2020 Equimath II Problems Phase 1 (PART I)

Problems of the Week — Season 5

October 17, 2022

Hi there! I am back again. Today we are going to solve problems from a post made by
Equimath 2 2 years ago. The paper will contain the first 10 problems of the whole set. The
second and the third 10-problem set will be released 1 week after the posting of this paper,
and will be released 2 weeks after the posting of this paper, respectively.

DIRECTIONS. Answer the following questions carefully. Choose the letter of the correct
answer.
√ √ √ √
1. The expression 1+ 1+3+ 1 + 3 + 5 + ... + 1 + 3 + 5 + . . . + 109 simplifies to

(a) 1540 (b) 1275 (c) 1596 (d) 1485

Answer. (a) 1540 .

Solution. Observe that thinside terms of every square root isEvaluate ing the first three
terms gives us perfect square terms:
√
1 + 2 + 3 + ... + 1 + 3 + . . . + 109
√
Evaluating the last term, we see that it is just equal to 552 = 55. Therefore, the
whole expression is just
(55)(56)
1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + 55 = = 1540.
2

2. If the number of positive divisors of 42n + 42n−1 is 70, find the numerical value of n.

(a) 8 (b) 9 (c) 10 (d) 11

Answer. (b) 9 .

Solution. Factoring the whole expression gives you

=⇒ 24n−2 · 5.

The number of positive divisors is just

(4n − 1)(2) = 70 ⇐⇒ n = 9.

3. Let P be a point inside rectangle M AT H. If AP = 14, T P = 10, and HP = 12, how

long (in units) is M P ?
2 Problems of the Week — Season 5
√ √ √ √
(a) 4 3 (b) 2 38 (c) 4 15 (d) 2 29
√
Answer. (b) 2 38 .

Solution. By the British flag theorem 2,

M P 2 + HP 2 = AP 2 + T P 2 .

Substitute the given values in the equation,

√
M P 2 + 122 = 102 + 142 ⇐⇒ M P 2 = 152 ⇐⇒ M P = 2 38

4. How many 6-letter codewords can be made from the letters of the word EQUIMATH ?

(a) 140 (b) 40320 (c) 28 (d) 20160

Answer. (c) 28 .

Solution.

Just choose 6 letters from an 8-letter codeword EQUIMATH which it gives
8 7×8
you 6 = 2×1 = 28 ways.

5. In how many ways can 6 boys and 6 girls sit in a circular table if the boys and girls sit
alternately?

(a) 86400 (b) 14400 (c) 54440 (d) 332640

Answer. (b) 144000 .

Solution. By theorem, the number of ways that n people can be arranged in a circular
manner is (n − 1)!. If we let either of the gender group to sit first then this gives us 5!.
Now with 6 seats remaining, for these to be occupied, there are another 5! to do such.
Therefore, there are 5!5! = 14400 ways for 6 boys and 6 girls to sit in a circular table.

6. An equilateral triangle is inscribed in a circle. If the circumference of the circle is 12π,

what is the area of the triangle?
√ √
√ √ 9 3 27 3
(a) 9 3 (b) 27 3 (c) (d)
4 4
√
Answer. (b) 27 3 .

Solution. An circumscribed equilateral triangle looks like this:

3 Problems of the Week — Season 5

Y Z

Let C be the center of the circumcircle of equilateral triangle XY Z such that XC =

Y C = ZC. Finding the circumradius r gives us 6. This implies that XC = Y C =
ZC = 6. Since ∠XCY = ∠XCZ = ∠Y CZ = 120◦ then S∆XCY = S∆XCZ = S∆Y CZ .
Therefore,

S∆XY Z = 3S∆XCY (1)

Note that
1 √
S∆XCY = (6)2 sin 120◦ = 9 3.
2
√
Hence, S∆XY Z = 27 3.

7. Determine the largest possible value of x such that 240! is divisible by 288x .

(a) 47 (b) 116 (c) 94 (d) 236

Answer. (a) 47 .

Solution. By prime factorization, 288 = 32 · 25 . Our goal is to invoke Legendre’s formula

to find the powers of 3 and of 2 in the factorization of 240!. Let e1 be the power of 3:
     
240 240 240
e1 = + + ... + = 116
3 9 81

For the power of 2, e2

     
240 240 240
e1 = + + ... + = 236.
2 4 128

We see that 236 < 235 = 5 · 47. Therefore, the largest x is 47.

8. Find the coordinates of the vertex of the function f (x) = (x − 4)2 − (x − 2)2 + x2 −
(x + 2)2 + (x + 4)2 .

(a) (0, −24) (b) (−8, 24) (c) (0, 24) (d) (8, −24)
4 Problems of the Week — Season 5

Answer. (c) (0, 24) .

Solution. The expression can be rearranged in this fashion:

f (x) = [(x − 4)2 + (x + 4)2 ] − [(x − 2)2 + (x + 2)2 ] + x2 .

Adding them altogether gives us

[2x2 + 32] − [2x2 + 8] + x2 ⇐⇒ x2 + 24.

b
Recall that the x-coordinate of the vertex is x = − 2a where ax2 + bx + c = 0 and
b
y = f (− 2a ). Therefore, the coordinates of the vertex of f (x) is (0, 24)

9. Three cards are chosen at random, and without replacement, from a standard deck of
52 cards. What is the probability that at least 2 of the cards is chosen from the same
suit?

(a) 256/425 (b) 2/5 (c) 28/145 (d) 79/445

Answer. (a) 256/425 .

Solution. The number of choosing 3 cards from 52 cards is 52

3
. Let P1 and P2 be the
situations where we choose two same cards, and three same cards, respectively.
P1 + P2
  .
52
3
If we
choose 2 cards from the same suit and 1 card different from the two, then we have

4 2 1 ways to do so. If we choose 3 cards from the same suit, then we have 4 13
13 39


2
ways to do so. Therefore, our probability must be
     
13 39 13 39
4 +4
2 1 2 1 256
  = .
52 425
3

10. Which of the following intervals does not satisfy the inequality x4 − x3 − 6x2 ≥ 0?

(a) [4, 6] (b) (−∞, 0] (c) [3, ∞) (d) {0}

Answer. (d) {0} .

Solution. The LHS of the inequality can be factored:

x2 (x − 3)(x + 2) ≥ 0.

From the choices given, by mere evaluation, we see that option (d) is the closest option.
5 Problems of the Week — Season 5

Remark. I say it is the closest option because x = −1 doesn’t satisfy the condition:

(−1)2 (−1 − 3)(−1 + 2) = −4 ≥ 0

and this is a contradiction.

Copyright © Josh Robert Obaob, 2022

This material is free of distribution and not for sale.