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2017 Pascal Contest
Solutions
(Grade 9)

Tuesday, February 28, 2017
(in North America and South America)

Wednesday, March 1, 2017
(outside of North American and South America)

©2016 University of Waterloo


  1. Evaluating, 4×32+1=123=4.

    Answer: (A)

  2. In each of the 6 rows, there is 1 unshaded square, and so there are 61=5 shaded squares per row.
    Since there are 6 rows, then there are 6×5=30 shaded squares.
    Alternatively, we note that there are 6×6=36 squares in the grid and 6 unshaded squares, which means there are 366=30 shaded squares in the grid.

    Answer: (B)

  3. In the diagram, there are 5 shaded and 3 unshaded triangles, and so the ratio of the number of shaded triangles to the number of unshaded triangles is 5:3.

    Answer: (B)

  4. We note that 7=49 and that 40<49<50<60<70<80.
    This means that 40 or 50 is the closest to 7 of the given choices.
    Since 406.32 and 507.07, then 50 is closest to 7.

    Answer: (C)

  5. We need to determine the time that is 30 hours after 2 p.m. on Friday.
    The time that is 24 hours after 2 p.m. on Friday is 2 p.m. on Saturday.
    The time that is 30 hours after 2 p.m. on Friday is an additional 6 hours later.
    This time is 8 p.m. on Saturday.

    Answer: (E)

  6. The time period in which the number of people at the zoo had the largest increase is the time period over which the height of the bars in the graph increases by the largest amount.
    Looking at the graph, this is between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
    (We note that the first three bars represent numbers between 200 and 400, and the last three bars represent numbers between 600 and 800, so the time period between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. is the only one in which the increase was larger than 200.)

    Answer: (C)

  7. Since 2x3=10, then 2x=13 and so 4x=2(2x)=2(13)=26.
    (We did not have to determine the value of x.)

    Answer: (D)

  8. The three integers from the list whose product is 80 are 1, 4 and 20, since 1×4×20=80.
    The sum of these integers is 1+4+20=25.
    (Since 80 is a multiple of 5 and 20 is the only integer in the list that is a multiple of 5, then 20 must be included in the product. This leaves two integers to choose, and their product must be 8020=4. From the given list, these integers must be 1 and 4.)

    Answer: (C)

  9. Since Jovin, Anna and Olivia take 13, 16 and 14 of the pizza, respectively, then the fraction of the pizza with which Wally is left is 1131614=1212412212312=312=14 .

    Answer: (B)

  10. When n=1, the values of the five expressions are 2014,2018,2017,2018,2019.
    When n=2, the values of the five expressions are 2011,2019,4034,2021,2021.
    Only the fifth expression (2017+2n) is odd for both of these choices of n, so this must be the correct answer.
    We note further that since 2017 is an odd integer and 2n is always an even integer, then 2017+2n is always an odd integer, as required.

    Answer: (E)

  11. When Ursula runs 30 km at 10 km/h, it takes her 30 km10 km/h=3 h.
    This means that Jeff completes the same distance in 3 h1 h=2 h.
    Therefore, Jeff’s constant speed is 30 km2 h=15 km/h.

    Answer: (D)

  12. Since the area of the larger square equals the sum of the areas of the shaded and unshaded regions inside, then the area of the larger square equals 2×18 cm2=36 cm2.
    Since the larger square has an area of 36 cm2, then its side length is 36 cm2=6 cm.

    Answer: (C)

  13. Solution 1
    We undo Janet’s steps to find the initial number.
    To do this, we start with 28, add 4 (to get 32), then divide the sum by 2 (to get 16), then subtract 7 (to get 9).
    Thus, Janet’s initial number was 9.

    Solution 2
    Let Janet’s initial number be x.
    When she added 7 to her initial number, she obtained x+7.
    When she multiplied this sum by 2, she obtained 2(x+7) which equals 2x+14.
    When she subtracted 4 from this result, she obtained (2x+14)4 which equals 2x+10.
    Since her final result was 28, then 2x+10=28 or 2x=18 and so x=9.

