MT

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MT

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UKMT

United Kingdom
Mathematics Trust

Mentoring Scheme
Supported by

Pythagoras
Sheet 1

Solutions and comments

This programme of the Mentoring Scheme is named after Pythagoras of Samos (c. 569–475
BCE).
See http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Pythagoras.html for more information.

These questions may be used freely within your school or college. You may, without further
permission, post them on a website that is accessible only to staff and students of the school
or college, print out and distribute copies within the school or college, and use them in the
classroom. If you wish to use them in any other way, please consult us.
© UK Mathematics Trust

Enquiries about the Mentoring Scheme should be sent to:

Mentoring Scheme, UK Mathematics Trust, School of Mathematics,
University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
T 0113 343 2339 mentoring@ukmt.org.uk www.ukmt.org.uk

Version 1.2, Oct 2020

UKMT Mentoring Scheme Solutions Pythagoras, Sheet 1

This solution sheet also contains a commentary at the end of each solution for mentors. Mentors
might feed ideas to their students. Alternatively they can ignore the comments!
Generally earlier questions are intended to be easier and later questions more difficult.

1. Write down the units digits of all the square numbers from 12 to at least 202 .
How can you tell that 88 573 is not a square number?

Solution
Only 0, 1, 4, 5, 6 or 9 can occur in the units place of a square number.

2. Pythagoras was born in the year 569 BCE (approximately). What is the 569th letter in the
sequence
𝐴𝐵𝐶𝐷𝐸 𝐷𝐶𝐵𝐴𝐵𝐶𝐷𝐸 𝐷𝐶𝐵𝐴𝐵𝐶𝐷𝐸 𝐷𝐶𝐵𝐴𝐵 . . .
where the pattern 𝐴𝐵𝐶𝐷𝐸 𝐷𝐶𝐵 is repeated again and again?

Answer 𝐴

Solution
The pattern repeats every 8 characters so it is the 568th character which ends the last complete
pattern.

3. A 100-sided polygon has all possible diagonals drawn from one chosen vertex.
How many triangles are formed? What is the sum of the interior angles of the 100-sided
polygon?
[You should assume that all the interior angles are less than 180°. This is called a convex
polygon.]

Answer 17 640°

Solution
Any vertex can be joined by diagonals to 97 others, producing 98 triangles.
All the angles in the 98 triangles contribute exactly 180° to the sum of the interior angles, making
a total of 97 × 180°.

The total of the interior angles is the same even if the polygon is not convex, though
the argument is far more subtle in general. The restriction in the question is designed
to help the student.

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UKMT Mentoring Scheme Solutions Pythagoras, Sheet 1

4. To make ‘short’ pastry one uses flour to fat (butter, margarine, etc.) in the ratio 2 : 1. To
make ‘flaky’ pastry requires a ratio of 4 : 3.
I have 3 kg of flour and 2 kg of fat and wish to use all the ingredients to make some of
each type of pastry. How much flaky pastry do I make?

Answer 3.5 kg

Solution
This particular question can be solved by observation. If we take each number in the ratios to
represent 1 kg, then 3 kg of short pastry uses 2 kg of flour and 1 kg of fat, while 7 kg of flaky
pastry uses 4 kg of flour and 3 kg of fat. Adding these together gives a total of 6 kg of flour and
4 kg of fat, which is in the ratio 6 : 4 = 3 : 2. But we have 3 kg of flour and 2 kg of fat, which
are in exactly this ratio. So we can make half of the above quantities: 1.5 kg of short pastry and
3.5 kg of flaky pastry.
Alternatively, we can solve this problem algebraically. If we say that we make 𝑥 kg of flaky pastry,
we will end up with lots of fractions. It is therefore simpler to choose 𝑥 such that you use 4𝑥 kg
of flour and 3𝑥 kg of fat to make 7𝑥 kg of flaky pastry (matching the given 4 : 3 ratio). This will
leave (3 − 4𝑥) kg of flour and (2 − 3𝑥) kg of fat with which to make short pastry.
Using the ratio 2 : 1 for the short pastry, we now have an equation which we can solve:

3 − 4𝑥 = 2(2 − 3𝑥)
so 3 − 4𝑥 = 4 − 6𝑥 (expanding)
so 6𝑥 − 4𝑥 = 4 − 3. (rearranging)

It is not necessary to do this by algebra but it is an ideal technique for this problem. It
does not require simultaneous equations, though that is an alternative approach.

