Junior Division: Response to Question 7

Date Started: 25/06/2023

Date Completed: 27/07/2023
By: F Liu and Ethan Peng – Grade 6
Trinity Grammar School, Kew
Contents
Section 1: Questions............................................................................................................................... 2
Section 2: Answers ................................................................................................................................. 3
2.1 Answer to Question a....................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Answer to Question b ...................................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Answer to Question c ....................................................................................................................... 5
2.4 Answer to Question d ...................................................................................................................... 8
2.5 Answer to Question e..................................................................................................................... 10
2.6 Answer to Question f ..................................................................................................................... 14
Section 3: More Questions................................................................................................................... 18
Section 4: More thinking ...................................................................................................................... 19
4.1 Answer to Ext-Q1 ........................................................................................................................... 19
4.2 Answer to Ext-Q2 ........................................................................................................................... 20
4.3 Answer to Ext-Q3 ........................................................................................................................... 21
4.4 Answer to Ext-Q4 ........................................................................................................................... 22
4.5 Answer to Ext-Q5 ........................................................................................................................... 24
4.6 Answer to Ext-Q6 ........................................................................................................................... 25
Section 5: Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 28

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
Section 1: Questions
Suppose there are 10 cards numbered 1 to 10. Each card is numbered the same
on both sides. On the top side, the numbers have a plus sign and on the bottom
side, they have a minus sign (Figure 1).

Figure 1-Top and bottom sides of the 10 cards

At first, all the cards are laid out with the plus sign numbers facing up.
a) What is the sum of all the cards in the starting layout?
b) Can you find a way, by flipping some cards, to make the sum equal to 35?
Is there more than one way to do this? Why/why not?
c) What are all the ways to make the sum equal to 17?
d) Are there some numbers the sum cannot equal? Why/why not?

Now suppose there are 10 cards that show the first 10 even numbers with a plus
sign (+2, +4, +6, . . .) on the top side, and the first 10 odd numbers with a minus
sign (-1, -3, -5, . . .) on the bottom side. At first, all the cards are laid out with the
even numbers facing up.
e) Explore what numbers can or can’t be made with these cards, by flipping
some of them over.
f) Come up with your own cards and explore the numbers that you can
make with them. Consider using prime numbers, other operators like × or
÷, or even increasing the number of cards.

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
Section 2: Answers

2.1 Answer to Question a

What is the sum of all the cards in the starting layout?

Figure 2- Cards at starting layout

All the cards are all facing up in the starting layout, as stated in the question.
They have all the numbers in the range [1, 10] on them. This can be calculated
using the formula for the sum of numbers from 1 to n as shown below:

1 = .

Thus, the sum of these numbers is = 55.

Therefore, the sum of all the cards in the starting layout is 55.

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2.2 Answer to Question b

Can you find a way, by flipping the cards, to make the sum equal to 35?
As stated in the answer in Question a, the sum of the starting position is 55.
Flipping any card will reduce the total by 2 times the number that is on the card.
For example, if we flip the card +10 around, it becomes -10, so we subtract 20
from our total, which is now 35. We must flip cards that sum up to ten, as 2×10
= 20, and we will need a difference of 20 (as 55 - 35 = 20).
Therefore, one way that we can flip the cards to make the sum equal to 35 is
by flipping the card with +10 at the starting layout to -10.
Is there another way to do this? Why or why not?
There are many ways to get numbers from the range [1, 10] to add up to 10, as
shown below. There are 10 ways in total, including flipping the card with +10 to
-10.
Flipping 2 cards: 4 ways

Cards at starting layout Cards after flipped

+1, +9 -1, -9
+2, +8 -2, -8
+3, +7 -3, -7
+4, +6 -4, -6
Flipping 3 cards: 4 ways

Cards at starting layout Cards after flipped

+1, +2, +7 -1, -2, -7
+1, +3, +6 -1, -3, -6
+1, +4, +5 -1, -4, -5
+2, +3, +5 -2, -3, -5
Flipping 4 cards: 1 way

Cards at starting layout Cards after flipped

+1, +2, +3, +4 -1, -2, -3, -4

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
2.3 Answer to Question c

What are all the ways to make the sum equal to 17?
In Question b, we figured out that to make the sum equal to 35, we had to do
the equation 55 - 35 and then divide it by 2, then find which numbers add up to
what it was equal to. Similarly, for this question, we must subtract 17 from 55
and divide it by 2. That would give us 19.
We now must find all the ways that the numbers can be added up to equal 19.
Flipping 2 cards: 1 way
Cards at starting layout Cards after flipped
+9, +10 -9, -10