    Answer: (A)

  14. Since the tax rate is 10%, then the tax on each $2.00 app is $2.00×10100=$0.20.
    Therefore, including tax, each app costs $2.00+$0.20=$2.20.
    Since Tobias spends $52.80 on apps, he downloads $52.80$2.20=24 apps.
    Therefore, m=24.

    Answer: (D)

  15. Let s be the side length of the square with area k.
    The sum of the heights of the squares on the right side is 3+8=11.
    The sum of the heights of the squares on the left side is 1+s+4=s+5.
    Since the two sums are equal, then s+5=11, and so s=6.
    Therefore, the square with area k has side length 6, and so its area is 62=36.
    In other words, k=36.

    Answer: (C)

  16. The six angles around the centre of the spinner add to 360.
    Thus, 140+20+4x=360 or 4x=36014020=200, and so x=50.
    Therefore, the sum of the central angles of the shaded regions is 140+50+50=240.
    The probability that the spinner lands on a shaded region is the fraction of the entire central angle that is shaded, which equals the sum of the central angles of the shaded regions divided by the total central angle (360), or 240360=23. (We can ignore the possibility that the spinner lands exactly on one of the dividing lines, since we assume that they are infinitesimally thin.)

    Answer: (A)

  17. Since Igor is shorter than Jie, then Igor cannot be the tallest.
    Since Faye is taller than Goa, then Goa cannot be the tallest.
    Since Jie is taller than Faye, then Faye cannot be the tallest.
    Since Han is shorter than Goa, then Han cannot be the tallest.
    The only person of the five who has not been eliminated is Jie, who must thus be the tallest.

    Answer: (E)

  18. From the number line shown, we see that x<x3<x2.
    If x>1, then successive powers of x are increasing (that is, x<x2<x3).
    Since this is not the case, then it is not true that x>1.
    If x=0 or x=1, then successive powers of x are equal. This is not the case either.
    If 0<x<1, then successive powers of x are decreasing (that is, x3<x2<x). This is not the case either.
    Therefore, it must be the case that x<0.
    If x<1, we would have x3<x<0<x2. This is because when x<1, then x is negative and we have x2>1 which gives x3=x2×x<1×x. This is not the case here either.
    Therefore, it must be the case that 1<x<0.
    From the given possibilities, this means that 25 is the only possible value of x.
    We can check that if x=25=0.4, then x2=0.16 and x3=0.064, and so we have x<x3<x2. We can also check by substitution that none of the other possible answers gives the correct ordering of x, x2 and x3.

    Answer: (C)

  19. Since XMZ=30, then XMY=180XMZ=18030=150.
    Since the angles in XMY add to 180, then YXM=180XYZXMY=18015150=15 (Alternatively, since XMZ is an exterior angle of XMY, then XMZ=YXM+XYM which also gives YXM=15.)
    Since XYM=YXM, then XMY is isosceles with MX=MY.
    But M is the midpoint of YZ, and so MY=MZ.
    Since MX=MY and MY=MZ, then MX=MZ.
    This means that XMZ is isosceles with XZM=ZXM.
    Therefore, XZY=XZM=12(180XMZ)=12(18030)=75.

    Answer: (A)

