Solutions – Upper Primary Division

1. (Also MP2)
The numbers in order are 555, 556, 565, 566, 655,
hence (D).

2. (Also MP6)
One pizza will have 4 quarters, so two pizzas will have 2 × 4 = 8 quarters,
hence (D).
3.
P Q
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •

sachtienganhhanoi.com
• • • • • • • •
R

The number of interior lattice points is 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15,

hence (C).

4. 0.3 + 0.4 = 0.7,

hence (B).

5. (Also MP10)
Alternative 1
In cents, 500 ÷ 80 = 6r20 so that he buys 6 chocolates and has 20 cents left,
hence (C).
Alternative 2
Multiples of 80 are 80, 160, 240, 320, 400, 480, 560. From this, he can afford 6 choco-
lates but not 7,
hence (C).

6. (Also MP9)
1
The opposite chair is both 5 places forward and 5 places back. 10 2
Five places back from chair 9 is chair 4,
9 3

8 4
7 5
6

hence (D).

36 2016 AMC — Upper Primary Solutions

36 2016 AMC – Upper Primary Solutions
 2
7. In order, is worth 4 + 2 + 1 + = 8 beats,
2
hence (E).

8. (Also MP13)
She either has a 50c coin or not.
If she has a 50c coin, then she has one other 10c coin: 50 + 10 = 60.
If she has no 50c coins, then she either has 0, 1, 2 or 3 20c coins:

20 + 20 + 20 = 60 20 + 20 + 10 + 10 = 60
20 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 60 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 60

In all, there are 5 possibilities,

hence (D).

1
9. (A) holds of 3000 mL which is 1000 mL.
3
3
(B) holds of 1000 mL which is 750 mL.
4
1
(C) holds of 1000 mL which is 500 mL.
2
1
(D) holds of 750 mL which is 250 mL.

sachtienganhhanoi.com
3
1
(E) holds of 2000 mL which is 500 mL.
4
Of these 1000 mL is the greatest,
hence (A).

10. Here are the axes of symmetry of each shape:

no axes 6 axes 8 axes no axes 13 axes

hence (E).

11. (Also MP15)

Starting from the outer end of the spiral (the loop on the rope) the dark and light
sections are longest, and the light sections are of similar length to the dark sections.
As you move towards the other end of the rope, both dark and light sections get
shorter. Only rope (A) shows this,
hence (A).

2016 AMC — Upper Primary Solutions 37

2016 AMC – Upper Primary Solutions 37
 12. (Also MP18)
The large square must have side 8 cm. Then all of the corners of the pieces in the
tangram lie on a grid of 2 cm × 2 cm squares.

The shaded square has the same area as 2 of the grid squares, or 2 × (2 cm × 2 cm) =
8 cm2 ,
hence (D).

13. Alternative 1
1
Since 8 × 25 = 200, he needs to make 8 batches. This requires 8 × 2 = 20 packets
2
of chocolate chips,
hence (A).
Alternative 2
Each packet of chocolate chips is enough for 10 biscuits. So for 200 biscuits, 20

sachtienganhhanoi.com
packets are required,
hence (A).

14. Two even numbers add to even. For example, 2 + 4 = 6. So, not (A).
The difference between two odds is always even. For example, 5 − 1 = 4. So, not (B).
The sum of two odd numbers is always even. For example, 5 + 1 = 6. So, not (C).
Adding 3 odd numbers is the same as odd plus even, which is odd. For example,
3 + 5 + 9 = 8 + 9 = 17. So (D) is true.
Two odd numbers multiplied is always odd. For example, 3 × 7 = 21. So, not (E),
hence (D).

15. The side of the outer square is 36 ÷ 4 = 9 cm and the side of the inner square is
20 ÷ 4 = 5 cm.
The difference is 4 cm, which is 2 cm on each side. So each rectangle is 7 cm × 2 cm,
with perimeter 18 cm,
hence (E).

16. Alternative 1
The possibilities are

First number Possibilities Count

2 2134, 2143 2
3 3124, 3142, 3214, 3241 4
4 4123, 4132, 4213, 4231, 4312, 4321 6
12

hence (B).

38 2016 AMC — Upper Primary Solutions

38 2016 AMC – Upper Primary Solutions
 Alternative 2
Ignoring whether the first number is larger or smaller than the second, the number
of combinations is 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24.
Half of these will have the first number larger than the second, and half will be the
other way around. So there are 12 combinations,
hence (B).

17. Each of (A), (B), (C) and (D) is possible:

However (E) is not possible. It has a total of 7 sides, whereas the hexagon has 6 sides
and a cut increases the number of sides by at least 2, giving 8 or more sides,
hence (E).

