Hints and solutions to the problems on November 1, 2009

1. I am less than 6 feet tall bit more than 2 feet tall. My height is a multiple of 7 and is also 2 inches more than a multiple of 6. What is my height in inches? A: Lets list the multiples of 7 greater than 24 and less than 72. They are 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70. Also list the multiples of 6 greater than 24 and less than 72. They are 24, 30, 36, 48, 54, 60, 66. We find that 56 is a multiple of 7, and it is also 2 more than 54, a multiple of 6. So, my height is 56 inches. 2. In the multiplication example at the right, A and B represent different digits, AB is a two-digit number and BBB is a three-digit number. (* means multiply.) What two-digit number does AB represent? A B * 6 B B B A: After B6, the ones digit is still B, B might be 0, 2,4,6,8. BBB is a three-digit number, B could not be 0. And BBB is the result of a two-digit number times 6, BBB could not be greater than 600. Therefore, B might only be 2 or 4. If B is 2, we cannot find an A that satisfies AB6=BBB. If B is 4, we find 746=444. So, AB represents 74. 3. Tom went to a store and spent one-third of his money. He went a second store where he spent one-third of what remained, and then had $12 when he left. How much money did he have to begin with at the first store? A: At the second store, he spent one-third of his money, and still had $12 left, so, he had $18 when he entered the second store, which was also what he had when he left the first store. At the first store, he spent one-third of his money, and still had $18 when he left. So, he had $27 when he entered the first store. This is the money he began with at the first store. 4. The tower at the right has no gap. Suppose it is painted red on all exterior sides including the bottom, and then cut into cubes along the indicated lines. How many cubes will each have red paint on just three faces? A: Omitted 5. A9543B represents a six-digit number in which A and B are digits different from each other. The number is divisible by 11 and also by 8. What digit does A represent? A: The values of A9543B can be written in the form A951000+43B. Obviously, A951000 is divisible by 8 because 1000 is a multiple of 8. 43B also has to be divisible by 8. Then we can get B=2. We also need to apply this rule: if a number is divisible by 11, the difference between the sum of its odd-place digits and the sum of its even-place digits is 0 or a multiple of 11. Lets check the number A95432, the sum of odd-digits is 2+4+9=15, the sum of even-digit is A+5+3=A+8. The difference is A+8-15=A-7. The difference has to be 0, so, A=7.