  20. We call the n×n×n cube the “large cube”, and we call the 1×1×1 cubes “unit cubes”. The unit cubes that have exactly 0 gold faces are those unit cubes that are on the “inside” of the large cube.
    In other words, these are the unit cubes none of whose faces form a part of any of the faces of the large cube.
    These unit cubes form a cube that is (n2)×(n2)×(n2).
    To see why this is true, imagine placing the original painted large cube on a table.
    Each unit cube with at least one face that forms part of one of the outer faces (or outer layers) has paint on at least one face.
    First, we remove the top and bottom layers of unit cubes. This creates a rectangular prism that is n2 cubes high and still has a base that is n×n.
    Next, we can remove the left, right, front, and back faces.
    This leaves a cube that is (n2)×(n2)×(n2).
    Therefore, (n2)3 unit cubes have 0 gold faces.
    The unit cubes that have exactly 1 gold face are those unit cubes that are on the outer faces of the large cube but do not touch the edges of the large cube.
    Consider each of the six n×n faces of the large cube. Each is made up of n2 unit cubes.
    The unit cubes that have 1 gold face are those with at least one face that forms part of a face of the large cube, but do not share any edges with the edges of the large cube. Using a similar argument to above, we can see that these unit cubes form a (n2)×(n2) square.
    There are thus (n2)2 cubes on each of the 6 faces that have 1 painted face, and so 6(n2)2 cubes with 1 painted face.
    We calculate the values of (n2)3 and 6(n2)2 for each of the possible choices for n:

    Choice n (n2)3 6(n2)2
    (A) 7 125 150
    (B) 8 216 216
    (C) 9 343 294
    (D) 10 512 384
    (E) 4 8 24
    From this information, the smallest possible value of n when (n2)3 is larger than 6(n2)2 must be n=9.
    To see this in another way, we can ask the question “When is (n2)3 greater than 6(n2)2?”.
    Note that (n2)3=(n2)×(n2)2 and 6(n2)2=6×(n2)2, and so (n2)3 is greater than 6(n2)2 when (n2) is greater than 6, which is when n is greater than 8.
    The smallest positive integer value of n for which this is true is n=9.

    Answer: (C)

  21. The averages of groups of three numbers are equal if the sums of the numbers in each group are equal, because in each case the average equals the sum of the three numbers divided by 3.
    Therefore, the averages of three groups of three numbers are equal if the sum of each of the three groups are equal.
    The original nine numbers have a sum of 1+5+6+7+13+14+17+22+26=111 and so if these are divided into three groups of equal sum, the sum of each group is 1113=37.
    Consider the middle three numbers. Since two of the numbers are 13 and 17, then the third number must be 371317=7. We note that the remaining six numbers can be split into the groups 5,6,26 and 1,14,22, each of which also has a sum of 37.
    Therefore, the number that is placed in the shaded circle is 7.

    Answer: (D)

  22. The perimeter of UVZ equals UV+UZ+VZ.
    We know that UV=20. We need to calculate UZ and VZ.
    Let O be the point on XW directly underneath Z.
    Since Z is the highest point on the semi-circle and XW is the diameter, then O is the centre of the semi-circle.
    We join UO, VO, UZ, and VZ.

    Since UVWX is a rectangle, then XW=UV=20 and UX=VW=30.
    Since XW is a diameter of the semi-circle and O is the centre, then O is the midpoint of XW and so XO=WO=10.
    This means that the radius of the semi-circle is 10, and so OZ=10 as well.
    Now UXO and VWO are both right-angled, since UVWX is a rectangle.
    By the Pythagorean Theorem, UO2=UX2+XO2=302+102=900+100=1000 and VO2=VW2+WO2=302+102=1000.
    Each of UOZ and VOZ is right-angled at O, since the semi-circle is vertical and the rectangle is horizontal.
    Therefore, we can apply the Pythagorean Theorem again to obtain UZ2=UO2+OZ2 and VZ2=VO2+OZ2.
    Since UO2=VO2=1000, then UZ2=VZ2=1000+102=1100 or UZ=VZ=1100.
    Therefore, the perimeter of UVZ is 20+2110086.332.
    Of the given choices, this is closest to 86.

