THE SIXTY-THIRD ANNUAL

MICHIGAN MATHEMATICS PRIZE COMPETITION

Sponsored by
The Michigan Section of the Mathematical Association of America
Part I
(SOLUTIONS)
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Your answer sheet will be graded by machine. Carefully read
and follow the instructions printed on the answer sheet. Check to
ensure that your five-digit MMPC code number has been recorded
correctly. Do not make calculations on the answer sheet. Fill in
circles completely and darkly.
2. Do as many problems as you can in the 100 minutes allowed. When
the proctor asks you to stop, please quit working immediately and
turn in your answer sheet.
3. Consider the problems and responses carefully. You may work out
ideas on scratch paper before selecting a response.
4. You may be unfamiliar with some of the topics covered in this
examination. You may skip over these and return to them later if
you have time. Your score on the test will be the number of correct
answers. You are advised to guess an answer in those cases where
you cannot determine an answer.
5. For each of the questions, five different possible responses are pro-
vided. Choose the correct answer and completely fill in the corre-
sponding bubble on your answer sheet.
6. Any scientific or graphing calculator is permitted on Part I. Un-
acceptable machines include computers, PDAs, pocket organizers,
cell phones, and similar devices. All problems will be solvable
with no more technology than a scientific calculator. The Exam
Committee makes every effort to structure the test to minimize
the advantage of a more powerful calculator. No other devices are
permitted.
7. No one is permitted to explain to you the meaning of any question.
Do not ask anyone to violate the rules of the competition. If you
have questions concerning the instructions, ask them now.
8. You may open the test booklet and begin.
1. Suppose that A, B, and C are sets such that |A| = 16, |A ∩ C| = 4,
|A ∩ B| = 7, and |A ∩ B ∩ C| = 3. Find the number of elements that are in A
only.

(A) 2 (B) 8* (C) 9 (D) 11 (E) 12

Solution. Using a Venn digram one can see that the number of elements
only in A is 8.

2. How many of the fractions

1 1 1 1
, ,..., ,
2 3 19 20
have a non-trivial repeating decimal expansion? (A repeating expansion where
the repeating part consists of 0’s or 9’s is considered trivial, like in 12 =
0.5000 · · · = 0.4999 . . . )

(A) 10 (B) 11 (C) 12* (D) 13 (E) 14

Solution. If the denominator has a prime factorization which contains

only twos and/or fives, then the decimal expansion will terminate and not
repeat. Therefore, the seven numbers 1/2, 1/4, 1/5, 1/8, 1/10, 1/16, and 1/20
will all have terminating decimal expansions. Since there are 19 fractions in
our list, there are 12 which have repeating decimal expansions.

3. How many ordered pairs (a, b) of positive integers are there such that
a ≤ 5 ≤ b and a, 5, b are the lengths of three sides of a triangle?

(A) 10 (B) 15* (C) 20 (D) 25 (E) 30

Solution. Each qualified pair (a, b) should satisfy the given inequality
and also a > 0 and a + 5 > b. So they are

(1, 5)
(2, 5), (2, 6)
(3, 5), (3, 6), (3, 7)
(4, 5), (4, 6), (4, 7), (4, 8)
(5, 5), (5, 6), (5, 7), (5, 8), (5, 9)

The answer is (B).

4. A transparent plastic cube is painted red on all of its six sides, and then
is divided into 64 equal-sized small cubes as illustrated below:
Randomly pick a small cube, such that each small cube is equally likely to be
picked. What is the probability that the small cube has red paint exactly on
two sides?
1 3 1 3 1
(A) 8
(B) 16
(C) 4
(D) 8
* (E) 2

Solution. All the small cubes with two sides red are along the edges and
along each edge there are two of them. The total is 2 × 12 = 24, and then the
desired probability is 24/64 = 3/8. The answer is (D).

