SECONDARY 3 SET 1

LOGICAL THINKING
5−2𝑥
1. How many integral solution(s) is/are there for 𝑥 if −7 < 3 ≤ 5?
2. According to the pattern shown below, what is the number in the blank?
2,8,20,38,62,92, __, …
3. There are 448 balls. Anne and Ben need to pick 3 to 7 balls by turns. The person picking up the last
ball will be the winner. Anne is picking the ball in the first turn. If she can add balls before the game
start, at least how many ball(s) does she need to add to ensure her victory?
4. Given that 𝐴: 𝐵 = 4: 5, 𝐵: 𝐶 = 3: 7, 𝐶: 𝐷 = 1: 6, and 𝐴 + 𝐵 + 𝐶 + 𝐷 = 8432, what is the value of 𝐵?
5. There are 29 pieces of red socks, 16 pieces of white socks and 20 pieces of blue socks in the box. If
you want to get 3 pairs of socks that are not white colour and 4 pairs of socks that are not red colour,
at least how many piece(s) of sock(s) is / are needed to be drawn?

ALGEBRA
6. Find the minimum value of 4𝑥 2 + 32𝑥 + 42.
8
7. If 𝑥 > 0 and 𝑥 = 2 − 2 , find the value of 𝑥.
3+ 8
2− 2
3+
2−⋯
8. Given that 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 and 𝑓(−2) = 37, 𝑓(−1) = 21 and 𝑓(3) = 17, find 𝑓(1).
9. Factor 𝑥 2 − 21𝑦 2 − 4𝑥𝑦 + 4𝑥 + 12𝑦.
10. If 𝑥 4 + 𝑚𝑥 3 − 14𝑥 2 + 𝑛𝑥 + 8 is divisible by 𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 + 4, find 𝑚𝑛.

NUMBER THEORY
11. Find the remainder when 3367 is divided by 17.
12. If 3𝑥 ≡ 7 𝑚𝑜𝑑 11, find the minimum value of 3-digit even number 𝑥.
13. There is a number 𝑛, such that adding 28 or subtracting 29 can result to a square number. Find the
smallest value of 𝑛.
14. Now is Sunday. Which day of the week will it be after 55237 days?
42
15. Given 𝑥 is a real number, find the maximum of √𝑥 2 .
+22𝑥+157
GEOMETRY
16. An interior angle of an 𝑛-sided regular polygon is (13𝑛 + 23)°. Find the value of 𝑛.
2
17. Find the area of the region enclosed by the 𝑥-axis, 𝑦-axis and the straight line 𝑥 = 14 − 9 𝑦.
18. If the area of a triangle with side lengths 7,18 and 23 is 𝑛√17, find the value of 𝑛.
20
19. It is known that 𝑥 is an acute angle and satisfies cos 𝑥 = 29. Find the value of 29 sin 𝑥 + 40 tan 𝑥.
20. Find the shortest distance from 8𝑦 = 15𝑥 − 11 to 16𝑦 = 30𝑥 − 35.

COMBINATORICS
21. There are 3 identical black balls, 5 identical white balls and 5 identical red balls are put from left to
right. How many way(s) of arrangement is / are there?
22. Andrea draws 4 balls randomly from a bag with 5 black balls and 7 white balls. Find the probability
that at least 2 white balls are drawn.
23. 35 cards are marked from 11 to 45 and 2 cards are drawn at random. Find the probability that one
card drawn is a multiple of 4 and another one is a multiple of 9.
24. How many 4-digit numbers such that the sum of the digits is 9?
25. There are 4 balls in a box including 3 black balls and 1 white ball. Also, 1 black ball is added every 5
seconds (0:05, 0:10, 0:15, … , 1:00). At 24 and 48 seconds, 1 white ball will be added into the box. If
it needs to wait 15 seconds after each draw, find the maximum value of the probability to draw the
white ball within 1 minute.
 SECONDARY 3 SET 1
Solution Manual

LOGICAL THINKING
5−2𝑥
1. How many integral solution(s) is/are there for 𝑥 if −7 < 3 ≤ 5?
Answer: 18
Solution:
5 − 2𝑥
−7 < ≤5
3
−21 < 5 − 2𝑥 ≤ 15
−26 < −2𝑥 ≤ 10
−5 ≤ 𝑥 < 13
We have 18 integral solutions.

