AwesomeMath Application

Test B

Thomas Lam

Problem 1

All of these problems involve 2016. It would be important to know that factorization of 2016:

2016 = 25 ∗ 32 ∗ 7
The factorization of 20162 would be,

20162 = 210 ∗ 34 ∗ 72
We must find the least positive integer whose digit product is 20162. The first priority in minimizing this
number is the number of digits. An answer of 2222222222333377 would be illogical. We can combine 3
factors of 2 to get 8, and we can combine 2 factors of 3 to get 9. Re-expressing, we get,

20162 = 23 ∗ 23 ∗ 23 ∗ 2 ∗ 32 ∗ 32 ∗ 7 ∗ 7

20162 = 8 ∗ 8 ∗ 8 ∗ 2 ∗ 9 ∗ 9 ∗ 7 ∗ 7
8, 8, 8, 2, 9, 9, 7, and 7 are the digits that will be used. 2*8 cannot be converted to 4*4, because
although this does not change the number of digits, it will eradicate the candidate for the first digit, 2.
The next priority is to order the digits from least to greatest, and then concatenating for the final
answer. They should be ordered from least to greatest because earlier digits have a greater place value.

Ordering, we get the answer, 27,788,899.

Problem 2

This problem is very symmetrical. Any of the 3 variables, x, y and z, can switch places. For any solution
found for x, y, and z, another solution can be achieved by switching their values (with each other, of
course). If min(xy, yz, zx) was xy, the value of x can be switched with z to get yz instead. Thus, we can
assume that any of xy, yz, or zx is the minimum to start. For any solution achieved from this assumption,
the min() function would adapt to still produce the correct result after switching the variables around.
To start, we can assume that xy = min(xy, yz, zx).

After substitution and factoring, we get,

𝑥𝑦𝑧 + min(𝑥𝑦, 𝑦𝑧, 𝑧𝑥) = 𝑥𝑦𝑧 + 𝑥𝑦 = 𝑥𝑦(𝑧 + 1) = 2016

x, y, and z+1 multiply to 2016. Since it is given that x, y, and z are prime, these must clearly be integers.
Of these factors, x and y are prime. However, not z+1 (The only case of this would be z=2, which is
ridiculous). Recall the factorization,
 2016 = 25 ∗ 32 ∗ 7
From these prime factors, 2 of them are x and y. Thus, we must find 2 prime factors (that of either 2, 3,
or 7), such that when 2016 is divided by them, the result minus one, is a prime number.

x * y can be 2*2, 2*3, 2*7, 3*3, or 3*7. Dividing into 2016 for each gives: 504, 336, 144, 224, and 96,
respectively. Each of these results represents a possible candidate for z+1. To find candidates for z,
subtract one from each to get: 503, 335, 143, 223, and 95, respectively. Using any method for
determining prime numbers (preferably with online means), we find that 233 is the only prime, and thus
the only possible value of z. The values of x, y, and z, are therefore 3, 3, and 223, in no particular order.
This is the answer.

Problem 3

We must find a-b, where,

2𝑎+6 − 2𝑎−6
= 2016
2𝑏+3 + 2𝑏−3
After factoring, we get,

2𝑎−6 (212 − 1)
= 2016
2𝑏−3 (26 + 1)
2a-6 and 2b-3 divide each other to get,

212 − 1 212 − 1
2(𝑎−6)−(𝑏−3) ∗ = 2 𝑎−𝑏−3
∗ = 2016
26 + 1 26 + 1
212 – 1 is a difference between two squares, and can be factored to get,

212 − 1 (26 + 1)(26 − 1)

2𝑎−𝑏−3 ∗ = 2 𝑎−𝑏−3
∗ = 2𝑎−𝑏−3 ∗ (26 − 1) = 2016
26 + 1 26 + 1
26 – 1 is 63… and 63 just so happens to be a factor of 2016. Dividing, we get,

2𝑎−𝑏−3 = 32 = 25

log 2 2𝑎−𝑏−3 = log 2 25

𝑎−𝑏−3= 5
𝑎−𝑏 = 8
Therefore, a – b = 8, the answer.
Problem 4

Similar to Problem 2, there is a three-way symmetry in this problem. If we let a, b, and c, be factors of
2016, such that,

𝑥+𝑦 =𝑎
𝑦+𝑧 =𝑏
𝑧+𝑥 =𝑐
… then we can solve for x, y, z in terms of a, b, and c.

