New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

Contest 1 Solutions
S23SB01 Let 4HJC be a triangle tangent to three mutually tangent unit circles (radius equals 1). Compute the
perimeter of 4HJC .

p
Answer: 6 + 6 3
Solution: We will analyze side JC and apply the result to each side.

Let circles be centered at P and Q be tangent to JC at T and U , respectively. 4M P Q is an equilateral

triangle with sides of length 2. Thus P Q = T U = 2 as P QU T is a rectangle. Let P be tangent to HJ
at L. \LJT must equal 60 and \P JT equals 30 .

p p p
Thus JT = U C = 3. Therefore, the perimeter is 3 · JC = 3 2 + 2 3 = 6 + 6 3
S23SB02 Let 2x + 6y = 51 and 5x + hy = c be lines perpendicular to each other and which intersect on the y -axis.
Compute the value of c.
85
Answer: 6

Solution: We can rewrite the equations as:

1 17
y= x+
3 2
5 c
y= x+
h h
Thus, the point of intersection is 0, 17
2
, and 1
3
5
h
= 1 due the the slopes being negative reciprocals.
5 17 c
Thus, h= 3
. Solving for c , 2
= h
= 5 , making c = 17
c
2 3
5
= 85 6
3

1
S23SB03 The angle bisector theorem states if segment AD bisects \BAC in 4ABC , then AB
BD
= AC
CD
(refer to the
diagram).

Let 4ABC have angle bisector AD with AB = 8, AC = 12, and BD and DC both have integer lengths.
Find the maximum possible value of BC .
Answer: 15
8 12 DC
Solution: From the angle bisector theorem, BD = DC or BD = 12
8
= 32 . Let DC = 3x and BD = 2x,
x must be an integer and BC must satisfy the triangle inequality. Thus, AC AB < BC < AC + AB or
12 8 < 5x < 12 + 8. Since 5x < 20, x < 4 so the maximum integer value of x is 3, making BC = 15.
S23SB04 Clio picks a random integer factor of 12!. What is the probability that the factor she picks is odd?
Answer: a4
Solution: We can find the prime factorization of 12! = 12 · 11 · 10 · · · · · 3 · 2 · 1 to be 210 · 35 · 52 · 71 · 111 .
Any odd factor f will have 10 even factors associated with it. For instance, 35, 35 · 2, 35 · 22 , 35 · 23 ,. . . ,
1
35 · 29 , 35 · 210 are all divisors of 12!, but only 35 is odd. Therefore, P (odd)x = 11 .
Alternatively, the number of divisors of 12! = 210 · 35 · 52 · 71 · 111 is 11 · 6 · 3 · 2 · 2, but any odd divisor of 12!
6·3·2·2 1
must divide 35 · 52 · 71 · 111 , which has a total of 6 · 3 · 2 · 2 divisors. This yields P (odd) = 11·6·3·2·2 = 11 .

S23SB05 Let h + 2i and mi 6 be the roots of x2 + cx + j = 0 where h, m, c, and j are integers. Compute the
value of j .
Answer: 40
Solution: If h + 2i and mi 6 are non-real roots of a quadratic with real coefficients, then the roots are
complex conjugates of each other. Thus h + 2i = mi 6 so h 2i = 6 + mi. From this we get h = 6
and m = 2. j is the product of the roots, so j = ( 6 2i)( 6 + 2i) = 36 3i2 = 40

S23SB06 Let ABCD be a rectangle having an area of 290. Let E be on BC such that BE : EC = 3 : 2. Let F be
on CD such that CF : F D = 3 : 1. If G is the intersection of AE and BF , compute the area of 4BEG.

