Professional Documents
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Competition
2020 Solutions
AM T PU BLISHIN G
Junior Questions�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 17
Intermediate Questions���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 23
Senior Questions�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 30
Junior Solutions��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 52
Intermediate Solutions������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 63
Senior Solutions��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 72
Answer Key���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 83
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iv 2020 AMC
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2020 AMC
2020 AMC Middle Primary Questions1
Middle Primary Questions
Middle Primary
Questions Questions
– Middle Primary Division
2. 20 + 20 =
(A) 40 (B) 30 (C) 200 (D) 220 (E) 2020
4. Half of 16 is
(A) 32 (B) 4 (C) 9 (D) 7 (E) 8
6. How many pieces have been placed in the jigsaw puzzle so far?
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2020 AMC
Middle Primary Questions
2 2020 AMC Middle Primary Questions
(A) ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
(B) ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓
↑
↑
↑
(C) ↑ ↑ ↑ ↓
↑
↑
↑
↑
(D) ↑ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↑
↑
↑
(E) ↑ ↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
9. I have 10 coins in my pocket, half are 20c coins and half are 50c coins. The total value of
the coins is
(A) $1.50 (B) $2 (C) $2.50 (D) $3 (E) $3.50
10. The graph shows the number of eggs laid by backyard chickens Nony and Cera for the first
six months of the year.
Eggs
30
20
Nony
Cera
10
0 Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
In how many months did Nony lay more eggs than Cera?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5
2
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2020 AMC
Middle Primary Questions
2020 AMC Middle Primary Questions3
11. Micky had $9.50. He spent $1.75 on fruit for lunch and gave his two friends $1.30 each.
How much money did he have left?
(A) $3.35 (B) $4.35 (C) $5.15 (D) $7.75 (E) $8.20
12. At the end of a game of marbles, Lei has 15 marbles, Dora has 8 and Omar has 4. How
many marbles must Lei give back to his friends if they want to start the next game with
an equal number each?
(A) 5 (B) 6 (C) 7 (D) 8 (E) 9
14. Ada, Billy, Con, Dee and Edie took part in a swimming race. Billy did not win or come
last. Dee finished ahead of two others but did not come first. Ada finished after Dee and
Con finished before Edie. Who won the race?
(A) Ada (B) Billy (C) Con (D) Dee (E) Edie
15. At his birthday party, Ricky and his friends wear stripy paper hats in the shape of a cone,
as shown on the left. After the party, Ricky makes a straight cut in one of the hats all the
way up to the point at the top, as shown on the right.
Which of the following best matches what the hat will look like when Ricky flattens it out
on the table?
(D) (E)
3
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2020 AMC
Middle Primary Questions
4 2020 AMC Middle Primary Questions
18. Juanita started with a square of paper, made some folds in it,
then punched a single hole through all layers.
The diagram shows what it looked like after she unfolded it and
flattened it back out.
What was the pattern of folds she made?
(D) (E)
4
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2020 AMC
Middle Primary Questions
2020 AMC Middle Primary Questions5
19. Aidan puts a range of 3D shapes on his desk at school. This is the view from his side of
the desk:
Nadia is sitting on the opposite side of the desk facing Aidan. Which of the following
diagrams best represents the view from Nadia’s side of the desk?
(D) (E)
20. I have five 50c coins, five $1 coins and five $2 coins. In how many different ways can I
make up $5?
(A) 4 (B) 6 (C) 8 (D) 10 (E) 12
21. After the first kilometre of the school cross-country run, Petra was second last.
In the next kilometre she managed to overtake seven runners.
In the third kilometre, two runners overtook her. In the final kilometre, she passed eight
runners, but four other runners overtook her.
She finished ninth.
How many were in the race?
(A) 15 (B) 18 (C) 19 (D) 20 (E) 21
5
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2020 AMC
Middle Primary Questions
6 2020 AMC Middle Primary Questions
23. Emanuel works in a busy restaurant washing dishes. Each dirty plate from the stack on
the left takes 1 minute to wash and dry, before being placed on top of the clean stack on
the right. After 7 minutes, and every 7 minutes from then on, a waiter brings 4 more dirty
plates and adds them to the top of the dirty stack.
How high is the stack of clean plates when the coloured plate is being washed?
(A) 14 (B) 16 (C) 18 (D) 20 (E) 22
24. A primary school has 400 students and they each have one vote for a school captain. They
voted for Jordan, Evie and Emily. Jordan got 3 times as many votes as Emily. Evie got
20 fewer votes than Jordan. How many votes did Evie get?
(A) 20 (B) 60 (C) 100 (D) 140 (E) 160
25. Karl likes to avoid walking on the cracks in the footpath by taking three equally spaced
steps for every two blocks. Every third block of the footpath is darker than the others, as
shown.
In his first 100 steps, how many times does Karl’s left foot step on a darker block?
(A) 11 (B) 16 (C) 21 (D) 25 (E) 33
6
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2020 AMC
Middle Primary Questions
2020 AMC Middle Primary Questions7
exit entry
28. A bale of hay can be eaten by a horse in 2 days, by a cow in 3 days and by a sheep in 12
days. A farmer has 22 bales of hay and one horse, one cow and one sheep to feed. How
many days will his bales last?
30. Oliver used small cubes to build a set of solid shapes as shown.
In the first shape, he used 1 cube; in the second shape, he used 6 cubes; in the third shape,
he used 19 cubes.
How many cubes did Oliver use to build his fifth shape?
7
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2020 AMC
8 2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions
Upper Primary Questions
Upper Primary
Questions Questions
– Upper Primary Division
1. How many pieces have been placed in the jigsaw puzzle so far?
01 0 2
4
180 170 16 0 30
170 180
P
X
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8
2020 AMC
Upper Primary Questions
2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions9
6. Some friends are walking to a lake in the mountains. First they climb a hill before they
walk down to the lake. Which graph most accurately represents their journey?
Height (metres)
150 150
100 100
50 50
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time walking (hours) Time walking (hours)
Height (metres)
150 150
100 100
50 50
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time walking (hours) Time walking (hours)
(E) 200
Height (metres)
150
100
50
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time walking (hours)
9
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2020 AMC
Upper Primary Questions
10 2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions
8. The graph shows the number of eggs laid by backyard chickens Nony and Cera for the first
six months of the year.
Eggs
30
20
Nony
Cera
10
0 Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
In how many months did Nony lay more eggs than Cera?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5
9. A class of 24 students, all of different heights, is standing in a line from tallest to shortest.
Mary is the 8th tallest and John is the 6th shortest. How many students are standing
between them in the line?
(A) 6 (B) 7 (C) 8 (D) 9 (E) 10
10
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2020 AMC
Upper Primary Questions
2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions11
11. At the end of a game of marbles, Lei has 15 marbles, Dora has 8 and Omar has 4. How
many marbles must Lei give back to his friends if they want to start the next game with
an equal number each?
(A) 5 (B) 6 (C) 7 (D) 8 (E) 9
12. In the grid, the total of each row is given at the end of the
8 6 16
row, and the total of each column is given at the bottom of the
column. N 9
The value of N is
7 9 20
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5
20 7 18
13. At his birthday party, Ricky and his friends wear stripy paper hats in the shape of a cone,
as shown on the left. After the party, Ricky makes a straight cut in one of the hats all the
way up to the point at the top, as shown on the right.
Which of the following best matches what the hat will look like when Ricky flattens it out
on the table?
(D) (E)
11
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2020 AMC
Upper Primary Questions
12 2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions
14. Emma is going to write all the numbers from 1 to 50 in order. She writes 25 digits on the
first line of her page. What was the last number she wrote on this line?
(A) 13 (B) 15 (C) 17 (D) 19 (E) 21
♣ ♣ ♣
7
c
7 7 ♣ ♣ 7 ♣ ♣
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
(A)
♣ (B)
♣ (C) ♣ ♣
♣♣ ♣ ♣♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
7 7 ♣ ♣ 7
7 ♣ ♣ 7
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
♣ ♣ ♣
(D) (E) ♣ ♣
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
♣ ♣ 7 7
12
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2020 AMC
Upper Primary Questions
2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions13
(D) D (E) E
E D
17. Aidan puts a range of 3D shapes on his desk at school. This is the view from his side of
the desk:
Nadia is sitting on the opposite side of the desk facing Aidan. Which of the following
diagrams best represents the view from Nadia’s side of the desk?
(D) (E)
13
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2020 AMC
Upper Primary Questions
14 2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions
19. Kayla is 5 years old and Ryan is 13 years younger than Cody. One year ago, Cody’s age
was twice the sum of Kayla’s and Ryan’s age. Find the sum of the three children’s current
ages.
(A) 10 (B) 22 (C) 26 (D) 30 (E) 36
20. Mary has a piece of paper. She folds it exactly in half. Then she folds it in half again. She
finishes up with this shape.
Which of the shapes P, Q and R shown below could have been her starting shape?
P Q R
(A) only P (B) only Q (C) only R (D) only P and R (E) all three
14
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2020 AMC
Upper Primary Questions
2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions15
22. The large rectangle shown has been divided into 4 smaller rectangles. The perimeters of
three of these are 10 cm, 16 cm and 20 cm. The fourth rectangle does not have the largest
or the smallest perimeter of the four smaller rectangles.
23. A bale of hay can be eaten by a horse in 2 days, by a cow in 3 days and by a sheep in 12
days. A farmer has 22 bales of hay and one horse, one cow and one sheep to feed. How
many days will his bales last?
(A) 20 (B) 22 (C) 24 (D) 26 (E) 28
24. This rectangle is 36 cm long. It is cut into two pieces and rearranged to form a square, as
shown.
36 cm
15
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2020 AMC
Upper Primary Questions
16 2020 AMC Upper Primary Questions
27. On my chicken farm where I have 24 pens, the pens were a bit crowded. So I built 6 more
pens, and the number of chickens in each pen reduced by 6. How many chickens do I have?
28. How many even three-digit numbers are there where the digits add up to 8?
30. Writing one digit every second, you have half an hour to list as many of the counting
numbers as you can, starting 1, 2, 3, . . . . At the end of half an hour, what number have
you just finished writing?
