MAY A number is selected at random from Find all numbers that satisfy all the If the natural numbers
If the natural numbers are listed as
Right triangle ABC has legs with
lengths 19 and 95 units. The triangle
is to be rotated in space about one of
its three sides. What is the maximum
possible volume of the resulting solid?
The product of a set of distinct positive
integers is 48. What is the smallest
possible sum of these integers?
Find a 9-ftip consisting of five digits.
the set of consecutive integers
153, 54, ... , 1991. Which of these
events is most probable?
(A) The number selected has digits
that sum to a multiple of 5.
(8) The number selected is a multiple
of5.
(C) The number selected contains at
least one digit 5.
Suppose that the dates for this year
are written in the form
month number, day number, 97
without spacing. Which day this year
will be a palindrome?
Draw a rhombus that has a pair of
60-degree angles. Decide where to
place a mirror upright on the rhombus
to produce an image of a hexagon.
Show that no 7-flips exist.
following statements:
1. I am a positive integer and less
than 100.
2. Two more than my value is a
multiple of 6.
3. The sum of my digits is a multiple
of7.
On a calendar, choose any square
consisting of nine dates in the same
month. Consider the products of the
day numbers that appear in opposite
corners of the square. What is the
absolute value of the difference
between these products?
The following equilateral triangle has
been dissected into four congruent
equilateral triangles.
~ M
Using isometric dot paper, dissect an
equilateral triangle into six congruent
triangles.
Find a 4-flip consisting of (a) four digits
and {b) five digits.
one continuous sequence of digits
without spaces, that is,
1123456789101112 ... },
at what locations will the digits 6
and 3 first appear in that order, that
is, as 63?
Each circle has a radius of 3 centime-
ters. Determine the area of the shaded
region to the nearest tenth of a square
centimeter.
Consider a positive integer written in
base ten. Suppose that when this
number is multiplied by k, the product
has the same digits as does the origi-
nal number but in reverse order. We
shall say that the original number is a
k-flip.
Verify that 1089 is a 9-fiip.
Consider numbers expressed in base
eight, or octal. Find a four-digit number
that is a 7-flip.
You are given a set of tiles: one 6 x 6
tile, four 4 x 4 tiles, sixteen 3 x 3 tiles,
and twenty 2 x 2 tiles. Arrange the
tiles in a nonoverlapping rectangular
arrangement that minimizes perimeter
and maximizes symmetry.
Without retracing any part of your
path, draw six connected line segments
that pass through all sixteen points.
The line segments must form a closed
path, that is, the
last segment must.
end where the first
segment began.
If two marbles are removed at random
from a bag containing black and white
marbles, the chance that they are both
white is 113. If three are removed at
random, the chance that. they are all
white is 116. How many marbles of
each color are in the bag?
Numbers of the form
n(3n - l)
2 The track consists of straight parallel
where n = 1, 2, 3, ... , are called
pentagonal numbers. Consider the
string of digital roots formed by the
digital roots of successive pentagonal
numbers. How many numbers appear
in the string before it repeats?
Three dart players threw simultane-
ously at a tic-tac-toe board, each hitting
a different square. What is the proba-
bility that the three hits constituted a
win at tic-tac-toe?
If n =3x + 3x + 3", then n2 equals which
of the following?
(A) 93x (B) 272x (C) 9nl (D) 276r (E)
273x
How many multiples of 4 from
1 through 10 000 do not contain any
of the digits 6, 7, 8, 9, or 0?
A 400-meter race is to be run on a
track that is 400 meters long when
measured along the innermost lane.
sides, semicircular ends, and eight
running lanes each 1.23 meters wide.
How far apart should the starting
positions in neighboring lanes be
marked so that the distance run by
each competitor is the same?
