2015 AIME I 2

1. The expressions A = 1 × 2 + 3 × 4 + 5 × 6 + · · · + 37 × 38 + 39 and B =

1 + 2 × 3 + 4 × 5 + · · · + 36 × 37 + 38 × 39 are obtained by writing multiplication
and addition operators in an alternating pattern between successive integers.
Find the positive difference between integers A and B.
2. The nine delegates to the Economic Cooperation Conference include 2 officials
from Mexico, 3 officials from Canada, and 4 officials from the United States.
During the opening session, three of the delegates fall asleep. Assuming that
the three sleepers were determined randomly, the probability that exactly two
of the sleepers are from the same country is m
n , where m and n are relatively
prime positive integers. Find m + n.

3. There is a prime number p such that 16p + 1 is the cube of a positive integer.
Find p.
4. Point B lies on line segment AC with AB = 16 and BC = 4. Points D and E lie
on the same side of line AC forming equilateral triangles 4ABD and 4BCE.
Let M be the midpoint of AE, and N be the midpoint of CD. The area of
4BM N is x. Find x2 .
5. In a drawer Sandy has 5 pairs of socks, each pair a different color. On Monday
Sandy selects two individual socks at random from the 10 socks in the drawer.
On Tuesday Sandy selects 2 of the remaining 8 socks at random and on Wednes-
day two of the remaining 6 socks at random. The probability that Wednesday
is the first day Sandy selects matching socks is m
n , where m and n are relatively
prime positive integers. Find m + n.
6. Points A, B, C, D, and E are equally spaced on a minor arc of a circle. Points
E, F , G, H, I, and A are equally spaced on a minor arc of a second circle with
center C as shown in the figure below. The angle ∠ABD exceeds ∠AHG by
12◦ . Find the degree measure of ∠BAG.
D C
B
E A

F I
G H
 2015 AIME I 3

7. In the diagram below, ABCD is a square. Point E is the midpoint of AD.

Points F and G lie on CE, and H and J lie on AB and BC, respectively, so
that F GHJ is a square. Points K and L lie on GH, and M and N lie on AD
and AB, respectively, so that KLM N is a square. The area of KLM N is 99.
Find the area of F GHJ.
A M E D
N G

L
H K

B J C
8. For positive integer n, let s(n) denote the sum of the digits of n. Find the
smallest positive integer n satisfying s(n) = s(n + 864) = 20.
9. Let S be the set of all ordered triples of integers (a1 , a2 , a3 ) with 1 ≤ a1 , a2 , a3 ≤
10. Each ordered triple in S generates a sequence according to the rule an =
an−1 · |an−2 − an−3 | for n ≥ 4. Find the number of such sequences for which
an = 0 for some n.
10. Let f (x) be a third-degree polynomial with real coefficients satisfying

|f (1)| = |f (2)| = |f (3)| = |f (5)| = |f (6)| = |f (7)| = 12.

Find |f (0)|.

11. Triangle ABC has positive integer side lengths with AB = AC. Let I be the
intersection of the bisectors of ∠B and ∠C. Suppose BI = 8. Find the smallest
possible perimeter of 4ABC.
12. Consider all 1000-element subsets of the set {1, 2, 3, . . . , 2015}. From each such
subset choose the least element. The arithmetic mean of all of these least ele-
ments is pq , where p and q are relatively prime positive integers. Find p + q.
45
Y
13. With all angles measured in degrees, the product csc2 (2k − 1)◦ = mn , where
k=1
m and n are integers greater than 1. Find m + n.
 2015 AIME I 4

14. For each integer n ≥ 2, let A(n) be the area of the region √
in the coordinate
√
plane defined by the inequalities 1 ≤√x < n and 0 ≤ y ≤ xb xc, where b xc
is the greatest integer not exceeding x. Find the number of values of n with
2 ≤ n ≤ 1000 for which A(n) is an integer.
15. A block of wood has the shape of a right circular cylinder with radius 6 and
height 8, and its entire surface has been painted blue. Points A and B are
>
chosen on the edge of one of the circular faces of the cylinder so that AB on
◦
that face measures 120 . The block is then sliced in half along the plane that
passes through point A, point B, and the center of the cylinder, revealing a
flat, unpainted
√ face on each half. The area of one of these unpainted faces is
a · π + b c, where a, b, and c are integers and c is not divisible by the square of
any prime. Find a + b + c.
 2015 AIME I Solutions 2

1. Answer (722):
Observe
B − A = (1 − 39) + (3 × 2 − 1 × 2) + (5 × 4 − 3 × 4) + (7 × 6 − 5 × 6) + · · ·
+ (39 × 38 − 37 × 38)
= −38 + (2 × 2) + (2 × 4) + (2 × 6) + · · · + (2 × 38)
= −38 + 4 × (1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + 19)
19 · 20
= −38 + 4 × = 722.
2

2. Answer (139):
There are 93 = 84 equally likely ways to select the three delegates who fall

asleep. There are 42 (2 + 3) = 30 ways to select them so that exactly two

delegates are from the United States, 32 (2 + 4) = 18 ways to select them so

that exactly two delegates are from Canada, and 22 (3 + 4) = 7 ways to select

them so that exactly two delegates are from Mexico. The desired probability is
therefore 30+18+7
84 = 55
84 . The requested sum is 55 + 84 = 139.

