Kostas and Helene have the following dialogue: Kostas: I have in my mind three positive real numbers with product $1$ and sum equal to the sum of all their pairwise products. Helene: I think that I know the numbers you have in mind. They are all equal to $1$. Kostas: In fact, the numbers you mentioned satisfy my conditions, but I did not think of these numbers. The numbers you mentioned have the minimal sum between all possible solutions of the problem. Can you decide if Kostas is right? (Explain your answer).

For all natural $n$, an $n$-staircase is a figure consisting of unit squares, with one square in the first row, two squares in the second row, and so on, up to $n$ squares in the $n^{th}$ row, such that all the left-most squares in each row are aligned vertically. Let $f(n)$ denote the minimum number of square tiles requires to tile the $n$-staircase, where the side lengths of the square tiles can be any natural number. e.g. $f(2)=3$ and $f(4)=7$. (a) Find all $n$ such that $f(n)=n$. (b) Find all $n$ such that $f(n) = n+1$.

Consider a cube $C$ and two planes $\sigma, \tau$, which divide Euclidean space into several regions. Prove that the interior of at least one of these regions meets at least three faces of the cube.

Let $n\geq3$ an integer. Mario draws $20$ lines in the plane, such that there are not two parallel lines. For each [b]equilateral triangle[/b] formed by three of these lines, Mario receives three coins. For each [b]isosceles[/b] and [b]non-equilateral[/b] triangle ([u]at the same time[/u]) formed by three of these lines, Mario receives a coin. How is the maximum number of coins that can Mario receive?

Three distinct positive integers are chosen at random from $\{1,2,3...,12\}$. The probability that no two elements of the set have an absolute difference less than or equal to $2$ can be written as $\frac{a}{b}$ where $a$ and $b$ are relatively prime positive integers. Find $a +b$.

The hall in a castle is a regular hexagon where its sides' length is 6 meters. The floor of the hall is to be tiled with equilateral triangular tiles where its sides' length is 50 centimeters. Each tile is divided into three congruent triangles by their altitudes up to its orthocenter (see below). Each of these small triangles are colored such that each tile has different colors and no two tiles have identical colorings. How many colors at least are required? A tile's pattern is: [asy] draw((0,0.000)--(2,0.000)); draw((2,0.000)--(1,1.732)); draw((1,1.732)--(0,0.000)); draw((1,0.577)--(0,0.000)); draw((1,0.577)--(2,0.000)); draw((1,0.577)--(1,1.732)); [/asy]

There are $k$ heaps on the table, each containing a different positive number of stones. Juri and Mari make moves alternatingly, Juri starts. On each move, the player making the move has to pick a heap and remove one or more stones in it from the table; in addition, the player is allowed to distribute any number of remaining stones from that heap in any way between other non-empty heaps. The player to remove the last stone from the table wins. For which positive integers $k$ does Juri have a winning strategy for any initial state that satisfies the conditions?

Let $n \geq 1$ be an integer. Ruben takes a test with $n$ questions. Each question on this test is worth a different number of points. The first question is worth $1$ point, the second question $2$, the third $3$ and so on until the last question which is worth $n$ points. Each question can be answered either correctly or incorrectly. So an answer for a question can either be awarded all, or none of the points the question is worth. Let $f(n)$ be the number of ways he can take the test so that the number of points awarded equals the number of questions he answered incorrectly. Do there exist infinitely many pairs $(a; b)$ with $a < b$ and $f(a) = f(b)$?