5. Consider a sequence a1 , a2 , . . . such that an+1 = a1 +2a2 +3a3 +. . .+nan ,

for all n = 1, 2, . . .. (In other words, a2 = a1 , a3 = a1 +2a2 , a4 = a1 +2a2 +3a3 ,
and so on.) If a2019 = 2019, find the value of a2018 .
2019 2019
(A) 1* (B) 2018 (C) 2019 (D) 2
(E) 2018

Solution. We have 2019 = a2019 = 2018a2018 + a2018 , thus a2018 = 1.

The answer is (A).

6. Denote by x1 , x2 , and x3 the roots of x3 = 1. Then, for all counting

numbers n, the quantity xn n n
1 + x2 + x3 equals . . .

(A) 0 (B) 3 (C) (x1 + x2 + x3 )n (D) xn n n n n n

1 x2 + x1 x3 + x2 x3 *
n n n
(E) x1 x2 x3

Solution. One of the roots, say x1 , equals 1, and from x1 x2 x3 = 1 this

implies that x2 x3 = 1. Consequently,

xn n n n n n n n n n n
1 x2 + x1 x3 + x2 x3 = x2 + x3 + 1 = x1 + x2 + x3 ,

so the correct answer is (D).

7. Let ABC be a right triangle with hypotenuse c and legs a and b. Draw
an altitude from the right angle to the hypotenuse. Which of the following
formulae gives the correct expression for the length of this altitude?
√
a−1 + b−1 ab ab c
(A) (B) (C) * (D) (E) a−1 + b−1 + c−1
ab c c ab
 Solution. Let D be the point on the hypotenuse which is the foot of the
altitude. Then ABC is similar to ACD by Angle-Angle similarity. It follows
that
AB BC c a
= ⇒ = .
AC CD b CD
ab
It follows that CD = .
c

8. Which of the following are rational numbers (numbers which can be ex-
pressed as the ratio of two integers)?
I. The only negative root of p(x) = x3 − 3x + 1.
II. log35 (1 + 2 + · · · + 49).
III. The only positive root of q(x) = x3 − 15x − 50.

(A) II (B) III (C) I and II (D) I and III (E) II and III*

Solution. The Rational Root Theorem implies that the only possible
rational roots of p are ±1. Since p(±1) ∕= 0, there are no rational roots of p.
We know that
50 · 49
1 + 2 + · · · + 49 = = 52 · 72 ,
2
so log35 (1 + 2 + · · · + 49) = 2. This implies that II is true. Finally, factoring
q we see
q(x) = (x − 5)(x2 + 5x + 10),
which implies that the only positive root of q is 5. This implies that III is
true.

9. Let x ∨ y denote the larger of the values x and y and x ∧ y denote the
smaller of the values x and y. Suppose that we know v < w < x < y < z.
What is

(((y ∨ z) ∧ v) ∨ ((v ∨ x) ∧ w))) ∧ ((z ∧ y) ∨ (w ∨ y))?

(A) v (B) w* (C) x (D) y (E) z

Solution. First simplify the innermost parentheses,

(((y ∨ z) ∧ v) ∨ ((v ∨ x) ∧ w))) ∧ ((z ∧ y) ∨ (w ∨ y)) = ((z ∧ v) ∨ (x ∧ w)) ∧ (y ∨ y)

Next simplify the new innermost parentheses,

((z ∧ v) ∨ (x ∧ w)) ∧ (y ∨ y) = (v ∨ w) ∧ y = w ∧ y = w.
10. A robot has to move n ft, where n is a positive integer, in a straight
direction. The robot is allowed two types of moves. A Type I move is where
the robot moves 1 ft. A Type II move is where the robot moves 2 ft. Let Rn
be the number of ways the robot can move n ft. Compute R10 .

(A) 45 (B) 68 (C) 88 (D) 89* (E) 90

Solution. Computing directly and using observation we see that R1 = 1,

R2 = 2, R3 = 3, R4 = 5, and R5 = 8. Following this Fibonacci pattern we
get that R10 = 89.