16
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2020 AMC
2020 AMC Junior Questions17
Junior Questions
Junior Questions
Questions – Junior Division
4. I stepped on the train at 8.48 am and got off at 9.21 am. How many minutes did I spend
on the train?
(A) 27 (B) 33 (C) 43 (D) 87 (E) 93
70◦ y◦
6. 2 − (0 − (2 − 0)) =
(A) −4 (B) −2 (C) 0 (D) 2 (E) 4
7. In the grid, the total of each row is given at the end of the
8 6 16
row, and the total of each column is given at the bottom of
the column. N 9
The value of N is
7 9 20
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5
20 7 18
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2020 AMC
Junior Questions
18 2020 AMC Junior Questions
8. A letter G is rotated clockwise by 135◦ . Which of the following pictures best represents
the final image?
G
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)
G
G
1+2+3+4+5 1+2
9. − =
1+2+3+4 1+2+3
5 7
(A) 3 (B) (C) 1 (D) (E) 2
6 6
10. Sebastien is thinking of two numbers whose sum is 26 and whose difference is 14. The
product of Sebastien’s two numbers is
(A) 80 (B) 96 (C) 105 (D) 120 (E) 132
(A) 33333 (B) 101010 (C) 111111 (D) 122223 (E) 112233
13. Lily is 2020 days old. How old was she on her last birthday?
(A) 4 (B) 5 (C) 6 (D) 7 (E) 8
18
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2020 AMC
Junior Questions
2020 AMC Junior Questions19
14. A piece of paper is folded twice as shown and cut along the dotted lines.
Once unfolded, which letter does the piece of paper most resemble?
(A) M (B) O (C) N (D) B (E) V
S R
17. Four teams play in a soccer tournament. Each team plays one game against each of the
other three teams. Teams earn 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a
loss. After all the games have been played, one team has 6 points, two teams have 4 points
and one team has 3 points. How many games ended in a draw?
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3 (E) 4
19
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2020 AMC
Junior Questions
20 2020 AMC Junior Questions
18. An isosceles triangle has a perimeter of 28 cm and sides of integer length. How many
different such triangles can be made?
(A) 5 (B) 6 (C) 7 (D) 8 (E) 9
20. Anupam has a cardboard square with a perimeter of 400 centimetres. He draws a horizontal
line and a vertical line on the square and cuts along these lines to create four rectangles.
What is the largest possible sum of the perimeters of these four rectangles, in centimetres?
(A) 400 (B) 600 (C) 800 (D) 1000 (E) 1200
21. The ends of the tangled string shown are pulled in the direction of the arrows so that the
string either untangles or forms a simpler knot.
Which of the following best matches the knot, or otherwise, that is formed when the string
is tightened?
(D) (E)
20
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2020 AMC
Junior Questions
2020 AMC Junior Questions21
22. Mr Atkins wrote some homework questions for his class to practise order of operations.
One of the questions was 2 + 3 × (4 + 3), with answer 23. However, one of his students
just worked from left to right and ignored the brackets, writing 2 + 3 = 5, 5 × 4 = 20,
20 + 3 = 23, the correct answer.
Mr Atkins thought that this was fascinating, so he tried to come up with another question
where working left to right gave the right answer. He tried 5 + 4 × (7 + ). What number
should he put in the box?
(A) 2 (B) 4 (C) 6 (D) 8 (E) 10
23. My friend and I took a maths test with 10 questions. Question 1 was worth 1 mark,
question 2 was worth 2 marks, question 3 was worth 3 marks, and so on. Correct answers
scored full marks and incorrect answers scored 0 marks.
We both scored the same number of marks and correctly answered the same number of
questions. However, we didn’t solve exactly the same set of questions as each other.
What is the maximum score that I could have received for the test?
(A) 44 (B) 46 (C) 48 (D) 50 (E) 52
24. A light rail network has 21 drivers, but not all of them are required at the same time:
Given that every driver must work on at least one of these shifts, what is the maximum
number of drivers that can work on all three shifts?
(A) 5 (B) 6 (C) 7 (D) 8 (E) 9
25. A bag contains exactly 50 coins. The coins are either worth 10 cents, 20 cents or 50 cents,
and there is at least one of each. The total value of the coins is $10.
How many different ways can this occur?
(A) 2 (B) 4 (C) 8 (D) 12 (E) 16
26. The digits 1 to 9 are used exactly once each to make three 3-digit numbers. The second
number is three times the first number. The third number is five times the first number.
What is the second number?
21
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Junior Questions
22 2020 AMC Junior Questions
19 14
22
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2020 AMC
2020 AMC Intermediate Questions23
Intermediate Questions
1. 2 − (0 − (2 − 0)) =
(A) −4 (B) −2 (C) 0 (D) 2 (E) 4
2. 1000% of 2 is equal to
(A) 0.002 (B) 20 (C) 200 (D) 1002 (E) 2000
|
x◦
105◦
1+2+3+4+5 1+2
4. − =
1+2+3+4 1+2+3
5 7
(A) 3 (B) (C) 1 (D) (E) 2
6 6
5. Sebastien is thinking of two numbers whose sum is 26 and whose difference is 14. The
product of Sebastien’s two numbers is
(A) 80 (B) 96 (C) 105 (D) 120 (E) 132
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2020 AMC
Intermediate Questions
24 2020 AMC Intermediate Questions
(A) 33333 (B) 101010 (C) 111111 (D) 122223 (E) 112233
4 5 7
8. If of of of is equal to 1, then the value of is
5 6 7 8
(A) 6 (B) 8 (C) 10 (D) 12 (E) 14
9. A piece of paper is folded twice as shown and cut along the dotted lines.
Once unfolded, which letter does the piece of paper most resemble?
(A) M (B) O (C) N (D) B (E) V
24
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2020 AMC
Intermediate Questions
2020 AMC Intermediate Questions25
S R
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
12. Let X = 1 − + − + − and Y = 1 − + − . Then X − Y is equal to
3 5 7 9 11 3 5 7
2 1 1 1 2
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)
99 11 10 2 9
13. The number 25 can be written as the sum of three different primes less than 20. For
instance, 25 = 5 + 7 + 13.
How many multiples of 10 can be written as the sum of three different primes less than
20?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5
3x◦
4x◦
15. There are 10 children in a classroom. The ratio of boys to girls increases when another
girl and another boy enter the room. What is the greatest number of boys that could have
been in the room at the beginning?
(A) 1 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6 (E) 9
25
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2020 AMC
Intermediate Questions
26 2020 AMC Intermediate Questions
16. Two triangles, A and B, have the same area. Triangle A is isosceles and triangle B is
right-angled.
5 cm 5 cm
A B
6 cm 6 cm
17. A list of numbers has first term 2 and second term 5. The third term, and each term after
this, is found by multiplying the two preceding terms together:
1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 × 7 × 8 × 9 × 10
19. The number is a perfect square.
n
What is the smallest possible value of n?
(A) 7 (B) 14 (C) 21 (D) 35 (E) 70
26
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2020 AMC
Intermediate Questions
2020 AMC Intermediate Questions27
21. A scientist measured the amount of bacteria in a Petri dish over several weeks and also
recorded the temperature and humidity for the same time period. The results are sum-
marised in the following graphs.
A B C D E
Bacteria
Humidity
Temperature
22. Five friends read a total of 40 books between them over the holidays. Everyone read at
least one book but no-one read the same book as anyone else.
Asilata read twice as many books as Eammon. Dane read twice as many as Bettina.
Collette read as many as Dane and Eammon put together.
Who read exactly eight books?
(A) Asilata (B) Bettina (C) Colette (D) Dane (E) Eammon
23. There are 5 sticks of length 2 cm, 3 cm, 4 cm, 5 cm and 8 cm. Three sticks are chosen
randomly. What is the probability that a triangle can be formed with the chosen sticks?
(A) 0.25 (B) 0.3 (C) 0.4 (D) 0.5 (E) 0.6
27
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2020 AMC
Intermediate Questions
28 2020 AMC Intermediate Questions
25. Alex writes down the value of the following sum, where the final term is the number
consisting of 2020 consecutive nines:
26. If n is a positive integer, n! is found by multiplying the integers from 1 to n. For example,
4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24.
What are the three rightmost digits of the sum 1! + 2! + 3! + · · · + 2020! ?
27. A square of side length 10 cm is sitting on a line. Point P is the corner of the square which
starts at the bottom left, as shown. Without slipping, the square is rolled along the line
in a clockwise direction until P returns to the line for the first time. To the nearest square
centimetre, what is the area under the curve traced by P ?
P
•
28
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2020 AMC
Intermediate Questions
2020 AMC Intermediate Questions29
30. A clockmaker makes a 12-hour clock but with the hour and minute
hands identical. An ambiguous time on this clock is one where
you cannot tell what time it is, since the exact position of the 11 12 1
10 2
two hands occurs twice in a 12-hour cycle.
9 3
For instance, the clock shown can be seen at approximately 7.23 pm
8 4
and 4.37 pm so both of these times are ambiguous. However,
7 6 5
12.00 pm is not ambiguous, since both hands are together.
How many ambiguous times happen in the 12 hours from midday
to midnight?
29
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2020 AMC
30 2020 AMC Senior Questions
Senior Questions
Senior Questions
Questions – Senior Division
|
x◦
105◦
3. Evaluate 7 + 18 ÷ (10 − 15 ) .
5 1
(A) (B) 9 (C) 3 (D) 5 (E)
3 27
4. Sebastien is thinking of two numbers whose sum is 26 and whose difference is 14. The
product of Sebastien’s two numbers is
(A) 80 (B) 96 (C) 105 (D) 120 (E) 132
4 5 7
5. If of of of is equal to 1, then the value of is
5 6 7 8
(A) 6 (B) 8 (C) 10 (D) 12 (E) 14
6. A square garden of area 10 000 m2 is to be enlarged by increasing both its length and width
by 10%. The increase in area, in square metres, is
(A) 1000 (B) 2000 (C) 2100 (D) 2400 (E) 4000
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30
2020 AMC
Senior Questions
2020 AMC Senior Questions31
ax+y
9. If a = 0, then is equivalent to
ax
1
(A) ay (B) y (C) −ay (D) a1+y (E) 1 + ay
a
8 cm
31
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2020 AMC
Senior Questions
32 2020 AMC Senior Questions
14. Given that x and y are both integers and 2x+1 + 2x = 3y+2 − 3y , the value of x + y is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 4 (D) 7 (E) 9
15. A bag contains exactly 50 coins. The coins are either worth 10 cents, 20 cents or 50 cents,
and there is at least one of each. The total value of the coins is $10.