Flipping 3 cards: 9 ways

Cards at starting layout Cards after flipped
+1, +8, +10 -1, -8, -10
+2, +7, +10 -2, -7, -10
+2, +8, +9 -2, -8, -9
+3, +6, +10 -3, -6, -10
+3, +7, +9 -3, -7, -9
+4, +5, +10 -4, -5, -10
+4, +6, +9 -4, -6, -9
+4, +7, +8 -4, -7, -8
+5, +6, +8 -5, -6, -8

Flipping 4 cards: 14 ways

Cards at starting layout Cards after flipped
+1, +2, +6, +10 -1, -2, -6, -10
+1, +2, +7, +9 -1, -2, -7, -9
+1, +3, + 5, +10 -1, -3, -5, -10
+1, +3, +6, +9 -1, -3, -6, -9
+1, +3, +7, +8 -1, -3, -7, -8
+1, +4, +5, + 9 -1, -4, -5, -9

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
 +1, +4, +6, +8 -1, -4, -6, -8
+1, +5, +6, +7 -1, -5, -6, -7
+2, +3, +4, +10 -2, -3, -4, -10
+2, +3, +5, +9 -2, -3, -5, -9
+2, +3, +6, +8 -2, -3, -6, -8
+2, +4, +5, +8 -2, -4, -5, -8
+2, +4, +6, +7 -2, -4, -6, -7
+3, +4, +5, +7 -3, -4, -5, -7

Flipping 5 cards: 5 ways

Cards at starting layout Cards after flipped
+1, +2, +3, +4, +9 -1, -2, -3, -4, -9
+1, +2, +3, +5, +8 -1, -2, -3, -5, -8
+1, +2, +3, +6, +7 -1, -2, -3, -6, -7
+1, +2, +4, +5, +7 -1, -2, -4, -5, -7
+1, +3, +4, +5, +6 -1, -3, -4, -5, -6

This gives all the possible flips to make the total from 55 to 17. In total, there
are 29 ways.
The result can also be presented by a tree diagram, as shown below.

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
 Figure 3 - Tree Diagram

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
2.4 Answer to Question d

Are there some numbers the sum cannot equal? Why or why not?
Yes, there are some numbers the sum cannot equal.
There are two cases below that explain our answer above.
Case 1:
The total sum of the starting cards is 55 (which is an odd number) and flipping a
card reduces or increases the total value by twice the number on the card. Since
subtracting an even number (you must subtract an even number as we are
multiplying a number by 2) from an odd number always gives an odd number,
even numbers cannot be made by flipping some cards.
Our general method to find all the possible totals:
We can find all possible numbers by subtracting one card from the total first –
starting with the smallest one. After that, we subtract the next smallest card.
Then, we subtract the next smallest card again. We do this until we subtract 20,
which is the largest amount you can subtract by flipping only one card.
After that, you subtract 20 and the smallest number (2). You then subtract 4
from 20, then 6 …, until you subtract 18 and 20. Then, you subtract 3 cards, until
you subtract 20, 18 and 16. This continues until you subtract 20, 18, 16, 14, …, 2
(subtract 10 cards).

 55-2, 55-4, 55-6, 55-8, 55-10 …, 55-20 is all possible

 55-20-2, 55-20-4, ..., 55-20-18 is all possible
 55-20-18-2, 55-20-18-4 ..., 55-20-18-16 is all possible
 55-20-18-16-2, 55-20-28-16-4 …, 55-20-18-16-14 is all possible, etc.

Since 1+2+3+4+...+10 = 55, all odd numbers from 1 to 55 can be made by

flipping some of the 10 cards in the starting position where every card is +. The
numbers that cannot be made from the cards using the reasoning above are all
the numbers from -54 to 54 counting by 2 by using this equation:
, = .

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
Case 2:
If you are at the maximum value or the minimum value of 55 and -55
respectively, you can't go higher/lower. Therefore, any number above 55 and
under -55 cannot be made.
The numbers that cannot be made from the cards using the reasoning above
are all the numbers >55 or <-55.