Answer: 27
Solution: One method to solve this is to use area ratios, but that gets a bit messy. Another way is to place
B at (0, 0), A at (0, 4), C at (5, 0), and D at (5, 4). Thus F would be at (5, 3) and E at (3, 0). Note that
[BEG]
this setup does not give us ABCD with area 290, but it will allow us to find the ratio of [ABCD] . We can get
! !
equations for lines AE and BF .
!
AE : slope= 40 03 = 43 , y -intercept at 4. So the equation is:
4
y= x+4
3
! 3 0
BF : slope= 5 0
= 35 , y -intercept at 0. So the equation is:
3
y= x
5

2
G is the intersection of these lines.
4 3
x+4= x
3 5
20x + 60 = 9x
60 = 29x
60
x=
29
✓ ◆
3 60 36
y= = GC
5 29 29

So, using the base and height of 4BEG, we get:

1 36
A4BEG 2 29
(3)
=
AABCD 5(4)
A4BEG (36)(3) 27
= =
290 (5)(4)(2)(29) 290
) A4BEG = 27

3
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

PART 1 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes
S23SB01 Let 4HJC be a triangle tangent to three mutually tangent unit circles (radius equals 1). Compute the
perimeter of 4HJC .

S23SB02 Let 2x + 6y = 51 and 5x + hy = c be lines perpendicular to each other and which intersect on the y -axis.
Compute the value of c.

PART 2 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB03 The angle bisector theorem states if segment AD bisects \BAC in 4ABC , then AB
BD
= AC
CD
(refer to
the diagram).

Let 4ABC have angle bisector AD with AB = 8, AC = 12, and BD and DC both have integer
lengths. Find the maximum possible value of BC .

S23SB04 Clio picks a random integer factor of 12!. What is the probability that the factor she picks is odd?

PART 3 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB05 Let h + 2i and mi 6 be the roots of x2 + cx + j = 0 where h, m, c, and j are integers. Compute the
value of j .

S23SB06 Let ABCD be a rectangle having an area of 290. Let E be on BC such that BE : EC = 3 : 2. Let
F be on CD such that CF : F D = 3 : 1. If G is the intersection of AE and BF , compute the area of
4BEG.
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

PART 1 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes
S23SB07 Clio has a 12 ounce drink that is 70% co↵ee. She adds milk until her drink is 40% co↵ee. Compute the
amount of milk, in ounces, that she added.

S23SB08 A ladybug moves clockwise along the edges of regular pentagon ABCDE and visits the vertices of the
pentagon. She starts at vertex A. On day 1, she moves 1 vertex to vertex B . On day 2, she moves from B
to C to D (2 vertices). On day 3, she moves from D to E to A to B (3 vertices). She continues this each
day moving one more vertex than she did the previous day. On what vertex will she end on the 2023rd day?

PART 2 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB09 How many arrangements of the letters CLIO do not have the I and O next to each other (in either order)?

S23SB10 A rectangular solid has dimensions l, w , and h. Jimmy takes the sum of l, w , and h and squares the result
and gets 725. If the surface area of the solid is 325, find the length of the internal diagonal of the solid.

PART 3 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB11 If c is a positive integer such that x2 + cx + 2023 factors into two linear terms each with integer coefficients,
find the smallest possible value of c.

S23SB12 Consider the semicircle below with center C and radius r . Let point L lie on the semicircle and point J lie
p
on the diameter with HL = LJ = 8 and CJ = 2. If the radius r of the semicircle can be written in the
form a + b where a and b are integers, find a and b.
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

Contest 2 Solutions
S23SB07 Clio has a 12 ounce drink that is 70% co↵ee. She adds milk until her drink is 40% co↵ee. Compute the amount
of milk, in ounces, that she added.
Answer: 9
co↵ee
Solution: Clio currently has 0.7(12) = 8.4 ounces of co↵ee. If m amount of milk is added then milk
=
8.4 8.4
12+m
, so 12+m = 0.4. Cross multiplying yields 8.4 = 4.8 + 0.4m, so 3.6 = 0.4m and m = 9.
S23SB08 A ladybug moves clockwise along the edges of regular pentagon ABCDE and visits the vertices of the pentagon.
She starts at vertex A. On day 1, she moves 1 vertex to vertex B . On day 2, she moves from B to C to D (2
vertices). On day 3, she moves from D to E to A to B (3 vertices). She continues this each day moving one
more vertex than she did the previous day. On what vertex will she end on the 2023rd day?