11. Consider the sequence a1 , a2 , . . . , such that a1 = 1 and an = 2an−1 ,

2019
󰁛
for all integers n > 1. Compute the value of (ai+1 − ai ).
i=1

(A) 22019 − 1* (B) 22019 (C) 22020 − 1 (D) 22020 (E) 22021 − 1

Solution. One can observe that

an = 2n−1 .
So our sum becomes
2019
󰁛 2019
󰁛
(ai+1 − ai ) = 2i−1 = 22019 − 1.
i=1 i=1

12. Suppose that you have a deck of n cards numbered 1 through n, with
n at least 3. Shuffle these cards so that the deck is in random
󰀇 󰀈 order. What is
the probability that the card labeled 1 is in the first, or n+1
2
, or n position?
(Here ⌊x⌋ denotes the floor of x, that is, the greatest integer smaller or equal
to x.)
6 27 1 2 3
(A) n!
(B) n3
(C) n
(D) n
(E) n
*

Solution. Since there are n cards, there are n! ways to shuffle them.
The number of shuffles where card one 󰀇 is fixed
󰀈 in the first position is (n − 1)!
Similarly, when card 1 is fixed in the n−1
2
and nth positions. Each of these
probabilities is

(n − 1)! 1
= .
n! n
3
So the probability is n
.
13. The picture below shows an equilateral triangle △SAB of side a which
is an axial cross section of a right circular cone. Find the radius of the sphere
inscribed in the cone.

√
a a a a a 3
(A) √ * (B) √ (C) (D) (E)
2 3 2(1 + 3) 6 4 4

Solution. The shown cross-section is through the center of the sphere, so

it will intersect the sphere in a great-circle. The problem reduces to a plane
geometry fact: find the radius of the inscribed circle in an equilateral triangle
of side a. With trigonometry or by using Pythagorean theorem, the answer
is (A).

14. A class of students took an exam consisting of two problems. 20 students

solved problem 1, 19 students solved problem 2, and the number students that
did not solve any of the two problems is 10 more than the number of students
that solved both problems. Find the number of students in the class.

(A) less than 29 (B) 29 (C) 39 (D) 49* (E) more than 49

Solution. Let A be the set of students that solved problem 1, and B

the set of students that solved problem 2, and x = |A ∩ B c |, y = |B ∩ Ac |,
z = |A ∩ B|, w = |(A ∪ B)c |, where for any set X, X c denotes the complement
of X. Then
x + z = 20, y + z = 19, w = z + 10.
Adding the three equations we have x + y + z + w = 49, which is the number
of students in the class. The answer is (D).

15. Assume that a, x, y > 1. Which of the following expressions equals

logxy a?

logx a
(A) logx a + logy a (B) logx (ay) − logy (ax) (C) *
1 + logx y
logy a logy a
(D) (E)
1 − logx y loga x + logx a
 Solution. Let z = logxy a. Then (xy)z = a. Take the log base x of both
sides of the equation:

logx ((xy)z ) = logx (a) ⇒= z(1 + logx y) = loga x.

logx a
It follows that z = .
1 + logx y

16. Suppose that the function f satisfies the functional identity

f (x) + f (min(x + 1, 7 − 2x)) = x

for every real number x. (The minimum of a and b, min(a, b), equals a when
a is less than or equal to b and equals b when b is less than a.) Find f (2).

(A) 0* (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) −1 (E) −2

Solution. Plugging in x = 1, 2, 3 we see that

f (1) + f (2) = 1 (1)

f (2) + f (3) = 2 (2)
f (3) + f (1) = 3 (3)

The first and third equation imply that f (3) − f (2) = 2. The second equation
now implies that f (3) = 2 and f (2) = 0.

17. Consider a regular pentagon with side lengths 1. Connect the midpoints
of the sides of the pentagon to form another pentagon. What is the ratio of
the area of the smaller pentagon to the area of the larger pentagon?