How many different ways can this occur?
(A) 2 (B) 4 (C) 8 (D) 12 (E) 16
17. In a paddock of sheep, there are 4 times as many male sheep as female sheep. In another
paddock, there are 5 times as many females as males. When the two flocks of sheep are
combined, there are equal numbers of males and females. What is the smallest possible
total number of sheep?
(A) 20 (B) 26 (C) 30 (D) 38 (E) 42
32
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2020 AMC
Senior Questions
2020 AMC Senior Questions33
2
O A D
2 −2x−3
19. The minimum value of the function f (x) = 2x is
1 1 1 1
(A) 1 (B) (C) (D) (E)
2 4 8 16
20. Two sides of a regular pentagon are extended to create a triangle. Inside
this triangle, a smaller regular pentagon is drawn, as shown.
In area, how many times bigger is the larger pentagon than the smaller
pentagon?
√
(A) 4 (B) 2 5 (C) 5
√
5+3 √
(D) (E) 5
2
33
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2020 AMC
Senior Questions
34 2020 AMC Senior Questions
24. Alex writes down the value of the following sum, where the final term is the number
consisting of 2020 consecutive nines:
1 1 1
a + b + c = 4 and + + =5
a+b b+c c+a
c a b
Then, + + is equal to
a+b b+c c+a
3 4
(A) (B) (C) 2 (D) 20 (E) 17
2 5
19 14
27. The coefficients of a polynomial function P (x) are all non-negative integers. Given that
P (2) = 40 and P (40) = 2 688 008, what is the value of P (3)?
34
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2020 AMC
Senior Questions
2020 AMC Senior Questions35
30. When I drive to school every day, I pass eight traffic lights, each either green, yellow, or
red. I find that, because of synchronization, a green light is always followed immediately
by a yellow, and a red light is never immediately followed by a red.
Thus a sequence of lights may start with GYRY, but not RRGG.
How many possible sequences of the eight lights are there?
35
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2020 AMC
36 2020 AMC Middle Primary Solutions
Middle Primary Solutions
Middle Primary
Solutions Solutions
– Middle Primary Division
1. 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 is half, so 6 + 6 = 12 is all,
hence (D).
2. 20 + 20 = 40,
hence (A).
3. The hour hand shows that the 5th hour has passed and the minute hand shows 15 minutes
past the hour,
hence (D).
4. 16 ÷ 2 = 8,
hence (E).
6. (Also UP1)
Alternative 1
The completed puzzle will have 5 × 7 = 35 pieces, but 5 pieces have not been placed yet,
so the number of correctly placed pieces is 35 − 5 = 30,
hence (C).
Alternative 2
There are 5 rows, each with 6 correctly placed pieces, giving a total of 5 × 6 = 30,
hence (C).
8. In the correct solution there will be an equal number of ↑ moves as ↓ moves and an
equal number of moves as moves.
↑
Checking,
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9. There are five 20c coins, worth $1.00 and five 50c coins, worth $2.50. In all the coins are
worth 1.00 + 2.50 = $3.50,
hence (E).
11. In total Micky spent or gave away 1.75 + 2 × 1.30 = 1.75 + 2.60 = $4.35. The amount he
has left is 9.50 − 4.35 = $5.15,
hence (C).
14. Neither Billy nor Dee won. Dee finished before Ada, so Ada did not win.
So either Con or Edie won. Since Con finished before Edie, Con won,
hence (C).
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18. The single punched hole became 8 holes, so there must be at least 8 layers of paper when
folded.
Only (A) and (D) have 8 flat sections of paper.
In (D) any hole made when folded would create two rows of 4 holes when unfolded, which
isn’t what we see.
In (A) any hole made when folded would create 8 holes all at equal distance from the
centre, which is what we see,
hence (A).
Nadia Aidan
Aidan Nadia
Comparing this with each of the answers, we see that only option (D) matches the orien-
tation of the blue and red triangular prisms,
hence (D).
20. We can sytematically list the possibilities, starting with the possible number of $2 coins:
$2 $1 50c
2 1 0
2 0 2
1 3 0
1 2 2
1 1 4
0 5 0
0 4 2
0 3 4
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22. When the cube is made up, 2 is opposite 4, 6 is opposite 3 and 5 is opposite 1. The
products are 8, 18 and 5, so the largest is 18,
hence (C).
23. At the beginning there are 11 dirty plates above the coloured one on the left stack, and
three clean plates on the right stack. With each passing minute the number of plates on
the clean stack goes up by 1, and the number of dirty plates above the coloured plate
goes down by 1, with one exception: every seven minutes there is a net gain of 3 plates.
Hence the number of plates above the coloured one is described by the following sequence,
starting at the end of the first minute:
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.
The coloured plate is next to be washed when zero is reached for the first time, which
happens at the 19th term of the sequence, or equivalently after 19 minutes. Therefore 19
plates have been added to the clean stack, so there are 3 + 19 = 22 clean plates in total,
hence (E).
24. If there were 20 more students in the school and they all voted for Evie, then Evie and
Jordan would have the same number of votes and Emily would only have a third as many.
So we can divide this school population into 7 blocks of votes, three each for Evie and
Jordan and one for Emily. In this picture, there would be 420 students and each of the 7
blocks of votes would be 60, giving Emily 60 votes and Jordan and Evie 180 each. But we
added 20 students to the school and to Evie’s vote to get this picture, so taking these 20
away again we have Evie with 160 votes. Mathematically, this sequence of operations is
represented by the expression below:
(400 + 20) ÷ 7 = 60, 60 × 3 − 20 = 160,
hence (E).
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25. Alternative 1
Number the blocks 1, 2, 3, . . . , and represent left and right footprints by L and R, respec-
tively, as shown.
L R L R L R L R L R L
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Since Karl takes three steps for every two blocks, in 99 steps he is at block number 99 ÷
3 × 2 = 66. At the 100th step he is at the 67th block.
The pattern of footsteps repeats every four blocks, so the blocks which Karl’s left foot does
not step on are those numbered 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, . . ., that is, numbers which are one
less than a multiple of 4.
The darker blocks are the multiples of 3. Listing those multiples up to and including 66,
we strike out any which his left foot misses, observing that this occurs every fourth term
from the first onwards:
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 54, 57, 60, 63, 66.
Hence there are 16 darker blocks remaining, which are those which Karl steps on with his
left foot,
hence (B).
Alternative 2
Number the blocks 1, 2, 3, . . . . As in Alternative 1, the 100th step is on the 67th block.
Extend the diagram of footsteps and darker blocks until we find a repeating pattern: from
the 13th block onwards, the group formed by the first 12 blocks repeats.
L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
repeating group
In each group of 12 blocks, Karl steps on three darker blocks with his left foot, namely
those corresponding to 6, 9 and 12 in the first group. Therefore in the first 5 groups, or
60 blocks, his left foot steps on 3 × 5 = 15 darker blocks. His left foot misses darker block
number 63 but then steps on darker block number 66, so the total is 16,
hence (B).
26. The third number must have 3 digits, and the first and second numbers must have 2 digits.
Since the third number is twice the second number, the third number must start with 1.
Since the second number is less than 100, the first number is less than 50, so it must start
with 3.
3 1 1 3 5 6 7 8 9
The second and third numbers are even, but the only even digits available are 6 and 8.
Since the third number is twice the second, these go this way around:
3 8 1 6 1 3 5 6 7 8 9
Only 9 in the units digit of the first number gives 8 in the second number (4 is not available),
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so the first number is 39 and the rest of the digits can now be found:
Middle Primary Solutions
3 9 7 8 1 5 6 1 3 5 6 7 8 9
hence (156).
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hence (156).
27. Once we start, we can see that the 30 and 60 can be added 60 50 50 55
going up or coming down, with the same total.
50 45 150
So moving through those squares going up we get to the 25
square, where it is clearly better to choose the 55 rather than 50 50
the 50. When we get to the centre square in the top row, it 55 55 60 25 55
is clearly better to follow the route shown than choose the
30
150.
The 55 and 70 on the left are not possible to get to under the 70
rules, so the maximum possible is exit entry
30 + 60 + 25 + 55 + 50 + 55 + 50 + 50 + 60 + 50 + 45 + 55 = 585
hence (585).
30. Alternative 1
The layers of the 5th solid are as drawn below:
41
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The number of cubes in each layer can be counted. However, it is useful to notice that the
difference between two layers is 4 times the lower layer number. For instance, going from
layer 3 to layer 4 requires 4 × 3 cubes:
Layer 3 Layer 4
So the number of cubes in each layer, and the total number of cubes in the solid can be
found:
Layer Cubes
1 1
2 1+4= 5
3 5 + 8 = 13
4 13 + 12 = 25
5 25 + 16 = 41
85
hence (85).
Alternative 2
The layers can be drawn as before. It can be shown that the number of cubes in each layer
is the sum of two squares. The second layer has 12 + 22 cubes, the third has 22 + 32 cubes,
and so on. This is because squares can be formed by adding odd numbers, for example
1 + 3 + 5 = 32 , and each layer consists of rows of odd numbers. Following this pattern the
fourth layer has 32 +42 = 25 cubes and the fifth layer has 42 +52 = 41 cubes. (This pattern
could be continued indefinitely for higher towers following the same pattern.) Summing
the five layers, 1 + 5 + 13 + 25 + 41 = 85,
hence (85).
