Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 2.7 Junior Find the answer Canada

An arithmetic sequence is a sequence in which each term after the first is obtained by adding a constant to the previous term. For example, 2,4,6,82, 4, 6, 8 and 1,4,7,101, 4, 7, 10 are arithmetic sequences.

In the grid shown, the numbers in each row must form an arithmetic sequence and the numbers in each column must form an arithmetic sequence.

The value of xx is

Pick one

Solution

The sum of the units column is P+P+P=3PP+P+P=3P.

Since PP is a single digit, and 3P3P ends in a 7, then the only possibility is P=9P=9.

This gives:

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Then 3P=3×9=273P=3\times 9=27, and thus 2 is carried to the tens column.

The sum of the tens column becomes 2+7+Q+Q2+7+Q+Q or 9+2Q9+2Q.

Since 9+2Q9+2Q ends in a 9 (since P=9P=9), then 2Q2Q ends in 99=09-9=0.

Since QQ is a single digit, there are two possibilities for QQ such that 2Q2Q ends in 0.

These are Q=0Q=0 and Q=5Q=5.

If Q=0Q=0, then the sum of the tens column is 9 with no carry to the hundreds column.

In this case, the sum of the hundreds column is 7+6+Q7+6+Q or 13 (since Q=0Q=0); the units digit of this sum does not match the 9 in the total.

Thus, we conclude that QQ cannot equal 0 and thus must equal 5.

Verifying that Q=5Q=5, we check the sum of the tens column again.

Since 2+7+5+5=192+7+5+5=19, then 1 is carried to the hundreds column.

The sum of the hundreds column is 1+7+6+5=191+7+6+5=19, as required.
Thus, P+Q=9+5=14P+Q=9+5=14 and the completed addition is shown below.

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Source: CEMC, University of Waterloo, licensed CC-BY-NC-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.