(A) cos2 (3π/10) (B) sin2 (3π/10)* (C) 1

2
(D) sin2 (3π/5) (E) cos2 (3π/5)

Solution. The interior angles of a regular pentagon are 3π/5. To find the
area of a regular pentagon with side length L, break the pentagon into five
isosceles triangles with angles 3π/10, 3π/10, 2π/5. It follows that the area is
5 2
L tan(3π/10).
4
Now connecting the midpoints of the sides of a regular pentagon will result
in another regular pentagon with side lengths sin(3π/10). It follows that the
ratio of the area of the smaller pentagon to the larger pentagon is
5
sin2 (3π/10) tan(3π/10)
4
5 = sin2 (3π/10).
4
tan(3π/10)
18. Suppose that line L1 and line L2 are perpedicular. Let m1 be the slope
of L1 and let m2 be the slope of line L2 . Suppose that the square of the slope
of line L1 plus eight times the square of the slope of L2 is 6. For the rational
󰀕 󰀖2
1
values of m1 and m2 compute the quantity + 2m22 .
m1
1 3 3 27 17
(A) 2
(B) 4
* (C) 2
(D) 16
(E) 2

−1
Solution. Since L2 and L1 are perpendicular then m2 = m1
. Then the
condition

m21 + 8m22 = 6
becomes

m41 − 6m21 + 8 = 0.
The rational roots of this equation are m1 = 2 and m1 = −2. Using either
of these gives that
󰀕 󰀖2
1 3
+ 2m22 =
m1 4

19. Suppose that x, y, and z are positive real numbers for which x+y+z = 1
z x y
and = = . Find xyz.
x+y y+z x+z

√ √
(A) 1/27* (B) 2/27 (C) 16/81 (D) 3/27 (E) 8/27

Solution. Since the three ratios are equal, notice that the sum of the
three numerators and the sum of the three denominators have the same ratio.
We obtain:
z x y z+x+y 1
= = = = .
x+y y+z x+z x+y+y+z+x+z 2

Hence 2z = x + y and therefore z = 1/3 from the equation x + y = 1 − z. The

symmetry between x, y, and z implies that x = y = 1/3 also, so it follows
that xyz = 1/27.

20. A number N is called a triplet if it can be written in base b as aaab .

Find the sum of all triplets for bases b which satisfy 2 ≤ b ≤ 5. Give your
answer in base 10.

(A) 356 (B) 383 (C) 425 (D) 482* (E) 512
 Solution. We calculate the sum of all triplets as:

󰁛 b−1
5 󰁛 5
󰁛 5
b(b − 1) 2 1󰁛 4
(ab2 + ab + a) = (b + b + 1) = (b − b) =
2 2
b=2 a=1 b=2 b=2

1 4
(2 + 34 + 44 + 54 − 2 − 3 − 4 − 5) = 482.
2

21. A special type of door lock has a panel with three buttons labeled with
the digits 1, 2 and 3. The lock is opened by a sequence of two actions.
Each action consists of either pressing one of the buttons or pressing two of
them simultaneously. For example (12)(3) is a possible combination. Another
possible combination is (1)(2). Note that (12)(3) and (21)(3) are the same
combination, since (12) and (21) refer to pressing at the same time the buttons
1 and 2. How many possible lock combinations are there?

(A) 9 (B) 18 (C) 27 (D) 36* (E) 72

Solution. Let action one be denoted by A1 , where A1 is action of pressing

two buttons simultaneusly. Let A2 be the action where one button is pushed.
So the possible combinations are A1 A1 , A1 A2 , A2 A1 and A2 A2 . There 9
possible combinations for each. Hence, 36 possible combinations.

22. Consider the function f (x) = x1 . For a > 0, denote by L the line with
slope − a12 that intersects f (x) at the single point (a, f (a)). Compute the area
of triangle formed by L and the coordinate axes.
4 1
(A) 4 (B) 2* (C) 1 (D) a
(E) 2a2

Solution. The line described has the equation

−1 2
y=x+ .
a2 a
So our triangle bounded by the curve y = x1 has height 2
a
and base 2a. So the
area is
1 2
(2a)( ) = 2.
2 a
23. In a urn there are 5 red balls, 3 white balls, and 2 black balls. One
randomly chooses n balls from the urn. Find n such that the probability that
among the chosen n balls there is at least one black ball is strictly bigger
8
than .
15
(A) {9, 10} (B) {8, 9, 10} (C) {6, 7, 8, 9, 10} (D) {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}*
(E) any n larger than 2 will do

Solution. Using the interpretation of probability as number of favorable

events over the total number of occurrences, the probability to get at least
one black ball is

C8,n−2 + 2C8,n−1 1 + 2(10−n)

n−1 n(19 − n)
= 90 = .
C10,n n(n−1)
90

Asking this to be strictly larger than 8/15, leads to n ≥ 4, so the answer is

(D).

