Singapore and Asian
Schools Math Olympiad
(SASMO)
2016
Secondary 3
Authors: Merlan Nagidulin
Henry Ong
Rosa Anajao
Pang Zheng Rui
Consultant: Dr Joseph Yeo (NIE)
© Singapore International Math Contests Centre
All Rights Reserved
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or by any information or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message from Executive Director ..................................................................... 1
Competition Format and Prizes ........................................................................ 2
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 4
Problem Solving Procedure ................................................................................................................... 6
Problem Solving Strategies ................................................................................................................... 8
SASMO 2016 Secondary 3 Contest ................................................................. 10
Solutions to SASMO 2016 Secondary 3 .......................................................... 25
Message from Executive Director
Dear students, parents and teachers,
I am gratified to see more of our students gain direct admission into top schools by
August this year and their joy and reduced stress certainly made their preparation for
DSA worthwhile. Now is also the time to start your children/students as they prepare for
DSA, not only for Secondary 1, but also for Secondary 3 as well as Junior College or
polytechnic. In addition, we are continuously improving SASMO.
1. SASMO 2017 Results will be out on May 1-3 on SASMO Website.
2. On July 15, 2017, we will run our Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge
(SIMOC) which will include a Math Olympiad contest, mathematics games and Mind
Sports Challenge run on individual and team basis. This will bring out the best of
Singapore Mathematics with manipulatives and games used in Singapore schools.
Entry into SIMOC is by invitation only.
3. We invite teachers from Singapore and the region to join us, as we conduct research
into our own brand of Singapore Mathematics Olympiad and inspiring students to
accelerate learning with manipulatives.
4. We will be offering more analytics for students to review their performance with
reports.
I am glad that SASMO is making a difference for students in Singapore and elsewhere
around the world as we expand to more countries. We have been invited by World
Mathematics Team Championships and BEBRAS to run more international Math and
Computational thinking competitions. We look forward to working with your children and
students as they start to realize and achieve their potential.
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely,
Henry Ong
Executive Director
1
Competition Format and Prizes
SASMO is devoted and dedicated to bringing a love for Mathematics to students. Unlike
most Math Olympiad Competitions, SASMO caters not only to students in the top 5% but
to the top 40% instead. It aims to arouse students’ interest and enthusiasm for
mathematical problem solving, develop mathematical intuition, reasoning and logical
thinking, as well as creative and critical thinking. In addition, this can help improve the
students’ math grades because they can apply problem-solving strategies learnt during
the training to their daily school mathematics.
History:
Created in 2006, SASMO is one of the largest Math Olympiads in the Asian region. We
have expanded the competition to provide an International platform for students from
Primary 2 to Secondary 4, with differentiated contest papers for every level.
SASMO awards medals and certificates to the top 40% of participants.
Contest:
School Candidates
The Contest will be held in your school and no travelling is required.
Individual candidates
The Contest will be held in a school.
Format:
Secondary 3:
Section A – 15 Multiple Choice Questions
(2 points for correct answer, 0 points for unanswered question, penalty point (deduct 1
point) for wrong answer)
Section B – 10 Open-ended Questions
(4 points for correct answer, No penalty point for wrong answer)
Total 85 points. To avoid negative scores, each student begins with 15 points
2
Calculators are not permitted
When a problem introduces a more advanced concept, all necessary definitions are
included.
Awards:
Each participant receives a Certificate of Participation or an award certificate for winners
below.
Each of the top 8%, 12% and 20% of all participants receives a Gold, Silver or Bronze
medal and certificate respectively.
Each student who achieves a Perfect Score of 85 points receives a Perfect Score
certificate, Gold medal and $100.
3
Introduction
For Students Taking the Math Olympiad Challenge
Congratulations. You have embarked on a journey of scholarship. Competitions like
SASMO open many doors for you. Firstly, you learn new and interesting approaches to
problem-solving and also new topics. Next, you will meet talented students from other
schools as you attend training and competitions. You build your endurance to “puzzle”
out challenging problems and build your reputation as a problem solver. Finally, you
will be exposed to various international competitions and scholarship opportunities.
