(1) Traveling in the direction of Hogwarts at a constant speed for the entire

trip, Larry was one-eighth of the way to Hogwarts at 5:00 a.m. At 8:00 a.m. on the same
day he was three-fourths of the way to Hogwarts. Knowing Larry’s starting location and
Hogwarts are in the same time zone, what time did Larry arrive at Hogwarts?

(2) If a certain recipe requires five tablespoons of flour for every two ounces of
butter, how many tablespoons of flour are needed if two pounds of butter are used? There
are 16 ounces of butter in one pound.

(3) In a sequence of positive integers each term after the first is 31 of the sum of
the term that precedes it and the term that follows it in the sequence. What is the 5th
term of this sequence if the 1st term is 2 and the 4th term is 34?

(4) At the picnic, each team in the three-legged race consisted of one female
and one male. If exactly 14 of the females at the picnic and 23 of the males at the picnic
participated in the race, what fraction of the people at the picnic actually participated in
the three-legged race? Express your answer as a common fraction.

(5) Tom’s mathematics test had 60 questions: 10 arithmetic questions, 30

algebra questions and 20 geometry questions. Although he correctly answered 70% of the
arithmetic questions, 50% of the algebra questions and 50% of the geometry questions, he
did not pass the test because he got fewer than 60% of the questions right. How many
more questions would he have needed to answer correctly to earn a passing grade of 60%?

(6) Shea made 11 of her first 17 free-throw attempts. What is the minimum
number of her next 20 free-throw attempts that she must make for her overall success rate
to be at least 80%? Express your answer to the nearest whole number.

(7) Erik can set up and burn a single CD on his computer in 3.5 minutes. At
this rate, how long will it take Erik to set up and burn 20 of this same CD?

(8) What non-zero, real value of x satisfies (5x )4 = (10x )3 ? Express your
answer as a common fraction.
 (9) Both x and y are positive real numbers, and the point (x , y ) lies on or above
both of the lines having equations 2x + 5y = 10 and 3x + 4y = 12. What is the least
possible value of 8x + 13y ?

(10) Of the 10,000 participants in the Cooper Run/Walk, 42% were runners and
one-third of the runners were female. Sally, a female runner, finished faster than exactly
90% of the female runners. What is the greatest number of female runners who could have
finished faster than Sally?

(11) What is the sum of the positive multiples of 13 that are less than 300?

(12) A geometric sequence of positive integers is formed for which the first term
is 2 and the fifth term is 162. What is the sixth term of the sequence?

(13) A three-digit integer is reversed to form another three-digit integer. The

positive difference between the two numbers is 396. What is the greatest possible value for
the original integer?

(14) What is the greatest possible value of x for the equation

 2  
4x − 16 4x − 16
+ = 12?
3x − 4 3x − 4

(15) A groundskeeper must buy bags of fertilizer. Each bag treats 10000 square
feet of ground and costs $27. The groundskeeper can buy only whole bags of fertilizer.
How much will it cost to buy the least number of bags necessary to treat 6000 square yards
of ground?

(16) What is the following value when expressed as a common fraction:

1 1 1 1 1 1
1
+ 2 + 3 + · · · + 8 + 9 + 10 ?
2 2 2 2 2 2
(17) In the sequence 0, 1, 1, 3, 6, 9, 27, ..., the first term is 0. Subsequent
terms are produced by alternately adding and multiplying by each successive integer
beginning with 1. For instance, the second term is produced by adding 1 to the first term;
the third term is produced by multiplying the second term by 1; the fourth term is produced
by adding 2 to the third term; and so on. What is the value of the first term that is greater
than 125?

1 1 2 1 3




(18) Calculate the sum of the geometric series 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 + ....
Express your answer as a common fraction.

(19) Jim’s stride measures 2 12 feet, and Jeffrey’s stride measures 2 23 feet. There
are 5280 feet in a mile. If Jim and Jeffrey each walk one mile, what is the ratio of the
number of strides Jim takes to the number of strides Jeffrey takes? Express your answer as
a common fraction.

(20) The function f is defined by f (n) = f (n − 1) + f (n − 2). It is also true that

f (1) = 3 and f (3) = 10. What is the value of f (6)?

(21) The cost of renting a bus for a field trip was split evenly among 20 students.
At the last minute, 10 more students joined the trip. The cost of renting the bus was then
evenly redistributed among all of the students. The cost for each of the original 20
students decreased by $1.50. What was the total cost of renting the bus, in dollars?