∠B+∠C
24. Consider a right triangle △ABC, with ∠C = 90◦ and ∠A = 2
.
Denote AC = b and let M be the tangency point of BC with the inscribed
circle. Find BM · M C.

b b √ b2
(A) √ (B) √ (C) 3b2 (D) b2 (E) *
3 1+ 3 2

Solution. First it is clear that ∠A = 60◦ . Denote the radius of the

inscribed circle by √ the formula r · (semi-perimeter) = area triangle,
r. From √
we get r = b/(1 + 3) = b( 3 − 1)/2. In the picture below, we have IM =
IN = IP = r.
Consequently:

BM · M C = BM · IM = Area(BM IN )
= Area(△ABC) − Area(CP IM ) − Area(AN IP )
= Area(△ABC) − 2Area(△AIC)
√ √ √
= b2 3/2 − AC · IP = b2 3/2 − b2 ( 3 − 1)/2 = b2 /2.

So the correct answer is (E).

25. The number 14641 has the property that it is a perfect square when
interpreted in any base b ≥ 7. Assuming b = 7, find the number x such that
x2 = 14641. Here 14641 is written in base 7, but your answer should be given
in base 10.

(A) 8 (B) 50 (C) 64* (D) 101 (E) 121

Solution. 14641 = 1212 and 1217 = 6410 . The answer is (C).

26. A rectangle is divided into various parts by segments with end points
on its sides, with areas of four parts marked, as in the graph below.

Find the area of the part with the question mark “?”.
√
(A) 19 × 20 (B) 19* (C) 19.5 (D) 20 (E) 21

Solution. Starting from the lower-left corner in the counterclockwise

direction we label the points in the graph along the boundary of the rectangle
as A, P, Q, R, B, C, Z, Y, X, D. Then the sum of the areas of triangles AXQ
and QZB is the same as the sum of the areas of triangles ADP , P Y R and
RCB. It follows that 10+? + 10 = 20 + 19, which gives ? = 19. The answer
is (B).
27. How many ordered pairs (a, b) of real numbers are there such that
(2a2 + 1) + (2a2 − 1)i is a solution to the equation x2 − 10x + b2 + 4b + 20 = 0
(where i is the imaginary unit)?

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 4 (D) 6* (E) 8

Solution. There are two cases: (i) 2a2 − 1 = 0. We have two values
for a in this case, and 2a2 + 1 = 2 is a solution to the equation, which gives
b2 + 4b + 4 = 0 and one value for b, so we obtain two pairs of (a, b). (ii)
2a2 − 1 ∕= 0. In this case (2a2 + 1) − (2a2 − 1)i is also a solution to the
equation. So the sum of the two roots must be −(−10)/1 = 10 due to Vieta’s
Theorem, which gives 2a2 + 1 = 5 and two values for a. We further get
2a2 − 1 = 3 and the two roots are 5 ± 3i. Since the product of the two roots
is b2 + 4b + 20, this gives b2 + 4b − 14 = 0 and two values for b. We obtain
4 pairs of (a, b) in this case. So the answer is (D). Note that we don’t really
need to get the actual values of a and b.

28. Let log x represent the common logarithmic function. How many or-
dered 3-tuples (a, b, c) of positive integers are there such that log(a + b + c) =
log a + log b + log c ?

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 6* (D) 24 (E) infinitely many

Solution. We first find (a, b, c) with a ≤ b ≤ c. In this case we have abc =

a + b + c ≤ 3c and then ab ≤ 3. The only possible (a, b) then are (1, 1), (1, 2),
and (1, 3). We can check that only the pair (1, 2) gives a satisfactory value
for c, which is 3. So there is only one solution (1, 2, 3) with a ≤ b ≤ c. There
are 6 permutations of the 3-tuple, which yields the answer (C).

