2013 Solutions and Comments

Year 9 (Form 3) Prize Winners

First Matthew Beardsworth Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu
Second Edward Chen Palmerston North Boys' High School
Third Jack Craig Otago Boys' High School

Top 30 (in School Order):

Aiden Burgess, Auckland Grammar School Bon-Nyeong Goo, Auckland Grammar School Daniel Ji, Auckland Grammar School
Ningyuan Li, Auckland Grammar School Yixing Li, Auckland Grammar School Milidu Ratnayake, Auckland Grammar School
Zhifei Shen, Auckland Grammar School Stephen Zhu, Auckland Grammar School Kelvin Gong, Burnside High School
Joanna Li, Diocesan School for Girls Lydia Watson, Diocesan School for Girls Andrey Borro, Glendowie College
Matthew Fraser, James Hargest College (Senior Campus) Boen Deng, John McGlashan College Ricky Lu, Kristin School
Edward Liu, Macleans College Bryner Lum, Macleans College Richard Tang, Macleans College
Samuel Chen, Pakuranga College Claire Shi, Palmerston North Girls' High School Ju-Eun Kim, Pinehurst School
Vivien Huang, Rangitoto College Seungjun Bang, St Andrew's College Stacey Tian, St Cuthbert's College
Bill Yang, St Kentigern College Alec Van Helsdingen, St Peter's College (Epsom) Joshua Hogan, Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu

Year 10 (Form 4) Prize Winners

First Daniel Jeong Hillcrest High School
Second Equal Byung-Hoon Cho Auckland Grammar School Christopher Brown Christ's College

Top 30 (in School Order):

Maxwell Benson, Auckland Grammar School Kevin Huang, Auckland Grammar School Sang Kim, Auckland Grammar School
Miles Lee, Auckland Grammar School Ajay Shanmuganathan, Auckland Grammar School Hamish Duncanson, Bethlehem College
Tyla Gartner, Bethlehem College Jasmine Warner, Howick College Daniel Davis, Huanui College
Reka Norman, Huanui College Atrey Gajjar, Lynfield College Kate Heslop, Lynfield College
Vlad Necsulescu, Macleans College Sunny Wang, Macleans College Hannah Williams, Macleans College
Zachary Wong, Macleans College Ryojin Shiona, Middleton Grange School Finn Thompson, Nelson College
Sean Lau, Otago Boys' High School Malachi Hill, Palmerston North Boys' High School Nico van Wijk, Pinehurst School
Leroy Mangila, Rangitoto College Cameron Low, St Kentigern College Kevin Shen, St Kentigern College
Patrick Heavey, St Peter's College (Epsom) Jungyoon Park, Westlake Girls' High School Jonathan Everett, Whakatane High School

Year 11 (Form 5) Prize Winners

First Henry Jiang Macleans College
Second Mary Jiang Macleans College
Third Aidan Ogilvie Middleton Grange School
Top 30 (in School Order):
James Brown, Auckland Grammar School George Easton, Auckland Grammar School Namankit Gupta, Auckland Grammar School
Marko Ruslim, Auckland Grammar School Richard Zhou, Auckland Grammar School Rachel Soohyun Cho, Auckland International College
Simran Shah, Avondale College Prince Balanay, Botany Downs Secondary College Jonathan See, Botany Downs Secondary College
Luke Gellen, Christ's College Brandon Jones, Havelock North High School Emma Wardle, Hillcrest High School
Anna Redmond, James Hargest College (Senior Campus) Nic Taylor, John McGlashan College Victor Chen, King's College
Martin Luk, King's College Timothy Youn, King's College Aditya Arora, Macleans College
Saffron Huang, Macleans College Chris Seong, Macleans College Annaliese Wheeler, Macleans College
Jemma Zhang, Macleans College Jonathan Kah, Newlands College Sheridan Smitham, Palmerston North Boys' High School
Dylan Van Lier, Selwyn College Daniel Ng, St Kentigern College Liam McKenzie, St Peter's School (Cambridge)
As usual, in most cases only one solution method is given. It is not necessarily the shortest, nor most elegant.

Question 1 (YEAR 9 AND BELOW ONLY)

Venn Diagrams are useful for solving certain problems.

Rugby Netball Hockey

7 5 6 3 4

(a) The diagram shows a Venn diagram for a class of 30 students and three of the sports they play. For example,
the circle labelled 'RUGBY' shows that 12 of the pupils play rugby. Of those 12, 5 also play netball. Nobody in
the class plays both rugby and hockey.
(i) How many people in the class play netball? 14 Well answered.
(ii) How many people in the class don't play any of these three sports? 5 Well answered.
(b) On the answer booklet (not in the questions) draw up your own Venn Diagram with three circles labelled
'COLD BLOODED ANIMALS', 'WARM BLOODED ANIMALS', and 'FISHES' to illustrate the statement
'All fishes are cold blooded animals: some, but not all, cold blooded animals are fishes'. Note: Not all fishes are
cold blooded, but for the purpose of the question you may regard them as cold blooded.