3. Answer (307):
Let 16p + 1 = n3 for some positive integer n. Because 16p + 1 is odd, both n
and n2 + n + 1 are also odd. It follows that 16p = n3 − 1 = (n − 1)(n2 + n + 1),
so 16 = n − 1 and p = n2 + n + 1. Thus p = 172 + 17 + 1 = 307, which is prime.

4. Answer (507):
Place the triangles on a coordinate √
grid so that A is at√(−16, 0), B is at (0,
√ 0), and
Then D is at (−8, 8 3), E is at (2, 2√ 3), M is at (−7, 3), and
C is at (4, 0). √
N is at (−2, 4 3). Because BM = M N = N B = 52, 4BM N is equilateral
√ √
with area 43 (BM )2 = 13 3 = x. Thus x2 = 169 · 3 = 507.

5. Answer (341):
The probability of a match on Monday is 19 , so the probability of a mismatch is
8
9 . A mismatch on Tuesday can occur in one of three ways:

(a) On Tuesday Sandy selects both of the mismatching colors selected Monday.
The probability of this is 28 · 17 = 28
1
. In this case Sandy has three colors
from which to select a pair on Wednesday.
(b) On Tuesday Sandy selects one of the colors selected Monday and a new
color. The probability of this is 82 · 67 + 68 · 27 = 73 . In this case Sandy has
two colors from which to select a pair on Wednesday.
(c) On Tuesday Sandy selects two new colors. The probability of this is 68 · 47 =
3
7 . In this case Sandy has only one color from which to select a pair on
Wednesday.
 2015 AIME I Solutions 3

The probability of achieving the
first match on Wednesday is therefore

8 1 6 1 3 4 1 3 2 1 8 13 26
9 28 · 6 · 5 + 7 · 6 · 5 + 7 · 6 · 5 = 9 · 140 = 315 . The requested sum is 26 +
315 = 341.

OR

The probability of Sandy getting a mismatch on Monday, a mismatch on Tues-

day, and a match on Wednesday is the same as the probability of Sandy getting
a match on Monday, a mismatch on Tuesday, and a mismatch on Wednesday.
The latter probability is 91 · 67 · 13 26
15 = 315 .

6. Answer (058):
Because A, I, H, G, F , and E are equally spaced, let α = ∠ECF = ∠F CG =
∠GCH = ∠HCI = ∠ICA. It follows that ∠ACE = ∠ABE = ∠ADE = 5α.
> ◦ >
Also, AHG = 3α so ∠AHG = 360 2−3α . Because ∠ACE = 5α, ACE = 360◦ −
◦ ◦ 15α


> 360 − 270 − 2 15α
10α, and ABD = 270◦ − 15α2 . Thus ∠ABD = = 45◦ + .
◦ 15α

◦ 3α

221α ◦ ◦
4
Then ∠ABD − ∠AHG = 45 + 4 − 180 − 2 = 4 − 135 = 12 . Hence
α = 28◦ .
> >
Now EF G = 2α, so ∠EAG = α = 28◦ . From above ABD = 270◦ − 15α 2 =
◦ > 60 ◦
◦
60 = BCE, so ∠BAE = 2 = 30 . Finally ∠BAG = ∠BAE + ∠EAG =
30◦ + 28◦ = 58◦ .

7. Answer (539):
√
Let AE = s, so CD = 2s, and CE = 5s. Note that 4CDE, 4JF C, 4HBJ,
4N KH, and 4M AN are similar to each √ other. Let x = F G and √ y = KL.
x x 5 2s 4 5s
Then 2s = BC = BJ + JC = √ + , so x = √ = . Then
5 2 √1 + 5 7
5 2
√
2x 6s 6s y y 5
AH = 2s − HB = 2s − √ = . Hence = AH = AN + N H = √ + ,
√ 5 7 7 5 2
6s
7 √ 12 5s
so y = = . The ratio of the areas of squares F GHJ and
1
√ + 5 49
5 2
 2 √ !2
4 5s
x 7 49
KLM N is = √ = . Thus if square KLM N has area 99,
y 12 5s 9
49
49
square F GHJ has area 99 · 9 = 539.

OR
 2015 AIME I Solutions 4

With x and y defined as above, note that AN + N H + HB = BJ + JC so

√ √
1 5 2 1 5
√ y+ y+ √ x= √ x+ x.
5 2 5 5 2
Thus √ ! √ !
1 5 1 5 2
√ + y= √ + −√ x.
5 2 5 2 5
Then the ratio of the areas of squares F GHJ and KLM N is
 √ 2
√1 + 5
 2  2
x 5 2 2+5 49
= √
  = = ,
y 5
−√ 1 5−2 9
2 5

and the result is as above.

