Let $n\ge 4$ be a positive integer. Megavan and Minivan are playing a game, where Megavan secretly chooses a real number $x$ in $[0, 1]$. At the start of the game, the only information Minivan has about $x$ is $x$ in $[0, 1]$. He needs to now learn about $x$ based on the following protocols: at each turn of his, Minivan chooses a number $y$ and submits to Megavan, where Megavan replies immediately with one of $y > x$, $y < x$, or $y\simeq x$, subject to two rules: $\bullet$ The answers in the form of $y > x$ and $y < x$ must be truthful; $\bullet$ Define the score of a round, known only to Megavan, as follows: $0$ if the answer is in the form $y > x$ and $y < x$, and $|x - y|$ if in the form $y\simeq x$. Then for every positive integer $k$ and every $k$ consecutive rounds, at least one round has score no more than $\frac{1}{k + 1}$. Minivan's goal is to produce numbers $a, b$ such that $a\le x\le b$ and $b - a\le \frac 1n$. Let $f(n)$ be the minimum number of queries that Minivan needs in order to guarantee success, regardless of Megavan's strategy. Prove that $$n\le f(n) \le 4n$$ [i]Proposed by Anzo Teh Zhao Yang[/i]

Albrecht fills in each cell of an $8 \times 8$ table with a $0$ or a $1$. Then at the end of each row and column he writes down the sum of the $8$ digits in that row or column, and then he erases the original digits in the table. Afterwards, he claims to Berthold that given only the sums, it is possible to restore the $64$ digits in the table uniquely. Show that the $8 \times 8$ table contained either a row full of $0$’s or a column full of $1$’s

Let $a_1, . . . , a_n$ be positive integers satisfying the inequality $\sum_{i=1}^{n}\frac{1}{a_n}\le \frac{1}{2}$. Every year, the government of Optimistica publishes its Annual Report with n economic indicators. For each $i = 1, . . . , n$,the possible values of the $i-th$ indicator are $1, 2, . . . , a_i$. The Annual Report is said to be optimistic if at least $n - 1$ indicators have higher values than in the previous report. Prove that the government can publish optimistic Annual Reports in an infinitely long sequence.

Let $\mathbb{N}$ be the set of all positive integers. Find all functions $f : \mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{N}$ such that $f(x) + y$ and $f(y) + x$ have the same number of $1$'s in their binary representations, for any $x,y \in \mathbb{N}$.

Define a sequence of positive rational numbers $x_0, x_1, x_2, x_3, \cdots$ by $x_0 = 2, x_1 = 3,$ and for all $n \geq 2,$ $$x_n = \frac{x_{n-1}^2 + 5}{x_{n-2}}$$ (a) Prove that $x_n$ is an integer for all $n \geq 0.$ (b) Prove that if $x_n$ is prime, then either $n = 0$ or $n = 2^k$ for some integer $k \geq 0.$

Consider a $2\times 3$ grid where each entry is either $0$, $1$, or $2$. For how many such grids is the sum of the numbers in every row and in every column a multiple of $3$? One valid grid is shown below: $$\begin{bmatrix} 1 & 2 & 0 \\ 2 & 1 & 0 \end{bmatrix}$$

Let $D$ and $E$ be arbitrary points on the sides $BC$ and $AC$ of triangle $ABC$, respectively. The circumcircle of $\triangle ADC$ meets for the second time the circumcircle of $\triangle BCE$ at point $F$. Line $FE$ meets line $AD$ at point $G$, while line $FD$ meets line $BE$ at point $H$. Prove that lines $CF, AH$ and $BG$ pass through the same point.

Points $ A_{1}$, $ B_{1}$, $ C_{1}$ are chosen on the sides $ BC$, $ CA$, $ AB$ of a triangle $ ABC$ respectively. The circumcircles of triangles $ AB_{1}C_{1}$, $ BC_{1}A_{1}$, $ CA_{1}B_{1}$ intersect the circumcircle of triangle $ ABC$ again at points $ A_{2}$, $ B_{2}$, $ C_{2}$ respectively ($ A_{2}\neq A, B_{2}\neq B, C_{2}\neq C$). Points $ A_{3}$, $ B_{3}$, $ C_{3}$ are symmetric to $ A_{1}$, $ B_{1}$, $ C_{1}$ with respect to the midpoints of the sides $ BC$, $ CA$, $ AB$ respectively. Prove that the triangles $ A_{2}B_{2}C_{2}$ and $ A_{3}B_{3}C_{3}$ are similar.

Let $S$ be a set of real numbers with mean $M$. If the means of the sets $S\cup \{15\}$ and $S\cup \{15,1\}$ are $M + 2$ and $M + 1$, respectively, then how many elements does $S$ have?

A shopper plans to purchase an item that has a listed price greater than $ \$100$ and can use any one of the three coupons. Coupon A gives $ 15\%$ off the listed price, Coupon B gives $ \$30$ the listed price, and Coupon C gives $ 25\%$ off the amount by which the listed price exceeds $ \$100$. Let $ x$ and $ y$ be the smallest and largest prices, respectively, for which Coupon A saves at least as many dollars as Coupon B or C. What is $ y\minus{}x$? $ \textbf{(A)}\ 50\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 60\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 75\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 80\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ 100$

Let $n$ be the smallest positive integer such that the remainder of $3n+45$, when divided by $1060$, is $16$. Find the remainder of $18n+17$ upon division by $1920$.