Answer: B
Solution: The ladybug will move a total of:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + · · · + 2020 + 2021 + 2022 + 2023 vertices]
2023(2024)
One could find the sum and find the remainder when divided by 5. Total moves = 2
= 2047276.
When divided by 5, the remainder is 1, so she ends at vertex B .
Notice, however, that moves 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are the same (mod 5) as are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. As are every
consecutive group of 5 moves. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15, which has remainder 0 when divided by 5, putting
her back at A. After 2020 days, she will be at A. Days 2021, 2022, 2023 will advance her 1 + 2 + 3 = 6
vertices, putting her at B .
S23SB09 How many arrangements of the letters CLIO do not have the I and O next to each other (in either order)?
Answer: 12
Solution: One way to attack the problem is to look at the template for what works: If X is an I or O and
y is a C or L, then we have yxyx, xyyx, and xyxy . Each yields 2 · 2 · 1 · 1 = 4 possibilities. Thus, there
are 12 arrangements.
Another way to consider the problem is to count ”bad” arrangements and subtract from the total permutations
of CLIO of which there are 4! = 24. Let (IO) be a single block or ”letter”. Thus we arrange CL(IO) to
get 3! = 6 arrangements with (IO) and another 6 with (OI). Thus, 24 12 = 12 ”good” arrangements.
S23SB10 A rectangular solid has dimensions l, w, and h. Jimmy takes the sum of l, w, and h and squares the result and
gets 725. If the surface area of the solid is 325, find the length of the internal diagonal of the solid.
Answer: 20
Solution:
(l + w + h)2 = l2 + w2 + h2 + 2lw + 2lh + 2hw
Surface Area: 2lw + 2lh + 2hw = 325

1
 Square of the internal diagonal: l2 + w2 + h2
Thus we have:
725 = l2 + w2 + h2 + 325
400 = l2 + w2 + h2
Which gives us a diagonal of 20.
S23SB11 If c is a positive integer such that x2 + cx + 2023 factors into two linear terms each with integer coefficients,
find the smallest possible value of c.
Answer: 136
Solution: 2023 factors into 2023 = 7 · 172 , thus the possibilities are:
(x + 1)(x + 2023)
(x + 7)(x + 289)
(x + 17)(x + 119)
These yield ”c” values of 2024, 296, and 136. Thus, the minimum c is 136.
S23SB12 Consider the semicircle below with center C and radius r. Let point L lie on the semicircle and point J lie on
p
the diameter with HL = LJ = 8 and CJ = 2. If the radius r of the semicircle can be written in the form
a + b where a and b are integers, find a and b.

Answer: a = 1, b = 65
Solution: Draw radius LC and drop perpendicular LM to HA.

r+2 r+2 r 2
HC = r, so base HJ of the isosceles triangle is r + 2. Thus HM = 2
and MC = 2
2= 2
. Let
LM = y . We can set up 2 Pythagorean Theorem equations:
✓ ◆2
r+2
+ y 2 = 82
2
and
✓ ◆2
r 2
+ y 2 = r2
2

2
Subtracting, we get:
✓ ◆2 ✓ ◆2
r+2 r 2
= 64 r2
2 2
Expanding,
r2 + 4r + 4 r2 4r + 4
= 64 r2
4 4
p
2± 4+128
p
This simplifies to: 2r = 64 r2 or r2 + 2r 64 = 0. r = 2
= 1± 65.
p
)r= 1+ 65 so a = 1 and b = 65

3
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

PART 1 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes
q p
3
p
S23SB13 If 2 2 2 4 2 = 2x where x is a rational number, compute x.

S23SB14 What is the largest prime factor of 38 + 37 32 3?

PART 2 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB15 If logx 12 + 2 logx 3 + 4 logx 2 = 3, compute the value of x where x is an integer.

S23SB16 In the diagram below, AB ? BC and CD ? BC . AC and BD intersect at E , and EF ? BC . If

AB = 24 and CD = 8, find EF .

PART 3 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB17 If x is an integer such that:
1 1 1
x= p p +p p + +p p + ...
10000 + 9999 9999 + 9998 9998 + 9997
1 1 1 1
+p p +p p +p p +p p
5+ 4 4+ 3 3+ 2 2+ 1
Find the value of x.

