2012 AMC 10A Problems

2012 AMC 10A (Answer Key) Printable versions: Wiki • AoPS Resources • PDF
Instructions This is a 25-question, multiple choice test. Each question is followed by answers marked A, B, C, D and E. Only one of these is correct. You will receive 6 points for each correct answer, 2.5 points for each problem left unanswered if the year is before 2006, 1.5 points for each problem left unanswered if the year is after 2006, and 0 points for each incorrect answer. No aids are permitted other than scratch paper, graph paper, ruler, compass, protractor and erasers (and calculators that are accepted for use on the SAT if before 2006. No problems on the test will require the use of a calculator). Figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. You will have 75 minutes working time to complete the test.
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Problem 1

Cagney can frost a cupcake every $20$ seconds and Lacey can frost a cupcake every $30$ seconds. Working together, how many cupcakes can they frost in $5$ minutes?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 10\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 15\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 20\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 25\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 30$

Solution

Problem 2

A square with side length $8$ is cut in half, creating two congruent rectangles. What are the dimensions of one of these rectangles?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 2\ \text{by}\ 4\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \ 2\ \text{by}\ 6\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \ 2\ \text{by}\ 8\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 4\ \text{by}\ 4\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 4\ \text{by}\ 8$

Solution

Problem 3

A bug crawls along a number line, starting at $-2$ . It crawls to $-6$ , then turns around and crawls to $5$ . How many units does the bug crawl altogether?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 9\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 11\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 13\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 14\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 15$

Solution

Problem 4

Let $\angle ABC = 24^\circ$ and $\angle ABD = 20^\circ$ . What is the smallest possible degree measure for angle CBD?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 0\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 2\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 4\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 6\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 12$

Solution

Problem 5

Last year $100$ adult cats, half of whom were female, were brought into the Smallville Animal Shelter. Half of the adult female cats were accompanied by a litter of kittens. The average number of kittens per litter was $4$ . What was the total number of cats and kittens received by the shelter last year?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 150\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 200\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 250\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 300\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 400$

Solution

Problem 6

The product of two positive numbers is $9$ . The reciprocal of one of these numbers is $4$ times the reciprocal of the other number. What is the sum of the two numbers?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \frac{10}{3}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \frac{20}{3}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 7\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \frac{15}{2}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 8$

Solution

Problem 7

In a bag of marbles, $\frac{3}{5}$ of the marbles are blue and the rest are red. If the number of red marbles is doubled and the number of blue marbles stays the same, what fraction of the marbles will be red?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \frac{2}{5}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \frac{3}{7}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac{4}{7}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \frac{3}{5}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{4}{5}$

Solution

Problem 8

The sums of three whole numbers taken in pairs are $12$ , $17$ , and $19$ . What is the middle number?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 4\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 5\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 6\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 7\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 8$

Solution

Problem 9

A pair of six-sided dice are labeled so that one die has only even numbers (two each of 2, 4, and 6), and the other die has only odd numbers (two of each 1, 3, and 5). The pair of dice is rolled. What is the probability that the sum of the numbers on the tops of the two dice is 7?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \frac{1}{6}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \frac{1}{5}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac{1}{4}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \frac{1}{3}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{1}{2}$

Solution

Problem 10

Mary divides a circle into 12 sectors. The central angles of these sectors, measured in degrees, are all integers and they form an arithmetic sequence. What is the degree measure of the smallest possible sector angle?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 5\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 6\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 8\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 10\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 12$

Solution

Problem 11

Externally tangent circles with centers at points A and B have radii of lengths 5 and 3, respectively. A line externally tangent to both circles intersects ray AB at point C. What is BC?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 4\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 4.8\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 10.2\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 12\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 14.4$

Solution

Problem 12

A year is a leap year if and only if the year number is divisible by 400 (such as 2000) or is divisible by 4 but not 100 (such as 2012). The 200th anniversary of the birth of novelist Charles Dickens was celebrated on February 7, 2012, a Tuesday. On what day of the week was Dickens born?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \text{Friday}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \text{Saturday}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \text{Sunday}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \text{Monday}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \text{Tuesday}$

Solution

Problem 13

An iterative average of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 is computed the following way. Arrange the five numbers in some order. Find the mean of the first two numbers, then find the mean of that with the third number, then the mean of that with the fourth number, and finally the mean of that with the fifth number. What is the difference between the largest and smallest possible values that can be obtained using this procedure?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \frac{31}{16}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 2\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac{17}{8}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 3\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{65}{16}$

Solution

Problem 14

Chubby makes nonstandard checkerboards that have $31$ squares on each side. The checkerboards have a black square in every corner and alternate red and black squares along every row and column. How many black squares are there on such a checkerboard?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 480 \qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 481 \qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 482 \qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 483 \qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 484$

Solution

Problem 15

Three unit squares and two line segments connecting two pairs of vertices are shown. What is the area of $\triangle ABC$ ?

