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2009 AMC 10A Problem 24

Problem 24 of 25HarderGeometryCounting & Probability

Three distinct vertices of a cube are chosen at random. What is the probability that the plane determined by these three vertices contains points inside the cube?

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Solution

Three vertices determine a plane that cuts through the interior unless all three lie on a single face. Each of the 66 faces gives (43)=4\binom{4}{3} = 4 triples, so 64=246 \cdot 4 = 24 triples lie on a face out of (83)=56\binom{8}{3} = 56 total. The probability of hitting the interior is 12456=47.1 - \dfrac{24}{56} = \dfrac{4}{7}. Thus, the correct answer is C.

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Concepts: complementary counting · cube geometry · combinations

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