1997 AHSME Problems

Problem 1

If $\texttt{a}$ and $\texttt{b}$ are digits for which

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then $\texttt{a+b =}$

$\mathrm{(A)\ } 3 \qquad \mathrm{(B) \ }4 \qquad \mathrm{(C) \ } 7 \qquad \mathrm{(D) \ } 9 \qquad \mathrm{(E) \ }12$

Problem 2

The adjacent sides of the decagon shown meet at right angles. What is its perimeter?

$[asy] defaultpen(linewidth(.8pt)); dotfactor=4; dot(origin);dot((12,0));dot((12,1));dot((9,1));dot((9,7));dot((7,7));dot((7,10));dot((3,10));dot((3,8));dot((0,8)); draw(origin--(12,0)--(12,1)--(9,1)--(9,7)--(7,7)--(7,10)--(3,10)--(3,8)--(0,8)--cycle); label("$8$",midpoint(origin--(0,8)),W); label("$2$",midpoint((3,8)--(3,10)),W); label("$12$",midpoint(origin--(12,0)),S);[/asy]$

$\mathrm{(A)\ } 22 \qquad \mathrm{(B) \ }32 \qquad \mathrm{(C) \ } 34 \qquad \mathrm{(D) \ } 44 \qquad \mathrm{(E) \ }50$

Solution

Problem 3

If $x$ , $y$ , and $z$ are real numbers such that

$(x-3)^2 + (y-4)^2 + (z-5)^2 = 0$ ,

then $x + y + z =$

$\mathrm{(A)\ } -12 \qquad \mathrm{(B) \ }0 \qquad \mathrm{(C) \ } 8 \qquad \mathrm{(D) \ } 12 \qquad \mathrm{(E) \ }50$

Solution

Problem 4

If $a$ is $50\%$ larger than $c$ , and $b$ is $25\%$ larger than $c$ , then $a$ is what percent larger than $b$ ?

$\mathrm{(A)\ } 20\% \qquad \mathrm{(B) \ }25\% \qquad \mathrm{(C) \ } 50\% \qquad \mathrm{(D) \ } 100\% \qquad \mathrm{(E) \ }200\%$

Solution

Problem 5

A rectangle with perimeter $176$ is divided into five congruent rectangles as shown in the diagram. What is the perimeter of one of the five congruent rectangles? $[asy] defaultpen(linewidth(.8pt)); draw(origin--(0,3)--(4,3)--(4,0)--cycle); draw((0,1)--(4,1)); draw((2,0)--midpoint((0,1)--(4,1))); real r = 4/3; draw((r,3)--foot((r,3),(0,1),(4,1))); draw((2r,3)--foot((2r,3),(0,1),(4,1)));[/asy]$

$\mathrm{(A)\ } 35.2 \qquad \mathrm{(B) \ }76 \qquad \mathrm{(C) \ } 80 \qquad \mathrm{(D) \ } 84 \qquad \mathrm{(E) \ }86$

Solution

Problem 6

Consider the sequence

$1,-2,3,-4,5,-6,\ldots,$

whose $n$ th term is $(-1)^{n+1}\cdot n$ . What is the average of the first $200$ terms of the sequence?

$\textbf{(A)}-\!1\qquad\textbf{(B)}-\!0.5\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 0\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 0.5\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 1$

Solution

Problem 7

The sum of seven integers is $-1$ . What is the maximum number of the seven integers that can be larger than $13$ ?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 1\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 4\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 5\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 6\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 7$

Solution

Problem 8

Mientka Publishing Company prices its bestseller Where's Walter? as follows:

$C(n) =\left\{\begin{matrix}12n, &\text{if }1\le n\le 24\\ 11n, &\text{if }25\le n\le 48\\ 10n, &\text{if }49\le n\end{matrix}\right.$

where $n$ is the number of books ordered, and $C(n)$ is the cost in dollars of $n$ books. Notice that $25$ books cost less than $24$ books. For how many values of $n$ is it cheaper to buy more than $n$ books than to buy exactly $n$ books?