Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

Pi Math Contest Fermat Division

2024 Solutions

The problems and solutions in this contest were proposed by:

Edwin Peng, Emre Gul, Hanna Chen, Isaac Li, Justin Sun, Kelly Cui, Michael
Zhang, Preston Fu, Richard Spence, and Stanley Wang.

Solutions
1. Allie purchases three t-shirts, priced at $13.50 each. Dana purchases two
jackets, priced at $27.75 each. How many more dollars does Dana spend
than Allie?

Answer (15): Allie spends 3 × $13.50 = $40.50 on t-shirts, and Dana

spends 2 × $27.75 = $55.50 on jackets. Dana spends $55.50 − $40.50 = $15
more than Allie.

2. What integer is equal to 36% of 75?

3
Answer (27): 36% of 75 is equal to 75% of 36, which is 4 × 36 = 27.

2
3. A recipe for 18 chocolate chip cookies calls for 1 cups of flour. If Abby
3
has 5 cups of flour and an ample supply of every other ingredient, what is
the greatest number of chocolate chip cookies Abby can make?

Answer (54): Since 1 23 = 53 , Abby can scale her recipe by a factor of 3

since she has 5 cups of sugar. The greatest number of cookies Abby can
make is 18 × 3 = 54.

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

4. Hector is six years older than Marisol, Marisol is 4 years older than Cielo,
and Hector is twice as old as Cielo. What is the sum of their ages?

Answer (44): Let h, m, and c be the ages of Hector, Marisol, and Cielo,
respectively. We know h = m + 6 and m = c + 4, so h = c + 10, and
Hector is 10 years older than Cielo. Since Hector is twice as old as Cielo,
h = 2c, so 2c = c + 10 =⇒ c = 10. Then Cielo is 10, Marisol is 14, and
Hector is 20, and the sum of their ages is 20 + 14 + 10 = 44.

5. The greatest common divisor of n and 180 is 6. Given that n is a positive

integer less than 100, what is the greatest possible value of n?

Answer (78): The prime factorization of 180 is 22 × 32 × 5. Therefore, in

order for gcd(n, 180) to equal 21 × 31 = 6, the prime factorization of n
must be 21 × 31 × k, where k is not divisible by 2, 3, or 5 (if k was divisi-
ble by any of these prime numbers, then the GCD would not be 6). Since
n < 100, the first possible candidate is 96 = 6 × 16. However, k = 16 in
this case, and gcd(96, 180) 6= 6. Similarly, 90 = 6 × 15 and 84 = 6 × 14 do
not work, since 15 and 14 are divisible by 3 and 2, respectively. However,
78 = 6 × 13 works, since 13 is not divisible by 2, 3, or 5. Therefore, the
greatest possible value of n is 78.

6. Ten people, including Robert and Saul, randomly seat themselves at a

round table containing ten chairs. The probability that Robert and Saul
m
do not sit next to each other is equal to , where m and n are relatively
n
prime positive integers. What is m + n?

Answer (16): Regardless of which chair Robert sits in, there are 9 seats
left, of which 2 of them are next to Robert. The probability that Saul does
7
not sit next to Robert is , so m + n = 7 + 9 = 16.
9

7. Let x and y be positive integers such that xy + x + y = 220. What is x + y?

Answer (28): After adding 1 to both sides, we can factor the left-hand
side:
xy + x + y + 1 = ( x + 1)(y + 1) = 221.
The prime factorization of 221 is 13 × 17; this can also be seen using the
difference of squares method, as 221 = 152 − 22 = (15 − 2)(15 + 2). Since

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

x and y are positive integers, x + 1 and y + 1 are at least 2. Therefore

x + 1 = 13 and y + 1 = 17 (or vice versa), implying { x, y} = {12, 16}.
Then x + y = 12 + 16 = 28.

8. Parallelogram ABCD has vertices A (1, 1), B (2, 5), C ( a, b) and D (7, 3) in
the xy-plane. What is a + b?

Answer (15): In parallelogram ABCD, the diagonals AC and BD bisect

each other. Then the midpoint of AC is the same as the midpoint of BD,
so
   
1+a 1+b 2+7 5+3
, = , .
2 2 2 2
It follows that 1 + a = 2 + 7 = 9 and 1 + b = 5 + 3 = 8, so ( a, b) = (8, 7)
and a + b = 15.

9. Eric and Joshua are sitting near a farm containing 2-legged chickens and
4-legged cows, and no other animals. Eric counts 102 legs, and Joshua
counts 39 animals. How many chickens are on the farm?

