All sides of a polygonal billiard table are in one of two perpendicular directions. A tiny billiard ball rolls out of the vertex $A$ of an inner $90^o$ angle and moves inside the billiard table, bouncing off its sides according to the law “angle of reflection equals angle of incidence”. If the ball passes a vertex, it will drop in and srays there. Prove that the ball will never return to $A$.

In an $m\times n$ table there is a policeman in cell $(1,1)$, and there is a thief in cell $(i,j)$. A move is going from a cell to a neighbor (each cell has at most four neighbors). Thief makes the first move, then the policeman moves and ... For which $(i,j)$ the policeman can catch the thief?

A square is cut into $100$ rectangles by $9$ straight lines parallel to one of the sides and $9$ lines parallel to another. If exactly $9$ of the rectangles are actually squares, prove that at least two of these $9$ squares are of the same size . (V Proizvolov)

Let $n,k$ be positive integers such that $n\ge k$. $n$ lamps are placed on a circle, which are all off. In any step we can change the state of $k$ consecutive lamps. In the following three cases, how many states of lamps are there in all $2^n$ possible states that can be obtained from the initial state by a certain series of operations? i)$k$ is a prime number greater than $2$; ii) $k$ is odd; iii) $k$ is even.

Let $n$ integers on the real axis be colored. Determine for which positive integers $k$ there exists a family $K$ of closed intervals with the following properties: i) The union of the intervals in $K$ contains all of the colored points; ii) Any two distinct intervals in $K$ are disjoint; iii) For each interval $I$ at $K$ we have ${{a}_{I}}=k.{{b}_{I}}$, where ${{a}_{I}}$ denotes the number of integers in $I$, and ${{b}_{I}}$ the number of colored integers in $I$.

Prove that for each $m\geq1$: \[\sum_{|k|<\sqrt m}\binom{2m}{m+k}\geq 2^{2m-1}\] [hide="Hint"]Maybe probabilistic method works[/hide]

The names of $8$ people are written on slips of paper and placed in a hat. Each of the $8$ people then randomly draw a piece of paper (without replacement). Then, the people are formed into groups satisfying the following requirements: (i) Each person is in the same group as the person who drew his piece of paper. (ii)There are as many groups as possible while still satisfying condition (i). On average, how many groups will there be? (There might be “groups” of only one person.)

A finite number of coins are placed on an infinite row of squares. A sequence of moves is performed as follows: at each stage a square containing more than one coin is chosen. Two coins are taken from this square; one of them is placed on the square immediately to the left while the other is placed on the square immediately to the right of the chosen square. The sequence terminates if at some point there is at most one coin on each square. Given some initial configuration, show that any legal sequence of moves will terminate after the same number of steps and with the same final configuration.

Find all integers $a$ such that there is a prime number of $p\ge 5$ that divides ${p-1 \choose 2}$ $+ {p-1 \choose 3} a$ $+{p-1 \choose 4} a^2$+ ...+$ {p-1 \choose p-3} a^{p-5} .$

Anton the ant takes a walk along the vertices of a cube. He starts at a vertex and stops when it reaches this point again. Between two vertices it moves over an edge, a side face diagonal or a space diagonal. During the rout it visits each of the other vertices exactly [i]once [/i] and nowhere intersects its road already traveled. (a) Show that Anton walks along at least one edge. (b) Show that Anton walks along at least two edges.