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Upper Primary Solutions
Upper Primary
Solutions Solutions
– Upper Primary Division
1. (Also MP6)
Alternative 1
The completed puzzle will have 5 × 7 = 35 pieces, but 5 pieces have not been placed yet,
so the number of correctly placed pieces is 35 − 5 = 30,
hence (C).
Alternative 2
There are 5 rows, each with 6 correctly placed pieces, giving a total of 5 × 6 = 30,
hence (C).
2. (Also J2)
2020 ÷ 2 = 1010,
hence (E).
1 3 6 3 6 3
4. Comparing to , only and are larger. Of these, = 0.75 and = 0.6, so that is
2 4 10 4 10 4
the largest,
hence (D).
5. The angle P XQ is an acute angle, so less than 90◦ . It is halfway between 40◦ and 50◦ ,
which makes it 45◦ ,
hence (A).
6. Each graph shows time from left to right and height from bottom to top.
The left end of the curve represents the beginning of the journey, at the
lowest height. Somewhere in the middle of the curve is the highest point
at the top of the hill. Lower than this is the right end of the curve, which
represents the height of the lake.
So the graph will be an up-then-down shape similar to that shown. Only (A) matches this,
hence (A).
7. Each 1 is 10 tenths, so 6 is 60 tenths. Also 0.2 is two tenths, so that 6.2 is 62 tenths,
hence (A).
8. (Also MP10)
The red column (Nony) is taller than the blue column (Cera) in January, March, May and
June,
hence (D).
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9. The line has 8 students (including Mary), then the in-between students, then 6 students
(including John). The number of in-between students is 24 − (8 + 6) = 24 − 14 = 10,
hence (E).
10. Three-quarters of 12 is nine, but only six squares are coloured in. Therefore an additional
three squares need to be coloured in,
hence (D).
8 2 6 16
5 N 3 9
7 4 9 20
20 7 18
Then N = 1,
hence (A).
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14. The first 9 digits are 123456789. There are 25 − 9 = 16 more digits on the first line. These
form 16 ÷ 2 = 8 two-digit numbers. The 8th two-digit number is 17,
hence (C).
15. Flipping over edges b then c is equivalent to rotating the card by 180◦ . (The card is face
up, and the bottom-right corner is now the top-left corner due to the movement of the
card.) This rules out options (D) and (E), since the cluster of 5 clubs needs to move to
the bottom half of the card. We can also rule out options (B) and (C), since the clubs in
the top row should not be upside down,
hence (A).
16. The counter must be removed from the first or last row, since they have 3 counters each.
Also it must be removed from the first or second column, since they have 3 counters each.
The only possible labelled counter is E , and removing this makes the number of counters
in the rows 3, 4, 1, 2 and the number of counters in the columns 2, 3, 4, 1,
hence (E).
Nadia Aidan
Aidan Nadia
Comparing this with each of the answers, we see that only option (D) matches the orien-
tation of the blue and red triangular prisms,
hence (D).
18. Alternative 1
The shaded triangle can be rearranged into three of the equilateral triangles:
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Alternative 2
Compare the shaded triangle to the rightmost equilateral triangle.
They have equal altitude but the shaded triangle has three times the base. So if we used
the area formula A = 12 bh to calculate both values, the area of the shaded triangle would
be three times larger.
Since each equilateral triangle has area 1 m2 , the shaded triangle has area 3 m2 ,
hence (D).
19. Alternative 1
First consider the situation one year ago. Kayla was 4, so Cody’s age was twice Ryan’s
age plus 8. Cody’s age was also Ryan’s age plus 13.
So twice Ryan’s age plus 8 is equal to Ryan’s age plus 13, which means that Ryan’s age
was 5. Then Cody’s age was 18.
Their current ages are 5, 6 and 19, which add to 30,
hence (D).
Alternative 2
One year ago, Kayla was 4 and Cody was 13 years older than Ryan. Try some values for
Ryan’s age last year, calculating Cody’s age both ways to see if they are the same. Due
to the way Cody’s age is calculated, we notice a simple predictable pattern that allows us
to find a solution after a small number of steps.
So X = Y in the rightmost column. This is the only solution, since each extra year for
Ryan makes an additional year in row X and an additional two years in row Y . That is,
the patterns in X and Y continue and they never match again.
Their ages last year were 4, 5, 18 so their current ages are 5, 6 and 19, which add to 30,
hence (D).
20. The folded shape is a right isosceles triangle with angles of 45◦ , 45◦ and 90◦ .
Each of the three shapes can be divided into four right isosceles triangles, and it is easily
checked that each of these can be made with two folds:
P:
Q:
R:
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21. Alternative 1
There are many ways to arrange numbers as in the question and many ways in which the
differences appear on the edges.
First, we decide to make the smallest corner number equal to 1, since otherwise all corner
numbers could be reduced by the same amount, making a smaller total.
We look to find all possible ways to fill in the diagram.
Suppose we label the differences in the diagram with corner numbers
−3
and jumps as shown in this example, with jumps from going around 6 3
clockwise.
The four ‘jumps’ 1, 2, 3, 4 are each used once in these labels, with +4 −2
either + or − on each. To end up at the same number, the plus
jumps will balance the minus jumps. The only way to balance these 2 1
+1
4 numbers is 1 + 4 = 2 + 3. By rotating the diagram, we can assume
that the first jump is +1 or −1. In fact, we only need to consider the +1 case, since if a
jump is −1, then the ‘anticlockwise’ version will have +1 and the same total. So we only
look at ways to order the jumps +1, −2, −3 and +4 with +1 first.
Here are the six possibilities for the four jumps, written out as though the first difference
is +1. The cycle is straightened out to show the different orders of the four jumps. The
corner numbers are found by guessing the first number is 5, but then adjusting if necessary
so that the smallest corner number is 1.
5 5 2 5 5 3 5 1 5 1
+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1
6 6 3 6 6 4 6 2 6 2
−2 −2 −3 −3 +4 +4
4 4 1 3 3 1 10 6 10 6
−3 +4 −2 +4 −2 −3
1 8 5 1 7 5 8 4 7 3
+4 −3 +4 −2 −3 −2
5 5 2 5 5 3 5 1 5 1
16 23 11 15 21 13 29 13 28 12
The smallest total is the one highlighted above, with a total of 11,
hence (B).
Alternative 2
The smallest possible total of four different positive numbers is 1+2+3+4 = 10. However,
no two of these numbers can be placed to give a difference of 4 as the largest difference is
4 − 1 = 3.
The next smallest total is 1 + 2 + 3 + 5 = 11. To get a difference of 4 we need to place
the 1 adjacent to the 5. To get a difference of 3, we need to place the 2 also adjacent to
the 5. This means that the remaining vertex is labelled with the 3, giving differences of
1 = 3 − 2 and 2 = 5 − 3 as required,
hence (B).
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22. Rotate the rectangle so that the vertical dividing line is left of centre and the horizontal
dividing line is above centre. Label the four smaller rectangles as shown.
When two rectangles have the same height, we can compare the
perimeter by comparing the widths. Consequently A’s perimeter is A B
smaller than B’s and C’s perimeter is smaller than D’s. Similarly
A’s perimeter is smaller than C’s and B s perimeter is smaller than
C D
D’s. So A’s perimeter is the smallest, which must be 10 cm and D’s
perimeter is the largest, which must be 20 cm.
Now, comparing the combined perimeter of A and D with that of the large rectangle,
we see by simple rearrangement of line segments that they are the same. That is, the
perimeter of the large rectangle is 10 + 20 = 30 cm,
hence (B).
24. Alternative 1
P Q
R S
T U
36 cm
X Y
A X Y
A Z
B C Z
B C
36
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In the left diagram, tiles C and X are the same width. In the right diagram, tiles A, B and
X are the same width, and C, Y and Z are the same width. Consequently all six tiles are
the same width. Similarly, all six tiles are the same height.
So in the left diagram, each tile is 36 ÷ 3 = 12 cm wide. Then in the right diagram, the
large square is 2 × 12 = 24 cm wide, so it is 24 cm tall and each tile is 24 ÷ 3 = 8 cm tall.
Finally, in the left diagram, the large rectangle is 2 × 6 = 16 cm tall,
hence (B).
25. Suppose the amount of water in the bottle is 12 units of water, each unit corresponding to
1 cm in the straight part of the bottle on the left.
When the bottle is upside down, there are still 12 units of water in the bottle and 21−15 = 6
units of air. So the volume of the bottle is 18 units.
12 2
Consequently the fraction of the volume that is water is = ,
18 3
hence (D).
27. We are looking for a number which when divided by 24 and then by 30 gives two numbers
with the first larger than the other by 6. Try 240: this gives 10 and 8 with a difference of
2. So we need to multiply the starting number by 3, so there are 240 × 3 = 720 chickens,
hence (720).
28. If the last digit is 0, then there are 8 possibilities for the first two digits: 17, 26, 35, 44,
53, 62, 71, 80.
If the last digit is 2, then there are 6 possibilities for the first two digits: 15, 24, 33, 42,
51, 60.
If the last digit is 4, then there are 4 possibilities for the first two digits: 13, 22, 13, 40.
If the last digit is 6, then there are 2 possibilities for the first two digits: 11, 20.
In total there are 8 + 6 + 4 + 2 = 20 possibilities,
hence (20).
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4 3 4 4 5 5
For each such shape, there are two possible Personal Identification Numbers. So the number
of possibilities for Madeleine’s PIN is
2 × (4 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5) = 50
hence (50).
Alternative 2
Of the three digits, consider the PINs with a given, fixed middle digit. The other two digits
must both be chosen from the squares sharing an edge with the middle digit’s square. If
there are n such neighbouring squares, the number of possible choices of the first digit is
n, and then the number of possible choices of the last digit is n − 1, giving n(n − 1) PINs
with this particular middle digit.
Summarising for all 10 possible middle digits:
30. Alternative 1
From 1 to 9 there are 9 single-digit numbers, which take 9 seconds to write. From 10 to
99 there are 90 two-digit numbers, which take a further 2 × 90 = 180 seconds. Thus the
first 99 numbers take 189 seconds in total.
