# Pre RMO August 2018: some practice problems selected

Question 1:

Can the product of 31256 and 8427 be 263395312? Give reasons (of course, brute force long calculation will not be counted as an answer ! :-)).

Solution 1:

Use the rule “casting out the nines”: a number divided by 9 will leave the same remainder as the sum of its digits divided by nine.

In this particular case, the sums of the digits of the multiplicand, multiplier, and product are 17, 21, and 34 respectively, again, the sums of the digits of these three numbers are 8, 3, and 7, hence, 8 times 3 is 24 and, which has 6 for the sum of the digits; thus, we have two different remainders, 6 and 7, and the multiplication is incorrect.

Question 2:

Prove that 4.41 is a square number in any scale of notation whose radix is greater than 4.

Solution 2:

Let r be the radix; then, $4.41 = 4 + \frac{4}{r} + \frac{1}{r^{2}}=(2 + \frac{1}{r})^{2}$;

thus, the given number is the square of 2.1

Question 3:

In what scale is the decimal number 2.4375 represented by 2.13?

Solution 3:

Let r be the radix; then, $2 + \frac{}{} + \frac{}{} = 2.4375= 2 \frac{7}{16}$

hence, $7r^{2}-16r-48=0$

that is, $(7r+12)(r-4)=0$.

More later,

Nalin Pithwa

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