[b]p1.[/b] Find all solutions $a, b, c, d, e, f, g$ if it is known that they represent distinct digits and satisfy the following: $\begin{tabular}{ccccccc} & & & a & b & c & d \\ x & & & & & a & b \\ \hline & & c & d & b & d & b \\ + & c & e & b & f & b & \\ \hline & c & g & a & e & g & b \\ \end{tabular}$ [b]p2.[/b] $5$ numbers are placed on the circle. It is known that the sum of any two neighboring numbers is not divisible by $3$ and the sum of any three consecutive numbers is not divisible by $3$. How many numbers on the circle are divisible by $3$? [b]p3.[/b] $n$ teams played in a volleyball tournament. Each team played precisely one game with all other teams. If $x_j$ is the number of victories and $y_j$ is the number of losses of the $j$th team, show that $$\sum^n_{j=1}x^2_j=\sum^n_{j=1} y^2_j $$ [b]p4.[/b] Three cars participated in the car race: a Ford $[F]$, a Toyota $[T]$, and a Honda $[H]$. They began the race with $F$ first, then $T$, and $H$ last. During the race, $F$ was passed a total of $3$ times, $T$ was passed $5$ times, and $H$ was passed $8$ times. In what order did the cars finish? [b]p5.[/b] The side of the square is $4$ cm. Find the sum of the areas of the six half-disks shown on the picture. [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/c/b/73be41b9435973d1c53a20ad2eb436b1384d69.png[/img] PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Let $n \ge 3$ be a fixed integer. A game is played by $n$ players sitting in a circle. Initially, each player draws three cards from a shuffled deck of $3n$ cards numbered $1, 2, \dots, 3n$. Then, on each turn, every player simultaneously passes the smallest-numbered card in their hand one place clockwise and the largest-numbered card in their hand one place counterclockwise, while keeping the middle card. Let $T_r$ denote the configuration after $r$ turns (so $T_0$ is the initial configuration). Show that $T_r$ is eventually periodic with period $n$, and find the smallest integer $m$ for which, regardless of the initial configuration, $T_m=T_{m+n}$. [i]Proposed by Carl Schildkraut and Colin Tang[/i]

A 9-digit number $N$ is given, whose digits are non-zero and all different.The sums of all consecutive three-digit segments in the decimal representation of number $N$ are calculated and arranged in increasing order.Is it possible to obtain the following sequences as a result of this operation? $\text{a)}$ $11,15,16,18,19,21,22$ $\text{b)}$ $11,15,16,18,19,21,23$

There are n cards on a table numbered from $1$ to $n$, where $n$ is an even number. Two people take turns taking away the cards. The first player will always take the card with the largest number on it, but the second player will take a random card. Prove: the probability that the first player takes the card with the number $i$ is $ \frac{i-1}{n-1} $

