UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE SCHOOL

MATHEMATICS COMPETITION, 2002:

SENIOR DIVISIONPROBLEMS AND
SOLUTIONS
1. A right angled triangle has a circumscribing circle of radius R and an
inscribed circle of radius r. If the perpendicular sides of the triangle
are of length 16cm and 30 cm, find R and r.
Solution: A chord in a circle subtends an angle of 90 if and only if it
is a diameter. Therefore, the hypotenuse of the triangle must also be
a diameter and have length 2R. So by Pythagoras Theorem:
162 + 302
256 + 900
1156
2R
R

=
=
=
=
=

(2R)2
(2R)2
(2R)2
34
17

Consider an arbitrary triangle ABC with an inscribed circle of radius

r. Let the centre of the inscribed circle be I and let the perpendiculars
from I meet BC, CA, AB at D, E, F , respectively. Then we can
deduce the formula:
Area(4ABC) = Area(4BIC) + Area(4CIA) + Area(4AIB)
1
1
1
=
BC.DI + CA.EI + AB.F I
2
2
2
1
1
1
BC.r + CA.r + AB.r
=
2
2
2
1
=
(AB + BC + CA).r
2
Using this formula for the given triangle, we have:
1
(AB + BC + CA).r
2
1
1
(16 + 30 + 34).r
16 30 =
2
2
40r = 240
r = 6
Area(4ABC) =

So R is 17 cm and r is 6 cm.
1

2. Mary visits her eccentric aunt and uncle. As it happens, her uncle likes
dollar coins and 10 cent pieces, and dislikes 20 cent coins and 50 cent
coins. Her aunt has precisely the opposite taste, preferring 20 cent and
50 cent coins. Her uncle offers Mary two 20 cent coins and a 50 cent
coin for ever dollar coin she gives him, and offers her a 50 cent coin for
each 10 cent coin she brings him. Meanwhile, her aunt offers Mary a
dollar coin and two 10 cent pieces for every 50 cent coin, and a dollar
coin for every 20 cent coin.
Mary sets to work by first taking a dollar coin to her uncle, then she
proceeds to her aunt and swaps them for dollars and 10 cent coins.
Then she goes back to her uncle with the proceeds, then back to her
aunt. After 10 visits to her aunt, how much money will Mary have?
Solution: We will prove by induction that after n visits to her aunt,
n
n
Mary will have 243 +1 $1 coins and 243 2 10c coins.
For n = 0, we are told that Mary initially has one $1 coin and zero
0
0
10c coins. Since 243 +1 = 1 and 243 2 = 0, the statement is true for
n = 0.
Suppose the statement is true for some n = k. Then after k visits to
k
k
her aunt, Mary will have 243 +1 $1 coins and 243 2 10c coins. After
k + 1 visits to her uncle, each $1 coin will be exchanged for one 50c
coin and two 20c coins. Each 10c coin will be exchanged for one 50c
coin. Thus, Mary will then have:
2 4k + 1 2 4k 2
4k+1 1
+
=
50c coins
3
 3 k
 3 k+1
24 +1
4
1
2
20c coins
=
3
3
After k + 1 visits to her aunt, each 20c coin will be exchanged for one
$1 coin. Each 50c coin will be exchanged for one $1 coin and two 10c
coins. Thus, Mary will then have:
4k+1 1 4k+1 + 2
2 4k+1 + 1
+
=
$1 coins
3
3
3
 k+1

4
1
2 4k+1 2
2
=
10c coins
3
3
So the statement is true for n = k + 1. Therefore, by the principle of
mathematical induction, the statement is true for all n, in particular
2

for n = 10. So after 10 visits to her aunt, Mary will have:

2 410 + 1
$1 coins
3
2 410 2
10c coins
3
So the amount of money she has will be:

=
=
=
=

2 410 2
2 410 + 1
$1.00 +
$0.10
3

 3 10
1
2 4 + 1 2 410 2
+

$
3
3
10
10
10
10(2 4 + 1) + 2 4 2
$
30
22 410 + 8
$
30
$768, 956

3. Arrange seven stars in the 16 cells of a 4 4 grid so that no two rows

and two columns contain all the stars. Prove that this is not possible
with less than seven stars.
Solution: A suitable arrangement for seven stars so that no two rows
and two columns contain all the stars is as follows:
*
*
-

*
*
-

*
*
-

If such an arrangement is possible for less than 6 stars, then it is possible

for exactly 6 stars. This is because if there are n < 6 stars, then we
can add 6 n stars to the grid and still satisfy the required conditions.
So suppose that we have a suitable arrangement with 6 stars.
If there is a row with at least 3 stars, then we choose it. Thus, there
are at most 3 stars in the remaining cells. Choose the row of one of
these stars and the columns of the other 2 stars (if they exist). Thus
we have chosen two rows and two columns which contain all the stars.
Now suppose each row contains at most 2 stars. Since there are 6 stars
in four rows, by the pigeonhole principle, we can find one row with at
least, and hence exactly, 2 stars. Choose this row, to leave 4 stars in
3

