Mr.P’s Parent Maths Problem of the Week

Hello parents,

Last week’s problem asked you to find how many times the digits of a year add up to 3, starting from year 1 and ending at year 2001. To approach this systematically, it helps to notice that only years containing the digits 0, 1, 2, or 3 are worth considering. Any digit larger than 3 would immediately make the total exceed 3 and therefore rule the year out.

From there, it becomes a matter of checking all possible years that meet this criterion. You may have noticed that once you pass the 13th century, no further solutions appear – until 2001, that is.

In total, this happens 16 times, in the following years:
3, 12, 21, 30, 102, 111, 120, 201, 210, 300, 1002, 1011, 1020, 1101, 1110, 1200.

Well done to everyone who solved it!

Solutions will be published in the following week’s edition of the Barrow Hills Bulletin.

Problem 4: 30 January 2026
1 = 1 × 1 = 1
1 + 3 = 2 × 2 = 4
1 + 3 + 5 = 3 × 3 = 9
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 = 4 × 4 = 16

Now calculate:
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + … all the way up to … + 97 + 99