[b]p1.[/b] A robot is at position $0$ on a number line. Each second, it randomly moves either one unit in the positive direction or one unit in the negative direction, with probability $\frac12$ of doing each. Find the probability that after $4$ seconds, the robot has returned to position $0$. [b]p2.[/b] How many positive integers $n \le 20$ are such that the greatest common divisor of $n$ and $20$ is a prime number? [b]p3.[/b] A sequence of points $A_1$, $A_2$, $A_3$, $...$, $A_7$ is shown in the diagram below, with $A_1A_2$ parallel to $A_6A_7$. We have $\angle A_2A_3A_4 = 113^o$, $\angle A_3A_4A_5 = 100^o$, and $\angle A_4A_5A_6 = 122^o$. Find the degree measure of $\angle A_1A_2A_3 + \angle A_5A_6A_7$. [center][img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/d/a/75b06a6663b2f4258e35ef0f68fcfbfaa903f7.png[/img][/center] [b]p4.[/b] Compute $$\log_3 \left( \frac{\log_3 3^{3^{3^3}}}{\log_{3^3} 3^{3^3}} \right)$$ [b]p5.[/b] In an $8\times 8$ chessboard, a pawn has been placed on the third column and fourth row, and all the other squares are empty. It is possible to place nine rooks on this board such that no two rooks attack each other. How many ways can this be done? (Recall that a rook can attack any square in its row or column provided all the squares in between are empty.) [b]p6.[/b] Suppose that $a, b$ are positive real numbers with $a > b$ and $ab = 8$. Find the minimum value of $\frac{a^2+b^2}{a-b} $. [b]p7.[/b] A cone of radius $4$ and height $7$ has $A$ as its apex and $B$ as the center of its base. A second cone of radius $3$ and height $7$ has $B$ as its apex and $A$ as the center of its base. What is the volume of the region contained in both cones? [b]p8.[/b] Let $a_1$, $a_2$, $a_3$, $a_4$, $a_5$, $a_6$ be a permutation of the numbers $1$, $2$, $3$, $4$, $5$, $6$. We say $a_i$ is visible if $a_i$ is greater than any number that comes before it; that is, $a_j < a_i$ for all $j < i$. For example, the permutation $2$, $4$, $1$, $3$, $6$, $5$ has three visible elements: $2$, $4$, $6$. How many such permutations have exactly two visible elements? [b]p9.[/b] Let $f(x) = x+2x^2 +3x^3 +4x^4 +5x^5 +6x^6$, and let $S = [f(6)]^5 +[f(10)]^3 +[f(15)]^2$. Compute the remainder when $S$ is divided by $30$. [b]p10.[/b] In triangle $ABC$, the angle bisector from $A$ and the perpendicular bisector of $BC$ meet at point $D$, the angle bisector from $B$ and the perpendicular bisector of $AC$ meet at point $E$, and the perpendicular bisectors of $BC$ and $AC$ meet at point $F$. Given that $\angle ADF = 5^o$, $\angle BEF = 10^o$, and $AC = 3$, find the length of $DF$. [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/6/d/6bb8409678a4c44135d393b9b942f8defb198e.png[/img] [b]p11.[/b] Let $F_0 = 0$, $F_1 = 1$, and $F_n = F_{n-1} + F_{n-2}$. How many subsets $S$ of $\{1, 2,..., 2011\}$ are there such that $$F_{2012} - 1 =\sum_{i \in S}F_i?$$ [b]p12.[/b] Let $a_k$ be the number of perfect squares $m$ such that $k^3 \le m < (k + 1)^3$. For example, $a_2 = 3$ since three squares $m$ satisfy $2^3 \le m < 3^3$, namely $9$, $16$, and $25$. Compute$$ \sum^{99}_{k=0} \lfloor \sqrt{k}\rfloor a_k, $$ where $\lfloor x\rfloor$ denotes the largest integer less than or equal to $x$. [b]p13.[/b] Suppose that $a, b, c, d, e, f$ are real numbers such that $$a + b + c + d + e + f = 0,$$ $$a + 2b + 3c + 4d + 2e + 2f = 0,$$ $$a + 3b + 6c + 9d + 4e + 6f = 0,$$ $$a + 4b + 10c + 16d + 8e + 24f = 0,$$ $$a + 5b + 15c + 25d + 16e + 120f = 42.$$ Compute $a + 6b + 21c + 36d + 32e + 720f.$ [b]p14.[/b] In Cartesian space, three spheres centered at $(-2, 5, 4)$, $(2, 1, 4)$, and $(4, 7, 5)$ are all tangent to the $xy$-plane. The $xy$-plane is one of two planes tangent to all three spheres; the second plane can be written as the equation $ax + by + cz = d$ for some real numbers $a$, $b$, $c$, $d$. Find $\frac{c}{a}$ . [b]p15.[/b] Find the number of pairs of positive integers $a$, $b$, with $a \le 125$ and $b \le 100$, such that $a^b - 1$ is divisible by $125$. PS. You had better use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Each square of an $n \times m$ board is assigned a pair of coordinates $(x,y)$ with $1 \le x \le m$ and $1 \le y \le n$. Let $p$ and $q$ be positive integers. A pawn can be moved from the square $(x,y)$ to $(x',y')$ if and only if $|x - x'| = p$ and $|y- y'| = q$. There is a pawn on each square. We want to move each pawn at the same time so that no two pawns are moved onto the same square. In how many ways can this be done?