5. The exterior angles of a triangle are in the ratio 4 : 5 : 6. What is the smallest interior
angle?
[An exterior angle of a polygon is the angle between one side and the next side extended,
as shown in this sketch.]
exterior angle

Answer 36°

Solution
The exterior angles add up to 360°, as they form a whole turn as you walk around the polygon.
Thus the exterior angles are 96°, 120° and 144°. The largest exterior angle is adjacent to (next to)
the smallest interior angle.

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UKMT Mentoring Scheme Solutions Pythagoras, Sheet 1

6. You tell your friend that there is the same chance of obtaining an even number of heads
when tossing four coins as of a head showing when tossing one coin.
Your friend does not believe you.
How can you convince your friend that you are correct?

Solution
An even number of heads means 0, 2 or 4 heads. We imagine tossing the four coins in order, and
write down what we get (the outcome). For example, the outcome HTHH means that we tossed a
head, then tail, then head, then head. This is different from HHTH, where the third toss is a tail.
Two heads appear in the following possible outcomes: HHTT, HTHT, HTTH, THHT, THTH,
TTHH. The outcome TTTT has 0 heads, while HHHH has 4 heads, giving a total of eight
outcomes with an even number of heads. There are sixteen possible outcomes in total, as each
coin can be either heads or tails.

7. Construct a sequence of five different single digit positive integers 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑, 𝑒 so that:

𝑏 divides into 𝑎 + 𝑏 but 𝑎 does not divide into 𝑎 + 𝑏;
𝑐 divides into 𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐 but 𝑎 and 𝑏 do not do so;
𝑑 divides into 𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐 + 𝑑 but 𝑎, 𝑏 and 𝑐 do not do so;
𝑒 divides into 𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐 + 𝑑 + 𝑒 but 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 and 𝑑 do not do so.

Answer 𝑎 = 8, 𝑏 = 4, 𝑐 = 6, 𝑑 = 3, 𝑒 = 1

Solution
𝑎 cannot be 1. In fact, none of 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 or 𝑑 can be 1. Only 𝑒 might take the value 1. (Why?)
Possible pairs for 𝑎 and 𝑏 to be considered are 4, 2; 6, 2; 8, 2; 6, 3; 9, 3 and 8, 4.
Testing cases of 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 leaves only 4, 2, 3; 8, 2, 5; 9, 3, 2; 9, 3, 4; 8, 4, 2; 8, 4, 3 and 8, 4, 6 to
consider.
Testing cases for 𝑑 leaves only 8, 4, 2, 7; 8, 4, 6, 3 and 8, 4, 6, 9.
Then we find the unique solution by trying cases for 𝑒: only 8, 4, 6, 3, 1 works.

8. In the triangle 𝐴𝐵𝐶, the length of 𝐴𝐵 is 2 and the length of 𝐴𝐶 is√1. 𝐶 is located so that
a circle with 𝐵𝐶 as diameter passes through 𝐴. Prove that 𝐵𝐶 = 5.
[If you have not met the idea of drawing circles around triangles, see Note E in the Notes
for Mentees on the UKMT mentoring scheme web page.]

Solution
∠𝐵𝐴𝐶 = 90° because 𝐵𝐶 is the diameter of the circle through 𝐴.
Thus by Pythagoras’s Theorem, 𝐴𝐵2 + 𝐴𝐶 2 = 𝐵𝐶 2 , leading to 22 + 12 = 𝐵𝐶 2 . Hence 𝐵𝐶 2 = 5.

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