Here in Singapore, you increase your chances of getting into a top school via Direct
School Admissions (DSA) and entry into the Gifted Education Programme as you
compete regularly in high level competitions.
This book is written for the participants in the Singapore and Asian Schools Math
Olympiads (SASMO). It helps students to prepare well for the contest and also develop
higher-order thinking. All problems are designed to help students develop the ability to
think mathematically, rather than to teach more advanced or unusual topics. The fun is
in how you can see patterns and ways of solving each problem in non-technical ways
even though you have not learnt the topic yet!
In addition to the contest problems, the reader is provided with a list of familiar
mathematical terms, as well as a review of some of the topics that are likely to be
tested in the Olympiad. The book also contains some solved examples to provide
different problem-solving techniques, and to familiarize the participant with different
types of Olympiad questions. It is advised that the reader spends appropriate time
studying these questions and solutions, as they will assist in tackling actual Olympiad
problems.
4
How to Use This Book: Practice daily for 15 minutes per hour rather 4 hours of learning
once a month. Your mind needs to absorb each new thought, and constant practice
allows frequent review of previously learned concepts and skills. Together, you can
remember many new problem solving approaches. Try to spend 10 or 15 minutes daily
doing two or three problems. This approach should help you minimize the time needed
to develop the ability to think mathematically.
Whether you solve a problem quickly or you are confused, it is worth studying the
solutions in this book, because often they offer unexpected insights that can help you
understand the problem more fully. After you have invested time – trying to solve each
problem any way you can, reviewing our solutions is very effective. Many of the
problems in this book can be solved in more than one way. There is always a single
answer, but there can be many paths to that answer. Once you solve a problem, go
back and see if you can solve it by another method. Then check our solutions to see if
any of them differ from yours.
Enjoy working on these challenges and you will soon be in a different league from your
peers who have not taken any international competition. We look forward to inviting
you if you are a bronze, silver, gold or perfect score medallist for further training as well
as to compete in Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge (SIMOC) to be held
in July 2017.
5
Problem Solving Procedure
You may go through several phases when solving a problem such as trying to
understand the problem, working on a specific approach (planning and attempting),
getting stuck and trying to get unstuck, critically examining solutions or communicating.
The work may involve going back and forth between these different phases of problem
solving.
In solving any problem, it helps to have a working procedure. You might want to
consider this four-step procedure: Understand, Plan, Try It, and Look Back.
Understand
Before you can solve a problem, you must first understand it. Read and re-read the
problem carefully to find all the clues and determine what the question is asking you to
find.
What is the unknown?
What is the data?
What is the condition?
Plan
Once you understand the question and the clues, it's time to use your previous
experience with similar problems to look for strategies and tools to answer the
question.
Do you know a related problem?
Look at the unknown! And try to think of a familiar problem having the same or a
similar unknown?
Try It
After deciding on a plan, you should try it and see what answer you come up with.
Can you see clearly that the steps are correct?
But can you also prove that the steps are correct?
6
Are you feeling stuck?
Many different approaches can be tried to get unstuck. One approach is to try working
a simpler version of the problem, and use the solution to the problem to get insights
that are useful in solving the original problem. In the next chapter, we show some
common solving approaches.
If you are discouraged after a few failed attempts, read this quote from the famous
scientist, Thomas Edison. An assistant asked, "Why are you wasting your time and
money? We have had failure after failure, almost a thousand of them. Why do you
continue to pursue this impossible task?" Edison said, "We haven't had a thousand
failures, we've just discovered a thousand ways to not invent the electric bulb."
Look Back
Once you've tried it and found an answer, go back to the problem and see if you've
really answered the question. Sometimes it's easy to overlook something. If you missed
something check your plan and try the problem again.
Can you check the result?
Can you check the argument?
Can you derive the result differently?
Can you see it at a glance?
7
Problem Solving Strategies
1. Change the representation
Using a wrong representation may make a problem impossible to solve.
Strategies of changing representation include drawing a picture and acting it out.
DRAW A PICTURE: By drawing a picture, and visualizing the problem information
using it, you will have a clearer understanding of the problem and it will help you to
come up an approach to solve the problem that you might not be able to see otherwise.
