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Intermediate Solutions

Intermediate Solutions Division

Solutions – Intermediate
1. There are 10 edges, each 2 cm long, so the total perimeter is 2 × 10 = 20 cm,
hence (D).

2. 2000 − 200 + 20 − 2 = 1800 + 20 − 2 = 1820 − 2 = 1818,

hence (C).

3. The angle marked a◦ is cointerior to the 145◦ angle. Since cointerior angles add to 180◦ ,
a = 180 − 145 = 35,
hence (A).

1 1 1 1 1 3
4. 50% of is . So 50% more than is + = ,
2 4 2 2 4 4
hence (D).

1+3+5+7+9 25 5
5. = = ,
2 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 10 30 6
hence (B).

6. The shaded area is one-quarter of the square’s area. So the square has area 64 square units
and side 8 units,
hence (B).

7. The midpoint corresponds to the average of 100 and 10000, which is 12 (100+10000) = 5050,
hence (E).

8. (Also J11)
Alternative 1
There are four bags, and one-fifth of a bag is lucerne. Let the lucerne be one unit, then
one bag has 5 units and four bags has 20 units. So the lucerne is 1 part in 20 in the total
mix, which is 5%,
hence (B).
Alternative 2
Each bag is one-quarter or 25% of the mix. The lucerne is one-fifth of one bag, which is
5% of the mix,
hence (B).

9. Consider possible faces from cuts at different angles. These are

• a circle, if the cut is horizontal
• a rectangle, if the cut is vertical
• an oval (ellipse) possibly with one or two segments removed,
if the cut is slanted
Looking at the shapes in the question, the triangle (B) is the only
shape that isn’t one of these shapes. Checking, shapes (A), (C), (D)
and (E) can be found as shown. Therefore the triangle is the only
shape that can’t be the shape of the cut face,
hence (B).

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10. Alternative 1
Diya took 18 1 = 73 minutes. So her average time per lap was 73 ÷ 5 = 73 = 3 13 = 3 39 .
4 4 4 20 20 60
Consequently Diya’s average lap time was 3 minutes and 39 seconds,
hence (D).
Alternative 2
We need one-fifth of 18 minutes and 15 seconds. We can regroup this into 15 minutes and
195 seconds. One-fifth of this is 3 minutes and 39 seconds,
hence (D).

11. (Also J17)

Let x be the smallest number, so that the four numbers are x, x + 2, x + 4 and x + 6.
Then x + 6 = 2x − 1. Solving, x + 7 = 2x and then x = 7.
Consequently the numbers are 7, 9, 11, 13 and the largest is 13,
hence (C).

12. Alternative 1
Firstly, 5 minutes is 300 seconds, which is stored as 300 × 44100 = 13230000 samples.
Then this requires 4 × 13230000 = 52920000 bytes of storage.
This is closest to 50 million bytes,
hence (D).
Alternative 2
Each second of audio is stored in 4 × 44100 = 176400 bytes, which is 0.1764 megabytes.
Then each minute is stored in 0.1764 × 60 ≈ 1 × 60 = 10 megabytes.
6
So 5 minutes is stored in approximately 50 megabytes, or 50 million bytes,
hence (D).

13. Alternative 1
The internal angles of the triangle, in degrees, are x, 180 − 3x and 180 − (x + 30), which
must add to 180. Then

x + 180 − 3x + 180 − (x + 30) = 180

−3x = −150
x = 50

hence (C).
Alternative 2
Label the angle supplementary to 3x as y. In the triangle, the exterior angle x + 30 is equal
to x + y, the sum of the other two interior angles. Thus y = 30, 3x = 150 and x = 50,
hence (C).
 
14. To bisect the square the line must pass through its centre, which has coordinates 3 , 1 .
2 2
1
−0
Since it also passes through the origin, it has slope 2
3 = 1 × 2 = 1 . Consequently the
−0 2 3 3
2
line has equation y = 1 x,
3
hence (A).

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15. (Also J20)

Here is the result of rolling the dice. Note that the corner of the dice in the centre of the
2 × 2 square remains there, and it is the corner common to the faces with 4, 5, and 6 pips.

Then the upward-facing side is ,

hence (C).

