Singapore and Asian

Schools Math Olympiad

(SASMO)

2016

Primary 2

Authors: Merlan Nagidulin

Henry Ong
Rosa Anajao
Pang Zheng Rui

Consultant: Dr Joseph Yeo (NIE)

© Singapore International Math Contests Centre

All Rights Reserved

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or by any information or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Message from Executive Director ..................................................................... 1

Competition Format and Prizes ........................................................................ 3

Introduction ...................................................................................................... 5

Problem Solving Procedure ................................................................................................................... 7

Problem Solving Strategies ................................................................................................................... 9

SASMO 2016 Primary 2 Contest ..................................................................... 11

Solutions to SASMO 2016 Primary 2 .............................................................. 27

 Message from Executive Director

Dear students, parents and teachers,

I am gratified to see more of our students gain direct admission into top schools by
August this year and their joy and reduced stress certainly made their preparation for
DSA worthwhile. Now is also the time to start your children/students as they prepare for
DSA, not only for Secondary 1, but also for Secondary 3 as well as Junior College or
polytechnic.
Besides the 2016 questions published in this booklet with detailed solutions, we are
continuously improving SASMO.
1. SASMO 2017 Results will be out on May 1-3 on SASMO Website.
2. On July 15, 2017, we will be running our Singapore International Math Olympiad
Challenge (SIMOC) which will include a Math Olympiad contest, mathematics games
and Mind Sports Challenge run on individual and team basis. This will bring out the
best of Singapore Mathematics with manipulatives and games used in Singapore
schools as part of our sharing of Singapore’s Mathematics success. Entry into SIMOC
is by invitation only.
3. We invite teachers from Singapore and the region to join us, as we conduct research
into our own brand of Singapore Mathematics Olympiad and inspiring students to
accelerate learning with manipulatives. We are adding technology to enhance our
question bank database and question setting with software developed for the
International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO).
4. We will be offering more analytics for students to review their performance with
reports.

I am glad that SASMO is making a difference for students in Singapore and elsewhere
around the world as we expand to more countries. We have been invited by World
Mathematics Team Championships, World Mathematics Invitational (WMI) and BEBRAS
to run more international Math and Computational thinking competitions. We look forward
to working with your children and students as they start to realize and achieve their
potential.

1
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely,

Henry Ong
Executive Director

2
 Competition Format and Prizes

SASMO is devoted and dedicated to bringing a love for Mathematics to students. Unlike
most Math Olympiad Competitions, SASMO caters not only to students in the top 5% but
to the top 40% instead. It aims to arouse students’ interest and enthusiasm for
mathematical problem solving, develop mathematical intuition, reasoning and logical
thinking, as well as creative and critical thinking. In addition, this can help improve the
students’ math grades because they can apply problem-solving strategies learnt during
the training to their daily school mathematics.

History:
Created in 2006, SASMO is one of the largest Math Olympiads in the Asian region. We
have expanded the competition to provide an International platform for students from
Primary 2 to Secondary 4, with differentiated contest papers for every level.
SASMO awards medals and certificates to the top 40% of participants.

Contest:
School Candidates
The Contest will be held in your school and no travelling is required.
Individual candidates
The Contest will be held in a school.

Format:
Primary 2:
Section A – 15 Multiple Choice Questions
(2 points for correct answer, 0 points for unanswered question, penalty point (deduct 1
point) for wrong answer)
Section B – 10 Open-ended Questions
(4 points for correct answer, No penalty point for wrong answer)
Total 85 points. To avoid negative scores, each student begins with 15 points

3
Calculators are not permitted
When a problem introduces a more advanced concept, all necessary definitions are
included.

Awards:
Each participant receives a Certificate of Participation or an award certificate for winners
below.
Each of the top 8%, 12% and 20% of all participants receives a Gold, Silver or Bronze
medal and certificate respectively.
Each student who achieves a Perfect Score of 85 points receives a Perfect Score
certificate, Gold medal and $100.