8. Answer (695):
When adding two numbers, a carry operation replaces 10 in the kth position with
1 in the (k + 1)st position, thus reducing the sum of these values by 10 − 1 = 9.
Therefore s(n + 864) = s(n) + s(864) − 9c, where c is the number of carries
performed when adding the two numbers.
To have s(n) = 20 and 20 = s(n + 864) = s(n) + s(864) − 9c = 20 + 18 − 9c,
there must be precisely c = 2 carries when performing the addition n + 864.
Assuming that n < 1000, represent the three-digit number n as t u v. Because
u + v ≤ 9 + 9 = 18, it follows that t ≥ 2, and thus the hundreds position t + 8
must carry. Thus either the tens or the ones position carries, and the other does
not.
If the ones carry and the tens do not, then the middle digit of the sum must
be 6 + u + 1 ≤ 9, so u ≤ 2. The only possibility is then n = 929, which indeed
satisfies the conditions: s(929) = 20 = s(929 + 864) = s(1793).
In the other case, the tens carry and the ones do not, so v + 4 ≤ 9 and v ≤
5. It follows that t = 20 − u − v ≥ 20 − 9 − 5 = 6, so n ≥ 695. Indeed
s(695) = 20 = s(695 + 864) = s(1559). The smallest positive integer for which
s(n) = s(n + 864) = 20 is 695.

OR

Note that the least n for which s(n) = 20 is n = 299. For n with s(n) = 20, let
n have, in order, the digits a, b, and 20 − (a + b), so a ≥ 2 and a + b ≥ 11. If
a + b ≤ 14, and b < 3, then n + 864 has digits 1, a − 2, b + 7, and 14 − (a + b),
implying that s(n + 864) = 20. The least such n occurs when a = 9 and b = 2,
so n = 929. If a + b ≤ 14, and b ≥ 3, then n + 864 has digits 1, a − 1, b − 3, and
14 − (a + b), implying that s(n + 864) = 11.
 2015 AIME I Solutions 5

If a + b ≥ 15 or b < 4, then n + 864 has digits 1, a − 2, b + 6, or 24 − (a + b),

implying that s(n + 864) = 29. If a + b ≥ 15 and b ≥ 4, then n + 864 has digits
1, a − 1, b − 4, and 24 − (a + b), implying that s(n + 864) = 20. The least such
n occurs when a = 6 and b = 9, so n = 695.

9. Answer (494):
Note that if ak−1 = ak , then ak+2 = 0, and if |ak − ak−1 | = 1, then ak+2 = ak+1 ,
and ak+4 = 0. Therefore the sequence contains a term of 0 if (a1 , a2 , a3 ) has one
of the forms (j, j, k), (j, k, k), (j, j + 1, k), (j, k, k + 1), (j, j − 1, k), or (j, k, k − 1).
There are 100 triples with each of the first two forms and 90 triples with each of
the other four forms, for a total of 2 · 100 + 4 · 90 = 560. However, the 10 triples
of the form (j, j, j), the 9 triples of each of the forms (j, j, j + 1), (j, j + 1, j),
(j, j + 1, j + 1), (j, j, j − 1), (j, j − 1, j), and (j, j − 1, j − 1), and the 8 triples
of each of the forms (j, j + 1, j + 2) and (j, j − 1, j − 2) have each been counted
twice, so there are 560 − 10 − 6 · 9 − 2 · 8 = 480 triples of one of these forms.
In addition, if (a1 , a2 , a3 ) = (j, j + 2, 1) or (j, j − 2, 1), then a4 = 2, a4 − a3 = 1,
and a8 = 0. There are 8 triples of each of these forms, but (3, 1, 1) and (4, 2, 1)
have already been counted. Thus there are at least 480 + 8 + 6 = 494 sequences
that contain a term of 0.
To see that there are no other possibilities, note first that if |a2 − a1 | ≥ 2,
|a3 − a2 | ≥ 2, and a3 ≥ 2, then a4 ≥ 2a3 > a3 , and |a4 − a3 | ≥ a3 ≥ 2. The
same argument then establishes that ak > ak−1 for k ≥ 4, so ak 6= 0 for all k.
Further, if |a2 − a1 | = m ≥ 3, |a3 − a2 | ≥ 2, and a3 = 1, then a4 = m ≥ 3 and
|a4 − a3 | = m − 1 ≥ 2. As above, ak > ak−1 for k ≥ 4. Therefore the number of
sequences that contain a term of 0 is 494.

10. Answer (072):

Without loss of generality assume that f (x) has a positive leading coefficient.
Polynomial f (x) has degree 3, so each of f (x) + 12 and f (x) − 12 has at most
three distinct roots. Because 1,2,3,5,6,7 are among these combined roots, each
polynomial has precisely three of these as roots. Because f has a local maximum
at a point a and a local minimum at a point b where a < b, f increases on the
interval (−∞, a), decreases on the interval (a, b), and increases on the interval
(b, ∞). This shows that f (x) must be equal to −12 at x = 1, 5, and 6 and
equal to 12 at x = 2, 3, and 7. Thus if f (x) has leading coefficient c, then
f (x)−12 = c(x−2)(x−3)(x−7), so f (x) = c(x−2)(x−3)(x−7)+12. Similarly
f (x) = c(x − 1)(x − 5)(x − 6) − 12. Then f (0) = −42c + 12 = −30c − 12 implying
that c = 2 and |f (0)| = 72.

