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2005 AMC 12A Problem 12

Problem 12 of 25IntermediateGeometryNumber Theory

A line passes through A(1,1)A(1, 1) and B(100,1000).B(100, 1000). How many other points with integer coordinates are on the line and strictly between AA and B?B?

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Solution

The slope is 100011001=99999=11111. \dfrac{1000 - 1}{100 - 1} = \dfrac{999}{99} = \dfrac{111}{11}. So every point on the line has the form (1+11t, 1+111t),(1 + 11t,\ 1 + 111t), which is a lattice point exactly when tt is an integer. The point is strictly between AA and BB when 0<t<9.0 \lt t \lt 9. There are 88 such integers t,t, giving 88 lattice points. Thus, the correct answer is D.

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Concepts: lattice point · greatest common divisor · slope

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