    Answer: (B)

  23. The squares of the one-digit positive integers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 are 1,4,9,16,25,36,49,64,81, respectively.
    Of these, the squares 1,25,36 end with the digit of their square root.
    In other words, k=1,5,6 are Anderson numbers.
    Thus, k=6 is the only even one-digit Anderson number.
    To find all even two-digit Anderson numbers, we note that any two-digit even Anderson number k must have a units (ones) digit of 6. This is because the units digit of k and the units digit of k2 must match (by the definition of an Anderson number) and because the units digit of k completely determines the units digit of k2. (We can see this by doing “long multiplication”.)
    So we need to look for two-digit Anderson numbers k with digits c6.
    Another way of writing the number c6 is k=10c+6. (This form uses the place values associated with the digits.)
    In this case,

    k2=(10c+6)2=(10c+6)(10c+6)=(10c)2+6(10c)+10c(6)+62=100c2+120c+36.

    Note that k2=100(c2+c)+10(2c+3)+6 and so the units digit of k2 is 6.
    For k to be an Anderson number, we need the tens digit of k2 to be c, in which case the final two digits of k2 will be c6.
    Thus, the tens digit of k2 is equal to the units digit of 2c+3.
    This means that k=10c+6 is an Anderson number exactly when the units digit of 2c+3 is equal to the digit c.
    When we check the nine possible values for c, we find that the only possibility is that c=7.
    This means that k=76 is the only two-digit even Anderson number.
    Note that 762=5776, which ends with the digits 76.
    Next, we look for three-digit even Anderson numbers k.
    Using a similar argument to above, we see that k must have digits b76.
    In other words, k=100b+76 for some digit b.
    In this case, k2=(100b+76)2=10000b2+15200b+5776.
    We note that the tens and units digits of k2 are 76, which means that, for k to be an Anderson number, the hundreds digit of k2 must be b.
    Now k2=1000(10b2+15b+5)+100(2b+7)+76.
    Thus, k is an Anderson number exactly when the units digit of 2b+7 is equal to the digit b.
    Again, checking the nine possible values for b shows us that b=3 is the only possibility.
    This means that k=376 is the only three-digit even Anderson number.
    Note that 3762=141376, which ends with the digits 376.
    Since Anderson numbers are less than 10 000, then we still need to look for four-digit even Anderson numbers.
    Again, using a similar argument, we see that k must have digits a376.
    In other words, k=1000a+376 for some digit a.
    In this case, k2=(1000a+376)2=1000000a2+752000a+141376.
    We note that the hundreds, tens and units digits of k2 are 376, which means that, for k to be an Anderson number, the thousands digit of k2 must be a.
    Now k2=10000(100a2+75a+14)+1000(2a+1)+376.
    Thus, k is an Anderson number exactly when the units digit of 2a+1 is equal to the digit a.
    Again, checking the nine possible values for a shows us that a=9 is the only possibility.
    This means that k=9376 is the only four-digit even Anderson number.
    Note that 93762=87909376, which ends with the digits 9376.
    Thus, S, the sum of the even Anderson numbers, equals 6+76+376+9376=9834.
    The sum of the digits of S is 9+8+3+4=24.

    Answer: (E)

  24. Since there are 1182 houses that have a turtle, then there cannot be more than 1182 houses that have a dog, a cat, and a turtle.
    Since there are more houses with dogs and more houses with cats than there are with turtles, it is possible that all 1182 houses that have a turtle also have a dog and a cat.
    Therefore, the maximum possible number of houses that have all three animals is 1182, and so x=1182.
    Since there are 1182 houses that have a turtle and there are 2017 houses in total, then there are 20171182=835 houses that do not have a turtle.
    Now, there are 1651 houses that have a cat.
    Since there are 835 houses that do not have a turtle, then there are at most 835 houses that have a cat and do not have a turtle. In other words, not all of the houses that do not have a turtle necessarily have a cat.
    This means that there are at least 1651835=816 houses that have both a cat and a turtle.
    Lastly, there are 1820 houses that have a dog.
    Since there are at least 816 houses that have both a cat and a turtle, then there are at most 2017816=1201 houses that either do not have a cat or do not have a turtle (or both).
    Since there are 1820 houses that do have a dog, then there are at least 18201201=619 houses that have a dog and have both a cat and a turtle as well.
    In other words, the minimum possible number of houses that have all three animals is 619, and so y=619.
    The two Venn diagrams below show that each of these situations is actually possible:

    The first venn diagram has Turtle (1182) within Cat (469), within Dog (169) and 197 outside of all circles. The second venn diagram has 3 circles that intersect both in pairs and altogether. There is 0 outside the circles, and 0 in every space where the circle does not intersect with any others. The dog/cat intersection has 835, the cat/turtle intersection has 197, the turtle/dog intersection has 366. The space where dog, cat, and turtle intersect has 619.