4
 Introduction
For Students Taking the Math Olympiad Challenge

Congratulations. You have embarked on a journey of scholarship. Competitions like

SASMO open many doors for you. Firstly, you learn new and interesting approaches to
problem-solving and also new topics. Next, you will meet talented students from other
schools as you attend training and competitions. You build your endurance to “puzzle”
out challenging problems and build your reputation as a problem solver. Finally, you
will be exposed to various international competitions and scholarship opportunities.
Here in Singapore, you increase your chances of getting into a top school via Direct
School Admissions (DSA) and entry into the Gifted Education Programme as you
compete regularly in high level competitions.

This book is written for the participants in the Singapore and Asian Schools Math
Olympiads (SASMO). It helps students to prepare well for the contest and also develop
higher-order thinking. All problems are designed to help students develop the ability to
think mathematically, rather than to teach more advanced or unusual topics. The fun is
in how you can see patterns and ways of solving each problem in non-technical ways
even though you have not learnt the topic yet!

In addition to the contest problems, the reader is provided with a list of familiar
mathematical terms, as well as a review of some of the topics that are likely to be
tested in the Olympiad. The book also contains some solved examples to provide
different problem-solving techniques, and to familiarize the participant with different
types of Olympiad questions. It is advised that the reader spends appropriate time
studying these questions and solutions, as they will assist in tackling actual Olympiad
problems.

5
How to Use This Book: Practice daily for 15 minutes per hour rather 4 hours of learning
once a month. Your mind needs to absorb each new thought, and constant practice
allows frequent review of previously learned concepts and skills. Together, you can
remember many new problem solving approaches. Try to spend 10 or 15 minutes daily
doing two or three problems. This approach should help you minimize the time needed
to develop the ability to think mathematically.

Whether you solve a problem quickly or you are confused, it is worth studying the
solutions in this book, because often they offer unexpected insights that can help you
understand the problem more fully. After you have invested time – trying to solve each
problem any way you can, reviewing our solutions is very effective. Many of the
problems in this book can be solved in more than one way. There is always a single
answer, but there can be many paths to that answer. Once you solve a problem, go
back and see if you can solve it by another method. Then check our solutions to see if
any of them differ from yours.

Enjoy working on these challenges and you will soon be in a different league from your
peers who have not taken any international competition. We look forward to inviting
you if you are a bronze, silver, gold or perfect score medallist for further training as well
as to compete in Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge (SIMOC) to be held
in July 2017.

6
 Problem Solving Procedure

You may go through several phases when solving a problem such as trying to
understand the problem, working on a specific approach (planning and attempting),
getting stuck and trying to get unstuck, critically examining solutions or communicating.
The work may involve going back and forth between these different phases of problem
solving.

In solving any problem, it helps to have a working procedure. You might want to
consider this four-step procedure: Understand, Plan, Try It, and Look Back.

Understand
Before you can solve a problem, you must first understand it. Read and re-read the
problem carefully to find all the clues and determine what the question is asking you to
find.
What is the unknown?
What is the data?
What is the condition?

Plan
Once you understand the question and the clues, it's time to use your previous
experience with similar problems to look for strategies and tools to answer the
question.
Do you know a related problem?
Look at the unknown! And try to think of a familiar problem having the same or a
similar unknown?

Try It
After deciding on a plan, you should try it and see what answer you come up with.
Can you see clearly that the steps are correct?
But can you also prove that the steps are correct?

7
Are you feeling stuck?
Many different approaches can be tried to get unstuck. One approach is to try working
a simpler version of the problem, and use the solution to the problem to get insights
that are useful in solving the original problem. In the next chapter, we show some
common solving approaches.

If you are discouraged after a few failed attempts, read this quote from the famous
scientist, Thomas Edison. An assistant asked, "Why are you wasting your time and
money? We have had failure after failure, almost a thousand of them. Why do you
continue to pursue this impossible task?" Edison said, "We haven't had a thousand
failures, we've just discovered a thousand ways to not invent the electric bulb."