S23SB18 Find the 5 angles x, where 0 < x < 180 , such that cos (5x) + cos (3x) = 0
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

Contest 3 Solutions
q p
3
p
S23SB13 If 2 2 2 4 2 = 2x where x is a rational number, compute x.
41
Answer: 24

Solution: If we write the expression with fractional exponents we get

✓ ⇣ ⌘ 13 ◆ 12 ✓ ⇣ ⌘ 1 ◆ 12 ⇣ ⌘ 12 ⇣ 17 ⌘ 12
1 5 3 5 17 41
2 2 2 · 24 = 2 2 24 = 2 2 · 2 12 = 2 2 12 = 2 · 2 24 = 2 24

)x= 41
24

S23SB14 What is the largest prime factor of 38 + 37 32 3?

Answer: 13
Solution: If you regroup as (38 32 )+(37 3), we can factor into 32 (36 1)+3(36 1) = (32 +3)(36 1).
This can be written as (32 + 3)(33 + 1)(33 1) = (12)(28)(26). The largest prime factor here is 13.
S23SB15 If logx 12 + 2 logx 3 + 4 logx 2 = 3, compute the value of x where x is an integer.
Answer: 12
Solution: logx 12 + 2 logx 3 + 4 logx 2 = logx (22 · 3) + logx (32 ) + logx (24 )
= logx (22 · 3 · 32 · 24 ) = logx (26 · 33 ) Since logx (26 · 33 ) = 3, we get x3 = 26 · 33 , so x = 22 · 3 = 12
S23SB16 In the diagram below, AB ? BC and CD ? BC . AC and BD intersect at E , and EF ? BC . If
AB = 24 and CD = 8, find EF .

Answer: 6
Solution: For this problem, we only need AB k EF k CD. Let EF = h, BF = x, and F C = y . We
x+y
have 4ABC ⇠ 4EF C and 4DCB ⇠ 4EF B . From this BF EF
BC
= DC FC
and EF = BC
AB
. So, hx = 8
y x+y y x+y x+y
and h = 24 . From this, hx + h = 8 + 24
x+y 1 1
h
= (x + y) 8
+ 24
or h1 = 1
8
+ 1
24
. Thus h1 = 4
24
= 1
6
and h = 6.
Note: this is half of the harmonic mean of 8 and 24.

1
S23SB17 If x is an integer such that:
1 1 1
x= p p +p p + +p p + ...
10000 + 9999 9999 + 9998 9998 + 9997
1 1 1 1
+p p +p p +p p +p p
5+ 4 4+ 3 3+ 2 2+ 1
Find the value of x.
Answer: 99
p p p p p p
Solution: Each term rationalizes as follows: p
n+ n
1
p
1
· pnn p
n 1
n 1
= n n 1
n (n 1)
= n n 1 Therefore,
the series becomes:
p p p p p p
( 10000
9999) + ( 9999 9998) + ( 9998 9997) + . . .
p p p p p p p p
+( 5 4) + ( 4 3) + ( 3 2) + ( 2 1)
p p
which telescopes to 10000 1 = 100 1 = 99
S23SB18 Find the 5 angles x, where 0 < x < 180 , such that cos (5x) + cos (3x) = 0
Answer: 22.5 , 67.5 , 90 , 112.5 , 157.5
Solution: One way to approach the problem is to notice 5x = x + 4x and 3x = 4x x. Using the angle
addition formula for cosine we get:

cos (5x) = cos (4x + x) = cos (4x) cos (x) sin (4x) sin (x)
cos (3x) = cos (4x x) = cos (4x) cos (x) + sin (4x) sin (x)
Adding yields cos (5x)+cos (3x) = 2 cos (4x) cos (x) If 2 cos (4x) cos (x) = 0, then either cos (x) = 0 or
cos (4x) = 0. Generally, cos (✓) = 0 for ✓ = 90 + 180 n for integer n. So x = 90 or 4x = 90 + 180 n
so x = 22.5 + 45 n. The five values are x = 22.5 , 67.5 , 90 , 112.5 , 157.5