©National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1906 Association Drive, Reston. VA 20191-1593
Find (a, b, c, d) if[a, b, c, d] = 5/13 and
a, b, c, and d are positive integers such
that
[a,b,c,d]= 1 that is, the last segment must end
a+ _1_
b+-1-
c+!
d
A sequence of numbers {a I> a2, a3, ... I
is defined by
al = -5, a 2 = 4, On =an-I - a n-2
for n > 2. What is the sum of the first
1997 terms of the sequence?
A graphic artist is creating a logo to
represent a company's image. The
artist wants to construct a circle that
is tangent to all three circles. How
many different logos can be made?
Sorry, the three
original circles
cannot be arranged
differently.
Two players take turns removing one,
two, or three cards from a pack. A
player must never remove the same
number of cards as has the previous
player. The winner is the one who
either takes the last card or leaves the
other player with no valid moves. Is it
an advantage to start if the pack has
four cards? Six cards?
Without retracing any part of your
path, draw five connected line segments
that pass through all twelve points. The
line segments must form a closed path,
where the first segment began.
A certain three-digit number in base
ten with no repeated digits can be
expressed in baseR by reversing the
digits. Find the smallest value of R.
The digital root of a number is
obtained by adding the digits of the
number until a single digit is obtained.
The digital root of943 561 is 1 because
9 + 4 + 3 + 5 + 6 + 1 =28, 2 + 8 =10,
and 1 + 0 =1. Find all digital roots of
triangular numbers that are not trian-
gular numbers themselves.
Find numbers A. B, C, D, E, and F for
the six sectors so that the number in a
sector, or the total of the numbers in a
set of adjacent
sectors, gives all
the integers from
1 to 27 inclusive.
 34 295n
= 3
::: 11431.7n

Edited by John Grant McLoughlin,jgrantmcl@okuc02.okanagan.bc.ca, Okanagan

University College, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7
Problems 1- 3 and 5-8 were contributed by Claudia Carter, Mississippi School for Mathe-
matics and Science, Columbus, Mississippi: Anita Clark, Marshall High School, Marshall,
Michigan: Catherine Mulligan, Bishop Fenwick High School, Middletown, Ohio; and
Susanne Westegaard, Montgomery-Lonsdale Public School, Montgomery, Minnesota.
Problem 4 was offered by Richard G. Brown, 7 Nelson Dr., Exeter, NH 03833. Problems
9, 10, and 16 were prepared by Margaret J. Kenney and Stanley J. Bezuszka, S.J., of the
Mathematics Institute, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167-3809. Problems 11-15
and 30 were adapted from Di~covering Mathematics: The Art of Investigation by A. Gardiner
nix
v =- - + _ni (t9, 26-x)
___!...._ _~

(Oxford: Oxford Science Publications, 1987). Problems 19 and 20 were provided by Robert 3 3
H. Becker, 526 Harding Ave., Schillington, PA 19607-2802. Problems 17, 23, and 24 appear 2
ny 19v26
in the Second Book of Mathematical Bafflers, edited by Angela Fox Dunn (New York:
Dover Publications, 1983). Problems 18, 21, 22, and 25 were adapted from Cariboo Col- 3
lege High School Mathematics Contest Problems 1973-1992, edited by Jim Totten (Kam-
loops, B.C.: Cariboo College, 1992). Problems 26-29 were submitted by Barry Scully, York
Region Board of Education, Aurora, ON L4G 3H2. Problem 31 was adapted from The Math-
ematical Funfair by Brian Bolt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).

List the numbers that sat-

(C). Sum of Multiple tion. In the twenties section, we
X Digits of7 find 62. Finally, when the thirties Using the Pythagorean theorem
isfy each event. section gets listed, we find 63. It to solve for x andy_gives y =
4 4 N
(A): 64, 69. 73, 78,82, 7,91,96, is located in positions 63 and 64 in 95/~ and x = 19"26. Substitut-
104. 109, 113. 118, 122, 127, 131, 10 1 N the listing of the natural numbers: ing for y gives
16 7 y
136,140,145,154,159,163,168, 123456789101112131415161718
172, 177, 181, 186, 190, 195 22 4 N 952 19, 26 171475Jr , 26
1920212223242526272829303132 Jr · - · - - = ·-
(B); 55, 60. 65, 70, ... ' 185, 190,
28 10 N 26 3 3 26
y 33343536373839404142434445 ....
