Skip to main content

2010 AMC 12B Problem 5

Problem 5 of 25EasierAlgebra

Lucky Larry’s teacher asked him to substitute numbers for a,a, b,b, c,c, d,d, and ee in the expression a(b(c(d+e)))a-(b-(c-(d+e))) and evaluate the result. Larry ignored the parentheses but added and subtracted correctly and obtained the correct result by coincidence. The numbers Larry substituted for a,a, b,b, c,c, and dd were 1,1, 2,2, 3,3, and 4,4, respectively. What number did Larry substitute for e?e?

Answer choices

Show solution

Solution

The correct value is a(b(c(d+e)))=a-(b-(c-(d+e)))= ab+cde.a-b+c-d-e. With a,b,c,d=1,2,3,4,a, b, c, d=1, 2, 3, 4, this equals 12+34e=2e.1-2+3-4-e=-2-e. Larry dropped the parentheses and computed 1234+e=8+e.1-2-3-4+e=-8+e. Setting 2e=8+e-2-e=-8+e gives 2e=6,2e=6, so e=3.e=3. Thus, the correct answer is D.

More practice

Concepts: order of operations · linear equation

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