Subtracting the first two equations gives,

𝑥−𝑧 =𝑎−𝑏
Adding this equation with the third one gives,

2𝑥 = 𝑎 − 𝑏 + 𝑐
𝑎−𝑏+𝑐
𝑥=
2
Solving for y and z in a similar fashion gives,
𝑎+𝑏−𝑐
𝑦=
2
−𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐
𝑧=
2
Since x, y, and z are positive integers, it can be seen that ± a ± b ± c must be even. Also recall that by
definition, a*b*c = 2016. Thus, the factors of 2016 must be distributed among a, b, and c, such that x, y,
and z have positive integer values. Additionally, a cannot exceed b+c, b cannot exceed a+c, and c cannot
exceed a+b. This is because the greater variable can be negated in one of the above equations, making
x, y, or z negative. These factors set the restrictions for the possible values of a, b, and c.

If only one of a, b, c, was even, all even factors of 2016 must belong to this variable. Recall the
factorization,

2016 = 25 ∗ 32 ∗ 7
The greater variable, a for simplicity, will receive all 5 factors of 2, for a total of 32. b and c are left with
32 * 7 to work with. All distributions fail.

- 1 and 63 fails because 63 > 32 + 1,

- 3 and 21 fails because 32 > 3 + 21
- 7 and 9 fails because 32 > 7 + 9

Thus, it cannot be true that only one of a, b, and c is even.

If two of a, b, and c were even, that would make the last variable odd. ± An even ± an even ± an odd,
always results in an odd number. This would make x, y, and z non-integers.
Since neither one or two of a, b, and c can be even, all three are even.

𝑎 = 2 ∗? ? ?
𝑏 = 2 ∗? ? ?
𝑐 = 2 ∗? ? ?
Remaining: 22 ∗ 32 ∗ 7
To simplify, we can assume that the remaining factors of 2 belong to a and b. Recall that due to
symmetry, the specific values of a, b, and c are not needed.

𝑎 = 4 ∗? ? ?
𝑏 = 4 ∗? ? ?
𝑐 = 2 ∗? ? ?
Remaining: 32 ∗ 7
If the factor of 7 belonged to either of a or b, there is no way to distribute the remaining factors of 3 to
satisfy the conditions. If 7 belonged to a, then every possible distribution of the last two 3s would fail:

- b = 4*3*3 = 36 and c = 2 fails, because 36 > 2 + 28.

- b = 4*3 = 12 and c=2*3 = 6 fails, because 28 > 12 + 6.
- b = 4 and c = 2*3*3 = 18 fails, because 28 > 4 + 18.

Thus, the factor of 7 belongs to c.

𝑎 = 4 ∗? ? ?
𝑏 = 4 ∗? ? ?
𝑐 = 14 ∗? ? ?
Remaining: 32
It can be seen that if either of the remaining factors of 3 was given to c, then c > a + b. Also, if both
factors of 3 were given to a (or similarly, b), then a > b + c. Thus, the values of a, b, and c, are:

𝑎 = 12
𝑏 = 12
𝑐 = 14
Using these equations,
 𝑎−𝑏+𝑐
𝑥=
2
𝑎+𝑏−𝑐
𝑦=
2
−𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐
𝑧=
2
We get,

𝑥=7
𝑦=5
𝑧=7
x, y, z = 5, 7, 7, in any order. This is the answer.

Problem 5

We want to write the expression as two perfect squares, which given the circumstances, must be in the
form:

(𝑎𝑚2 + 𝑏𝑛2 )2 + (𝑐𝑚2 + 𝑑𝑛2 )2

Expanding and simplifying, we get:

𝑎2 𝑚4 + 2𝑎𝑏𝑚2 𝑛2 + 𝑏 2 𝑛4 + 𝑐 2 𝑚4 + 2𝑐𝑑𝑚4 𝑛4 + 𝑑2 𝑛4 = 252 𝑚4 + (2)1008𝑚2 𝑛2 + 1442 𝑛4

(𝑎2 + 𝑐 2 )𝑚4 + (𝑎𝑏 + 𝑐𝑑)2𝑚2 𝑛2 + (𝑏 2 + 𝑑2 )𝑛4 = 252 𝑚4 + (2)1008𝑚2 𝑛2 + 1442 𝑛4

The problem would be solved by finding integer solutions for the system of equations:

𝑎2 + 𝑐 2 = 252
𝑎𝑏 + 𝑐𝑑 = 1008

𝑏 2 + 𝑑2 = 1442
Brute force computation shows that 1442 cannot be expressed as a sum of two squares, so either b or d
is 0. By symmetry, it can be seen that it does not matter which. Let d = 0 and b = 144. Substitution into
the second equation gives,

