KSF 2021 – finalized problems Junior

PROBLEMS WITH SOLUTIONS

3 points

# 1. Each year, the third Thursday in March is named Kangaroo Day. The dates of Kangaroo Day
for the next few years are shown below, with one error. Which date is wrong?
(A) 2022 17 March (B) 2023 16 March (C) 2024 14 March (D) 2025 20 March (E) 2026 19 March

Solution: (C) is wrong because it’s the second Thursday of March 2024.

# 2. Jenny looks at her weather app that shows the predicted weather and maximum tempera-
tures for the next five days. Which of the following represents the corresponding graph of maximum
temperatures?

−1 ◦ C −2 ◦ C 0 ◦ C 6 ◦ C 2 ◦ C
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
b b b

b
b b

b b b
b b b
b b b
(A) (B) (C)
b b

b b

b b
b b
b b
(D) (E)

Solution: 4th day is the warmest, only (B) or (D) could be right. 2nd day is the coldest, (B) is the
solution.

# 3. A park is shaped like an equilateral triangle. A cat wants to walk along one of the three
indicated paths (thicker lines) from the upper corner to the lower right corner. The lengths of the
paths are P, Q and R, as shown. Which of the following statements about the lengths of the pathes
is true?

P Q R
(A) P < Q < R (B) P < R < Q (C) P < Q = R (D) P = R < Q (E) P = Q = R

Solution: The parts of the path on the edges of the equilateral triangles are equal in all cases, so
we only need to compare the internal part of the paths. Let the internal parts of the path have lengths
x, y, z. As clearly x ¡ y ¡ z, we have x+y ¡ x+z ¡ y+z, from which it follows P ¡ R ¡ Q.

x x
y y
z z
P Q R

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 KSF 2021 – finalized problems Junior

# 4. Six rectangles are arranged as shown. The top left-hand rectangle has height 6 cm. The
numbers within the rectangles indicate their areas in cm2 . What is the height of the bottom right-
hand rectangle?

32 48
6 18

12 16 30 ?

(A) 4 cm (B) 5 cm (C) 6 cm (D) 7.5 cm (E) 10 cm

Solution: The width of the top left rectangle is 18:6=3 cm, so the bottom left rectangle also has
width 3 cm so its height is 12:3=4cm. Now we look at the second column and work in a similar manner
starting from the bottom rectangle. In the end we can calculate all heights and widths.

# 5. The halftime score of a handball match was 9 : 14, thus the visiting team was leading by five
goals. As a consequence of coach instructions received at halftime, the home team dominated in the
second half and scored twice as many goals as their opponents. The home team won the match by
one goal. What was the final score of the match?
(A) 20 : 19 (B) 21 : 20 (C) 22 : 21 (D) 23 : 22 (E) 24 : 23

Solution: The home team has 5 goals less at haftime. To be better in the end it needs 6 goals more
and so the score of the second half must have been 12 : 6. 21 : 20 is the final score of the match.

# 6. Six congruent rhombuses, each of area 5 cm2 , form a star. The tips of the star are joined to
draw a regular hexagon, as shown. What is the area of the hexagon?

5
5 5
5 5
5

(A) 36 cm2 (B) 40 cm2 (C) 45 cm2 (D) 48 cm2 (E) 60 cm2

Solution: The hexagon can be divided into 18 congruent triangles.

Each triangle has an area of 2.5 cm2 , and so the whole area is 18 · 2.5 cm2 = 45 cm2 .

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To proof the congruence one can use that each of the original rhombuses has angles of 60, 120, 60
and 120. They are congruent to each other and they all meet in the centre of the circle. The triangles
representing half of a rhombus have angles of 30, 30 and 120. So the white triangle have 120 as biggest
angle too and they are congruent to them because of SAS (Side-Angle-Side congruence).

# 7. In a jazz band, Giuseppe plays the saxophone, Sergio plays the trumpet, and Eliana sings.
They are all the same age. There are three more members of the jazz band, who are 19, 20 and 21
years old respectively. The average age of the jazz band is 21. How old is Eliana?
(A) 20 (B) 21 (C) 22 (D) 23 (E) 24

Solution: 3x + 19 + 20 + 21 = 6 · 21 ⇔ 3x + 60 = 126 ⇔ 3x = 66 ⇔ x = 22

# 8. A rectangle with perimeter 30 cm is divided into four parts by a vertical line and a horizontal
line. One of the parts is a square of area 9 cm2 , as shown in the figure. What is the perimeter of
rectangle ABCD?

