PURPLE COMET MATH MEET April 2011

MIDDLE SCHOOL - SOLUTIONS

Copyright Titu
c Andreescu and Jonathan Kane

Problem 1
There are relatively prime positive integers m and n so that
1
2 m
1 1 = .
1
3
1 1 + 1
3
1 1
n
4+4+4 4+4+4

Find m + 2n.

Answer: 41

1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 9 m
1 1 = 1 1 = 4 4 = 8 = = .
1
3
1 1 + 1
3
1 1
3
3 + 3
3 9 + 9 9
16 n
4+4+4 4+4+4 4 4

Thus, m = 9 and n = 16. The requested sum is 9 + 2 · 16 = 41.

Problem 2
The diagram below shows a 12-sided figure made up of three congruent
squares. The figure has total perimeter 60. Find its area.

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Answer: 75
If the total perimeter is 60, each square has perimeter 20. Thus, each square
has side length 5. Since each square then has area 52 = 25, the entire figure
has area 3 · 25 = 75.

Problem 3
Find the sum of all two-digit integers which are both prime and are 1 more
than a multiple of 10.

Answer: 215
The two-digit integers which are both prime and are 1 more than a multiple of
10 are 11, 31, 41, 61, and 71. Their sum is 11 + 31 + 41 + 61 + 71 = 215.

Problem 4
Jerry buys a bottle of 150 pills. Using a standard 12 hour clock, he sees that
the clock reads exactly 12 when he takes the first pill. If he takes one pill
every five hours, what hour will the clock read when he takes the last pill in
the bottle?

Answer: 1
Jerry will take the last pill 5 × 149 hours after he takes the first pill. Since
5 × 149 = 5 × (144 + 5) ≡ 5 × 5 = 25 ≡ 1 (mod 12), the clock will read 1 hour
past 12, or 1 when Jerry takes the last pill.

Problem 5
6 10 9 n
Given that 11 − 19 = 19 − 11 , find n.

Answer: 5
10
Add 19 to each side of the given equation to yield
6 9 n 10 19 n 11 n 11−n
11 = 19 − 11 + 19 = 19 − 11 = 11 − 11 = 11 . Thus, 6 = 11 − n and n = 5.

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Problem 6
The following addition problem is not correct if the numbers are interpreted as
base 10 numbers. In what number base is the problem correct?

Answer: 24
Let the number base for this problem be b. The ones column in the problem
adds to 6 + 7 + 5 + 8 = 26 ≡ 2 (mod b). Thus, b must be a divisor of 24. Since
the problem includes the digit 8, b must be at least 9. This implies that either
b = 12 or b = 24. It is straightforward to check that only b = 24 works.

Problem 7
m 3


When 1218 is divided by 1812 , the result is n , where m and n are relatively
prime positive integers. Find m − n.

Answer: 247
 3
1218 418 318 236 318 224 28 256 3


1812 = 212 912 = 212 324 = 36 = 32 = 9 . The requested difference is
256 − 9 = 247.

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Problem 8
A square measuring 15 by 15 is partitioned into five rows of five congruent
squares as shown below. The small squares are alternately colored black and
white as shown. Find the total area of the part colored black.

Answer: 117
15
Each of the small squares has side length 5 = 3, so each has area 32 = 9.
There are 13 shaded squares. Thus, the shaded area is 9 · 13 = 117.

Problem 9
A jar contains one quarter red jelly beans and three quarters blue jelly beans.
If Chris removes three quarters of the red jelly beans and one quarter of the
blue jelly beans, what percent of the jelly beans remaining in the jar will be
red?

Answer: 10
1 3
At the start, 4 of the jelly beans are red, and 4 of them are removed, so at the
1 3 1 4 3 1
end, the number of red jelly beans will be 4 − 4 · 4 = 16 − 16 = 16 of the
original number of jelly beans. Similarly, at the end, the number of blue jelly
3 1 3 12 3 9
beans will be 4 − 4 · 4 = 16 − 16 = 16 of the original number of jelly beans.
Therefore, at the end, the fraction of red jelly beans in the jar is
1
1 1
1
16
9 = 1+9 = 10 = 10 percent.
16 + 16

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Problem 10
−→ −−→ −−→ −−→ −−→
Five rays OA, OB, OC, OD, and OE radiate in a clockwise order from O
forming four non-overlapping angles such that ∠EOD = 2∠COB,
∠COB = 2∠BOA, while ∠DOC = 3∠BOA. If E, O, A are collinear with O
between A and E, what is the degree measure of ∠DOB?

