For a given positive integer $n\ge 2$, suppose positive integers $a_i$ where $1\le i\le n$ satisfy $a_1<a_2<\ldots <a_n$ and $\sum_{i=1}^n \frac{1}{a_i}\le 1$. Prove that, for any real number $x$, the following inequality holds \[\left(\sum_{i=1}^n\frac{1}{a_i^2+x^2}\right)^2\le\frac{1}{2}\cdot\frac{1}{a_1(a_1-1)+x^2} \] [i]Li Shenghong[/i]

Find all functions $ f : \mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$ that satisfy \[ f (x^{3} \plus{} y^{3}) \equal{} x^{2}f (x) \plus{} yf (y^{2}) \] for all $ x, y \in\mathbb R.$

Find the number of degree $8$ polynomials $f (x)$ with nonnegative integer coefficients satisfying both $f (1) = 16$ and $f (-1) = 8$.

Find the least positive integers $m,k$ such that a) There exist $2m+1$ consecutive natural numbers whose sum of cubes is also a cube. b) There exist $2k+1$ consecutive natural numbers whose sum of squares is also a square. The author is Vasile Suceveanu

Three men, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, working together, do a job in $6$ hours less time than Alpha alone, in $1$ hour less time than Beta alone, and in one-half the time needed by Gamma when working alone. Let $h$ be the number of hours needed by Alpha and Beta, working together to do the job. Then $h$ equals: $\text{(A)}\ \dfrac{5}{2}\qquad \text{(B)}\ \frac{3}{2}\qquad \text{(C)}\ \dfrac{4}{3}\qquad \text{(D)}\ \dfrac{5}{4}\qquad \text{(E)}\ \dfrac{3}{4}$

Let $e_1, e_2, . . . e_{2019}$ be independently chosen from the set $\{0, 1, . . . , 20\}$ uniformly at random. Let $\omega = e^{\frac{2\pi}{i} 2019}$. Determine the expected value of $$|e_1\omega + e_2\omega^2 + ... + e_{2019}\omega^{2019}|.$$

Suppose we have a sequence $a_1, a2_, ...$ of positive real numbers so that for each positive integer $n$, we have that $\sum_{k=1}^{n} a_ka_{\lfloor \sqrt{k} \rfloor} = n^2$. Determine the first value of $k$ so $a_k > 100$.

Let $(x_n)$ be an infinite sequence of real numbers from interval $(0, 1)$. An infinite sequence $(a_n)$ of positive integers is defined as follows: $a_1 = 1$, and for $i \ge 1$, $a_{i+1}$ is equal to the smallest positive integer $m$, for which $[x_1 + x_2 + \ldots + x_m] = a_i$. Show that for any indexes $i, j$ holds $a_{i+j} \ge a_i + a_j$. [i]Proposed by Nazar Serdyuk[/i]

Let $n\geq 3$ be a natural number and $x\in \mathbb{R}$, for which $\{ x\} =\{ x^2\} =\{ x^n\} $ (with $\{ x\} $ we denote the fractional part of $x$). Prove that $x$ is an integer.

Find all pairs of real numbers $(x,y)$ satisfying the system of equations: \begin{align*}\frac{1}{x} + \frac{1}{2y} &= (x^2+3y^2)(3x^2+y^2)\\ \frac{1}{x} - \frac{1}{2y} &= 2(y^4-x^4)\end{align*}

The positive integrer number $n$ has $1994$ digits. $14$ of its digits are $0$'s and the number of times that the other digits: $1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9$ appear are in proportion $1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9$, respectively. Prove that $n$ is not a perfect square.