9 cm2

D C

A B
(A) 14 cm (B) 16 cm (C) 18 cm (D) 21 cm (E) 24 cm

Solution: The perimeter of the square plus the perimeter of rectangle ABCD is the perimeter
of the orginal rectangle. Perimeter of the square is 12 cm, so rectangle ABCD has a perimeter of
30 cm − 12 cm = 18 cm.

# 9. Ally drew three triangles on a grid. Exactly two of them have the same area, exactly two of
them are isosceles, and exactly two are right-angled triangles. Two of the triangles are shown. Which
could be the third one?

(A) (B) (C)

(D) (E)

Solution: Since the two triangles shown are right-angled triangles, their areas are 10 and 8 and
only one is isosceles, we are looking for an isosceles, non right-angled triangle of area 8 or 10. Triangle
(A) is not isosceles, triangle (B) is too small, triangle (C) has area 12 and triangle (E) is a right-angled
triangle. So (D) is the only possible solution as it is an isosceles not right-angled triangle of area 8.

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# 10. The little kangaroo has chosen a special number. She gets the same result when she subtracts
1 1
10 from her number as she does when she multiplies it by 10 . What is her number?
1 1 1 11 1
(A) 100 (B) 11 (C) 10 (D) 100 (E) 9

1 1 1
Solution: x − 10 =x· 10 ⇔ 10x − 1 = x ⇔ 9x = 1 ⇔ x = 9

4 points

# 11. Tom had ten sparklers of the same size. He lit one first. When only a tenth of it remained,
he lit the second one. When only a tenth of that remained, he lit the third one, and so on. Sparklers
burn at the same speed along their entire length. One sparkler will burn in 2 minutes. How long did
it take for all 10 sparklers to burn down?
(A) 18 min 20 sec (B) 18 min 12 sec (C) 18 min (D) 17 min (E) 16 min 40 sec

Solution: Each sparkler burns 2 minutes or 120 seconds respectively. 9 times an amount of 12
seconds is saved. 10 times 2 minutes minus 9 times 12 seconds is equal to 9 times 2 minutes plus 12
seconds, (B) is correct.

# 12. Ahmad walks up 8 steps going up either 1 or 2 steps at a time. There is a hole on the 6th
step, so he cannot use this step. In how many different ways can Ahmad reach the top step?
(A) 6 (B) 7 (C) 8 (D) 9 (E) 10

Solution: There is only one way to move from step 5 to 7 (with 2 steps) and only one way to
move from step 7 to 8 (with 1 step). Therefore, the number of different ways to reach step 8 equals
the number of ways to reach step 5 in this scenario. The step 5 can be reached in 3 ways with two 2
steps, in 4 ways, with one 2 steps, and in 1 way with zero 2 steps. There are 8 ways in total. Another
solution avoiding combinatoric count of all cases: To reach a step (except the first one) we either go
one ahead from the previous one or two ahead from the step two steps behind. Total ways to a step
(except the first) is the sum of the ways to reach the previous one or the one two steps behind. So the
number of steps needed for the first to fifth step are, respectively, 1, then 1 + 1 = 2, then 1 + 2 = 3,
then 2 + 3 = 5, then 3 + 5 = 8 (this is the Fibonacci series).

# 13. The numbers from 1 to 6 are placed in the circles at the intersections of three rings. The
position of number 6 is shown. The sums of the numbers on each ring are the same. What number is
placed in the circle with the question mark?

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

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Solution: The sum of the number on each ring is 23 · (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6) = 14. The rings that
contain 6 need a further sum of 8 from the other three numbers. This can be done using 1, 2, 5 or 1,
3, 4. The question mark appears in the intersection of two rings containing 6 so must be 1.

