High School Math Contest Problems

Elon University Department of Mathematics

March 9, 2002

1. A standard fair die is tossed six times. What is the probability that at least one number will repeat?


(a)   .
(b)   .

(c)  .
(d)  .


(e)   .
  
2. The domain of the function    
is

(a)   .


(b) !  .


(c)    .


(d)    .
(e) None of these.

3. Lisa doubles her investment in stocks in five years. This represents an approximate annual return of

(a) 13.8%.
(b) 14.9%.
(c) 15.8%.
(d) 16.7%.
(e) 17.6%.


)
4. In the expansion of "$#   % &(' , the coefficient of # is

(a) -21.
(b) -7.
(c) 7.
(d) 21.
(e) 35.

1
2 Elon University

5. A family has two children, at least one of which is a boy. What is the probability of them both being
boys? (Assume the probability of the sex of a single child is 50%/50%.)

(a)  .

(b)  .

(c)  .

(d)  .
(e) Not enough information to compute.

6. What is the largest amount of change you can have in your pocket and still not have change for one
dollar? (Assume that the fifty-cents piece is the largest denomination available.)

(a) $0.99.
(b) $1.04.
(c) $1.29.
(d) $1.44.
(e) None of the above.
th
7. What is the last digit of 3 raised to the *+*,*+* power?

(a) 1.
(b) 3.
(c) 5.
(d) 7.
(e) 9.

8. A quantity follows a linear progression. On June 1, there were 185 and on July 2, there were 297.
Approximately how many should there be on August 3?

(a) 3.61.
(b) 361.
(c) 409.
(d) 413.
(e) Cant be determined with the given information.

9. -/.,02143

(a) 1.
1
(b) 3 .
(c) -/576 .
(d) 8 .
-/576
(e) None of the above.
2002 High School Math Contest 3

A@ CB AE

10. In 9;:=<?> , :=< , <?> , >D: and side <?> is extended, as shown in the figure, to point F
so that 9;FG:=< is similar to 9;FH>D: . The length of FH> is
O

I J

L M
K

(a) 7.
(b) 8.
(c) 9.
(d) 10.
(e) 11.
 
11. Suppose and P are inversely proportional and positive. If increases by QSR , then P decreases by

(a) Q(R .
(b)
U T R .

WVV T
(c) R .
T
(d) W
VVT U R .

WVV T
(e)
WVVU T R .
T
12. Six distinct integers are picked at random from the set X YZ [\$]^]$] Z_ . What is the probability that,
8 8
among those selected, the second smallest is 3?

(a)  .

(b) .

(c)  .

(d)  .

(e)  .

13. One can play the Pennsylvania lottery by picking a 4-digit number. If you are told that the first number
cannot be any of the digits 5 through 9 and the last digit cannot be any of the digits 0 through 5, how
many different ways can you pick the number on your 4-digit lottery ticket?

(a) `ba .

(b) Y+c=d  .
 8
(c)  .
8 
(d) Y d
e  .
8
(e)  .
8
4 Elon University

14. The nine nonzero digits are placed in a [gfh[ grid in such a way that the sum of the numbers in any
row, column or full diagonal are the same. What must that sum be?

(a) 12.
(b) 13.
(c) 14.
(d) 15.
(e) 16.

15. A painter can paint a room in 60 minutes. The painters apprentice can paint the same room in 90
minutes. How long will it take them to paint the room together?

(a) 36 minutes.
(b) 41 minutes.
(c) 54 minutes.
(d) 75 minutes.
(e) 150 minutes.

16. Find the length of <?i to the nearest hundredth.

M

J
L j N
k l

(a) 1.64.
(b) 1.95.
(c) 2.07.
(d) 3.24.
(e) 3.61.

17. Person and person P have the following conversation:

: I forgot how old your three kids are.
P : The product of their ages are 36.

: I still dont know their ages.
P : The sum of their ages is the same as your house number.

: I still dont know their ages.
P : The oldest one has red hair.

: Now I know their ages!

How old are they?

(a) 1,6,6.
(b) 2,2,9.
(c) 2,3,6.
(d) 3,3,4.
(e) Can not be determined.
2002 High School Math Contest 5

18. What are the equations of the asymptotes for the following hyperbola:
  nm @ m EH
` [P 
8
o p7
(a) P and P .
q   Cr  
(b) P  and P  .
  s  m  p   m 
(c) P   and P   .
8 8
q  st  pr  t 
(d) P  and P  .

s m 8 u
s m  8
(e) P  and P  .
8 8
19. The area of the large square is 49 times bigger that the area of the small square. The total area of
both squares in 200 square units. Determine the length of the segment joining the centers of the two
inscribed circles.

(a) 7.
(b) 9.
(c) 10.
(d) 11.
(e) 13.

20. A population of Marmosets follows an exponential growth pattern. Five years ago, the population was
at 12,279 and now there are 13,562 Marmosets. If the population continues to grow in this manner,
how many Marmosets will there be in five years?

