Let $f(x)$ be a polynomial in $x$ with integer coefficients and suppose that for five distinct integers $a_1, \ldots, a_5$ one has $f(a_1) = f(a_2) = \ldots = f(a_5) = 2$. Show that there does not exist an integer $b$ such that $f(b) = 9$.

[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].

Let $f$ be a polynomial of degree $n$ with integer coefficients and $p$ a prime for which $f$, considered modulo $p$, is a degree-$k$ irreducible polynomial over $\mathbb{F}_p$. Show that $k$ divides the degree of the splitting field of $f$ over $\mathbb{Q}$.

Let $\displaystyle {x, y, z}$ be positive real numbers such that $\displaystyle {xyz = 1}$. Prove the inequality:$$\displaystyle{\dfrac{1}{x\left(ay+b\right)}+\dfrac{1}{y\left(az+b\right)}+\dfrac{1}{z\left(ax+b\right)}\geq 3}$$ if: (A) $\displaystyle {a = 0, b = 1}$ (B) $\displaystyle {a = 1, b = 0}$ (C) $\displaystyle {a + b = 1, \; a, b> 0}$ When the equality holds?

Consider a finite field $ K. $ [b]a)[/b] Prove that there is an element $ k $ in $ K $ having the property that the polynom $ X^3+k $ is irreducible in $ K[X], $ if $ \text{ord} (K)\equiv 1\pmod {12}. $ [b]b)[/b] Is [b]a)[/b] still true if, intead, $ \text{ord} (K) \equiv -1\pmod{12} ? $ [i]Dorel Miheț[/i]

A Mediterranean polynomial has only real roots and it is of the form \[ P(x) = x^{10}-20x^9+135x^8+a_7x^7+a_6x^6+a_5x^5+a_4x^4+a_3x^3+a_2x^2+a_1x+a_0 \] with real coefficients $a_0\ldots,a_7$. Determine the largest real number that occurs as a root of some Mediterranean polynomial. [i](Proposed by Gerhard Woeginger, Austria)[/i]

Let $n \geqslant 100$ be an integer. Ivan writes the numbers $n, n+1, \ldots, 2 n$ each on different cards. He then shuffles these $n+1$ cards, and divides them into two piles. Prove that at least one of the piles contains two cards such that the sum of their numbers is a perfect square.

Given is the function $ f\equal{} \lfloor x^2 \rfloor \plus{} \{ x \}$ for all positive reals $ x$. ( $ \lfloor x \rfloor$ denotes the largest integer less than or equal $ x$ and $ \{ x \} \equal{} x \minus{} \lfloor x \rfloor$.) Show that there exists an arithmetic sequence of different positive rational numbers, which all have the denominator $ 3$, if they are a reduced fraction, and don’t lie in the range of the function $ f$.

Let $f(x)$ be a nonconstant real polynomial. The sequence $\{a_i\}_{i=1}^{\infty}$ of real numbers is strictly increasing and unbounded, as $$a_{i+1}<a_i+2020.$$ The integers $\lfloor{|f(a_1)|}\rfloor$ , $\lfloor{|f(a_2)|}\rfloor$ , $\lfloor{|f(a_3)|}\rfloor$ , $\dots$ are written consecutively in such a way that their digits form an infinite sequence of digits $\{s_k\}_{k=1}^{\infty}$ (here $s_k\in\{0, 1, \dots, 9\}$). $\quad$If $n\in\mathbb{N}$ , prove that among the numbers $\overline{s_{n(k-1)+1}s_{n(k-1)+2}\cdots s_{nk}}$ , where $k\in\mathbb{N}$ , all $n$-digit numbers appear.

Does there exist a function $f:\mathbb{Z}\to\mathbb{Z}$ such that $f(x+f(y))=f(x)-y$ for all integers $x$ and $y$?

A positive number $\dfrac{m}{n}$ has the property that it is equal to the ratio of $7$ plus the number’s reciprocal and $65$ minus the number’s reciprocal. Given that $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime positive integers, find $2m + n$.