195 34 7
= 11209.7n.
40 4 N -57 158.3n cubic units. This
(Cl: 53,54, 55,56,57,58,59,65,
75,85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135,145, 46 10 N result is obtained by rotating
y July 9th will appear as 7997.
15~ 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 52 7 about the side having length 19.
157.158,159,165, 175, 185, 195 58 13 N Detailed calculations follow: 28. The days in the three-by-
64 10 N three array can be represented as
Counting reveals that (C) has
70 7 y V =!nr 2h follows:
thirty elements, whereas (A} and 3
(B ) each have twenty-nine.
76 13 N
82 10 N
=
Jr · 95 2 · 19 n-8 n-7 1n-6
16, 34, 52, and 70. Consider 88 16 N 3
the third clue. If we combine it 94 13 N 171475n
=--- n-1 n n+l
with the first clue, we need only The numbers 16, 34, 52, and 70
consider the following numbers: 3
have digits that sum to a multiple
7, 16, 25,34, 43,52,59,61, 68, of7, as required. = 57158.3n n+6 n+7 n+B
70, 77, 86, and 95. Only even
numbers could possibly be 2 less
than a multiple of 6. Checking,
we find that 16, 34. 52, and 70
satisfy the conditions.
In the sequence, 63 appears
as the sixty-third and sixty-
fourth digits.
The first two-digit number
.-:::::'_-J?""Z 95
The difference of the products of
the opposite corners is
(n - 6)(n + 6)- (n - 8)(n + 8)
An alternative approach is beginning with 6 appears in the = (n2 - 36) - (n2 - 64)
2
offered here. The folio" ing values units section as 67. The next 1r · 19 • 95
V= - - = 28.
of x are 2 le s than a multiple of 6. appearance is 61, in the tens sec- 3 (Continued on page 375J

The Editorial Panel of the Mathematics Teacher is considering sets of problems submitted by individuals, classes of prospective teachers,
and mathematics clubs for publication in the calendar during the 1997-98 academic year. Please write to the senior journal editor, 1906
Association Driue, Reston, VA 20191·1593, for guidelines, or send your request through e-mail to infocentral@nctm.org, or obtain guide-
lines as document 803 from NCTM's Fax·on·Demand Service Center, (800) 220-8483.
Two other sourres of problems in calendar form are available from NCTM: "Calendars for the Calculating" (a set of nine monthly calendars
that onginally appeared from September 1983 to May 1984, order number 344, $7.00) and "A Year of Mathematics" (one annual calendar
that originally appeared in September 1982, order number 311, $3.50; set of five, order number 312, $7.00). Individual members receive a
20 percent discount off these prices. Write to NCTM, Department P, for the catalog of educational materials, which includes a listing for the
publication Exploratory Problems in Mathematics.-Ed.

37 THE MATHEMATICS TEACHER

 7.7 square centimeters. The digit 7-flips. The argument will
shaded area equals the area of hold for all possible numbers of
the square minus the area of the digits. Let abed be a 7-flip. Then
four quarter-circles, or one circle. abed x 7 = dcba. Hence, a = 1. It
The shaded area is follows that d =3. Here is the
fundamental problem: abed x 7 >
62 - Jl{3)2 = 36- 9Jr 7000, and the number dcba
= 7.7. begins with 3.
(a) 2 178. Consider that
abed x 4 = dcba. Observe that a
must be even. Hence, a = 2.
