Let $n$ be a positive integer. If $x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n \geq 0$, $x_1+x_2+\ldots+x_n=1$ and, assuming $x_{n+1}=x_1$, find the maximal value of $$\sum_{k=1}^n \frac{1+x_k^2+x_k^4}{1+x_{k+1}+x_{k+1}^2+x_{k+1}^3+x_{k+1}^4}.$$

[u]Round 1[/u] [b]p1.[/b] A party is attended by ten people (men and women). Among them is Pat, who always lies to people of the opposite gender and tells the truth to people of the same gender. Pat tells five of the guests: “There are more men than women at the party.” Pat tells four of the guests: “There are more women than men at the party.” Is Pat a man or a woman? [b]p2.[/b] Once upon a time in a land far, far away there lived $100$ knights, $99$ princesses, and $101$ dragons. Over time, knights beheaded dragons, dragons ate princesses, and princesses poisoned knights. But they always obeyed an ancient law that prohibits killing any creature who has killed an odd number of others. Eventually only one creature remained alive. Could it have been a knight? A dragon? A princess? [b]p3.[/b] The numbers $1 \circ 2 \circ 3 \circ 4 \circ 5 \circ 6 \circ 7 \circ 8 \circ 9 \circ 10$ are written in a line. Alex and Vicky play a game, taking turns inserting either an addition or a multiplication symbol between adjacent numbers. The last player to place a symbol wins if the resulting expression is odd and loses if it is even. Alex moves first. Who wins? (Remember that multiplication is performed before addition.) [b]p4.[/b] A chess tournament had $8$ participants. Each participant played each other participant once. The winner of a game got $1$ point, the loser $0$ points, and in the case of a draw each got $1/2$ a point. Each participant scored a different number of points, and the person who got $2$nd prize scored the same number of points as the $5$th, $6$th, $7$th and $8$th place participants combined. Can you determine the result of the game between the $3$rd place player and the $5$th place player? [b]p5.[/b] One hundred gnomes sit in a circle. Each gnome gets a card with a number written on one side and a different number written on the other side. Prove that it is possible for all the gnomes to lay down their cards so that no two neighbors have the same numbers facing up. [u]Round 2[/u] [b]p6.[/b] A casino machine accepts tokens of $32$ different colors, one at a time. For each color, the player can choose between two fixed rewards. Each reward is up to $\$10$ cash, plus maybe another token. For example, a blue token always gives the player a choice of getting either $\$5$ plus a red token or $\$3$ plus a yellow token; a black token can always be exchanged either for $\$10$ (but no token) or for a brown token (but no cash). A player may keep playing as long as he has a token. Rob and Bob each have one white token. Rob watches Bob play and win $\$500$. Prove that Rob can win at least $\$1000$. [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/6/6/e55614bae92233c9b2e7d66f5f425a18e6475a.png[/img] [b]p7.[/b] Each of the $100$ residents of Pleasantville has at least $30$ friends in town. A resident votes in the mayoral election only if one of her friends is a candidate. Prove that it is possible to nominate two candidates for mayor so that at least half of the residents will vote. PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Consider an $n$-by-$n$ board of unit squares for some odd positive integer $n$. We say that a collection $C$ of identical dominoes is a [i]maximal grid-aligned configuration[/i] on the board if $C$ consists of $(n^2-1)/2$ dominoes where each domino covers exactly two neighboring squares and the dominoes don't overlap: $C$ then covers all but one square on the board. We are allowed to slide (but not rotate) a domino on the board to cover the uncovered square, resulting in a new maximal grid-aligned configuration with another square uncovered. Let $k(C)$ be the number of distinct maximal grid-aligned configurations obtainable from $C$ by repeatedly sliding dominoes. Find the maximum value of $k(C)$ as a function of $n$. [i]Proposed by Holden Mui[/i]

Find the smallest positive integer $j$ such that for every polynomial $p(x)$ with integer coefficients and for every integer $k,$ the integer \[p^{(j)}(k)=\left. \frac{d^j}{dx^j}p(x) \right|_{x=k}\] (the $j$-th derivative of $p(x)$ at $k$) is divisible by $2016.$

