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2001 AMC 12 Problems/Problem 4

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Problem

The mean of three numbers is 10 more than the least of the numbers and 15 less than the greatest. The median of the three numbers is 5. What is their sum?

\text{(A)}\ 5\qquad \text{(B)}\ 20\qquad \text{(C)}\ 25\qquad \text{(D)}\ 30\qquad \text{(E)}\ 36

Solution

Let m be the mean of the three numbers. Then the least of the numbers is m − 10 and the greatest is m + 15. The middle of the three numbers is the median, 5. So \dfrac{1}{3}[(m-10) + 5 + (m + 15)] = m, which implies that m=10. Hence, the sum of the three numbers is 3(10) = 30, and the answer is \text{(D)}.

See Also

2001 AMC 12 (ProblemsResources)
Preceded by
Problem 3
Followed by
Problem 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Want to learn how to tackle those tough AMC/AIME/Olympiad counting and probability problems? Check out Art of Problem Solving's Intermediate Counting & Probability by David Patrick.
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