Let $n{}$ be a non-negative integer and consider the standard power expansion of the following polynomial \[\sum_{k=0}^n\binom{n}{k}^2(X+1)^{2k}(X-1)^{2(n-k)}=\sum_{k=0}^{2n}a_kX^k.\]The coefficients $a_{2k+1}$ all vanish since the polynomial is invariant under the change $X\mapsto -X.$ Prove that the coefficients $a_{2k}$ are all positive.

Let $(a_{n})_{n\ge 0}$ and $(b_{n})_{n\ge 0}$ be two sequences with arbitrary real values $a_0, a_1, b_0, b_1$. For $n\ge 1$, let $a_{n+1}, b_{n+1}$ be defined in this way: $$a_{n+1}=\dfrac{b_{n-1}+b_{n}}{2}, b_{n+1}=\dfrac{a_{n-1}+a_{n}}{2}$$ Prove that for any constant $c>0$ there exists a positive integer $N$ s.t. for all $n>N$, $|a_{n}-b_{n}|<c$.

Two monic quadratic trinomials $f(x)$ and $g(x)$ take negative values on disjoint intervals. Prove that there exist positive numbers $\alpha$ and $\beta$ such that $\alpha f(x) + \beta g(x) > 0$ for all real $x$.

Show that if $x_1+x_2+x_3 = 0$ for real numbers $x_1,x_2,x_3$, then $x_1x_2+x_2x_3+x_3x_1\le 0$. Find all $n \ge 4$ for which $x_1+x_2+...+x_n = 0$ implies $x_1x_2+x_2x_3+...+x_{n-1}x_n+x_nx_1 \le 0$.

Let $N$ be the smallest positive integer such that $N+2N+3N+\ldots +9N$ is a number all of whose digits are equal. What is the sum of digits of $N$?

For any non-empty numerical numbers $A$ and $B$, denote $$A + B = \{a + b | a \in A, b \in B\} $$ a) Determine the largest natural number not $p$ with the property: [i] there exists[/i] $A,B \subset N$ [i]such that[/i] $card \, A = card\, B = p$ [i]and [/i] $A+B = \{0, 1, 2,..., 2012\}$ b) Determine the smallest natural number $n$ with the property: [i] there exists[/i] $A,B \subset N$ [i]such that[/i] $card \, A = card\, B $ [i]and [/i] $A+B =\{0, 1, 2,..., 2012\}$

Given the polynomial $ P(x) = \frac{1}{2} - \frac{1}{3}x + \frac{1}{6}x^2 $. Let $ Q(x) = \sum_{k=0}^{m} b_k x^k $ be a polynomial given by $$ Q(x) = P(x) \cdot P(x^3) \cdot P(x^9) \cdot P(x^{27}) \cdot P(x^{81}). $$ Calculate $ \sum_{k=0}^m |b_k| $.

Let $a,b,c,d$ be real numbers satisfying \[abcd=1\quad \text{and}\quad a+\frac1a+b+\frac1b+c+\frac1c+d+\frac1d=0.\] Prove that at least one of the numbers $ab$, $ac$, $ad$ equals $-1$.

Solve the system of equations $$\begin{cases} x^4-2x^3+x=y^2-y \\ y^4-2y^3+y=x^2-x \end{cases}$$