In the country of Óxisz the minister of finance observed at the end of the tax census that the sum of properties of any two neighboring city counted in dinar is divisible by $1000$, and she also observed that the sum of properties of all cities is also divisible by $1000$. What is the least sum of properties of all cities if the map of the cities looks as follows? [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/0/5/274730ebfdd52d0c3642dfbd0596fe587eb211.png[/img] [i]Remark: The cities may have non-integer properties, but it is also positive. On the map the points are the cities, and two cities are neighboring if there is a direct connection between them.[/i]

The slope of the line $\frac{x}{3} + \frac{y}{2} = 1$ is $ \textbf{(A)}\ -\frac{3}{2}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ -\frac{2}{3}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac{1}{3}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \frac{2}{3}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{3}{2} $

Find the least positive integer $k$ so that $k + 25973$ is a palindrome (a number which reads the same forward and backwards).

Whether there are integers $a_1$, $a_2$, $\cdots$, that are different from each other, satisfying: (1) For $\forall k\in\mathbb N_+$, $a_{k^2}>0$ and $a_{k^2+k}<0$; (2) For $\forall n\in\mathbb N_+$, $\left| a_{n+1}-a_n\right|\leqslant 2023\sqrt n$?

There are $2500$ people in Lexington High School, who all start out healthy. After $1$ day, $1$ person becomes infected with coronavirus. Each subsequent day, there are twice as many newly infected people as on the previous day. How many days will it be until over half the school is infected?

Let $a > 1$ be a positive integer and $d > 1$ be a positive integer coprime to $a$. Let $x_1=1$, and for $k\geq 1$, define $$x_{k+1} = \begin{cases} x_k + d &\text{if } a \text{ does not divide } x_k \\ x_k/a & \text{if } a \text{ divides } x_k \end{cases}$$ Find, in terms of $a$ and $d$, the greatest positive integer $n$ for which there exists an index $k$ such that $x_k$ is divisible by $a^n$.

How many functions $f:\{1,2,3, \ldots, 7\} \rightarrow \{1,2,3, \ldots, 7\}$ are there such that the set $\mathcal{F} = \{f(i) : i\in\{1,\ldots, 7\}\}$ has cardinality four, while the set $\mathcal{G} = \{f(f(f(i))) : i\in\{1,\ldots, 7\}\}$ consists of a single element? [i]Proposed by Sam Delatore[/i]

Let $ABC$ be an acute triangle, with median $AM$, height $AH$ and internal angle bisector $AL$. Suppose that $B, H, L, M, C$ are collinear in that order, and $LH<LM$. Prove that $BC>2AL$.

Let $p$ be an odd prime number. Around a circular table, $p$ students sit. We give $p$ pieces of candy to those students in the following manner. The first candy we give to an arbitrary student. Then, going around clockwise, we skip two students and give the next student a piece of candy, then we skip 4 students and give another piece of candy to the next student... In general in the $k-$th turn we skip $2k$ students and give the next student a piece of candy. We do this until we don't give out all $p$ pieces of candy. $a)$ How many students won't get any pieces of candy? $b)$ How many pairs of neighboring students (those students who sit next to each other on the table) both got at least a piece of candy?

Let $P(x) = x^{16}-x^{15}+·...-x+ 1$, and let p be a prime such that $p-1$ is divisible by $34$ ($p = 103$ is an example). How many integers a between $1$ and $ p-1$ inclusive satisfy the property that $P(a)$ is divisible by $p$?

Prove that there exists a number $\alpha$ such that for any triangle $ABC$ the inequality \[ \max(h_A,h_B,h_C)\le \alpha\cdot\min(m_A,m_B,m_C)\] where $h_A,h_B,h_C$ denote the lengths of the altitudes and $m_A,m_B,m_C$ denote the lengths of the medians. Find the smallest possible value of $\alpha$.

Let $ a $ and $ b $ be different real numbers. Prove that for any real numbers $ c_1, c_2, \ldots,c_n $ there exists a sequence of $ n $-elements $ (x_i) $, each term of which is equal to one of the numbers $ a $ or $ b $ such that $$ |x_1c_1 + x_2c_2 + \ldots + x_nc_n| \geq \frac{|b-a|}{2}(|c_1|+|c_2|+\ldots+|c_n|).$$

$ \odot O_1$ and $ \odot O_2$ meet at points $ P$ and $ Q$. The circle through $ P$, $ O_1$ and $ O_2$ meets $ \odot O_1$ and $ \odot O_2$ at points $ A$ and $ B$. Prove that the distance from $ Q$ to the lines $ PA$, $ PB$ and $ AB$ are equal. (Prove the following three cases: $ O_1$ and $ O_2$ are in the common space of $ \odot O_1$ and $ \odot O_2$; $ O_1$ and $ O_2$ are out of the common space of $ \odot O_1$ and $ \odot O_2$; $ O_1$ is in the common space of $ \odot O_1$ and $ \odot O_2$, $ O_2$ is out of the common space of $ \odot O_1$ and $ \odot O_2$.