Look Back
Once you've tried it and found an answer, go back to the problem and see if you've
really answered the question. Sometimes it's easy to overlook something. If you missed
something check your plan and try the problem again.
Can you check the result?
Can you check the argument?
Can you derive the result differently?
Can you see it at a glance?

8
 Problem Solving Strategies

1. Change the representation

Using a wrong representation may make a problem impossible to solve.

Strategies of changing representation include drawing a picture and acting it out.

DRAW A PICTURE: By drawing a picture, and visualizing the problem information

using it, you will have a clearer understanding of the problem and it will help you to
come up an approach to solve the problem that you might not be able to see otherwise.

ACT IT OUT: We are better at thinking in terms of concrete objects and situations than
in terms of abstract concepts. If we can act out the situation described in a word
problem, we are able to understand the problem better and we may be able to come up
with a problem solution. To do this, we need to use real materials that are easily
available to us. Examples can be pencils, coins and other objects we have in the
classroom.

2. Make an Organized List or a Table

ORGANIZED LIST: Making an organized list allows you to clearly examine data. It can
help you in ensuring that you are looking at all the relevant information. It will also
allow you to see patterns in the data easily and to come to correct conclusions.

MAKE A TABLE: Making a table allows you to clearly examine data. It can help you in
ensuring that you are looking at all the relevant information. It will also allow you to
see patterns in the data easily and to come to correct conclusions.

9
3. Create a Simpler Problem

Sometimes we are not able to solve the problem as it is stated, but we are able to solve
a similar problem that is similar in some way. For example, the simpler problem may
use simpler numbers. Once we solve one or more simpler problems, we may
understand the approach that can be used to solve the problems of similar type and
may be able to solve the problem that has been given to us.

4. Use Logical Reasoning

Logical reasoning is useful in mathematics problems in various ways. It can be used to

eliminate incorrect choices. It can also sometimes be used to conclude the answer
directly.

5. Guess and Check

"Guess and Check" strategy can be used on many problems. If the number of possible
answers is small, one can use this strategy to come up with the answer very quickly. In
some other cases where the number of possible answers is not small, one may still be
able to make intelligent guesses and come up with the answer.

6. Working Backwards

Sometimes, it is easier to start with information at the end of the problem and work
backwards to the beginning of the problem than the other way around.

10
 Division
Singapore and Asian
P2 Schools Math Olympiad
2016

Full Name:

Index Number:

Class:
School:
SASMO 2016 Primary 2 Contest

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Please DO NOT OPEN the contest booklet until the Proctor has given permission to
start.

2. TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes.

3. Attempt all 25 questions.

Questions 1 to 15 score 2 points each, no points are deducted for unanswered
question and 1 point is deducted for wrong answer.
Questions 16 to 25 score 4 points each. No points are deducted for unanswered or
wrong answers.

4. Shade your answers neatly using a pencil in the answer sheet.

5. PROCTORING: No one may help any student in any way during the contest.

6. No electronic devices capable of storing and displaying visual information is

allowed during the course of the exam.

7. Strictly No Calculators are allowed into the exam.

8. All students must fill and shade in their Name, Index number, Class and School in
the answer sheet and contest booklet.

9. MINIMUM TIME: Students must stay in the exam hall at least 1h 15 min.

10. Students must show detailed working and transfer answers to the answer sheet.

11. No exam papers and written notes can be taken out by any contestant.

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

SASMO 2016 Primary 2 [15 MCQ + 10 non-MCQ = 25 Q]

Section A (Correct answer – 2 points| No answer – 0 points| Incorrect answer – minus 1 point)

1. The shapes below formed a pattern. Observe carefully and find out the two missing
shapes.

☼ → ☆ → ☽ → ? → ? → ☆ → ☽ → ✦ ……

A. ☼ and ☽
B. ☆ and ☽
C. ✦ and ☼
D. ✦ and ☆
E. ✦ and ☽

2. How many hours are there in two weeks?

A. 7×12
B. 7×2×12
C. 2×7×2×12
D. (7 + 7)×12
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

3. David takes 30 seconds to climb from the first floor to the third floor. How many
seconds will it take him to climb from the third floor to the sixth floor?

