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2009 AMC 12B Problem 2

Problem 2 of 25EasierAlgebra

Paula the painter had just enough paint for 3030 identically sized rooms. Unfortunately, on the way to work, three cans of paint fell off her truck, so she had only enough paint for 2525 rooms. How many cans of paint did she use for the 2525 rooms?

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Solution

Losing 33 cans cost her 55 rooms, so 33 cans paint 55 rooms and each room needs 35\dfrac{3}{5} of a can. For 2525 rooms she used 2535=1525 \cdot \dfrac{3}{5} = 15 cans. Thus, the correct answer is C.

More practice

Concepts: ratio and proportion

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