(22) While on her vacation in Cancun, Colleen can buy a sombrero and a pair of
flip-flops for $32. She can buy the pair of flip-flops and sunglasses for $42. She can buy
the sombrero and the sunglasses for $30. How many dollars does the sombrero cost?

(23) Points A and B are located at 81 and 14 , respectively, on a number line. What
is the sum of the coordinates of the two points that trisect segment AB? Express your
answer as a common fraction.

(24) The difference between two perfect squares is 133. What is the smallest
possible sum of the two perfect squares?
(25) To weigh things on a balance scale, one or more objects are placed on one
pan and weights are placed onto the other pan until the two pans are balanced. We see A
is balanced by the 4 weights shown, and B is balanced by the 5 weights shown. We have
the following weights: 1, 1, 3, 3, 9, 9, 27 and 27. What is the minimum number of these
weights it would take to balance the total weight of A plus B?

A 3
931
B 93
931
B ?

√ √
n
(26) If (2x )3 = 128 and x = 2 , what is the value of n?

(27) For what value of n is 3 43 − n = n + 12 ? Express your answer as a common

fraction.

(28) Grady rides his bike 60% faster than his little brother Noah. If Grady rides
12 miles further than Noah in two hours, how fast in miles per hour does Noah ride?

(29) If one quart of paint is exactly enough for two coats of paint on a 9-foot by
10-foot wall, how many quarts of paint are needed to apply one coat of paint to a 10-foot
by 12-foot wall? Express your answer as a common fraction.

(30) What is the greater of the solutions to the equation x 2 + 15x − 54 = 0?

Copyright MATHCOUNTS Inc. All rights reserved

 Answer Sheet

Number Answer Problem ID

1 9:12 a.m. C25
2 80 tablespoons CA11
3 89 44112
4 4/11 C35
5 4 questions DC3B
6 19 attempts 5A012
7 70 CB3B
8 8/5 CB2C
9 34 345
10 139 female runners 2CB1
11 3588 DA012
12 486 AD01
13 995 D541
14 2 BC551
15 162 B2CB
16 1023/1024 3201
17 129 01
18 3/2 AA51
19 16/15 BC2C
20 44 2342
21 90 dollars 23D5
22 10 dollars 1B01
23 3/8 041
24 205 C233
25 5 21
26 6 B0C1
27 13/8 40012
28 10 miles per hour 0DD
29 2/3 quarts B51
30 3 C4D1

Copyright MATHCOUNTS Inc. All rights reserved

 Solutions

(1) 9:12 a.m. ID: [C25]

In 3 hours, Larry completed 34 − 81 = 85 of his journey, so his speed is 24
5
journeys per hour.
7
Also, from 5:00 a.m., he needed to complete 8 of his trip. Thus as of 5:00 there were
7/8 21
5/24 = 5 hours remaining, or four hours and 12 minutes.. Thus he arrived at Hogwarts at
9:12 a.m. .

(2) 80 tablespoons ID: [CA11]

No solution is available at this time.

(3) 89 ID: [44112]

Let a, b, c be 2nd, 3rd, and 5th terms respectively. Our sequence is therefore
2, a, b, 34, c, . . . . From the information given, we have
1
a = (2 + b)
3
1
b = (a + 34)
3
1
34 = (b + c).
3
Before we find c, we use the first two equations to solve for b. Substituting a = 13 (2 + b),
we obtain
1 1
b = ( (2 + b) + 34)
3 3
1
⇒ 3b = (2 + b) + 34
3
⇒ 9b = 2 + b + 102
⇒ 8b = 104
⇒ b = 13.
Substituting b = 13 into 34 = 31 (b + c), we obtain
1
34 = (13 + c)
3
⇒ 102 = 13 + c
⇒ c = 89 .
(4) 4/11 ID: [C35]
The number of females who participated must be equal to the number of males who
participated. Thus, if f is the number of females at the picnic and m is the number of
males at the picnic, 41 f = 32 m, so 3f = 8m. Therefore, there were 8k females and 3k males
at the picnic for some positive integer k, and 2k females and 2k males participated in the
4
race. So 2k+2k
8k+3k = of the people at the picnic participated in the race.
11

(5) 4 questions ID: [DC3B]

First, we need to find out how many questions Tom did answer correctly:
70% of 10 arithmetic questions = 7 questions
50% of 30 algebra questions = 15 questions
50% of 20 geometry questions = 10 questions
Tom answered 7 + 15 + 10 = 32 questions correctly in total. To earn a passing grade,
Tom would have needed 60% of 60 = 36 questions correct. So, Tom needed to answer
36 − 32 = 4 more questions correctly to get a passing grade.

