The CENTRE for EDUCATION

in MATHEMATICS and COMPUTING

cemc.uwaterloo.ca

Euclid Contest
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
(in North America and South America)
Thursday, April 4, 2024
(outside of North America and South America)

Time: 2 12 hours c 2024 University of Waterloo

Do not open this booklet until instructed to do so.
Number of questions: 10 Each question is worth 10 marks
Calculating devices are allowed, provided that they do not have any of the following
features: (i) internet access, (ii) the ability to communicate with other devices, (iii)
information previously stored by students (such as formulas, programs, notes, etc.),
(iv) a computer algebra system, (v) dynamic geometry software.

Parts of each question can be of two types:

1. SHORT ANSWER parts indicated by
• worth 3 marks each
• full marks given for a correct answer which is placed in the box
• part marks awarded only if relevant work is shown in the space provided

2. FULL SOLUTION parts indicated by

• worth the remainder of the 10 marks for the question
• must be written in the appropriate location in the answer booklet
• marks awarded for completeness, clarity, and style of presentation
• a correct solution poorly presented will not earn full marks
WRITE ALL ANSWERS IN THE ANSWER BOOKLET PROVIDED.
• Extra paper for your finished solutions supplied by your supervising teacher must be
inserted into your answer booklet. Write your name, school name, and question number
on any inserted pages.
• Express answers as simplified
√ exact numbers except where otherwise indicated.
For example, π + 1 and 1 − 2 are simplified exact numbers.

Do not discuss the problems or solutions from this contest online for the next 48 hours.

The name, grade, school and location, and score range of some top-scoring students will be
published on our website, cemc.uwaterloo.ca. In addition, the name, grade, school and location,
and score of some top-scoring students may be shared with other mathematical organizations
for other recognition opportunities.
 NOTE:
1. Please read the instructions on the front cover of this booklet.
2. Write all answers in the answer booklet provided.

3. For questions marked , place your answer in the appropriate box in the answer
booklet and show your work.

4. For questions marked , provide a well-organized solution in the answer booklet.

Use mathematical statements and words to explain all of the steps of your solution.
Work out some details in rough on a separate piece of paper before writing your finished
solution.
5. Diagrams are not drawn to scale. They are intended as aids only.
6. While calculators may be used for numerical calculations, other mathematical steps must
be shown and justified in your written solutions, and specific marks may be allocated for
these steps. For example, while your calculator might be able to find the x-intercepts
of the graph of an equation like y = x3 − x, you should show the algebraic steps that
you used to find these numbers, rather than simply writing these numbers down.

A Note about Bubbling

Please make sure that you have correctly coded your name, date of birth and grade on
the Student Information Form, and that you have answered the question about residency.

x4 + 3x2
1. (a) If x = 2, what is the value of ?
x2

(b) In the diagram, 4ABC is right-angled at B. A

Also, AB = 10, BC = t − 1, and AC = t + 1. t+1
What is the value of t? 10

B C
t−1
2 3
(c) Suppose that + = 14. Determine the value of y.
y 2y

2. (a) In a sequence with six terms, each term after the second is the sum of the previous
two terms. If the fourth term is 13 and the sixth term is 36, what is the first
term?
(b) For some real number r 6= 0, the sequence 5r, 5r2 , 5r3 has the property that the
second term plus the third term equals the square of the first term. What is the
value of r?
(c) Jimmy wrote four tests last week. The average of his marks on the first, second
and third tests was 65. The average of his marks on the second, third and fourth
tests was 80. His mark on the fourth test was 2 times his mark on the first test.
Determine his mark on the fourth test.
3. (a) The graph of the equation y = r(x − 3)(x − r) intersects the y-axis at (0, 48).
What are the two possible values of r?

(b) A bicycle costs $B before taxes. If the sales tax were 13%, Annemiek would pay
a total that is $24 higher than if the sales tax were 5%. What is the value of B?

(c) The function f has the following three properties:

• f (1) = 3.
• f (2n) = (f (n))2 for all positive integers n.
• f (2m + 1) = 3f (2m) for all positive integers m.
Determine the value of f (2) + f (3) + f (4).

