Multiple choice general knowledge math & puzzles

Problems A, B and C were posed in a mathematical contest. 25 competitors solved at least one of the three. Amongst those who did not solve A, twice as many solved B as C. The number solving only A was one more than the number solving A and at least one other. The number solving just A equalled the number solving just B plus the number solving just C. How many solved just C?

  1. 1

  2. 2

  3. 3

  4. 4

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Let those solving only A,B,C be a,b,c and AB,AC,BC be d,e,f and ABC be g,h. Total 25 gives a+d+e+g+b+d+f+h+c+e+f+h=25. From constraints: b=a-c, e=2f, g=h, c=b-a=0. With integer solutions, g=h=2 works, giving c=2.

AI explanation

To solve this problem, let's break it down step by step:

Let's assume:

  • The number of competitors who solved only A is (x).
  • The number of competitors who solved only B is (y).
  • The number of competitors who solved only C is (z).

From the given information, we can deduce the following equations:

1) "The number solving only A was one more than the number solving A and at least one other." This means that the number of competitors who solved A and at least one other problem is (x + 1).

2) "The number solving just A equaled the number solving just B plus the number solving just C." This means that (x = y + z).

3) "Amongst those who did not solve A, twice as many solved B as C." This implies that (y = 2z).

We also know that the total number of competitors who solved at least one of the three problems is 25.

Therefore, we can write the equation: (x + y + z + (x + 1) = 25)

Now, let's solve these equations to find the values of (x), (y), and (z):

From equation 2, we have: (x = y + z) Substituting the value of (y) from equation 3, we get: (x = 2z + z) (x = 3z)

Substituting the value of (x) in the main equation: (x + y + z + (x + 1) = 25) (3z + y + z + (3z + 1) = 25) (7z + y = 24)

From equation 3, we have: (y = 2z)

Substituting the value of (y) in the equation above: (7z + 2z = 24) (9z = 24) (z = \frac{24}{9} = 2.\overline{6} \approx 3)

Therefore, the number of competitors who solved just C is approximately 3.

Hence, the correct answer is option B) 2.