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1.Seven cups all stand upside down. In one move you must turn over exactly two cups. Can all seven ever stand the right way up?[5]
AYes, in 4 moves
BYes, in 7 moves
CYes, but it takes many moves
DIt depends which two cups you pick
ENo, it is impossible
2.A 4 by 4 board has two opposite corner squares removed, leaving 14 squares. Each domino covers exactly two squares that share an edge. Can 7 dominoes cover the board?[5]
Text description of the figure
A 4 by 4 chessboard-style grid coloured in alternating light and dark squares, with the top-left and bottom-right squares removed. Both removed squares were the same colour.
AYes, and there is exactly one way
BYes, and there are several ways
CNo, because 14 is not divisible by 2
DIt depends which corners are removed
ENo, because the colours do not balance
3.A bag holds 5 black and 6 white stones. You repeatedly remove two stones: if they match you put a black one in, if they differ you put a white one in. What colour is the last stone?[5]
Ablack
Bwhite
Cit depends on the order of the moves
Dthe bag never gets down to one stone
Ewhite if the first two stones match
4.One of nine identical-looking coins is slightly heavier. Using only a balance, what is the smallest number of weighings that is certain to find it?[5]
A1
B2
C3
D4
E8
5.One hundred apples are packed into twelve boxes. What is the largest number n for which you can always be sure that some box holds at least n apples?[5]
A8
B9
C10
D12
E100
6.The numbers 1 to 10 stand in a row. A move swaps two neighbours. After exactly 45 moves, can the row be back in its starting order?[5]
AYes, always
BYes, if the swaps are chosen well
CNo, because 45 is not a multiple of 10
DNo, because the number of moves is odd
EIt depends which numbers are swapped
7.The numbers 1 to 8 are on a board. A move rubs out two of them and writes their difference, larger minus smaller. After seven moves one number is left. Can it be 1?[5]
AYes, and there are many ways
BYes, but only one way
CNo, the last number is always even
DNo, the last number is always 0
EIt depends on the order of the moves
8.Can a 10 by 10 board be covered exactly by T-shaped tiles of four squares each, with no gaps and no overlaps?[5]
AYes, and it is straightforward
BYes, but the arrangement is fiddly
CNo, because 100 is not a multiple of 4
DNo, because the two colours cannot balance
EIt depends how the tiles are turned
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Answer key — Math Kangaroo practice
Each wrong choice carries the thinking that produces it. When a student picks C, this is what they were doing.
1.E — No, it is impossibleKA-0028Parity arguments
AI found a sequence that turned over most of the cups and assumed the last one could be fixed somehow.
BI matched the number of moves to the number of cups without checking whether the target is reachable at all.
CI assumed that with enough moves any arrangement can be reached.
DI thought the choice of which cups to flip could change whether the target is reachable.
2.E — No, because the colours do not balanceKA-0034Coloring arguments
AI assumed that because 14 is even, seven dominoes must fit somehow.
BI tried a few arrangements, got most of the board covered, and assumed a full covering existed.
CI claimed the right answer for the wrong reason, since 14 is in fact divisible by 2.
DI thought removing a different pair of opposite corners could change the colour balance, but opposite corners always share a colour.
3.A — blackKA-0043Invariants and monovariants
BI noticed there are more white stones than black ones and guessed the majority colour would survive.
CI tried a few orders, saw different-looking positions along the way, and assumed the ending must vary too.
DI did not notice that every move takes two stones out and puts one back, so the count falls by exactly one each time.
EI assumed the first move settles the outcome instead of looking for a quantity that no move can change.
4.B — 2KA-0094Weighing and balance puzzles
AI assumed one weighing could separate nine possibilities, but it has only three outcomes.
CI split the coins into halves each time, which wastes the balance's third outcome.
DI weighed the coins one against another in pairs rather than in groups.
EI compared each coin with a known good one in turn, which always works but is nowhere near the fewest.
5.B — 9KA-0095The extremal principle
AI divided 100 by 12 and rounded down instead of up.
CI rounded the division to a convenient number without checking that a packing with a smaller maximum exists.
DI gave the number of boxes as the answer rather than a number of apples.
EI described the case where one box holds everything, which is possible but not guaranteed.
6.D — No, because the number of moves is oddKA-0097Parity arguments
AI assumed enough moves can undo anything, without asking what each move preserves.
BI tried a few sequences that nearly worked and assumed a better choice would finish the job.
CI reached for the number of items rather than for what a single swap actually changes.
EI thought the choice of swaps could change the outcome, when every swap has the same effect.
7.C — No, the last number is always evenKA-0098Invariants and monovariants
AI found sequences ending in small numbers and assumed 1 was among the reachable ones.
BI assumed a hard-looking question must have exactly one answer.
DI found one sequence ending in 0 and assumed every sequence must end there.
EI thought the order could change the outcome, when the quantity that decides it never changes.
8.D — No, because the two colours cannot balanceKA-0101Coloring arguments
AI checked that 100 divides by 4 and treated that as proof that a covering exists.
BI assumed a covering must exist somewhere and that I simply had not found it yet.
CI gave a reason that is not even true, since 100 really is a multiple of 4.
EI thought orientation could rescue it, but every turn of a T covers the same mixture of colours.