29. What is the probability that all of the spades are next to each other in
an ordinary deck of playing cards?

13! 13! 4 · 13! 4 · 40! 13! · 40!

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) *
40! 52! 52! 52! 52!
Solution. Group all the spades together to form one group. There are 13!
ways of arranging this group. There are 40! ways of arranging the grouping
of the spades and the other cards. Since there are 52! ways of arranging the
deck, the answer is:
13!40!
.
52!

30. A ball is moving inside a rectangle ABCD and is bounced/reflected by

the sides. It starts from the point P0 on AB, and reaches side BC at P1 , then
reaches side CD at P2 , etc, as illustrated in the picture below. (Suppose that
the ball always reaches the interior of the adjacent side for its next bounce.)
The coordinates of A, B, C, D are (0, 0), (18, 0), (18, 12), (0, 12), respectively.
If P0 = (3, 0) and P4 = P0 , find P2019 .

(A) (0, 2)* (B) (0, 10) (C) (3, 12) (D) (15, 12)
(E) different from (A)–(D)

Solution. Let AB = a, BC = b, P0 B = x and ∠P1 P0 B = α. Then

∠P0 P1 B = ∠CP1 P2 = ∠P2 P3 D = ∠AP3 P4 = 90◦ − α and ∠P1 P2 C =
∠P3 P2 D = ∠P3 P4 A = α. Since P4 = P0 , the sequence P0 , P1 , P2 , . . . is
periodic with period 4; so P2019 = P3 . Moreover,

BP1 = x tan α,
CP2 = (b − BP1 ) tan(90◦ − α) = (b − x tan α)/ tan α,
DP3 = (a − CP2 ) tan α = a tan α − b + x tan α,
AP4 = (b − DP3 ) tan(90◦ − α) = (b − DP3 )/ tan α
= (2b − a tan α − x tan α)/ tan α.

By P4 = P0 again, we obtain

a − x = AP4 = (2b − a tan α − x tan α)/ tan α,

which gives tan α = b/a. It follows that the orbit of the ball is a parallelogram
with sides parallel to the diagonals of ABCD. Because P3 A/AP0 = b/a =
12/18 and AP0 = 3, we get P3 A = 2. So the answer is (A).

31. Find the area of the region defined by the set of points
S = {(x, y) : 2019 ≤ max(2|x|, 3|y|) ≤ 2020}.

(The maximum of a and b, max(a, b), equals a when a is greater than or equal
to b and equals b when b is greater than a.)
2
20192
(A) 4(3 · 2020 − 2 · 2019) (B) 23 (20202 − 20192 )* (C) 4( 2020
3
− 2
)
(D) 2 · 20202 − 3 · 20192 (E) 2020·2019
6
 Solution. By symmetry, we only need to consider the area in the first
quadrant where x, y ≥ 0. The portion of this region in the first quadrant can
be written as the union of two rectangles:
2019 2019 2020
{(x, y) : 0 ≤ x ≤ & ≤y≤ }∪
2 3 3
2019 2020 2020
{(x, y) : ≤x≤ &0≤y≤ }.
2 2 3
The areas of these rectangles is
2019 󰀓 2020 2019 󰀔 2020 󰀓 2020 2019 󰀔 1
· − + · − = (2020−2019)(2020+2019).
2 2 3 3 2 3 6
Quadrupling this we see that the area of the region is
2
(20202 − 20192 ).
3

32. There are four large groups of people, each with 1000 members. Any two
of these groups have 100 members in common. Any three have 10 members in
common. And there is one person in all four groups. All together, how many
people are in these groups?

(A) 3221 (B) 3439* (C) 3617 (D) 3659 (E) 3827

Solution. Denote the four groups by A1 , A2 , A3 and A4 . Then we are

trying to find the size of |A1 ∪ A2 ∪ A3 ∪ A4 |. Using the inclusion-exclusion
principle:

|A1 ∪ A2 ∪ A3 ∪ A4 | = 4(1000) − 6(100) + 4(10) − 1.

