1951 AMC 12 Problem 10

Attempt Problem 10 of the 1951 AMC 12 below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 1951 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

All problems are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

10.

Of the following statements, the one that is incorrect is:
Doubling the base of a given rectangle doubles the area.
Doubling the altitude of a triangle doubles the area.
Doubling the radius of a given circle doubles the area.
Doubling the divisor of a fraction and dividing its numerator by 22 changes the quotient.
Doubling a given quantity may make it less than it originally was.
Answer: C
Concepts:power scaling of length, area, and volumecounterexample
Small hint:
Check how each area formula changes when one length is doubled
Big hint:
A circle’s area depends on the square of its radius
Solution:
A circle has area πr2.\pi r^2. Replacing rr by 2r2r gives π(2r)2=4πr2,\pi(2r)^2=4\pi r^2, so doubling the radius quadruples, rather than doubles, the area. The other statements can hold as written.
Thus, the correct answer is C.
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