11. Answer (108):

Let M denote the midpoint of side BC. Note that A, I, and M are collinear.
Set a = AB, and b = BM . Note that a > BI = 8. Then
BM b BM b
cos(∠ABM ) = = and cos(∠IBM ) = = .
AB a BI 8
 2015 AIME I Solutions 6

The double-angle formula for cosine yields

b b2
=2· 2 −1 or ab2 − 32b − 32a = 0.
a 8
Solving for a yields a = b232b
−32 . Because BC = 2b must be an integer, let c = 2b
64c
so that a = c2 −128 . This shows that c2 > 128, so c > 11, and c = 2BM <
2BI = 16. Testing c = 12, 13, 14, and 15, it follows that a is an integer only
when c = 12 and a = 48, and the perimeter of 4ABC is 48 + 48 + 12 = 108.

12. Answer (431):

Consider the number of 1000-element subsets of {1, 2, 3, . . . , 2015} with least
element j, 1 ≤ j ≤ 1016. Every such subset has
999 elements greater than
j, and thus the number of such subsets is 2015−j
999 . Therefore the sum of all
P1016
least elements of the subsets under consideration is j=1 j 2015−j


999 . Thus the
P1016 2015−j

j=1 j
arithmetic mean in question is equal to 2015

999 .
1000
Note that the number of 1001-element
subsets of {0, 1, 2, . . . , 2015} where j is
the second smallest element is j 2015−j
999 because there are j choices for the least
element of the subset and 2015−j


999 choices for the largest 999 elements. Thus
P1016 2015−j
2016


j=1 j 999 = 1001 .
P1016 2015−j
2016


j=1 j 999 1001 2016 288
Hence the required arithmetic mean is 2015

= 2015 = 1001 = 143 .


1000 1000
The requested sum is 288 + 143 = 431.

OR

P1016
Another way to simplify j=1 j 2015−j


999 is to apply the Hockey Stick Theorem,
Pk n+j

n+k+1

P1016 2015−j
P1015 999+j


j=0 j = k , to get j=1 j 999 = j=0 (1016 − j) j =
P1015 Pk 999+j

P1015 1000+k
2016

2016


k=0 j=0 j = k=0 k = 1015 = 1001 .

13. Answer (091):

Let
P = sin 1◦ sin 3◦ sin 5◦ · · · sin 89◦ ,
and let
Q = sin 2◦ sin 4◦ sin 6◦ · · · sin 88◦ .
Then
P Q = sin 1◦ sin 2◦ sin 3◦ · · · sin 89◦ .
But also
P Q = sin 89◦ sin 88◦ sin 87◦ · · · sin 1◦ .
 2015 AIME I Solutions 7

Therefore

P 2 Q2 = sin 1◦ sin 89◦ sin 2◦ sin 88◦ sin 3◦ sin 87◦ · · · sin 89◦ sin 1◦
= sin 1◦ cos 1◦ sin 2◦ cos 2◦ sin 3◦ cos 3◦ · · · sin 89◦ cos 89◦ .

Then

289 P 2 Q2 = (2 sin 1◦ cos 1◦ )(2 sin 2◦ cos 2◦ )(2 sin 3◦ cos 3◦ ) · · · (2 sin 89◦ cos 89◦ )
= sin 2◦ sin 4◦ sin 6◦ · · · sin 178◦
= (sin 2◦ sin 4◦ sin 6◦ · · · sin 88◦ )(sin 92◦ sin 94◦ sin 96◦ · · · sin 178◦ )
= (sin 2◦ sin 4◦ sin 6◦ · · · sin 88◦ )(sin 88◦ sin 86◦ sin 84◦ · · · sin 2◦ )
= Q2 .

Thus 289 P 2 Q2 = Q2 . Because Q2 6= 0, the requested product of cosecants

1
equals 2 = 289 . Because 89 is prime, this representation with integers greater
P
than 1 is unique. The requested sum is 2 + 89 = 91.

14. Answer (483):

√
For positive integer k, if 1 ≤ k 2 ≤ x < (k 2
√ + 1) , then xb xc = kx. The
inequalities n ≤ x < n + 1 and 0 ≤ y ≤ xb xc define a trapezoid with height
1 and average of the bases (2n+1)k2 . The area of this trapezoid, which is A(n +
1) − A(n), is an integer if k is even and a half-integer if k is odd. Hence for even
values of k, A(n + 1) is an integer if and only if A(n) is an integer, and for odd
values of k, A(n + 1) is an integer if and only if A(n) is not an integer.
For k ≥ 1, let Ik be the set of the 2k+1 integers n such that k 2 < n ≤ (k+1)2 . If
k is even, the values of A(n) for n ∈ Ik are either all integers or all non-integers,
according to whether A(k 2 ) is or is not an integer. Furthermore, if k is odd, the
values of A(n) for n ∈ Ik alternate between integers and non-integers, beginning
with an integer if A(k 2 ) is a non-integer and vice versa. Because A(2) is not an
integer, the number of integer values of A(n) for elements of each set Ik can be
calculated by considering k modulo 4: k = 4j − 3, 4j − 2, 4j − 1, 4j.
Because A((4j − 3)2 ) is an integer, the values of A(n) for n ∈ I4j−3 alternate
between integers and non-integers, beginning and ending with a non-integer.
Thus there are 4j − 3 integer values of A(n) for n ∈ I4j−3 .


Because A (4j − 2)2 is not an integer, there are no integer values of A(n) for
n ∈ I4j−2 .