[u]Round 1[/u] [b]p1.[/b] Alex is on a week-long mining quest. Each morning, she mines at least $1$ and at most $10$ diamonds and adds them to her treasure chest (which already contains some diamonds). Every night she counts the total number of diamonds in her collection and finds that it is divisible by either $22$ or $25$. Show that she miscounted. [b]p2.[/b] Hermione set out a row of $11$ Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans for Ron to try. There are $5$ chocolateflavored beans that Ron likes and $6$ beans flavored like earwax, which he finds disgusting. All beans look the same, and Hermione tells Ron that a chocolate bean always has another chocolate bean next to it. What is the smallest number of beans that Ron must taste to guarantee he finds a chocolate one? [b]p3.[/b] There are $101$ pirates on a pirate ship: the captain and $100$ crew. Each pirate, including the captain, starts with $1$ gold coin. The captain makes proposals for redistributing the coins, and the crew vote on these proposals. The captain does not vote. For every proposal, each crew member greedily votes “yes” if he gains coins as a result of the proposal, “no” if he loses coins, and passes otherwise. If strictly more crew members vote “yes” than “no,” the proposal takes effect. The captain can make any number of proposals, one after the other. What is the largest number of coins the captain can accumulate? [b]p4.[/b] There are $100$ food trucks in a circle and $10$ gnomes who sample their menus. For the first course, all the gnomes eat at different trucks. For each course after the first, gnome #$1$ moves $1$ truck left or right and eats there; gnome #$2$ moves $2$ trucks left or right and eats there; ... gnome #$10$ moves $10$ trucks left or right and eats there. All gnomes move at the same time. After some number of courses, each food truck had served at least one gnome. Show that at least one gnome ate at some food truck twice. [b]p5.[/b] The town of Lumenville has $100$ houses and is preparing for the math festival. The Tesla wiring company lays lengths of power wire in straight lines between the houses so that power flows between any two houses, possibly by passing through other houses.The Edison lighting company hangs strings of lights in straight lines between pairs of houses so that each house is connected by a string to exactly one other. Show that however the houses are arranged, the Edison company can always hang their strings of lights so that the total length of the strings is no more than the total length of the power wires the Tesla company used. [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/9/2/763de9f4138b4dc552247e9316175036c649b6.png[/img] [u]Round 2[/u] [b]p6.[/b] What is the largest number of zeros that could appear at the end of $1^n + 2^n + 3^n + 4^n$, where n can be any positive integer? [b]p7.[/b] A tennis academy has $2023$ members. For every group of 1011 people, there is a person outside of the group who played a match against everyone in it. Show there is someone who has played against all $2022$ other members. PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

If $x$ is a real number such that $x^2 -x$ is an integer, and for some $n \ge 3$, $x^n -x$ is also an integer, prove that $x$ is an integer.

Let $x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n$ be positive reals; for any positive integer $k$, let $S_k=x_1^k+x_2^k+\ldots+x_n^k$. (a) Given that $S_1<S_2$, show that $S_1, S_2, S_3, \ldots$ is strictly increasing. (b) Prove that there exists a positive integer $n$ and positive reals $x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n$, such that $S_1>S_2$ and $S_1, S_2, S_3, \ldots$ is not strictly decreasing.

Which of the following claims are true, and which of them are false? If a fact is true you should prove it, if it isn't, find a counterexample. a) Let $a,b,c$ be real numbers such that $ a^{2013} + b^{2013} + c^{2013} = 0 $. Then $ a^{2014} + b^{2014} + c^{2014} = 0 $. b) Let $a,b,c$ be real numbers such that $ a^{2014} + b^{2014} + c^{2014} = 0 $. Then $ a^{2015} + b^{2015} + c^{2015} = 0 $. c) Let $a,b,c$ be real numbers such that $ a^{2013} + b^{2013} + c^{2013} = 0 $ and $ a^{2015} + b^{2015} + c^{2015} = 0 $. Then $ a^{2014} + b^{2014} + c^{2014} = 0 $. [i]Proposed by Matko Ljulj[/i]