ACT IT OUT: We are better at thinking in terms of concrete objects and situations than
in terms of abstract concepts. If we can act out the situation described in a word
problem, we are able to understand the problem better and we may be able to come up
with a problem solution. To do this, we need to use real materials that are easily
available to us. Examples can be pencils, coins and other objects we have in the
classroom.
2. Make an Organized List or a Table
ORGANIZED LIST: Making an organized list allows you to clearly examine data. It can
help you in ensuring that you are looking at all the relevant information. It will also
allow you to see patterns in the data easily and to come to correct conclusions.
MAKE A TABLE: Making a table allows you to clearly examine data. It can help you in
ensuring that you are looking at all the relevant information. It will also allow you to
see patterns in the data easily and to come to correct conclusions.
8
3. Create a Simpler Problem
Sometimes we are not able to solve the problem as it is stated, but we are able to solve
a similar problem that is similar in some way. For example, the simpler problem may
use simpler numbers. Once we solve one or more simpler problems, we may
understand the approach that can be used to solve the problems of similar type and
may be able to solve the problem that has been given to us.
4. Use Logical Reasoning
Logical reasoning is useful in mathematics problems in various ways. It can be used to
eliminate incorrect choices. It can also sometimes be used to conclude the answer
directly.
5. Guess and Check
"Guess and Check" strategy can be used on many problems. If the number of possible
answers is small, one can use this strategy to come up with the answer very quickly. In
some other cases where the number of possible answers is not small, one may still be
able to make intelligent guesses and come up with the answer.
6. Working Backwards
Sometimes, it is easier to start with information at the end of the problem and work
backwards to the beginning of the problem than the other way around.
9
Division
Singapore and Asian
S3 Schools Math Olympiad
2016
Full Name:
Index Number:
Class:
School:
SASMO 2016 Secondary 3 Contest
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Please DO NOT OPEN the contest booklet until the Proctor has given permission to
start.
2. TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes.
3. Attempt all 25 questions.
Questions 1 to 15 score 2 points each, no points are deducted for unanswered
question and 1 point is deducted for wrong answer.
Questions 16 to 25 score 4 points each. No points are deducted for unanswered or
wrong answers.
4. Shade your answers neatly using a pencil in the answer sheet.
5. PROCTORING: No one may help any student in any way during the contest.
6. No electronic devices capable of storing and displaying visual information is
allowed during the course of the exam.
7. Strictly No Calculators are allowed into the exam.
8. All students must fill and shade in their Name, Index number, Class and School in
the answer sheet and contest booklet.
9. MINIMUM TIME: Students must stay in the exam hall at least 1h 15 min.
10. Students must show detailed working and transfer answers to the answer sheet.
11. No exam papers and written notes can be taken out by any contestant.
10
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
SASMO 2016 Secondary 3 [15 MCQ + 10 non-MCQ = 25 Q]
Section A (Correct answer – 2 points| No answer – 0 points| Incorrect answer – minus 1 point)
1. Calculate the value of
99×2 + 999×3 + 9 999×4 + 99 999×5
A. 111 010
B. 110 110
C. 111 001
D. 110 011
E. None of the above
2. In the SASMO contest, there are 15 multiple choice questions. 2 points are awarded
for a correct answer and 1 point is deducted for a wrong answer. No points are deducted
or awarded for unanswered question. Albert answered 12 questions and left the
remaining unanswered. If his total score is less than 17, find the maximum number of
questions he answered correctly.
A. 7
B. 8
C. 9
D. 10
E. 11
11
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
3. How many digits are there in the number 52016 ×41006 ?
A. 2012
B. 2013
C. 2014
D. 2015
E. 2016
4. Given that 1 − sin(𝑥) + √3𝑦 − 𝑥 = 0, where 0 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝜋. Find the value of 𝑥 − 𝑦.
