SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Primary 3 (Grade 3) – GEP Practice

2019
Contest Problems with Full Solutions

Authors:
Henry Ong, BSc, MBA, CMA
Merlan Nagidulin, BSc

© Singapore International Mastery Contests Centre (SIMCC)

All Rights Reserved
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or by any information or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the
publisher.

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Section A (Correct answer – 2 points| No answer – 0 points| Incorrect answer – minus 1 point)

Question 1
Calculate the value of 7 + 16 + 34 + 45 + 50 − 6 − 15 − 4 − 7.
A. 70
B. 120
C. 127
D. 124
E. None of the above

Question 2
Study the pattern below.

How many black circles are in the circle with the question mark?
A. 0
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. None of the above

Question 3
Kevin has 3 regular dice. Each dice has numbers from 1 to 6. Which of the following
could not be the sum of the numbers on top of the 3 dice?
A. 5
B. 13
C. 17
D. 22
E. All the above numbers are possible sum

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 4
Find the top view of the figure on the right.

A. B. C.

D. E.

Question 5
Mitchell, Jason, Tom and Mark race across a field. Mark finishes one place ahead of
Jason. Mitchell finishes one place behind the winner. Who is the winner of the race?
A. Mitchell
B. Jason
C. Tom
D. Mark
E. Jason and Mark

Question 6
In a toy store, cars are available in 5 different colours: blue, white, yellow, black and
red. A car has either 2 or 4 doors. How many different versions of the car are
available?
A. 10
B. 20
C. 8
D. 9
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 7
Find the mirror image of the picture on the right.

A B C

D E

Question 8
The four-digit number 32B9 is divisible by 3. If B is even, find the digit B.
A. 0
B. 2
C. 4
D. 6
E. 8

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 9
Study the picture below.

How many balloons are needed to carry the sheep, cat and dog?
(All balloons are visible in the picture and the same size. None of the balloons are
hidden.)
A. 8
B. 16
C. 7
D. 9
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 10
A group of friends arrive at SASMO Cinema at 9:30. They watch any movie together.
What is the earliest time they could finish watching both movies?

SASMO Cinema

Title Duration Show Times

Four Princesses 115 minutes 10:00, 12:15, 13:55, 17:05, 19:35

Dragon Fighter 105 minutes 9:00, 10:55, 14:10, 16:50, 19:35

A. 14:00
B. 12:40
C. 15:50
D. 15:55
E. None of the above
Solution:
Case 1: They watched Four Princesses first.
The earliest time they can watch Four Princesses is 10:00. They finish at 11.55 and
continue with Dragon Fighter at 14:10. The earliest time they could finish watching
both movies is 15:55.
Case 2: They watched Dragon Fighter first.
The earliest time they can watch is 10:55 since they missed the first session at 9:00.
They finish at 12:40 and continue with Four Princesses at 13:55. The earliest time
they could finish watching both movies is 15:50 which is earlier than 15:55.
Answer: (C)

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 11
Find the missing shape in the diagram below.

A. B. C. D. E.
None of them

Question 12
All the figures below are made up of identical squares. The area of the figure with
the largest area is 48 cm2. What is the perimeter of the figure with the largest
perimeter?

A. 46 cm
B. 96 cm
C. 32 cm
D. 48 cm
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 13
On Saturday, Diana read 102 pages of a book. On Sunday, she read 100 pages of
the same book. Every day, she read 2 pages less than the day before. On which day
of the week did she read exactly 4 pages of the book?
A. Monday
B. Wednesday
C. Friday
D. Sunday
E. None of the above

Question 14
How many two-digit numbers can be divided by both 2 and 3 at the same time?
A. 16
B. 75
C. 15
D. 60
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 15
Study the picture below.

Which toy is the heaviest?

