The University of Melbourne/Statistical Consulting Centre

School Mathematics Competition 2010

INTERMEDIATE DIVISION
Time allowed: Three hours

These questions are designed to test your ability to analyse a problem and to express yourself
clearly and accurately. The following suggestions are made for your guidance:

(1) Great weight will be attached by the examiners to the method of presentation of a
solution. Candidates should state as clearly as they can the reasoning by which they
arrived at their results. In addition, more credit will be given for an elegant than for a
clumsy solution.
(2) The seven questions are not of equal length or difficulty. Generally, the later
questions are more difficult than the earlier questions.
(3) It may be necessary to spend considerable time on a problem before any real progress is
made.
(4) You may need to do considerable rough work but you should then write out your final
solution neatly, stating your arguments carefully.
(5) Credit will be given for partial solutions; however a good answer to one question will
normally gain you more credit than sketchy attempts at several questions.

Textbooks, electronic calculators and computers are NOT allowed. Otherwise normal exami-
nation conditions apply.
1. The scales at Jasper’s house only work if two people weigh themselves at the same time.
He has four people in his house who weigh themselves in pairs obtaining 89kg, 105kg, 112kg,
113kg, 120kg and 136kg. What is the difference between the weights of the heaviest and lightest
people in the house?

2. Find integers a and b such that

q
√ √ √
7 − 2 10 = a − b.

3. Prove that
x6 − x5 + x4 − x3 + x2 − x + 1 > 0
for all real x.

4. The picture shows a right angle triangle with lines joining its centroid to each vertex of
lengths a, b and c. If the length of the hypotenuse BC is 3 calculate a2 + b2 + c2 . (Recall that

if we extend any of the lines joining a vertex to the centroid it will meet the midpoint of the
opposite side.)

5. Tony loves powers of two. He has noticed that the year 2010 has the peculiar property that
two to the power of the sum of its decimal digits is equal to the sum of its binary digits, i.e.
2010 written in binary is 11111011010 (=1024+512+256+128+64+16+8+2) and
22+0+1+0 = 23 = 8 = 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 0.
In what year before 2010 did this last happen?
 3

6. A 2 × 2 sudoku is a 4 × 4 grid with the numbers 1 to 4 in each of the 16 squares of the grid so
that exactly one each of 1, 2, 3 and 4 appears in each row, column and each of the four smaller
2 × 2 grids at a corner of the grid. A partially completed grid is a good starting position if it
can be completed uniquely. An example of a good starting position with 7 grid values is shown
below.
1 2
2
2 3
2 4

What is the least number of grid values required for a good starting position?

7. Consider a pyramid constructed by gluing together three right-angle triangles, of respective

areas A, B and C so that their hypotenuses form a triangular base of area D. Prove that
A2 + B 2 + C 2 = D 2 .