[b]p1.[/b] Determine the number of ways to place $4$ rooks on a $4 \times 4$ chessboard such that: (a) no two rooks attack one another, and (b) the main diagonal (the set of squares marked $X$ below) does not contain any rooks. [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/e/e/e3aa96de6c8ed468c6ef3837e66a0bce360d36.png[/img] The rooks are indistinguishable and the board cannot be rotated. (Two rooks attack each other if they are in the same row or column.) [b]p2.[/b] Seven students, numbered $1$ to $7$ in counter-clockwise order, are seated in a circle. Fresh Mann has 100 erasers, and he wants to distribute them to the students, albeit unfairly. Starting with person $ 1$ and proceeding counter-clockwise, Fresh Mann gives $i$ erasers to student $i$; for example, he gives $ 1$ eraser to student $ 1$, then $2$ erasers to student $2$, et cetera. He continues around the circle until he does not have enough erasers to give to the next person. At this point, determine the number of erasers that Fresh Mann has. [b]p3.[/b] Let $ABC$ be a triangle with $AB = AC = 17$ and $BC = 24$. Approximate $\angle ABC$ to the nearest multiple of $10$ degrees. [b]p4.[/b] Define a sequence of rational numbers $\{x_n\}$ by $x_1 =\frac35$ and for $n \ge 1$, $x_{n+1} = 2 - \frac{1}{x_n}$ . Compute the product $x_1x_2x_3... x_{2013}$. [b]p5.[/b] In equilateral triangle $ABC$, points $P$ and $R$ lie on segment $AB$, points $I$ and $M$ lie on segment $BC$, and points $E$ and $S$ lie on segment $CA$ such that $PRIMES$ is a equiangular hexagon. Given that $AB = 11$, $PR = 2$, $IM = 3$, and $ES = 5$, compute the area of hexagon $PRIMES$. [b]p6.[/b] Let $f(a, b) = \frac{a^2}{a+b}$ . Let $A$ denote the sum of $f(i, j)$ over all pairs of integers $(i, j)$ with $1 \le i < j \le 10$; that is, $$A = (f(1, 2) + f(1, 3) + ...+ f(1, 10)) + (f(2, 3) + f(2, 4) +... + f(2, 10)) +... + f(9, 10).$$ Similarly, let $B$ denote the sum of $f(i, j)$ over all pairs of integers $(i, j)$ with $1 \le j < i \le 10$, that is, $$B = (f(2, 1) + f(3, 1) + ... + f(10, 1)) + (f(3, 2) + f(4, 2) +... + f(10, 2)) +... + f(10, 9).$$ Compute $B - A$. [b]p7.[/b] Fresh Mann has a pile of seven rocks with weights $1, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16$, and $32$ pounds and some integer X between $1$ and $64$, inclusive. He would like to choose a set of the rocks whose total weight is exactly $X$ pounds. Given that he can do so in more than one way, determine the sum of all possible values of $X$. (The two $1$-pound rocks are indistinguishable.) [b]p8.[/b] Let $ABCD$ be a convex quadrilateral with $AB = BC = CA$. Suppose that point $P$ lies inside the quadrilateral with $AP = PD = DA$ and $\angle PCD = 30^o$. Given that $CP = 2$ and $CD = 3$, compute $CA$. [b]p9.[/b] Define a sequence of rational numbers $\{x_n\}$ by $x_1 = 2$, $x_2 = \frac{13}{2}$ , and for $n \ge 1$, $x_{n+2} = 3 -\frac{3}{x_{n+1}}+\frac{1}{x_nx_{n+1}}$. Compute $x_{100}$. [b]p10.[/b] Ten prisoners are standing in a line. A prison guard wants to place a hat on each prisoner. He has two colors of hats, red and blue, and he has $10$ hats of each color. Determine the number of ways in which the prison guard can place hats such that among any set of consecutive prisoners, the number of prisoners with red hats and the number of prisoners with blue hats differ by at most $2$. PS. You had better use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Find all pairs $(x,y)$ of positive real numbers such that $xy$ is an integer and $x+y = \lfloor x^2 - y^2 \rfloor$.

Let $ n > 1$ be a fixed integer. Define functions $ f_0(x) \equal{} 0,$ $ f_1(x) \equal{} 1 \minus{} \cos(x),$ and for $ k > 0,$ \[ f_{k\plus{}1}(x) \equal{} f_k(x) \cdot \cos(x) \minus{} f_{k\minus{}1}(x).\] If $ F(x) \equal{} \sum^n_{r\equal{}1} f_r(x),$ prove that [b](a)[/b] $ 0 < F(x) < 1$ for $ 0 < x < \frac{\pi}{n\plus{}1},$ and [b](b)[/b] $ F(x) > 1$ for $ \frac{\pi}{n\plus{}1} < x < \frac{\pi}{n}.$

Let $n$ be a positive integer, $x_1,x_2,\ldots,x_{2n}$ be non-negative real numbers with sum $4$. Prove that there exist integer $p$ and $q$, with $0 \le q \le n-1$, such that \[ \sum_{i=1}^q x_{p+2i-1} \le 1 \mbox{ and } \sum_{i=q+1}^{n-1} x_{p+2i} \le 1, \] where the indices are take modulo $2n$. [i]Note:[/i] If $q=0$, then $\sum_{i=1}^q x_{p+2i-1}=0$; if $q=n-1$, then $\sum_{i=q+1}^{n-1} x_{p+2i}=0$.