Hence,

|A1 ∪ A2 ∪ A3 ∪ A4 | = 3439.

33. We say that x0 is a local maximum of a function f : R → R if there

exists an interval I = (x0 −a, x0 +a) centered at x0 such that f (x0 ) ≥ f (x) for
all x ∈ I. Find a condition on the coefficients b and c such that the function
f (x) = | − x2 + bx + c| does not admit a local maximum.

(A) b = 0, no condition on c (B) c = 0, no condition on b

(C) b2 + 4c > 0 (D) b2 + 4c ≤ 0*
(E) f (x) has a local maximum for any choice of b and c

Solution. The condition is that the quadratic function g(x) = −x2 +bx+c
(which opens downwards), has its vertex on the x-axis. We get b2 −4a(−1) ≤ 0
or equivalently b2 + 4c ≤ 0, so the correct answer is (D).
34. Two balls are drawn from an urn containing n balls numbered 1 through
n. Assume n > 1. The first ball is kept if it is numbered 1 and returned
otherwise. What is the probability of the second ball being numbered 2?

2n−1 n2 −n+1
(A) 2n(n−1)
(B) n1 1
(C) n−1 (D) n2 (n−1)
*
(E) different from (A) to (D)

Solution. Using Bayes’ theorem we see

P (2) = P (1)P (2|1) + P (¬1)P (2|¬1).

1 n−1
Note that P (1) = n
, P (¬1) = n
. So, under the rules of drawing the
balls out of the urn,
1
P (2|1) =
n−1
and
1
P (2|¬1) = .
n
Putting this together gives

n2 − n + 1
P (2) = .
n2 (n − 1)

35. If cos θ + sin θ = 1

3
for some angle θ, what is the value of cos3 θ + sin3 θ?
1 5 13 17
(A) 27
(B) 27
(C) 27
* (D) 27
(E) different from (A) to (D)

Solution. Square both sides of cos θ + sin θ = 13 , we obtain

4
cos θ sin θ = − .
9
Then,
13
cos3 θ + sin3 θ = (cos θ + sin θ)3 − 3 cos θ sin θ(cos θ + sin θ) = .
27
The answer is (C).

36. 36 houses are arranged in a square shape with 6 rows and 6 columns.
They are to be painted either red or blue such that no three consecutive houses
in a row are of the same color and no two consecutive houses in a column are
of the same color. How many ways are there to paint these houses?

(A) 246 (B) 24 (C) 266 (D) 26* (E) 28

 Solution. First we observe that a way of painting the houses is uniquely
determined by the painting of the first row of the houses. Now we find the
number of ways to paint the first row that there are three consecutive houses
with the same color. Consider the first appearance of these three houses
from the left: Case 1: The first three houses are of the same color; there are
2 × 23 = 16 choices. Case 2: The 2nd to the 4th houses are of the same color,
the 1st is of a different color; there are 2 × 22 = 8 choices. Case 3: The 3rd
to the 5th houses are of the same color, the 2nd house is of a different color;
there are 2 × 22 = 8 choices. Case 4: The last three houses are of the same
color, the 3rd is of a different color, and the first three houses are not in the
same color ; there are 2 × 3 = 6 choices. Overall there are 38 choices if there
are three consecutive houses with the same color. Because 64 − 38 = 26, the
answer is (D).

37. Given a square ABCD with side length 1 and a point E on the side
AB, let O1 be the circle that is tangent to the segments EB, BC, CE, and let
O2 be the circle that is tangent to the segments CD, DA, CE, as illustrated
in the picture below.