2. According to the pattern shown below, what is the number in the blank?
2,8,20,38,62,92, __, …
Answer: 128
Solution:
2+6=8
8 + 12 = 20
20 + 18 = 38
38 + 24 = 62
62 + 30 = 92
92 + 36 = 128

3. There are 448 balls. Anne and Ben need to pick 3 to 7 balls by turns. The person picking up the last
ball will be the winner. Anne is picking the ball in the first turn. If she can add balls before the game
start, at least how many ball(s) does she need to add to ensure her victory?
Answer: 5
Solution:
3 + 7 = 10
448 ÷ 10 = 44 𝑟. 8
Since 8 is greater than the maximum pick, which is 7, then we must create another pair adding up
to 10 and then add the minimum pick, that is
(10 − 8) + 3 = 5.
 4. Given that 𝐴: 𝐵 = 4: 5, 𝐵: 𝐶 = 3: 7, 𝐶: 𝐷 = 1: 6, and 𝐴 + 𝐵 + 𝐶 + 𝐷 = 8432, what is the value of 𝐵?
Answer: 465
Solution:
Establish the whole ratio 𝐴: 𝐵: 𝐶: 𝐷.
𝐴: 𝐵: 𝐶 = 4(3): 𝐿𝐶𝑀(5,3): 5(7) = 12: 15: 35
𝐴: 𝐵: 𝐶: 𝐷 = 12: 15: 𝐿𝐶𝑀(35,1): 6(35) = 12: 15: 35: 210
We have
8432
× 15 = 465.
12 + 15 + 35 + 210

5. There are 29 pieces of red socks, 16 pieces of white socks and 20 pieces of blue socks in the box. If
you want to get 3 pairs of socks that are not white colour and 4 pairs of socks that are not red colour,
at least how many piece(s) of sock(s) is / are needed to be drawn?
Answer: 38
Solution:
29 𝑅𝑒𝑑 + 7 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑟 7 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒 + 2 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑟 2 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 = 38

ALGEBRA
6. Find the minimum value of 4𝑥 2 + 32𝑥 + 42.
Answer: −22
Solution:
4(𝑥 2 + 8𝑥) + 42
= 4(𝑥 2 + 8𝑥 + 16) + 42 − 4(16)
= 4(𝑥 + 4)2 − 22
We attain the minimum when 𝑥 = −4.
4(0)2 − 22 = −22.
8
7. If 𝑥 > 0 and 𝑥 = 2 − 2 , find the value of 𝑥.
3+ 8
2− 2
3+
2−⋯
2
Answer: 3
Solution:
8
𝑥 = 2−
2
3+𝑥
8𝑥
𝑥 =2−
3𝑥 + 2
3𝑥 2 + 2𝑥 = 6𝑥 + 4 − 8𝑥
3𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 − 4 = 0
(3𝑥 − 2)(𝑥 + 2) = 0
2
𝑥=
3
8. Given that 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 and 𝑓(−2) = 37, 𝑓(−1) = 21 and 𝑓(3) = 17, find 𝑓(1).
Answer: 7
Solution:
Let 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝐴 + 𝐵(𝑥 + 2) + 𝐶(𝑥 + 2)(𝑥 + 1).
When 𝑥 = −2,
𝑓(−2) = 𝐴 + 0 + 0 = 𝐴 = 37.
When 𝑥 = −1,
𝑓(−1) = 𝐴 + 𝐵(−1 + 2) + 0 = 37 + 𝐵 = 21
𝐵 = 21 − 37 = −16.
When 𝑥 = 3,
𝑓(3) = 𝐴 + 𝐵(3 + 2) + 𝐶(3 + 2)(3 + 1) = 37 + 5(−16) + 20𝐶 = 17
20𝐶 = 17 − 37 + 80
𝐶 = 3.
Hence,
𝑓(𝑥) = 37 − 16(𝑥 + 2) + 3(𝑥 + 2)(𝑥 + 1).
Therefore,
𝑓(1) = 37 − 16(1 + 2) + 3(1 + 2)(1 + 1) = 37 − 48 + 18 = 7.

9. Factor 𝑥 2 − 21𝑦 2 − 4𝑥𝑦 + 4𝑥 + 12𝑦.

Answer: (𝑥 + 3𝑦)(𝑥 − 7𝑦 + 4) 𝑜𝑟 (𝑥 − 7𝑦 + 4)(𝑥 + 3𝑦)
Solution:
(𝑥 2 − 4𝑥𝑦 − 21𝑦 2 ) + 4𝑥 + 12𝑦
= (𝑥 + 3𝑦)(𝑥 − 7𝑦) + 4(𝑥 + 3𝑦)
= (𝑥 + 3𝑦)(𝑥 − 7𝑦 + 4) 𝑜𝑟 (𝑥 − 7𝑦 + 4)(𝑥 + 3𝑦)