Because A (4j − 1)2 is not an integer, the values of A(n) for n ∈ I4j−1 alternate
between integers and non-integers, beginning and ending with an integer. Thus
there are 4j integer values of A(n) for n ∈ I4j−1 .


Because A (4j)2 is an integer, all 8j + 1 values of A(n) for n ∈ I4j are integers.
 2015 AIME I Solutions 8

Thus for j ≥ 1, there are 16j − 2 integer values of A(n) for (4j − 3)2 < n ≤
(4j + 1)2 . The number of integer values of A(n) for 2 ≤ n ≤ 292 is

7  
X 7·8
(16j − 2) = 16 − 7 · 2 = 434.
j=1
2

There are additionally 29 integer values of A(n) for 292 < n ≤ 302 , none for
302 < n ≤ 312 , and 20 for 312 < n ≤ 1000, for a total of 434 + 29 + 20 = 483
integer values of A(n).

15. Answer (053):

Orient the (uncut) block so that the circular face containing A and B rests on
the floor. Let O be the center of the cylinder, let M be the midpoint of segment
AB, and let R be the region whose area must be computed.
Project the diagram into the plane of the bottom face; point O projects to O0 ,
the center of the bottom face, and region R projects to region R0 as shown. The
>
circular segment S enclosed by chord AB and minor arc AB may be created by
removing 4AO0 B from sector AO0 B, so S has area 31 · π · 62 − 12 · 6 · 6 · sin 120◦ =
√ √ √
12π − 9 3. Thus region R0 has area π · 62 − 2(12π − 9 3) = 12π + 18 3.
Because 4O0 M A is a 30 – 60 – 90◦ right triangle, O0 M = 3. Because OO0 =
4 and 4OO0 M is a right triangle, OM = 5. Because R0 is the orthogonal
projection of R, the two are related by a stretch in the direction perpendicular
to the floor: stretching region R0 by a factor of OOM 5 0
0 M = 3 in the O M direction

(and by a factor of 1 in the direction parallel to AB) results in a shape congruent

√
to region R. Thus the area of R is 35 the area of R0 , so the area of R is 20π+30 3.
The requested sum is 20 + 30 + 3 = 53.

The problems and solutions for this AIME were contributed by Zachary Abel,
Steve Dunbar, Jacek Fabrykowski, Zuming Feng, Peter Gilchrist, Ellina Grigorieva,
Jerry Grossman, David Hankin, Elgin Johnston, Jonathan Kane, Tamas Szabo, Alan
Vraspir and David Wells.
 2015 AIME II 2

1. Let N be the least positive integer that is both 22 percent less than one integer
and 16 percent greater than another integer. Find the remainder when N is
divided by 1000.
2. In a new school 40 percent of the students are freshmen, 30 percent are sopho-
mores, 20 percent are juniors, and 10 percent are seniors. All freshmen are
required to take Latin, and 80 percent of the sophomores, 50 percent of the
juniors, and 20 percent of the seniors elect to take Latin. The probability that
a randomly chosen Latin student is a sophomore is m n , where m and n are
relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.
3. Let m be the least positive integer divisible by 17 whose digits sum to 17. Find
m.
4. In an isosceles trapezoid, the parallel bases have lengths log 3 and log 192, and
the altitude to these bases has length log 16. The perimeter of the trapezoid can
be written in the form log 2p 3q , where p and q are positive integers. Find p + q.
5. Two unit squares are selected at random without replacement from an n × n
grid of unit squares. Find the least positive integer n such that the probability
that the two selected squares are horizontally or vertically adjacent is less than
1
2015 .

6. Steve says to Jon, “I am thinking of a polynomial whose roots are all positive
integers. The polynomial has the form P (x) = 2x3 − 2ax2 + (a2 − 81)x − c for
some positive integers a and c. Can you tell me the values of a and c?”
After some calculations, Jon says, “There is more than one such polynomial.”
Steve says, “You’re right. Here is the value of a.” He writes down a positive
integer and asks, “Can you tell me the value of c?”
Jon says, “There are still two possible values of c.”
Find the sum of the two possible values of c.
7. Triangle ABC has side lengths AB = 12, BC = 25, and CA = 17. Rectangle
P QRS has vertex P on AB, vertex Q on AC, and vertices R and S on BC. In
terms of the side length P Q = w, the area of P QRS can be expressed as the
quadratic polynomial

Area(P QRS) = αw − β · w2 .
m
Then the coefficient β = n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers.
Find m + n.
 2015 AIME II 3
ab+1 3
8. Let a and b be positive integers satisfying a+b < 2. The maximum possible
3 3 p
a b +1
value of a3 +b3 is q, where p and q are relatively prime positive integers. Find
p + q.
9. A cylindrical barrel with radius 4 feet and height 10 feet is full of water. A solid
cube with side length 8 feet is set into the barrel so that the diagonal of the
cube is vertical. The volume of water thus displaced is v cubic feet. Find v 2 .