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
2.5 Answer to Question e

Now suppose there are 10 cards that show the first 10 even numbers with a
plus sign (+2, +4, +6, . . .) on the top side, and the first 10 odd numbers with a
minus sign (-1, -3, -5, . . .) on the bottom side. At first, all the cards are laid out
with the even numbers facing up.
Explore what numbers can or can’t be made with these cards, by flipping some
of them over.

The sum of the first ten numbers that are facing up is ∑# 2", which is 110.
For this question, we cannot say that when we flip the cards, the difference is
double the amount of the number on the top, as the cards are not identical on
both sides. The minimum sum, ∑# − 2" − 1 = -100.
Obviously, cards outside the minimum sum and the maximum sum are not
possible. So, cards that are greater than 110 or less than -100 cannot be made.
All the 10 cards are shown below:

Card Number Top Side Bottom Side

Card 1 +2 -1
Card 2 +4 -3
Card 3 +6 -5
Card 4 +8 -7
Card 5 +10 -9
Card 6 +12 -11
Card 7 +14 -13
Card 8 +16 -15
Card 9 +18 -17
Card 10 +20 -19

If you flip all the cards around, the total sum is -100. Since you must at least +3
or -3 to the total each time, 109, 108, -99 and -98 are unreachable.

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Our General Method:
We first must see what happens when we flip one card (which is quite
straightforward), 2 cards and so on. However, this will take a long time since
there are 210 ways (1024). Since the cards aren’t symmetrical, there is no better
way to find all the possible totals.
The differences that you can make from all the cards are 0, ±3, ±7, ±11, ±15, ±19,
±23, ±27, ±31, ±35 and ±39.
In the starting layout, you cannot increase the number, as it is the maximum
amount that you can get. From there, you can -0, -3, -7, -11, -15, -19, -23, -27, -
31, -35 and -39.
We can split this up into different sections.
If we only subtract one of the numbers above, then we can obtain 110, 107, 103,
99, 95, 91, 87, 83, 79, 75 and 71.
There are more ways, however, if we subtract 2 numbers (like subtracting both
3 and 7). This makes it possible to get 100, 96, 92, 88, 84, 80, 76, 72, 68, 64, 60,
56, 52, 48, 44, 40 and 36.
Similarly, we can subtract 3 numbers. This can give us 89, 85, 81, 77, 73, 69, 65,
61, 57, 53, 49, 45, 41, 37, 33, 29, 25, 21, 17, 13, 9 and 5.
Subtracting 4 numbers give 74, 70, 66, 62, 58, 54, 50, 46, 42, 38, 34, 30, 26, 22,
18, 14, 10, 6, 2, -2, -6, -10, -14, -18 and -22.
By subtracting 5 numbers, we can obtain 55, 51, 47, 43, 39, 35, 31, 27, 23, 19,
15, 11, 7, 3, -1, -5, -9, -13, -17, -21, -25, -29, -33, -37, -41 and -45.
By subtracting 6 numbers, we can obtain 32, 28, 24, 20, 16, 12, 8, 4, 0, -4, -8, -
12, -16, -20, -24, -28, -32, -36, -40, -44, -48, -52, -56, -60 and -64.
By subtracting 7 numbers, we can obtain 5, 1, -3, -7, -11, -15, -19, -23, -27, -31, -
35, -39, -43, -47, -51, -55, -59, -63, -67, -71, -75 and -79.
By subtracting 8 numbers, we can get -26, -30, -34, -38, -46, -50, -54, -58, -62, -
66, -70, -74, -78, -82, -86 and -90.
By subtracting 9 numbers, we can obtain -61, -65, -69, -73, -77, -81, -85, -89, -93
and -97.

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By subtracting 10 numbers, we obtain -100.
The pattern for the numbers that are obtainable is that if you get all the numbers
that you can obtain by flipping the same number of cards, it is a sequence of
difference -4.
The other way that we did this is by Python. The code used is shown below. This
code found all the numbers that could be made by flipping those cards.

