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2021 Fall AMC 10A Problem 3

Problem 3 of 25EasierGeometry

What is the maximum number of balls of clay with radius 22 that can completely fit inside a cube of side length 66 assuming that the balls can be reshaped but not compressed before they are packed in the cube?

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Solution

The cube has volume 63=216.6^3=216. One ball of clay has volume 43π23=32π3.\frac{4}{3}\pi\cdot 2^3=\frac{32\pi}{3}. Because the clay may be reshaped but not compressed, the maximum number of balls is 21632π3=814π.\left\lfloor \frac{216}{\frac{32\pi}{3}}\right\rfloor=\left\lfloor\frac{81}{4\pi}\right\rfloor. Since 12<4π<13,12\lt 4\pi\lt 13, we have 6<814π<8112<7.6\lt \frac{81}{4\pi}\lt \frac{81}{12}\lt 7. Therefore the floor is 6.6. Thus, D is the correct answer.

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Concepts: volume · sphere · estimation

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