$[asy] size(200); unitsize(2cm); defaultpen(linewidth(.8pt)+fontsize(10pt)); dotfactor=4; pair A=(0,0), B=(1,0); pair C=(0.8,-0.4); draw(A--(2,0)); draw((0,-1)--(2,-1)); draw((0,-2)--(1,-2)); draw(A--(0,-2)); draw(B--(1,-2)); draw((2,0)--(2,-1)); draw(A--(2,-1)); draw(B--(0,-2)); pair[] ps={A,B,C}; dot(ps); label("$A$",A,N); label("$B$",B,N); label("$C$",C,W); [/asy]$

$\textbf{(A)}\ \frac16 \qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \frac15 \qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac29 \qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \frac13 \qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{\sqrt{2}}{4}$

Solution

Problem 16

Three runners start running simultaneously from the same point on a 500-meter circular track. They each run clockwise around the course maintaining constant speeds of 4.4, 4.8, and 5.0 meters per second. The runners stop once they are all together again somewhere on the circular course. How many seconds do the runners run?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 1,000\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 1,250\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 2,500\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 5,000\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 10,000$

Solution

Problem 17

Let $a$ and $b$ be relatively prime integers with $a>b>0$ and $\frac{a^3-b^3}{(a-b)^3}$ = $\frac{73}{3}$ . What is $a-b$ ?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 1\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 2\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 3\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 4\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 5$

Solution

Problem 18

The closed curve in the figure is made up of 9 congruent circular arcs each of length $\frac{2\pi}{3}$ , where each of the centers of the corresponding circles is among the vertices of a regular hexagon of side 2. What is the area enclosed by the curve?

$[asy] size(5cm); defaultpen(fontsize(6pt)); dotfactor=4; label("$\circ$",(0,1)); label("$\circ$",(0.865,0.5)); label("$\circ$",(-0.865,0.5)); label("$\circ$",(0.865,-0.5)); label("$\circ$",(-0.865,-0.5)); label("$\circ$",(0,-1)); dot((0,1.5)); dot((-0.4325,0.75)); dot((0.4325,0.75)); dot((-0.4325,-0.75)); dot((0.4325,-0.75)); dot((-0.865,0)); dot((0.865,0)); dot((-1.2975,-0.75)); dot((1.2975,-0.75)); draw(Arc((0,1),0.5,210,-30)); draw(Arc((0.865,0.5),0.5,150,270)); draw(Arc((0.865,-0.5),0.5,90,-150)); draw(Arc((0.865,-0.5),0.5,90,-150)); draw(Arc((0,-1),0.5,30,150)); draw(Arc((-0.865,-0.5),0.5,330,90)); draw(Arc((-0.865,0.5),0.5,-90,30)); [/asy]$

$\textbf{(A)}\ 2\pi+6\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 2\pi+4\sqrt{3}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 3\pi+4\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 2\pi+3\sqrt{3}+2\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \pi+6\sqrt{3}$

Solution

Problem 19

Paula the painter and her two helpers each paint at constant, but different, rates. They always start at 8:00 AM, and all three always take the same amount of time to eat lunch. On Monday the three of them painted 50% of a house, quitting at 4:00 PM. On Tuesday, when Paula wasn't there, the two helpers painted only 24% of the house and quit at 2:12 PM. On Wednesday Paula worked by herself and finished the house by working until 7:12 P.M. How long, in minutes, was each day's lunch break?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 30\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 36\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 42\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 48\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 60$

Solution

Problem 20

A $3$ x $3$ square is partitioned into $9$ unit squares. Each unit square is painted either white or black with each color being equally likely, chosen independently and at random. The square is then rotated $90\,^{\circ}$ clockwise about its center, and every white square in a position formerly occupied by a black square is painted black. The colors of all other squares are left unchanged. What is the probability the grid is now entirely black?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \frac{49}{512}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \frac{7}{64}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac{121}{1024}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \frac{81}{512}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{9}{32}$

Solution

Problem 21

Let points $A = (0 ,0 ,0)$ , $B = (1, 0, 0)$ , $C = (0, 2, 0)$ , and $D = (0, 0, 3)$ . Points $E$ , $F$ , $G$ , and $H$ are midpoints of line segments $\overline{BD},\text{ } \overline{AB}, \text{ } \overline {AC},$ and $\overline{DC}$ respectively. What is the area of $EFGH$ ?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \sqrt{2}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \frac{2\sqrt{5}}{3}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac{3\sqrt{5}}{4}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \sqrt{3}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{2\sqrt{7}}{3}$

Solution

Problem 22

The sum of the first $m$ positive odd integers is 212 more than the sum of the first $n$ positive even integers. What is the sum of all possible values of $n$ ?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 255\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 256\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 257\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 258\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 259$

Solution

Problem 23

Adam, Benin, Chiang, Deshawn, Esther, and Fiona have internet accounts. Some, but not all, of them are internet friends with each other, and none of them has an internet friend outside this group. Each of them has the same number of internet friends. In how many different ways can this happen?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 60\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 170\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 290\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 320\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 660$

Solution

Problem 24

Let $a$ , $b$ , and $c$ be positive integers with $a\ge$ $b\ge$ $c$ such that $\begin{align*}a^2-b^2-c^2+ab&=2011\text{ and}\\ a^2+3b^2+3c^2-3ab-2ac-2bc&=-1997.\end{align*}$

What is $a$ ?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 249\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 250\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 251\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 252\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 253$

Solution

Problem 25

Real numbers $x$ , $y$ , and $z$ are chosen independently and at random from the interval $[0,n]$ for some positive integer $n$ . The probability that no two of $x$ , $y$ , and $z$ are within 1 unit of each other is greater than $\frac {1}{2}$ . What is the smallest possible value of $n$ ?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 7\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 8\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 9\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 10\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 11$

Solution

2012 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by 2011 AMC 10B Problems	Followed by 2012 AMC 10B Problems
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All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

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2012 AMC 10A Problems

Contents

Problem 1

Problem 2

Problem 3

Problem 4

Problem 5

Problem 6

Problem 7

Problem 8

Problem 9

Problem 10

Problem 11

Problem 12

Problem 13

Problem 14

Problem 15

Problem 16

Problem 17

Problem 18

Problem 19

Problem 20

Problem 21

Problem 22

Problem 23

Problem 24

Problem 25

See also