THE OLD MUTUAL

SOUTH AFRICAN MATHEMATICS OLYMPIAD

SENIOR SECOND ROUND 2021
Solutions

1. Answer 001
If the mass of each cake is x kg, then 8x = 6x + 0.125, so 2x = 0.125, and therefore
16x = 8 × 0.125 = 1 kg.

2. Answer 036
The total area of the four strips is 4 × 10 × 1 = 40 cm2, but the four 1 × 1 cm2 squares
where the strips cross are each covered by two strips, so the area of the table covered is
40 − 4 = 36 cm2.

3. Answer 110
There are no numbers of the form 15X51 greater than 15951, so the next number must
be of the form 16X61, and the smallest value for X is 0. The distance travelled is
16061 − 15951 = 110.

4. Answer 027
Since 365 = 7 × 52 + 1 and 366 = 7 × 52 + 2, it follows that the day of the week for
14 February advances by one except in the years following a leap year, when it advances
by two. (Note that the extra day in a leap year comes after 14 February.) The days of
the week for Valentine’s Day in the next few years will therefore be:
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday Saturday Sunday

5. Answer 080
Since AB = BC = AC = 30 and DE = DB = BE = 10 (equilateral triangles),
it follows that AD = EC = 20. The perimeter of quadrilateral ADEC is therefore
20 + 10 + 20 + 30 = 80.

6. Answer 012
A number is divisible by 3 if and only if the sum of its digits is divisible by 3. From
the set {2, 3, 7, 9} the only three-digit subsets with sum divisible by 3 are {2, 3, 7} and
{2, 7, 9}. The digits in each subset can be arranged in 3 × 2 × 1 = 6 ways to give different
numbers divisible by 3, so the total is 6 + 6 = 12.

7. Answer 059
The largest perfect cube less than 100 is 64. The sum of two prime numbers must be 63,
so the one must be even and the other must be odd. The only even prime number is 2.
That will be 61 + 2 and their difference is 61 − 2 = 59.

8. Answer 100
The largest difference occurs when one prime is the smallest possible and the other is the
largest. Since 126 is divisible by 2 and 3 and 7, these three primes need not be considered.
Trying the other primes in ascending order, we obtain 126 = 5+112 and 126 = 11+ 5× 23
and 126 = 13 + 113. Both 13 and 113 are prime, and 113 − 13 = 100.

1
 9. Answer 017
Let the scores of the four candidates be P, N, G, F respectively. We are given P + N +
G+ F = 4× 16 = 64, and similarly P + N = 32, P + F = 26, and N + F = 36. Adding the
last three equations gives 2(P + N + F ) = 94, so P + N + F = 47 and G = 64 − 47 = 17.

10. Answer 090 √

The two successive primes must be close to 2021, which lies between 40 and 50. To
obtain the last digit 1, as a product of two distinct numbers, the two primes must end in 3
and 7. The only possibilities are 43 and 47, and indeed 43 × 47 = 2021, and 43 + 47 = 90.
Alternatively, note that 2021 = 2025 − 4 = 452 − 22 = 43 × 47.

11. Answer 077

The longest side of the triangle must be less than the sum of the other two sides (Triangle
Inequality). We know that 32 + 42 = 52 (Pythagorean triple), so the first possibility is
42 , 52 , 62 , where 42 + 52 = 41 > 62 and 42 + 52 + 62 = 77.
Alternatively, the inequality (n − 1)2 + n2 > (n + 1)2 simplifies to n(n − 4) > 0, so n > 4,
since we know n > 0.

12. Answer 200

Water starts flowing into the two containers at the same time. The time t is the same for
both P and Q. So, for P we have t = v−604
and for Q we have t = v+10
6
. From this we get
v = 200 litres.

13. Answer 009

The sum of the numbers in the 3 × 3 square shown is 1 + 2 + · · · + 8 + 9 = 45, so
20 + 16 + X = 45, giving X = 9.

14. Answer 016

The important fact is that the man never travels by train twice on the same day. Suppose
he travels x times by train in the morning. We can draw up a contingency table:
pm\am Bus Train Total
Bus 15 − x x 15
Train 9−x 0 9−x
Total 8 x
It follows from the first column that (15 − x) + (9 − x) = 8, so x = 8 and the total number
of days worked is 16.
Alternatively, one can use a Venn diagram, using the two events “Bus morning” and “Bus
afternoon”, and observing that the intersection of their complements is empty.

15. Answer 006

Suppose the committee has n members. In each meeting of 3 members there are three
pairs, each of which can appear at most once in the four meetings. Thus the number of
pairs of committee members must be at least 4 × 3 = 12, that is, 21 n(n − 1) ≥ 12, which
simplifies to (2n − 1)2 ≥ 97. Thus 2n − 1 ≥ 11, giving n ≥ 6.
With committee members A, B, C, D, E, F , a possible solution for the four meetings is
{A, B, C}, {A, D, E}, {B, D, F }, and {C, E, F }, which can also be found by trial and
error.

2
16. Answer 020
Each exterior angle of a regular nonagon is equal to 19 × 360◦ = 40◦ . A line through the
top vertex parallel to the bottom side bisects the exterior angle at the top vertex. The
required angle is equal to half the exterior angle (alternate angles between parallel lines),
so is equal to 21 × 40◦ = 20◦ .

17. Answer 512

By ignoring the first digit in 1000, and inserting zeros for blanks in the numbers from 1
to 99, the 1000 ticket numbers can be regarded as the 103 arrangements (with repetition)
of the ten digits {0, 1, . . . , 9}, or as the 103 outcomes of three selections (with replacement)
of one digit at a time. The tickets not using 7 or 9 involve only the remaining eight digits,
so the number of these tickets is 83 = 512, which is also 1000 times the probability of
drawing one of these tickets first.

