Hands-on math!

Washington State Math Olympiad
Hints and Solutions
2014 Grade 8 Geometry

Problem
Solution
1) The net shown folds to a cube with a missing face. Mark with an x two edges where the final square can be placed so that the net will fold to a cube with no missing faces.

Start from face #1 and start folding.
  1. Face 1 folds up under face 2
  2. Face 3 folds around the side of face 2
  3. After face 3 is folded, face 4 then folds down to make a top
  4. Face 5 then folds down, making the face opposite face 2
  5. This leaves the face to the left of face 2 open, so the final face can be placed in any of 4 positions:
    1. To the left of face 2
    2. To the left of face 1
    3. On top of face 4
    4. On top of face 5


    The figure to the left shows what that folded net looks like from several perspectives:
2) The points A(1,3), B(2,3), C(2,2), D(0,0) and the origin are the vertices of a quadrilateral. Reflect ABCD across the line y = x. Reflect the resulting image A'B'C'D across the line y = 0 to get quadrilateral A''B''C''D. What are the coordinates of A''?
The figure to the right shows the original position of A (the other coordinates don't matter), the reflect line y=x, the reflect line y=0 (the x axis) and the positions of A' (A after the reflection around y=x) and A'' (the position of A' after reflecting around y=0. The position of A'' is

      (3,-1)

Problem
Solution
3) The five pointed star shown has rotational symmetry. What is the measure of DEC?




  1. Rotational symmetry means that all angles and lengths (like DE and EC) are the same.
  2. The formula for the sum of the angles in a polygon is:
        Sum = 180(n - 1) where n is the number of sides (and angles).
  3. For our star, the sum is:
        sum = 180 x (10 - 2) = 180 x 8 = 1440 degrees.
  4. The obtuse angle at D and C are 360 - 90 = 270 degrees
  5. There are 5 of them: 270 x 5 = 1350 degrees.
  6. The other 5 angles sum to 1440 - 1350 = 90 degrees.
  7. Angle DEC (one of those 5 small angles) = 90/5 =
    18 degrees

4) Two sides of a triangle have lengths of 6 inches and 11 inches. What is the range of possible values for the length of the third side, s? Express your answer using inequalities.

  1. The third side cannot be larger than the sum of the other 2 sides or it could not make a triangle:
        s < 6 + 11 = 17
  2. The third side must be greater than 11 - 6 = 5 or the other ends can't meet!: s > 5
  3. The total inequality is:
        5 < s < 17
5) The figure shown is made up of horizontal segments, vertical segments and a diagonal segment. Is it possible to compute the difference in measure between angle 1 and 2? If so compute it. If not list which angle you need to know the measure of to solve the problem.
  1. ∠ 1 + ∠ 4 = 90 degrees, therefore
    ∠ 4 = 90 - ∠ 1
  2. Using the fact that the angles in a quadrilateral add to 360 degrees:
    ∠ 2 = 180 - ∠ 4
  3. Substituting the expression for ∠ 4:
    ∠ 2 = 180 - (90 - ∠ 1)
    ∠ 2 = 90 + ∠ 1
    ∠ 2 - ∠ 1 = 90 degrees