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 Figure 4- Solving Question e using Python

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2.6 Answer to Question f

Come up with your own cards and explore the numbers that you can make with
them. Consider using prime numbers, other operators like × or ÷, or even
increasing the number of cards.
Below are the cards that we have made up:

Card Number Top Side Bottom Side Product (Disregarding the sign on
the card)
Card 1 ×2 ÷3 6
Card 2 ×7 ÷11 77
Card 3 ×17 ÷13 221
Card 4 ×23 ÷29 667
Card 5 ×61 ÷5 305
Card 6 ×13 ÷43 559
Card 7 ×3 ÷17 51
Card 8 ×19 ÷61 1159
Card 9 ×43 ÷19 817
Card 10 ×29 ÷23 667
Card 11 ×5 ÷2 10
Card 12 ×11 ÷7 77

As you may have noticed, the cards (both on the top side and the bottom side)
are all prime. In addition, the numbers on the top side are the same as the
numbers on the bottom side, but the cards aren’t symmetrical.
Our General Method:
Our general method will first be getting the prime factorisation of the starting
sum, which is 2 × 3 × 5 × 7 × 11 × 13 × 17 × 19 × 23 × 29 × 43 × 61. Then for
every card we flip, we get rid of 2 numbers in the prime factorisation. The
minimum value is the reciprocal of the maximum value (the maximum value is
16970005342290 and the minimum value is ), which means we
%&' ()* &
can get all the possible values just by deleting some of the numbers in the prime
factorisation. We can do this since flipping one card divides the total by the

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
product of the numbers on both sides of the card. They are both in the prime
factorisation, so we can delete them from the prime factorisation.
Below lists the number of ways to flip a certain number of cards. Notice that the
list is like a mirror: flipping no cards gives the same number of ways as flipping
all the cards, flipping 1 card is the same as flipping 11, flipping 2 is the same as
flipping 10, etc.

Flipping 0 cards:
There is only 1 way to not flip a card – just keep the starting total.

Flipping 1 card:

There are 12 different ways we can flip one card: + ,, which is 12 choose 1.

Flipping 2 cards:
× 11
Similarly, when flipping two cards, we can also use combinations. + , is ,
which gives us 66 ways.

Flipping 3 cards:
× 11 × 10
By flipping 3 cards, there are + ) , ways. + ) , is , which is 220.
)×2

Flipping 4 cards:

By flipping 4 cards, we can obtain + * , possible ways, which is 495.

Flipping 5 cards:

If we are flipping 5 cards, we can get + ( , ways. That equals 792.

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Flipping 6 cards:

We can flip 6 cards in + % , different ways. + % , is 924.

Flipping 7 cards:
By flipping 7 cards, we can attain the same amount as we got for flipping 5 cards:
792.

Flipping 8 cards:
Flipping 8 cards gives us 495 ways.

Flipping 9 cards:
By flipping 9 cards, we can obtain the same amount as we got by flipping 3 cards.
This gives 220.

Flipping 10 cards:
By flipping 10 cards, we can attain the same thing as flipping 2 cards. There are
66 ways that we can flip 10 cards.

Flipping 11 cards:
Flipping 11 cards is the same as flipping one card: there are 12 ways.

Flipping 12 cards:
By flipping 12 cards, it is just the minimum total. There is only 1 way to flip all 12
cards.

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In total, we have
1 + 12 + 66 + 220 + 495 + 792 + 924 + 792 + 495 + 220 + 66 + 12 + 1 ways to flip
the cards. That means that there are 4096 ways to flip the cards. Note that we
could have found the total ways to flip the cards just by doing 2 , which is also
4096.

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Section 3: More Questions
We made up 5 extension questions, as listed below, and solved them. They
expand on the original questions.
Ext-Q1:
What happens when you include powers in some cards?
Does it heavily change the result?
Ext-Q2:
Does the total always stay odd or even depending on if the starting total is odd
or even (Such as the cards in the starting layout – it is odd) or does it change?
Ext-Q3:
For some card sets (without any divide or multiply signs), is there a way to flip a
different number of cards such that the resulting total is the same as the starting
total, without flipping the card twice?
Ext-Q4:
What happens if you can rearrange the order of the cards in Question f? How
many totals are there if you can rearrange the cards?
Ext-Q5:
For random card layouts (like the one we made up in Question f), how can you
find the maximum total?
Ext-Q6:
What are some other card sets that we can use in replacement for the one in
Question f and solve?

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Section 4: More thinking

4.1 Answer to Ext-Q1

What happens when you include powers in some cards?