In half an hour, or 30 × 60 = 1800 seconds, there are 1800 − 189 = 1611 remaining seconds
to write as many three-digit numbers as you can, starting with 100, 101, . . . . Since each
takes 3 seconds, you can write 1611 ÷ 3 = 537 more numbers.
Hence the total number of numbers, or equivalently the final number to be written, is
99 + 537 = 636,
hence (636).
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Alternative 2
If all numbers had three digits, you would be able to write one every 3 seconds, or 20 every
minute, so in half an hour you would write 600 numbers. However, for the numbers 1 to 99,
you can avoid writing a zero in the hundreds place, so the time spent on those digits can be
spent instead on a further 99 ÷ 3 = 33 three-digit numbers. Additionally, for the numbers
1 to 9, you can also avoid writing a zero in the tens place, allowing time for a further
9 ÷ 3 = 3 three-digit numbers. Hence the total number of numbers is 600 + 33 + 3 = 636,
hence (636).
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Solutions – Junior Division
2. (Also UP2)
2020 ÷ 2 = 1010,
hence (E).
4. There are 12 minutes from 8.48 am to 9 am and 21 minutes from 9 am to 9.21 am, a total
of 12 + 21 = 33 minutes,
hence (B).
5. The three angles in a triangle add to 180◦ . So 150 + y = 180 and y = 30,
hence (B).
6. (Also I1)
2 − (0 − (2 − 0)) = 2 − (0 − 2) = 2 − (−2) = 2 + 2 = 4,
hence (E).
7. (Also UP12)
Using the totals around the sides, the 4 blank squares can be filled in.
8 2 6 16
5 N 3 9
7 4 9 20
20 7 18
Then N = 1,
hence (A).
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8. In the diagram on the left, let O be the middle of the letter G and let P be a point at the
top. Rotating by 135◦ clockwise about O moves P to the position at Q.
G
P
G O 135◦
Q
O
Therefore the G ends up in the position shown in the diagram on the right,
hence (E).
9. (Also I4)
1+2+3+4+5 1+2 15 3 3 1
− = − = − = 1,
1+2+3+4 1+2+3 10 6 2 2
hence (C).
11. Relative to the map grid, the area of the country is approximately 15 squares, and is
definitely between 10 and 100 squares. These squares are 100 km × 100 km = 10 000 km2 ,
so that the country’s area is between 100 000 km2 and 1 000 000 km2 ,
hence (D).
13. Alternative 1
2020 ÷ 365 is bigger than 2000 ÷ 400 = 5 and smaller than 2100 ÷ 350 = 6, so she was 5
on her last birthday,
hence (B).
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Alternative 2
Multiples of 365 near 2020 are 5 × 365 = 1825 and 6 × 365 = 2190. Leap years only vary
this by 1 or 2 days. So Lily is between 5 and 6 years old,
hence (B).
2 2 1
2 11
5 3
4
The original equilateral triangle has side length 9 and perimeter 27,
hence (B).
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17. Alternative 1
Each team plays 3 games. The only way a team can get 6 points is by winning two games
and losing one. So this team has no draws.
There are two ways to get 3 points: one win and two losses, or else three draws. But the
latter cannot have happened because the first team had no draws. So the team with 3
points had one win and two losses—again no draws.
The only way to get 4 points is from one win, one draw and one loss. So the other two
teams must have drawn with one another. Hence there was only one draw,
hence (B).
Alternative 2
There were 4 teams, each played 3 games, and each game involved 2 teams, so there were
4 × 3 ÷ 2 = 6 games.
Suppose there were d draws and 6 − d wins in the tournament, then the total number of
points earned was 2d + 3(6 − d) = 18 − d. (This reflects 18 points if there were 6 wins,
with one less point in total for each drawn match.)
From the question, 6 + 4 + 4 + 3 = 17 points were earned, so that d = 1,
hence (B).
18. Alternative 1
List possibilities starting with the two equal sides being 13:
28 = 13 + 13 + 2 = 12 + 12 + 4 = 11 + 11 + 6
= 10 + 10 + 8 = 9 + 9 + 10 = 8 + 8 + 12
The next (7 + 7 + 14) and following cases don’t satisfy the triangle inequality, so there are
only these six possibilities,
hence (B).
Alternative 2
Suppose the triangle has sides a, b and b. Then a < 14 and b < 14. Also a + 2b = 28, so
a
that b = 14 − > 7. Therefore, 8 b 13, which includes 6 values of b, and each gives a
2
different isosceles triangle,
hence (B).
19. The total in the grid is 4 × (1 + 2 + 3 + 4) = 40, so each region must have sum 10.
The region on the lower left must have 4 + 3 + 3 = 10. The upper-right region will either
have 4 + 3 + 3 = 10 or 2 + 4 + 4 = 10. However, the third row is either 3 1 2 4 or
3 1 4 2 , which doesn’t permit two 4s in the upper-right region.
Hence the upper-right region must have 4 + 3 + 3 arranged as shown on the left, the third
row must be 3 1 4 2 and the second column is similar, as shown on the right.
3 4 2 3 4
x 3 4 3
3 1 y 3 1 4 2
4 3 4 3
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Then x + y = 4 + 4 = 8,
hence (A).
20. Alternative 1
Each of the four rectangles has two old sides that are part of the original perimeter of the
square, and two new sides that are created by the cuts.
The total of all old sides is 400 cm, the square’s original perimeter. 100 cm
For the new sides, observe that each unit of cut creates 2 units of new side.
100 cm
Then the two 100 cm cuts create 2 × 2 × 100 = 400 cm of new side.
So no matter where the cuts are made, the sum of the perimeters of all
four rectangles is 400 + 400 = 800 cm,
hence (C).
Alternative 2
Suppose the lower-left rectangle is x cm wide and y cm high, then the total perimeter of
all 4 rectangles is
21. Alternative 1
We untangle the knot as far as possible, as follows.
(i) (ii)
C
D E
A
B
(iii) (iv)
C
In (i), uncross the loop at A then tighten to take up the slack. In (ii), move B around the
back towards C, creating (iii). Finally, tighten and reshape the knot, as in (iv),
hence (D).
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Alternative 2
Here is another method for simplifying the tangles.
(i) (ii) B
D
E
A
F
C
(iii) (iv)
D
F
C
First, uncross the loop at A, as in Alternative 1. Next, move B towards C, sliding it
underneath so that the string uncrosses at D and E, but forms a new crossing at F . Finally,
tighten and reshape the knot, as shown in (iv). By rotating this 180◦ in a horizontal axis,
this matches the same knot as in Alternative 1,
hence (D).
Note: Surprisingly, it is also possible to tighten the knot and end up with the mirror image
of knot (iv). This is because (iv) (known as a figure-8 knot) has a special property: it can
be rearranged into its own mirror image.
5 + 4(7 + x) = (5 + 4) × 7 + x
4x − x = 63 − 5 − 28
3x = 30
so that x = 10. Checking, both correct and incorrect evaluations equal 73,
hence (E).
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23. Alternative 1
The total number of marks on the test was 1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + 10 = 55. My friend and I
could have scored 50 marks on the test, with one of us incorrectly answering questions 1
and 4 and the other incorrectly answering questions 2 and 3. The following observations
verify that this is the maximum possible number of marks that I could have received for
the test.
24. Alternative 1
If 9 drivers work all 3 shifts, then the Friday night shift requires another 6 drivers and the
Saturday morning shift requires another 3 drivers. This gives at most 9 other drivers a
shift, meaning that at most 18 drivers have at least one shift and at least 3 drivers have
no shifts.
If a driver is then taken off all 3 shifts, she and two other drivers can have 1 shift, so at
most 20 drivers have at least one shift and at least 1 driver has no shifts.
If another driver is then taken off all 3 shifts, no driver is shiftless. In this situation, 7
drivers have all three shifts,
hence (C).
Alternative 2
Of the 21 drivers, suppose x of them drive exactly 1 shift, y drive exactly 2 shifts and z
drive 3 shifts. Then x + y + z = 21 and x + 2y + 3z = 15 + 12 + 9 = 36.
Consequently y + 2z = 36 − 21 = 15 and 2z 15. Since z is an integer, z 7.
For maximum z, this suggests z = 7, y = 15 − 2z = 1 and x = 21 − y − z = 13. For
instance, 7 drivers work all 3 shifts and then 1 driver works on the Saturday and Sunday
shifts only. The remaining 13 drivers are rostered 8 to Friday, 4 to Saturday and 1 to
Sunday.
Thus a solution exists with 7 three-shift drivers, which must be the maximum,
hence (C).
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Since x and y are positive, y can take any value from 1 to 12. Checking that all 12 values
work:
y (50c coins) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
x (20c coins) 46 42 38 34 30 26 22 18 14 10 6 2
50 − x − y (10c coins) 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36
26. Let the three numbers be n, 3n and 5n. Since both n and 5n have 3 digits, n starts with
1. Since 5n can’t end in 0, it must end in 5, so that n is odd. So n is odd, 3n is odd and
5n ends with 5. This accounts for four of the five odd digits, including digits 1 and 5. In
particular, n ends in 3, 7 or 9. However, 3n can’t end in 1, so n ends in 3 or 9.
Since n has no duplicate digits, the smallest it can be is 123. Also, n is less than 167, or
else 3n would start with 5, a duplicate. All that remains is to check a small number of
possibilities for duplicate digits:
The only possibility using all nine digits exactly once is n = 129, so that 3n = 387,
hence (387).
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4 3 4 4 5 5
For each such shape, there are two possible Personal Identification Numbers. So the number
of possibilities for Madeleine’s PIN is
2 × (4 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5) = 50
hence (50).
Alternative 2
Of the three digits, consider the PINs with a given, fixed middle digit. The other two digits
must both be chosen from the squares sharing an edge with the middle digit’s square. If
there are n such neighbouring squares, the number of possible choices of the first digit is
n, and then the number of possible choices of the last digit is n − 1, giving n(n − 1) PINs
with this particular middle digit.
Summarising for all 10 possible middle digits:
28. Alternative 1
The only cubes that Augusta has to remove are those that are in one of the 9 holes in at
least one of the 3 views.
