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2006 AMC 12B Problem 9

Problem 9 of 25EasierNumber TheoryCounting & Probability

How many even three-digit integers have the property that their digits, read left to right, are in strictly increasing order?

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Solution

Let the digits be a<b<ca \lt b \lt c with cc even. Since a1,a \geq 1, no digit is zero, and c2c \neq 2 (there is no room for two smaller nonzero digits). Once the units digit cc is fixed, any two distinct digits below it can be arranged in increasing order in exactly one way. So the count for each cc is (c12).\binom{c-1}{2}. For c=4,6,8c = 4, 6, 8 this gives (32)+(52)+(72)=3+10+21=34. \begin{aligned} &\binom{3}{2} + \binom{5}{2} \\ &\quad {}+ \binom{7}{2} = 3 + 10 + 21 \\ &\quad = 34. \end{aligned} Thus, the correct answer is B.

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Concepts: digits · combinations · casework

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