1
If the radius of the circle O1 is 4
, find the radius of the circle O2 .

1 1 2 1
√ 3
√
(A) 4
(B) 3
* (C) 5
(D) 4
(7 − 4 2) (E) 4
( 2 − 1)

Solution. Let the lines CE and DA intersect at F , and BE = x. Suppose

that circle O1 is tangent to BC, BE, EC at P , Q, R, respectively. Then
BP = BQ = 1/4 because P O1 QB is a square; then P C = 1 − 1/4 = 3/4,
QE = x − 1/4. Then EC = ER + CR = EQ + CP = x − 1/4 + 3/4 = x + 1/2.
Using CE 2 = EB 2 + BC 2 , we obtain (x + 1/2)2 = x2 + 12 , which derives
x = 3/4. Because △CDF ∼ EBC, the ratio of the radius of circle O2 to the
radius of circle O1 is CD/EB = 1/(3/4) = 4/3. Then the radius of circle O2
is (4/3)(1/4) = 1/3. The answer is (B).
38. Solve the equation
π
3 sin−1 x + 2 cos−1 x + tan−1 x = .
2
󰁴 √ 󰁴 √ 󰁴 √
−1+ 3 −1+ 3
(A) 4
(B) − 4
(C) − 1+2 5
󰁴 √ 󰁴 √
−1+ 5 −1+ 5
(D) 2
(E) − 2
*

Solution. The co-function identity implies that 2 sin−1 x + 2 cos−1 x = π,

so the equation becomes
π
sin−1 x + tan−1 x = − .
2
Take the cosine of this equation to get

cos(sin−1 x) cos(tan−1 x) − sin(sin−1 x) sin(tan−1 x) = 0.

󰁳 1 x
1 − x2 √ − x√ =0
x2 + 1 x2 + 1
󰁳
1 − x2 − x2 = 0.
x4 + x2 − 1 = 0.
It follows that
󰁶
√ √ √
2 −1 ± 5 2 −1 + 5 −1 + 5
x = ⇒ x = ⇒ x=± .
2 2 2

The positive root is extraneous, since sin−1 x + tan−1 x is negative. It follows

that 󰁶
√
−1 + 5
x=x=− .
2

39. Consider the equation 2019 = 3m − p · 3n , with variables m, n, and p

counting numbers. Find the smallest value of m that appears in a solution
(m, n, p) of this equation.

(A) 5 (B) 6 (C) 7* (D) 8 (E) 10

Solution. Start with the factorization 2019 = 3 · 673. After simplifying

with 3, we are left to solving the equation 673 = 3m−1 − p · 3n−1 . As the right-
hand-side contains a subtraction, the requested value is the smallest value m
such that 3m−1 is bigger than 673, which is m − 1 = 6. The answer is (C).
40. The equation x3 + px + q = 0 has real roots x1 , x2 and x3 satisfying
arctan(x1 ) + arctan(x2 ) = arctan(x3 ). Assuming that x3 ∕= 0, find x3 .

q2 √ q p q
(A) 2 − −p (B) 2 2 − p (C) − (D) − (E) − *
4 1+p 2 2

Solution. Notice first that x1 + x2 + x3 = 0. Apply the tangent function

to the given equality to get:
x1 + x2
= x3 = −(x1 + x2 ).
1 − x1 x2
This can be further written:
󰀗 󰀘
1
(x1 + x2 ) 1 + = 0.
1 − x1 x2

Or x1 x2 = 2. Combined with x1 x2 x3 = −q, we get the answer (E).

 The Michigan Mathematics Prize Competition is an activity of the
Michigan Section of the Mathematical Association of America.

MMPC CO-DIRECTORS
Andy Poe
Daniel Rowe
Northern Michigan University

MICHIGAN SECTION EXAMINATION

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE
Chair Chair
Nancy Colwell, SVSU Dorin Dumitrascu
Adrian College
Vice Chairs
Amy Shell-Gellasch, EMU Bingwu Wang
Sang Lee, Grand Rapids CC EMU

Secretary-Treasurer Lazaros Kikas

Ken Schilling, UM Flint University of Detroit Mercy

Past Chair Mike Dabkowski

Victor Piercey, Ferris State UM Dearborn

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

• The Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals

has placed this competition on the Approved List of Michi-
gan Contests and Activities.
• We wish to thank Northern Michigan University for its sup-
port in hosting the competition.
• We wish to thank Albion College for hosting the MMPC
grading day.