2011 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 20
Contents
[hide]Problem
Let , where
,
, and
are integers. Suppose that
,
,
,
for some integer
. What is
?
Solution 1
From , we know that
.
From the first inequality, we get . Subtracting
from this gives us
, and thus
. Since
must be an integer, it follows that
.
Similarly, from the second inequality, we get . Again subtracting
from this gives us
, or
. It follows from this that
.
We now have a system of three equations: ,
, and
. Solving gives us
and from this we find that
Since , we find that
.
Solution 2
is some non-monic quadratic with a root at
. Knowing this, we'll forget their silly
,
, and
and instead write it as
.
, so
is a multiple of 6. They say
is between 50 and 60, exclusive. Notice that the only multiple of 6 in that range is 54. Thus,
.
, so
is a multiple of 7. They say
is between 70 and 80, exclusive. Notice that the only multiple of 7 in that range is 77. Thus,
.
Now, we solve a system of equations in two variables.
See also
2011 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | |
Preceded by Problem 19 |
Followed by Problem 21 |
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All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions |
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