COLD

WARM
FISHES BLOODED

BLOODED

Apparently tricky.
(c) On the answer booklet (not in these questions) draw another Venn Diagram for a different class, then answer
the question. In this class there are 32 students. 18 play rugby, of whom 8 also play netball and 4 play hockey.
12 play netball, of whom 8 also play rugby (already mentioned) and 4 also play hockey. 8 play hockey, and of
those some also play rugby or netball (already mentioned), but 2 students play all three sports.
Rugby Netball 8 (optional)

8 6 2

2 2 2
2

Hockey

Seemingly tricky. Well answered by some. Many got the diagram correct but not the numbers.
Question: How many students play none of these sports? 8 Reasonably well answered.
(d) The following Venn Diagram shows PARALLELOGRAMS, SQUARES, and an unknown quadrilateral called
'Q'. Copy the diagram into your Answer Booklet (do NOT answer on the question sheet), and on your diagram
add a circle in the correct place that shows RECTANGLES.
Note: Perfect circles are NOT needed.

Rectangles

Squares Q

Parallelograms

Average. Rectangles are 'special' types of parallelograms and squares are 'special' types of rectangles. In
some schools almost all students knew this. In others, hardly anyone got it right.
 Question 2 (All Years)

The year 2013 has the digits '0', '1', '2', and '3' repeated only once in it.
a) Find a 4 digit number (where the first digit is not '0') different to 2013 which uses each of '0', '1', '2', and '3'
once and only once. 1023 is one example of many. Well answered.
b) Find and list all 4 digit numbers starting with '3' which use '0', '1', '2', and '3' once and only once.
3012, 3021, 3102, 3120, 3201, 3210. Well answered, although a few students said '6' and didn't list them.
c) How many 4 digit numbers (where the first digit is not '0') are there that use '0', '1', '2', and '3' once and only
once? 3 × 6 = 18 Well answered.
d) How many 4 digit numbers are there which start with '4', have no repeating digits, and do not use any of '0', '1',
'2', and '3' at all? We can use 5 through 9 for each of the subsequent digits, so 5 choices for first digit, 4 for
second, and 3 for third. Thus 60 possibilities in total. Fairly well answered. Some listed all such numbers
starting with 45 and went from there (so there are 12 such numbers, and a choice of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 for the second
digit makes 60 in total).
e) How many 4 digit numbers are there altogether that have no repeating digits and do not use any of '0', '1', '2',
and '3' at all? 6 choices for the first digit, then 5 for the second digit, 4 for the third digit, then 3 for the
fourth digit. So 60 × 6 = 360 possibilities in total. Well answered. This is of course 6 times the answer for
(d), so follow-on was given.

Question 3 (All Years)

King Arthur was happiest when his Knights of the Round Table sat around the table in a 1
special way. If there were n knights present, he would give them numbers 1, 2, 3, . . . n,
and then ask them to sit so that each adjacent pair of knights had numbers that summed 5 6
to the same value as the adjacent pair of knights sitting diagonally opposite them.

The picture in Figure 1 shows the arrangement one day when six knights were
3 2
present. Here 1 + 6 = 4 + 3, 6 + 2 = 3 + 5, and 2 + 4 = 5 + 1.

a) Find another arrangement of the six knights that satisfies Arthur's wishes. (Do 4
not use a simple reflection of the one already shown.) You may either draw a Figure 1
circle showing the six numbers, or list the numbers in sequence.
1 Well answered. The ordered list 1, 6, 3, 2, 5, 4 (or equivalent) also earned full marks.
4 6

5 3

b) Why must the number of knights n be even for this to work?

A B
If adjacent pair A and B are diagonally opposite adjacent pair C and D as
shown, then there must be the same number (say m) of other knights sitting
between B and C as there are sitting between A and D. Then altogether there
are 2m + 4 knights which is an even number. The answer 2m + 4 (or equivalent)
was not seen often.

D C

c) Can Arthur's wishes be satisfied with just four knights? (Answer by trying out the possible seating
arrangements with 1 at the top. Answers stating 'yes' or 'no' without working will gain no credit.)
With 1 at the top, consider the three options where the bottom is 2, 3, or 4:
1 1 1
(The smaller numbers inside each
4 5 3 5 3 4
circle on the diagram shown to the
3 4 2 4 2 3 left show the sums of the numbers
5 6 5 7 6 7 for each adjacent pair of knights.)