[b]p1.[/b] Prove that $x = 2$ is the only real number satisfying $3^x + 4^x = 5^x$. [b]p2.[/b] Show that $\sqrt{9 + 4\sqrt5} -\sqrt{9 - 4\sqrt5}$ is an integer. [b]p3.[/b] Two players $A$ and $B$ play a game on a round table. Each time they take turn placing a round coin on the table. The coin has a uniform size, and this size is at least $10$ times smaller than the table size. They cannot place the coin on top of any part of other coins, and the whole coin must be on the table. If a player cannot place a coin, he loses. Suppose $A$ starts first. If both of them plan their moves wisely, there will be one person who will always win. Determine whether $A$ or $B$ will win, and then determine his winning strategy. [b]p4.[/b] Suppose you are given $4$ pegs arranged in a square on a board. A “move” consists of picking up a peg, reflecting it through any other peg, and placing it down on the board. For how many integers $1 \le n \le 2013$ is it possible to arrange the $4$ pegs into a [i]larger [/i] square using exactly $n$ moves? Justify your answers. [b]p5.[/b] Find smallest positive integer that has a remainder of $1$ when divided by $2$, a remainder of $2$ when divided by $3$, a remainder of $3$ when divided by $5$, and a remainder of $5$ when divided by $7$. [b]p6.[/b] Find the value of $$\sum_{m|496,m>0} \frac{1}{m},$$ where $m|496$ means $496$ is divisible by $m$. [b]p7.[/b] What is the value of $${100 \choose 0}+{100 \choose 4}+{100 \choose 8}+ ... +{100 \choose 100}?$$ [b]p8.[/b] An $n$-term sequence $a_0, a_1, ...,a_n$ will be called [i]sweet [/i] if, for each $0 \le i \le n -1$, $a_i$ is the number of times that the number $i$ appears in the sequence. For example, $1, 2, 1,0$ is a sweet sequence with $4$ terms. Given that $a_0$, $a_1$, $...$, $a_{2013}$ is a sweet sequence, find the value of $a^2_0+ a^2_1+ ... + a^2_{2013}.$ PS. You had better use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Let be three polynomials of degree two $ p_1,p_2,p_3\in\mathbb{R} [X] $ and the function $$ f:\mathbb{R}\longrightarrow\mathbb{R} ,\quad f(x)=\max\left( p_1(x),p_2(x),p_3(x)\right) . $$ Then, $ f $ is differentiable if and only if any of these three polynomials dominates the other two.

Let $f \in \mathbb Z[X]$. For an $n \in \mathbb N$, $n \geq 2$, we define $f_n : \mathbb Z / n \mathbb Z \to \mathbb Z / n \mathbb Z$ through $f_n \left( \widehat x \right) = \widehat{f \left( x \right)}$, for all $x \in \mathbb Z$. (a) Prove that $f_n$ is well defined. (b) Find all polynomials $f \in \mathbb Z[X]$ such that for all $n \in \mathbb N$, $n \geq 2$, the function $f_n$ is surjective. [i]Bogdan Enescu[/i]

Let $m, n$ integers such that satisfy $$m + n\sqrt2 = \left(1 +\sqrt2\right)^{2010} .$$ Find the remainder that is obtained when dividing $n$ by $5$.

$(MON 2)$ Given reals $x_0, x_1, \alpha, \beta$, find an expression for the solution of the system \[x_{n+2} -\alpha x_{n+1} -\beta x_n = 0, \qquad n= 0, 1, 2, \ldots\]

Find all second degree polynomials $P(x)$ such that for all $a \in\mathbb{R} , a \geq 1$, then $P(a^2+a) \geq a.P(a+1)$

Several machines were working in the workshop. After reconstruction, the number of machines decreased, and the percentage by which the number of machines decreased turned out to be equal to the number of remaining machines. What was the smallest number of machines that could have been in the workshop before the reconstruction?

Polynomial $ f\left(x\right)$ satisfies $ \left(x \minus{} 1\right)f\left(x \plus{} 1\right) \minus{} \left(x \plus{} 2\right)f\left(x\right) \equal{} 0$ for every $ x\in \Re$. If $ f\left(2\right) \equal{} 6$, $ f\left({\tfrac{3}{2}} \right) \equal{} ?$ $\textbf{(A)}\ -6 \qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 0 \qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac {3}{2} \qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \frac {15}{8} \qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \text{None}$

Let the polynomials \[P(x) = x^n + a_{n-1}x^{n-1 }+ \cdots + a_1x + a_0,\] \[Q(x) = x^m + b_{m-1}x^{m-1} + \cdots + b_1x + b_0,\] be given satisfying the identity $P(x)^2 = (x^2 - 1)Q(x)^2 + 1$. Prove the identity \[P'(x) = nQ(x).\]

A sequence of real numbers $a_1,a_2,\ldots$ satisfies the relation $$a_n=-\max_{i+j=n}(a_i+a_j)\qquad\text{for all}\quad n>2017.$$ Prove that the sequence is bounded, i.e., there is a constant $M$ such that $|a_n|\leq M$ for all positive integers $n$.