10. If 𝑥 4 + 𝑚𝑥 3 − 14𝑥 2 + 𝑛𝑥 + 8 is divisible by 𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 + 4, find 𝑚𝑛.

Answer: −6
Solution:
Note that 𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 + 4 = (𝑥 − 1)(𝑥 − 4).
By factor theorem, we have
14 + (𝑚)(1)3 − 14(1)2 + (𝑛)(1) + 8 = 𝑚 + 𝑛 − 5 = 0
and
(4)4 + (𝑚)(4)3 − 14(4)2 + (𝑛)(4) + 8 = 64𝑚 + 4𝑛 + 40 = 0.
Now, we try to eliminate 𝑛 by multiplying 𝑚 + 𝑛 − 5 = 0 by −4 and adding it to 64𝑚 + 4𝑛 + 40 =
0.
We have
64𝑚 + 4𝑛 + 40 + (−4𝑚 − 4𝑛 + 20) = 0
60𝑚 = −60
𝑚 = −1.
When 𝑚 = −1,
−1 + 𝑛 − 5 = 0
𝑛 = 6.
Hence,
𝑚𝑛 = (−1)(6) = −6.
NUMBER THEORY
11. Find the remainder when 3367 is divided by 17.
Answer: 16
Solution:
33 ≡ −1 𝑚𝑜𝑑 17
67
(−1) ≡ −1 ≡ 16 𝑚𝑜𝑑 17

12. If 3𝑥 ≡ 7 𝑚𝑜𝑑 11, find the minimum value of 3-digit even number 𝑥.
Answer: 116
Solution:
3𝑥 ≡ 7 𝑚𝑜𝑑 11
3𝑥 ≡ 18 𝑚𝑜𝑑 11
𝑥 ≡ 6 𝑚𝑜𝑑 11
𝑥 = 11𝑘 + 6, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟
Now,
𝑥 = 11𝑘 + 6 ≥ 100
11𝑘 ≥ 94
94 6
𝑘≥ 𝑜𝑟 8 .
11 11
In order for 𝑥 to be even, 𝑘 must also be even.
Hence, when 𝑘 = 10,
𝑥 = 11(10) + 6 = 116.

13. There is a number 𝑛, such that adding 28 or subtracting 29 can result to a square number. Find the
smallest value of 𝑛.
Answer: 93
Solution:
𝑛 + 28 = 𝑥 2
𝑛 − 29 = 𝑦 2
57 = 𝑥 2 − 𝑦 2
57 = (𝑥 + 𝑦)(𝑥 − 𝑦)
We have
𝑥 = 11, 𝑦 = 8
𝑥 = 29, 𝑦 = 28.
Hence, we have
𝑛 + 28 = 112
𝑛 = 121 − 28 = 93.

14. Now is Sunday. Which day of the week will it be after 55237 days?
Answer: Saturday
Solution:
55 ≡ 6 ≡ −1 𝑚𝑜𝑑 7
55237 ≡ (−1)237 ≡ −1 ≡ 6 𝑚𝑜𝑑 7
Hence, we have Saturday, 6 days after Sunday or 1 day before Sunday.
 42
15. Given 𝑥 is a real number, find the maximum of √𝑥 2 .
+22𝑥+157
Answer: 7
Solution:
42 42
=
√𝑥 2 + 22𝑥 + 121 + 36 √(𝑥 + 11)2 + 36
We attain maximum when denominator is minimum, that is when 𝑥 = −11.
Hence,
42 42
= = 7.
√36 6

GEOMETRY
16. An interior angle of an 𝑛-sided regular polygon is (13𝑛 + 23)°. Find the value of 𝑛.
Answer: 9
Solution:
180(𝑛 − 2)
= 13𝑛 + 23
𝑛
180𝑛 − 360 = 13𝑛2 + 23𝑛
13𝑛2 − 157𝑛 + 360 = 0
(13𝑛 − 40)(𝑛 − 9) = 0
40
𝑛= ,9
13
40
Reject 𝑛 = 13 since it is not an integer.
Hence, we have 𝑛 = 9.
2
17. Find the area of the region enclosed by the 𝑥-axis, 𝑦-axis and the straight line 𝑥 = 14 − 𝑦.
9
Answer: 441
Solution:
2
Getting the intercepts of 𝑥 = 14 − 9 𝑦, we have
2
𝑥 − 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡: 𝑥 = 14 − (0) = 14 𝑜𝑟 (14,0)
9
2
𝑦 − 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡: 0 = 14 − 𝑦 => 𝑦 = 63 𝑜𝑟 (0,63)
9
The region is a right triangle with side lengths 14 and 63.
Hence, the area is
1
𝐴 = × 14 × 63 = 441.
2