2 3 4
In each case King Arthur’s rule fails to hold. Therefore there is no solution for 4 knights. Well answered
but many missed one case out.
d) Consider as shown in Figure 2 the three adjacent knights with numbers A, B, and C, and sums s1 and s2. (For
example, s1 = A + B.) Show that C - A = s2 - s1.
s1 = A + B and s2 = B + C so that, subtracting,
A s2 – s1 = (B + C) – (A + B)
s1 = B+C–A–B
B = C – A as required.

s2 Nowhere did a question give the markers more pleasure. Not well answered
by Year 9 students (although some did it correctly) but well answered by
Year 11, illustrating the progress students make in generalisation.
C
Figure 2
e) Suppose four knights are seated as shown in Figure 3. Use the result in part (d) to show that Arthur's wishes
would need A = C. (This is obviously not possible, hence proving that there is no solution for n = 4.)

A As shown in Figure 4, if A + B = s1 and B + C = s2, then Arthur’s A

rule requires that A + D = s2 and D + C = s1. s2 s1

Using the result from part d), considering the knights A, B and C,
D B D B
we must have C – A = s2 – s1, while considering the knights A, D
and C, we must have C – A = s1 – s2. The only way we can have C – s1 s2
A = –(C – A) is if C – A = 0, that is A = C (which is impossible).
C Not badly done by Year 11. C
Figure 3 Figure 4
f) Show that there is no solution when n is a multiple of 4.
A
H s4 s1 B
Consider 8 knights as shown in Figure 5, where we are assuming that Arthur’s
wishes can be met. As before, each number sn on the table is the sum of the
s3 s2
numbers of the adjacent pair of knights; for example, s4 = E + D. Now, looking
G C at the right-hand side of the table,
s2 s3 E = s4 – D
= s4 – [s3 – C]
F s1 s4
D = s4 – [s3 – [s2 – B]]
E = s4 – [s3 – [s2 – [s1 – A]]]
Figure 5 = s4 – s3 + s2 – s1 + A
So E – A = s4 – s3 + s2 – s1.
However, looking at the left-hand side of the table,
E = s1 – F
= s1 – [s2 – G]
= s1 – [s2 – [s3 – H]]
= s1 – [s2 – [s3 – [s4 – A]]]
= s1 – s2 + s3 – s4 + A
So E – A = s1 – s2 + s3 – s4. But this is the negative of the value we found above, so, like in part e), we
must conclude that E – A = 0 and E = A which is not allowed since the knights have different
numbers; hence our original assumption is false: it cannot be done with 8 knights.
What makes the arrangement fail with both 4 and 8 knights is that there are an even number of
adjacent pairs around each side (left and right) of the table. This makes the difference between the
bottom number and the top number (e.g. E – A) equal to two sums, each comprising an even number of
sn terms with alternating signs, and with one sum being the negative of the other.
This idea can be easily extended to cover other numbers of knights that are multiples of 4. If n is a
multiple of 4 then the number of adjacent pairs around each side (left and right) of the table is n/2
which will be even — call this k. Then around the right side of the table we have:
Bottom = sk – sk–1 + sk–2 – … – s3 + s2 – s1 + Top
And around the left:
Bottom = s1 – s2 + s3 – … – sk–2 + sk–1 – sk + Top
Giving, as before:
Bottom – Top = – (Bottom – Top)
And hence Bottom = Top which is not permitted.
The most difficult part of this year's competition. Quite a few were able to demonstrate that when there were
8 knights the desired layout was impossible, but the generalisation proved too difficult.
 Question 4 (All Years)

A racing track consists of two 100 m straights and two semicircles of 100 m each at each end (see diagram). For the
purpose of this question regard it as a line with no width.

A B

NOT TO SCALE

C D

a) How many full laps of the track are needed for the 10 000 m race?
10 000 / 400 = 25 Well answered.
b) Show that the diameter of the circular sections (i.e. from A to C) must be 64 m, to the nearest metre.
If you cannot work this value out, then use it (if necessary) in the rest of the question. (A, B, C, and D are the
corners of the rectangular part of the field inside the track.)
2 π r = 200
π r = 100
r = 100 / π
= 63.694
= 64 to the nearest m. Well answered.
c) Find the total area of the enclosed track. Give your answer in hectares. (A hectare is 100m by 100m).
Area = 64 × 100 + π × 32 × 32
Area = 6400 + 3217
Area = 9617 m2 (divide by 10 000)
= 0.9617 ha Well answered especially by Year 11. Note that this is the answer for when 64m is used as
the radius; if 100 / π was used to reach 0.9549 ha full credit was also possible.
d) How far is it from corner to corner i.e. diagonally from A to D? Give your answer to the nearest metre.
AD2 = 1002 + 642
AD = √ 14096
AD = 119 m (nearest metre) Well answered.