Therefore, d = 8 or 9. Since the
result of d x 4 ends in 2, d = 8. It
follows that the quantity 4 x c + 3
ends in b; hence, b is odd. In fact,
12. The minimum sum is b = 1. Then c = 2 or 7. Checking,
obtained from 2, 4, and 6, which we find that c equals 7.
when multiplied produce 48. (b) 21 978. A similar argument
Note that 6 + 8 = 14 is the small- can be used.
est sum of two integers that have
a product of 48. Replacing 6 with 2 1067eoght· Let abed X 7 =
and 3 reduces the sum to 13; the dcba in base eight. Therefore, a =
result of 12 is found by replacing 1 and d = 7. Hence, the quantity 7
8 with 2 and 4 instead. Note that x c + 6 ends in b, and b = 0
2 x 3 x 2 x 4 = 48 and that 2 + 3 + because if it did not, the regroup-
2 + 4 = 11. However, the set of ing in base eight would produce a
integers would include two 2s, five-digit number. It follows that c
which is not allowed. equals 6.
One possibility is shown.
Place mirror here.
To minimize the perimeter,
the dimensions must be 18 x 18.
5 1-5, 4, 9, 5, -4, -9, -5, 4, .. .1.
... II\ ..
·m:
1 Since 1997 has a remainder of 5
0 2x2
D 3x3
1 1089 x9=9801
D 4x4
1 10 989 6x6
abcde
~
edcba 2121. Exactly
Observe that a = 1; hence, e = 9.
(:)=3~~! =84
It follows that b = 0 or 1. If b = 1,
the quantity 9 x d + 8 must end
in 1, which implies that d = 7. possibilities must be considered.
Proceeding, we find that b = 1
does not produce a workable solu-
tion. Therefore, b = 0. Hence, the 5 1 1 1 1 1
- = -= - = -=--= --=
quantity 9 x d + 8 must end in 0. 13 13 3 1 1 1
This restriction implies that d - 2+- 2+- 2+- 2+ -
5 2 1 1
must be 8. Then the result of9 x c + 5 -5 1+ - 1+ -
8 must end in c. Therefore, c = 9. 3 3 3
- 1+ -
2 2
1 Consider the case of four- Fig. 1
Vol. 90, No. 5 • May 1997
Exactly eight of these possibili-
ties-three columns, three rows,
and two diagonals-produce a
tic-tac-toe win. The probability is
8/84, or 2121.
(2, 1, 1, 2). See figure 1.
1 would be 112 iftwo white marbles
2 (C J ~+I
n2 =(3' + 3' + 31 ) 2
= (3 . 3')2
= (31+1)2
= {32)r.l
=~+ I
9. The sequence begins
Note that the cycle -5, 4, 9, 5-4,
-9 repeats indefinitely. The sum
of the numbers in the cycle is 0.
when divided by 6, the sum of the
first 1997 terms equals -5 + 4 +
9 +5-4, or 9.
Fourteen. Suppose that the
digits are A, B, and C such that
CBA = ABCR where R ~ 3, since
A, 8, and Care unequal.
lOOC + IOB +A =R2 ·A + RB +C
.. 99C=(R2 - l)A+(R- 10)8
Values of R from 3 through 13
produce no integral solution
(A, 8, C) for which A, B, and C
are distinct and less than R or
10, whichever is smaller. But R =
1 tions. Note that each of the three
1 original circles can be internally
2+ - -
1+ -
1 for the 2 x 2 x 2 =8 different
14 yields the solution A= 4, B =3,
C =8. Checking, we find that 834 =
4 X 142 + 3 X 14 + 8.
Six white and four black
marbles. Note that the conditions
tell us indirectly that the chance
that the third marble is white
had already been drawn. Hence,
the box contains two more white
(w) marbles than black (b) mar-
bles. The total number of marbles
can be represented as 2w - 2
because b = w - 2.
Hence,
This expression simplifies to
w(w-1) 1
(2w - 2)(2w-3) 3
Factoring out (w - 1), we get
w 1
2(2w-3) =a·
2(2w- 3) = 3w,
w=6.