18. If the area of a triangle with side lengths 7,18 and 23 is 𝑛√17, find the value of 𝑛.
Answer: 12
Solution:
7 + 18 + 23
𝑠= = 24
2
Using Heron’s Formula,
𝐴 = √24(24 − 7)(24 − 18)(24 − 23)
𝐴 = √24(17)(6)(1) = 2(6)√17 = 12√17.
Hence, 𝑛 = 12.
 20
19. It is known that 𝑥 is an acute angle and satisfies cos 𝑥 = 29. Find the value of 29 sin 𝑥 + 40 tan 𝑥.
Answer: 63
Solution:
sin2 𝑥 + cos 2 𝑥 = 1
2
20 2
sin 𝑥 = 1 − ( )
29
441 21
sin 𝑥 = √ =
841 29
We have
29 sin 𝑥 + 40 tan 𝑥
21
21
= 29 ( ) + 40 ( 29 )
29 20
29
21
= 21 + 40 ( )
20
= 21 + 42
= 63.

20. Find the shortest distance from 8𝑦 = 15𝑥 − 11 to 16𝑦 = 30𝑥 − 35.
13
Answer: 34
Solution:
15𝑥 − 8𝑦 − 11 = 0
35
30𝑥 − 16𝑦 − 35 = 0 => 15𝑥 − 8𝑦 − =0
2
This shows that the two lines are parallel.
We have
35 13
|− 2 − (−11)| 13 1 13
𝑑= = 2 = ( )= .
√152 + (−8)2 √172 2 17 34

COMBINATORICS
21. There are 3 identical black balls, 5 identical white balls and 5 identical red balls are put from left to
right. How many way(s) of arrangement is / are there?
Answer: 72072
Solution:
(3 + 5 + 5)!
3! 5! 5!
13!
=
3! 5! 5!
= 72072
22. Andrea draws 4 balls randomly from a bag with 5 black balls and 7 white balls. Find the probability
that at least 2 white balls are drawn.
28
Answer:
33
Solution:
𝑃(𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 2 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒) = 1 − (𝑃(0 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒) + 𝑃(1 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒))
(70)(54) (71)(53)
= 1 − ( 12 + 12 )
(4) (4)
1(5) 7(10)
= 1−( + )
495 495
75
=1−
495
5
= 1−
33
28
=
33

23. 35 cards are marked from 11 to 45 and 2 cards are drawn at random. Find the probability that one
card drawn is a multiple of 4 and another one is a multiple of 9.
1
Answer: 17
Solution:
There are nine multiples of 4 and four multiples of 9 from 11 to 45.
There is only one multiple of 4 and 9, which is 36.
Case 1: (if 36 is drawn)
We have eight multiples of 4 and three multiples of 9 left. We then have to pair 36 with any of
them to satisfy the condition, hence having 11 ways.
Case 2: (if 36 is not drawn)
The remaining 11 cards (eight multiples of 4 and three multiples of 9 left) can be paired with each
other, resulting to 24 ways.
Hence, we have
11 + 24
(35
2
)
35
=
35(34)
2
1
= .
17

24. How many 4-digit numbers such that the sum of the digits is 9?
Answer: 165
Solution:
Using stars and bars to count the total number of combinations of four numbers from 0 to 9 that
adds up to 9, we have
9+4−1
( )
4−1
12
=( )
3
= 220.
Note that the first digit can’t be 0.
Hence, we must subtract (12 3
) or 220 by the number of combinations where the first digit is 0.
 Therefore, we have
9 + (4 − 1) − 1
220 − ( )
(4 − 1) − 1
11
= 220 − ( )
2
= 220 − 55
= 165.

25. There are 4 balls in a box including 3 black balls and 1 white ball. Also, 1 black ball is added every 5
seconds (0:05, 0:10, 0:15, … , 1:00). At 24 and 48 seconds, 1 white ball will be added into the box. If
it needs to wait 15 seconds after each draw, find the maximum value of the probability to draw the
white ball within 1 minute.
11
Answer: 16
Solution:
We need to find the probability such that for each draw, we just get black balls.
(Denote 𝐵 for black and 𝑊 for white)
0𝑠 15 𝑠 30 𝑠 45 𝑠 60 𝑠
3𝐵 (3 − 1) + 3 (5 − 1) + 3 (7 − 1) + 3 (9 − 1) + 3
= 5𝐵 =7𝐵 = 9𝐵 = 11 𝐵

1𝑊 1𝑊 (1 + 1) 2𝑊 (2 + 1)
= 2𝑊 =3𝑊
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 3 5 7 9 11
4 6 9 11 14
Hence,
𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 1 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒
3 5 7 9 11
=1−( × × × × )
4 6 9 11 14
5
= 1−
16
11
= .
16