2022 Computational and Algorithmic Thinking — Senior Questions Part A: Questions 1-6 Each question should be answered by a single choice from A to E. Questions are worth 3 points each. 1. Werewolf You are a werewolf. You have two forms: human form and wolf form, Currently you are in wolf form, You have a joumey to make. At the end of the journey, you must be in human form. During the journey you have to transform (from wolf to human) exactly once. Living as a werewolf is not easy. + You must avoid graveyards gf, when you are in human form. + You must avoid churches di» when you are in wolf form. * You can only transform ina castle Bal + You can pass through a castle in either wolf form or human form, ‘You are in the castle at the far left, and your journey is to the castle at the far right. You ‘can only travel from left to right. How many different routes can you take? (a4 (BS (6 @)7 ()8 Page 442022 Computational and Algorithmic Thinking — Senior Questions 2. Follow the Arrows Ifyou follow the arrows in the diagram, you can write down the numbers 341 and 2134, but not 352 or 1346. Repeating digits (for example 1341) is not allowed. ‘What are the last three digits of the largest six-digit number you could write? (A) 216 (B) 254 (©) 321 (D) 425, () 513 3. Earthworm Gene ‘A researcher is analysing several samples of earthworm genes, trying to isolate those that are the most unique relative to their peers. (A gene is represented as a sequence of letters A, C, G and T.) ‘One of her samples contains ACGTA, AGCTG and TGATG. Our researcher is ‘examining the uniqueness of the first one. She lines them up and gives the specimen a ‘uniqueness code’. Specimen A CGT A + The first A is found in that position in Peers AGCTG one other gene, hence the 1. TGATG + The C is found in that position in no other gene, hence the 0. Code 10020 «ete Her next sample contains the genes CAGT A, AGGCA,CGGAT,ATGTT, ATAGG. Which specimen has a uniqueness code of 21311? (A)CAGTA (B)AGGCA (OCGGAT ()ATGTT (E) ATAGG Page 452022 Computational and Algorithmic Thinking — Senior Questions 4, Bernie’s Robot Bernie’s robot must follow the arrows from circle to circle. At each circle there is a choice to continue along an A path (one blue arrow) or a B path (several orange arrows). When Bernie programs the four steps ABBB, her robot successfully travels from Start (S) to Finish (F). However, Bemnie gets bored and reprograms the steps to ABBA, repeated 5 times for a total of 20 steps. Where does the robot end up? Aju B)v (w ()x ®y 5. Penelope’s Chores Each day Penelope has a list of chores to do. But when she completes one chore more are added to the end of her list. How totally unfair! ‘The chores are of types A, B, C, D and E. The two new chores are always of the next type. So a finished A is replaced by two Bs, a B by two Cs, and so on. Luckily, there are no chores of type F! For example, if her list started with BED, she would have more chores to do after completing B, E and D. BED + BEDCC + BEDCC + BEBCCEE > How many chores must Penelope do to completely cross out the list AB CDE? (A) < 40 (B) 40-46 (C) 47-53 (D) 54-60 (E) > 60 Page 462022 Computational and Algorithmic Thinking — Senior Questions 6. Two Rows Board Game ‘Anna and Brett are playing a game on a board with numbers in two rows and seven columns. ‘Anna begins by placing a counter on the top-left number. Then the players take turns, moving the counter one place to the right or one place down, so that Anna will only ‘move the counter to shaded squares. Placing the counter on a number earns the player that number of points. For example, Anna gets 2 points when placing the counter on the top-left number. Brett would get 6 points by moving the counter one place to the right, or 3 points by moving the counter one place down, The aim of the game is to get as many more points than your opponent as possible. The ‘game ends when Brett moves the counter to the bottom-right square. If both players play as well as possible, what is the outcome? (A) Anna wins by > 3 (B) Annawinsby <3 (C) tie (D) Brett wins by <3 (E) Brett wins by > 3 Page 472022 Computational and Algorithmic Thinking — Senior Questions Part B: Questions 7-9 Each question has three parts, each of which is worth 2 points. Each part should be answered by a number in the range 0-999. 7, Stacking Packages Packages of different weights arrive at a warehouse. The packages need to be stored on atable in a pile with each package being lighter than each of the ones below it. However, for a short time, as they are being sorted, it is sometimes necessary to put heavier parcels, on top of lighter ones. There is only enough space for one other table. The only options are to place a new package on a table or move the top package from one table to the other table For example, if packages arrive in order with weights of 1, 2 and 3 kg, they could be stored on the left-hand table with five movements as shown: ‘What is the smallest number of movements needed to arrange the packages on one table, in order from lightest to heaviest, for each of the following arrivals? A. 1,2,5,6,4,3 B. 3,5, 1,6,2,4 C. 5,3,1,2,4,6 Page 482022 Computational and Algorithmic Thinking — Senior Questions 8. Unclear Directions Darian is playing a board game on a large checker- board that has been rotated by 45°. ‘On each turn, he can move his counter one square in any of the eight compass directions shown: north (N), north-east (NE), east (E), south-east (SE), south (S), south-west (SW), west (W) and north-west (NW). To keep track of his progress, Darian writes down each of the moves using the shortcuts above. Unfor- tunately, he forgets to put a space or comma between the symbols, so it’s not always clear exactly what the individual moves are. In how many different squares could his counter finish with each of the following in- structions? A. NWNNNWEENW B. NWNNWESENNWSE, C. NSNEWSNWEWSSWEN 9. Line Game ‘Numbers are arranged in a line. When any numbers are removed the numbers that are left close up to fill the gaps. You repeatedly select any number except the last to add to your score. Each time, your opponent gets the next number to add to their score. For instance, with the line 5 2 1 3: ‘You could choose the 5 and your opponent would get the 2. Then you would choose the 1 and your opponent would get the 3. Your score would be 5+ 1 = 6, and your opponent's score would be 2+3 = 5. You would win by 1. or You could choose the 2 and your opponent would get the 1. Then you would choose the 5 and your opponent would get the 3. Your score would be 5+2=7, and your opponent's score would be 1 +3 = 4. You would win by 3. ‘What is the largest winning margin you can obtain from each of the following lines? A. 431695 B. 38562173 C. 563572654846 Page 49