Consider first making the central 3 × 3 hole from each direction. Each such hole can be
considered as three 3 × 3 × 3 cubes, but the three directions have a central 3 × 3 × 3 cube
in common. Consequently 7 × 33 = 7 × 27 = 189 unit cubes are removed to make these
holes, and 20 × 33 = 540 cubes are left.
Now consider the 1 × 1 holes from each direction. Each of the twenty 3 × 3 × 3 cubes
remaining will have 7 unit cubes removed, so 20 × 7 = 140 unit cubes in all.
In total, Augusta removes 189 + 140 = 329 unit cubes,
hence (329).
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Alternative 2
One way to define Augusta’s solid is to first remove the 3 × 3 holes through the centre of
each face, and then remove the 1 × 1 holes. These two operations use the same underlying
process.
With any 3n × 3n × 3n cube, you can subdivide it into 27 smaller cubes, each n × n × n.
You can then remove 7 of these 27 smaller cubes: 6 face centres and 1 cube centre. This
20
leaves of the original volume:
27
20
× =
27
Augusta’s solid is made by repeating this process on each of the 20 smaller cubes. Conse-
2
20 400
quently it has = of the original volume. Since a 9 × 9 × 9 cube has volume 729,
27 729
400 unit cubes remain and 729 − 400 = 329 have been removed,
hence (329).
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In case (ii), the third row is either GBGB or BGBG and in either case the fourth row can
be either RYRY or YRYR. So case (ii) leads to 4 possible complete grids.
In case (iii), the third row can be filled in only one way: G in the third column, then the
remainder follow, GBGY. Similarly the fourth row can only be filled in RYRB. So case
(iii) only leads to 1 possible complete grid.
Similarly, each of case (iv) and case (v) has a unique solution.
So with (i) as the starting point, there are 7 possible ways to complete the grid. The same
will be true with each of the 24 ways of starting, so there are 24 × 7 = 168 ways of filling
the grid,
hence (168).
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1. (Also J6)
2 − (0 − (2 − 0)) = 2 − (0 − 2) = 2 − (−2) = 2 + 2 = 4,
hence (E).
1000
2. 1000% of 2 = × 2 = 10 × 2 = 20,
100
hence (B).
3. (Also S2)
The supplementary angle to 105◦ is x = 75. Since the triangle is isosceles, the other base
angle is 75◦ and the apex angle is y = 180 − 2 × 75 = 30. Then x + y = 75 + 30 = 105,
hence (D).
4. (Also J9)
1+2+3+4+5 1+2 15 3 3 1
− = − = − = 1,
1+2+3+4 1+2+3 10 6 2 2
hence (C).
7. (Also J12)
(123456 − 12345) + (1234 − 123) + (12 − 1) = 111111 + 1111 + 11 = 112233,
hence (E).
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8. (Also S5)
Let x be the value of . Then
4 5 x 7 4×5×x×7
1= × × × =
5 6 7 8 5×6×7×8
4×x x
= =
6×8 12
so that x = 12,
hence (D).
9. (Also J14)
Unfolding the cut page proceeds as shown:
2 2 1
2 11
5 3
4
The original equilateral triangle has side length 9 and perimeter 27,
hence (B).
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12.
1 1 11 − 9 2
X −Y = − = =
9 11 99 99
hence (A).
13. Primes less than 20 are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17 and 19. Then 10 = 2 + 3 + 5, 20 = 2 + 5 + 13
and 30 = 2 + 11 + 17. In general, if three primes add to a multiple of 10, they can’t all be
odd, so one of the primes is 2 and the other two are odd. However, the greatest two odd
primes available are 17 and 19, where 2 + 17 + 19 = 38. Consequently the only possible
totals are 10, 20 and 30,
hence (C).
14. Each triangle is isosceles, so each angle can be deduced. In particular, the quadrilateral
has angles 3x, 4x, 7x, 6x, a total of 20x. Also, the angles on a quadrilateral add to 360◦ .
Hence 20x = 360 and x = 18,
hence (C).
15. Alternative 1
Suppose there are b boys and 10 − b girls initially. After, there are b + 1 boys and 11 − b
girls. Then
b+1 b
>
11 − b 10 − b
(b + 1)(10 − b) > b(11 − b) (since 11 − b > 10 − b > 0)
−b2 + 9b + 10 > −b2 + 11b
10 > 2b
5>b
So at most b = 4 boys were in the room at the beginning,
hence (B).
Alternative 2
If there were equal numbers of boys and girls, then the ratio would not change.
So consider whether the initial boy:girl ratio is (i) r > 1, or (ii) r < 1.
In case (i), for every girl there are r > 1 boys. To keep the ratio the same, for every girl
who enters, r boys must enter. However only 1 boy enters, so the ratio decreases.
Conversely, in case (ii) the ratio of boys:girls increases, by similar reasoning.
Since the ratio increases, only (ii) is possible, so there are more girls than boys. That is,
there were initially at least 6 girls and at most 4 boys,
hence (B).
16. Triangle A has perimeter 16 cm. Bisecting the base of triangle A gives two right-angled
triangles. By Pythagoras’ theorem, the height of these triangles is 4 cm.
Since triangle B has the√ same area√and the same base, it has the same height. Then
the hypotenuse is h = 42 + 62 = 52 where 7 < h < 8. The perimeter of B is then
p = 10 + h, so that 17 < p < 18. Consequently p is between 1 cm and 2 cm more than the
perimeter of A,
hence (C).
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17. Write the terms in the sequence in the form 2a 5b , then the multiplication is just adding of
exponents:
21 50 , 20 51 , 21 51 , 21 52 , 22 53 , 23 55 , 25 58 , 28 513
Then the 8th term is 28 513 ,
hence (C).
Note: The exponents here are Fibonacci numbers, since at each step we are adding the
two previous exponents of 2 and also adding the two previous exponents of 5.
18. Alternative 1
The smaller hexagon is adjacent to three equilateral triangles. Consequently the side of
the larger hexagon is three times the side of the smaller hexagon. Then the ratio of areas
is 9 : 1,
hence (D).
Alternative 2
6 2
The smaller hexagon is = of the area of the equilateral triangle in which it is inscribed,
9 3
1
and this triangle is of the area of the larger hexagon. Hence the smaller hexagon is
6
2 1 1
× = of the area of the larger hexagon,
3 6 9
hence (D).
1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 × 7 × 8 × 9 × 10 28 34 52 7
19. Write k 2 = = . Then k 2 n = (24 32 5)2 7, so that
n n
n = 7, k = 24 32 5 is a solution. In any other solution the prime factor 7 of k 2 n will still be
in n, so n can’t be any smaller than 7,
hence (A).
20. Triangles EF B and F AB have equal bases EF and F A, and equal perpendicular
heights, so they have equal area 5. Hence AEB has area 10.
Similarly, AED has area 10 so that ADB has area 20.
Similarly, CDB has area 20 so that ABC has area 40,
hence (C).
21. From the second graph we see that the highest bacteria population occurred when the
humidity was at its second highest value during the experiment. From the third graph
we see that the second highest humidity occurred when the temperature was at its fourth
lowest value. From the first graph we see that the fourth lowest temperature overall
occurred in week E,
hence (E).
22. Let a, b, c, d, e be the number of books read by Asilata, Bettina, Colette, Dane and Eammon
respectively. Then a = 2e, d = 2b, c = d + e and a + b + c + d + e = 40. Solving,
40 = 2e + b + (2b + e) + 2b + e = 4e + 5b
5
e = 10 − b
4
Thus b is a multiple of 4. Also e > 0 so b < 8.
Consequently, b = 4, e = 5, a = 10, d = 8 and c = 13,
hence (D).
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23. Label each stick by its length in centimetres. Sticks 2, 4 and 5 can form a triangle, since 5,
the longest stick, is less than 2 + 4. On the other hand, 2, 5 and 8 cannot, since 2 + 5 8.
Here are inequalities (triangle inequalities) for all 10 possible choices of 3 sticks:
24. Alternative 1
In the upper semicircle, label lengths as shown and then equate the two radii using Pythago-
ras’ theorem.
r 2 = x 2 + 12
2
1
r2 = (3 − x)2 +
2
2 37
= x − 6x +
r 4
37
1 r x2 + 1 = 2
x − 6x +
1 4
2 33
6x =
4
x 3−x 11
x=
8
√
√ 185 185
Then r = x2 +1= = ,
64 8
hence (E).
Alternative 2
y
Place the diagram on the coordinate plane as shown.
Here P is the centre of the circle and M is the mid- A(0, 1)
point of chord AB, and so M P is the perpendicular M ( 32 , 34 )
bisector of AB. B(3, 12 )
1
The line AB has slope − so P M has slope 6.
6 P x
3 1 3 1
Then P M has rise so it has run × = .
4 6 4 8
3 1 11
That is, P = − ,0 = ,0 .
2 8 8
√
11 2 2 185
Thus P A = +1 = ,
8 8
hence (E).
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26. For large enough n, 1000 is a divisor of n!, so the three rightmost digits of n! are 000 and
n! does not contribute to the last 3 digits of the sum. In particular, if n 15, then n! has
4 × 5 × 10 × 15 = 3000 as a divisor.
The final 3 digits of each of 1!, 2!, 3!, . . . , 14! are
001, 002, 006, 024, 120, 720, 040, 320, 880, 800, 800, 600, 800, 200
which add to 5313. Consequently the last 3 digits of 1! + 2! + · · · + 2020! are 313,
hence (313).
27. As the square rolls, it pivots on each of the other three corners in turn so that P traces
three arcs of various radii, as shown.
P P
• •
P P
• •
A B C
1 1 √ 1
2× × π × 102 + × π × (10 2)2 + 2 × × 102 = 100π + 100
4 4 2
Using the approximation π ≈ 3.14, the area is approximately 314 + 100 = 414 cm2 ,
hence (414).
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28. Alternative 1
Consider the diagram on the left which shows all edges of the eight triangles. Let a, b and
c be the side lengths of the small right-angled triangles formed by these edges, and let x
be the side length of the centre square.