A. Train
B. Submarine
C. Ship
D. Car
E. None of the above

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Section B (Correct answer – 4 points| Incorrect or No answer – 0 points)

When an answer is a 1-digit number, shade “0” for the tens, hundreds and thousands place.
Example: if the answer is 7, then shade 0007
When an answer is a 2-digit number, shade “0” for the hundreds and thousands place.
Example: if the answer is 23, then shade 0023
When an answer is a 3-digit number, shade “0” for the thousands place.
Example: if the answer is 785, then shade 0785
When an answer is a 4-digit number, shade as it is.
Example: if the answer is 4196, then shade 4196

Question 16
How many rectangles are there in the picture below?

Question 17
The operator ⊛ acts on two numbers to give the following outcomes:
2 ⊛ 4 = 44
5 ⊛ 7 = 104
1 ⊛ 5 = 28
7 ⊛ 10 = 146
What is 6 ⊛ 12 equal to?

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 18
The picture graph below shows the number of muffins 5 siblings have at first.

Anastacia

Braiden

Clarke

Darla

Eddie

Each stands for 6 muffins.

Their mom takes all their muffins and then distributes equally among Anastacia,
Braiden, Darla and Eddie. How many more muffins does Eddie have now than
before?

Question 19
Andrew, Kim and Shaun have 256 stamps. Shaun has twice as many stamps as Kim.
Andrew has 24 less stamps than Shaun. How many stamps does Andrew have?

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 20
In the number sentence below, what is the value of ⊟?
⊟ × 6 + 13 −⊟ = 17 + 46

Question 21
Use the clues below to find the number being described.
• This number is a 3-digit number.
• The sum of its digits is 15.
• The digit in the tens place is twice the digit in the hundreds place.
• The digit in the hundreds place is 1 more than the digit in the ones place.

Question 22
A group of children and adults went to a zoo. The price of an adult’s ticket is $8 and
a child’s ticket is $7. The group paid $90 for their tickets. Given that there were less
than 14 people in the group, how many adults were there?

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 23
A book has 130 pages numbered from 1 to 130. How many digit “1” are there in all
the page numbers of the book?

Question 24
Picture 2 shows the completed version of the puzzle in Picture 1.

x 2 = 4 x 2 = 8

x x + x x +

6 x 2 = 6 x 2 = 12

= = = = = =
_ _ 4 = 20
24 = 24
Picture 1 Picture 2
Complete the puzzle in Picture 3 and find the missing number “?”.

x 2 =
x x +

7 x =
= = =
_ ? = 53
Picture 3

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SASMO 2019, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Questions

Question 25
In the following, all the different letters stand for different digits. What is the value
of A + B + C?

A B B B

- C C C

END OF PAPER

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Solutions to SASMO 2019 Primary 3 (Grade 3)

Question 1
Group the numbers and calculate.
(7 − 7) + (16 − 6) + (34 − 4) + (45 − 15) + 50 = 0 + 10 + 30 + 30 + 50 = 𝟏𝟐𝟎

Answer: (B)

Question 2
The pattern is as follows:

1st circle 4th circle 7th circle

1 black & 1 white circles 2 black & 2 white circles 3 black & 3 white circles

2nd circle 5th circle 8th circle

10 black circles 8 black circles 6 black circles

3rd circle 6th circle 9th circle

2 white circles 3 white circles 4 white circles

Hence the 10th circle must have 4 black & 4 white circles.
Answer: (D)

Question 3
The smallest possible sum that can be obtained is 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 and the largest sum
is 6 + 6 + 6 = 18. Thus, it is impossible to get the sum 22.
Answer: (D)

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 4

A. B. C.

D. E.

All the options, except C, have 4 vertical lines whereas the top view of the figure has
3 vertical lines. The answer is Option C.
Answer: (C)

Question 5
Mitchell finishes second, one place behind the winner. So, the winner finishes one
place ahead of Mitchell. Mark is not the winner as he finishes one place ahead of
Jason. Hence the winner is Tom.
Answer: (C)

Question 6
The following table shows the different combinations:
Blue √ √
White √ √
Yellow √ √
Black √ √
Red √ √
2-door √ √ √ √ √
4-door √ √ √ √ √

For instance, the first combination (2nd column) is a blue 2-door car, and the second
combination (3rd column) is a blue 4-door car.
In total, 10 different versions of the car are available.
Answer: (A)

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 7
The circled spots are different from the mirror image of the
picture on the right.