(6) 19 attempts ID: [5A012]

After 20 more free throw attempts, Shea will have a total of 17 + 20 = 37 attempts. Since
80% · 37 = 29.6, she must make 30 free throws or more to have an overall free throw
percentage of at least 80%. Since she has already made 11 free throws, she must make
30 − 11 = 19 more free throws.

(7) 70 ID: [CB3B]

If Erik burns 20 CDs at this rate, each will take 3.5 minutes. The total time is
20 · 3.5 = 70 minutes.
 (8) 8/5 ID: [CB2C]
It may be easier to work with this if we leave both sides in somewhat factored form:
(5x )4 = (10x )3
⇒ 54 x 4 = 103 x 3
⇒ 54 x 4 = 53 23 x 3
Since x is non-zero, we can cancel the common factor of x 3 :
⇒ 54 x = 53 23
Now, cancel 53 :
5x = 8
8
⇒ x=
5

(9) 34 ID: [345]

From the given information, we write the inequalities 2x + 5y ≥ 10 and 3x + 4y ≥ 12. To
get the value of 8x + 13y , we add the first inequality to twice the second inequality.
Summing the inequalities conveniently yields

8x + 13y = (2x + 5y ) + 2(3x + 4y ) ≥ 10 + 2 · 12 = 34 .

(10) 139 female runners ID: [2CB1]

42% of the participants are runners, and one-third of those are female. Thus, there are
10000 · .42 · 1/3 = 1400 female runners. Of these 1400, Sally finished faster than
1400 · .90 = 1260 of them, leaving 1400 − 1260 − 1 = 139 other female runners who
could have finished faster than Sally.

(11) 3588 ID: [DA012]

When 300 is divided by 13, the quotient is 23 and the remainder is 1. Therefore
23 · 13 = 299 is the the largest multiple of 13 which is less than 300. We are asked to sum
13 · 1 + 13 · 2 + 13 · 3 + · · · + 13 · 23.
Factoring 13 out of the expression and using the formula 1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + n = n(n + 1)/2,
we find a sum of 13 · 23·24
2 = 3588 .
(12) 486 ID: [AD01]
Let the geometric sequence have common ratio r . We know that 2 · r 4 = 162, or r = 3.
Thus, the sixth term is 2 · r 5 = 2 · 35 = 486 .

(13) 995 ID: [D541]

No solution is available at this time.

(14) 2 ID: [BC551]

4x−16
First substitute y = 3x−4 to find
y 2 + y = 12,
which gives y = 3, −4. Setting 4x−16
3x−4 equal to 3, we find 4x − 16 = 9x − 12 which implies
4x−16
x = −4/5. Setting 3x−4 equal to −4, we find 4x − 16 = 16 − 12x which implies x = 2 .

(15) 162 ID: [B2CB]

Since there are 3 feet to a yard, there are 32 = 9 square feet to a square yard. Thus, we
need to buy enough fertilizer to treat 6000 · 9 = 54000 square feet of ground. Since we can
only buy whole bags of fertilizer, we need to buy 6 of them (able to treat
10000 · 6 = 60000 square feet of ground), costing 27 · 6 = 162 dollars.

(16) 1023/1024 ID: [3201]

This is a finite geometric series with first term 12 , common ratio 1
2 and 10 terms. Therefore
the sum is:
1 1 210 −1


2 1 − 2 10 211 210 − 1 1023
1 = 1 = 10
= .
1− 2 2
2 1024

(17) 129 ID: [01]

Continuing this sequence from the 27, we add four to make 31, then multiply 31 by four to
make 124, then add five to 124 to make 129. Thus, 129 is the first term that is greater
than 125.