Answer: 90
Let ∠BOA = x. Then ∠COB = 2x, ∠DOC = 3x, and ∠DOE = 4x. Thus
x + 2x + 3x + 4x = 10x = 180◦ =⇒ x = 18◦ . Then
∠DOB = ∠DOC + ∠COB = 3x + 2x = 5x = 90◦ .

Problem 11
How many numbers are there that appear both in the arithmetic sequence 10,
16, 22, 28, ... 1000 and the arithmetic sequence 10, 21, 32, 43, ..., 1000?

Answer: 16
The first sequence includes every sixth integer from 10 up to 1000. The second
sequence includes every eleventh integer from 10 up to 1000. The numbers
contained in both sequences are, therefore, every sixty-sixth number from 10 to
1000−10
1000. That is, 10, 76, 142, ... 1000. There are 66 + 1 = 16 such numbers.

Problem 12
When Troy writes his digits, his 0, 1, and 8 look the same right-side-up and
upside-down as seen in the figure below. His 6 and 9 look like upside-down
images of each other. None of his other digits look like digits when they are
inverted. How many different five-digit numbers (which do not begin with the
digit zero) can Troy write which read the same right-side-up and upside-down?

Answer: 60
Each of the digits that Troy writes in a five-digit number must be one of the

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five: 0, 1, 8, 6, 9. In addition, the numbers in positions 4 and 5 must be the
up-side-down versions of the digits he writes in positions 2 and 1, respectively.
Also, the digit in position 3 must be 0, 1, or 8 since it must look the same
right-side-up and up-side-down. Finally, the digit in the first position cannot
be 0 since no five-digit number can begin with the digit 0. Thus, there are 4
possible choices for the first digit, 5 choices for the second digit, three choices
for the third digit, and the last two digits are determined by the choices for the
first two digits. Therefore, there are 4 · 5 · 3 = 60 choices for five-digit numbers.

Problem 13
The diagram shows two equilateral triangles with side length 4 mounted on
two adjacent sides of a square also with side length 4. The distance between
√ √
the two vertices marked A and B can be written as m + n for two positive
integers m and n. Find m + n.

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Answer: 32
Let the center of the square be point C. The distance from A to C is given by
√ √
the height of the equilateral triangle, 4 · 23 = 12, plus half the length of the
√
side of the square, 2. Thus, the distance from A to C is 12 + 2. Triangle
ACB is an isosceles right triangle, so its hypotenuse AB has length
√ √ √ √
2 · ( 12 + 2) = 24 + 8. The requested sum is 24 + 8 = 32.

Problem 14
The five-digit number 12110 is divisible by the sum of its digits
1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 0 = 5. Find the greatest five-digit number which is divisible by
the sum of its digits.

Answer: 99972
Let n be the greatest five digit number which is divisible by the sum of its
digits, and suppose that n ends with the digit a. If n = 9 9 9 9 a = 99990 + a,
then it would be divisible by 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + a = 36 + a. Then 36 + a would
also divide (99990 + a) − (36 + a) = 99954. But 99954 = 2 · 34 · 617. Because
36 + a is between 36 and 45, and no integer between 36 and 45 has factors in
common with the prime 617 or divides 2 · 34 , n is not of the form 9 9 9 9 a.

If n = 9 9 9 8 a = 99980 + a for some digit a, then n would be divisible by

9 + 9 + 9 + 8 + a = 35 + a. It would follow that 35 + a would also divide
(99980 + a) − (35 + a) = 99945. But 99945 = 32 · 5 · 2221. Because 35 + a must
be between 35 and 44, there is no way for it to divide 32 · 5 = 45 or have any
factors in common with the prime 2221, so n is not of the form 9 9 9 8 a.

If n = 9 9 9 7 a = 99970 + a for some digit a, then by arguing as above, this

would mean the number 34 + a would divide (99970 + a) − (34 + a) = 99936 =
25 · 32 · 347. The number 34 + a cannot have any factors in common with the
prime 347, but it could divide 25 · 32 . The only integer between 34 and 43

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equal to a power of 2 times a power of 3 is 36. This happens when a = 2, and
the number 99972 is divisible by the sum of its digits which is 36.

