pirates agree to divide a treasure chest of gold coins among themselves as follows. The 
pirate to take a share takes 
of the coins that remain in the chest. The number of coins initially in the chest is the smallest number for which this arrangement will allow each pirate to receive a positive whole number of coins. How many coins does the 
pirate receive?[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.0"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="3.25" custom_padding="|||" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_accordion open_toggle_text_color="#0c71c3" _builder_version="4.0" toggle_font="||||||||" body_font="Raleway||||||||" text_orientation="center" custom_margin="10px||10px"][et_pb_accordion_item title="Source of the problem" _builder_version="4.0" open="off"]American Mathematics Competition [/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title="Topic" _builder_version="4.0" open="off"]Number Theory
[/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title="Difficulty Level" _builder_version="4.0" open="off"]7/10
[/et_pb_accordion_item][et_pb_accordion_item title="Suggested Book" open="on" _builder_version="3.29.2"]Elementary Number Theory by David M. Burton
[/et_pb_accordion_item][/et_pb_accordion][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.27.4" text_font="Raleway|300|||||||" text_text_color="#ffffff" header_font="Raleway|300|||||||" header_text_color="#e2e2e2" background_color="#0c71c3" custom_margin="48px||117px|||" custom_padding="20px|20px|20px|20px" border_radii="on|5px|5px|5px|5px" box_shadow_style="preset3"]Well, just give the problem a good read. Probably, with a little bit of thought, you can even get this done without a hint !
[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Hint 1" _builder_version="4.0"]We could start this the traditional way, be assuming the number of coins to be x. Now, ask yourself after the k'th pirate has taken his share, what is the remanant number of coins ?This is ( 12-k / 12 ) of what was originally there. [ Why ? Because each pirate takes k/12 of the coins, remember ? ] Now, could you try taking things up from here...by yourself ?
[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Hint 2" _builder_version="4.0"]Let's understand the next thing the problem is trying to focus on."Each pirate receives a whole number of coins"Now, this should actually help us conclude x. ( (11.10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1) / 12 ) is supposed to be an integer. Since this actually implies divisibility. Cancellation of terms leads us to :x. ( (11.5.1.7.1.5.1.1.1.1) / ( 12.6.2.12.2.12.3.4.6.12 ) ) Can you try and approach the solution by yourself now ?
[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Hint 3" _builder_version="4.0"]Now, this tells us the intuition of the problem. We make sure that the quotient should be an integer ! Also, recall that the 12'th pirate definitely takes the entirety of what is left, practically unity since it is exactly divisible.
[/et_pb_tab][et_pb_tab title="Hint 4" _builder_version="4.0"]So basically, we just realized that the denominator is entirely multiplied out...cancelled ! And since we know that the denominator cancels out, the number of gold coins received by the 12th pirate is just going to be the product of the numerators !!!That evaluates to : 11.5.7.5 = 1925And that completes our solution !
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Math Olympiad is the greatest and most challenging academic contest for school students. Brilliant school students from over 100 countries participate in it every year.Cheenta works with small groups of gifted students through an intense training program. It is a deeply personalized journey toward intellectual prowess and technical sophistication.[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_button button_url="https://cheenta.com/matholympiad/" url_new_window="on" button_text="Learn More" button_alignment="center" _builder_version="3.23.3" custom_button="on" button_bg_color="#0c71c3" button_border_color="#0c71c3" button_border_radius="0px" button_font="Raleway||||||||" button_icon="%%3%%" background_layout="dark" button_text_shadow_style="preset1" box_shadow_style="preset1" box_shadow_color="#0c71c3"][/et_pb_button][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.27.4" text_font="Raleway|300|||||||" text_text_color="#ffffff" header_font="Raleway|300|||||||" header_text_color="#e2e2e2" background_color="#0c71c3" custom_margin="50px||50px" custom_padding="20px|20px|20px|20px" border_radii="on|5px|5px|5px|5px" box_shadow_style="preset3"]
Publishing original scientific research in a peer-reviewed journal is an achievement many scholars work toward for years. Achieving this feat early in one's academic journey requires exceptional intellectual rigor, creativity, and persistence. Aaditya Punatar and Muskan Sadana have reached this remarkable milestone, successfully publishing their collaborative research paper in the prestigious Journal of Emerging Investigators […]
Her project on quantum-accelerated Steiner trees for 15-minute cities earned a place among the finalists at the world's largest pre-college STEM competition. Prishaa Shrimali of Marymount School of New York, was selected as a Grand Finalist at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona. Her project was Optimizing Urban Accessibility: […]
In 2026, the following Cheenta students have been successful for Indian Statistical Institute's M.Stat Entrance. They ranked within the first 50 in the entire country in these entrances. I.S.I. M.Stat Entrance
In 2026, the following Cheenta students have been successful for Indian Statistical Institute's B.Stat Entrance and Chennai Mathematical Institute's B.Sc. Math Entrance. They ranked within the first 200 in the entire country in these entrances. Most of these students attended the problem solving workshops regularly, which happen 5 days every week. CMI B.Sc. Math Entrance […]