# 14. 2021 has a remainder of 5 when divided by 6, by 7, by 8, and by 9. How many positive
integers, less than 2021, have this property?
(A) 4 (B) 3 (C) 2 (D) 1 (E) none

Solution: Suppose that N is the number with such property. N − 5 must be divisible by 6, 7, 8
and 9. The LCM (6, 7, 8, 9) = 504 so the possibilities are 0 + 5 = 5, 504 + 5 = 509, 1008 + 5 = 1013
and 1512 + 5 = 1517.

# 15. The figure shows a semicircle with center O. Two of the angles are given. What is the size, in
degrees, of the angle α?

α
32◦
67◦
O
(A) 9◦ (B) 11◦ (C) 16◦ (D) 17.5◦ (E) 18◦

Solution: From the isosceles triangles OBC, OCD we find ∠BOC = 46◦ and ∠COD = 116◦ . So
2α = ∠AOD = 180◦ − 116◦ − 46◦ = 18◦ , so α = 9◦ .
second solution: From the isosceles triangle OBC, we find ]OCB = 67◦ . From the isosceles
triangle DOC, we find ]DCO = 32◦ Hence α = ]DCO − ]ACO = ]DCO − (]ACB − ]OCB) =
32◦ − (90◦ − 67◦ ) = 9◦ .

C
α 23◦
67◦
D 32 ◦

116◦ 46◦ 67◦

18◦
A O B

# 16. In a team competition, there are five teams waiting to start. Each team consists of either
only boys or only girls. The number of team members are 9, 15, 17, 19 and 21. After all members of
the first team have started, the number of girls not started yet is three times the number of boys not
started yet. How many members are on the team that has already started?
(A) 9 (B) 15 (C) 17 (D) 19 (E) 21

Solution: The total number of players in all teams is equal to 81. As soon as the first team started,
there appear to stay three times more girls than boys. The number of players in the first team should
have the same remainder by deviding by 4 as 81. There are three numbers 9, 17, 21 with this property.
Furthermore one of the remaining teams consists only of boys the other three only of girls and the

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 KSF 2021 – finalized problems Junior

number of boys is equal to the mean of the three girls teams. If the first team starting consists of 9 or
17 members, neither of the remaining numbers can be the mean of the other three. Only if the first
team consists of 21 members, there will be 15 boys in one remaining team and 9 + 17 + 19 = 45 girls
in the other three teams.

# 17. Five cars participated in a race, starting in the order shown.

I II III IV V
Whenever a car overtook another car, a point was awarded. The cars reached the finish line in the
following order:

III V I IV II
What is the smallest number of points in total that could have been awarded?
(A) 10 (B) 9 (C) 8 (D) 7 (E) 6

Solution: For car II to take the lead, it must at least overtake cars III, IV and V (3 points). Car
IV must overtake car V since it finished ahead of car V (one point). For I to gain third place, it must
at least overtake cars III and V since that end up behind car I (2 points), This gives a minimum of 6
points. The example can be constructed in the similar maner.

# 18. A 3 × 3 square initially has the number 0 in each of its cells. In one step all four numbers in
one 2 × 2 subsquare such as the shaded one, for example, are then increased by 1. This operation is
repeated several times to obtain the arrangement on the right. Unfortunately some numbers in this
arrangement are hidden. What number is in the square with the question mark?
0 0 0 18
0 0 0 47
0 0 0 13 ?

(A) 14 (B) 15 (C) 16 (D) 17 (E) 19

Solution: After several such operations we end up with a square as shown. So d=(a+b+c+d)-
(a+b)-c=47-18-13=16.

a a+b b

a+b
a+c b+d
+c+d

c c +d d

# 19. What is the sum of the six marked angles in the picture?

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 KSF 2021 – finalized problems Junior

(A) 360◦ (B) 900◦ (C) 1080◦ (D) 1120◦ (E) 1440◦

Solution: The six marked angles, together with the four right angles of the rectangular frame make a
decagon with interior sum (10−2)·180◦ . Hence the six marked angles have total 8·180◦ −4·90◦ = 1080◦ .

# 20. There are eight boxes in the strip shown. Numbers in adjacent boxes have sum a or a + 1 as
shown. The numbers in the first box and the eighth box are both 2021. What is the value of a?