[b]p1.[/b] What is the last digit of $$1! + 2! + ... + 10!$$ where $n!$ is defined to equal $1 \cdot 2 \cdot ... \cdot n$? [b]p2.[/b] What pair of positive real numbers, $(x, y)$, satisfies $$x^2y^2 = 144$$ $$(x - y)^3 = 64?$$ [b]p3.[/b] Paul rolls a standard $6$-sided die, and records the results. What is the probability that he rolls a $1$ ten times before he rolls a $6$ twice? [b]p4.[/b] A train is approaching a $1$ kilometer long tunnel at a constant $40$ km/hr. It so happens that if Roger, who is inside, runs towards either end of the tunnel at a contant $10$ km/hr, he will reach that end at the exact same time as the train. How far from the center of the tunnel is Roger? [b]p5.[/b] Let $ABC$ be a triangle with $A$ being a right angle. Let $w$ be a circle tangent to $\overline{AB}$ at $A$ and tangent to $\overline{BC}$ at some point $D$. Suppose $w$ intersects $\overline{AC}$ again at $E$ and that $\overline{CE} = 3$, $\overline{CD} = 6$. Compute $\overline{BD}$. [b]p6.[/b] In how many ways can $1000$ be written as a sum of consecutive integers? [b]p7.[/b] Let $ABC$ be an isosceles triangle with $\overline{AB} = \overline{AC} = 10$ and $\overline{BC} = 6$. Let $M$ be the midpoint of $\overline{AB}$, and let $\ell$ be the line through $A$ parallel to $\overline{BC}$. If $\ell$ intersects the circle through $A$, $C$ and $M$ at $D$, then what is the length of $\overline{AD}$? [b]p8.[/b] How many ordered triples of pairwise relatively prime, positive integers, $\{a, b, c\}$, have the property that $a + b$ is a multiple of $c$, $b + c$ is a multiple of $a$, and $a + c$ is a multiple of $b$? [b]p9.[/b] Consider a hexagon inscribed in a circle of radius $r$. If the hexagon has two sides of length $2$, two sides of length $7$, and two sides of length $11$, what is $r$? [b]p10.[/b] Evaluate $$\sum^{\infty}_{i=0} \sum^{\infty}_{j=0} \frac{\left( (-1)^i + (-1)^j\right) \cos (i) \sin (j)}{i!j!} ,$$ where angles are measured in degrees, and $0!$ is defined to equal $1$. PS. You had better use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Alice and Bob play the following game. To start, Alice arranges the numbers $1,2,\ldots,n$ in some order in a row and then Bob chooses one of the numbers and places a pebble on it. A player's [i]turn[/i] consists of picking up and placing the pebble on an adjacent number under the restriction that the pebble can be placed on the number $k$ at most $k$ times. The two players alternate taking turns beginning with Alice. The first player who cannot make a move loses. For each positive integer $n$, determine who has a winning strategy.

There is a pile with 2022 rocks. Ana y Beto play by turns to the following game, starting with Ana: in each turn, if there are $n$ rocks in the pile, the player can remove $S(n)$ rocks or $n-S(n)$ rocks, where $S(n)$ is the sum of the the digits of $n$. The person who removes the last rock wins. Determine which of the two players has a winning strategy and describe it.

Find the greatest integer $k\leq 2023$ for which the following holds: whenever Alice colours exactly $k$ numbers of the set $\{1,2,\dots, 2023\}$ in red, Bob can colour some of the remaining uncoloured numbers in blue, such that the sum of the red numbers is the same as the sum of the blue numbers. Romania

In the country there're $N$ cities and some pairs of cities are connected by two-way airlines (each pair with no more than one). Every airline belongs to one of $k$ companies. It turns out that it's possible to get to any city from any other, but it fails when we delete all airlines belonging to any one of the companies. What is the maximum possible number of airlines in the country ?

Let $T$ be a $2015 \times 2015$ array containing the integers $1, 2, 3, ... , 2015^2$ satisfying the property that $T_{i,a }> T_{i,b}$ for all $a > b$ and $T_{c,j} > T_{d,j}$ for all $c > d$ where $1 \le a, b, c, d \le 2015$ and $T_{i,j}$ represents the entry in the $i$-th row and $j$-th column of $T$. How many possible values are there for the entry at $T_{5,5}$?

