Questions and hints to the problems of

Assam Mathematics Olympiad 2020

Figures in the right margin indicate full marks for the question

Like any other math problem, these problems can also be solved in several ways. We
provide some hints here. Interested students can communicate their own solutions with
us too. If the participants find any errors in our solutions, then please let us know before
the declaration of results. Please send your queries to : [email protected]

1. If the area of the square ABCD is 4544 sq.cm., find the area of the shaded region.
The dots on the sides represent mid-points. 2

Solution.
1
Shaded area = × 4544 = 71.
64

2. Draw a star with five corner vertices, not necessarily regular. Let S be the sum of
the five corner angles (shaded). What is the value of S/4 ? 3

Solution. Just use angle sum property of triangles to show that S = 180◦ . Hence,
S
= 45◦ .
4

1
3. Given that the equation x2 − ax + 12 = 0 has positive integer roots, find the sum of
all possible values of a. 3

Solution. Let α and β be the roots. Then, αβ = 12 and α + β = a. Since α and β are
positive integers, so we have the following possibilities only :
αβ = 1 × 12 = 2 × 6 = 3 × 4
All possible values of a are 13, 8 and 7. Hence, required sum is 28.

4. Find the face value of the digit x such that the number 136119102856851x44 is
divisible by 17. 3

Solution. Observe that the number can be grouped to a few multiples of 17.

136119102856851 x44
=136 × 1015 + 119 × 1012 + 102 × 109 + 85 × 107 + 68 × 105 + 51 × 103 + 100 x + 44
≡100 x + 44 (mod 17)
≡15 x + 10 (mod 17)
≡ − 2 x + 10 (mod 17)

If the number is divisible by 17, then −2 x + 10 ≡ 0 (mod 17) and since gcd(2,17)=1,
so x ≡ 5 (mod 17). But x is a digit. So, x = 5.

5. How many paths can you draw from the point (0,0) to the point (4,4) in the Carte-
sian plane if you are allowed to move only north or east and each step is restricted
to be of length one unit only? 3

Solution. One such path is shown below :

Under the given restrictions, in order to go from (0,0) to (4,4) we need exactly 4
north steps and exactly 4 east steps in any possible order. So, the number of paths
is equal to the number of permutations of NNNNEEEE which is
8! 8×7×6×5
= = 70.
4! × 4! 4×3×2

6. Let P ( x) be a polynomial with positive integer coefficients such that the product of
all the coefficients (including the constant term) is 41. The remainder when P ( x)
is divided by x − 1 is 78. What is the degree of P ( x) ? 4

2
 Solution. Let degree of P ( x) be n. Since all the coefficients are positive integers
and their product is 41 which is prime, so all coefficients must be 1 except one of
the coefficients which must be 41. The remainder when P ( x) is divided by x − 1 is
P (1). Now, P (1) is the sum of n ones and 41. So, P (1) = n + 41. Given, P (1) = 78.
So, n + 41 = 78 and this gives n = 37.

7. You have Rs 172 and you want to spend this exact amount in buying pens and
pencils worth Rs 11 and Rs 7 each respectively. How many ways can you make the
purchase ? 4

Solution. Let x pens and y pencils be bought. Then, we need to find the non-
negative integer solutions of 11 x + 7 y = 172.

11 x + 7 y = 172
⇒11 x + 7 y = 165 + 7
⇒11 x + 7 y = 11 × 15 + 7
⇒11( x − 15) = 7(1 − y)

So, 11 divides 7(1 − y). But gcd(11,7)=1. So, 11 divides 1 − y and so divides y − 1.
Since y is non-negative, so y − 1 = 0, 11, 22, 33, . . .. Out of these it is seen that the
only possible solutions are y = 1, x = 15, y = 12, x = 8 and y = 23, x = 1. So there are
3 possible ways of purchase.

8. Suppose that the least values obtained by the quadratics x2 + 3 x + 19 and x2 − 7 x + 3

(as x varies over the set of real numbers) are a and b. What is a-b ? 4

Solution.
3 2 9
µ ¶
x2 + 3 x + 19 = x + + 19 −
2 4
¶2
3 67
µ
= x+ +
2 4
67
≥
4

7 2 49
µ ¶
2
x − 7x + 3 = x − +3−
2 4
¶2
7 37
µ
= x− −
2 4
37
≥−
4
67 37
Thus, a = and b = − and a − b = 26.
4 4

9. AD is the bisector of angle BAC in a triangle ABC where D is a point on BC . Given

that AB=7cm, AC=5cm and area(ABC)=156 sq.cm, what is the area of triangle
ABD ? 5

3
 Solution.
BD AB 7
Since AD bisects ∠ BAC, so = = . Triangles ABD and ADC have the
DC AC 5
same height. So, ratio of their areas is same as the ratio of their bases.
So, areas of triangles ABD and ADC are in the ratio 7:5 and hence area of triangle
7
ABD is × 156 = 91.
12
10. A magic room contains 343 magic wands of 7 different colours. You are given a
boon to ask for any number of wands as you wish. What is the minimum number
of wands that you should wish for so that you get at least 14 wands of the same
colour ? 5

Proof. In the worst case scenario, it may happen that there are 13 wands of each
of the 7 colours. So, even if we wish for 7 × 13 = 91 wands, we cannot guarantee
that we will get at least 14 wands of the same colour. Anything less than 91 also
doesn’t guarantee this. Thus, we must wish for at least 92 wands.

