Problem Solving Skills for Mathcounts Competitions

Book Store => Bookstore => Twenty Files Questions => Topic started by: worrytree on October 25, 2010, 08:52:50 PM

Title: Chapter 5
Post by: worrytree on October 25, 2010, 08:52:50 PM

Dear Jean,

 I don't understand Chapter 5 skill (5), what's N=q2/12  if q=6k, what's q and K stand for?
Thanks!

Title: Re: Chapter 5
Post by: Jane Chen on October 26, 2010, 02:05:34 PM

q = p/2 if p is even, q = (p+3)/2 if p is odd.

p is the perimeter.

Let us say p = 35, then q = (35+3)/2 = 19 = 6 *3 + 1  (here k is 3)

If p = 34, then q = 34/2 = 17 = 6 *2 + 5  (here k is 2).

The key point is to write q as a multiple of 6 with a remainder (this remainder can be zero if q is divisible by 6). k value is not used in the calculation.

Hope this will help.