Answer (27): Let x denote the number of cows on the farm and y denote
the number of chickens. Because Eric counts 102 legs, we have the equa-
tion 4x + 2y = 102. Since Joshua counts 39 animals, we have x + y = 39.
To find y, we can multiply the second equation by −4, then add the first
equation, obtaining (4x + 2y) + (−4x − 4y) = 102 − 4(39) = −54, so
−2y = −54 and y = 27.

Alternate Solution: If all 39 animals were chickens, there would be 2 ×

39 = 78 legs. However, there are 102 − 78 = 24 extra legs due to the
cows. If one chicken was replaced with a cow, there would be 2 more legs.
Therefore, there are 24 ÷ 2 = 12 cows, and 39 − 12 = 27 chickens.

10. Consider the statement “If a positive 2-digit integer is not divisible by 2,
3, or 5, then it is prime.” How many positive 2-digit integers make this
statement false?

Answer (03): A counterexample to this statement would be a positive 2-

digit integer which is not divisible by 2, 3, or 5, and is not prime (i.e., com-
posite, as it must be greater than 9 and cannot equal 0 or 1). The composite

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

2-digit integers which are not divisible by 2, 3, or 5 can only be divisible

by primes greater than 5. These integers are: 49 = 7 × 7, 77 = 7 × 11, and
91 = 7 × 13. There are 3 integers.

11. Isosceles triangle ABC has m∠ ABC = m∠ ACB. Point D is on side AB so

that m∠ BDC = m∠ ABC. Given that AC = 36 and BC = 30, what is the
perimeter of triangle ACD?

D
36

B C
30

Answer (77): Let m∠ ABC = m∠ ACB = α. Since triangle ABC is isosceles,

it follows that AB = AC = 36.
Moreover, since m∠ BDC = m∠ ABC = α, it follows that 4CBD is also
isosceles, with CD = BC = 30. Moreover, 4CBD ∼ 4 ABC by AAA
similarity. Then BD BC BD 30
BC = AB , or 30 = 36 =⇒ BD = 25. Therefore,
AD = 36 − 25 = 11.
The perimeter of 4 ACD is 36 + 30 + 11 = 77.

12. The positive integer a has exactly 5 positive factors, and the positive inte-
ger b has exactly 7 positive factors. The integer a × b must either have m
positive factors or n positive factors, where m 6= n. What is m + n?

Answer (46): The only possibility is that a = p4 for some prime num-
ber p, and b = q6 for some prime number q. If p = q, then a × b = p10 ,
and a × b has 11 factors. Otherwise, if p 6= q, then a × b = p4 × q6 , which
has (4 + 1) × (6 + 1) = 5 × 7 = 35 factors. Therefore {m, n} = {11, 35},
and m + n = 11 + 35 = 46.

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

13. An equilateral triangle with side length 4 cm is drawn on the plane. Let
S be the set of points in the plane that are outside the triangle, but within
2 cm of some point on or inside the triangle. The area of S equals aπ + b
cm2 for some positive integers a and b. What is a + b?

Answer (28): The set S of points consists of three 4 cm × 2 cm rectan-

gles, and three 120◦ sectors as shown in the figure below.

The combined area of the three rectangles is 3 × (4 × 2) = 24 cm2 , and the

combined area of the three 120◦ sectors equals the area of a circle of radius
2 cm, which is 22 π = 4π cm2 . The area of S is 4π + 24 cm2 , so a = 4,
b = 24, and a + b = 4 + 24 = 28.

14. Eight rectangles with dimensions 2 × 8, 3 × 3, 3 × 6, 3 × 8, 3 × 12, 4 × 14,

5 × 6, and 6 × 11 are arranged to form a larger rectangle, without any over-
lap or gaps. What is the perimeter of the larger rectangle?

Answer (64): The area of the larger rectangle is the combined area of the
rectangles, which is 16 + 9 + 18 + 24 + 36 + 56 + 30 + 66 = 255. The
prime factorization of 255 is 3 × 5 × 17, so one of the side lengths must
be a prime. Since the 6 × 11 is contained inside the rectangle, both dimen-
sions must be greater than or equal to 6, and the only possibility is that
the larger rectangle is a 15 × 17 rectangle. The perimeter of this rectangle
is 2(15 + 17) = 64. While not necessary to solve the problem, the figure
below shows one way the rectangles can be arranged to form a 15 × 17
rectangle.

