AMC-8 Homework Solutions

Problem 7
Trey and his mom stopped at a railroad crossing to let a train pass. As the train began to
pass, Trey counted 6 cars in the first 10 seconds. It took the train 2 minutes and 45 seconds
to clear the crossing at a constant speed. Which of the following was the most likely number
of cars in the train?
(A) 60 (B) 80 (C) 100 (D) 120 (E) 140

Solution 1
6 cars 3 cars
If Trey saw 10 seconds
, then he saw 5 seconds
.
2 minutes and 45 seconds can also be expressed as 2 · 60 + 45 = 165 seconds.
Trey’s rate of seeing cars, 5 3seconds
cars
, can be multiplied by 165 ÷ 5 = 33 on the top and
bottom (and preserve the same rate):
3·33 cars 99 cars
5·33 seconds
= 165 seconds
. It follows that the most likely number of cars is (C) 100.

Solution 2
2 minutes and 45 seconds is equal to 120 + 45 = 165 seconds.

165
Since Trey probably counts around 6 cars every 10 seconds, there are = 16 groups
10
of 6 cars that Trey most likely counts. Since 16 × 6 = 96 cars, the closest answer choice is
(C) 100.

Problem 10
What is the ratio of the least common multiple of 180 and 594 to the greatest common factor
of 180 and 594?
(A) 110 (B) 165 (C) 330 (D) 625 (E) 660

Solution 1
To find either the LCM or the GCF of two numbers, we can prime factorize first.
The prime factorization of 180 = 32 × 5 × 22 .
The prime factorization of 594 = 33 × 11 × 2.
Then, to find the LCM, we have to find the greatest power of all the numbers there are;
if one number is one but not the other, use it (this is 33 , 5, 11, 22 ). Multiply all of these to
get 5940.
For the GCF of 180 and 594, use the least power of all of the numbers that are in both
factorizations and multiply. 32 × 2 = 18.
5940
Thus the answer = 18
= (C) 330 .
Better Solution – Don’t multiply before the division!
Why multiply together a bunch of number to get something big if you will need to divide
out some factors later? Let’s repeat the original solution but make this change at the end:
To find either the LCM or the GCF of two numbers, we can prime factorize first.
The prime factorization of 180 = 32 × 5 × 22 .
The prime factorization of 594 = 33 × 11 × 2.
Then, to find the LCM, we have to find the greatest power of all the numbers there are;
if one number is one but not the other, use it (this is 33 , 5, 11, 22 ). Do NOT Multiply all
of these. Instead just leave it as 33 × 5 × 11 × 22 .
For the GCF of 180 and 594, use the least power of all of the numbers that are in both
factorizations: 32 × 2.
33 × 5 × 11 × 22
Thus the answer = = 31 × 5 × 11 × 21 = (C) 330 .
32 × 2

Similar Solution
We start off with a similar approach as the original solution. From the prime factoriza-
tions, the GCF is 18.
It is a well known fact that gcd(m, n)×lcm(m, n) = |mn|. So we have, 18×lcm(180, 594) =
594 × 180.
Dividing by 18 yields lcm(180, 594) = 594 × 10 = 5940.
lcm(180, 594) 5940
Therefore, = = (C) 330 .
gcf(180, 594) 18

Aside
In this case the prime factorizations weren’t too hard, but sometimes prime factorization
is not the right way to start a GCF/LCM problem.
The key is the ”Euclidean algorithm” which is based on the observation that gcf(A, B) =
gcf(A, B − n A) for any integer n. In this way, computing the GCF is mostly subtraction
(and a lot like division).
In our current problem, it looks like this:

gcf(180, 594) = gcf(180, 594 − 3 × 180) subtract small from big

= gcf(180, 54)
= gcf(180 − 3 × 54, 54) subtract small from big
= gcf(18, 54)
= gcf(18, 54 − 3 × 18) subtract small from big
= gcf(18, 0) and we are done
= 18
Problem 19

Bridget, Cassie, and Hannah are discussing the results of their last math test. Hannah shows
Bridget and Cassie her test, but Bridget and Cassie don’t show theirs to anyone. Cassie says,
’I didn’t get the lowest score in our class,’ and Bridget adds, ’I didn’t get the highest score.’
What is the ranking of the three girls from highest to lowest?
(A) Hannah, Cassie, Bridget (B) Hannah, Bridget, Cassie
(C) Cassie, Bridget, Hannah (D) Cassie, Hannah, Bridget
(E) Bridget, Cassie, Hannah

Solution
If Hannah did better than Cassie, there would be no way she could know for sure that she
didn’t get the lowest score in the class. Therefore, Hannah did worse than Cassie. Similarly,
if Hannah did worse than Bridget, there is no way Bridget could have known that she didn’t
get the highest in the class. Therefore, Hannah did better than Bridget, so our order is
(D) Cassie, Hannah, Bridget .

Problem 20
A 1 × 2 rectangle is inscribed in a semicircle with longer side on the diameter. What is the
area of the semicircle?
π 2π 4π 5π
(A) (B) (C) π (D) (E)
2 3 3 3
Solution
A semicircle has symmetry,
so the center is exactly at
the midpoint of the 2 side
on the rectangle, making the
radius, by √the Pythagorean
√
Theorem, 12 + 12 = 2.
The area is 2π
2
= (C) π .
MOEMS Homework Solutions
MOEMS Problem 2005-2B
Emily has 21 dimes. She places them in three piles, with an odd number of dimes in each
pile. In how many different ways can she accomplish this? [Consider piles of 1, 1, and 19
dimes, for example, to be equivalent to piles of 1, 19, and 1 dimes.]

MOEMS Problem 2005-2E

The Mathematical Olympiads began in the prime year 1979. Find the product of the fractions
below in simplest form:

1 1 1 1 1
1− × 1− × 1− × ··· × 1 − × 1−
1980 1981 1982 2004 2005

Aside
There is an excellent chance that at least one of the MOEMS tests will include the current
year (either 2016 or 2017, depending on the test) as part of the problem. Sometimes they
give a problem where the answer is the current year. It is worth being aware of this!