144𝑎 = 1008
𝑎=7
Substitution into the first equation gives,

49 + 𝑐 2 = 625

𝑐 2 = 576
𝑐 = 24
A solution for a, b, c, and d is listed for convenience:

𝑎=7
𝑏 = 144
𝑐 = 24
𝑑=0
Recall the original expression,

(𝑎𝑚2 + 𝑏𝑛2 )2 + (𝑐𝑚2 + 𝑑𝑛2 )2

Substitution gives,

(7𝑚2 + 144𝑛2 )2 + (24𝑚2 )2

Simplification or expansion is not needed. This is very clearly a sum of two perfect squares, since m and
n are given as integers. This is the answer.

Problem 6

Starting with the first equation: Square both sides to get,

2
(𝑥 + 𝑦)2 √𝑥𝑦 = (𝑥 + 𝑦)2 𝑥𝑦 = 5042

5042
(𝑥 + 𝑦)2 =
𝑥𝑦
In the second equation, subtract 4xy from each side to get,

𝑥 2 + 2𝑥𝑦 + 𝑦 2 = 2016 − 4𝑥𝑦

(𝑥 + 𝑦)2 = 2016 − 4𝑥𝑦

Substituting, we get,

5042
= 2016 − 4𝑥𝑦
𝑥𝑦
5042 = 2016𝑥𝑦 − 4(𝑥𝑦)2
Rearranging for a more familiar form,

4(𝑥𝑦)2 − 2016𝑥𝑦 + 5042 = 0

(𝑥𝑦)2 − 504(𝑥𝑦) + 2522 = 0

This is simply a quadratic equation, in which xy is the “unknown”. In this light, note that this is a perfect
square trinomial. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to imagine any factorization other than:
(𝑥𝑦 − 252)(𝑥𝑦 − 252) = 0

𝑥𝑦 − 252 = 0
𝑥𝑦 = 252
(I technically divided by 0, but that’s not overly destructive since it checks out)

Finally, an organized equation from the mess. Solving for y and substituting…
252
𝑦=
𝑥
252
(𝑥 + ) √252 = 504
𝑥
252 504
𝑥+ =
𝑥 √252
504
𝑥 2 + 252 = 𝑥
√252
504
𝑥2 − 𝑥 + 252 = 0
√252
𝑥 2 − 12√7𝑥 + 252 = 0
Oh my, another quadratic! Time for the quadratic formula… which gives,

2
12√7 ± √(−12√7) − 4 ∗ 252 12√7 ± √144 ∗ 7 − 4 ∗ 252 12√7 ± √1008 − 1008
𝑥= = =
2 2 2
12√7
𝑥= = 6√7
2
Only one solution for x exists for the system. Note that in the given equations, x and y can be
interchanged, and the equations are not affected. Thus, either there are two solutions in which x and y
can be switched to get the other, or there is only one solution in which x = y. Only one solution was
found for x, so there is only one solution for x and y. Therefore, x = y. The answer for the system, is:

𝑥 = 6√7

𝑦 = 6√7
Problem 7

After spending great amounts of time, and various tests, a reasonable approach could not be found.

Problem 8

AB, AC, and AD are all perpendicular to each other. Tetrahedron ABCD can be imagined as a section of a
rectangular prism, sliced along the plane formed by three mutually non-adjacent vertices (This is
definitely difficult to describe). E bisects CD, thus AE bisects the area of triangle ACD. The volume of
tetrahedron ABCD can we written as,
1 1
𝑏ℎ = Area(𝐴𝐶𝐷) ∗ 𝐴𝐵
3 3
Since the area of ACE is half of ACD, the volume of tetrahedron ABCE can be written as,
1 1 1
∗ Area(𝐴𝐶𝐷) ∗ 𝐴𝐵 = Area(𝐴𝐶𝐷) ∗ 𝐴𝐵 = 2016
3 2 6
The volume of tetrahedron ABCD is clearly double that of ABCE. Therefore, the volume of tetrahedron
ABCD is 4032.

Among the faces of tetrahedron ABCD, there are (at least) three right triangles. By the Pythagorean
Theorem,

𝐴𝐵2 + 𝐴𝐶 2 = 𝐵𝐶 2

𝐴𝐶 2 + 𝐴𝐷 2 = 𝐶𝐷 2
𝐴𝐵2 + 𝐴𝐷 2 = 𝐵𝐷 2
Among all of these lengths, only BD does not have to be an integer. The equation involving BD is not
needed. Since the volume of tetrahedron ABCD is 4032, The product AB*AC*AD must be
4032*3 = 12096. The factorization of 12096 is simply that of 2016, with an extra factor of 2, and 3.