A B C

D E

Answer: (A)

Question 8
Using the divisibility test for 3, the sum of the digits 3 + 2 + 9 + B = 14 + B is
divisible by 3. Since B is a single digit, B = 1, 4 and 7. But since B is even, B = 4.
Answer: (C)

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 9
In the second air balloon:
1 cat + 1 sheep → 5 balloons
In the first air balloon:
1 cat + 1 sheep + 2 dogs → 11 balloons

5 balloons 6 balloons
1 dog → 6 ÷ 2 = 3 balloons

1 cat + 1 sheep + 1 dog → 5 + 3 = 8 balloons

Answer: (A)

Question 10
Case 1: They watched Four Princesses first.
The earliest time they can watch Four Princesses is 10:00. They finish at 11.55 and
continue with Dragon Fighter at 14:10. The earliest time they could finish watching
both movies is 15:55.
Case 2: They watched Dragon Fighter first.
The earliest time they can watch is 10:55 since they missed the first session at 9:00.
They finish at 12:40 and continue with Four Princesses at 13:55. The earliest time
they could finish watching both movies is 15:50 which is earlier than 15:55.
Answer: (C)

Question 11
The pattern is as follows:
In the first row, the third image is formed by combining the second image with the
first and removing the smallest circle.
In the second row, the third image is formed by combining the second image with
the first and removing the smallest circle.
Following the same pattern in the third row, we combine the second image with the
first and remove the smallest circle. Thus, Option B will be the missing shape.
Answer: (B)

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 12
Draw a table and count the number of squares and sides in each figure.
Figure No. of squares The largest area No. of sides The largest
perimeter
1 10 16
2 12 √ 16
3 8 24 √
4 11 16
Figure 2 has the largest area as it is made up of the greatest number of squares.
Area of each identical square = 48 cm2 ÷ 12 = 4 cm2

Length of each identical square = 2 cm

Figure 3 has the largest perimeter because it has the most number of sides (24)
compared to the other three figures (16).
Perimeter of Figure 3 = 24 x 2 cm = 48 cm
Answer: (D)

Question 13
The following table shows the numbers pages read in the first 2 weeks.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

102 100
98 96 94 92 90 88 86
84 82 80 78 76 74

Notice from the table above that Diana read 14 pages less every week.
Next Saturday, Diana read 102 − 14 = 88 and the following Saturday, she read 88 −
14 = 74.
She read 74 − 14 − 14 − 14 − 14 − 14 = 4 pages on Saturday.
Answer: (E)

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 14
If a number can be divided by both 2 and 3, then it can be divided by 6. The largest
two-digit number that can be divided by 6 is 96, which is the 16th multiple of 6. In
other words, there are 16 numbers less than 100 which can be divided by 6.
However, these 16 numbers include the one-digit number ‘6’. Thus, there are only
16 – 1 = 15 two-digit numbers that can be divided by both 2 and 3 at the same
time.
Answer: (C)

Question 15

A train is heavier than a car since 2 trains are needed to balance 3 cars.

A car is heavier than a ship since 4 cars are needed to balance 5 ships.

A submarine is heavier than a train since 3 submarines are needed to balance 4

trains.
Arranging from the lightest to the heaviest
Ship – Car – Train – Submarine,
we find that Submarine is the heaviest among the different types of toys.
Answer: (B)

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 16

Type of
1-part 2-part 3-part 4-part
Rectangle

Example
or

Quantity 16 10 1 3

Total = 16 + 10 + 1 + 3 = 𝟑𝟎 rectangles
Answer: 30

Question 17
The operator ⊛ performs the following:
Step 1: It multiples the number on the left by 2.
Step 2: It multiplies the difference between the two numbers by 2. Then product is
placed next to the number obtained in step 1
We can see that the operator ⊛ satisfies all the equations in the question.
Therefore, 6 ⊛ 12 = (2 × 6)(2 × (12 − 6)) = 𝟏𝟐𝟏𝟐.
Answer: 1212

Question 18

Initially, the 5 siblings had 24 × 6 = 144 muffins altogether.