A. 60
𝜋
B. 2
2
C. 𝜋
3
5
D. 𝜋
6
𝜋
E. 3
12
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
5. If the five-digit number 𝐴982𝐵 is divisible by 45, find the sum 𝐴 + 𝐵.
A. 5
B. 8
C. 13
D. 17
E. None of the above
6. Which of the following has the largest value?
201644
A. 201642
201644 −1
B. 201642 −1
C. 2016
D. 4 064 256
E. Options A & D
13
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
7. How many positive even 2-digit numbers are divisible neither by 3 nor by 7?
A. 21
B. 29
C. 43
D. 56
E. None of the above
8. Given that
1 √𝑥 1 3 √𝑦 8
< ≤ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 <1− ≤
7 𝑥 5 4 𝑦 9
where 𝑥 and 𝑦 are whole numbers.
Find the smallest possible value of 𝑥 − 𝑦.
A. −32
B. 9
C. −55
D. −56
E. −57
14
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
9. How many factors of 324 000 are perfect cubes?
A. 3
B. 5
C. 7
D. 8
E. 9
10. The year 2016 is an interesting number because it is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
and 9. When was the previous year that has the same properties as above?
A. 504
B. 1522
C. 1512
D. 2520
E. None of the above
15
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
11. There are 60 people in a tourist bus. 15 of them are going to Orchard and 30 of
them are going to Sentosa. (Some people are going to both). What is the greatest
number of people who are neither going to Orchard nor to Sentosa.
A. 15
B. 20
C. 30
D. 45
E. None of the above
12. How many triangles are there in the diagram below?
A. 24
B. 40
C. 48
D. 50
E. None of the above
16
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
13. What is the greatest amount of numbers which must be selected (not randomly)
from 108 numbers: 1, 2, 3,…, 108, to ensure that there are no two numbers (among
selected) with the product of 108?
A. 96
B. 102
C. 103
D. 12
E. None of the above
14. Amy, Emily and Raisa each has one cat. The names of the cats are Bella, Kitty and
Max. The three cats have different colours: calico, ginger and grey. It is known that:
i) Kitty does not belong to Emily, and the calico cat does not belong to Raisa
ii) Bella is the calico cat
iii) Max’s colour is not ginger
iv) Raisa’s cat is not Kitty
Which of the following statement is correct?
A. The calico cat is Max, who belongs to Emily
B. The ginger cat belongs to Raisa, and Amy has a grey cat
C. Raisa has a grey cat named Max
D. Emily’s cat is Bella and Amy’s cat is Max
E. None of the above
17
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
15.
is rotated to
as is rotated to
A. B. C.
D. E.
18
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Section B (Correct answer – 4 points| Incorrect or No answer – 0 points)
16. How many integers 𝑛 satisfy the inequality
2010 < √𝑛(𝑛 − 1) < 2016 ?
17. Find the smallest possible value of the expression
(9 − 𝑎)(5 − 𝑎)(𝑎 + 9)(𝑎 + 5),
where 𝑎 is a real number.
19
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
18. Find P in the sequence below
61, 52, 63, 94, 46, 𝑃
19. The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, … , 99, 100 are written on a whiteboard. Tom choose any two
numbers 𝑎 and 𝑏, erases them and then writes down their sum 𝑎 + 𝑏. He continues the
same process until one number is left on the whiteboard. What is this number?
20
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
20. 122 309 is the product of two prime numbers. Find the largest of the two prime
numbers.
21. In how many different ways can the letters of the word SASMO be arranged so that
two S’s are NOT next to each other?
21
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
22. The map below shows 28 postal districts of Singapore. Each district is to be painted
with one colour. What is the least number of colours needed to paint all the regions so
that any two neighboring districts do not share the same colour?
22
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
23. What is the value of the following fraction?
1
1 1 1 1 1
2016 + 2017 + 2018 + ⋯ + 2024 + 2025
(Round off your answer to the nearest whole number. For example, if your answer is
1234.56, then write your answer as 1235)
24. ABCD is a rectangular sheet of paper with AB = 18 and AD = 12. Point E is along
the line CD such that DE : CD = 1 : 2. Rectangle ABCD is folded so that point A falls on
point E. Find the length of the fold. A B
D C
23
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
25. In the following cryptarithm, all the different letters stand for different digits. Find
the 5-digit number SASMO.