12096 = 26 ∗ 33 ∗ 7
These factors must be distributed among AB, AC, and AD, such that,

√𝐴𝐵2 + 𝐴𝐶 2 ∈ ℕ

√𝐴𝐶 2 + 𝐴𝐷 2 ∈ ℕ

There does not seem to be a straightforward approach to this. With factors of 2, 3, and 7, some triples
come into mind: 3 – 4 – (5), 7 – 24 – (25).

The 3 – 4 – 5 Pythagorean Triple is one of the most common (The SAT loves it!). To start the trial-and-
error, assume that AB and AC are a multiple of 3 and 4 in some order.
Multiples of 3 and 4 can be achieved by taking an even number of the same prime factor from 12096/12
= 24 * 32 * 7. AB and AC can be, in some order, be equal to…

- 3, 4
- 6, 8
- 12, 16
- 9, 12
- 18, 24
- 36, 48

Dividing the product of each pair of integers from 12096, we get…

- 12096 / (3*4) = 1008

- 12096 / (6*8) = 252
- 12096 / (12*16) = 63
- 12096 / (9*12) = 112
- 12096 / (18*24) = 28
- 12096 / (36*48) = 7

We now need to check if the sum of the squares of one of these results and one of the possibilities for
AB and AC is a perfect square. We find that 162 + 632 = 652. The shared side length would be 16, so
therefore,

𝐴𝐵 = 12
𝐴𝐶 = 16
𝐴𝐷 = 63
The values of AB and AD can be interchanged. However, this is irrelevant in finding what is required of
the question, the length of BD.

𝐵𝐷 2 = 𝐴𝐵2 + 𝐴𝐷 2 = 122 + 632 = 4113

𝐵𝐷 = 3√457
This is the answer.

(Uniqueness was highly suggested by a Python program randomly distributing the factors of 12096 and
checking for Pythagorean Triples on an infinite loop, but a reasonable mathematical approach for
proving uniqueness could not be found)

Problem 9
2016
𝑓( ) = 1 − 𝑥𝑓(𝑥)
𝑥
Let k be 2016/x.

2016 2016 2016

𝑓(𝑘) = 𝑓 ( )=1− 𝑓( )
2016 𝑘 𝑘
( )
𝑘
Find f(2016/k).
2016
𝑓( ) = 1 − 𝑘𝑓(𝑘)
𝑘
Which is basically the original function with k = x.

Substituting for f(2016/k), we get,

2016
𝑓(𝑘) = 1 − (1 − 𝑘𝑓(𝑘))
𝑘
𝑘 − 2016 + 2016𝑘𝑓(𝑘)
𝑓(𝑘) =
𝑘
𝑘 − 2016
𝑓(𝑘) = + 2016𝑓(𝑘)
𝑘
𝑘 − 2016
𝑓(𝑘) − 2016𝑓(𝑘) =
𝑘
𝑘 − 2016
𝑓(𝑘)(1 − 2016) =
𝑘
𝑘 − 2016 2016 − 𝑘
𝑓(𝑘) = =
−2015𝑘 2015𝑘
Substitute back x = k to get,
2016 − 𝑥
𝑓(𝑥) =
2015𝑥
Which is the (only) answer.

Problem 10

There are 62/2 + 1 = 32 square roots. This suggests the possibility that the value of each would be 1. This
leads to investigate how this can be achieved. It can be seen that if,

∀𝑎𝑘 , 𝑎𝑘 = 𝑘 + 1
Then,

√(𝑎𝑘 − 𝑘)(𝑎𝑘+1 − (𝑘 + 1)) = 1

To test if this works and checks out with the first condition, find ∑62
𝑖=0 𝑎𝑖 .
62
63(63 + 1)
∑ 𝑎𝑖 = = 63 ∗ 32 = 2016
2
𝑖=0

This miraculously checks out. The question implies the solution is unique, and so the last step is to
evaluate,

𝑎0 − 𝑎1 + 𝑎2 − 𝑎3 + ⋯ − 𝑎61 + 𝑎62 = 1 − 2 + 3 − 4 + ⋯ − 62 + 63
Grouping each pair of integers gives…
62
(1 − 2) + (3 − 4) + (4 − 5) + ⋯ + (61 − 62) + 63 = −1 ∗ ( ) + 63 = −31 + 63 = 32
2
The final answer is 32. The question does not ask for a proof of a unique answer.