A. 30 seconds
B. 35 seconds
C. 40 seconds
D. 45 seconds
E. 50 seconds

4. What is the next number in the sequence below?

7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 10, …

A. 4
B. 11
C. 14
D. 15
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

5. + = 12

+ + + + = 32

What number does stand for?

A. 2
B. 4
C. 6
D. 8
E. 10

6. Uncle John has a farm. His wife and his two sons are staying with him in the farm.
They raise 10 cows and 20 chickens. How many total legs are there in the farm?

A. 60
B. 80
C. 86
D. 88
E. 120

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

7. It takes 5 minutes to boil an egg. What is the least amount of time it takes to boil 3
eggs?

A. 8 minutes
B. 12 minutes
C. 15 minutes
D. 18 minutes
E. None of the above

8. The diagram shows some cubes of the same

size stacked at a corner of a room. How many
cubes are there altogether? (Note: The floor is
horizontal and the two walls are vertical. There
are no gaps or holes behind the visible cubes.)

A. 24
B. 25
C. 26
D. 27
E. 28

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

9. Peter and the other 4 kids are having a race. If Peter overtakes the kid who is in the
second place, what position is Peter in right now?

A. first
B. second
C. third
D. fourth
E. fifth

10. There are four boxes labeled W, X, Y, and Z. W and Z are the same size. W can fit
inside X, and Y can fit inside Z. Knowing these, which one of the following statements is
true for certain?

A. Z cannot fit inside X.

B. X can fit inside Z.
C. X cannot fit inside Y.
D. W can fit inside Y.
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

11. 989 pieces of candy are packed into packages, each of which contains 4 pieces of
candy. In order to complete the last package, how many more pieces of candy are
needed?

A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
E. None of the above

12. Two years ago, the sum of Amy’s and Bob’s ages was 8. What will the sum of their
ages be after 3 years from now?

A. 11
B. 14
C. 18
D. 15
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

13. The numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 are to be filled in the figure on the

right so that the numbers in each line of the cross add up to the
same number. What number should be put in the place of the 6 1 ?
question mark?

A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

14.

is rotated to

As is rotated to

A. B. C.

D. E.

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

15. Which of the following cubes cannot be formed by folding

the figure on the right?

A. B. C. D.

E. None of the above

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest
Section B (Correct answer – 4 points| Incorrect or No answer – 0 points)

16. What is the sum of the following numbers?

1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 12 + 14 + 16 + 18 + 21 + 23 + 25 + 27 + 29 =

17. What is the largest 2-digit number that can be divided by both 3 and 5?

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

18. In a magic show, the magician placed 3 cards on the table, as shown below. Each
card has a math symbol on one side and a number on other side.

× 𝟕 𝟓

After showing the cards, he flipped over some (maybe all) of the cards and rearranged
them. The new arrangement of the cards is shown below.

𝟕 + 𝟑

What number is on other side of the card with symbol ‘+’?

19. A basket of mangoes weighs 80 grams when full and 60 grams when half full. What
is the weight of the basket when it is empty?

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

20. Tom makes the rectangle below with 10 gumdrops and 10 toothpicks.

Afterwards, Tom makes another rectangle using 32 gumdrops. The long side of the new
rectangle has twice as many gumdrops as the short side. How many gumdrops are on
the short side of the new rectangle?

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

21. The table below shows the number of pencil cases that Bob, Macy, Jane and Danny
have. Each pencil case contains the same number of pencils. Altogether, they have 78
pencils. How many pencils does Danny have?