11. The Fibonacci numbers are defined by the recurrence formula

F ( n) = F ( n − 1) + F ( n − 2) with F (1) = 1 and F (2) = 1.
What is the smallest odd prime factor of F(2020)? 5

Solution. Begin by observing the first few Fibonacci numbers. F(1)=1, F(2)=1,
F(3)=1+1=2, F(4)=2+1=3, F(5)=3+2=5, F(6)=5+3=8, F(7)=8+5=13, F(8)=13+8=21.
The smallest odd prime factor of F(4) and F(8) is 3. Let us work modulo 3 to see if
we get any clue. Observe that the recurrence formula gives
F(1)≡ 1 (mod 3), F(2)≡ 1 (mod 3), F(3)≡ 2 (mod 3), F(4)≡ 0 (mod 3)
F(5)≡ 2 (mod 3), F(6)≡ 2 (mod 3), F(7)≡ 1 (mod 3), F(8)≡ 0 (mod 3)

Try to prove that if n is a multiple of 4, F(n) is divisible by 3. Hence, the smallest

odd prime factor of F(2020) is 3.

12. Let x be the number of ways of distributing 4 distinguishable balls into 2 distin-
guishable boxes and y be the number of ways to distribute 4 distinguishable balls
in 9 distinguishable boxes such that each box gets at most one ball. What is the
value of y/3 x ? 5

Solution. Since the boxes and balls are distinguishable, so 1st ball can be placed
in 2 ways, 2nd in 2 ways, 3rd in 2 ways and 4th in 2 ways. By multiplication rule
of counting, x = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 24 . In the second case, each box can contain at most
one ball. So, 1st ball can be placed in 9 ways, 2nd in 8 ways, 3rd in 7 ways and 4th
in 6 ways. So, y = 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 = 24 × 3 × 63. Hence, y/3 x = 63.

4
13. In the given figure, AB is a diameter of the circle. PA is the tangent at A. If the
radius is 4 cm and length of tangent is 6 cm, what is the value of 5.PC ? 5

Solution. Radius is perpendicular to the tangent at the point of contact. So, in

triangle P AB, ∠P AB = 90◦ . By Pythagoras Theorem, PB2 = P A 2 + AB2 = 62 + 82 =
100. So, PB = 10. Now, PC × PB = P A 2 . So, 10 × PC = 36 ⇒ 5 · PC = 18.

14. You are given the task of drawing triangles of perimeter 17 units but with the
restriction that the sides must be integers. What is the maximum number of tri-
angles that you can draw? 5

Solution. Let a, b, c be the sides. Then, a + b + c = 17. Now, sum of two sides of a
triangle is greater than the third side. So,
17
c < a + b ⇒ 2c < a + b + c ⇒ c < . So, c ≤ 8.
2
Similarly, a ≤ 8 and b ≤ 8. We can assume a ≤ b ≤ c ≤ 8. Since the sides are
integers, so we have the following 8 possibilities :
a b c
1 8 8
2 7 8
3 6 8
3 7 7
4 5 8
4 6 7
5 5 7
5 6 6

15. Let x and y be digits. Six digit numbers of the form x yyxx y are constructed. How
many of these are divisible by 7 ? 7

5
 Solution.
x yyxx y = 100110 x + 11001 y
≡ 3 x + 4 y (mod 7)
≡ 3 x − 3 y (mod 7)
Since the number is divisible by 7, so 3( x − y) ≡ 0 (mod 7). But, gcd(3,7)=1. Hence,
x ≡ y (mod 7). One possibility is x = y. In this case, there are 9 numbers, 111111,
222222, 333333, . . . , 999999. Since x and y are digits, so the other possibilities
are:
x = 9, y = 2 i.e. 922992
x = 8, y = 1 i.e. 811881
x = 7, y = 0 i.e. 700770
x = 2, y = 9 i.e. 299229
x = 1, y = 8 i.e. 188118
So, there are 14 such numbers.

