1961 AMC 12 Problem 7

Attempt Problem 7 of the 1961 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 1961 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

7.

When simplified, the third term in the expansion of (ax−xa2)6 \left(\frac{a}{\sqrt{x}}-\frac{\sqrt{x}}{a^2}\right)^6 is:
15x\dfrac{15}{x}
−15x-\dfrac{15}{x}
−6x2a9-\dfrac{6x^2}{a^9}
20a3\dfrac{20}{a^3}
−20a3-\dfrac{20}{a^3}
Answer: A
Concepts:binomial theoremexponentalgebraic manipulation
Small hint:
The third term uses two copies of the second binomial term
Big hint:
Use the coefficient (62)\binom62 and simplify the powers of aa and xx
Solution:
The third term is (62)(ax)4(−xa2)2=15⋅a4x2⋅xa4=15x. \begin{aligned} &\binom62\left(\frac a{\sqrt x}\right)^4 \left(-\frac{\sqrt x}{a^2}\right)^2\\ &\qquad=15\cdot\frac{a^4}{x^2}\cdot\frac{x}{a^4} =\frac{15}{x}. \end{aligned}
Therefore, the correct answer is A.
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