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smc

prealgebra senior

Problem

Three cubes are each formed from the pattern shown. They are then stacked on a table one on top of another so that the visible numbers have the greatest possible sum. What is that sum?
problem
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
Conversely, maximize the sum. Two cubes have 4 exposed faces. Since , 32 must be on the side. There are two distinct (asymmetrical) configurations with 32 on the side, but is the greatest at 51. There are 2 such cubes, so 51*2. The top cube has one unexposed face, so use 1 as the unexposed face.
Final answer
C