(18) 3/2 ID: [AA51]

This is an infinite geometric series with first term a = 1 and common ratio r = 13 . Thus
the sum is:
a 1 1 3
= 1 = 2 = .
1−r 1− 3 3
2
(19) 16/15 ID: [BC2C]
The number of strides that Jim takes will be:
5280 5280 2 · 5280
1 = =
22 5/2 5
The number of strides that Jeffrey takes will be:
5280 5280 3 · 5280
2 = =
23 8/3 8
The ratio of the number of strides Jim takes to the number of strides Jeffrey takes will be
is:
2·5280
5 2 · 5280 8 2·8 16
3·5280 = · = =
8
5 3 · 5280 5·3 15

(20) 44 ID: [2342]

The rule for f tells us that f (3) = f (2) + f (1), so f (2) = 7. Now we can find
f (4) = f (3) + f (2) = 10 + 7 = 17. Continuing in this manner, f (5) = 27 and f (6) = 44 .
(Incidentally, with different starting values, this rule defines the Fibonacci numbers.)

(21) 90 dollars ID: [23D5]

Suppose the total cost is x dollars. Then we have that the cost for each the original 20
x x
students was 20 , while after the 10 extra students joined, the cost was 30 per person. So
x x
the given information translates into 20 − 1.50 = 30 , meaning that x = 90 dollars.

(22) 10 dollars ID: [1B01]

Let $x , $y and $z be the prices of a sombrero, a pair of flip-flops and sunglasses,
respectively. We can then rewrite the problem as a system of equations:
x + y = 32
y + z = 42
x + z = 30
Adding these gives:
2x + 2y + 2z = 32 + 42 + 30 = 104
x + y + z = 52
So x = (x + y + z ) − (y + z ) = 52 − 42 = 10. So the sombrero costs $10 .
(23) 3/8 ID: [041]
3
We compute 81 = 24 and 1
4 = 6
24 . Thus the trisection points are 4
24 and 5
24 . Their sum is
9 3
24 = .
8

(24) 205 ID: [C233]

We are given that x 2 − y 2 = 133, which is the same as (x + y )(x − y ) = 133. 133 has two
pairs of factors: 1 and 133, and 7 and 19. So, either x + y = 133 and x − y = 1, or
x + y = 19 and x − y = 7. It is clear that x and y will be much larger in the first case,
because they must sum to 133, so, because we are trying to minimize x 2 + y 2 , we can
simply consider the second case. Through simple algebra, we find that x = 13 and y = 6.
Thus, x 2 + y 2 is minimized as 169 + 36 = 205 .

(25) 5 ID: [21]

A is balanced by 9 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 16, and B is balanced by 9 + 9 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 25. So
A + B = 25 + 16 = 41.
We see that 41 ≡ 2 (mod 3). All the weights are divisible by 3 except for 1, so we must
use both 1’s, leaving us with 39 left to make. We can make this using three weights:
27 + 9 + 3 = 39. It is easy to see that making 39 with two weights is impossible - 27 + 27
is too big and 27 + 9 is too small. So the minimum necessary is 5 .

(26) 6 ID: [B0C1] √ 1

Note that 128 = 27 . So 128 = 27/2 . Taking each side of our given equation to the 3
√
power, we find 2x = 27/6 . Thus x = 21/6 = 6 2, and n = 6 .

(27) 13/8 ID: [40012]

1
To solve for n, add n and subtract 2 from both sides of the equation.
3 1
3 −n =n+
4 2
3 1
3 − =n+n
4 2
1
3 = 2n
4
Expressing 3 41 as a fraction and dividing both sides of the equation by 2, we find
n = (13/4)/2 = 13/8 .
(28) 10 miles per hour ID: [0DD]
Let Noah’s speed (in mph) be r . Then Grady’s speed is 1.6r . Since Grady rides 12 miles
further than Noah in two hours, we have the equation 1.6r · 2 = r · 2 + 12 (since distance is
rate multiplied by time). Solving for r yields r = 10 miles per hour.

(29) 2/3 quarts ID: [B51]

We first find the number of square feet that the one quart of paint can cover. There are
9 · 10 = 90 square feet of wall, and thus two coats of paint on this wall covers 180 square
feet. The ratio between the number of quarts of paint and the square feet that the paint
can cover is 180 1square
quart
feet . We wish the find the number of quarts of paint needed to cover a
10-foot by 12-foot wall, or 10 · 12 = 120 square feet. Multiplying the ratio by this, we get
1 quart
180 square feet · 120 square feet = 2/3 quarts of paint.

(30) 3 ID: [C4D1]

We can find the roots of this equation by factoring the quadratic as (x + 18)(x − 3) = 0.
This gives us the solutions x = −18 or x = 3. We want the greater solution, so our answer
is 3 .

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