2023 Old Mutual Mathematics Olympiad

Mzuzu University
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Semi-final Examination

Sunday, 5th March 2023 Time Allowed : 1 21 hrs (09:30 - 11:00 hrs)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Write your name, name of your school and age in the spaces provided
below, and tick your gender.
2. Attempt all questions.
3. Check that the paper has 25 questions.
4. There is a small empty box at the end of each question. Write the letter
corresponding to the correct answer in the box.
Example: Who was the first president of Malawi?
A. Joyce Banda B. Bingu wa Mutharika C. Bakili Muluzi D. Kamuzu
Banda E. Peter Mutharika D
(The correct answer is D. So you write D in the box as shown.)
5. Use pencil or a pen to write your answers.
6. An answer written outside the box will be marked incorrect.
7. You are not allowed to draw another box in which to insert your answer
if you spoil the given box.
8. Do not use a calculator.
9. 3 marks will be awarded for a correct answer, 1 mark will be deducted
for a wrong answer and no mark will be given for a blank space.
10. You will be disqualified if you engage in any form of cheating.

Candidate’s Name :

Name of School :

Age :

Female Male
 2023 Old Mutual Mathematics Olympiad
√
1. Solve the equation x2 − 4x + 13 + 1 = 2x.
A. x = −2 or x = 2 B. −2 C. 2 D. x = −3 or x = 3 E. 3
2. Students from Mrs. Hein’s class are standing in a circle. They are evenly spaced
and consecutively numbered starting with 1. The student with number 3 is standing
directly across from the student with number 17. How many students are there in
Ms. Hein’s class?
A. 28 B. 29 C. 30 D. 31 E. 32
3. If log8 10 = X, evaluate log8 5 in terms of X.
1 1 1 1 1
A. X + 3
B. X − 4
C. X − 3
D. X − 2
E. 3
X
4. A measuring cylinder of radius 3.5 cm contains water to a height of 56 cm. If this
water is poured into a similar cylinder of radius 14 cm, what will be the height of the
water column?
A. 14 cm B. 7.5 cm C. 5.3 cm D. 3.5 cm E. 1.75 cm
5. The total weight of a box containing 20 plates and 30 cups is 4.8 kg. The total weight
of the box containing 40 plates and 50 cups is 8.4 kg. What is the total weight of the
box containing 10 plates and 20 cups?
A. 3 kg B. 3.2 kg C. 3.6 kg D. 4 kg E. 4.2 kg
6. The angles of a quadrilateral are in the ratio 3:4:5:6. What is the difference between
the largest angle and smallest angle?
A. 30◦ B. 40◦ C. 50◦ D. 60◦ E. 70◦
7. Two brothers and three sisters form a single line for a photograph. The two boys
refuse to stand next to each other. How many different line-ups are possible?
A. 24 B. 36 C. 60 D. 72 E. 120
8. How many 2-digit squares have the property that the product of their digits is also
a square?
A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3 E. 4
9. For certain values of x, the list x, x + 6 and x2 contains just 2 different numbers.
How many such values of x are there?
A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 5
10. The shadow of a tower standing on a level ground is found to be 40 m longer when
sun’s altitude is 30◦ than when it was 60◦ . What is the height of the tower?
√ √ √ √ √
A. 15 3 m B. 20 3 m C. 22 3 m D. 18 3 m E. 21 3 m
11. Find all possible values of x such that
2 −4x+1)
(2x2 − 11x + 6)(4x =1

A. 0.5 and 3 B. 0.5 and 4 C. 0.5 and 5 D. 3 and 4 E. 3 and 5

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 2023 Old Mutual Mathematics Olympiad

12. The diagram shows a shaded semicircle of diameter 4, from which a smaller semicircle
has been removed. The two semicircles touch at exactly three points. What fraction
of the larger semicircle is shaded?

Figure 1

√ √
2 1 2 2 3
A. B. C. D. E.
3 2 3 2 4

13. Given that 2017 is a prime number, how many positive integers m are there such
that m2 + 2017 is a perfect square?
A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 6
14. Two real numbers a and b satisfy the equations 3a = 81b+2 and 125b = 5a−3 . What
is ab?
A. -16 B. -17 C. 9 D. 12 E. 60
15. If the points (5, 7), (3, p) and (6, 6) lie on the same line, what is the value of p?
A. 3 B. 5 C. 6 D. 9 E. 12
16. Two squares are drawn inside a regular hexagon with side-length 2, as shown. What
is the area of the overlap of the two squares?

Figure 2
√ √ √ √
A. 2 B. 2 − 3 C. 4 − 3 D. 4 − 2 3 E. 8 − 4 3
17. What is quarter of 82023 ?
2023
A. 8 4 B. 22023 C. 26067 D. 26069 E. 44045
18. The hare and the tortoise had a race over a distance of 200 m, in which both main-
tained constant speeds. When the hare reached the finish line, it was 150 m in front
of the tortoise. The hare immediately turned around and ran back towards the start
line. How far from the finish line did the hare and the tortoise meet?
A. 87.5 m B. 108 m C. 112.5 m D. 120 m E. 144 m

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 2023 Old Mutual Mathematics Olympiad

19. There are fewer than 50 students in a Mathematics Olympiad club. Half of them play
soccer, one third play chess and one seventh play hockey. How many of the students
play hockey?
A. 6 B. 7 C. 21 D. 42 E. 49
20. A semicircle is drawn on each side of a square, as shown. The square has sides of
length 2π. What is the area of the resulting shape?

Figure 3

A. 2π 2 (π + 1) B. π 2 (π + 2) C. 2π 2 (π + 4) D. π 2 (π + 4) E. 2π 2 (π + 2)
21. Which digit is the mode in the answer to 987654321 × 99999999?
A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 7 E. 9
1
22. How many real numbers, x, satisfy the equation 2
(20232023−x ) + 21 (20232023+x ) =
20232023 ?
A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 202 E. 2023
23. Mohit was looking for his father. He went 90 metres in the East before turning to
his right. He went 20 metres before turning to his right again to look for his father
at his uncle’s place 30 metres from this point. His father was not there. From here
he went 100 metres to the North before meeting his father in a street. How far did
the son meet his father from the starting point?
A. 80 metres B. 100 metres C. 150 metres D. 160 metres
E. 180 metres
24. What is the sum of all real numbers x for which the median of the numbers 4, 6, 8,
17, and x is equal to the mean of those five numbers?
15 35
A. -5 B. 0 C. 4
D. 4
E. 5
25. A page is selected at random from a book. The probability that the digit at units
(or ones) place of the page number chosen is less than 7 is
1 7 5 3 7
A. B. C. D. E.
3 9 10 10 10

END OF QUESTIONS

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