20. Larry began reading a 392-page novel on Sunday and finished it the following Saturday. Each day after the first Larry read 12 pages more than he did the previous day. How many pages did Larry read on Sunday?
Answer: A
Larry read 20 pages on Sunday.
Larry's reading pattern indicates that he read a total of 392 pages over a week, starting with 20 pages on Sunday and increasing his daily reading by 12 pages thereafter.
A) 20
This option is correct because if Larry read 20 pages on Sunday, he would read 32 pages on the next day, and so forth, culminating in a total of 392 pages for the week. The sequence of pages read each day would be: 20, 32, 44, 56, 68, 80, and 92, which sums precisely to 392 pages.
B) 22
If Larry read 22 pages on Sunday, his reading progression would lead to reading 34, 46, 58, 70, 82, and 94 pages on the subsequent days. This totals 406 pages, which exceeds the total number of pages in the novel, making this option incorrect.
C) 24
Choosing 24 pages for Sunday results in a sequence of 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, and 96 pages read throughout the week. This adds up to 420 pages, again exceeding the 392 pages of the novel, thus rendering this option invalid.
D) 26
If Larry began with 26 pages on Sunday, he would read 38, 50, 62, 74, 86, and 98 pages subsequently. This results in a total of 434 pages, which is greater than the novel's total, making this option incorrect.
E) 28
Starting with 28 pages on Sunday would lead to a reading pattern of 28, 40, 52, 64, 76, 88, and 100 pages. This totals up to 448 pages, surpassing the total of 392 pages in the novel, therefore this option is not viable.
Conclusion
The only option that allows Larry to read a total of 392 pages over the course of the week is 20 pages on Sunday. All other options result in a total that exceeds the number of pages in the novel, confirming that they are incorrect. Thus, 20 pages is the definitive correct answer.