•
c c
b 30
•
a
40 50
x
In the top-left triangle, the hypotenuse of length 50 is made up of three line segments of
lengths 40 − c, c and 30 − c, as shown on the right. Hence
(40 − c) + c + (30 − c) = 50
which has solution c = 20. The a-b-c triangles are similar to the 30-40-50 triangles, since
they share common acute angles. Hence
30
a= c = 12
50
40
b= c = 16
50
Finally,
x = 50 − a − b = 50 − 12 − 16 = 22
so the square has area 222 = 484 cm2 ,
hence (484).
Alternative 2
From the sides of the eight triangles, the outer
square has side 70 cm and the first inscribed 20
square has side 50 cm, and area 2500 cm2 . We
can deduce further lengths as shown. 40
Each 30-40-50 triangle has area 600 cm2 . If the 20
area of each of the smaller triangles formed by the 600 X
overlap of two triangles is X (as indicated) then 50 10
the area of the inner square is 2500−4(600−X) =
100 + 4X. 30
Due to shared angles, the two darker triangles
shown are similar, with lengths in the ratio 5 : 2.
Consequently the ratio of areas is 25 : 4, and so 50
4
X= × 600 = 96 cm2 .
25
Then the inner square has area 100 + 4X =
484 cm2 ,
hence (484).
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In case (ii), the third row is either GBGB or BGBG and in either case the fourth row can
be either RYRY or YRYR. So case (ii) leads to 4 possible complete grids.
In case (iii), the third row can be filled in only one way: G in the third column, then the
remainder follow, GBGY. Similarly the fourth row can only be filled in RYRB. So case
(iii) only leads to 1 possible complete grid.
Similarly, each of case (iv) and case (v) has a unique solution.
So with (i) as the starting point, there are 7 possible ways to complete the grid. The same
will be true with each of the 24 ways of starting, so there are 24 × 7 = 168 ways of filling
the grid,
hence (168).
30. Alternative 1
Measure the time in hours and minutes since midday. As noted, neither 0 hours nor 12
hours is ambiguous. For an ambiguous time of a hours and b minutes, a is a whole number
with 0 a 11 and b is a real number with 0 b < 60. Let the time with the hands the
other way be c hours and d minutes, where 0 c 11 and 0 d < 60.
Now consider the angles clockwise from the top. The first time’s hour hand is at angle
1 1
30a + b and the second time’s minute hand is at angle 6d. So 30a + b = 6d, which
2 2
implies that 60a + b = 12d. Similarly 60c + d = 12b.
Consider fixed values of a and c, each from 0 to 11. We solve to find the values of b and d.
b = 12d − 60a and d = 12b − 60c
=⇒ b = 12(12b − 60c) − 60a and d = 12(12d − 60a) − 60c
=⇒ 143b = 720c + 60a and 143d = 720a + 60c
720c + 60a 720a + 60c
=⇒ b= and d=
143 143
780 60
When a = c, this solution becomes b = d = a= a and the two times are equal,
143 11
which is not ambiguous.
Otherwise a = c, so of the hour numbers a and c, at least one is greater than 0 and at
least one is less than 11. Thus 720a + 60c > 0 and 720a + 60c < 720 × 11 + 60 × 11 =
780×11 = 60×143. Hence d > 0 and d < 60, and d is a valid number of minutes. Similarly
0 < b < 60.
Consequently, for fixed values of a and c from 0 to 11 such that a = c, there is a unique
ambiguous time where the hour hand is between numbers a and a + 1 and the minute hand
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Every almost-horizontal line intersects every almost-vertical line, so there are 144 points
of intersection. However, the 12 intersections on the diagonal h = m are not ambiguous.
Also the non-ambiguous time 12:00 is represented twice on this graph, but both are shown
as non-ambiguous. Therefore there are 144 − 12 = 132 ambiguous times,
hence (132).
Alternative 3
On a normal clock, the minute hand (represented by OY below) rotates 12 times for every
rotation of the hour hand (OX below). So in the 12 hours, the minute hand catches up to
the hour hand 11 times, with the last catch-up being at midnight.
Consider a second clock running from midday at 12 times normal speed. This fast clock’s
hour hand always matches OY , the minute hand of the normal clock, whereas OZ, the
minute hand of the fast clock, completes 144 rotations in the 12 hours.
11 12 1 11 12 1 ×144
10 2 Z 10 2 Z
O X O O X
9 3 9 3 ×1
8 4 8 4
×12
7 6 5 7 6 5
Y Y Y
normal fast both
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1. = + = 100 + 1 = 101,
20 20 20
hence (D).
2. (Also I3)
The supplementary angle to 105◦ is x = 75. Since the triangle is isosceles, the other base
angle is 75◦ and the apex angle is y = 180 − 2 × 75 = 30. Then x + y = 75 + 30 = 105,
hence (D).
√ √ √
3. 7 + 18 ÷ (10 − 15 ) = 7 + 18 ÷ (10 − 1) = 7 + 18 ÷ 9 = 7 + 2 = 9 = 3,
hence (C).
5. (Also I8)
Let x be the value of . Then
4 5 x 7 4×5×x×7
1= × × × =
5 6 7 8 5×6×7×8
4×x x
= =
6×8 12
so that x = 12,
hence (D).
6. The garden is 100 m × 100 m. Increasing the length by 10% gives a new length of 110 m.
Similarly, the new width is 110 m. The new area is 110 m × 110 m = 12100 m2 , which is an
increase of 2100 m2 ,
hence (C).
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2 2 1
2 11
5 3
4
The original equilateral triangle has side length 9 and perimeter 27,
hence (B).
ax+y a x ay
9. Simplifying, = = ay ,
ax ax
hence (A).
10. Due to the symmetry of the figure, we can add additional lines as shown.
A
5 5
E B
4 P 4
3 3
D C
8
11. Alternative 1
Since OP , OR are both radii, OP R is isosceles with ∠ORP = ∠OP R = 33◦ . Similarly
∠ORQ = ∠OQR = y ◦ .
Since angles in a triangle add to 180◦ , ∠P OR = 180◦ − 2 × 33◦ = 114◦ and x + 2y = 180.
1 114
Then x◦ = 180◦ − ∠P OR = 66◦ and then y = (180 − x) = = 57. So x + y = 66 + 57 =
2 2
123,
hence (D).
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Alternative 2
Since ∠P RQ is in a semicircle, ∠P RQ = 90◦ . Then in P RQ, y = 180 − 33 − 90 = 57.
Since ORQ is isosceles, ∠ORQ = 57◦ and x + y + 57 = 180, so that x + y = 123,
hence (D).
12. Choose a unit equal to the radius of the smallest semicircles. Then the radius of the largest
circle is 4 and the radius of the mid-sized semicircle is 2, as shown.
π × 42 π × 22
Shaded area = − + 4(π × 12 )
1 2 2
= 8π − 2π + 4π
2 4
= 10π
10π 5
Since the large circle has area π × 42 = 16π, the shaded fraction is = ,
16π 8
hence (E).
3 3 9
• Friday fine −→ Saturday fine −→ Sunday fine with probability× =
4 4 16
1 1 1
• Friday fine −→ Saturday wet −→ Sunday fine with probability × =
4 3 12
9 1 31
So, the probability that it will be fine on Sunday is + = ,
16 12 48
hence (E).
14. Solving,
2x+1 + 2x = 3y+2 − 3y
2x (2 + 1) = 3y (32 − 1)
2x × 3 = 8 × 3y
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Since x and y are positive, y can take any value from 1 to 12. Checking that all 12 values
work:
y (50c coins) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
x (20c coins) 46 42 38 34 30 26 22 18 14 10 6 2
50 − x − y (10c coins) 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36
16. Alternative 1
Since the large hexagon has interior angles 120◦ , the smallest
√ angle in the white triangles
is 30◦ . Hence these are 30◦ -60◦ -90◦ triangles with sides a, 3a and 2a.
Then
√ the side of the shaded hexagon is 2a √ − a = a and the side of the large hexagon is
3a. Consequently the large hexagon is ( 3)2 = 3 times the area of the shaded hexagon,
hence (B).
Alternative 2
The figure can be found within a grid of equilateral triangles, as
shown.
In this grid, the larger hexagon has area 18 whereas the smaller
shaded hexagon has area 6.
6 1
Consequently = of the large hexagon is shaded,
18 3
hence (B).
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17. Alternative 1
Let 4x and x be the numbers of male and female sheep, respectively, in the first paddock.
Let y and 5y be the numbers of male and female sheep, respectively, in the second paddock.
Then comparing the total numbers of male and female sheep in the combined flock we have
4x + y = x + 5y
3x = 4y
Since x and y are both positive integers, it follows that the least solution is when x = 4
and y = 3. The smallest total number of sheep is therefore 5x + 6y = 5 × 4 + 6 × 3 = 38,
hence (D).
Alternative 2
Pair up male and female sheep in each paddock, as best as possible.
For every pair in the first paddock there are 3 surplus males: FM MMM
For every pair in the second paddock there are 4 surplus females: FFFF FM
Combined, the surplus males match the surplus females. The smallest possibility has
LCM(3, 4) = 12 surplus males and 12 surplus females.
FM MMM
FFFF FM
FM MMM
FFFF FM
FM MMM
FFFF FM
FM MMM
18. Let the radius be r. Then rectangle OABC has width r − 2 and height r − 9. Applying
Pythagoras’ theorem to OAB,
(r − 2)2 + (r − 9)2 = r2
r2 − 22r + 85 = 0
(r − 17)(r − 5) = 0
19. The minimum value occurs when z = x2 − 2x − 3 is minimum. Completing the square,
z = x2 − 2x − 3 = (x − 1)2 − 4, which has minimum z = −4 when x = 1. (Alternatively,
b
the parabola y = ax2 + bx + c has its vertex at x = − = 1.)
2a
1
Then the minimum value of f (x) is f (1) = 2−4 = ,
16
hence (E).
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R
P W
X
V
T S Z Y
That is, pentagon P QRST has twice the side length of pentagon V W XY Z. Since they
are similar figures, P QRST has 22 = 4 times the area of V W XY Z,
hence (A).
