\dbinom{12}3$ , depending on the approach). In either case, one will end up dividing by $11$ somewhere in the denominator. We can then hope that there will be no factor of $11$ in the numerator (which would cancel the $11$ in the denominator out), and answer the only option that has an $11$ in the denominator: $\boxed{\textbf{(A) }\frac{7}{22}}$ .

~Technodoggo

Additional note by "Fruitz": Note that one can eliminate $1/2$ by symmetry if you swap the ineq sign.

2023 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
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2023 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
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