The checkered plane is divided into dominoes. What is the maximum $k{}$ for which it is always possible to choose a $100\times 100$ checkered square containing at least $k{}$ whole dominoes? [i]Proposed by S. Berlov[/i]

Let $n > 1$ be an integer. An $n \times n$-square is divided into $n^2$ unit squares. Of these unit squares, $n$ are coloured green and $n$ are coloured blue, and all remaining ones are coloured white. Are there more such colourings for which there is exactly one green square in each row and exactly one blue square in each column; or colourings for which there is exactly one green square and exactly one blue square in each row?

The dodo was a strange animal. As it has already become extinct, only conjectures can be made about its way of life. One of the most unique conjectures is linked to the way the dodo moved. It seems that an adult animal only moved by jumping, which could be of two types: type I: $1$ meter to the East and $3$ to the North; type II: $2$ meters to the West and $4$ to the South. a) Prove that it was possible for the diode to reach a point located $19$ meters to the East and $95$ to the North of it and determines the number of jumps for each type he needed to carry out. b) Prove that it was impossible for the diode to reach a point located $18$ meters to the East and $95$ meters to the North of it.

[u]Round 1[/u] [b]p1.[/b] Let $n$ be a two-digit positive integer. What is the maximum possible sum of the prime factors of $n^2 - 25$ ? [b]p2.[/b] Angela has ten numbers $a_1, a_2, a_3, ... , a_{10}$. She wants them to be a permutation of the numbers $\{1, 2, 3, ... , 10\}$ such that for each $1 \le i \le 5$, $a_i \le 2i$, and for each $6 \le i \le 10$, $a_i \le - 10$. How many ways can Angela choose $a_1$ through $a_{10}$? [b]p3.[/b] Find the number of three-by-three grids such that $\bullet$ the sum of the entries in each row, column, and diagonal passing through the center square is the same, and $\bullet$ the entries in the nine squares are the integers between $1$ and $9$ inclusive, each integer appearing in exactly one square. [u]Round 2 [/u] [b]p4.[/b] Suppose that $P(x)$ is a quadratic polynomial such that the sum and product of its two roots are equal to each other. There is a real number $a$ that $P(1)$ can never be equal to. Find $a$. [b]p5.[/b] Find the number of ordered pairs $(x, y)$ of positive integers such that $\frac{1}{x} +\frac{1}{y} =\frac{1}{k}$ and k is a factor of $60$. [b]p6.[/b] Let $ABC$ be a triangle with $AB = 5$, $AC = 4$, and $BC = 3$. With $B = B_0$ and $C = C_0$, define the infinite sequences of points $\{B_i\}$ and $\{C_i\}$ as follows: for all $i \ge 1$, let $B_i$ be the foot of the perpendicular from $C_{i-1}$ to $AB$, and let $C_i$ be the foot of the perpendicular from $B_i$ to $AC$. Find $C_0C_1(AC_0 + AC_1 + AC_2 + AC_3 + ...)$. [u]Round 3 [/u] [b]p7.[/b] If $\ell_1, \ell_2, ... ,\ell_{10}$ are distinct lines in the plane and $p_1, ... , p_{100}$ are distinct points in the plane, then what is the maximum possible number of ordered pairs $(\ell_i, p_j )$ such that $p_j$ lies on $\ell_i$? [b]p8.[/b] Before Andres goes to school each day, he has to put on a shirt, a jacket, pants, socks, and shoes. He can put these clothes on in any order obeying the following restrictions: socks come before shoes, and the shirt comes before the jacket. How many distinct orders are there for Andres to put his clothes on? [b]p9. [/b]There are ten towns, numbered $1$ through $10$, and each pair of towns is connected by a road. Define a backwards move to be taking a road from some town $a$ to another town $b$ such that $a > b$, and define a forwards move to be taking a road from some town $a$ to another town $b$ such that $a < b$. How many distinct paths can Ali take from town $1$ to town $10$ under the conditions that $\bullet$ she takes exactly one backwards move and the rest of her moves are forward moves, and $\bullet$ the only time she visits town $10$ is at the very end? One possible path is $1 \to 3 \to 8 \to 6 \to 7 \to 8 \to 10$. [u]Round 4[/u] [b]p10.[/b] How many prime numbers $p$ less than $100$ have the properties that $p^5 - 1$ is divisible by $6$ and $p^6 - 1$ is divisible by $5$? [b]p11.[/b] Call a four-digit integer $\overline{d_1d_2d_3d_4}$ [i]primed [/i] if 1) $d_1$, $d_2$, $d_3$, and $d_4$ are all prime numbers, and 2) the two-digit numbers $\overline{d_1d_2}$ and $\overline{d_3d_4}$ are both prime numbers. Find the sum of all primed integers. [b]p12.[/b] Suppose that $ABC$ is an isosceles triangle with $AB = AC$, and suppose that $D$ and $E$ lie on $\overline{AB}$ and $\overline{AC}$, respectively, with $\overline{DE} \parallel \overline{BC}$. Let $r$ be the length of the inradius of triangle $ADE$. Suppose that it is possible to construct two circles of radius $r$, each tangent to one another and internally tangent to three sides of the trapezoid $BDEC$. If $\frac{BC}{r} = a + \sqrt{b}$ forpositive integers $a$ and $b$ with $b$ squarefree, then find $a + b$. PS. You should use hide for answers. Rounds 5-7 have been posted [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c4h2800986p24675177]here[/url]. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Given two natural numbers $a < b$, Xavier and Ze play the following game. First, Xavier writes $a$ consecutive numbers of his choice; then, repeat some of them, also of his choice, until he has $b$ numbers, with the condition that the sum of the $b$ numbers written is an even number. Ze wins the game if he manages to separate the numbers into two groups with the same amount. Otherwise, Xavier wins. For example, for $a = 4$ and $b = 7$, if Xavier wrote the numbers $3,4,5,6,3,3,4$, Ze could win, separating these numbers into groups $3,3 ,4,4$ and $3,5,6$. For what values of $a$ and $b$ can Xavier guarantee victory?