(A) 4041 (B) 4042 (C) 4043 (D) 4044 (E) 4045

Solution: 2022 should be written on the third position because the sum of this number with the
one on second place is 1 more than the sum of the ones in first and second places. Using the same
method one can found 2023 on the 5th position and 2024 on the 7th. Thus a = 4045. Using the same
method from right to left the whole strip should be filled as shown.

A simpler solution is to say that 4a = 3(a + 1) + 2021 + 2021 = 3a + 3 + 2021 + 2021 = 3a + 4045.
Hence a = 4045.

5 points

# 21. An ant climbs from C to A on path CA and descends from A to B on the stairs, as shown in
the diagram. What is the ratio of the lengths of the ascending and descending paths?
A

75◦

60◦
B C
√ √
(A) 1 (B) 1/2 (C) 1/3 (D) 2/2 (E) 3/3

Solution: Draw the altitude AD. As the angle at B is 45◦ it follows that AD = BD. Now,
by projecting the zigzag path onto AD, BD we see that its length is AD + BD = 2AD. As the

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 KSF 2021 – finalized problems Junior
√ √
angle at C is 60◦ it follows that AD = 1
2 3AC ⇔ AC = 2
3 3AD. So the ratio of the paths is
√ √
AC 12 3AD 3
2AD = 23 AD = 3 .

# 22. The numbers a, b and c satisfy a+b+c = 0 and abc = 78. What is the value of (a+b)(b+c)(c+a)?

(A) −156 (B) −39 (C) 78 (D) 156

(E) none of the previous

Solution: As a + b = −c, b + c = −a and c + a = −b, we have (a + b)(b + c)(c + a) = (−c)(−a)(−b) =

−abc = −78. If you want such an example, take a = 1.5, b = 6.5 and c = −8.

# 23. Let N be the smallest positive integer whose sum of its digits is 2021. What is the sum of the
digits of N + 2021?
(A) 10 (B) 12 (C) 19 (D) 28 (E) 2021

Solution: N = 59 . . . 9 (5 followed by 224 times digit 9). Calculate (N+1)+2020 gives 60 . . . 02020.
(dots are 218 times 0), therefore 6+2+2=10.

# 24. Three boys played a ”Word” game in which they each wrote down 10 words. Each boy scored
three points if neither of the other boys had the same word. Each boy scored one point if only one
of the other boys had the same word. No points were awarded for words which all three boys had.
When they added up their scores, they found that they each had different score. Sam had 19 points,
which was the smallest score, and James had the highest score. How many points did James score?
(A) 20 (B) 21 (C) 23 (D) 24 (E) 25

Solution: Words: 19 = 6 × 3 + 1. It is not possible: if Sam has 3 times 0, then other 2 boys have as
well. But in that case the max point is 21, but 20 is not possible. It means, Sam has 5 · 3 + 4 · 1 + 1 · 0.
Everybody has 1 zero. The 4 times 1 point he shares with the other two: 3 with Noname and 1 with
James. The scores are Noname: 6 · 3 + 3 · 1 + 1 · 0 = 21, James 8 · 3 + 1 · 1 + 1 · 0 = 25.

# 25. The smaller square in the picture has area 16 and the grey triangle has area 1. What is the
area of the larger square?

(A) 17 (B) 18 (C) 19 (D) 20 (E) 21

Solution: The length of the bottom side of the√ triangle and the length of its corresponding height
are the same (because of congruence), so it is 2. Pythagoras for the left white triangle yields the
√ 2
area of the larger square, a2 = 2 + 16 = 18.

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 KSF 2021 – finalized problems Junior

# 26. Each of the numbers a and b is a square of an integer. The difference a − b is a prime number.
Which of the following could be b?
(A) 100 (B) 144 (C) 256 (D) 900 (E) 10000

Solution: a = m2 , b = n2 so m2 − n2 = (m − n)(m + n) is a prime, it implies that m − n = 1. Then

p = 2m + 1. The only possibility is 2 × 30 + 1 = 61, all other suggested answers lead to composite
numbers.