When you include powers in some of the cards, it is like the other operations,
but you just have to do the multiplication multiple times. For example, if there
are 2 cards in a sequence, one card with -2, +7 and the second card with - * , 5
(- being the current total), then the starting layout’s total is (1 - 2)4, which is 1.
Note that in the starting layout, all cards are facing up.
Does it heavily change the result?
It really depends on the exponent, since the smaller the exponent, the less
impact. In addition, the base number also matters. The larger it is, the more
impact the exponent will have. For example, the exponent may be (for example)
3, which may seem to you that it wouldn’t impact the total a lot. However, if the
base number is large, say 74, the total would increase by a lot.
Therefore, the impact of the exponent varies in different situations.

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4.2 Answer to Ext-Q2

Does the total always stay odd or even depending on if the starting total is odd
or even (Such as the cards in the starting layout – it is odd, but it can change)
or does it change? In the starting layout, all cards are symmetrical (+- and –-
on one card).
If the cards are all symmetrical, (+-, −- on one card, +/, −/ on another, +0, −
0 on the third one etc,) then the difference between 2 of the numbers on the
same card is 2×|the number on the card|. (Which is 2 times the absolute value
of the number on one side of the card). This means that the difference must be
even, as it has a factor of 2.
Case 1 – The starting layout’s sum is odd.
Odd-even is always odd. Therefore, if the starting layout’s total is odd, it does
not change, and it stays odd.
Case 2 – The starting layout’s sum is even.
Even-even is always even. Similarly, if the starting layout’s total is even, it also
does not change.
Thus, the sum of a symmetrical sequence of cards does not change from even
to odd, or vice versa.

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4.3 Answer to Ext-Q3

For some card sets, is there a way to flip a different number of cards such that
the resulting total is the same as the starting total, without flipping a card
twice?
Obviously, if there is a card with +0 and -0 on the top and bottom sides, it is
possible: just flip the card once, and the total will stay the same. At first, it may
seem that this is the only possible way to do this. However, this is not only the
case even for symmetrical cards, from the first sequence (+1, -1, +2, -2 and etc.)
say you are trying to make the number 43, you can flip +1, +2 and +3 but you
can also flip +6, thus it is possible to flip a different number of cards to end up
with the same value in symmetrical sequences. There can be ways where you
can flip cards in a non-symmetrical sequence to make the total stay the same.

For example, there are 3 cards, and the starting layout is +3, -4 and +9. In this
case, the total is 8. In all cases, it is impossible to flip one card and obtain the
same total (apart from if the card is 0). However, if the bottom of each card is
one of the other cards, you can flip both cards to obtain the same total. For
example, if the bottom of +3 was -4, and the bottom side of +4 is -3, then you
can flip both to obtain the same total. You can also flip all three cards to make
the same total if the bottom of all the cards is another card in the set.

This reasoning also applies for any number of cards.

Yes, it is possible to obtain the same total in some card sets.

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4.4 Answer to Ext-Q4

What happens if you can rearrange the order of the cards in Question f?
How many totals are there if you rearrange them?
First, we will list all the cards that were listed in Sub-Question f.
Card Number Top Side Bottom Side
Card 1 ×2 ÷3
Card 2 ×7 ÷11
Card 3 ×17 ÷13
Card 4 ×23 ÷29
Card 5 ×61 ÷5
Card 6 ×13 ÷43
Card 7 ×3 ÷17
Card 8 ×19 ÷61
Card 9 ×43 ÷19
Card 10 ×29 ÷23
Card 11 ×5 ÷2
Card 12 ×11 ÷7

For this question, we will have to explore the different totals that can be made
after the cards are rearranged.
Before writing up a general method, we will first calculate the number of ways
that the cards can be arranged. There are 12 cards in total. This would be 12! .
We know this by using multiplication boxes.
There are 12 multiplication boxes.

The first box could be Card [1, 12]: 12 choices.

The second box could be anything but the card that was put into box 1, which
gives us 11 choices.

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The third box could be any of the 12 cards apart from the cards put into the first
2 boxes.
This goes on until the twelfth box leaves only 1 more choice.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

This gives 12!, which is 479001600. There are 479001600 possible ways to
rearrange the 12 cards. However, that is only if we don’t flip any cards. There
are many more combinations if we can flip some cards, and then rearrange
them. As we worked out in Question f, there are 1024 totals that could be
obtained.
However, since there are 479001600 possible ways to rearrange them, there
are now 490497638400 totals.

