2003 AMC 10A Problem 2
Members of the Rockham Soccer League buy socks and T-shirts. Socks cost $4 per pair and each T-shirt costs $5 more than a pair of socks. Each member needs one pair of socks and a shirt for home games and another pair of socks and a shirt for away games. If the total cost is $2366, how many members are in the League?
Show solution without answering
Key insight
Work out what one member spends: two pairs of socks and two shirts, which is 26 dollars. Then divide the total bill by 26.
Solution
First find the cost for one member, then see how many members fit into the total bill.
1. A pair of socks costs dollars. A T-shirt costs dollars more, so it costs dollars.
2. One set for home games is one pair of socks and one shirt: dollars.
3. Each member also needs a second set for away games, so one member spends dollars.
4. The whole league spends dollars, so the number of members is
5. Check: . Correct.
The answer is .
Why this works
Total cost = (cost for one member) (number of members). Once the cost for one member is right, the rest is a single division. The only danger is the words: "another pair of socks and a shirt" doubles everything, so read every item before you add.
Concise solution
A shorter write-up, the way contest solutions are usually written. It may take a different route from the solution above.
A T-shirt costs dollars. One member needs two socks-and-shirt sets (home and away), so a member's kit costs
If there are members, then , so (check: ).
The answer is .
Review in the AoPS books
- Introduction to Algebra, Chapter 3: One-Variable Linear Equations (§3.3, §3.4)
- Introduction to Algebra, Chapter 7: Proportion (§7.4)
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Problem © Mathematical Association of America (MAA), American Mathematics Competitions. Reproduced for non-commercial educational use. Solution and commentary are original to this site. Also appeared as 2003 12A #2.