Alternative Solution, only using the unit circle:

cos (5x) + cos (3x) = 0 means that cos (5x) = cos (3x) On the unit circle this means that either the
two angles are diametrically opposed (reflections across the origin or, equivalently, rotation by 180 ), or they
are supplements (reflections across the y -axis).
In the first case, if they are diametrically opposed, then 5x is coterminal with 3x + 180 , so 5x = (3x +
180 ) + 360 n, so 2x = 180 + 360 and x = 90 + 180 n.
In the second case, if they are reflections over the y-axis, then 5x is coterminal with the supplement of 3x, so
5x = (180 3x) + 360 n, so 8x = 180 + 360 n and x = 22.5 + 45 n.

2
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

PART 1 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes
S23SB19 The average (arithmetic mean) of 3 distinct 2-digit numbers is 39. If Clio reverses the digits of each number
[for instance, 73 would become 37], the average of the new set of 3 numbers is 60. Compute the sum of the
digits of the original set of numbers.

S23SB20 In the diagram below, AC ? BD at G and E lies on AC such that AB ? BC , BC ? CD, and
DE ? CD. If AG = 3 and BG = 2, find EG.

PART 2 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB21 If 2log 3 · 5log 4 · 5log 6 · 2log 8 = N , where N is an integer, compute the value of N .

S23SB22 Let ABCD be a parallelogram with AB = 5, BC = 7, and AC = 10. Compute the length of BD.

PART 3 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB23 An infinite geometric series with first term f and common ratio r has a sum of 9. An infinite geometric
series with first term f and common ratio r has a sum of 4. Find f .

S23SB24 Let fn (x) = n x. For instance, f1 (x) = 1 x, f2 (x) =2 x, f3 (x) = 3 x, etc. Compute the
value of f2022 (f2021 (f2020 (. . . f4 (f3 (f2 (f1 (2023)))))))
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

Contest 4 Solutions
S23SB19 The average (arithmetic mean) of 3 distinct 2-digit numbers is 39. If Clio reverses the digits of each number [for
instance, 73 would become 37], the average of the new set of 3 numbers is 60. Compute the sum of the digits of
the original set of numbers.
Answer: 27
Solution: Let the original numbers be written as 10a + b, 10c + d, and 10e + f . Their sum will be
10(a + c + e) + (b + d + f ) = 3(39) = 117. Reversing the digits yields a sum of 10(b + d + f ) + (a +
c + e) = 3(60) = 180. If we add both groups of numbers we get 11(a + b + c + d + e + f ) = 297.
) a + b + c + d + e + f = 27
S23SB20 In the diagram below, AC ? BD at G and E lies on AC such that AB ? BC , BC ? CD, and
DE ? CD. If AG = 3 and BG = 2, find EG.

16
Answer: 27

Solution: AG
BG
= BG
CG
or 32 = 2
CG
. ) CG = 4
3
4
BG
CG
= CG
GD
or 24 = 3
GD
) GD = 89 .
3
4 8
CG
GD
= GD
EG
or 3
8 = 9
EG
) EG = 64
81
· 3
4
= 16
27
.
9

Notice this spiral makes a geometric sequence with first term 3 and common ratio 23 .
S23SB21 If 2log 3 · 5log 4 · 5log 6 · 2log 8 = N , where N is an integer, compute the value of N .
Answer: 24
Solution: 2log 3 · 2log 8 · 5log 4 · 5log 6 = 2log 3+log 8 · 5log 4+log 6 = 2log 24 · 5log 24 =10log 24 = 24
S23SB22 Let ABCD be a parallelogram with AB = 5, BC = 7, and AC = 10. Compute the length of BD.
p
Answer: 4 3
Solution:

1
 Using the Law of Cosines we get: 52 + 72 2(5)(7) cos B = AC 2 and 52 + 72 2(5)(7) cos A = BD2
\B and \A are supplements, which allows us to replace cos A with cos B .
We get 70 cos B = 100 and 74 + cos B = BD2
74
p p
Adding yields: 148 = 100 + BD 2 BD = 48 = 4 3
We can prove that the sum of the squares of the sides of a parallelogram equals the sum of the squares of the
diagonals.
S23SB23 An infinite geometric series with first term f and common ratio r has a sum of 9. An infinite geometric series
with first term f and common ratio r has a sum of 4. Find f .
72
Answer: 13
f
Solution: f + f r + f r2 + · · · = 1 r
f
f f r + f r2 + · · · = 1+r
f f 5
So 1 r = 9 and 1+r
= 4. From this we get f = 9 9r and f = 4 + 4r 13r = 5 and r = 13
5
f =9 1 13
= 72
13

S23SB24 Let fn (x) = n x. For instance, f1 (x) = 1 x, f2 (x) = 2 x, f3 (x) = 3 x, etc.

Compute f2022 (f2021 (f2020 (. . . f4 (f3 (f2 (f1 (2023)))))))

Answer: 3034
Solution: f1 (2023) = 1 2023 = 2022
f2 ( 2022) = 2 ( 2022) = 2024
f3 (2024) = 3 (2024) = 2021
f4 ( 2021) = 4 ( 2021) = 2025
.. n
.We can develop a rule: If n is even, fn (. . . (f1 (x)) . . . ) = 2
+x
n+1
If n is odd, fn (. . . (f1 (x)) . . . ) = 2
x
2022
Thus f2022 (f2021 (f2020 (. . . f4 (f3 (f2 (f1 (2023))))))) = 2
+ 2023 = 1011 + 2023 = 3034
Note: f (2a x) reflects x over x = a

2
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

PART 1 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB25 Points A, B , C , and D lie on the diameter of the large circle with AB = BC = CD. If AC and BD
are the diameters of semicircles and the area of the shaded region is 80⇡ , find AB .

S23SB26 Let A, B , C , and D be integers each from {0, 1, 3}. How many ordered 4-tuples (A, B, C, D) are there
such that A + B + C + D = 6?

PART 2 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB27 A, B , C , and D lie on a circle such that AB ? BD. Let E lie on BD such that CE ? BD. If
Points
AB = 8, BE = 6, and CE = 2, compute DE .

q p p p
a+ b
S23SB28 If 3 + 3 + 3 + . . . can be expressed as c
where a, b, and c are positive integers, find this
expression.

PART 3 Spring 2023 Time: 10 Minutes

S23SB29 If w , x, y , and z are positive integers such that (w + x)(y + z) = 57, compute the number of ordered
4-tuples (w, x, y, z)

1 1 1 1
S23SB30 Let p, q , r , and t be the roots of x4 + x + 1 = 0. Compute the value of p+1
+ q+1
+ r+1
+ t+1
 New York City Interscholastic Mathematics League

Senior B Division Spring 2023

Contest 5 Solutions
S23SB25 Points A, B , C , and D lie on the diameter of the large circle with AB = BC = CD. If AC and BD are
the diameters of semicircles and the area of the shaded region is 80⇡ , find AB .

Answer: 8
Solution: Let L be the center of the circle. L is the midpoint of BC and AD. If we let LC = x, then
AB = BC = CD = 2x and AL = 3x.
Area of Shaded region = Area of Circle L Area of semicircles.
2 1
80⇡ = ⇡(3x) 2 2 ⇡(2x) 80⇡ = 9x ⇡ 4x2 ⇡ 80⇡ = 5x2 ⇡ 16 = x2 x = 4 Thus AB = 2x = 8.
2 2

S23SB26 Let A, B , C , and D be integers each from {0, 1, 3}. How many ordered 4-tuples (A, B, C, D) are there such
that A + B + C + D = 6?
Answer: 10
Solution: There are only two general ways to get a sum of 6: 0 + 0 + 3 + 3 and 1 + 1 + 1 + 3
For the first case, there are 6 ways: (0, 0, 3, 3), (0, 3, 0, 3), (0, 3, 3, 0), (3, 0, 0, 3), (3, 0, 3, 0), and (3, 3, 0, 0)
4
or just 2 = 6
4
For the second case, there are 4 ways: (1, 1, 1, 3), (1, 1, 3, 1), (1, 3, 1, 1), and (3, 1, 1, 1) or just 1
=4
Therefore, there are 10 ways in total.
Alternate solution:
Consider (1 + x + x3 )4 . Expanding this expression will give you a polynomial whose coefficient of xn represent
the number of ways to add the numbers 0, 1, and 3 to get a sum of n. (1 + x + x3 )4 = 1 + 4x + 6x2 +
8x3 + 13x4 + 12x5 + 10x6 + 12x7 + 6x8 + 4x9 + 4x1 0 + 0x1 1 + 1x1 2
The 10x6 represents 10 ways to get a sum of 6.

