2015 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 13

Problem 13

Claudia has 12 coins, each of which is a 5-cent coin or a 10-cent coin. There are exactly 17 different values that can be obtained as combinations of one or more of his coins. How many 10-cent coins does Claudia have?

$\textbf{(A) }3\qquad\textbf{(B) }4\qquad\textbf{(C) }5\qquad\textbf{(D) }6\qquad\textbf{(E) }7$

Solution 1

Let Claudia have $x$ 5-cent coins and $\left( 12 - x \right)$ 10-cent coins. It is easily observed that any multiple of $5$ between $5$ and $5x + 10(12 - x) = 120 - 5x$ inclusive can be obtained by a combination of coins. Thus, $24 - x = 17$ combinations can be made, so $x = 7$ . But the answer is not $7,$ because we are asked for the number of 10-cent coins, which is $12 - 7 = \boxed{\textbf{(C) } 5}$

Solution 2

Since the coins are 5-cent and 10-cent, all possible values that can be made will be multiples of $5.$ To have exactly $17$ different multiples of $5,$ we will need to make up to $85$ cents. If all twelve coins were 5-cent coins, we will have $60$ cents possible. Each trade of a 5-cent coin for a 10-cent coin will gain $5$ cents, and as we need to gain $25$ cents, the answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(C) } 5}$

Solution 3 (Quick Insight)

Notice that for every $d$ dimes, any multiple of $5$ less than or equal to $10d + 5(12-d)$ is a valid arrangement. Since there are $17$ in our case, we have $10d + 5(12-d)=17 \cdot 5 \Rightarrow d=5$ . Therefore, the answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(C) } 5}$ .

~MrThinker

Video Solution

https://youtu.be/F2iyhLzmCB8

~savannahsolver

2015 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 12	Followed by Problem 14
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.

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