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

11 4

6 6

6 5
14
3
17
6
3
5
8 2 3 2

3 12
15

15. David cuts a 4-inch cube into 64 unit cubes, each with side length 1 inch.
Half of these cubes are painted red on all faces, and the rest are painted
blue on all faces. When David reassembles the unit cubes to form a 4-
inch cube, what is the greatest possible surface area of this cube, in square
inches, which is painted red?

Answer (72): The 4” × 4” × 4” cube contains 8 “vertex” unit cubes (cubes

with three faces exposed), 24 “edge” unit cubes (cubes with two faces ex-
posed), and 32 remaining cubes (cubes with one or no faces exposed). To
maximize the surface area which is painted red, the 8 vertex cubes and
24 edge cubes should be red. The greatest possible surface area which is
painted red is 8 × 3 + 24 × 2 = 24 + 48 = 72 square inches.

16. For how many integers n between 1 and 100, inclusive, is the product
n(n + 1)(n + 2) divisible by 15?

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

Answer (60): In order for the product n(n + 1)(n + 2) to be divisible

by 15, it must be divisible by 3 and 5. Note that n(n + 1)(n + 2) is the
product of three consecutive integers. Then one of these must be a multi-
ple of 3, so n(n + 1)(n + 2) is divisible by 3 regardless of n. In order for
n(n + 1)(n + 2) to be divisible by 5, n must have units digit 0, 3, 4, 5, 8, or
6
9. Then exactly of the first 100 positive integers will satisfy the prop-
10
6
erty that n(n + 1)(n + 2) is divisible by 15, so the answer is × 100 = 60.
10

17. Trapezoid ABCD has AB k CD, and m∠CDA = m∠ DAB = 90◦ . Point E
is on segment BC so that AE ⊥ BC, and point F is on AB so that DF k BC.
Segments AE and DF intersect at G. Given that AB = 21 and CD = AD =
12, what integer is closest to the area of trapezoid CDGE?

D 12 C

12


F
A 21 B

Answer (58): Since BF = CD = 12, it follows that AF = 21 − 12 = 9.

Then 4 ADF is similar to a 3-4-5 right triangle.
Extend AE and CD to intersect at point P, as shown:

D 12 C
P
E

12


F
A 9 12 B

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

By a quick angle chase and AAA argument, we have that 4 GPD ∼ 4 ADF ∼
4 DPA, and all are similar to 3-4-5 triangles. Since AD = 12, it follows that
DP = 43 × 12 = 16, and CP = 16 − 12 = 4.
The area of trapezoid CDGE equals the area of 4 GPD, minus the area of
right 4 EPC. The base and height of 4 GPD are DG = 16 × 35 = 48 5 , and
×48
GP = 16 × 5 = 5 , respectively. The area of 4 GPD is 2 × 5 × 5 = 3225
4 64 1 48 64
.
Since 4 EPC is similar to 4 GPD with a scale factor of 1:4, the area of
1
4 EPC is 16 the area of 4 GPD, and therefore the area of CDGE is

32 × 48 32 × 48 15
  
1 288
[CDGE] = 1− = × = .
25 16 25 16 5
As a decimal, the area of CDGE is 57.6, or 58 when rounded to the nearest
integer.

18. Alice and Brenda each arrive at a diner at a randomly chosen time be-
tween 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm, independently of each other. While Alice is
patient and willing to wait until Brenda arrives, Brenda will only wait for
up to 15 minutes for Alice to arrive, before leaving. The probability that
m
Alice and Brenda meet each other at the diner equals , where m and n
n
are relatively prime positive integers. What is m + n?

Answer (55): We use geometric probability. Consider choosing a point

at random from the square shown below. Then Alice and Brenda will
1
meet each other as long as Alice arrives no later than 15 minutes ( hour)
4
after Brenda, as shown by the shaded region:

Brenda
3 pm

2 pm 3 pm Alice

The desired probability equals the ratio of the shaded area to the area of
the square. Considering the region to be a square with side length 1, the

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

1 3 3 9
area of the unshaded isosceles triangle is × × = . The area of
2 4 4 32
9 23 23
the shaded region is 1 − = . The probability is therefore , and
32 32 32
m + n = 23 + 32 = 55.

19. There are four positive integers less than 100 whose squares end in the
digits “16.” One such integer is 4, as 42 = 16. What are the last two digits
of the sum of the other three integers?

Answer (96): Let x be such an integer, so that x2 ≡ 16 (mod 100). The

main observation is that x satisfies the given condition if and only if 100 −
x satisfies the given condition; this follows as (100 − x )2 ≡ (− x )2 ≡ x2
(mod 100). Therefore, 100 − 4 = 96 is one such integer; as a check, 962 =
9216. It is not necessary to determine the other two integers since we know
that they must sum to 100. Therefore, the sum of the remaining three inte-
gers is 100 + 96 = 196, and the last two digits are 96. We remark that the
remaining two integers are 46 and 54.