18. As the sum 3 + 9 + 15 + 18 + 24 + 29 = 98, we are looking for two groups of three
numbers each with a sum close to 49. There are no three of the numbers adding to
49, so the difference must be 2 or more.

sachtienganhhanoi.com
To get the difference as close as possible to 0, each sum will be as close to 49 as
possible.
Noting that 3+18+29 = 50 and 9+15+24 = 48 gives (3+18+29)−(9+15+24) = 2,
hence (C).

19. Adding the upward-sloping diagonal, 4 + 7 + 10 + 13 = 34 is the common total.

In the 4th column 13 + 12 + 1 = 26 and 34 − 26 = 8. In the 2nd row, 5 + 10 + 8 = 23
and 34 − 23 = 11. Place A and B in the third row as shown.

X 13
5 11 10 8
A 7 B 12
4 1

From the first column, A + X = 34 − 9 = 25. From the downward-sloping diagonal,

B + X = 34 − 12 = 22. From the third row, A + B = 34 − 19 = 15.
Then 25 + 22 + 15 = 62 counts each of A, B and X twice, so that A + B + X = 31
and X = 31 − 15 = 16,
hence (A).

20. (Also J18)

G
First try not to use a blue counter at all. R R
The counters can’t be all red or all green, so start with a red counter
at the bottom of the circle. By the first rule, the counters either B G
side must be green.
G G
Then, by the second rule, the counters opposite these green counters R
must be red. The top counter can now be coloured green.

2016 AMC — Upper Primary Solutions 39

2016 AMC – Upper Primary Solutions 39
 The side counters cannot be red because they are adjacent to a red. However, only
one of them can be green, so the other must be blue. This arrangement, as shown,
satisfies the three rules.
Hence, the minimum number of blue counters is 1,
hence (B).

21. (Also MP23)

The discs are back in their original positions after 5 moves.

r g o b y r
b 1 y 2 r 3 g 4 o 5 b
g −→ o −→ b −→ y −→ r −→ g
y r g o b y
o b y r g o

They will be in their original positions again after 10, 15 and 20 moves. After 1 more
move, blue will be on the bottom,
hence (B).

22. (Also MP24)

Alternative 1

sachtienganhhanoi.com
Replacing the leopard by another lion (of the same weight as the lion) would add
90 kg, and replacing the tiger by another lion would add 50 kg. Then 3 lions weigh
310 + 90 + 50 = 450 kg and 1 lion weighs 450 ÷ 3 = 150 kg,
hence (B).
Alternative 2
If the lion weighs 100 kg, then the leopard weighs 10 kg and the tiger 50 kg for a total
of 160 kg. This is 150 kg too light. Adding 150 ÷ 3 = 50 kg to each weight keeps the
differences in weight the same. So the lion weighs 150 kg,
hence (B).

23. (Also J15, I15)

As the number of points per event is 6 and the total number of points gained is
8 + 11 + 5 = 24, there must have been 4 events. As Betty has 11 points she must
have 3 first places and one second place. Cathy could not have won an event, or her
score would be 6 or more, so she must have just one second place. So Adrienne must
have two second places,
hence (C).

24. Arrange the coins as follows:

A B C
Jane 5c coins 10c coins 50c coins
Tom 10c coins 20c coins 5c coins

Suppose Jane has just one 50c coin, so that Tom has one 5c coin and Jane has 45c
more than Tom in column C.
Tom and Jane have the same amount, so than in columns A and B, Tom has 45c
more than Jane. But for each coin in columns A and B, Tom’s coin is worth twice
Jane’s coin, so Tom has 90c and Jane has 45c. The fewest coins for this is 1 coin
each in column A and 4 coins each in column B. Then they have 6 coins each.

40 2016 AMC — Upper Primary Solutions

40 2016 AMC – Upper Primary Solutions
 If Jane has more than one 50c coin, the difference in columns A and B will be 90c
or more, which requires more than 4 coins in these columns. Then they have more
than 6 coins each.
So the smallest number of coins they can each have is 6, when Jane has 1 × 50c +
4 × 10c + 1 × 5c and Tom has 1 × 5c + 4 × 20c + 1 × 10c,
hence (D).

