2003 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 22

Problem

Objects $A$ and $B$ move simultaneously in the coordinate plane via a sequence of steps, each of length one. Object $A$ starts at $(0,0)$ and each of its steps is either right or up, both equally likely. Object $B$ starts at $(5,7)$ and each of its steps is either to the left or down, both equally likely. Which of the following is closest to the probability that the objects meet?

$\mathrm{(A)} \ 0.10 \qquad \mathrm{(B)} \ 0.15 \qquad \mathrm{(C)} \ 0.20 \qquad \mathrm{(D)} \ 0.25 \qquad \mathrm{(E)} \ 0.30 \qquad$

Solution

If $A$ and $B$ meet, their paths connect $(0,0)$ and $(5,7).$ There are $\binom{12}{5}=792$ such paths. Since the path is $12$ units long, they must meet after each travels $6$ units, so the probability is $\frac{792}{2^{6}\cdot 2^{6}} \approx 0.20 \Rightarrow \boxed{C}$ .

2003 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 21	Followed by Problem 23
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All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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2003 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 22

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