3 rows. Again by the pigeonhole principle, we can find one of these

rows with at least, and hence exactly, 2 stars. Choose this row as well.
This leaves 2 stars and we can choose the columns that they belong to.
Thus, we have chosen two rows and two columns which contain all the
stars.
Hence, in all cases, such an arrangement is not possible with fewer than
7 stars.
4. You are given n biased coins. The mth coin has probability 1/(2m)
of landing heads (m = 1, 2, . . . , n), and the results for each coin are
independent. What is the probability that if each coin is tossed once,
you get an odd number of heads?
Solution: When n = 1, there is only one coin which has probability 21
of landing heads. Thus, the probability that you get an odd number of
heads in this case is simply 12 . We will prove by induction that for all
n, the probability of obtaining an odd number of heads is 12 .
Suppose that for n = k, the probability of obtaining an odd number of
heads is 21 . Then for n = k + 1:
=
+
=
=
=

Pr(odd number of heads after k + 1 tosses)

Pr(odd number of heads after k tosses) Pr(tails on (k + 1)th toss)
Pr(even number of heads after k tosses) Pr(heads on (k + 1)th toss)

 

1
1
1
1
1
+ 1

2
2(k + 1)
2
2(k + 1)


1 2(k + 1) 1
1
+
2
2(k + 1)
2(k + 1)
1
2

So, by induction, the probability for all n of obtaining an odd number

of heads is 21 .
5. The digit sum of a natural number is just the sum of its digits. For
example, the digit sum of 273 is 2 + 7 + 3 = 12. Prove that any 39
successive natural numbers (integers) include at least one whose digit
sum is divisible by 11.
Solution: Consider a sequence of 39 successive natural numbers. Let n
be the smallest number (so that n + 38 is the largest number) in the
sequence and let m be the smallest multiple of 10 in the sequence. Let
s(k) denote the digit sum of k.
4

Note that
m
)
10
m
s(m + 10) = s( + 1)
10
m
s(m + 20) = s( + 2)
10
s(m) = s(

If

m
10

does not end in a 9, then:

m
m
+ 1) = s( ) + 1
10
10
m
m
s(m) = s( ) 6= s( + 1) = s(m + 10)
10
10
s(

If

m
10

ends in a 9, then

m
10

+ 1 does not end in a 9, so:

m
m
+ 2) = s( + 1)
10
10
m
m
s(m + 10) = s( + 1) 6= s( + 2) = s(m + 20)
10
10
s(

In particular, s(m), s(m + 10), s(m + 20) cannot all be equal. So there
exists at least one of them which is not congruent to 1 modulo 11.
Adding the appropriate final digit from 0 to 9 then takes the digit sum
to one divisible by 11. So some number in the range m to m + 29 has
a digit sum divisible by 11. But m n + 9, so some number in the
range m to n + 38 has a digit sum divisible by 11. In particular, this
yields the fact that some number in the range n to n + 38 has a digit
sum divisible by 11.
Note that there exists a sequence of 38 successive natural numbers,
none with a digit sum divisible by 11, starting at n = 999981.
6. Find all solutions of xn+1 (x + 1)n = 2001 with positive integers x, n.
Solution: Reading the equation modulo 3 gives:
xn+1 (x + 1)n 0 (mod 3)
which is not satisfied when x 0, 2 (mod 3). Thus, the only possible
solution arises when x 1 (mod 3) which gives :
1n+1 2n 0 (mod 3)
1 (1)n 0 (mod 3)
(1)n 1 (mod 3)
5

This is only satisfied when n is even, so we can write n = 2k for some

positive integer k.
Reading the equation modulo x gives:
0n+1 1n 2001 (mod x)
0 2002 (mod x)
x|2002
Reading the equation modulo x + 1 gives:
(1)n+1 0n 2001 (mod x + 1)
12k+1 2001 (mod x + 1)
0 2002 (mod x + 1)
x + 1|2002
But 2002 = 2 7 11 13 has the following sixteen positive divisors:
1, 2, 7, 11, 13, 14, 22, 26, 77, 91, 143, 154, 182, 286, 1001, 2002
Since x and x + 1 must belong to this list, the only candidates for x
are x = 1 and x = 13.
When x = 1, xn+1 (x + 1)n = 1 2n < 2001, so there are no solutions
in this case.
When x = 13, reading the equation modulo 8 gives:
13n+1 14n 1 (mod 8)
52k+1 (2)2k 1 (mod 8)
5 (52 )k 4k 1 (mod 8)
5 4k 1 (mod 8)
4k 4 (mod 8)
k = 1
n = 2
So the only possible solution is (x, n) = (13, 2). Plugging these values
back into the original equation shows that it does indeed satisfy the
required conditions:
133 142 = 2197 196 = 2001.
6

7. Given any natural numbers (positive integers greater than zero) m, n

and k, prove that you can always find relatively prime natural numbers
r and s such that rm + sn is a multiple of k.
Solution: Let d = gcd(m, n). Then we can simply set r = nd and
s = nhk md where h is some integer which is large enough to ensure
that s is a positive integer. To see this, we first note that:
rm + sn

m
n
m + nhk
=
n
d
d
mn
mn
=
+ n2 hk
d
d
= n2 hk
which is clearly a multiple of k.
Now suppose some integer e divides r = nd . Then e divides rdhk =
nhk. Thus, if e is a common divisor of r and s, then it must divide
nhk s = md . But since, d is the greatest common divisor of m and n,
m
and nd are relatively prime. So we conclude that e must be 1, so r
d
and s are relatively prime, as required.