16. Alternative 1
An even total results from either an even number on both spinners or an odd number on
both spinners. That is

P (even sum) = P (left=2) × P (right=4 or 6) + P (left=1 or 3) × P (right=5)

1 2 3 1
= × + ×
4 3 4 3
2+3 5
= =
12 12
hence (E).
Alternative 2
The left spinner does not have equally likely outcomes, but it can be made to have 4
equally likely outcomes by splitting the 180◦ sector in half. Then the sample space for the
two spinners has 12 equally likely outcomes, as represented by the grid shown.

left spinner
1 2 3 3
right spinner

4
3’ 6
1

5
4
3

2 5
6

The five shaded squares are those where the sum of the two numbers is even, so the
5
probability is ,
12
hence (E).

17. The rectangle has area (a + b)(a + c) = a2 + ab + ac + bc. Of the four unshaded triangles,
two have area 1 a2 and two have area 1 bc.
2 2
So the shaded area is a2 + ab + ac + bc − a2 − bc = ab + ac,
hence (A).

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18. Alternative 1
Squaring both sides,
√
10n + k = k
10n + k = k 2
10n = k(k − 1)

So either k or k − 1 is a multiple of 5. The smallest such k is then k = 5.

Hence, 10n = 20 so n = 2. Putting k = 5 and n = 2 into the original equation gives
√
25 = 5, which confirms that we have a solution,
hence (C).
Alternative 2
√
Since 10n + k is a square number greater than 10, k = 10n + k must be at least 4.
If k = 4 then 10n + 4 = 16 and so n = 1.2, which is not a solution.
√ √
If k = 5 then 10n + 5 = 25 and so n = 2. Checking, 10 × 2 + 5 = 25 = 5, which is a
solution, so that k = 5 is the smallest possible value of k,
hence (C).

19. Let a be the side length of the larger square and b the side length of the smaller square.
Then
1 2 2 2
a = b
8 9
2
a 16
2
=
b 9
a 4
=
b 3
so a : b = 4 : 3,
hence (E).

20. Alternative 1 A
The diagram has rotational symmetry, so we only con-
sider one-sixth of the hexagon, inside an equilateral tri- 30◦ 30◦
angle ABC, which we take to be the unit area. Many
angles can be deduced as shown. N
Here M is the midpoint of BC so that AM C has
1
area . Also the equilateral triangle CM N has area
2 30◦ P
1 1 30◦
, and CM P has area . Hence the shaded dart has 60◦ 60◦
30◦
4 8
1 1 3 B M C
area − = units.
2 8 8
3
Over the whole hexagon, each dart shades of the area of an equilateral triangle, so the
8
3
total shaded area is of the area of the hexagon,
8
hence (E).

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Alternative 2
First draw a grid of equilateral triangles over the hexagon,
where the unit is half the hexagon’s side length. Then many of
the angles and points in the darts align with the grid, or are at
30◦ to the grid.
In particular, each dart is 3 half-units of area, so that there are
3 9 3
6 × = 9 units shaded out of 24. So the shaded area is =
2 24 8
of the area of the hexagon,
hence (E).

21. Alternative 1
Label the empty squares as shown.

1 a 2

b e c

4 d 3

Since each labelled square is an average of its neighbours, we have 5 equations:

3 + e = 3a
5 + e = 3b
5 + e = 3c
7 + e = 3d
a + b + c + d = 4e

Adding the first 4 equations,

20 + 4e = 3(a + b + c + d) = 12e

5 1 11
Then 20 = 8e, so e = and a = (3 + e) = ,
2 3 6
hence (E).

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Alternative 2
A remarkable property of grids with these averaging properties is that when two such grids
are added (square by square), the sum grid has the same averaging properties.
So when the grid in the problem is added to the same grid that has been flipped top to
bottom, then the sum grid will also have the same averaging properties. This sum grid
has 5 in each corner. Since each of the unknown numbers must lie between the smallest
and largest values of its neighbours, this is only possible if all values are 5.

1 2 4 3 5 5 5 5 5
+ = = 5 5 5

4 3 1 2 5 5 5 5 5

5
Working back, the middle row of the original grid must have in each square, and the last
2
two squares are the averages of 3 known neighbours:
11
1 6 2
5 5 5
2 2 2

19
4 6 3

hence (E).

