1954 AHSME Problems/Problem 44

Problem 44

A man born in the first half of the nineteenth century was $x$ years old in the year $x^2$ . He was born in:

$\textbf{(A)}\ 1849 \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 1825 \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 1812 \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 1836 \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ 1806$

Solution

If a man born in the 19th century was $x$ years of in the year $x^2$ , it implies that the year the man was born was $x^2-x$ . So, if the man was born in the first half of the 19th century, it means that $x^2-x < 1850$ . Noticing that $40^2 - 40 = 1560$ and $50^2-50 = 2450$ , we see that $40 < x < 50$ . We can guess values until we hit a solution. $43^2-43 = 1806$ , so we see that the man had to have been $43$ years old in the year $1849=43^2$ , so the answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(E)}}$ .

Page

Toolbox

Search

1954 AHSME Problems/Problem 44

Problem 44

Solution