We distribute $n\ge1$ labelled balls among nine persons $A,B,C, \dots , I$. How many ways are there to do this so that $A$ gets the same number of balls as $B,C,D$ and $E$ together?

Find all pairs of cubic equations $x^3 +ax^2 +bx +c =0$ and $x^3 +bx^2 + ax +c = 0$ where $a,b,c$ are integers, such that each equation has three integer roots and both the equations have exactly one common root.

In terms of the real numbers $a$ and $b$ determine the minimum value of $$ \sqrt{(x+a)^2+1}+\sqrt{(x+1-a)^2+1}+\sqrt{(x+b)^2+1}+\sqrt{(x+1-b)^2+1}$$ as well as all values of $x$ which attain it.

Find all real numbers $ a $ such that $ x,y>a\implies x+y+xy>a. $ [i]Gheorghe Iurea[/i]

Suppose $P(n) $ is a nonconstant polynomial where all of its coefficients are nonnegative integers such that \[ \sum_{i=1}^n P(i) | nP(n+1) \] for every $n \in \mathbb{N}$. Prove that there exists an integer $k \ge 0$ such that \[ P(n) = \binom{n+k}{n-1} P(1) \] for every $n \in \mathbb{N}$.

[b]p1.[/b] Calculate $\left( \frac12 + \frac13 + \frac14 \right)^2$. [b]p2.[/b] Find the $2010^{th}$ digit after the decimal point in the expansion of $\frac17$. [b]p3.[/b] If you add $1$ liter of water to a solution consisting of acid and water, the new solutions will contain of $30\%$ water. If you add another $5$ liters of water to the new solution, it will contain $36\frac{4}{11}\%$ water. Find the number of liters of acid in the original solution. [b]p4.[/b] John places $5$ indistinguishable blue marbles and $5$ indistinguishable red marbles into two distinguishable buckets such that each bucket has at least one blue marble and one red marble. How many distinguishable marble distributions are possible after the process is completed? [b]p5.[/b] In quadrilateral $PEAR$, $PE = 21$, $EA = 20$, $AR = 15$, $RE = 25$, and $AP = 29$. Find the area of the quadrilateral. [b]p6.[/b] Four congruent semicircles are drawn within the boundary of a square with side length $1$. The center of each semicircle is the midpoint of a side of the square. Each semicircle is tangent to two other semicircles. Region $R$ consists of points lying inside the square but outside of the semicircles. The area of $R$ can be written in the form $a - b\pi$, where $a$ and $b$ are positive rational numbers. Compute $a + b$. [b]p7.[/b] Let $x$ and $y$ be two numbers satisfying the relations $x\ge 0$, $y\ge 0$, and $3x + 5y = 7$. What is the maximum possible value of $9x^2 + 25y^2$? [b]p8.[/b] In the Senate office in Exie-land, there are $6$ distinguishable senators and $6$ distinguishable interns. Some senators and an equal number of interns will attend a convention. If at least one senator must attend, how many combinations of senators and interns can attend the convention? [b]p9.[/b] Evaluate $(1^2 - 3^2 + 5^2 - 7^2 + 9^2 - ... + 2009^2) -(2^2 - 4^2 + 6^2 - 8^2 + 10^2- ... + 2010^2)$. [b]p10.[/b] Segment $EA$ has length $1$. Region $R$ consists of points $P$ in the plane such that $\angle PEA \ge 120^o$ and $PE <\sqrt3$. If point $X$ is picked randomly from the region$ R$, the probability that $AX <\sqrt3$ can be written in the form $a - \frac{\sqrt{b}}{c\pi}$ , where $a$ is a rational number, $b$ and $c$ are positive integers, and $b$ is not divisible by the square of a prime. Find the ordered triple $(a, b, c)$. PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].