Skip to main content

2008 AMC 10B Problem 15

Problem 15 of 25IntermediateGeometryNumber Theory

How many right triangles have integer leg lengths aa and bb and a hypotenuse of length b+1,b+1, where b<100?b\lt 100?

Answer choices

Show solution

Solution

From a2+b2=(b+1)2a^2+b^2=(b+1)^2 we get a2=2b+1,a^2=2b+1, so aa is odd and a2a^2 is an odd perfect square. Since b<100,b\lt 100, we need a2=2b+1<201,a^2=2b+1\lt 201, and a29a^2\ge 9 for b4.b\ge 4. The odd squares 9,25,49,81,121,1699,25,49,81,121,169 give a=3,5,7,9,11,13,a=3,5,7,9,11,13, which is 66 triangles. Thus, the correct answer is A.

More practice

Concepts: Pythagorean Triple · perfect square

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.