    Since x=1182 and y=619, then xy=563.

    Answer: (C)

  25. We label the digits of the unknown number as vwxyz.
    Since vwxyz and 71794 have 0 matching digits, then v7 and w1 and x7 and y9 and z4.
    Since vwxyz and 71744 have 1 matching digit, then the preceding information tells us that y=4.
    Since vwx4z and 51545 have 2 matching digits and w1, then vwxyz is of one of the following three forms: 5wx4z or vw54z or vwx45.
    Case 1: vwxyz=5wx4z
    Since 5wx4z and 21531 have 1 matching digit and w1, then either x=5 or z=1.
    If x=5, then 5wx4z and 51545 would have 3 matching digits, which violates the given condition. Thus, z=1.
    Thus, vwxyz=5wx41 and we know that w1 and x5,7.
    To this point, this form is consistent with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th rows of the table.
    Since 5wx41 and 59135 have 1 matching digit, this is taken care of by the fact that v=5 and we note that w9 and x1.
    Since 5wx41 and 58342 have 2 matching digits, this is taken care of by the fact that v=5 and y=4, and we note that w8 and x3.
    Since 5wx41 and 37348 have 2 matching digits and y=4, then either w=7 or x=3.
    But we already know that x3, and so w=7.
    Therefore, vwxyz=57x41 with the restrictions that x1,3,5,7.
    We note that the integers 57041,57241,57441,57641,57841,57941 satisfy the requirements, so are all possibilities for Sam’s numbers.
    Case 2: vwxyz=vw54z
    Since vw54z and 51545 have only 2 matching digits, so v5 and z5.
    Since vw54z and 21531 have 1 matching digit, then this is taken care of by the fact that x=5, and we note that v2 and z1. (We already know that w1.)
    Since vw54z and 59135 have 1 matching digit, then v=5 or w=9 or z=5.
    This means that we must have w=9.
    Thus, vwxyz=v954z and we know that v2,7,5 and z1,4,5.
    To this point, this form is consistent with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th rows of the table.
    Since v954z and 58342 have 2 matching digits and v5, then z=2.
    Since v9542 and 37348 have 2 matching digits, then v=3.
    In this case, the integer 39542 is the only possibility, and it satisfies all of the requirements.
    Case 3: vwxyz=vwx45
    Since vwx45 and 21531 have 1 matching digit and we know that w1, then v=2 or x=5.
    But if x=5, then vw545 and 51545 would have 3 matching digits, so x5 and v=2.
    Thus, vwxyz=2wx45 and we know that w1 and x5,7.
    To this point, this form is consistent with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th rows of the table.
    Since 2wx45 and 59135 have 1 matching digit, this is taken care of by the fact that z=5 and we note that w9 and x1.
    Since 2wx45 and 58342 have 2 matching digits, then w=8 or x=3, but not both.
    Since 2wx45 and 37348 have 2 matching digits, then w=7 or x=3, but not both.
    If w=8, then we have to have x3, and so neither w=7 nor x=3 is true.
    Thus, it must be the case that x=3 and w7,8.
    Therefore, vwxyz=2w345 with the restrictions that w1,7,8,9.
    We note that the integers 20345,22345,23345,24345,25345,26345 satisfy the requirements, so are all possibilities for Sam’s numbers.
    Thus, there are 13 possibilities for Sam’s numbers and the sum of these is 526758.

    Answer: (E)