Hence, b = 6 - 2 = 4.
156. The only one-digit
multiple of 4 would be 4. The two-
digit multiples of 4 would be
restricted to 12, 24, 32, 44, and
52. These same numbers, namely,
12, 24, 32, 44, and 52, would be
the "endings" oflarger numbers
that are multiples of 4. Hence, 5 x
5 = 25 three-digit numbers and
5 x 5 x 5 = 125 four-digit numbers
would be allowed. Note that the
hundreds digits, the thousands
digits, or both can be any of 1, 2,
3, 4, 5.
The total number of acceptable
multiples of 4 is given by 125 +
25 + 5 + 1.
Eight. The following dia-
gram shows the various solu-
or externally tangent to the
fourth circle. This fact accounts
arrangements of the circles.
(Continued on page 379)
375
 -
.~SOLUiliiONS
-- CAa!E.f.(pAR -Conttn.ued from page :riff- ~ __ __ _
Lane 1: 2p + rrr + rrr, or 2p + 2rrr;
Lane 2: 2p + rr(r + 1.23) + 1r(r + 1.23), or 2p + 2w + 2.46Jr;
Lane 3: 2p + Jr(r + 2.46) + Tr(r + 2.46), or 2p + 271T + 4.92rr;
Lane 4: 2p + rr(r + 3.69) + Tr(r + 3.69), or 2p + 2w + 7.38Tr:
and so on.
The difference between distances of adjacent lanes is
(Source: adapted from an idea in The Joy of Mathe- 2.46Jrmeters. Therefore, the starting positions from one
matics by Theoni Pappas [San Carlos, Calif.: Wide lane to another should be staggered 2.46rrmeters apart. In
World Publishing!l'etra, 1986].) this way, all runners will race the same distance. In fact, the answer does not depend
on the number of lanes.
The only such digital root is 9. Observe in the
following chart that the "digital-root pattern" repeats. 3 Four cards, no; six cards, yes. With four cards, the person who starts is destined
The only digital roots of triangular numbers are 1, 3, to lose. Selecting either one or three cards makes the winning move almost automat·
ic. The second player would remove the remaining cards.
6, and 9, the first three of which are triangular num-
bers themselves. Suppose that the first player removes two cards. The second player must rem.ove
one card because he or she must take a different number of cards than the prev10us
Triangular Numbers Digital Root player did. The remaining one card cannot be removed because one card was just
1 IT' removed. Hence, the second player wins. . .
3 3 With six cards, if the first player removes two cards, the second player ts m the
position of removing one or three cards. Thus, the first player can remove three cards
6 6 or one card to win.
10 1
15 6 31 A =1, B =2, C =5, D =9, E =6, F =4. Note that another so.lution set,
21 3 A1 8 1 C1 D1 E1 Fl> could be used as long as the cycle 1, 2, 5, 9, 6, 4 ts preserved. The
28 1 respective sums can be obtained as follows:
36 9 1, 2, 1 + 2, 4, 4 + 1, 6, 2 + 5, 1 + 2 + 5, 9, 6 + 4, 6 + 4 + 1, 4 + 1 + 2 + 5, 6 + 4 + 1 + 2, 5 + 9,
45 _L 9 + 6, 2 + 5 + 9, 1 + 2 + 5 + 9, 6 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 5, 9 + 6 + 4, 5 + 9 + 6, 4 + 1 + 2 + 5 + 9, 2 +
55 1 5 + 9 + 6, 1 + 2 + 5 + 9 + 6, 5 + 9 + 6 + 4, 5 + 9 + 6 + 4 + 1, 2 + 5 + 9 + 6 + 4, and 1 + 2 +
66 3 5 +9 + 6+4. @
78 6
91 1
105 6 D&H Dis•ribu•ing
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136
153
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Nine. In fact, each of the digits 1 to 9 inclusive
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Vol. 90, No. 5 • May 1997 379