10. Call a permutation a1 , a2 , . . . , an of the integers 1, 2, . . . , n quasi-increasing if

ak ≤ ak+1 + 2 for each 1 ≤ k ≤ n − 1. For example, 53421 and 14253 are
quasi-increasing permutations of the integers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, but 45123 is not. Find
the number of quasi-increasing permutations of the integers 1, 2, . . . , 7.
11. The circumcircle of acute 4ABC has center O. The line passing through point
O perpendicular to OB intersects lines AB and BC at P and Q, respectively.
Also AB = 5, BC = 4, BQ = 4.5, and BP = m n , where m and n are relatively
prime positive integers. Find m + n.
12. There are 210 = 1024 possible 10-letter strings in which each letter is either an A
or a B. Find the number of such strings that do not have more than 3 adjacent
letters that are identical.
Pn
13. Define the sequence a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . by an = k=1 sin(k), where k represents
radian measure. Find the index of the 100th term for which an < 0.
14. Let x and y be real numbers satisfying x4 y 5 +y 4 x5 = 810 and x3 y 6 +y 3 x6 = 945.
Evaluate 2x3 + (xy)3 + 2y 3 .
 2015 AIME II 4

15. Circles P and Q have radii 1 and 4, respectively, and are externally tangent at
point A. Point B is on P and point C is on Q so that line BC is a common
external tangent of the two circles. A line ` through A intersects P again at D
and intersects Q again at E. Points B and C lie on the same side of `, and the
areas of 4DBA and 4ACE are equal. This common area is m n , where m and
n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.
 2015 AIME II Solutions 2

1. Answer (131):
Let a and b be integers such that N = 0.78a = 1.16b. Then 50N = 39a and
25N = 29b. Therefore N must be a common multiple of 29 and 39. Their least
common multiple, 29 · 39 = 1131, satisfies the requirements, with a = 50 · 29 =
1450 and b = 25 · 39 = 975. The requested remainder is 131.

2. Answer (025):
Without loss of generality it may be assumed that there are 100 students in
the school. Then the students taking Latin consist of 40 freshman, 30(0.8) =
24 sophomores, 20(0.5) = 10 juniors, and 10(0.2) = 2 seniors. The required
probability is the number of sophomores taking Latin divided by the number of
24
students taking Latin or 40+24+10+2 = 24 6
76 = 19 . The requested sum is 6 + 19 =
25.

3. Answer (476):
Assume that there is such an m less than 1000, and let m = 100a+10b+c where
a, b, and c are the digits of m. According to the required properties, there is an
integer n such that 100a + 10b + c = 17n and a + b + c = 17. Subtracting the
second equation from the first gives 99a + 9b = 9(11a + b) = 17(n − 1). Thus
n − 1 is divisible by 9. If n − 1 = 9 or n − 1 = 18, then 17n = 170 or 17n = 323,
respectively, and neither of these has digits that sum to 17. If n − 1 = 27,
then 17n = 476, whose digits indeed sum to 17. Thus the requested integer is
m = 476.

4. Answer (018):
Let F be one of the vertices of the smaller base, let H be the foot of the altitude
from F to the larger base, and let G be the vertex of the larger base closer to
H. Because the trapezoid is isosceles, it follows that GH = 21 (log 192 − log 3) =
1 192 1 1 6 4
2 (log 3 ) = 2 log 64 = 2 log 2 = 3 log 2. Note that F H = log 2 = 4 log 2;
hence right 4F GH has sides in the ratio of 3 : 4 : 5, and thus F G = 5 log 2.
The perimeter of the trapezoid is therefore log 3 + log 192 + 10 log 2 = 2 log 3 +
16 log 2 = log 216 32 . The requested sum is 16 + 2 = 18.

5. Answer (090):
In each row of an n × n grid of squares, there are n − 1 pairs of adjacent
squares. Thus there are n(n − 1) pairs of horizontally adjacent squares in the
grid. Similarly there are n(n − 1) pairs of vertically adjacent squares in the grid.
2

Out of the n2 equally likely ways to select two squares in the grid, there are
2n(n − 1) ways to select the two squares so that they are adjacent. Hence the
1
required condition is 2015 > 2n(n−1)
2 = 2n(n−1)·2 4
n2 (n2 −1) = n2 +n , which simplifies to
(n2 )
n2 + n > 8060. The least positive integer satisfying this is n = 90.
 2015 AIME II Solutions 3

6. Answer (440):
Let the roots be r, s, and t, with r ≤ s ≤ t. Then r + s + t = a, and rs + st + tr =
a2 −81 2 2 2 2
2 , so r + s + t = (r + s + t) − 2(rs + st + tr) = 81. The positive integer
solutions for (r, s, t) are (1, 4, 8), (4, 4, 7), and (3, 6, 6). The corresponding values
of a are 13, 15, and 15, respectively. Because there are two possible values of
c = 2rst, it follows that a = 15, and the two possible values of c are 2·4·4·7 = 224
and 2 · 3 · 6 · 6 = 216. The requested sum is 224 + 216 = 440.

7. Answer (161):
By Heron’s formula, the area of 4ABC is 90. Then the altitude from A has
PQ
length h = 2·90 w
25 . The altitude from A in 4AP Q has length BC h = 25 h. It
w
follows that P S = h − 25 h, so
 w  h 2 · 90 2
Area(P QRS) = P Q · P S = w h − h = hw − w2 = hw − w
25 25 252
2·90 36
and β = 252 = 125 . The requested sum is 36 + 125 = 161.

