Consider a $ n \times n$ checkerboard with $ n > 1, n \in \mathbb{N}.$ How many possibilities are there to put $ 2n \minus{} 2$ identical pebbles on the checkerboard (each on a different field/place) such that no two pebbles are on the same checkerboard diagonal. Two pebbles are on the same checkerboard diagonal if the connection segment of the midpoints of the respective fields are parallel to one of the diagonals of the $ n \times n$ square.

[u]Round 1 [/u] [b]p1.[/b] Pirate Jim had $8$ boxes with gun powder weighing $1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7$, and $8$ pounds (the weight is printed on top of every box). Pirate Bob hid a $1$-pound gold bar in one of these boxes. Pirate Jim has a balance scale that he can use, but he cannot open any of the boxes. Help him find the box with the gold bar using two weighings on the balance scale. [b]p2.[/b] James Bond will spend one day at Dr. Evil's mansion to try to determine the answers to two questions: a) Is Dr. Evil at home? b) Does Dr. Evil have an army of ninjas? The parlor in Dr. Evil's mansion has three windows. At noon, Mr. Bond will sneak into the parlor and use open or closed windows to signal his answers. When he enters the parlor, some windows may already be opened, and Mr. Bond will only have time to open or close one window (or leave them all as they are). Help Mr. Bond and Moneypenny design a code that will tell Moneypenny the answers to both questions when she drives by later that night and looks at the windows. Note that Moneypenny will not have any way to know which window Mr. Bond opened or closed. [b]p3.[/b] Suppose that you have a triangle in which all three side lengths and all three heights are integers. Prove that if these six lengths are all different, there cannot be four prime numbers among them. p4. Fred and George have designed the Amazing Maze, a $5\times 5$ grid of rooms, with Adorable Doors in each wall between rooms. If you pass through a door in one direction, you gain a gold coin. If you pass through the same door in the opposite direction, you lose a gold coin. The brothers designed the maze so that if you ever come back to the room in which you started, you will find that your money has not changed. Ron entered the northwest corner of the maze with no money. After walking through the maze for a while, he had $8$ shiny gold coins in his pocket, at which point he magically teleported himself out of the maze. Knowing this, can you determine whether you will gain or lose a coin when you leave the central room through the north door? [b]p5.[/b] Bill and Charlie are playing a game on an infinite strip of graph paper. On Bill’s turn, he marks two empty squares of his choice (not necessarily adjacent) with crosses. Charlie, on his turn, can erase any number of crosses, as long as they are all adjacent to each other. Bill wants to create a line of $2013$ crosses in a row. Can Charlie stop him? [u]Round 2 [/u] [b]p6.[/b] $1000$ non-zero numbers are written around a circle and every other number is underlined. It happens that each underlined number is equal to the sum of its two neighbors and that each non-underlined number is equal to the product of its two neighbors. What could the sum of all the numbers written on the circle be? [b]p7.[/b] A grasshopper is sitting at the edge of a circle of radius $3$ inches. He can hop exactly $4$ inches in any direction, as long as he stays within the circle. Which points inside the circle can the grasshopper reach if he can make as many jumps as he likes? [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/1/d/39b34b2b4afe607c1232f4ce9dec040a34b0c8.png[/img] PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

In the coordinate plane consider the set $ S$ of all points with integer coordinates. For a positive integer $ k$, two distinct points $A$, $ B\in S$ will be called $ k$-[i]friends[/i] if there is a point $ C\in S$ such that the area of the triangle $ ABC$ is equal to $ k$. A set $ T\subset S$ will be called $ k$-[i]clique[/i] if every two points in $ T$ are $ k$-friends. Find the least positive integer $ k$ for which there exits a $ k$-clique with more than 200 elements. [i]Proposed by Jorge Tipe, Peru[/i]

In an alphabet of $n$ letters, is $syllable$ is any ordered pair of two (not necessarily distinct) letters. Some syllables are considered $indecent$. A $word$ is any sequence, finite or infinite, of letters, that does not contain indecent syllables. Find the least possible number of indecent syllables for which infinite words do not exist.

$(HUN 3)$ In the plane $4000$ points are given such that each line passes through at most $2$ of these points. Prove that there exist $1000$ disjoint quadrilaterals in the plane with vertices at these points.

Prove that there exists such a number $A$ that you can inscribe $1978$ different size squares in the plot of the function $y = A sin(x)$. (The square is inscribed if all its vertices belong to the plot.)

Eight children, all of different heights, must form an orderly line from smallest to largest. We will say that the row has exactly one error if there is a child that is immediately behind another taller than it, and everyone else (except the first in line) is immediately behind a shorter one. of how many ways the eight children can line up with exactly one mistake?