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4.5 Answer to Ext-Q5

For random card layouts (like the one we made up in Question f), how can you
find the maximum total?
For any card layout, remember that BIDMAS will not be used. So, it is obvious
that you will always pick the signs that are + or ×.
Case 1
There are no × or + signs.
If there are no × or + signs, then there we will have to pick either - or ÷. It really
depends on the number after the sign. You are more likely to use -, as if the
numeral after the sign is the same, subtracting would always give you the larger
total. Say that your current total is 8, and there is a card with -5 and ÷5. If you
subtract 5, you will get 3, but if you ÷ by 5, you would get 1.6, which is smaller
than 3. However, if the numbers after the symbols are different, you would have
to work it out. If they are quite far apart, though, you can usually tell which one
is going to give the larger result.
Case 2
There are no ÷ or - signs.
If there are no ÷ or - signs, then we will have to pick either + or ×. In this case, it
also depends on the number after the sign. You are more likely to use × – it will
usually give you a larger total. Like Case 1, you can usually tell whether to use +
or × if the numbers are different.
Case 3
There are 2 + or × signs: one on the bottom of the card, and one on the top.
Always pick the largest number after the sign. For example, if there is a card with
+3 and +8, pick the +8. Likewise, if there is a ×4 and a ×9, use ×9.
Case 4
There are 2 ÷ or - signs: one on the bottom of the card, one on the top.
Contrary to Case 5, choose the smallest number after the sign. Say that there is
a card with ÷5 and ÷3. ÷3 would give the larger total. If there is a card with -3
and -4, -3 would be the better choice.

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4.6 Answer to Ext-Q6

What are some other card sets that we can use in replacement for the one in
Question f and solve?
These are the cards that we came up with for this question.
Card Number Top Side Bottom Side
Card 1 +1 ×1
Card 2 +2 ×2
Card 3 +3 ×3
Card 4 +4 ×4
Card 5 +5 ×5
Card 6 +6 ×6
Card 7 +7 ×7
Card 8 +8 ×8
Card 9 +9 ×9
Card 10 +10 ×10
Card 11 +11 ×11
Card 12 +12 ×12

Unlike Question f, the cards are all symmetrical, although they aren’t + and -.
The symbols are + and ×.
Note that if the first card has a × or ÷ in front of it, then you will multiply or
divide that number by 1: For example, if the first number is ×2, it will be 1 × 2.
The starting total is the same as in Question a, but you have to add 11 and 12.
You could also use the formula we used for Question a.

1 = .

× )
Sum from 1 to 12 = = 78.

General Method:
Our method will be the same as Question f’s method, also checking one by one
but doing simpler calculations.

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First, we will find the total number of possible values.
Flipping 0 Cards:
Flipping 0 cards obviously gives 1 total.
Flipping 1 Cards:
There are 12 choices for the number that we want to flip and this gives us a total
of 12 different numbers by flipping a single card.
Flipping 2 Cards:
There are 12 choices for the first card and 11 for the second, however flipping
×
cards 1 and 2 is the same as flipping the cards 2 and 1. Giving a total of =66
different possible numbers. We notice that this is actually + ,.

Flipping 3 Cards:
We can continue a pattern and for flipping 3 cards, we can write the total
possibilities as + ) ,=220.

Flipping 4 Cards:
We can do the same as we did for 3 cards and the total number of different
totals is + * ,=495.

Flipping 5 Cards:

This is the same as before and we can obtain a total of + ( ,=792 different
numbers.
Flipping 6 Cards:

Again, we do the same and obtain + % ,=924 different possibilities.

Flipping 7 Cards:

By the formula +# , = + # ,,
there is 792 different totals. (The formula can be
used all the way to flipping 12 cards.)
Flipping 8 Cards:
By the same formula, flipping 8 cards can obtain 495 different totals.

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
Flipping 9 Cards:
By again using the formula, flipping 9 cards can obtain 220 different numbers.
Flipping 10 Cards:
Flipping 10 cards can obtain 66 different numbers.
Flipping 11 Cards:
Flipping 11 cards can obtain 12 totals.
Flipping 12 Card:
Flipping 12 cards can only obtain 1 total
In total we can obtain (1+12+66+220+495+792) × 2 + 934 = 4106 different ending
totals.

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7
 Section 5: Bibliography

 The Python code in Question e was typed up on PyCharm.

 Smartdraw was used to make the Tree Diagram in Question c.
https://cloud.smartdraw.com/
 A full precision calculator was used to calculate the answer in Ext-Q4 and
Question f.
https://www.mathsisfun.com/calculator-precision.html

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2023 Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition - Question 7