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2010 AMC 10B Problem 14

Problem 14 of 25IntermediateAlgebraProbability & Statistics

The average of the numbers 1,1, 2,2, 3,3, ⋯ ,\cdots, 98,98, 99,99, and xx is 100x.100x. What is x?x?

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Solution

Recall that the sum of the first nn integers is n(n+1)2.\dfrac{n(n + 1)}{2}. Then, we have that 99⋅1002+x100=100x, \dfrac{\frac{99 \cdot 100}{2} + x}{100} = 100x, which simplifies to 99⋅50=(1002−1)x 99 \cdot 50 = (100^2 - 1)x=101⋅99x, = 101 \cdot 99x, by difference of squares. Dividing gives us x=50101.x = \dfrac{50}{101}. Thus, B is the correct answer.
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Tagged: mean · arithmetic sequence · linear equation

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