18. Answer 392

In the left-hand figure, the two smaller triangles are each half the area of the square, so
the area of triangle ABC is twice the area of the square, that is, 2 × 441 = 882. In the
second figure, if the square has area S, then the two congruent triangles each have area
1
2
S and the smallest triangle has area 14 S. It follows that 882 = 94 S, so S = 49 × 882 = 392.

19. Answer 003

There are 12 (8 × 7) = 28 matches, with one point awarded per match, for a total of 28
points. If the participants’ scores, in descending order, are P1 , P2 , . . . , P8 , then we are
given that P2 = P5 + P6 + P7 + P8 and P8 = 12 . For P5 to be a maximum, the lowest
scores must be as low as possible, so P7 = 1 and P6 = 1 12 , giving P2 = P5 + 3. Similarly,
P3 and P4 must be as low as possible, so P3 = P5 + 1 and P4 = P5 + 21 . We now have

28 = P1 + P2 + P3 + P4 + P5 + (P6 + P7 + P8 )
= P1 + (P5 + 3) + (P5 + 1) + (P5 + 12 ) + P5 + 1 12 + 1 + 1
2
(1)
= P1 + 4P5 + 7 12 ,

so P1 + 4P5 = 20 12 . Also P1 > P2 = P5 + 3, so 5P5 + 3 < 20 12 . This gives P5 < 17 21 /5 = 3 21 ,

so the maximum value of P5 is 3.

20. Answer 126

1 4 9 16
For cases 1, 2, 3 and 4 the partial sums are ; ; ; , etc. The numerators, 1, 4, 9, 16 · · · ,
1 3 6 10

are square numbers, which in general are given by the formula n2 . The denomina-
tors are triangular numbers, 1, 3, 6, 10, · · · , which in general are given by the formula

n(n + 1)
. Hence, combining the two formulae, we get the formula for the given series as
2

2n2 2n 21
= . So, 66 × 2 × = 126.
n(n + 1) n+1 22

Alternatively, For any natural number n, it can easily be shown that 1 + 2 + · · · + n =

1
2
n(n + 1) and that the reciprocal

3
 2 2 2
= −
n(n + 1) n n+1

(use partial fractions on the left-hand side, or bring the right-hand side to a common
denominator). The expression therefore becomes

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

66 − + − + − + ··· + − ,
1 2 2 3 3 4 21 22

in which all terms inside the bracket disappear, except for the first and the last, to give
2 2
21
66 − = 66 × = 126.
1 22 11

4
21. Answer 014
Drop perpendiculars from the centre A of the circle to the legs of the right-angled triangle.
If the circle has radius r, then it follows by similar triangles that
r 18 r 63
= and = ,
63 − r 63 18 − r 18

either of which gives

18 × 63 9×2×9×7
r= = = 14.
18 + 63 9×9

22. Answer 007

Summarise the information in a table:
A B New mixture
concentration 20% 45% 30%
litres 10 x 10 + x
calculation 20% × 10 45% × x 30% × (10 + x)
9
=2 = 20 x = 30+3x
10

9 3 20
From the equation 2 + 20 x = 3+ 10
x it follows that x = 3
. Rounded to the nearest
integer, the answer is 7.

23. Answer 192

Draw the line through the centres of the circles, which bisects the angle between the
lines L1 and L2 , and drop perpendiculars from the centres to both lines. If the radii of
the circles are r1 , r2, r3 , r4, r5 then by similar triangles it follows that
rn+1 − rn
= k, say (a constant),
rn+1 + rn

for n = 1, 2, 3, 4. It follows that the ratio

rn+1 1+k
= = m, say,
rn 1−k

so the radii form a geometric sequence with common ratio m. Therefore r5 = r1m4 and
√ √ √
r3 = r1 m2 = r1 r5 = 288 × 128 = 25 × 32 × 27 = 26 × 3 = 192.

24. Answer 270

Join DE, and let G be the intersection of AE and DF . Then triangles ADG and EF G
have equal area, since the first is triangle ABE minus quadrilateral DBEG, and the sec-
ond is quadrilateral DBEF minus the same quadrilateral DBEG. It follows, by adjoining
triangle DEG to triangles ADG and EF G respectively, that triangles DEA and DEF
have equal area. These two triangles also have the same base DE, which implies that
they have equal heights, and therefore that DE||AF (or AC). Thus 4DBE|||4ABC,
and since DBAB
= 35 , it follows that the area of triangle DBE equals ( 53 )2 × 450 = 162.
AB
Finally, since DB = 53 , it follows that 4ABE = 53 4DBE = 53 × 162 = 270.

5
25. Answer 250
Since 10 = 2 × 5, we need to find the lesser of the exponents of 2 and 5 in the prime
factorization of 1005!. It is sufficient to find the exponent of 5, since the exponent of 2 is
clearly greater. In multiplying out 1005!, each multiple of 5 contributes one factor 5 to
the product, to begin with. Furthermore, each multiple of 52 = 25 contributes one extra
factor 5, then each multiple of 53 = 125 contributes one more factor 5, and each multiple
of 54 = 625 contributes a final factor 5. The process stops there, because 55 > 1005. The
number of multiples of a natural number d up to any natural number k is equal to the
quotient after dividing k by d and ignoring the remainder. This quotient is often denoted
b kd c. Thus the exponent of 5 in 1005! is equal to
 1005   1005   1005   1005 
+ + + = 201 + 40 + 8 + 1 = 250.
5 25 125 625