22. If the intended time had only 2 digits, then the difference between the times would be less
than 1 minute, and if the intended time had 4 or more digits, then the difference would
be at least 9 minutes. Therefore the intended time had 3 digits, ‘abc’ say. That is, Rick
meant to enter ‘a minutes bc seconds’, but instead entered ‘ab seconds’.
In seconds, the intended time is equal to 60a + 10b + c and the mistyped time is 10a + b,
so the difference is 50a + 9b + c. Setting this equal to 4 minutes 42 seconds, we have

50a + 9b + c = 282

For a:bc to be a valid time, a and c are at most 9, and b is at most 5. In particular, 9b + c is
at most 9×5+9 = 54, so we must have 50a = 250. Then a = 5 and 9b+c = 282−250 = 32.
Given the possible values of digits b and c, the only solution is b = 3 and c = 5. That
is, Rick meant to type 5 minutes 35 seconds but instead typed 53 seconds, so the missing
digit was a 5,
hence (C).

23. Suppose the original cube is n × n × n unit cubes. Since 288 is between 63 = 216 and
73 = 343, n is at least 7. On the other hand, for n = 9 or more, there are at least 73 = 343
unit cubes that are unpainted due to not being on the surface. This is too many, so n = 7
or n = 8.
For each painted face, suppose we remove all unit cubes with paint from that face. This
amounts to removing the layer of unit cubes adjacent to the face, reducing one dimension
of the large cube by 1. Once this is done for a number of painted faces, a block a × b × c
is obtained, where abc = 288, and each of a, b, c is n, n − 1 or n − 2.

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Since n is 7 or 8, a, b and c are chosen from 5, 6, 7 or 8. Of these, only 6 and 8 are factors
of 288, which is not a perfect cube. So abc is either 6 × 6 × 8 = 288 (yes) or 6 × 8 × 8 = 384
(no).
This 6 × 6 × 8 block is made by reducing the 8 × 8 × 8 cube by 2 units in each of 2
dimensions. This can only be from the original cube having 4 painted faces,
hence (D).

24. Simplifying a product of fractions is easier when each factor has numerator and denomi-
1 n2 − 1 (n − 1) (n + 1)
nator fully factorised. So we write each factor as 1 − 2 = = . Then
n n2 n n
the product is
1 3 2 4 3 5 4 6  13 15   14 16 
× × × × × × × × ··· × × × ×
2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 14 14 15 15
1 3 2 4 3 5 4  15 14  16
= × × × × × × × ··· × × ×
2 2 3 3 4 4 5 14 15 15
1 16 8
= × 1 × 1 × 1 × ··· × 1 × =
2 15 15
hence (B).

25. Each fishing zone can be constructed from circles, sectors and rectangles. Since each
sector’s area can be calculated as a fraction of a full circle, we can work out each area.

6 3 4
R π T
3 S 3 4 4
6
1+
π 3 60◦

120◦

   2
6 2 6 36 36
The fishing zone for Razz has area π 1 + −π = π + 12 + − = π + 12.
π π  π π
The fishing zone for Sazz has area 4 × (3 × 1) + 4 × π = π + 12.
 4π 
The fishing zone for Tazz has area 3 × (4 × 1) + 3 × = π + 12.
3
So all three fishing zones have area π + 12 square kilometres,
hence (E).
Note: This illustrates a more general result. For any convex shape A of perimeter P , the
area of the region B within r units of P is P r + πr2 . To see this when A is a polygon,
divide B into rectangles and sectors similar to shapes S and T above. For more general A,
the same conclusion can be reached by considering polygons with an increasing number of
sides that approximate A with increasing accuracy.

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26. Alternative 1
The number of goals (sixes) is 0, 1, 2 or 3.
With 0 sixes and 20 ones, there is one possible scoring sequence: (1, 1, . . . , 1).
With 1 six and 14 ones, there are 15 scoring sequences, depending on where the goal occurs
in the list: (6, 1, 1, . . . , 1), (1, 6, 1, . . . , 1), . . . , (1, 1, 1, . . . , 6).
With 2 sixes and 8 ones, there are 45 scoring sequences. One way to calculate this is to
10 × 9
consider choosing 2 items from 10, for which there are = 45 ways.
2×1
Alternatively, the first six can occur in any of 9 positions, but the number of possibilities
for the second six depends on where the first six is. If the first six is in position 1, there
are 9 possibilities for the second. If the first is in position 2, there are 8 possibilites for the
second, and so on. In all there are 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 45 possibilities.
With 3 sixes and 2 ones, there are 10 scoring sequences. This can be calculated similarly
5×4
to the previous case, either as or as 4 + 3 + 2 + 1.
2
In all, there are 1 + 15 + 45 + 10 = 71 possibilities,
hence (71).