(a) 13567.
(b) 14845.
(c) 14979.
(d) 41969.
(e) Cant be determined with the given information.

21. The red stripe on a barber pole makes two complete revolutions around the pole. If the pole is
one meter high and 16 cm in diameter, what is the length of the red stripe to the nearest tenth of a
centimeter?

(a) 100.5 cm.

(b) 111.9 cm.
(c) 125.2 cm.
(d) 141.8 cm.
(e) None of these.
6 Elon University

22. Three tennis balls snugly fit in a cylindrical can. The balls touch the side, top and bottom of the can.
What is the ratio of the volume of the balls to the volume of the space in the can that is around the
tennis balls?

(a) 1.414 to 1.
(b) 1.732 to 1.
(c) 2 to 1.
(d) 3 to 2.
(e) None of these.

23. A race is about to take place on a circular track with a diameter of 2 miles. One person will attempt
to run the entire race of 10 laps with a constant speed of 10 miles per hour. How far, to the nearest
foot, will the person be from the starting line 30 minutes into the race?

(a) 3782.
(b) 3783.
(c) 6319.
(d) 6320.
(e) None of the above.

24. Let v w $ ] x]^
y ] z be written in binary. Determine the greatest integer less than or equal to -}.+0 v .
8
WV^{ V V|
8

(a) 4304.
(b) 4305.
(c) 4306.
(d) 4307.
(e) 4308.
s    
25. Let be an odd function with period 3. If , what is Y ?
8 8
(a) -2.
(b) -1.
(c) 1.
(d) 2.
(e) None of the above.
 m 
26. Let v m 8 be a continued fraction. Then v
8
m 8
8 m 8
8 d$d$d
8

(a)  
.
  U~

(b)  .
 

(c)  .
(d) 0.615385.
(e) None of the above.
2002 High School Math Contest 7

27. Define a round number to be an integer that ends in a 0. Let  be the smallest positive integer that is
round in bases 8, 10, and 12. Which of the following intervals contains  ?

(a) 20-39.
(b) 40-59.
(c) 60-79.
(d) 80-99.
(e) over 100.

28. What is the difference between the largest and smallest angles (in radians) of a triangle with sides 3,
5, and 7?

(a) 1.7.
(b) 1.8.
(c) 1.9.
(d) 2.0.
(e) 2.1.
B @
29. A `gf rectangle and an f rectangle are inscribed in a circle at right angles as follows:
8

The unshaded areas are the union of the two rectangles with their intersections removed. Approximate
the total area of the shaded regions.

(a) 22.
(b) 23.
(c) 24.
(d) 25.
(e) 26.

30. The average of three numbers is 5. The average of their reciprocals is 17/72. Their product is 96.
What is the median of the three numbers?

(a) 3.
(b) 4.
(c) 5.
(d) 6.
(e) 7.
8 Elon University

p
31. The

graph of P
    S
is given below. Which of the following most closely resembles the graph of
P Y for Y ?
8D
4

-2 -1 1 2 3 4

-2 -1 1 2 3 4

(a) -1

-2

-3

-4

-2 -1 1 2 3 4

(b) -1

-2

-3

-4

-2 -1 1 2 3 4

(c) -1

-2

-3

-4

(d) 2

-2 -1 1 2 3 4

-1

(e) 2

-2 -1 1 2 3 4

-1

32. A set contains ten distinct integers between 1 and 25 inclusive. Half of the numbers are even. Half
of the numbers are divisible by 3. Half of the numbers are divisible by 5. How many of the numbers
are divisible by 10?

(a) 0.
(b) 1.
(c) 2.
(d) 3.
(e) 4.
2002 High School Math Contest 9

33. While leaning out of the window of your house, you notice (a) that it is a nice day, (b) that the line
of sight to the top of a nearby tree makes an angle of 22 with the horizontal, and (c) that the line of
sight to the base of the tree makes an angle of 7 with the horizontal. Taking advantage of (a), you go
outside and discover that it is 180 feet from the house to the base of the tree. Approximately how tall
is the tree?

(a) 72.7 feet.

(b) 87.3 feet.
(c) 89.4 feet.
(d) 94.8 feet.
(e) 99.8 feet.

34. A library shelf contains seven books. Three books are math books and four books are science books.
Problem: in how many ways may the books be arranged on the shelf so that all the math books will
be together?

(a) 6.
(b) 24.
(c) 120.
(d) 144.
(e) 720.

35. :=<?>Di is a regular pentagon. :F , : and := are the perpendiculars dropped from : onto
>Di ,
>D< m extended
m and t
i extended respectively. Let be the center of the pentagon. If D
F , the
8
:=F : : equals

Mn

k O N

(a) 4.
m
(b) Y c .
(c) 5.
m
(d) [ c .
(e) 6.