[hide=C stands for Cantor, G stands for Gauss]they had two problem sets under those two names[/hide] [u] Set 4[/u] [b]C.16 / G.6[/b] Let $a, b$, and $c$ be real numbers. If $a^3 + b^3 + c^3 = 64$ and $a + b = 0$, what is the value of $c$? [b]C.17 / G.8[/b] Bender always turns $60$ degrees clockwise. He walks $3$ meters, turns, walks $2$ meters, turns, walks $1$ meter, turns, walks $4$ meters, turns, walks $1$ meter, and turns. How many meters does Bender have to walk to get back to his original position? [b]C.18 / G.13[/b] Guang has $4$ identical packs of gummies, and each pack has a red, a blue, and a green gummy. He eats all the gummies so that he finishes one pack before going on to the next pack, but he never eats two gummies of the same color in a row. How many different ways can Guang eat the gummies? [b]C.19[/b] Find the sum of all digits $q$ such that there exists a perfect square that ends in $q$. [b]C.20 / G.14[/b] The numbers $5$ and $7$ are written on a whiteboard. Every minute Stev replaces the two numbers on the board with their sum and difference. After $2017$ minutes the product of the numbers on the board is $m$. Find the number of factors of $m$. [u]Set 5[/u] [b]C.21 / G.10[/b] On the planet Alletas, $\frac{32}{33}$ of the people with silver hair have purple eyes and $\frac{8}{11}$ of the people with purple eyes have silver hair. On Alletas, what is the ratio of the number of people with purple eyes to the number of people with silver hair? [b]C.22 / G.15[/b] Let $P$ be a point on $y = -1$. Let the clockwise rotation of $P$ by $60^o$ about $(0, 0)$ be $P'$. Find the minimum possible distance between $P'$ and $(0, -1)$. [b]C.23 / G.18[/b] How many triangles can be made from the vertices and center of a regular hexagon? Two congruent triangles with different orientations are considered distinct. [b]C.24[/b] Jeremy and Kevin are arguing about how cool a sweater is on a scale of $1-5$. Jeremy says “$3$”, and Kevin says “$4$”. Jeremy angrily responds “$3.5$”, to which Kevin replies “$3.75$”. The two keep going at it, responding with the average of the previous two ratings. What rating will they converge to (and settle on as the coolness of the sweater)? [b]C.25 / G.20[/b] An even positive integer $n$ has an [i]odd factorization[/i] if the largest odd divisor of $n$ is also the smallest odd divisor of $n$ greater than $1$. Compute the number of even integers $n$ less than $50$ with an odd factorization. [u]Set 6[/u] [b]C.26 / G.26[/b] When $2018! = 2018 \times 2017 \times ... \times 1$ is multiplied out and written as an integer, find the number of $4$’s. If the correct answer is $A$ and your answer is $E$, you will receive $12 \min\, \, (A/E, E/A)^3$points. [b]C.27 / G.27[/b] A circle of radius $10$ is cut into three pieces of equal area with two parallel cuts. Find the width of the center piece. [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/e/2/e0ab4a2d51052ee364dd14336677b053a40352.png[/img] If the correct answer is $A$ and your answer is $E$, you will receive $\max \, \,(0, 12 - 6|A - E|)$points. [b]C.28 / G.28[/b] An equilateral triangle of side length $1$ is randomly thrown onto an infinite set of lines, spaced $1$ apart. On average, how many times will the boundary of the triangle intersect one of the lines? [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/0/1/773c3d3e0dfc1df54945824e822feaa9c07eb7.png[/img] For example, in the above diagram, the boundary of the triangle intersects the lines in $2$ places. If the correct answer is $A$ and your answer is $E$, you will receive $\max\, \,(0, 12-120|A-E|/A)$ points. [b]C.29 / G.29[/b] Call an ordered triple of integers $(a, b, c)$ nice if there exists an integer $x$ such that $ax^2 + bx + c = 0$. How many nice triples are there such that $-100 \le a, b, c \le 100$? If the correct answer is $A$ and your answer is $E$, you will receive $12 \min\, \,(A/E, E/A)$ points. [b]C.30 / G.30[/b] Let $f(i)$ denote the number of MBMT volunteers to be born in the $i$th state to join the United States. Find the value of $1f(1) + 2f(2) + 3f(3) + ... + 50f(50)$. Note 1: Maryland was the $7$th state to join the US. Note 2: Last year’s MBMT competition had $42$ volunteers. If the correct answer is $A$ and your answer is $E$, you will receive $\max\, \,(0, 12 - 500(|A -E|/A)^2)$ points. PS. You should use hide for answers. C1-15/ G1-10 have been posted [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c3h2790674p24540132]here [/url] and G16-25 [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c3h2790679p24540159]here[/url]. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Find all function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ such that for all $x,y\in\mathbb{R}$ the following equality holds \[ f(\left\lfloor x\right\rfloor y)=f(x)\left\lfloor f(y)\right\rfloor \] where $\left\lfloor a\right\rfloor $ is greatest integer not greater than $a.$ [i]Proposed by Pierre Bornsztein, France[/i]

Let $x_0,\dots,x_{2017}$ are positive integers and $x_{2017}\geq\dots\geq x_0=1$ such that $A=\{x_1,\dots,x_{2017}\}$ consists of exactly $25$ different numbers. Prove that $\sum_{i=2}^{2017}(x_i-x_{i-2})x_i\geq 623$, and find the number of sequences that holds the case of equality.