[b]p1.[/b] There are $5$ weights of masses $1,2,3,5$, and $10$ grams. One of the weights is counterfeit (its weight is different from what is written, it is unknown if the weight is heavier or lighter). How to find the counterfeit weight using simple balance scales only twice? [b]p2.[/b] There are $998$ candies and chocolate bars and $499$ bags. Each bag may contain two items (either two candies, or two chocolate bars, or one candy and one chocolate bar). Ann distributed candies and chocolate bars in such a way that half of the candies share a bag with a chocolate bar. Helen wants to redistribute items in the same bags in such a way that half of the chocolate bars would share a bag with a candy. Is it possible to achieve that? [b]p3.[/b] Insert in sequence $2222222222$ arithmetic operations and brackets to get the number $999$ (For instance, from the sequence $22222$ one can get the number $45$: $22*2+2/2 = 45$). [b]p4.[/b] Put numbers from $15$ to $23$ in a $ 3\times 3$ table in such a way to make all sums of numbers in two neighboring cells distinct (neighboring cells share one common side). [b]p5.[/b] All integers from $1$ to $200$ are colored in white and black colors. Integers $1$ and $200$ are black, $11$ and $20$ are white. Prove that there are two black and two white numbers whose sums are equal. [b]p6.[/b] Show that $38$ is the sum of few positive integers (not necessarily, distinct), the sum of whose reciprocals is equal to $1$. (For instance, $11=6+3+2$, $1/16+1/13+1/12=1$.) PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Attached to each of a number of objects is a tag which states the correct mass of the object. The tags have fallen off and have been replaced on the objects at random. We wish to determine if by chance all tags are in fact correct. We may use exactly once a horizontal lever which is supported at its middle. The objects can be hung from the lever at any point on either side of the support. The lever either stays horizontal or tilts to one side. Is this task always possible?

A [i]hook[/i] consists of three segments of longitude $1$ forming two right angles as demonstrated in the figure. |_| We have a square of side length $n$ divided into $n^2$ squares of side length $1$ by lines parallel to its sides. Hooks are placed on this square in such a way that each segment of the hook covers one side of a little square. Two segements of a hook cannot overlap. Determine all possible values of n for which it is possible to cover the sides of the $n^2$ small squares.

There are $2018$ boxes $C_1$, $C_2$, $C_3$,..,$C_{2018}$. The $n$-th box $C_n$ contains $n$ balls. A move consists of the following steps: a) Choose an integer $k$ greater than $1$ and choose $m$ a multiple of $k$. b) Take a ball from each of the consecutive boxes $C_{m-1}$, $C_m$, $C_{m+1}$ and move the $3$ balls to the box $C_{m+k}$. With these movements, what is the largest number of balls we can get in the box $2018$?

How many subsets (including the empty-set) of $\{1, 2..., 6\}$ do not have three consecutive integers?

A square of sidelength $2^n$ is divided into unit squares. One of the unit squares is deleted. Prove that the rest of the square can be tiled with $L$-trominos.

[b]p1.[/b] Joe owns stock. On Monday morning on October $20$th, $2008$, his stocks were worth $\$250,000$. The value of his stocks, for each day from Monday to Friday of that week, increased by $10\%$, increased by $5\%$, decreased by $5\%$, decreased by $15\%$, and decreased by $20\%$, though not necessarily in that order. Given this information, let $A$ be the largest possible value of his stocks on that Friday evening, and let $B$ be the smallest possible value of his stocks on that Friday evening. What is $A - B$? [b]p2.[/b] What is the smallest positive integer $k$ such that $2k$ is a perfect square and $3k$ is a perfect cube? [b]p3.[/b] Two competitive ducks decide to have a race in the first quadrant of the $xy$ plane. They both start at the origin, and the race ends when one of the ducks reaches the line $y = \frac12$ . The first duck follows the graph of $y = \frac{x}{3}$ and the second duck follows the graph of $y = \frac{x}{5}$ . If the two ducks move in such a way that their $x$-coordinates are the same at any time during the race, find the ratio of the speed of the first duck to that of the second duck when the race ends. [b]p4.[/b] There were grammatical errors in this problem as stated during the contest. The problem should have said: You play a carnival game as follows: The carnival worker has a circular mat of radius 20 cm, and on top of that is a square mat of side length $10$ cm, placed so that the centers of the two mats coincide. The carnival worker also has three disks, one each of radius $1$ cm, $2$ cm, and $3$ cm. You start by paying the worker a modest fee of one dollar, then choosing two of the disks, then throwing the two disks onto the mats, one at a time, so that the center of each disk lies on the circular mat. You win a cash prize if the center of the large disk is on the square AND the large disk touches the small disk, otherwise you just lost the game and you get no money. How much is the cash prize if choosing the two disks randomly and then throwing the disks randomly (i.e. with uniform distribution) will, on average, result in you breaking even? [b]p5.[/b] Four boys and four girls arrive at the Highball High School Senior Ball without a date. The principal, seeking to rectify the situation, asks each of the boys to rank the four girls in decreasing order of preference as a prom date and asks each girl to do the same for the four boys. None of the boys know any of the girls and vice-versa (otherwise they would have probably found each other before the prom), so all eight teenagers write their rankings randomly. Because the principal lacks the mathematical chops to pair the teenagers together according to their stated preference, he promptly ignores all eight of the lists and randomly pairs each of the boys with a girl. What is the probability that no boy ends up with his third or his fourth choice, and no girl ends up with her third or fourth choice? [b]p6.[/b] In the diagram below, $ABCDEFGH$ is a rectangular prism, $\angle BAF = 30^o$ and $\angle DAH = 60^o$. What is the cosine of $\angle CEG$? [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/a/1/1af1a7d5d523884703b9ff95aaf301bcc18140.png[/img] [b]p7.[/b] Two cows play a game where each has one playing piece, they begin by having the two pieces on opposite vertices of an octahedron, and the two cows take turns moving their piece to an adjacent vertex. The winner is the first player who moves its piece to the vertex occupied by its opponent’s piece. Because cows are not the most intelligent of creatures, they move their pieces randomly. What is the probability that the first cow to move eventually wins? [b]p8.[/b] Find the last two digits of $$\sum^{2008}_{k=1}k {2008 \choose k}.$$ PS. You had better use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