25. Alternative 1
The final mixture will have 9 litres of cordial out of 18 litres.
The amount of the mixture from Jar A can vary from 0 litres to 18 litres, so we
try increasing amounts from Jar A and calculate the amount of 100% cordial in the
mixture.
Litres from Jar A 0 1 2 3 ···
Litres from Jar B 18 17 16 15 · · ·
Litres of cordial from Jar A 0 0.3 0.6 0.9
Litres of cordial from Jar B 10.8 10.2 9.6 9.0
Litres of cordial in mixture 10.8 10.5 10.2 9.9 · · · 9.0

For every additional litre from Jar A there is 0.3 litres less cordial in the mixture,
which is 0.6 additional litres from Jar B and 0.3 fewer litres from Jar A.

sachtienganhhanoi.com
Following this pattern, there will be 9 litres of cordial when there are 6 litres from
Jar A and 12 litres from Jar B,
hence (E).
Note: Checking this, Jar A contributes 1.8 litres of cordial and Jar B contributes 7.2
litres of cordial.

Alternative 2
Let the amount from Jar A be x, and the amount from Jar B be y. Then
x + y = 18 so x = 18 − y
0.3x + 0.6y = 0.5 × 18 so 3x + 6y = 90 and x = 30 − 2y

Therefore 18 − y = 30 − 2y, which has solution y = 12, and then x = 6,

hence (E).

26. Alternative 1
Adding 11 + 17 + 22 = 50 includes every hat twice. For example, Qiang’s hat is in
both Rory’s and Sophia’s totals.
Therefore the total of all three hats is 25. Then the person whose total is 11 has
25 − 11 = 14 on their hat. The other two hats are 25 − 17 = 8 and 25 − 22 = 3.
So the three numbers are 3, 8 and 14,
hence (14).
Alternative 2
Let the numbers be a, b and c. Then a + b = 11, b + c = 17 and a + c = 22. Then
2a + 2b + 2c = 50, therefore a + b + c = 25. This gives a = 8, b = 3, c = 14 so the
largest number is 14,
hence (14).

2016 AMC — Upper Primary Solutions 41

2016 AMC – Upper Primary Solutions 41
 27. Alternative 1
We can test factors by division, finding each factor’s partner until we see a factor
that has occurred as a partner already.

Factor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Partner 840 420 280 210 168 140 120 105 – 84

Factor 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Partner — 70 — 60 56 — — — — 42

Factor 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Partner 40 — — 35 — — — 30 — 28

From this, there are 16 pairs of factors, giving 32 factors,

hence (32).
Alternative 2
Factorised into primes, 840 = 23 × 3 × 5 × 7. Then every factor of 840 can be found
by multiplying together:

• a factor of 8 (1, 2, 4 or 8)
• a factor of 3 (1 or 3)

sachtienganhhanoi.com
• a factor of 5 (1 or 5)
• a factor of 7 (1 or 7)

This means there are 4 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 32 possible factors of 840,

hence (32).

28. (Also MP29)

The first cube uses 12 matches, then each subsequent cube uses 8 matches. Since
2016 − 12 = 2004 and 2004 ÷ 8 = 250r4, there are 1 + 250 = 251 cubes made, with 4
matches left over,
hence (251).

29. (Also J27, I24)

There are three cases for how the triangles are coloured:
(i) All three sides are the same colour, with 5 possibilities.
(ii) Two sides are the same and one side is different, with 5 × 4 = 20 possibilities.
5×4×3
(iii) All three sides are different, with = 10 possibilities.
6
So there are 5 + 20 + 10 = 35 possibilities in all,
hence (35).
Note: The calculation in (iii) relies on the observation that if we are choosing the
sides in order, there are 5 possibilities for the first side, then 4 for the second, then
3 for the third. However, in these 5 × 4 × 3 = 60 possibilities, each selection xyz
will appear 6 times:
 xyz, xzy, yxz, yzx, zxy, zyx. This idea appears in the general
n
formula for m , the number of ways of choosing m objects from n objects.

42 2016 AMC — Upper Primary Solutions

42 2016 AMC – Upper Primary Solutions
 30. If m is a cousin’s age last year, it is a factor of 1377 and m + 1 is a factor of 2016.
When we factorise we get 2016 = 25 × 32 × 7 and 1377 = 34 × 17.
Checking possible factors of 1377:

m 1 3 9 17 27 51 81 153 459 1377

m+1 2 4 10 18 28 52 82 154 460 1378
Factor of 2016?   ×   × × × × ×

So there are 4 possible ages.

To have three of these ages multiplying to 2016, we must include 28 (to get a factor
of 7), 18 (to get a factor of 32 ) and then 4.
Checking, 2016 = 28 × 18 × 4 and 1377 = 27 × 17 × 3.
Then two years ago their ages multipled to 26 × 16 × 2 = 832,
hence (832).

sachtienganhhanoi.com

2016 AMC — Upper Primary Solutions 43

2016 AMC – Upper Primary Solutions 43