AMC 10 · 2002 · #21

Grade 6 number-theory
lcmmultiplesdivisibility-rules identify-subproblemscasework ↑ Prerequisites: lcmdivisibility-rules
📏 Medium solution 💡 2 insights
Problem
For each positive integer n below 2002, define a_n to be 11 when n is divisible by both 13 and 14, to be 13 when n is divisible by both 14 and 11, to be 14 when n is divisible by both 11 and 13, and to be 0 otherwise. Add up a_n for n from 1 to 2001.

Pick an answer.

(A)
448
(B)
486
(C)
1560
(D)
2001
(E)
2002
How to solve
Strategy Identify Subproblems

Almost every term is 0, so the sum is really three small counting jobs glued together — that is Tool #7 (Identify Subproblems): count how many n trigger each of the three rules, multiply each count by its value, and add. Before adding, though, the three sets have to be checked for overlap, because a single n obeying two rules would be both double-counted and ambiguously defined; Tool #12 (Draw a Venn Diagram) is the habit of asking what lies in the intersections, and here the intersections turn out to be empty. Tool #2 (Make a Systematic List) then does each count: 'divisible by both' means 'divisible by the least common multiple', so each rule fires exactly on the multiples of one fixed number, and the multiples of m up to 2001 are simply m, 2m, 3m, …

1STEP 1

Replace each pair by one number

Divisible by two coprime numbers means divisible by their product: 182, 154, 143.

182 = 13 · 14, 154 = 14 · 11, 143 = 11 · 13
2STEP 2

Check the three cases cannot overlap

Two rules could clash only at a multiple of 2002, which the range excludes.

lcm(11,13,14) = 2002 > 2001
3STEP 3

Count each group of multiples

Each divides 2002 exactly, so the counts in range are 10, 12, 13.

⌊ 2001/182 ⌋ = 10, ⌊ 2001/154 ⌋ = 12, ⌊ 2001/143 ⌋ = 13
4STEP 4

Weight each count and add

Weighting and adding gives 110 + 156 + 182 = 448, choice (A).

Σ_n=1²⁰⁰¹ a_n = 11 · 10 + 13 · 12 + 14 · 13 = 110 + 156 + 182 = 448 (A)
Answer
448
Bound the answer before trusting it. There are only 10 + 12 + 13 = 35 nonzero terms and no term exceeds 14, so the sum is at most 35 · 14 = 490. That instantly rules out (C) 1560, (D) 2001, and (E) 2002, which are far too large. The remaining rival, (B) 486, is exactly what appears if each count is taken one too high — 11 · 11 + 13 · 13 + 14 · 14 = 121 + 169 + 196 = 486 — which is the error of including n = 2002 in all three groups. Since the sum stops at 2001, each count really is one lower, giving 448. Listing the multiples of 182 directly, 182, 364, 546, 728, 910, 1092, 1274, 1456, 1638, 1820, confirms exactly 10 of them below 2002.
💡Key takeaway

When a sum is almost all zeros, find the few places where something happens, make sure those places do not overlap, and then just count and multiply.

  • Replace each pair by one number
  • Check the three cases cannot overlap
  • Count each group of multiples
  • Weight each count and add