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I have some strange dice: the faces show the numbers 1 to 6 as usual, except that the odd numbers are negative (i.e. -1, -3, -5 in place of 1, 3, 5).

If I throw two such dice, which of the following totals cannot be achieved?

a) 3

b) 7

c) 8


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This problem is taken from the UKMT Mathematical Challenges.
You can find more short problems, arranged by curriculum topic, in our short problems collection.