Consider the following inequality for real numbers $x,y,z$: $|x-y|+|y-z|+|z-x| \le a \sqrt{x^2 +y^2 +z^2}$ . (a) Prove that the inequality is valid for $a = 2\sqrt2$ (b) Assuming that $x,y,z$ are nonnegative, show that the inequality is also valid for $a = 2$.

Let $n \geq 1$ be an integer, and $a_0, a_1, \dots, a_{n-1}$ be real numbers such that \[ 1 \geq a_{n-1} \geq a_{n-2} \geq \dots \geq a_1 \geq a_0 \geq 0. \] We assume that $\lambda$ is a real root of the polynomial \[ x^n + a_{n-1} x^{n-1} + \dots + a_1 x + a_0. \] Prove that $|\lambda| \leq 1$.

Find the smallest constant M, so that for any real numbers $a_1, a_2, \dots a_{2023} \in [4, 6]$ and $b_1, b_2, \dots b_{2023} \in [9, 12] $ following inequality holds: $$ \sqrt{a_1^2 + a_2^2 + \dots + a_{2023}^2} \cdot \sqrt{b_1^2 + b_2^2 + \dots + b_{2023}^2} \leq M \cdot \left ( a_1 b_1 + a_2 b_2 + \dots + a_{2023} b_{2023} \right) $$ [i]Proposed by Zaza Meliqidze, Georgia[/i]

Three sequences ${a_n},{b_n},{c_n}$ satisfy the following conditions. [list] [*]$a_1=2,\,b_1=4,\,c_1=5$ [*]$\forall n,\; a_{n+1}=b_n+\frac{1}{c_n}, \, b_{n+1}=c_n+\frac{1}{a_n}, \, c_{n+1}=a_n+\frac{1}{b_n}$ [/list] Prove that for all positive integers $n$, $ $ $ $ $max(a_n,b_n,c_n)>\sqrt{2n+13}$.

For any positive integer $n$, let $f(n)$ denote the $n$- th positive nonsquare integer, i.e., $f(1) = 2, f(2) = 3, f(3) = 5, f(4) = 6$, etc. Prove that $f(n)=n +\{\sqrt{n}\}$ where $\{x\}$ denotes the integer closest to $x$. (For example, $\{\sqrt{1}\} = 1, \{\sqrt{2}\} = 1, \{\sqrt{3}\} = 2, \{\sqrt{4}\} = 2$.)

William was bored at the math lesson, so he drew a circle and $n\ge3$ empty cells around the circumference. In every cell he wrote a positive number. Later on he erased the numbers and in every cell wrote the geometric mean of the numbers previously written in the two neighboring cells. Show that there exists a cell whose number was not replaced by a larger number.

The sequence $ (x_n)$, $ n\in\mathbb{N}^*$ is defined by $ |x_1|<1$, and for all $ n \ge 1$, \[ x_{n\plus{}1} \equal{}\frac{\minus{}x_n \plus{}\sqrt{3\minus{}3x_n^2}}{2}\] (a) Find the necessary and sufficient condition for $ x_1$ so that each $ x_n > 0$. (b) Is this sequence periodic? And why?

Find all functions $f\colon\mathbb R^+\to\mathbb R^+$ such that \[(f(x)+f(y)+f(z))(xf(y)+yf(z)+zf(x))>(f(x)+y)(f(y)+z)(f(z)+x)\] for all $x,y,z\in\mathbb R^+$. [i]Alexander Wang[/i] [size=59](oops)[/size]

Prove that if $m$ is a natural number and $P,Q,R$ polynomials of degrees less than $m$ satisfying $$x^{2m}P(x,y)+y^{2m}Q(x,y) = (x+y)^{2m}R(x,y),$$ then each of the polynomials is zero.

