AMC 10 Step by Step

2023 AMC 10A Problem 9

P1-10~6 minPrint

A digital display shows the current date as an 88 -digit integer consisting of a 44 -digit year, followed by a 22 -digit month, followed by a 22 -digit date within the month. For example, Arbor Day this year is displayed as 20230428.20230428. For how many dates in 20232023 does each digit appear an even number of times in the 88 -digital display for that date?

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Key insight

The year 2023 already has one 0 and one 3. So the month and day together must use one 0, one 3, and two copies of some other digit.

Solution

1. See what the year gives. The display starts with 20232023. That has two 22s (already an even number), one 00 and one 33.
2. Decide what the month and day need. The four digits of the month and day must supply an odd number of 00s, an odd number of 33s, and an even number of every other digit.
3. Narrow it down. With four digits, the options are one 00 and one 33 plus a pair of another digit, or three of one and one of the other. Three 00s and a 33 (like 00 0300\,03) or three 33s and a 00 cannot be a real date. So the month and day use exactly one 00, one 33, and a pair d,dd, d of some other digit.
4. Case d=1d = 1: the digits are 0,3,1,10, 3, 1, 1. Go through the months that can be made from them:
- Month 0101 (January): days 1313 and 3131.
- Month 1010 (October): days 1313 and 3131.
- Month 1111 (November): days 0303 and 3030.
- Month 0303 (March): day 1111.

That is 77 dates.
5. Case d=2d = 2: the digits are 0,3,2,20, 3, 2, 2.
- Month 0202 (February): day 2323. (Day 3232 does not exist.)
- Month 0303 (March): day 2222.
- Month 1212 is not possible, because it needs a 11.

That is 22 dates.
6. Case dd is 44 or more: no month can use two copies of dd (4444, 5555, and so on are not months), so the month must be 0d0d or d0d0, and only 0d0d is real. Then the day is made of 33 and dd: either 3d3d or d3d3, and both are more than 3131. No dates.
7. Total: 7+2=97 + 2 = 9.

The answer is (E) 9\boxed{\textbf{(E)}\ 9}.

Why this works

"Each digit appears an even number of times" is about which digits are present, not their order. So first work out what the fixed part (the year) already supplies, and turn that into a rule for the remaining four digits. Then split into cases by the one free choice and let the calendar throw out impossible months and days.

Concise solution

A shorter write-up, the way contest solutions are usually written. It may take a different route from the solution above.

The year 20232023 contributes two 22s (already even), one 00 and one 33. So the four digits MMDDMMDD must contain an odd number of 00s, an odd number of 33s, and an even number of every other digit.

Three 00s with a 33, or three 33s with a 00, cannot form a valid month-day. So MMDDMMDD consists of exactly one 00, one 33, and a pair d,dd, d with d≠0,3d \ne 0, 3. The month uses two of these four digits.

  • d=1d = 1: digits {0,3,1,1}\{0, 3, 1, 1\}. Month 0101: days 13,3113, 31. Month 1010: days 13,3113, 31. Month 1111: days 03,3003, 30. Month 0303: day 1111. That is 77 dates.
  • d=2d = 2: digits {0,3,2,2}\{0, 3, 2, 2\}. Month 0202: day 2323 (day 3232 invalid). Month 0303: day 2222. Month 1212 is not available since it would use a 11. That is 22 dates.
  • d≥4d \ge 4: the month would have to be 0d0d or d0d0, needing a day made of 33 and dd; days 3d3d and d3d3 with d≥4d \ge 4 are all above 3131. No dates.

Total 7+2=97 + 2 = 9.

The answer is (E) 9\boxed{\textbf{(E)}\ 9}.

Review in the AoPS books

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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.