S23SB27 Points A, B , C , and D lie on a circle such that AB ? BD. Let E lie on BD such that CE ? BD. If
AB = 8, BE = 6, and CE = 2, compute DE .

1
 10
Answer: 3

Solution: Let DE = x. We know the diameter of the circle is ? to AB at its midpoint and is k to BD.
Let F lie on the circle such that CF has point G such that ABEG is a rectangle.

EG = AB = 8. GF = EC = 2. Therefore, EF = 10. By power of a point, BE · ED = CE · EF

6x = 2 · 10 x = 10
3
q p p p
S23SB28 If 3 + 3 + 3 + . . . can be expressed as a+c b where a, b, and c are positive integers, find this expression.
p
1+ 13
Answer: 2
q p p p
Solution: Let x = 3 + 3 + 3 + . . . We can write this as: x = 3 + x x2 = 3+x x2 x 3 = 0
p p p
x= 1± 1+12
2
= 1± 13
2
)x= 1+ 13
2
as x > 0.
S23SB29 If w, x, y , and z are positive integers such that (w + x)(y + z) = 57, compute the number of ordered 4-tuples
(w, x, y, z)
Answer: 72
Solution: 57 = (3)(19) Thus w + x = 3, y + z = 19 OR w + x = 19, y + z = 3 Note: we cannot have
1 · 57, because 1 cannot be the sum of two positive integers.
w + x = 3 has 2 solutions: (1, 2) and (2, 1) y + z = 19 has 18 solutions: (1, 18), (2, 17), . . ., (17, 2),
(18, 1). This yields 2 · 18 = 36 solutions for (w, x, y, z)
The other case is symmetric to this, yielding another 36 solutions, so there are a total of 72 solutions.
1 1 1 1
S23SB30 Let p, q , r, and t be the roots of x4 + x + 1 = 0. Compute the value of p+1
+ q+1
+ r+1
+ t+1

Answer: 3

2
Solution: If we combine the expression into a single fraction we get:
(q + 1)(r + 1)(t + 1) + (p + 1)(r + 1)(t + 1) + (p + 1)(q + 1)(t + 1) + (p + 1)(q + 1)(r + 1)
(p + 1)(q + 1)(r + 1)(t + 1)
The numerator expands to:
qrt + qr + qt + rt + q + r + t + 1+
prt + pr + pt + rt + p + r + t + 1+
pqt + pq + pt + qt + p + q + t + 1+
pqr + pq + pr + qr + p + q + r + 1
= (Sum of Products of Roots 3 at a time) + 3(Sum of Products of Roots 2 at a time)+
3(Sum of Roots) + 4
Meanwhile, the denominator expands to:

pqrt + qrt + prt + pqt + pqr + pq + pr + pt + qr + qt + rt + p + q + r + t + 1

= (Product of Roots) + (Sum of Products of Roots 3 at a time)+
(Sum of Products of Roots 2 at a time) + (Sum of Roots) + 4
From the original equation, which has the form ax4 + bx3 + cx2 + dx + e = 0, where a = 1, b = c = 0,
d = 1, and e = 1:
b 0
Sum of Roots= a
= 1
=0
Sum of Product of Roots 2 at a time= ac = 0
1
=0
d 1
Sum of Product of Roots 3 at a time= a
= 1
= 1
e 1
Product of Roots= a
= 1
=1
Substituting, we get:
( 1) + 3(0) + 3(0) + 4 3
= =3
1 + ( 1) + 0 + 0 + 1 1