# 27. In the 4 × 4 table some cells must be painted black. The numbers next to and below the
table show how many cells in that row or column must be black. In how many ways can this table be
painted?
2
0
2
1
2 0 2 1
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 5 (E) more than 5

Solution: First, it is clear that 5 cells are to be painted because the numbers at the bottom
margin add to 2+0+2+1=5 (we could just as well use the numbers at the right margin where again
2+0+2+1=5). There are two cases: bottom right corner is painted black or it is not painted black. If
the bottom right corner is painted black, then there are no other cells painted in the bottom row and
the rightmost column. Thus, the only 4 remaining cells that could be painted are painted. So, there
is a unique way to paint the cells if the bottom right corner is painted.
If the bottom right corner is not painted, then one of two cells (first or third column) is painted
in the bottom row, and one of two cells (first or third row) is painted in the rightmost column. These
two choices are independent, so we have 4 different ways to do this. Once these cells are painted, let’s
consider the four corners of the 3 × 3 square formed by removing the bottom row and the rightmost
column. Three of the four corners of this square must be painted. The only corner that cannot be
painted is the one that is in the intersection of the row and the column of the two cells we already
painted. Thus, the other three corners are painted, i.e. the painting is forced (can be completed in a
unique way). To summarize, there is 1 way to paint the cells if the bottom right cell is painted and 4
different ways to paint the cells if the bottom right cell is not painted. In total, there are 5 different
ways to paint the cells.
An alternative starting with: There are two cases. Suppose the upper left corner is black. Then
there are two possibilities for the first row: x-x- or x–x. There are also two possibilities for the first
column: x-x- or x–x. Two of them (x–x combined with x-x-) can be completed in a unique way, one
(both x–x) can’t be completed and one (both x-x-) can be completed in two ways.
If the upper left corner is white, then the table can be filled only in one way. So there are exactly
five possibilities.

# 28. How many five-digit positive numbers have the product of their digits equal to 1000?
(A) 10 (B) 20 (C) 30 (D) 40 (E) 60

Solution: 1000 = 23 · 53 so we must have 3 fives and a pair of digits that multiply up to 8. They
are (2, 4) and (1, 8). The cases are symmetric so consider the first one. We can pick the position for
the 2 in 5 ways, the position for the 4 in 4 ways. It lead to 20 numbers. The same logic applies to the
second case. So the answer is 40.

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 KSF 2021 – finalized problems Junior

# 29. Christina has eight coins whose weights in grams are different positive integers. When Christina
puts any two coins on one side of a balance scales and any two on the other side of the balance scales,
the side containing the heaviest of the four coins is always the heavier side. What is the smallest
possible weight of the heaviest coin?
(A) 8 (B) 12 (C) 34 (D) 128 (E) 256

Solution: Let a < b < c < d < e < g < h be the weights of the coins. Assume a = 1 (otherwise
subtract a − 1 from each number). Then b ≥ 2, c ≥ 3 and d + 1 > b + c, i.e. d ≥ b + c ≥ 5. Analogously
e + 1 ≥ c + d, hence e ≥ c + d ≥ 8. And f ≥ d + e ≥ 13, g ≥ e + f ≥ 21 and h ≥ e + f ≥ 34. 1, 2, 3,
5, 8, 13, 21 and 34 satisfy the condition.

# 30. 2021 balls are arranged in a row and are numbered from 1 to 2021. Each ball is coloured in
one of four colours: green, red, yellow or blue. Among any five consecutive balls there is exactly one
red, one yellow and one blue ball. After any red ball the next ball is yellow. The balls numbered 2,
20 and 202 are green. What colour is the ball numbered 2021?
(A) Green (B) Red (C) Yellow (D) Blue
(E) It is impossible to determine.

Solution: Among any five consecutive balls there are one red, one yellow, one blue and two green.
Consider any six consecutive balls. The mentioned above is true for the first five and for the last five
balls. It follows that the first and the sixth balls have the same color. Hence, the color of any ball is
repeated after five consecutive balls. Thus, the ball nr. 20 has the same color as the ball nr. 5 (since
20 = 5 × 3 + 5). The ball nr. 202 has the same color as the ball nr. 2 (since 202 = 5 × 40 + 2). Thus,
the balls nr. 2 and nr. 5 are green. The ball nr. 2021 has the same color as the ball nr. 1 (since
2021 = 5 × 404 + 1). It follows that the ball nr. 3 is red, nr. 4 is yellow and nr. 1 is blue. Hence, the
ball nr. 2021 is blue.

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