S T A Y
+ C O O L
S A S M O
End of Paper
24
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Solutions to SASMO 2016 Secondary 3
Section A (Correct answer – 2 points| No answer – 0 points| Incorrect answer – minus 1 point)
Question 1
99×2 + 999×3 + 9 999×4 + 99 999×5
= (100 − 1)(2) + (1000 − 1)(3) + (10 000 − 1)(4) + (100 000 − 1)(5)
= (200 + 3 000 + 40 000 + 500 000) − (2 + 3 + 4 + 5)
= 543 200 − 14 = 𝟓𝟒𝟑 𝟏𝟖𝟔
Question 2
If Albert got all the 12 questions correctly, his score would be 24. When 10 were correct
and 2 were wrong, his score would be 20-2=18. If 9 were correct and 3 were wrong,
Albert’s score would be 18-3=15, which is less than 17. Thus, the maximum number of
questions he answered correctly is 9.
Question 3
52016 ×41006 = 52016 ×22012 = 54 ×52012 ×22012 = 625×102012
Hence, the number of digits in the product is 2012 + 3 = 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓.
Question 4
Recall that √𝑤 ≥ 0 for any 𝑤 ≥ 0. Also, −1 ≤ sin(𝑣) ≤ 1 for any real value 𝑣. So,
0 ≤ 1 − sin(𝑥) ≤ 2. Hence 1 − sin(𝑥) and √3𝑦 − 𝑥 are both greater than or equal to 0.
Since their sum is 0, then both of them must be 0. So,
𝜋
1 − sin(𝑥) = 0 ⟹ sin(𝑥) = 1 ⟹ 𝑥= ,
2
𝜋 𝜋
3𝑦 − 𝑥 = 0 ⟹ 3𝑦 = ⟹ 𝑦= .
2 6
𝜋 𝜋 𝝅
Then, 𝑥 − 𝑦 = 2 − 6 = 𝟑 .
25
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Question 5
A number is divisible by 45 if it is divisible by both 5 and 9. A number is divisible by 5 if
its last digit is 0 or 5. So, B is either 0 or 5.
A number is divisible by 9 if the sum of its digits is a multiple of 9. We want 19+A+B to
be a multiple of 9.
If B=0, A must be 8, so that 19+A+B=19+8+0=27. In this case, A+B=8.
If B=5, A should be 3, so that 19+A+B=19+3+5=27. Thus, in either case, A+B=8.
Question 6
201644
The value of option A is = 20162 = 4 064 256.
201642
𝑎
Let 𝑎 = 201644 and 𝑏 = 201642 , then we can compare options A and B by comparing 𝑏
𝑎−1
and . Multiplying both fractions by 𝑏(𝑏 − 1), then
𝑏−1
𝑎
𝑏(𝑏 − 1)× = 𝑎𝑏 − 𝑎 ,
𝑏
𝑎−1
𝑏(𝑏 − 1)× = 𝑎𝑏 − 𝑏 .
𝑏−1
𝑎−1 𝑎
Since 𝑎 > 𝑏, then 𝑎𝑏 − 𝑏 > 𝑎𝑏 − 𝑎 , and so is bigger than . Hence option B has
𝑏−1 𝑏
the largest value.
Question 7
An even number is divisible by 3 if it is divisible by 6, and an even number is divisible by
7 if it is divisible by 14. The following are the positive 2-digit even numbers:
Divisible by 6: 12, 18, …, 96 ⟹ 15 numbers,
Divisible by 14: 14, 28, …, 98 ⟹ 7 numbers,
Divisible by both 6 and 14 (or 42): 42, 84 ⟹ 2 numbers.
Hence the number of positive 2-digit even numbers that are divisible by either 3 or 7 is
15 + 7 − 2 = 20. There are 45 positive 2-digit even numbers. Thus, there are
45 − 20 = 𝟐𝟓 positive 2-digit even numbers that are neither divisible by 3 nor by 7.
26
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Question 8
1 √𝑥 1 1 𝑥 1
< ≤ ⟹ < 2≤ ⟹ 25 ≤ 𝑥 < 49 ,
7 𝑥 5 49 𝑥 25
3 √𝑦 8 1 √𝑦 1
< 1− ≤ ⟹ ≤ <
4 𝑦 9 9 𝑦 4
1 𝑦 1
⟹ ≤ 2< ⟹ 16 < 𝑦 ≤ 81 .