Bob Macy Jane Danny

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

22. Tyler says to Kyle, "When I was your age, you were only 5 years old. By the time
you reach my present age, I would be 44 years old". Find the present ages of Kyle and
Tyler.

23. How many squares are there in the figure below?

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

24. Dora, Lucas, Richard and Jonathan had a race. Lucas was neither the fastest nor the
slowest. Jonathan was faster than Dora. Richard was slower than Lucas. Who was the
fastest?

25. In the following, all the different letters stand for different digits. What is the value
of C?

B A

+ 9

A C C

End of Paper

26
SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest
Solutions to SASMO 2016 Primary 2
Section A (Correct answer – 2 points| No answer – 0 points| Incorrect answer – minus 1 point)
Question 1

The pattern is ☼ → ☆ → ☽ → ✦.
So, the two missing shapes are ✦ and ☼.

Question 2
There are 7 days in a week, and 24 hours in a day. In total, there are 2×7×24 hours in
two weeks, which is equal to 𝟐×𝟕×𝟐×𝟏𝟐.

Question 3
Since David takes 30 seconds to climb from the first floor to the third floor, David takes
15 seconds to climb each level. If David needs to climb 3 levels from the third floor to
the sixth floor, then he will take 3×15 = 𝟒𝟓 seconds.

Question 4
The pattern is as follows:
+1 −2 +3 −4 +5 −6
7 → 8 → 6 → 9 → 5 → 10 → 𝟒
The next number in the sequence is 4.

Question 5
Method 1:

( + )+( + )+( + ) = 12 + 12 + 12 = 36 or

+ + + + + = 36 and

+ + + + = 32.

So = 4.

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

Method 2:

( + )+( + )+ = 32

12 + 12 + = 32

24 + = 32

Thus = 8.

Then = 12 – 8 = 4.

Question 6
A cow has 4 legs and a chicken has 2 legs. Including Uncle John’s family, there are
4×2(Uncle John′ s family) + 10×4(cows) + 20×2(chickens) = 8 + 40 + 40 = 𝟖𝟖 legs in
the farm altogether.

Question 7
Since the question is asking for the least amount of time, then the condition that should
be considered is when all the eggs are boiled together. When the eggs are boiled
together, it takes the same amount of time to boil 3 eggs as 1 egg. Therefore, the least
amount of time to boil 3 eggs is 5 minutes. The answer is None of the above.

Question 8
Let’s count the cubes on each layer from top to
bottom.

There are 1 cube in the 1st layer.

There are 4 cubes in the 2nd layer.
There are 8 cubes in the 3rd layer.
There are 12 cubes in the 4th layer.
In total, there are 1 + 4 + 8 + 12 = 𝟐𝟓 cubes.

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

Question 9
After Peter overtakes the kid who was in the second place, there is still one kid in the
first place. Therefore, Peter will be in the second place.

Question 10
W can fit inside X. Hence X is bigger than W.
Y can fit inside Z. Hence Z is bigger than Y.
Since W and Z are the same size, then X is bigger than W(=Z) which is bigger than Y.
Thus, X cannot fit inside Y.

Question 11
Method 1:
989 ÷ 4 = 247 R1. There is one candy remaining. In order to complete the last package,
3 pieces of candy are needed.
Method 2:
By divisibility test for 4, a number is divisible by four if the number formed by the last
two digits is divisible by 4. The number formed by the last two digits of 989 is 89, which
is 1 greater than 88 which is divisible by 4. The next number after 88 which is divisible
by 4 is 92. Hence 92 – 89 = 3 pieces of candy are needed to complete the last package.

Question 12
Since each of them will be 5 years older, the sum of their ages in 3 years will be 8 +
5 + 5 = 𝟏𝟖.