Show that given any 9 points inside a square of side 1 we can always find 3 which form a triangle with area less than $\frac 18$. [i]Bulgaria[/i]

For a natural number $n$ denote by Map $( n )$ the set of all functions $f : \{ 1 , 2 , 3 , \cdots , n \} \rightarrow \{ 1 , 2 , 3 , \cdots , n \} . $ For $ f , g \in $ Map$( n ) , f \circ g $ denotes the function in Map $( n )$ that sends $x \rightarrow f ( g ( x ) ) . $ \\ \\ $(a)$ Let $ f \in$ Map $( n ) . $ If for all $x \in \{ 1 , 2 , 3 , \cdots , n \} f ( x ) \neq x , $ show that $ f \circ f \neq f $ \\$(b)$ Count the number of functions $ f \in$ Map $( n )$ such that $ f \circ f = f $

Let $n$ be a given integer with $n$ greater than $7$ , and let $\mathcal{P}$ be a convex polygon with $n$ sides. Any set of $n-3$ diagonals of $\mathcal{P}$ that do not intersect in the interior of the polygon determine a triangulation of $\mathcal{P}$ into $n-2$ triangles. A triangle in the triangulation of $\mathcal{P}$ is an interior triangle if all of its sides are diagonals of $\mathcal{P}$. Express, in terms of $n$, the number of triangulations of $\mathcal{P}$ with exactly two interior triangles, in closed form.

Determine the number of ways to partition the $n^2$ squares of an $n\times n$ grid into $n$ connected pieces of sizes $1$, $3$, $5$, $\dots$, $2n-1$ so that each piece is symmetric across the diagonal connecting the bottom right to the top left corner of the grid. A connected piece is a set of squares that any two of them are connected by a sequence of adjacent squares in the set. Two squares are adjacent if and only if they share an edge.

Let $n$ be a positive integer. Initially a few positive integers are written on the blackboard. On one move Igor chooses two numbers $a, b$ of the same parity on the blackboard and writes $\frac{a+b} {2}$. After a few moves the numbers on the blackboard were exactly $1, 2, \ldots, n$. Find the smallest possible number of positive integers that were initially written on the blackboard.

Find the number of distinguishable groupings into which you can place $3$ indistinguishable red balls and $3$ indistinguishable blue balls. Here the groupings $RR-BR-B-B$ and $B-RB-B-RR$ are indistinguishable because the groupings are merely rearranged, but $RRB-BR-B$ is distinguishable from $RBB-BR-R$.

[u]Set 7[/u] [b]p19.[/b] The polynomial $x^4 + ax^3 + bx^2 - 32x$, where$ a$ and $b$ are real numbers, has roots that form a square in the complex plane. Compute the area of this square. [b]p20.[/b] Tetrahedron $ABCD$ has equilateral triangle base $ABC$ and apex $D$ such that the altitude from $D$ to $ABC$ intersects the midpoint of $\overline{BC}$. Let $M$ be the midpoint of $\overline{AC}$. If the measure of $\angle DBA$ is $67^o$, find the measure of $\angle MDC$ in degrees. [b]p21.[/b] Last year’s high school graduates started high school in year $n- 4 = 2017$, a prime year. They graduated high school and started college in year $n = 2021$, a product of two consecutive primes. They will graduate college in year $n + 4 = 2025$, a square number. Find the sum of all $n < 2021$ for which these three properties hold. That is, find the sum of those $n < 2021$ such that $n -4$ is prime, n is a product of two consecutive primes, and $n + 4$ is a square. PS. You should use hide for answers.

Let $\{a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h\}$ be a permutation of $\{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8\}$. What is the probability that $\overline{abc} +\overline{def}$ is even?

Every natural number is coloured in one of the $ k$ colors. Prove that there exist four distinct natural numbers $ a, b, c, d$, all coloured in the same colour, such that $ ad \equal{} bc$, $ \displaystyle \frac b a$ is power of 2 and $ \displaystyle \frac c a$ is power of 3.