81 𝑦 16
Hence the smallest possible value of 𝑥 − 𝑦 is 25 − 81 = −𝟓𝟔.
Question 9
By listing, the perfect cube factors of 324 000 = 25 ×34 ×53 are:
1, 23 , 33 , 53 , 23 ×33 , 23 ×53 , 33 ×53 , 23 ×33 ×53
Thus, there are 8 factors that are perfect cubes.
Question 10
The least common multiple (LCM) of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 is 23 ×32 ×7 = 504. Then the
previous year with the same properties is 2016 - 504 = 1512.
Question 11
There are 60 − 15 = 45 people who are not going to Orchard and 60 − 30 = 30 people
who are not going to Sentosa. The greatest number of people who are not going to
both destinations is 30.
Answer: C
27
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Question 12
Type of
1-part 2-part 4-part 8-part Total
triangle
number
of
Diagram
triangles
Number of
24 16 8 2 50
triangles
Question 13
The prime factorization of 108 = 22 ×33 , so there are (2 + 1)×(3 + 1) = 12 factors of
108: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 27, 36, 54 and 108. 6 pairs of numbers have a product of
108. To get the greatest amount of numbers that must be selected, one number from
each 6 pairs should be selected together with numbers that are not factors of 108.
Therefore, 6 numbers remain and the largest amount of numbers that should be selected
is 108 − 6 = 𝟏𝟎𝟐.
Question 14
From statement (i) we conclude that Kitty belongs to either Amy or Raisa, and the calico
cat belongs to either Amy or Emily.
From statement (ii) Bella, the calico cat, belongs to either Amy or Emily.
Statement (iii) implies that Max is either calico or grey, but Bella is the calico cat, so Max’s
colour is grey.
From the statements (iv) and (i), Amy’s cat is Kitty. Hence, Bella, the calico cat, belongs
to Emily. We know that Amy’s cat is Kitty and Max’s colour is grey. Hence Kitty, the ginger
cat, belongs to Amy. Thus, Raisa has a grey cat named Max.
28
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Question 15
is rotated to
as is rotated to
Section B (Correct answer – 4 points| Incorrect or No answer – 0 points)
Question 16
Squaring all parts of the inequality, we get
2010×2010 < 𝑛(𝑛 + 1) < 2016×2016 .
Hence the positive integer values for n are 2010, 2011, … , 2015 and the negative values
for n are −2011, −2012, … , −2016. Therefore, there are 12 integers that satisfy the
inequality.
Question 17
(9 − 𝑎)(5 − 𝑎)(𝑎 + 9)(𝑎 + 5) = (9 − 𝑎)(9 + 𝑎)(5 − 𝑎)(5 + 𝑎) =
(81 − 𝑎2 )(25 − 𝑎2 ) = 2025 − 106𝑎2 + 𝑎4
Let 𝑏 = 𝑎2 , then the product above is equal to 2025 − 106𝑏 + 𝑏 2 . This is an equation of
parabola that is concave upward. Completing the square, we get
2025 − 106𝑏 + 𝑏 2 = (𝑏 2 − 106𝑏 + 2809) + 2025 − 2809
= (𝑏 − 53)2 − 784 .
29
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
So the vertex of the parabola, which is also the minimum point on the graph, is
(53, −784). Thus, the smallest value of (9 − 𝑎)(5 − 𝑎)(𝑎 + 9)(𝑎 + 5) is −𝟕𝟖𝟒 , which
occurs when 𝑏 = 𝑎2 = 53.
Question 18
Reversing the digits: 16, 25, 36, 49, 64. These numbers are perfect squares in ascending
order. The next perfect square is 81, so 𝑷 = 𝟏𝟖.
Question 19
We can notice that the sum of all numbers on a whiteboard remains the same. The last
number written on the whiteboard is the sum of numbers from 1 through 100, which is
50×101 = 𝟓𝟎𝟓𝟎.
Question 20
By Divisibility Rule of 11, the difference of the sums of alternating digits of 122 309 should
be divisible by 11. The sums of alternating digits are 1 + 2 + 0 = 3 and 2 + 3 + 9 = 14.