There are $4950$ ants. Assume that, for any three ants $A, B$ and $C$, if the ant $A$ is the boss of the ant $B$, and the ant $B$ is the boss of the ant $C$ then the ant $A$ is also the boss of the ant $C$. We want to divide the ants into $n$ groups so that in any group, either any two ants have the boss relationship or any two ants do not have the boss relationship. Find the smallest of $n$ we can always do in any case.

Prove that the numbers from $1$ to $16$ can be written in a line, but cannot be written in a circle so that the sum of any two adjacent numbers is square of a natural number.

A cube side 3 is divided into 27 unit cubes. The unit cubes are arbitrarily labeled 1 to 27 (each cube is given a different number). A move consists of swapping the cube labeled 27 with one of its 6 neighbours. Is it possible to find a finite sequence of moves at the end of which cube 27 is in its original position, but cube $n$ has moved to the position originally occupied by $27-n$ (for each $n = 1, 2, \ldots , 26$)?

In a set of 17 externally identical coins, two are counterfeit, differing from the rest in weight. It is known that the total weight of two counterfeit coins is twice the weight of a real one.s it always possible to determine the couple of counterfeit coins, having made $5$ weighings on a cup scale without weights? (It is not necessary to determine which of the fakes is heavier.)

A square grid of $16$ dots (see the figure) contains the corners of nine $1\times1$ squares, four $2\times 2$ squares, and one $3\times3$ square, for a total of $14$ squares whose sides are parallel to the sides of the grid. What is the smallest possible number of dots you can remove so that, after removing those dots, each of the $14$ squares is missing at least one corner? Justify your answer by showing both that the number of dots you claim is sufficient and by explaining why no smaller number of dots will work. [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/0/9/bf091a769dbec40eceb655f5588f843d4941d6.png[/img]

Let $n$ be a positive integer. Compute the number of words $w$ that satisfy the following three properties. 1. $w$ consists of $n$ letters from the alphabet $\{a,b,c,d\}.$ 2. $w$ contains an even number of $a$'s 3. $w$ contains an even number of $b$'s. For example, for $n=2$ there are $6$ such words: $aa, bb, cc, dd, cd, dc.$

[b]p1.[/b] Is it possible to write $5$ different fractions that add up to $1$, such that their numerators are equal to one and their denominators are natural numbers? [b]p2.[/b] The following is known about two numbers $x$ and $y$: if $x\ge 0$, then $y = 1 -x$; if $y\le 1$, then $x = 1 + y$; if $x\le 1$, then $x = |1 + y|$. Find $x$ and $y$. [b]p3.[/b] Five people living in different cities received a salary, some more, others less ($143$, $233$, $313$, $410$ and $413$ rubles). Each of them can send money to the other by mail. In this case, the post office takes $10\%$ of the amount of money sent for the transfer (in order to receive $100$ rubles, you need to send $10\%$ more, that is, $110$ rubles). They want to send money so that everyone has the same amount of money, and the post office receives as little money as possible. How much money will each person have using the most economical shipping method? [b]p4.[/b] a) List three different natural numbers $m$, $n$ and $k$ for which $m! = n! \cdot k!$ . b) Is it possible to come up with $1999$ such triplets? PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c2416727_soros_olympiad_in_mathematics]here.[/url]

From $2008 \times 2008$ square we remove one corner cell $1 \times 1$. Is number of ways to divide this figure to corners from $3$ cells odd or even ?

Let $n$ be a positive integer. There are $n$ colors available. Each of the integers from $1$ to $1000$ must be painted with one of the $n$ colors such that any two different numbers, if one divides the other, are painted in different colors. Determine the smallest value of $n$ for which this is possible.

Let $D$ be a regular dodecagon in the plane. How many squares are there in the plane at least two vertices in common with the vertices of $D$?

(a) The numbers $1, 2,... , 100$ are divided into two groups so that the sum of all numbers in one group is equal to that in the other. Prove that one can remove two numbers from each group so that the sums of all numbers in each group are still the same. (b) The numbers $1, 2 , ... , n$ are divided into two groups so that the sum of all numbers in one group is equal to that in the other . Is it true that for every such$ n > 4$ one can remove two numbers from each group so that the sums of all numbers in each group are still the same? (A Shapovalov) [(a) for Juniors, (a)+(b) for Seniors]