Alternative 2
Make a table of the number of sequences that score n points for n = 1, 2, 3, . . .. Clearly,
there is only one way for each n up to 5, and two ways for n = 6.
For each n > 6, the total is made up of two types of sequences: those ending in 6 and
those ending in 1. When the sequence ends in 6, the number of ways is the same as the
number of ways of scoring n − 6 points. When the sequence ends in 1, the number of ways
is the same as the number of ways of scoring n − 1 points. In total, the number of ways of
scoring n points is equal to the number of ways of scoring n − 6 points plus the number of
ways of scoring n − 1 points.
Using this rule, we can fill in the table up to n = 20:

Points 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Sequences 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 12 16 21 27 34 43 55 71

Consequently there are 71 sequences with a final score of 20,

hence (71).

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27. Alternative 1
Let x = 100004 and P = (x − 4)(x − 2)(x + 2)(x + 4). Then

N = P + n = (x − 4)(x − 2)(x + 2)(x + 4) + n

= (x2 − 4)(x2 − 16) + n
= x4 − 20x2 + 64 + n
= (x2 − 10)2 − 36 + n

Let k = x2 − 10 = 1000042 − 10, so that when n = 36, N = k 2 , a perfect square.

To show that this is the smallest n, we only need show that the preceding square number
(k − 1)2 is less than or equal to P . This is certainly true, since P = k 2 − 36 whereas
(k − 1)2 = k 2 − (2k + 1) = P + 36 − (2k + 1) which is less than P , since k ≈ 1010 .
Then (k − 1)2 = k 2 − 2k + 1 = P + 37 − 2k. But k ≈ 1010 , so (k − 1)2 ≈ P + 37 − (2 × 1010 ),
which is less than P .
Consequently, n = 36 is the smallest natural number solution,
hence (36).

Alternative 2
Let a = 105 and P = a(a + 2)(a + 6)(a + 8). We want N = P + n to be the smallest perfect
square greater than P . Then

P = a(a + 8) × (a + 2)(a + 6) = (a2 + 8a)(a2 + 8a + 12)

Let b = a2 + 8a = 10 000 800 000, then

P = b(b + 12) = b2 + 12b = (b + 6)2 − 36

Then P + 36 = (b + 6)2 = 10 000 800 0062 , so that n = 36 is a value that makes N = P + n

into a perfect square.
To check that (b + 6)2 is the smallest perfect square greater than P , consider (b + 5)2 , the
preceding perfect square:

P − (b + 5)2 = b2 + 12b − (b + 5)2 = 2b − 25 ≈ 2 × 1010

so that (b + 5)2 is (much) smaller than P .

Thus n = 36 is the smallest natural number for which P + n is a perfect square,
hence (36).

28. We separately consider cases based on the choice of colours and matchsticks, then work
out possible arrangements of the chosen matchsticks.
Case 1: All four matches the same colour. There are 4 ways to choose the colour. For each
choice, there is only one square. So there are 4 possibilities for case 1.
Case 2: Two colours with 3 matches of one and 1 of the other. There are 4 ways to choose
the 3-match colour and 3 ways to choose the 1-match colour. Once chosen, all squares are
the same by rotation. So there are 4 × 3 = 12 possibilities for case 2.
Case 3: Two colours with 2 matches of one and 2 of the other. There are 6 ways to choose
two colours from 4 (RY, RB, RG, YB, YG, BG). Once chosen there are two different
arrangements depending on whether like colours are opposite or adjacent. For example,

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 Case 1: All four matches the same colour. There are 4 ways to choose the colour. For each
choice, there is only one square. So there are 4 possibilities for case 1.
64 Case 2: Two colours with 3 matches of one and 1 of the other.
2021 AMC
ThereIntermediate Solutions
are 4 ways to choose
the 3-match colour and 3 ways to choose the 1-match colour. Once chosen, all squares are
the same by rotation. So there are 4 × 3 = 12 possibilities for case 2. 2021 AMC
Case 3: Two colours with 2 matches of one and 2 of the other. There are 6 ways to choose
Intermediate Solutions
two colours from 4 (RY, RB, RG, YB, YG, BG). Once chosen there are two different
arrangements depending on whether like colours are opposite or adjacent. For example,
if the chosen colours are RY, then the two arrangements are RYRY and RRYY, in order
around the square. So there are 6 × 2 = 12 possibilities for case 3.
Case 4: Three colours with two matches of one colour, and one match of each of the other 63
two colours. There are 4 ways to choose the 2-match colour, and then 3 ways to choose
the other two colours. For instance, if R is chosen as the 2-match colour, then the other
two matches can be YB, YG or BG. Once chosen, there are two different arrangements
depending on whether the two like colours are opposite or adjacent. For example, with two
R’s, Y and B, arrangements are RYRB and RRYB. So there are 4 × 3 × 2 = 24 possibilities
for case 4.
Case 5: Four colours. There is only one way to choose all four colours: RYBG. However,
there are 3 arrangements, based on which colour is opposite Red. These can be written
RYBG, RBYG and RYGB. So there are 3 possibilities for case 5.
The total number of different squares that can be made is 4 + 12 + 12 + 24 + 3 = 55,
hence (55).