Suppose that $f : \mathbb{R}^+\to\mathbb R$ satisfies the equation $$f(a+b+c+d) = f(a)+f(b)+f(c)+f(d)$$ for all $a,b,c,d$ that are the four sides of some tangential quadrilateral. Show that $f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y)$ for all $x,y\in\mathbb{R}^+$.

Let $n$ be a positive integer, and consider a sequence $a_1 , a_2 , \dotsc , a_n $ of positive integers. Extend it periodically to an infinite sequence $a_1 , a_2 , \dotsc $ by defining $a_{n+i} = a_i $ for all $i \ge 1$. If \[a_1 \le a_2 \le \dots \le a_n \le a_1 +n \] and \[a_{a_i } \le n+i-1 \quad\text{for}\quad i=1,2,\dotsc, n, \] prove that \[a_1 + \dots +a_n \le n^2. \]

[u]Set 7[/u] [b]G19.[/b] How many ordered triples $(x, y, z)$ with $1 \le x, y, z \le 50$ are there such that both $x + y + z$ and $xy + yz + zx$ are divisible by$ 6$? [b]G20.[/b] Triangle $ABC$ has orthocenter $H$ and circumcenter $O$. If $D$ is the foot of the perpendicular from $A$ to $BC$, then $AH = 8$ and $HD = 3$. If $\angle AOH = 90^o$, find $BC^2$. [b]G21.[/b] Nate flips a fair coin until he gets two heads in a row, immediately followed by a tails. The probability that he flips the coin exactly $12$ times is $\frac{m}{n}$ where $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime positive integers. Find $m + n$. [u]Set 8[/u] [b]G22.[/b] Let $f$ be a function defined by $f(1) = 1$ and $$f(n) = \frac{1}{p}f\left(\frac{n}{p}\right)f(p) + 2p - 2,$$ where $p$ is the least prime dividing $n$, for all integers $n \ge 2$. Find $f(2022)$. [b]G23.[/b] Jessica has $15$ balls numbered $1$ through $15$. With her left hand, she scoops up $2$ of the balls. With her right hand, she scoops up $2$ of the remaining balls. The probability that the sum of the balls in her left hand is equal to the sum of the balls in her right hand can be expressed as $\frac{m}{n}$ where $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime positive integers. Find $m + n$. [b]G24.[/b] Let $ABCD$ be a cyclic quadrilateral such that its diagonal $BD = 17$ is the diameter of its circumcircle. Given $AB = 8$, $BC = CD$, and that a line $\ell$ through A intersects the incircle of $ABD$ at two points $P$ and $Q$, the maximum area of $CP Q$ can be expressed as a fraction $\frac{m}{n}$ for relatively prime positive integers $m$ and $n$. Find $m + n$. [u]Set 9[/u] [i]This set consists of three estimation problems, with scoring schemes described.[/i] [b]G25.[/b] Estimate $N$, the total number of participants (in person and online) at MOAA this year. An estimate of $e$ gets a total of max $ \left( 0, \lfloor 150 \left( 1- \frac{|N-e|}{N}\right) \rfloor -120 \right)$ points. [b]G26.[/b] If $A$ is the the total number of in person participants at MOAA this year, and $B$ is the total number of online participants at MOAA this year, estimate $N$, the product $AB$. An estimate of $e$ gets a total of max $(0, 30 - \lceil \log10(8|N - e| + 1)\rceil )$ points. [b]G27.[/b] Estimate $N$, the total number of letters in all the teams that signed up for MOAA this year, both in person and online. An estimate of e gets a total of max $(0, 30 - \lceil 7 log5(|N - E|)\rceil )$ points. PS. You should use hide for answers. Sets 1-3 have been posted [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c3h3131303p28367061]here [/url] and 4-6 [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c3h3131305p28367080]here[/url]. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Prove that there doesn't exist a function $f:\mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{N}$, such that $(m+f(n))^2 \geq 3f(m)^2+n^2$ for all $m, n \in \mathbb{N}$.