Then, their mom distributed 144 ÷ 4 = 36 muffins to 4 of them and Eddie has 36
muffins now.

From the picture graph, Eddie had 4 × 6 = 24 muffins at first.

Eddie has 36 − 24 = 𝟏𝟐 more muffins now than before.
Answer: 12

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 19
Using the Model Method, let the number of stamps Kim has be 1 unit. Then Shaun
has 2 units and Andrew has 24 less than 2 units.

Shaun

Kim 256

24
Andrew

5 units = 256 + 24 = 280

1 unit = 280 ÷ 5 = 56
Andrew has 56 + 56 − 24 = 𝟖𝟖 stamps.
Answer: 88

Question 20
⊟ × 6 + 13 −⊟ = 17 + 46
⊟ × 6 −⊟ +13 = 17 + 46 = 63
⊟ × 5 + 13 = 63
⊟ × 5 = 63 − 13 = 50
⊟ = 50 ÷ 5 = 𝟏𝟎
Answer: 10

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 21
Using the Model Method, let the digit in the hundreds place be 1 unit. Then the digit
in the tens place is 2 units and the one digit is 1 less than 1 unit.
Tens

Hundreds 15

1
Ones

4 units = 15 + 1 = 16
1 unit = 16 ÷ 4 = 4
Hence the hundreds digit is 4, the tens digit is 4 + 4 = 8, and the ones digit is 4 −
1 = 3. The number is 483.
Answer: 483

Question 22
The largest number of adults could be is $88 ÷ $8 = 11. However, no ticket could be
bought for the remaining $90 − $88 = $2.
The following table shows whether $90 can be spent when the number of adults is
10 or less.

No. of Total cost of The remaining Children’s ticket

adults adults’ tickets money
10 $8 × 10 = $80 $90 − $80 = $10 All $10 cannot be spent.
9 $8 × 9 = $72 $90 − $72 = $18 All $18 cannot be spent.
8 $8 × 8 = $64 $90 − $64 = $26 All $26 cannot be spent.
7 $8 × 7 = $56 $90 − $56 = $34 All $34 cannot be spent.
6 $8 × 6 = $48 $90 − $48 = $42 all $42 ÷ $7 = 6 can be spent

Answer: 6

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 23
Number of digit ‘1’s in the ones places: 1, 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81, 91, 101,
111, 121 – 13 numbers
Number of digit ‘1’s in the tens places: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 110,
111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119 – 20 numbers
Number of digit ‘1’s in the hundreds place: 100, 101, 102, …, 129, 130 – 31
numbers
Total: 13 + 20 + 31 = 64
Answer: 64

Question 24
Let us label the empty boxes with A, B, C, D, E and F. A x 2 = B

A must be greater than 7 since 7 × A is greater than 53. Then x x +

B = A × 2 is greater than 7 × 2 = 14, and D is less than 53 − 7 x C = D

14 = 49. If D = 7 × C is less than 49, then C is less than 49 ÷ = = =
7 = 7. _ = 53
E F
From 𝐴 × 7 − 2 × 𝐶 = 53, 𝐴 must be less than 10; otherwise,
C will be greater than 7. Hence 𝐴 = 8 𝑜𝑟 9.
𝐴 = 8 doesn’t have any solutions.
If 𝐴 = 9, then 𝐶 = 5 and 𝐹 = 𝟏𝟎.
Answer: 10

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SASMO 2020, Primary 3 (Grade 3) Contest Solutions

Question 25
A must be 1; otherwise, (2𝐵𝐵𝐵 − 𝐶𝐶𝐶), (3𝐵𝐵𝐵 − 𝐶𝐶𝐶), … , (9𝐵𝐵𝐵 − 𝐶𝐶𝐶) will be
greater than 1000.
Rewrite the subtraction as addition.
C C C

+ A

A B B B

Since A = 1, then C = 9 and B = 0.

A + B + C = 1 + 0 + 9 = 10
Answer: 10

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