4. (a) In the diagram, AB is perpendicular to CD, A

CP is perpendicular to AD, and N is the P
point of intersection of AB and CP . Also, N
∠ADB = 45◦ , AB = 12, and CB = 6. What
is the area of 4AP N ?
C B D

(b) In the diagram, the line with equation

y = −3x + 6 crosses the x-axis at A and the
y-axis at B. Suppose that m > 0 and that B
the line with equation y = mx + 1 crosses
the y-axis at D and intersects the line with
equation y = −3x + 6 at the point C. If O is C
the origin and the area of 4ACD is 21 of the D
area of 4ABO, determine the coordinates A
of C. O

5. (a) In the diagram, rectangle ABCD is divided A P D

into four smaller rectangles by the lines P Q
S R
and RS, which intersect at X. The areas of X
these smaller rectangles are, in some order,
2, 6, 3, and a. What are the three possible
values of a? B Q C

(b) Suppose that the parabola with equation y = x2 − 4tx + 5t2 − 6t has two distinct
x-intercepts. Determine the value of t for which the distance between these
x-intercepts is as large as possible.
6. (a) There are M integers between 10 000 and 100 000 that are multiples of 21 and
whose units (ones) digit is 1. What is the value of M ?

(b) There are N students who attend Strickland S.S., where 500 < N < 600. Among
these N students, 25 are in the physics club and 41 are in the math club. In the
physics club, there are 2 times as many students who are not in the math club as
there are students who are in the math club. Determine the number of students
who are not in either club.

7. (a) Arun and Bella run around a circular track, starting from diametrically opposite
points. Arun runs clockwise around the track and Bella runs counterclockwise.
Arun and Bella run at constant, but different, speeds. They meet for the first
time after Arun has run 100 m. They meet for the second time after Bella runs
150 m past their first meeting point. What is the length of the track?
3 2
(b) Determine all angles θ with 0◦ ≤ θ ≤ 360◦ for which 41+cos θ = 22−cos θ · 8cos θ .

8. (a) In the diagram, the circle with centre A has C

radius 4, and A lies on the circle which has
centre B and radius 3. The line passing
through A and B lies along the diameter of
each circle and is perpendicular to M N at E G
T . Also, M N is tangent to the larger circle, B
and M C and N C are each tangent to both D F
circles at points D, E, F , and G, as shown. A
Determine the area of 4M N C.
M T N

(b) Determine all triples (x, y, z) of real numbers that are solutions to the following
system of equations:

log9 x + log9 y + log3 z = 2

log16 x + log4 y + log16 z = 1
log5 x + log25 y + log25 z = 0
9. An ant walks along the x-axis by taking a sequence of steps of length 1. Some, all
or none of these steps are in the positive x-direction; some, all or none of these
steps are in the negative x-direction. The ant begins at x = 0, takes a total of n
steps, and ends at x = d. For each such sequence, let c be the number of times that
the ant changes direction.
(a) Determine the number of different sequences of steps for which n = 9 and d = 5.
(b) Suppose that n = 9 and d = 3. Determine the number of sequences for which
c is even.
(c) Determine the number of pairs (d, n) of integers with 1 ≤ n ≤ 2024 and d ≥ 0
for which c is even for exactly half of the sequences of n steps that end at x = d.

10. Suppose that s and t are real numbers with 0 < s ≤ 1 and 0 < t ≤ 1. Points
A(−1, 0), B(0, 4) and C(1, 0) form 4ABC. Points S(s, 0) and T (−t, 0) lie on AC.
Point P lies on AB and point Q lies on BC, with neither P nor Q at a vertex of
4ABC. Line segments SP and T Q intersect at X and partition 4ABC into four
regions. For some such pairs (s, t) of real numbers and points P and Q, the line
segments SP and T Q in fact partition 4ABC into four regions of equal area. We
call such a pair (s, t) a balancing pair.
(a) Suppose that (s, t) is a balancing pair with s = 1 and that line segments SP and
T Q partition 4ABC into four regions of equal area. Determine the coordinates
of P .
(b) Prove that there exist real numbers d, e, f , and g for which all balancing pairs
(s, t) satisfy an equation of the form

s2 + t2 = dst + es + f t + g

and determine the values of d, e, f , and g.

(c) Determine an infinite family of distinct pairs of rational numbers (s, t) with
0 < s ≤ t ≤ 1 that satisfy the equation in (b).
 (English)
Contest
Euclid
2024
The CENTRE for EDUCATION
in MATHEMATICS and COMPUTING
cemc.uwaterloo.ca

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