29. Alternative 1
For a divisor n, let r be the remainder in 499 ÷ n and s be the remainder in 500 ÷ n.
Consider a table of these remainders. To assist in finding M − N , tabulate r − s:

n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 · · · 499 500 sum

r 0 1 1 3 4 1 2 3 4 9 ··· 0 — M
s 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 4 5 0 ··· 1 0 N
r−s 0 1 −1 3 4 −1 −1 −1 −1 9 · · · −1 — M − N

The column n = 500 is not included in the sum M and contributes 0 to the sum N , so we
remove it.
Claim: When n is a divisor of 500, r − s = n − 1. Otherwise r − s = −1.
When n is a divisor of 500, say nm = 500, then 500 ÷ n = m exactly, so s = 0. Also
n−1
499 ÷ n = (m − 1) + so that r = n − 1. Then r − s = n − 1. We can sum the 11
n
cases where n is a divisor of 500 separately:

n 1 2 4 5 10 20 25 50 100 125 250 sum

r 0 1 3 4 9 19 24 49 99 124 249 581
s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
r−s 0 1 3 4 9 19 24 49 99 124 249 581

Otherwise, r − s = 1, since when n is not a divisor of 500, the remainder in 500 ÷ n is one
more than the remainder in 499 ÷ n. Since there are 11 proper divisors of 500, the number
of columns where r − s = −1 is 499 − 11 = 488, and so they contribute −488 to M − N .
In total, M − N = 581 − 488 = 93,
hence (93).

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Alternative 2
Let Bluey’s sequence be m1 , m2 , . . . , m499 and let Jean-Luc’s sequence be n1 , n2 , . . . , n500 .
We start by making the following observations, using the notation a | b to mean that a
divides b:
(i) For i | 500 and 1  i  499, mi = i − 1 and ni = 0.
(ii) For i  500 and 1  i  499, mi + 1 = ni .
So we can calculate M − N as follows:
499
 500
M −N = mi − ni
i=1 i=1
499

= (mi − ni ) (Since n500 = 0.)
i=1
 
= (mi − ni ) + (mi − ni )
i|500 i500
1i499 1i499
 
= (i − 1) + (−1) (Observations (i) and (ii).)
i|500 i500
1i499 1i499

 499

= i + (−1)
i|500 i=1
1i499

= 1 + 2 + 4 + 5 + 10 + 20 + 25 + 50 + 100 + 125 + 250 − 499

= 93
hence (93).

30. Let the dimensions of the large rectangle be x tiles by y tiles. Then xy tiles are used
1
and 2x + 2y − 4 of these form the perimeter. As this is of the total, we have xy =
5
5(2x + 2y − 4) = 10x + 10y − 20. Then
xy − 10x − 10y + 20 = 0
xy − 10x − 10y + 100 = 80
(x − 10)(y − 10) = 80
Hence x − 10 and y − 10 are integer factors of 80.
The possibilities are (1,80), (2,40), (4,20), (5,16) and (8,10). These give areas of 11 × 90 =
990, 12 × 50 = 600, 14 × 30 = 420, 15 × 26 = 390 and 18 × 20 = 360 respectively.
There are also factorisations of 80 into pairs of negative factors that could provide values
for x − 10 and y − 10, such as 80 = (−16) × (−5). However for these, one of the factors
(say x − 10) is −10 or less, so x is not positive. So these negative factorisations provide
no solutions.
Noticing that 990 = 600 + 390 gives us the dimensions of our three rectangles. So there
4
are 990 tiles, of which 990 × = 792 are blue,
5
hence (792).

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