OR

Let f (w) denote the area of the rectangle of side w. Because f (0) = f (25) = 0,

f (w) = αw − βw2 = βw(25 − w).

25 1
It is easy to check that if w = 2 , then Area(P QRS) = 2 · 90 = 45. Therefore

252
   
25 25 25
45 = f =β· 25 − = β.
2 2 2 4

Hence
4 · 45 180 36
β= = = .
252 625 125

OR

The Law of Cosines can be used to calculate cos(∠ABC) = 45 and cos(∠ACB) =

77 3 36
85 . Then tan(∠ABC) = 4 and tan(∠ACB) = 77 . Let h = P S. Then 25 =
BC = tan(∠ABC) + w + tan(∠ACB) , from which h = 36(25−w)
h h
125 . Then the area of
36 36 2
the rectangle is wh = 5 w − 125 w .
 2015 AIME II Solutions 4

8. Answer (036):
3 3
First observe that if a = 1 or b = 1, then aa3b+b+1
3 = 1. Assume that a ≥ 2 and

b ≥ 2. The inequality ab+1a+b < 3

2 implies that 2ab + 2 < 3a + 3b, and hence
3b − 2 > a(2b − 3) giving 3b − 2 > 4b − 6 which implies that b < 4; by symmetry
a < 4. The pair (a, b) = (3, 3) does not satisfy ab+1 3
a+b < 2 , but checking the pairs
a3 b3 +1
(a, b) = (2, 2) and (a, b) = (2, 3), it is seen that the maximum value of a3 +b3 is
31
5 , which occurs at (a, b) = (2, 3). The requested sum is 31 + 5 = 36.

OR

From 2ab + 2 < 3a + 3b it follows that 2ab − 3a − 3b + 2 < 0 implying 4ab −

6a − 6b + 4 + 5 < 5 and (2a − 3)(2b − 3) < 5. Thus 2a − 3 and 2b − 3 are odd
integers whose product is less than 5. This shows that either a or b is 1, or
{a, b} ⊆ {2, 3}, and the analysis proceeds as above.

9. Answer (384):
The region inside the cube sitting inside the barrel is a right triangular pyramid
with an equilateral triangle for a base and three other faces that are congruent
right isosceles triangles. The center of the equilateral triangular base is the
center of the circle at the top of the barrel.
√ Because the barrel has radius 4, the
equilateral triangle has side length 4 3 and altitude 6. It follows that the legs
√
4√ 3
√
of the isosceles right triangular faces of the pyramid have length 2 = 2 6.
The volume of the displaced water is the volume of the pyramid. Reorienting √
the pyramid so that √ its base is a right isosceles triangle
√ with
legs
√ of length
√ 2 6,
and its height is 2 6 shows that the volume is 13 21 (2 6)2 (2 6) = 8 6. The
√
requested value is (8 6)2 = 384.

10. Answer (486):

Let Sn be the number of quasi-increasing permutations of 1, 2, . . . , n. It is easy
to check that S1 = 1, S2 = 2, and S3 = 6. For n ≥ 3, Sn = 3Sn−1 is proved as
follows.
First note that if a1 , a2 , . . . , an−1 is a quasi-increasing permutation of 1, 2, . . . ,
n − 1, then one can construct a quasi-increasing permutation of 1, 2, . . . , n by
placing the n immediately in front of n − 1, immediately in front of n − 2, or
after an−1 . If n is placed in any other position, then it will be followed by an
integer k with 1 ≤ k ≤ n − 3 so n ≤ k + 2 will not be true. Thus every quasi-
increasing permutation of 1, 2, . . . , n−1 leads to 3 quasi-increasing permutations
of 1, 2, . . . , n.
Conversely, suppose that we have a quasi-increasing permutation a1 , a2 , . . . , an
of 1, 2, . . . , n. If an = n or a1 = n, then removing an results in a quasi-
increasing permutation of 1, 2, . . . , n − 1. If n = ak , k 6= 1, n, then ak+1 = n − 1
 2015 AIME II Solutions 5

or ak+1 = n − 2. In either case

ak−1 < n ≤ ak+1 + 2,

so removing n again results in a quasi-increasing permutation of 1, 2, . . . , n − 1.

Furthermore, as the previous paragraph showed, for each quasi-increasing per-
mutation π of 1, 2, . . . , n − 1, there are exactly 3 quasi-increasing permutations
of 1, 2, . . . , n that result in π when n is removed. This completes the proof that
Sn = 3Sn−1 for n ≥ 3.
Hence Sn = 3n−2 S2 = 2 · 3n−2 for n ≥ 3. In particular, S7 = 2 · 35 = 486.

11. Answer (023):

Let line P Q intersect the circumcircle at points M and N as shown in the
figure. Because M N is a diameter and OB is perpendicular to M N , it follows
> > > > > > >
that BN = BM . Thus ∠QP B = BM 2+AN = BN + 2
AN = AN B = ∠ACB.
2
Hence 4ABC ∼ 4QBP , and BC BP
= QBAB . It follows that BP = 4(4.5)
5 = 18
5 .
The requested sum is 18 + 5 = 23.