Let $F=.48181\cdots$ be an infinite repeating decimal with the digits $8$ and $1$ repeating. When $F$ is written as a fraction in lowest terms, the denominator exceeds the numerator by $\textbf{(A) }13\qquad\textbf{(B) }14\qquad\textbf{(C) }29\qquad\textbf{(D) }57\qquad \textbf{(E) }126$

Let triangle $ABC$ be perpendicular at $A.$ Let $M$ be the midpoint of segment $\overline{BC}.$ Point $D$ lies on side $\overline{AC}$ and satisfies $|AD|=|AM|.$ Let $P \neq C$ be the intersection of the circumcircle of triangles $AMC$ and $BDC.$ Prove that $CP$ bisects the angle at $C$ of triangle $ABC.$

Let $X_0$ be the interior of a triangle with side lengths $3, 4,$ and $5$. For all positive integers $n$, define $X_n$ to be the set of points within $1$ unit of some point in $X_{n-1}$. The area of the region outside $X_{20}$ but inside $X_{21}$ can be written as $a\pi + b$, for integers $a$ and $b$. Compute $100a + b$.

Find all functions $ f: \mathbb{Z} \to \mathbb{Z} $ such that $$ f\left(x+f\left(y\right)\right)f\left(y+f\left(x\right)\right)=\left(2x+f\left(y-x\right)\right)\left(2y+f\left(x-y\right)\right) $$ holds for all integers $ x,y $

Find all monotonically increasing or monotonically decreasing functions $f: \mathbb{R}_+\to\mathbb{R}_+$ which satisfy the equation $f\left(xy\right)\cdot f\left(\frac{f\left(y\right)}{x}\right)=1$ for any two numbers $x$ and $y$ from $\mathbb{R}_+$. Hereby, $\mathbb{R}_+$ is the set of all positive real numbers. [i]Note.[/i] A function $f: \mathbb{R}_+\to\mathbb{R}_+$ is called [i]monotonically increasing[/i] if for any two positive numbers $x$ and $y$ such that $x\geq y$, we have $f\left(x\right)\geq f\left(y\right)$. A function $f: \mathbb{R}_+\to\mathbb{R}_+$ is called [i]monotonically decreasing[/i] if for any two positive numbers $x$ and $y$ such that $x\geq y$, we have $f\left(x\right)\leq f\left(y\right)$.

(a) Positive integers $p,q,r,a$ satisfy $pq=ra^2$, where $r$ is prime and $p,q$ are relatively prime. Prove that one of the numbers $p,q$ is a perfect square. (b) Examine if there exists a prime $p$ such that $p(2^{p+1}-1)$ is a perfect square.

Find the smallest real number $p(\leq 1)$ that satisfies the following condition. (Condition) For real numbers $x_1, x_2, \dots, x_{2024}, y_1, y_2, \dots, y_{2024}$, if [list] [*] $0 \leq x_1 \leq x_2 \leq \dots \leq x_{2024} \leq 1$, [*] $0 \leq y_1 \leq y_2 \leq \dots \leq y_{2024} \leq 1$, [*] $\displaystyle \sum_{i=1}^{2024}x_i = \displaystyle \sum_{i=1}^{2024}y_i = 2024p$, [/list] then the inequality $\displaystyle \sum_{i=1}^{2024}x_i(y_{2025-i}-y_{2024-i}) \geq 1 - p$ holds.

In the triangle $ABC$ its incircle with center $I$ touches its sides $BC, CA$ and $AB$ in the points $A_1, B_1, C_1$ respectively. Through $I$ is drawn a line $\ell$. The points $A', B'$ and $C'$ are reflections of $A_1, B_1, C_1$ with respect to the line $\ell$. Prove that the lines $AA', BB'$ and $CC'$ intersects at a common point.