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2019JP

Uploaded by

araashk
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The University of Melbourne–Department of Mathematics and

Statistics
School Mathematics Competition, 2019
JUNIOR DIVISION
Time allowed: Two hours

These questions are designed to test your ability to analyse a problem and to express yourself
clearly and accurately. The following suggestions are made for your guidance:

(1) Considerable weight will be attached by the examiners to the method of presentation of
a solution. Candidates should state as clearly as they can the reasoning by which they
arrived at their results. In addition, more credit will be given for an elegant than for a
clumsy solution.
(2) The six questions are not of equal length or difficulty. Generally, the later questions
are more difficult than the earlier questions.
(3) It may be necessary to spend considerable time on a problem before any real progress is
made.
(4) You may need to do considerable rough work but you should then write out your final
solution neatly, stating your arguments carefully.
(5) Credit will be given for partial solutions; however a good answer to one question will
normally gain you more credit than sketchy attempts at several questions.
Textbooks, electronic calculators and computers are NOT allowed. Otherwise normal exami-
nation conditions apply.
1. Year of the pig. Pigs are known to be highly intelligent animals. In the 1780s, Samuel
Bisset’s ‘Learned Pig’ could spell words, do basic arithmetic and tell the time. In 1968, the
Yippies (Youth International Party) were so convinced of humanity’s inferior intellect compared
to that of pigs that they elected a pig named Pigasus as their party leader. As more recent
proof of pigs’ amazing abilities, on YouTube you can watch Moritz the Pig do jigsaw puzzles.
Solve the following word puzzle by assigning to each of the eight letters P, I, G, S, M, A, R, T
one of the numbers 1, 2, . . . , 8 such that different letters are assigned a different number, and
such that P = 5:
P I G S
P I G S
P I G S
+
S M A R T

2. Penrose stairs. From 2 December 2018 till 7 April 2019 the Na-
tional Gallery of Victoria featured the exhibition Escher X Nendo: Be-
tween Two Worlds showcasing works of Dutch graphical artist M. C. Es-
cher (1898–1972). One of the key pieces on display was the lithograph
Ascending and Descending, showing 26 monk-like men ascending or de-
scending what are known as Penrose stairs.
Starting on the same step of the 14-step Penrose
stairs shown on the left, two monks start walking
in opposite direction. The monk who is descend-
ing has a much easier time and walks twice as fast
as the monk ascending. After how many com-
bined steps do the monks meet for the 12th time
(excluding their meeting at the start)?

3. Super netball. The 2019 Australian Super Netball Competition kicked off four days ago,
on the 27th of April. The top two teams of the regular season will play a best-of-five finals
series, with the first team to win 3 games winning the flag. If the Melbourne Vixens play the
NSW Swifts in the finals, and if both teams are equally matched (i.e., equally likely to win any
particular game), what is the probability that the Vixens will win the flag after they have won
the first game of the series? (Note: In Super Netball there are no draws.)

4. Notre-Dame. The Notre-Dame de Paris is a prime example of French Gothic architecture


and one of the most iconic cathedrals in the world, attracting over 12 million visitors each year.
Construction of the Notre-Dame started in 1160 and took more
than 100 years to complete. On 15 April of this year the Notre-
Dame caught fire, destroying a large part of the roof including the
cathedral’s main spire.
To prevent the collapse of one of the fire-damaged main towers, 100-
100
metres-tall vertical beams have been erected adjacent to the tower. 60
To keep these in place, each 100-metres-tall beam is supported by ?
a 60-metres-tall vertical beam, connected to the taller beam by two
diagonal beams. At what height do these diagonal beams cross?
5. Going to the polls. Each candidate running for the seat of Parkville at the upcoming 18
May Federal election either likes to eat lamingtons or raw onions, but not both. The average
age of the group of candidates who like lamingtons is 30 and the average age of the group of
candidates who like raw onions is 50. If electoral hopeful Sir Les Patterson were to change his
preference from raw onions to lamingtons, the average age of both groups would go up by 1
year. How many candidates are running for the seat of Parkville?

6. One could not make this up. On the topic of elections, on 21 April this year, Ukraine
elected comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy as its next President. Zelenskiy rose to fame in the
Ukraine for playing the character of Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko in the political satire Servant
of the people, in which Holoborodko, a high-school history teacher, is unexpectedly elected as
President-for-life of the Ukraine. As President, Holoborodko claims to be incorruptible, unlike
past Ukrainian Presidents, while at the same time making many unrealistic promises. In his
early-morning radio address to the nation, which he has been making daily since the 10th
anniversary of his presidency, he each day promises “Today, I will solve more of Ukraine’s
problems than I solved two days ago but fewer than I solved 2019 days ago.” For how many
days can Holoborodko be true to his word?

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