The difference is 14 − 3 = 11, which is divisible by 11. Hence 122 309 is divisible by 11,
and 122 309 ÷ 11 = 11 119. Therefore the larger prime number is 𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏𝟗.
Question 21
If two S’s are always next to each other, then we can treat the two S’s as single entity
SS, and the number of ways of arrange the letters SS, A, M, O is 4! = 24. Without
5!
restriction, the number of ways to arrange the letters of SASMO is = 60. Thus, the
2!
number of ways to arrange the letters such that the two S’s are not next to each other is
60 − 24 = 𝟑𝟔.
30
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Question 22
By colouring the regions 20, 23, 25, 26, 27 and 28, it can be verified that 1, 2, 3 colours
are not enough. Thus, the least number of colours needed is 4.
Question 23
1 1 10 1 1 1 1 1
> 𝑛 for 𝑛 > 2016, then > 2016 + 2017 + 2018 + ⋯ + 2024 + 2025 .
2016 2016
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10
Also, > 2025 for 𝑚 < 2025, so + 2017 + 2018 + ⋯ + 2024 + 2025 > 2025 . Thus,
𝑚 2016
1 1 1
< < ,
10 1 1 1 1 1 10
+ + + ⋯ + +
2016 2016 2017 2018 2024 2025 2025
1
201.6 < < 202.5.
1 1 1 1 1
+ + + ⋯ + +
2016 2017 2018 2024 2025
Therefore, to the nearest whole number, the value of the fraction is 𝟐𝟎𝟐.
31
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Question 24
Consider the figure below. Let 𝐻𝐺 be the folded segment. So, 𝐴𝐻 = 𝐻𝐸 and 𝐺𝐸 = 𝐴𝐺.
Since 𝐷𝐸: 𝐶𝐷 = 1: 2 and 𝐴𝐵 = 𝐷𝐶 = 18, then 𝐷𝐸 = 9. In Δ𝐻𝐷𝐸, we have
75
𝐻𝐷2 + 𝐷𝐸 2 = 𝐻𝐸 2 ⟹ (12 − 𝐻𝐸)2 + 92 = 𝐻𝐸 2 ⟹ 𝐻𝐸 = .
8
Also, 𝐹𝐶 = 𝐺𝐵 = 18 − 𝐴𝐺 = 18 − 𝐺𝐸. As 𝐸𝐶 = 9, then 𝐸𝐹 = 9 − 𝐹𝐶 = 9 − (18 − 𝐺𝐸) =
𝐺𝐸 − 9. So, in Δ𝐺𝐹𝐸,
25
𝐺𝐹 2 + 𝐸𝐹 2 = 𝐺𝐸 2 ⟹ 122 + (𝐺𝐸 − 9)2 = 𝐺𝐸 2 ⟹ 𝐺𝐸 = .
2
Therefore, the folded segment 𝐻𝐺 has length of
75 2 25 2 𝟏𝟐𝟓
√𝐻𝐸 2 + 𝐺𝐸 2 = √( ) +( ) = .
8 2 𝟖
32
SASMO 2016, Secondary 3 Contest
Question 25
S must be 1 because adding two 4-digit numbers cannot have a sum whose ten thousands
digit is more than 1. Then there should be a carry-over of 1 from the sum T+O. So
1+1+C=1A. C cannot be 9, otherwise A=S=1. Thus, C=8 and A=0.
Since A=0, then there should be a carry-over of 1 from the sum Y+L so that O and M
have different values. It follows that O+1=M.
If O=2, then M=3, which implies that T=9 and Y+L=12. So, Y=5 and L=7, or Y=7 and
L=5.
It can be verified that O=2 is the only solution for O. If O=3, then T=C=8. When O=4,
then M=5 and Y+L=14, which means that either Y or L is also 6 or 8. If O=5, then
M=T=6. When O=6, then M=7 and Y+L=16, so either Y or L is 7 as well. If O=7, then
M=C=8. Clearly, O cannot be 8 and 9.
Therefore, 5-digit number SASMO is 10132.
33