Let $S_n$ denote the set of all permutations of the numbers $1,2,\dots,n.$ For $\pi\in S_n,$ let $\sigma(\pi)=1$ if $\pi$ is an even permutation and $\sigma(\pi)=-1$ if $\pi$ is an odd permutation. Also, let $v(\pi)$ denote the number of fixed points of $\pi.$ Show that \[ \sum_{\pi\in S_n}\frac{\sigma(\pi)}{v(\pi)+1}=(-1)^{n+1}\frac{n}{n+1}. \]

A scalene triangle $ABC$ was drawn, and Elmo marked its incenter $I$, Feuerbach point $X$, and Nagel point $N$. Sadly, after taking the abcdEfghijkLMnOpqrstuvwxyz, Elmo lost the triangle $ABC$. Can Elmo use only a ruler and compass to reconstruct the triangle? Proposed by [i]Karn Chutinan[/i]

Let $P_c(x)=x^4+ax^3+bx^2+cx+1$ and $Q_c(x)=x^4+cx^3+bx^2+ax+1$ with $a,b$ real numbers, $c \in \{1,2, \dots, 2017\}$ an integer and $a \ne c$. Define $A_c=\{\alpha | P_c(\alpha)=0\}$ and $B_c=\{\beta | P(\beta)=0\}$. (a) Find the number of unordered pairs of polynomials $P_c(x), Q_c(x)$ with exactly two common roots. (b) For any $1 \le c \le 2017$, find the sum of the elements of $A_c \Delta B_c$.

Given three congruent rectangles in the space. Their centers coincide, but the planes they lie in are mutually perpendicular. For any two of the three rectangles, the line of intersection of the planes of these two rectangles contains one midparallel of one rectangle and one midparallel of the other rectangle, and these two midparallels have different lengths. Consider the convex polyhedron whose vertices are the vertices of the rectangles. [b]a.)[/b] What is the volume of this polyhedron ? [b]b.)[/b] Can this polyhedron turn out to be a regular polyhedron ? If yes, what is the condition for this polyhedron to be regular ?

Is $\sum_{n=1}^{+\infty}\frac{\cos n}{n}(1 + \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} + \cdots + \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}})$ convergent? why?

Let $\mathcal F = \{ f: [0,1] \to [0,\infty) \mid f$ continuous $\}$ and $n$ an integer, $n\geq 2$. Find the smallest real constant $c$ such that for any $f\in \mathcal F$ the following inequality takes place \[ \int^1_0 f \left( \sqrt [n] x \right) dx \leq c \int^1_0 f(x) dx. \]

In a handbook of plants each plant is characterized by $100$ attributes (each attribute may either be present in a plant or not). Two plants are called [i]dissimilar [/i] if they differ by no less than $51$ attributes. (a) Prove that the handbook cannot describe more than $50$ pair-wise dissimilar plants. (b) Can it describe $50$ pairwise dissimilar plants? (Dima Tereshin)

Patty has $ 20$ coins consisting of nickels and dimes. If her nickels were dimes and her dimes were nickels, she would have $ 70$ cents more. How much are her coins worth? $ \textbf{(A)}\ \$1.15\qquad \textbf{(B)}\ \$1.20\qquad \textbf{(C)}\ \$1.25\qquad \textbf{(D)}\ \$1.30\qquad \textbf{(E)}\ \$1.35$

Let $ABCD$ be a quadrilateral with $\angle DAB=60^o$, $\angle ABC=60^o$ and $\angle BCD=120^o$. Diagonals $AC$, $BD$ intersect at point $M$ and $BM=a, MD=2a$. Let $O$ be the midpoint of side $AC$ and draw $OH \perp BD, H \in BD$ and $MN\perp OB, N \in OB$. Prove that i) $HM=MN=\frac{a}{2}$ ii) $AD=DC$ iii) $S_{ABCD}=\frac{9a^2}{2}$

Let $ G$ be a transitive subgroup of the symmetric group $ S_{25}$ different from $ S_{25}$ and $ A_{25}$. Prove that the order of $ G$ is not divisible by $ 23$. [i]J. Pelikan[/i]

Let $ABC$ be a triangle with $AB < AC$, incenter $I$, and $A$ excenter $I_{A}$. The incircle meets $BC$ at $D$. Define $E = AD\cap BI_{A}$, $F = AD\cap CI_{A}$. Show that the circumcircle of $\triangle AID$ and $\triangle I_{A}EF$ are tangent to each other

Four positive integers $x,y,z$ and $t$ satisfy the relations \[ xy - zt = x + y = z + t. \] Is it possible that both $xy$ and $zt$ are perfect squares?

Solve the equation for the positive integers: $$(x+2y)^2+2x+5y+9=(y+z)^2$$

Determine all complex numbers $\lambda$ for which there exists a positive integer $n$ and a real $n\times n$ matrix $A$ such that $A^2=A^T$ and $\lambda$ is an eigenvalue of $A$.