Problem 15
In the diagram below, AB and CD are parallel, ∠BXY = 45◦ , ∠DZY = 25◦ ,
and XY = Y Z. What is the degree measure of ∠Y XZ?

Answer: 55
Extend XY until it intersects CD at X 0 . Then ∠XX 0 Z = 45◦ . Hence
∠ZY X 0 = 180◦ − 25◦ − 45◦ = 110◦ . This implies that
∠XY Z = 180◦ − 110◦ = 70◦ . Since 4XY Z is isosceles, 2∠Y XZ + 70◦ = 180◦
and ∠Y XZ = 55◦ .

Problem 16
1 1 1 1
Let a and b be nonzero real numbers such that 3a + b = 2011 and a + 3b = 1.
What is the quotient when a + b is divided by ab?

Answer: 1509
3a+b a+3b
Adding fractions gives 3ab = 2011 and 3ab = 1. Adding these two equations
4a+4b 4 a+b
together gives 3ab = 3 · ab = 2011 + 1 = 2012. Thus, the requested ratio is
a+b 3
ab = 2012 · 4 = 1509.

Problem 17
Find the number of ordered quadruples (a, b, c, d) where each of a, b, c, and d
are (not necessarily distinct) elements of {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and

8
3abc + 4abd + 5bcd is even. For example, (2, 2, 5, 1) and (3, 1, 4, 6) satisfy the
conditions.

Answer: 2017
The given sum is even exactly when the products abc and bcd are either both
even or both odd. This happens either when the product bc is even and or
when bc is odd and a and d are either both even or both odd. Of the 7 · 7 = 49
ways to assign values to b and d, 4 · 4 = 16 ways result in bd being odd, and
49 − 16 = 33 ways result in bc being even. Similarly, there are 49 ways to
assign values to a and d. Of these ways, 4 · 4 = 16 result in both a and d being
odd, and 3 · 3 = 9 result in both a and d being even. It follows that the total
number of ways to assign values to a, b, c, and d so that 3abc + 4abd + 5bcd is
even is 33 · 49 + 16 · (16 + 9) = 2017.

Problem 18
Find the positive integer n so that n2 is the perfect square closest to
8 + 16 + 24 + · · · + 8040.

Answer: 2011
The sum 8 + 16 + 24 + · · · + 8040 =
1005  
X 1005 · 1006
8 i=8 = 2010 · 2012 = (2011 − 1)(2011 + 1) = 20112 − 1.
i=1
2

Hence the requested number is 2011.

Problem 19
How many ordered pairs of sets (A, B) have the properties:

1. A ⊆ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

2. B ⊆ {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

3. A ∩ B has exactly 3 elements.

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Answer: 720
The sets {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} have five elements in common, so
there are 53 = 10 ways to select three elements that the sets A and B have in

common. Having selected the three shared elements, there are two choices of
what to do with the element 1 which can either be in or out of set A.
Similarly, there are two choices for each of the elements 7 and 8 which can be
in or out of set B. Of the elements in {2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, three of the elements have
been chosen to appear in both A and B, but there are three choices of what to
do with each of the other two elements which can be placed either in the set
A, in the set B, or left out of both sets. It follows that the number of ways to
choose the sets A and B is 10 · 2 · 2 · 2 · 3 · 3 = 720.

Problem 20
Let V be the set of vertices of a regular 25 sided polygon with center at point
C. How many triangles have vertices in V and contain the point C in the
interior of the triangle?

Answer: 650
25


The number of triangles with vertices among the 25 vertices is 3 = 2300.
The triangles that do not contain the center C are exactly the triangles that
are obtuse. Number the vertices of the regular 25 sided polygon in order from
1 to 25. A triangle will have an obtuse angle at the point numbered 11 if one of
its other two vertices is numbered with a number less than 11, one is numbered
with a number greater than 11, and the difference between these two numbers
does not exceed 11. Thus, one of these vertices could be numbered k for
1 ≤ k ≤ 10 while the other could be numbered m with 12 ≤ m ≤ k + 11. That
is, for each choice of k, there are k choices for m. It follows that the number of
10·11
triangles with an obtuse angle at vertex 11 is 1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + 10 = 2 = 66.
An obtuse triangle could have its obtuse angle at any of the 25 vertices, so it

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follows that there are 25 · 66 = 1650 obtuse triangles. Hence, the number of
triangles that contain the point C is 2300 − 1650 = 650.

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