20. Ann, Beth, and Cia split a large basket containing 100 apples, 100 bananas,
and 100 oranges so that each person received 100 pieces of fruit. Ann re-
ceived one more apple than Beth, and Beth received two more bananas
than Cia. Given that Cia received 7 apples, what is the greatest whole
number of oranges Cia could have received?

Answer (70): It is easiest to organize our work into a 3 × 3 table. We are

given that Cia received 7 apples and that Ann received one more apple
than Beth. Therefore, if Ann received a apples, then Beth received a − 1
apples, and a + ( a − 1) + 7 = 100 =⇒ a = 47, so Ann and Beth received
47 and 46 apples, respectively:

Ann Beth Cia

apples 47 46 7 100
bananas 100
oranges 100
100 100 100

Suppose Beth received b bananas. From the problem statement, Cia re-
ceived b − 2 bananas. Since there are 100 bananas altogether, Ann received
100 − b − (b − 2) = 102 − 2b bananas. Our table is as follows:

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

Ann Beth Cia

apples 47 46 7 100
bananas 102 − 2b b b−2 100
oranges 100
100 100 100

Finally, we can determine the remaining entries in terms of b, since each

person received 100 pieces of fruit. The completed table is shown below:

Ann Beth Cia

apples 47 46 7 100
bananas 102 − 2b b b−2 100
oranges 2b − 49 54 − b 95 − b 100
100 100 100

Cia received 95 − b oranges. We want 95 − b to be maximized, so we

should find the smallest possible integer value of b. Every expression in
the table must be a non-negative integer; in particular, 2b − 49 ≥ 0 =⇒
b ≥ 25 (the remaining expressions either yield upper bounds for b, or
weaker lower bounds such as b ≥ 2 or b ≥ 0). We see that b = 25 is
indeed a candidate value for b, and the greatest number of oranges Cia
received is 95 − 25 = 70.

21. Let a, b, and c be integers such that

a + b + c = 1,
4a + 2b + c = 8, and
9a + 3b + c = 27.

What is the value of 16a + 4b + c?

Answer (58): Consider the quadratic polynomial P( x ), given by P( x ) =

ax2 + bx + c. We are given P(1) = 1, P(2) = 8, and P(3) = 27. Then
P( x ) = x3 has solutions x = 1, x = 2, and x = 3, or in other words, the cu-
bic polynomial x3 − P( x ) has roots 1, 2, and 3. Since x3 − P( x ) has leading
coefficient 1, it can be factored into the form ( x − 1)( x − 2)( x − 3).
To find P(4), we can simply substitute x = 4: 64 − P(4) = (4 − 1)(4 −
2)(4 − 3) = 6. Solving for P(4), we obtain P(4) = 58. As a remark, the
solution to this system of equations is ( a, b, c) = (6, −11, 6).

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

22. Hannah rolled six standard 12-sided dice (with faces numbered 1 through
12). The product of her dice rolls is 178,200, and no two of Hannah’s rolls
showed the same number. What is the sum of Hannah’s dice rolls?

Answer (50): First, we will find the prime factorization of 178,200, which
is 23 × 34 × 52 × 111 . Since no two of Hannah’s rolls showed the same
number, we will find a way to express 178,200 as the product of six differ-
ent integers between 1 and 12, inclusive.
Since the dice rolls are between 1 and 12, and 11 is the only number divis-
ible by the prime number 11, it follows that one of the dice rolls must be
11. Next, observe that the product is divisible by 52 . Since 5 and 10 are
the only two multiples of 5, two of the dice rolls must have been 5 and 10.
Therefore, three of the dice rolls are 5, 10, and 11, and the product of the
remaining three dice rolls is 22 × 34 .
There are four possible dice rolls which are multiples of 3 (3, 6, 9, and
12); we claim that the remaining three dice rolls must all be multiples of
3. Suppose otherwise at least one die roll is not divisible by 3; in this
case, there is no way for the product of the remaining three dice rolls to
be divisible by 34 (as 9 is the only multiple of 9 between 1 and 12). The
product of the numbers 3, 6, 9, and 12 is 23 × 35 ; it follows that 6 is the
multiple of 3 which is not rolled, and that the remaining three dice rolls
are 3, 9, and 12.
The sum of all of Hannah’s dice rolls is 5 + 10 + 11 + 3 + 9 + 12 = 50.