16. Find the number of integers between 1 and 200, both inclusive, that are not divis-
ible by 3,5 and 8. 7

Solution. Let S be the set of integers between 1 and 200. Let A, B, C be subsets of
S containing numbers divisible by 3, 5, 8 respectively. Let b xc denote the greatest
integer less than or equal to x. Then,
200 200 200
¹ º ¹ º ¹ º
| A| = = 66, |B| = = 40, |C | = = 25
3 5 8
200 200 200
¹ º ¹ º ¹ º
| A ∩ B| = = 13, |B ∩ C | = = 5, | C ∩ A | = =8
15 40 24
200
¹ º
| A ∩ B ∩ C| = =1
120
By principle of inclusion-exclusion,

| A c ∩ B c ∩ C c | = |S | − (| A | + |B| + |C |) + (| A ∩ B| + |B ∩ C | + |C ∩ A |) − | A ∩ B ∩ C |
= 200 − (66 + 40 + 25) + (13 + 5 + 8) − 1
= 94

17. Find the value of 7 x + 9 y if

à !2 à !
n
X n xn − y
k =n
k=1 k n−1
¡ n¢
where k represents n C k i.e. the number of combinations of n things taken k at a
time. 7

6
 Solution. Let S be the sum in LHS. Since nk = n−
¡ ¢ ¡ n ¢
k , we observe that
à !2 à !2 à !2 à !2 à !2 à !2
n n n n n n
S = 0· +1· +2· +3· + . . . + ( n − 1) · +n·
0 1 2 3 n−1 n
à !2 à !2 à !2 à !2 à !2
n n n n n
⇒ S = n· + ( n − 1) · + ( n − 2) · +...+1· +0·
n n−1 n−2 1 0
à !2 à !2 à !2 à !2 à !2 à !2
n n n n n n
⇒ S = n· + ( n − 1) · + ( n − 2) · + ( n − 3) · +...+1· +0·
0 1 2 3 n−1 n
(Ã !2 Ã !2 Ã !2 Ã !2 Ã !2 Ã !2 )
n n n n n n
⇒ 2S = n +· + + +...+ +
0 1 2 3 n−1 n
à !
2n
⇒ 2S = n Standard result
n
(2 n)!
⇒ 2S = n
n! n!
(2 n) · (2 n − 1)!
⇒ 2S = n
n · ( n − 1)! n!
(2 n − 1)!
⇒S=n
( n − 1)! n!
à !
2n − 1
⇒S=n
n−1
Thus, x = 2 and y = 1. Hence, 7 x + 9 y = 23.

18. How many positive integers have the property that sum of the positive square
roots of the integer and its successor is less than 19 ? 7

Solution. Let n be a positive integer such that

p p
n + n + 1 < 19
p p p p
Observe
p that if n > 10, then n + n + 1 > 20. In fact, if n ≥ 9.5, then also
p p
n + n + 1 > 19. Thus, we must have n < 9.5, so that n < 90.25. This gives,
n ≤ 90. It can be shown that n = 90 doesn’t satisfy the given condition but n ≤ 89
satisfies it.

19. Let x be an integer such that 5 x2 − 98 x is 57 less than a power of prime. Find the
largest such prime. 8

Proof. As per question,

5 x2 − 98 x = p n − 57
⇒5 x2 − 98 x + 57 = p n
⇒5 x2 − 95 x − 3 x + 57 = p n
⇒(5 x − 3)( x − 19) = p n
Since 5 x − 3 and x − 19 are integers and p is a prime, there are the following cases
:

7
 (a) 5 x − 3 = 1, x − 19 = p n (Not possible. Why?)
(b) 5 x − 3 = −1, x − 19 = − p n (Not possible. Why?)
(c) 5 x − 3 = p n , x − 19 = 1 which gives p = 97 and n = 1.
(d) 5 x − 3 = − p n , x − 19 = −1 (Not possible. Why?)
(e) p divides both 5 x − 3 and x − 19. In this case, by property of divisibility,
p|(5 x − 3) − 5( x − 19) so that p|92. But 92 = 2 × 2 × 23. So, p = 2 or 23.

Hence, largest possible prime is 97.

20. Three friends play a game where each of them chooses a positive integer and they
multiply the three integers thus obtained. The choice is said to be successful if the
product is 5252. How many successful choices are possible ? 8

Solution. Let x, y, z be the numbers chosen by the friends. The problem is to find
the number of ordered triplets of positive integers ( x, y, z) such that x yz = 5252 =
22 × 13 × 101. Since x, y, z are factors of 5252, so we can write

x = 2a1 × 13b1 × 101 c1 Thanks to Supratik Chattopadhyay

y = 2a2 × 13b2 × 101 c2 for correcting the typo. 13 was typed as 5.
a3 b3 c3
z=2 × 13 × 101

where
a1 + a2 + a3 = 2 (1)
b1 + b2 + b3 = 1 (2)
c1 + c2 + c3 = 1 (3)
Number of non-negative integer solutions of (1) is 6, of (2) is 3 and of (3) is 3. Thus,
number of ordered triplets ( x, y, z) is 6 × 3 × 3=54.