Let $ \alpha,\beta$ be real numbers satisfying $ 1 < \alpha < \beta.$ Find the greatest positive integer $ r$ having the following property: each of positive integers is colored by one of $ r$ colors arbitrarily, there always exist two integers $ x,y$ having the same color such that $ \alpha\le \frac {x}{y}\le\beta.$

A number is said to be [i]regular[/i] if when a digit $k$ appears in that number, the digit appears exactly $k$ times. For example, the number $3133$ is a regular number because the digit $1$ appears exactly once and the digit $3$ appears exactly three times. How many regular six-digit numbers are there?

How many ways can you fill a $3 \times 3$ square grid with nonnegative integers such that no [i]nonzero[/i] integer appears more than once in the same row or column and the sum of the numbers in every row and column equals 7?

Consider a polygon with $m + n$ sides where $m, n$ are positive integers. Colour $m$ of its vertices red and the remaining $n$ vertices blue. A side is given the number $2$ if both its end vertices are red, the number $1/2.$ if both its end vertices are blue and the number $1$ otherwise. Let the product of these numbers be $P$. Find the largest possible value of $P$.

A magical castle has $n$ identical rooms, each of which contains $k$ doors arranged in a line. In room $i, 1 \leq i \leq n - 1$ there is one door that will take you to room $i + 1$, and in room $n$ there is one door that takes you out of the castle. All other doors take you back to room $1$. When you go through a door and enter a room, you are unable to tell what room you are entering and you are unable to see which doors you have gone through before. You begin by standing in room $1$ and know the values of $n$ and $k$. Determine for which values of $n$ and $k$ there exists a strategy that is guaranteed to get you out of the castle and explain the strategy. For such values of $n$ and $k$, exhibit such a strategy and prove that it will work.

The edges of a graph $G$ are coloured in two colours. Such that for each colour all the connected components of this graph formed by edges of this colour contains at most $n>1$ vertices. Prove there exists a proper colouring for the vertices of this graph with $n$ colours.