[b]p1.[/b] Three positive integers sum to $16$. What is the least possible value of the sum of their squares? [b]p2.[/b] Ben is thinking of an odd positive integer less than $1000$. Ben subtracts $ 1$ from his number and divides by $2$, resulting in another number. If his number is still odd, Ben repeats this procedure until he gets an even number. Given that the number he ends on is $2$, how many possible values are there for Ben’s original number? [b]p3.[/b] Triangle $ABC$ is isosceles, with $AB = BC = 18$ and has circumcircle $\omega$. Tangents to $\omega$ at $ A$ and $ B$ intersect at point $D$. If $AD = 27$, what is the length of $AC$? [b]p4.[/b] How many non-decreasing sequences of five natural numbers have first term $ 1$, last term $ 11$, and have no three terms equal? [b]p5.[/b] Adam is bored, and has written the string “EMCC” on a piece of paper. For fun, he decides to erase every letter “C”, and replace it with another instance of “EMCC”. For example, after one step, he will have the string “EMEMCCEMCC”. How long will his string be after $8$ of these steps? [b]p6.[/b] Eric has two coins, which land heads $40\%$ and $60\%$ of the time respectively. He chooses a coin randomly and flips it four times. Given that the first three flips contained two heads and one tail, what is the probability that the last flip was heads? [b]p7.[/b] In a five person rock-paper-scissors tournament, each player plays against every other player exactly once, with each game continuing until one player wins. After each game, the winner gets $ 1$ point, while the loser gets no points. Given that each player has a $50\%$ chance of defeating any other player, what is the probability that no two players end up with the same amount of points? [b]p8.[/b] Let $\vartriangle ABC$ have $\angle A = \angle B = 75^o$. Points $D, E$, and $F$ are on sides $BC$, $CA$, and $AB$, respectively, so that $EF$ is parallel to $BC$, $EF \perp DE$, and $DE = EF$. Find the ratio of $\vartriangle DEF$’s area to $\vartriangle ABC$’s area. [b]p9.[/b] Suppose $a, b, c$ are positive integers such that $a+b =\sqrt{c^2 + 336}$ and $a-b =\sqrt{c^2 - 336}$. Find $a+b+c$. [b]p10.[/b] How many times on a $12$-hour analog clock are there, such that when the minute and hour hands are swapped, the result is still a valid time? (Note that the minute and hour hands move continuously, and don’t always necessarily point to exact minute/hour marks.) [b]p11.[/b] Adam owns a square $S$ with side length $42$. First, he places rectangle $A$, which is $6$ times as long as it is wide, inside the square, so that all four vertices of $A$ lie on sides of $S$, but none of the sides of $ A$ are parallel to any side of $S$. He then places another rectangle $B$, which is $ 7$ times as long as it is wide, inside rectangle $A$, so that all four vertices of $ B$ lie on sides of $ A$, and again none of the sides of $B$ are parallel to any side of $A$. Find the length of the shortest side of rectangle $ B$. [b]p12.[/b] Find the value of $\sqrt{3 \sqrt{3^3 \sqrt{3^5 \sqrt{...}}}}$, where the exponents are the odd natural numbers, in increasing order. [b]p13.[/b] Jamesu and Fhomas challenge each other to a game of Square Dance, played on a $9 \times 9$ square grid. On Jamesu’s turn, he colors in a $2\times 2$ square of uncolored cells pink. On Fhomas’s turn, he colors in a $1 \times 1$ square of uncolored cells purple. Once Jamesu can no longer make a move, Fhomas gets to color in the rest of the cells purple. If Jamesu goes first, what the maximum number of cells that Fhomas can color purple, assuming both players play optimally in trying to maximize the number of squares of their color? [b]p14.[/b] Triangle $ABC$ is inscribed in circle $\omega$. The tangents to $\omega$ from $B$ and $C$ meet at $D$, and segments $AD$ and $BC$ intersect at $E$. If $\angle BAC = 60^o$ and the area of $\vartriangle BDE$ is twice the area of $\vartriangle CDE$, what is $\frac{AB}{AC}$ ? [b]p15.[/b] Fhomas and Jamesu are now having a number duel. First, Fhomas chooses a natural number $n$. Then, starting with Jamesu, each of them take turns making the following moves: if $n$ is composite, the player can pick any prime divisor $p$ of $n$, and replace $n$ by $n - p$, if $n$ is prime, the player can replace n by $n - 1$. The player who is faced with $ 1$, and hence unable to make a move, loses. How many different numbers $2 \le n \le 2019$ can Fhomas choose such that he has a winning strategy, assuming Jamesu plays optimally? PS. You had better use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

If it is known that the equation $$x^4+ax^3+2x^2+bx+1=0$$ has a (real) root, prove the inequality $$a^2+b^2 \ge 8.$$ (A Egorov)

If $x,y,z$ are real numbers satisfying relations \[x+y+z = 1 \quad \textrm{and} \quad \arctan x + \arctan y + \arctan z = \frac{\pi}{4},\] prove that $x^{2n+1} + y^{2n+1} + z^{2n+1} = 1$ holds for all positive integers $n$.

Let the $f:\mathbb{N}\rightarrow\mathbb{N}$ be the function such that (i) For all positive integers $n,$ $f(n+f(n))=f(n)$ (ii) $f(n_o)=1$ for some $n_0$ Prove that $f(n)\equiv 1.$