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

Question 13
By checking each possible value of ‘?’
Value
Horizontal Sum Vertical Sum
of ?
6 1 ?
2 6+1+2=9 1 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 13 9 ≠ 13
3 6 + 1 + 3 = 10 1 + 2 + 4 + 5 = 12 10 ≠ 12
4 𝟔 + 𝟏 + 𝟒 = 𝟏𝟏 𝟏 + 𝟐 + 𝟑 + 𝟓 = 𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏 = 𝟏𝟏
5 6 + 1 + 5 = 12 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 12 ≠ 10
The answer is 4.
Note: The sign ‘′ ≠ ′means ‘not equal to’.

Question 14
According to the example, the block is rotated 90° clockwise.

is rotated to

As is rotated to (D)

Question 15
Since 3 and 6 are not next to each other, the option B cannot be
formed by folding the figure.
Note: The other options can be formed by folding the figure.

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest
Section B (Correct answer – 4 points| Incorrect or No answer – 0 points)

Question 16
Pair up numbers by adding the first number with the last number, the second number
with the second last number, and so on.
1 + 29 = 30
3 + 27 = 30
…
14 + 16 = 30
Each pair has a sum of 30. Since there are 7 pairs, then the total sum is 7×30 = 𝟐𝟏𝟎.

Question 17
Method 1:
If a number is divisible by both 3 and 5, then it is divisible by 15. The largest 2-digit
multiple of 15 is 6×15 = 𝟗𝟎.
Method 2:
The largest 2-digit number that can be divided by 5 is 95, but 95 is not divisible by 3.
The next largest 2-digit number that is divisible by 5 is 90, which is also divisible by 3.
Hence the answer is 90.

Question 18
Since there are only 3 cards, then there are only 3 numbers. All three numbers (3, 5
and 7) are shown on two diagrams in the question. The number behind ′ + ′ is 5.

Question 19

The weight of half basket of mangoes (without the basket) is equal to 80 − 60 = 20

grams. Therefore, the weight of the basket is equal to 60 − 20 = 𝟒𝟎 grams.

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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest

Question 20
Using Model Method, let the number of gumdrops on short side be 1 unit:
Gumdrops on short side: 1 Unit
Gumdrops on long side: 1 Unit 1 Unit
Each gumdrop at the 4 corners is counted twice. Then,
32 + 4 = 36 = 2 units + 1 unit + 2 units + 1 unit.
36 = 6 units,
1 unit = 36 ÷ 6, so 1 unit = 6.
Therefore, there are 6 gumdrops on the short side.

Question 21
There are 13 pencil cases altogether. Each pencil case represents 78 ÷ 13 = 6 pencils.
Hence Danny has 6×6 = 𝟑𝟔 pencils in total.

Question 22
Let ■ be the present age of Tyler and ▲ be the present age of Kyle. Let us construct
the following age table:
Tyler Kyle Age Difference
Past: ▲ years old 5 years old ▲–5
Present: ■ years old ▲ years old ■–▲
Future: 44 years old ■ years old 44 – ■

Arranging the ages from lowest value to highest value:

5, ▲ , ■ , 44
Since the age difference of two people is the same for each year, then the ages that
are next to each other in the sequence
5𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒
⏟ 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 ▲𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒
⏟ 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 44
𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 ■ ⏟

have the same difference. We can see that there are 3 differences in the sequence
above.
To find the age difference:
44 – 5 = 39
Age difference = 39 ÷ 3 = 13.
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SASMO 2016, Primary 2 Contest
It follows that ▲ = 5 + 13 = 18, and ■ = 18 + 13 = 31.
Therefore, Tyler is now 31 years old and Kyle is 18 years old.

Question 23
Count by the size of the square.
Size Number
1×1 square 12
2×2 square 5
Total 17 squares

Question 24
From the second sentence, we know that Lucas was not the fastest.
From the third sentence, we know that Dora was not the fastest.
From the fourth sentence, we know that Richard was not the fastest.
Therefore, Jonathan is the fastest.

Question 25
A two-digit number plus a one-digit number can only result in a three-digit number that
starts with 1. Hence A must be 1.
In the last column, 1 + 9 = 𝐶; therefore, C must be 0.

33