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Difference between revisions of "2021 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 11"
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Revision as of 02:55, 12 February 2021

Problem

For which of the following integers $b$ is the base-$b$ number $2021_b - 221_b$ not divisible by $3$?

$\textbf{(A)} ~3 \qquad\textbf{(B)} ~4\qquad\textbf{(C)} ~6\qquad\textbf{(D)} ~7\qquad\textbf{(E)} ~8$

Solution

We have \[2021_b - 221_b = 2000_b - 200_b = 2b^3 - 2b^2 = 2b^2(b-1).\] This expression is divisible by $3$ unless $b\equiv2\pmod{3}.$ The only choice congruent to $2$ modulo $3$ is $\boxed{\textbf{(E)} ~8}.$

~MRENTHUSIASM

See Also

2021 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 11 		Followed by
Problem 13
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25
All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

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