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Difference between revisions of "2016 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 17"
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Revision as of 12:24, 5 February 2016

Problem

Let $N$ be a positive multiple of $5$. One red ball and $N$ green balls are arranged in a line in random order. Let $P(N)$ be the probability that at least $\tfrac{3}{5}$ of the green balls are on the same side of the red ball. Observe that $P(5)=1$ and that $P(N)$ approaches $\tfrac{4}{5}$ as $N$ grows large. What is the sum of the digits of the least value of $N$ such that $P(N) < \tfrac{321}{400}$?

$\textbf{(A) } 12 \qquad \textbf{(B) } 14 \qquad \textbf{(C) }16 \qquad \textbf{(D) } 18 \qquad \textbf{(E) } 20$

Solution

Let $n = \frac{N}{5}$. Then, consider $5$ blocks of $n$ green balls in a line, along with the red ball. Shuffling the line is equivalent to choosing one of the $N + 1$ positions between the green balls to insert the red ball. Less than $\frac{3}{5}$ of the green balls will be on the same side of the red ball if the red ball is inserted in the middle block of $n$ balls, and there are $n - 1$ positions where this happens. Thus, $P(N) = 1 - \frac{n - 1}{N + 1} = \frac{0.8N + 2}{N + 1}$. Solving the inequality $P(N) = \frac{0.8N + 2}{N + 1} < \frac{321}{400}$ gives $N > 479$, so the least value of $N$ is $480$. The sum of the digits of $480$ is $\boxed{12}$.

See Also

2016 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 16 		Followed by
Problem 18
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
2016 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 12 		Followed by
Problem 14
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 12 Problems and Solutions

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