Online Math League

A Division of AcademicLeagues.com
Algebra Sample Contest
Student Name
Date
Rules: You have 30 minutes to complete the test. You must work independently.
Calculators and reference tools are not permitted. Each problem has exactly
one correct answer.
1. Zoe picks a number, multiplies it by 3, adds 3, then multiplies by 3 again.
When shes done, she has 333. What number did Zoe originally pick?
A. 33

B. 36

C. 48

D. 66

E. 104

2. The next number in the sequence 153, 155, 159, 165, 173, . . . is
A. 179

B. 181

C. 183

D. 185

E. 189

3. One of the following numbers is prime. Which one is it?

A. 121

B. 87

C. 1895

D. 143

E. 491

4. For which of the following x values does 3x 3 = 5x + 1?

A. -2

B. -1

C. 0

D. 1

E. 2

5. The side length of square B is twice the side length of square A. The side
length of square C is twice the side length of square B. The area of square
C divided by the area of square A is:
A. 2

B. 4

C. 8

D. 16

E. 32

6. Suppose you play a game where you roll three standard dice (fair dice
numbered 1 through 6). You win the game if all three come up with odd
numbers. You also win the game if all three come up with even numbers.
Otherwise, you lose. What is the probability that you win this game?
A.

1
8

B.

1
6

C.

1
4

D.

1
3

E.

1
2

7. Beth buys math and physics books at the bookstore. Each math book
costs $13.50 and each physics book costs $12. If Beths 5 books cost $63,
she has bought:
A. 0 math and 5 physics books
C. 2 math and 3 physics books
E. 4 math and 1 physics books

B. 1 math and 4 physics books

D. 3 math and 2 physics books

8. One of the side lengths of a rectangle is 3 cm. The perimeter of the

rectangle (in cm) equals the area of the rectangle (in cm2 ). The sides of
the rectangle that are not 3 cm long have a length of
A. 4 cm

B. 6 cm

C. 9 cm

D. 12 cm

E. 18 cm

9. A square is drawn on a coordinate grid. The endpoints of one side of the

square are (1, 2) and (4, 6). What is the area of the square?
A. 5

B. 7

C. 16

D. 25

E. 49

10. Which of the following expressions is equal to 210 + 210 ?

A. 210

B. 211

C. 220

D. 2100

E. None of these.

11. Suppose two perpendicular lines `1 and `2 intersect at the point (0,4). If
the equation of `1 is y = 3x + 4, what is the equation of `2 ?
A. y = 3x 4
D. y = 31 x + 4

B. y = 3x 4
E. y = 13 x + 4

C. y = 3x + 4

12. Suppose I write the numbers 1 through 4 on separate pieces of paper and
put the pieces of paper into a hat. If I draw one piece of paper out of the
hat, throw it away, then draw a second piece of paper out of the hat, what
is the probability that the number on the second piece of paper is greater
than the number on the first piece of paper?
A.

1
4

B.

1
3

C.

1
2

D.

2
3

E.

3
4

13. The two solutions to the equation 2x2 2x 2 = 2 are:

A. 2 and 1

B. 1 and 1

C. 2 and 1

D. 2 and 1

E. 2 and 1

14. A line passes through the point (10, 18) and has an equation in the form
y = mx + b. Which of the following points cannot lie on the line?
A. (0, 0)

B. (12, 8)

C. (10, 4)

D. (12, 0)

E. (0, 18)

15. Which of the following must be true about the sum of three consecutive
integers?
A. The sum is odd.
B. The sum is even.
C. The sum is divisible by 3.
D. The sum is divisible by 4.
E. None of the above must be true.

Online Math League

Algebra Sample Contest
Answers
1. B
2. C
3. E

4. A
5. D
6. C

7. C
8. B
9. D

10. B
11. E
12. C

13. D
14. C
15. C

Explanations for some of the more difficult questions:

6. Half the numbers on a die are odd, so the probability that a single die will
come up odd is 12 . The probability that all three dice will come up odd is
1 1 1
1
1
2 2 2 , or 8 . Similarly, the probability that one die will come up even is 2 , so
1
the probability that all three dice will come up even is 8 . Combining these, the
probability that you will win the game is 18 + 81 = 14 .
8. Suppose the unknown side length of the rectangle is x. The area of the
rectangle is 3x cm2 , and the perimeter of the rectangle is 6 + 2x cm. Therefore
3x = 2x + 6, and x = 6.
9. Using the Distance Formula or the Pythagorean Theorem, we can determine
that the distance from (1, 2) to (4, 6) is 5. Thus the side length of the square is
5, and its area is 25.
10. 210 + 210 = 2 210 = 21 210 = 211 .
11. The slopes of perpendicular lines are opposite reciprocals. The slope of `1
is 3, so the slope of `2 must be 13 . `2 also passes through the point (0, 4), so
its y-intercept is 4. Thus the equation of `2 is y = 13 x + 4.
12. The two pieces of paper I draw have different numbers on them. One number must be greater than the other, but the papers were drawn at random. So
the first one is just as likely to be greater than the second as the second is likely
to be greater than the first. The probability of each outcome is 12 .
14. A line with an equation in the form y = mx + b cannot be a vertical
line. (There is no real value for m that would make the line vertical.) If the
line passed through (10, 18) and another point whose x-coordinate were 10, it
would be vertical. So the line cannot pass through (10, 4).
15. Suppose the first of the consecutive integers is x. Then the next integer is
x + 1, and the integer after that is x + 2. The sum of these three integers is
x + (x + 1) + (x + 2), or 3x + 3. Since x is an integer, 3x + 3 must be a multiple
of 3.
Note that one way to solve this problem is to try summing up various sets
of three consecutive integers, and see what you notice about the sums.