Question 5 (All Years)

In this question, give probability answers in decimal form to six decimal places if necessary. For example, if you think
an answer is ½, for full marks give the answer as 0.5. (There is no need to give this answer to 6 decimal places.)
A fair chocolate wheel at a school fund-raiser has 20 numbers from 1 to 20. Each number has an equal chance of
occurring when the wheel is spun.
a) On one draw, the wheel is spun once. You have bought one ticket; the ticket has one number on it in the range
1 to 20, and that the ticket wins if the wheel stops on that number. What is the probability of your winning?
0.05. Well answered.
b) Later the wheel is spun three times. You have one ticket that is valid each time the wheel is spun, i.e. it can win
on each and every spin. What is the probability of
(i) zero wins, 0.953 = 0.857375.
(ii) exactly one win, 3 × 0.952 × 0.05 = 0.135375
(iii) exactly three wins? 0.053 = 0.000125
Not well answered by Year 9, but by Year 11, many have the 'hang' of probability trees. Part (ii) was often
answered without reference to the '3', for partial credit.
c) At the end of the day, the wheel is spun eight times. You have one ticket, valid each time the wheel is spun. On
draws one, three, five, and seven, the prize is a large soft toy. On the other four draws, the prize is a small soft
toy.
(i) In how many ways can you win exactly one large toy and exactly one small toy?
4 × 4 = 16 Often a list (e.g. WWLLLLLL etc.) was used. Well answered.
(ii) What is the probability of your winning exactly one large toy and exactly one small toy?
16 × 0.052 × 0.956 = 0.029404 Difficult but often answered, especially by Year 11.
Often the '16' was left off, for partial credit.
It may be worthwhile noting that the Year 10 winner answered all of Question 5 correctly (with working) in six
lines for a perfect score in the question. Moreover, it wasn't the best we saw!
 Hints

1. Show some working. Answers only will not gain full credit, even if correct. One example in
the 2013 competition was Question 2(c) where the answer was 18, but if this appeared with
no working, some credit was taken off. Even saying 6 × 3 was enough, although normally to
be safe you should show a little more in the way of explanation.

Another example was Question 4(d) where the correct answer was 119 m, found using 'The
Theorem of Pythagoras'. Too many people wrote 119 m only and showed no working.

Some incorrect answers gained partial credit with working, but incorrect answers with no
working gained no credit.

If a question asks for a list of items, you generally (but not always) can get away with just
the list (especially if it is required for an early part of the question). If the question asks for
working giving the correct answer only will generally only earn minimal (and on occasion
no) credit.

2. However, do not show too much working. One student wrote four pages for Question 4, and
had no time to start any other question.

3. If you get an obviously stupid answer, express some concern. One example was Question
4(a) where you had to divide 10 000 by 400 to get the number of laps. A few people
multiplied, and they got 4 million laps. This was clearly stupid. If they had said so, they
didn't gain marks, but at least they would impress us with common sense.

Another example was Question 4(c), the area of a racing track. A couple of students got
1000 million hectares, which is much bigger than Australia. If you get an obviously silly
answer, tell us you've made a mistake, and you don't appear silly yourself.

Yet another example was Question 1(c), where the Year 9s had to state how many
people in a class of 32 played no sport. Clearly an answer of 56 made no sense, but the
person who reached this answer obviously wasn't thinking about the whole situation.

4. Read the question, both before and after you answer it. If we say 'Give your answer to the
nearest metre', do it or lose credit. For Question 4(d), the answer was 119 m. Too many
students wrote 118.7 m, and lost credit.

5. Don't give answers to 9 decimal places or more. One student had a new calculator and he
was proud to give his answers to 15 decimal places! Not sensible. You would need a
microscope to measure a running track to 15 decimal places. All he did was lose credit.

6. Do the questions in order. Question 2 was 'easy', but some students started with Question 5,
and had no time to do the 'easy' one. You must take care however with this approach (for
instance, Question 3 this year was definitely harder than Question 4).

7. Don't answer geometry questions by construction. Any hints that a ruler has been used on a
constructed scale diagram will result in 0 marks for the question in general (unless of course
the answer has also been reached geometrically). This is a mathematics competition, not an
engineering or surveying one!
 Don't forget to visit our web page www.maths.otago.ac.nz/jmc

There you will find, among other things, questions and model answers
from recent years.