OR

Let M and N be defined as above, and let x = BP , so P A = 5 − x. The Power

ofa Point Theorem applied to point P shows x(5 − x) = BP · P A = P M · P N =
BO2 − OP 2 , and applied to point Q shows 21 · 92 = QC · QB = QM · QN =
QO2 − BO2 . Then 94 + 5x − x2 = QO2 − OP 2 = (BQ2 − BO2 ) − (BP 2 − BO2 ) =

2
BQ2 − BP 2 = 29 − x2 . Thus 5x = 81 9 18
4 − 4 = 18 and x = 5 .

12. Answer (548):

Let ak , bk , and ck be the number of acceptable strings of length k that begin
with exactly 1, 2, or 3 of the same letter, respectively. For k ≥ 3, bk+1 = ak ,
ck+1 = bk , and ak+1 = ak + bk + ck = ak + ak−1 + ak−2 . Using the fact that
 2015 AIME II Solutions 6

a1 = 2, a2 = 2, and a3 = 4, the recursion can be used to find the first 11 terms

of the sequence an to be 2, 2, 4, 8, 14, 26, 48, 88, 162, 298, and 548. The number
of strings of length 10 that satisfy the requirement is a10 +b10 +c10 = a11 = 548.

13. Answer (628):

First notice that
n
X sin( 1 ) sin(k)
2
an =
k=1
sin( 12 )
n
X cos(k − 12 ) − cos(k + 12 )
=
k=1
2 sin( 12 )
cos( 21 ) − cos(n + 12 )
= .
2 sin( 12 )

Therefore an < 0 if and only if cos( 21 ) < cos(n + 12 ). Because the cosine function
has period 2π, and cos x = cos(2π − x), this inequality holds if and only if n
is between 2πm − 1 and 2πm for some positive integer m. In other words, the
index of the mth negative term in the given sequence is the greatest integer less
than 2πm. Because 3.14 < π < 3.145, it follows that 628 < 200π < 629. Thus
the index of the 100th negative term is 628.

14. Answer (089):

Note that neither x nor y can equal zero, as otherwise, the left-hand sides of the
two given equations would both equal 0. Therefore let y = kx for some nonzero
value of k. The given equations then become

x9 k 5 + x9 k 4 = 810 and x9 k 6 + x9 k 3 = 945.

Note that the left-hand sides of the above equations have a common factor of
x9 k 3 (k + 1). Furthermore, k cannot equal −1, as otherwise, the left-hand sides
of the above two equations would both equal 0. Thus

945 7 x9 k 6 + x9 k 3 x9 k 3 (k + 1)(k 2 − k + 1)
= = 9 5 =
810 6 x k + x9 k 4 x9 k 4 (k + 1)

which simplifies to 6k 2 − 13k + 6 = 0. The solutions of this quadratic equation

are k = 32 and 32 . Because k is positive, it follows that x and y must also be
39
 
9 32 16 810 · 243
2
positive. When k = 3 , x · + = 810, so x9 = = 3 . Then
243 81 80 2
2 3 27
x = 2 and y = 3 · 2 = 4. Similarly, if k = 2 , then x = 4 and y 3 = 27
27 3
3 3

3
2 .
In either case, 2x3 + (xy)3 + 2y 3 = 2 · 27
2 + 27
2 · 4 + 2 · 4 = 89.
 2015 AIME II Solutions 7

15. Answer (129):

Let P and Q be the centers of the circles P and Q, respectively. Let F be on
CQ so that CBP F is a rectangle. Note that in right 4P F Q, P Q = 1 + 4 = 5
and QF = 4 − 1 = 3, so BC = P F = 4.
Let G and H be on ` so that BG and CH are altitudes of 4ABD and 4ACE,
respectively, as shown, and let ` intersect line BC at I. Because the sectors of the
two circles cut off by ` are similar with a 1 : 4 ratio, it follows that AE = 4AD.
Because 4ABD and 4ACE have the same areas, it follows that BG = 4CH.
Because 4IGB is similar to 4IHC, it follows that 4IC = IB = IC + 4 and
IC = 43 .
Calculate AI by letting J be the projection of A onto line BC. Because P A =
1 4 1 8 1 4
5 P Q, it follows that AJ = 5 P B + 5 QC = 5 and BJ = 5 BC = 5 . Then
s 
2  2
p
2 2
8 68 4√
AI = AJ + IJ = + = 13.
5 15 3

Now calculate the area of 4DBA by finding BG and AD. For the former, √ by
similarity 4BGI ∼ 4AJI, it follows that BG = AJ
, giving BG = 32
13. For
BI AI 65
64
√
the latter, the Power of a Point Theorem gives IA · ID = IB 2 , so ID = 39 13
4
√
and AD = ID − IA = 13 13. So the area of 4DBA is

1 1 4√ 32 √ 64
AD · BG = · 13 · 13 = .
2 2 13 65 65
The requested sum is 64 + 65 = 129.

The problems and solutions for this AIME were contributed by Zachary Abel,
Steve Dunbar, Jacek Fabrykowski, Zuming Feng, Peter Gilchrist, Ellina Grigorieva,
Jerry Grossman, Chris Jeuell, Elgin Johnston, Jonathan Kane, Matthew McMullen,
Tamas Szabo, Alan Vraspir and David Wells.