23. 100 people sit at a round table, and every person is either a knight (who
always tells the truth), or a knave (who always lies). When every person at
the table was asked, “Of the two people sitting next to you, how many of
them are knights?”, fifty people answered “0,” and fifty people answered
“2.” What is the greatest possible number of knaves who are sitting at the
round table?

Answer (83): Note that if two knights sit next to each other, then every
person must be a knight (since no knight can sit next to both a knight and
a knave, as this knight would have answered “1”). For this case, every
person truthfully answers “2,” which contradicts the statement that fifty
people answered “0” and fifty answered “2.” Thus, we will consider the
case when no two knights sit next to each other. Let k be the number of
knights. Since we are considering the case where no two knights are adja-
cent, we have k ≤ 50.

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

These k knights truthfully answered “0” as they cannot have answered

“2,” so 50 − k knaves must have falsely answered “0.” Each of these 50 − k
knaves must be adjacent to at least one knight; otherwise, a knave is ad-
jacent to two knaves and truthfully answers “0” which is a contradiction.
Since there are k non-adjacent knights, there are at most 2k people who
are sitting next to a knight. Since every person sitting next to a knight
is a knave, it follows that 50 − k ≤ 2k. Solving this inequality for k yields
k ≥ 503 = 16.6. Then there are at least 17 knights, and at most 100 − 17 = 83
knaves.
Such an arrangement is possible by seating 17 knave-knight-knave groups
in the round table arbitrarily, followed by an additional 49 knaves. The 17
knights, as well as 33 out of the 34 knaves who are sitting next to one
knight, answer “0”, and the remaining knave, as well as the 49 knaves
who are not sitting next to a knight, answer “2.”

24. How many non-empty subsets S of the set {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19} are there
such that the sum of the elements of S is divisible by 4? One example is
S = {2, 7, 11}.

Answer (63): Consider choosing a subset T of {5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19}. No
matter what subset is chosen, we can uniquely determine a subset S such
that S ⊆ T ∪ {2, 3}, T ⊆ S, and the sum of the elements of S is divisi-
ble by 4. To show this, let s( T ) denote the sum of the elements of T. If
s( T ) ≡ 0 (mod 4), then S = T. If s( T ) ≡ 1 (mod 4), then S = T ∪ {3}. If
s( T ) ≡ 2 (mod 4), then S = T ∪ {2}. Finally, if s( T ) ≡ 3 (mod 4), then
S = T ∪ {2, 3}. Therefore, by choosing a subset of {5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19}, we
can uniquely determine a subset S whose sum is divisible by 4.
Since | T | = 6, there are 26 = 64 subsets T, and therefore, 26 = 64 sub-
sets S whose sum is divisible by 4. However, this counts the empty set
S = ∅, which is selected when T = ∅. We subtract 1 from our count,
giving 64 − 1 = 63 non-empty subsets.

25. A function f ( x ) satisfies the following properties for all positive integers
x:

f ( x )2 = f ( x2 ) + 2, and
f ( x ) = 2 f (2x ) − 3x.

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Pi Math Contest Fermat Division 2024 Solutions

m
The sum of all possible values of f (8) equals , where m and n are rela-
n
tively prime positive integers. What are the last two digits of m + n?

Answer (73): Substituting x = 1 into the first property, we obtain f (1)2 =

f (1) + 2, or f (1)2 − f (1) − 2 = 0. This is a quadratic in the variable f (1)
which factors as ( f (1) − 2)( f (1) + 1) = 0, so either f (1) = 2 or f (1) = −1.
In both cases, we can compute f (2), f (4), and f (8) successively using the
f ( x )+3x
second property, which rearranges to f (2x ) = 2 . If f (1) = 2, we
obtain f (2) = 2 = 2 , f (4) = 2 = 4 , and f (8) = 17/42+12 = 65
2+3 5 5/2+6 17
8 . We
1
can observe that f ( x ) = x + x in these cases, and the function f ( x ) = x + 1x
satisfies both properties for all positive integers x.
If f (1) = −1, then the second property implies f (2) = −12+3 = 1, f (4) =
1+6 7 7/2+12
2 = 2 , and f (8) = 2 = 314 . However, f (1) = −1 creates a contra-
diction: since f (2) = 1, substituting x = 2 into the first property implies
f (4) = f (2)2 − 2 = 12 − 2 = −1. Since f (4) cannot simultaneously equal
−1 and 27 , this is a contradiction, so f (1) cannot equal −1.
65
Therefore, the only possible value of f (8) is 8, and m + n = 65 + 8 = 73.
The last two digits are 73.

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