21. Alternative 1
Consider the short division algorithm for sn ÷ 7 = 111 . . . 11 ÷ 7:
0 1 5 8 7 3 0 1 5 8 7 3 0 ...
1 4 6 5 2 0 1 4 6 5 2 0
7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ...
n 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ...
10n ÷ 7 quot. 0 1 14 142 1428 14285 142857 1428571 14285714. . .
10n ÷ 7 rem. 1 3 2 6 4 5 1 3 2 ...
The recurring cycle of remainders in this division repeats every 6 steps, and so the remain-
der is 1 when n = 0, 6, 12, . . .. In conclusion, sn is a multiple of 7 if, and only if, n is a
multiple of 6. Then 900 = 6 × 150 is a multiple of 6, and the next is 906,
hence (E).
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22. Let P , Q, R and S be the points on the circumference where the circle touches the trapez-
ium, as shown on the left. Since the line segments AP and AS are tangents to the circle
which meet at A, they have the same length; similarly for all other pairs of line segments
meeting at B, C and D. Since AB = 2 and CD = 4, it follows that the eight line segments
around the perimeter of the trapezium have the lengths indicated. In particular, AD = 3.
A 1 1 B A 2 B
P
1 1
S Q
3
2 2
R
D 2 2 C D 1 X 3 C
Now let X be the point on DC such that AXD is a right angle, as shown on the right.
Then by symmetry, DX = 1 and CX = 3, since AB = 2 and CD = 4. By Pythagoras’
theorem, first in triangle AXD and then in triangle AXC, we have
AX 2 = AD2 − DX 2
= 32 − 12 = 8
AC 2 = AX 2 + CX 2
= 8 + 32 = 17
√
Therefore AC = 17,
hence (A).
23. Alternative 1
3
Suppose the rectangle is 3x × x units so that each triangular half has area x2 and the
√ 2
length of the fold line (the rectangle’s diagonal) is 10x. Label the folded pentagon as
shown.
D 3x C
E
x
A √ √ B
10 F 10
x x
2 2
√
1 10
Due to common angles, ACB and AF E are similar. Hence EF = AF = x,
√ 3 6
1√ 10 5
and so the area of ABE is 10x x = x2 . Then pentagon ABCED has area
2 6 6
3 2 3 2 5 2 13 2 13
x + x − x = x . The ratio of areas required is x2 : 3x2 = 13 : 18,
2 2 6 6 6
hence (A).
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Alternative 2
Choose a unit so that the rectangle ABCD is 6 × 18, with area 108, and align it to a unit
grid. Then the rectangle can be divided into areas as shown, where X and Y are the two
points on the long edges that coincide when folded. Since XY ⊥ AC, the points X and Y
are on the grid as shown.
Y
D C
A B
10 X 8
The pentagon has area equal to the combined area of ACD and XBC, which is
54 + 24 = 78. So the ratio of areas is 78 : 108 = 13 : 18,
hence (A).
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Solutions
F R T B =F +7 L=R+5 U =T +5
1 3 5 8X 8X 10
2 3 4 9X 8 9X
3 1 5 10X 6 10X
3 2 4 10 7 9
The only solutions where all six faces are different are F = 3, R = 2, T = 4 and its mirror
image F = 3, R = 4, T = 2. In both cases the four smallest face numbers are 2, 3, 4 and
7, and their product is 2 × 3 × 4 × 7 = 168,
hence (168).
27. Write P (x) = a + bx + cx2 + dx3 + · · · , where a, b, c, d, . . . are non-negative integers. Then
P (40) = a + 40b + 1600c + 64000d + · · · = 2 688 008 where each term is non-negative. If we
look at higher powers of 40, 404 = 2 560 000 and 405 = 102 400 000, so the degree of P (x)
(the highest power of x) is at most 4. That is, P (x) = a + bx + cx2 + dx3 + ex4 .
Now, P (2) = a + 2b + 4c + 8d + 16e = 40, so each term is non-negative and at most 40.
Consequently a 40, b 20, c 10, d 5 and e 2. Further, P is not constant, so
a = 40. In all, each coefficient is a number from 0 to 39.
Now consider P (40) = a + 40b + 1600c + 64000d + 2 560 000e = 2 688 008.
Using the above bounds on a, b, c, d, e, we have that 0 a 40, 0 40b 800, 0
1600c 16000, 0 64000d 320 000 and 0 2 560 000e 5 120 000.
Clearly e 1, and e = 1 looks likely. If we try e = 0, then P (40) = a + 40b + 1600c +
64000d 40 + 800 + 16000 + 320 000 < 340 000, which is too small. So e = 1 and then
a + 40b + 1600c + 64000d = 128 008.
In this, d 2, and again d = 2 looks likely. If we try d 1, then a+40b+1600c+64000d
40 + 800 + 16000 + 64000 < 100 000, which is again too small. So d = 2 and then
a + 40b + 1600c = 8. From here, a = 8, b = 0 and c = 0 is clearly the only solution.
Hence P (x) = 8 + 2x3 + x4 and P (3) = 8 + 54 + 81 = 143,
hence (143).
Note: The values a, b, c, d and e (each less than 40) such that a+40b+40 c+403 d+404 e =
2
2 688 008 are the digits in the base-40 representation of 2 688 008.
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28. The angles are multiples of 10◦ and add to 180◦ . For a given sum of angles a + b + c,
rotations and reflections of one triangle will give either 36, 18 or 6 triangles, depending on
whether the triangle is scalene, isosceles or equilateral.
So we tabulate a + b + c where b = a + 30.
a b c count
10 40 130 36
20 50 110 36
30 60 90 36
40 70 70 18 (isosceles)
50 80 50 18 (isosceles)
60 90 30 0 (already seen)
70 100 10 36
180
29. Alternative 1
The original cube had surface area 6 × 92 = 486.
For the perforated cube, first consider the effect of the three large tunnels. This creates
a solid formed by 8 + 4 + 8 = 20 cubes, each 3 × 3 × 3. These 20 cubes are then each
perforated by 1 × 1 tunnels in each of the 3 directions.
20 ×
Within each of the 20 3 × 3 × 3 cubes, all 24 squares around the 1 × 1 tunnels contribute
to the final surface area. So there are 480 squares facing into 1 × 1 tunnels.
All other surface area squares occur in rings of 8 squares around a 1 × 1 hole. The number
of these rings that are part of the original cube’s surface is 8 × 6 = 48, and the number
facing into the 3 × 3 tunnels is 6 × 4 = 24. In all there are 48 + 24 = 72 rings, for a total
of 72 × 8 = 576 squares.
So the final surface area of the perforated cube is 480 + 576 = 1056. The difference from
the original surface area is 1056 − 486 = 570,
hence (570).
Alternative 2
As in Alternative 1, the original cube has surface area 486.
For the final surface area, we first find the number of upward-facing 1 × 1 squares.
Consider the 9 × 9 top of the cube and write on each square the number of ‘voids’ created
by tunnelling under that square. (Here a 3 × 3 tunnel only creates one void, not 3.)
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of 72 × 8 = 576 squares.
So the final surface area of the perforated cube is 480 + 576 = 1056. The difference from
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the original surface area is 1056 − 486 = 570,
hence (570).
Alternative 2
As in Alternative 1, the original cube has surface area 486.
For the final surface area, we first find the number of upward-facing 1 × 1 squares.
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Consider the 9 × 9 top of the cube and write on each square the number of ‘voids’ created
Senior Solutions
by tunnelling under that square. (Here a 3 × 3 tunnel only creates one void, not 3.)
0 3 0 1 3 1 0 3 0 81
3 3 3 3 3 3
0 3 0 1 3 1 0 3 0
1 3 1 1 3 1
3 3 3 3
1 3 1 1 3 1
0 3 0 1 3 1 0 3 0
3 3 3 3 3 3
0 3 0 1 3 1 0 3 0
Each of the 4 × 8 = 32 squares with a ‘3’ has 4 upward-facing squares, contributing 128 to
the surface area. Each of the 4 × 4 = 16 squares with a ‘1’ has 2 upward-facing squares,
contributing 32 to the surface area. Each of the 16 squares with ‘0’ contributes 1 square
to the surface area, for a total of 16 squares.
In all, there are 128 + 32 + 16 = 176 upward-facing unit squares in the surface of the solid.
By symmetry, for each of the 6 directions of the 6 faces, there are 176 unit squares. Thus
the surface area of the perforated cube is 6 × 176 = 1056 and the increase in surface area
is 1056 − 486 = 570,
hence (570).
30. For n = 1, 2, . . . , 8, let Gn be the number of n-symbol traffic light sequences that start
with ‘G’, Yn be the number that start with ‘Y’ and Rn be the number that start with ‘R’.
Then G1 = Y1 = R1 = 1.
The two-light patterns that can be seen are ‘GY’, ‘YG’, ‘YY’, ‘YR’, ‘RG’ and ‘RY’. Con-
sequently Gn+1 = Yn , Yn+1 = Gn + Yn + Rn and Rn+1 = Gn + Yn . So we can tabulate
values of Gn , Yn and Rn :
n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Gn 1 1 3 6 13 28 60 129
Yn 1 3 6 13 28 60 129 277
Rn 1 2 4 9 19 41 88 189
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Answer Key
Middle Upper
Question Junior Intermediate Senior
Primary Primary
1 D C D E D
2 A E E B D
3 D B B D C
4 E D B C D
5 C A B D D
6 C A E E C
7 B A A E A
8 B D E D B
9 E E C A A
10 D D D B B
11 C B D C D
12 B A E A E
13 B B B C E
14 C C A C C
15 B A B B D
16 A E C C B
17 C D B C D
18 A D B D D
19 D D A A E
20 C E C C A
21 C B D E E
22 C B E D A
23 E C D C A
24 E B C E B
25 B D D B E
26 156 155 387 313 168
27 585 720 50 414 143
28 24 20 329 484 180
29 155 50 168 168 570
30 85 636 168 132 595
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AMC 2020 SOLUTIONS