$n$ students, numbered from $1$ to $n$ are sitting next to each other in a class. In the beginning the $1$st student has $n$ pieces of paper in one pile. The goal of the students is to distribute the $n$ pieces in a way that everyone gets exactly one. The teacher claps once in a minute and for each clap the students can choose one of the following moves (or do nothing): $\bullet$ They divide one of their piles of paper into two smaller piles. $\bullet$ They give one of their piles of paper to the student with the next number. At least how many times does the teacher need to clap in order to make it possible for the students to distribute all the pieces of paper amongst themselves?

At a party, $2019$ people decide to form teams of three. To do so, each turn, every person not on a team points to one other person at random. If three people point to each other (that is, $A$ points to $B$, $B$ points to $C$, and $C$ points to $A$), then they form a team. What is the probability that after $65, 536$ turns, exactly one person is not on a team

There are $n\ge 3$ girls in a class sitting around a circular table, each having some apples with her. Every time the teacher notices a girl having more apples than both of her neighbours combined, the teacher takes away one apple from that girl and gives one apple each to her neighbours. Prove that, this process stops after a finite number of steps. (Assume that, the teacher has an abundant supply of apples.)

Let \(n\) be a positive integer and consider an \(n\times n\) square grid. For \(1\le k\le n\), a [i]python[/i] of length \(k\) is a snake that occupies \(k\) consecutive cells in a single row, and no other cells. Similarly, an [i]anaconda[/i] of length \(k\) is a snake that occupies \(k\) consecutive cells in a single column, and no other cells. The grid contains at least one python or anaconda, and it satisfies the following properties: [list] [*]No cell is occupied by multiple snakes. [*]If a cell in the grid is immediately to the left or immediately to the right of a python, then that cell must be occupied by an anaconda. [*]If a cell in the grid is immediately to above or immediately below an anaconda, then that cell must be occupied by a python. [/list] Prove that the sum of the squares of the lengths of the snakes is at least \(n^2\). [i]Proposed by Linus Tang[/i]

An airport contains 25 terminals which are two on two connected by tunnels. There is exactly 50 main tunnels which can be traversed in the two directions, the others are with single direction. A group of four terminals is called [i]good[/i] if of each terminal of the four we can arrive to the 3 others by using only the tunnels connecting them. Find the maximum number of good groups.

Define a $ k$-[i]clique[/i] to be a set of $ k$ people such that every pair of them are acquainted with each other. At a certain party, every pair of 3-cliques has at least one person in common, and there are no 5-cliques. Prove that there are two or fewer people at the party whose departure leaves no 3-clique remaining.

There are $3N+1$ students with different heights line up for asking questions. Prove that the teacher can drive $2N$ students away such that the remain students satisfies: No one has neighbors whose heights are consecutive.

Let $E$ be a set of $n$ points in the plane $(n \geq 3)$ whose coordinates are integers such that any three points from $E$ are vertices of a nondegenerate triangle whose centroid doesnt have both coordinates integers. Determine the maximal $n.$

a) Given real numbers $a_1,a_2,b_1,b_2$ and positive $p_1,p_2,q_1,q_2$. Prove that in the table $2\times 2$ $$(a_1 + b_1)/(p_1 + q_1) , (a_1 + b_2)/(p_1 + q_2) $$ $$(a_2 + b_1)/(p_2 + q_1) , (a_2 + b_2)/(p_2 + q_2)$$ there is a number in the table, that is not less than another number in the same row and is not greater than another number in the same column (a saddle point). b) Given real numbers $a_1, a_2, ... , a_n, b_1, b_2, ... , b_n$ and positive $p_1, p_2, ... , p_n, q_1, q_2, ... , q_n$. We construct the table $n\times n$, with the numbers ($0 < i,j \le n$) $$(a_i + b_j)/(p_i + q_j)$$ in the intersection of the $i$-th row and $j$-th column. Prove that there is a number in the table, that is not less than arbitrary number in the same row and is not greater than arbitrary number in the same column (a saddle point).

Given positive integer $ n \ge 5 $ and a convex polygon $P$, namely $ A_1A_2...A_n $. No diagonals of $P$ are concurrent. Proof that it is possible to choose a point inside every quadrilateral $ A_iA_jA_kA_l (1\le i<j<k<l\le n) $ not on diagonals of $P$, such that the $ \tbinom{n}{4} $ points chosen are distinct, and any segment connecting these points intersect with some diagonal of P.

Felix is playing a card-flipping game. $n$ face-down cards are randomly colored, each with equal probability of being black or red. Felix starts at the $1$st card. When Felix is at the $k$th card, he guesses its color and then flips it over. For $k < n$, if he guesses correctly, he moves onto the $(k + 1)$-th card. If he guesses incorrectly, he gains $k$ penalty points, the cards are replaced with newly randomized face-down cards, and he moves back to card $1$ to continue guessing. If Felix guesses the $n$th card correctly, the game ends. What is the expected number of penalty points Felix earns by the end of the game?

Baron Munchausen plays billiards on a table with the shape of an equilateral triangle. He claims to have shot a ball from one of the sides of this table so that it passed through a certain point three times in three different directions and then returned to the original point on the side. Can that be true, assuming that the usual law of reflection holds? (Μ Evdokimov)

Let $n$ be an even positive integer. On a board n real numbers are written. In a single move we can erase any two numbers from the board and replace each of them with their product. Prove that for every $n$ initial numbers one can in finite number of moves obtain $n$ equal numbers on the board.

Let $S$ be the set $\{1, 2, ..., 10\}$. Let $A$ be a subset of $S$. We arrange the elements of $A$ in increasing order, that is, $A = \{a_1, a_2, ...., a_k\}$ with $a_1 < a_2 < ... < a_k$. Define [i]WSUM [/i] for this subset as $3(a_1 + a_3 +..) + 2(a_2 + a_4 +...)$ where the first term contains the odd numbered terms and the second the even numbered terms. (For example, if $A = \{2, 5, 7, 8\}$, [i]WSUM [/i] is $3(2 + 7) + 2(5 + 8)$.) Find the sum of [i]WSUMs[/i] over all the subsets of S. (Assume that WSUM for the null set is $0$.)

What is the smallest number of squares of a chess board that can be marked in such a manner that (a) no two marked squares may have a common side or a common vertex, and (b) any unmarked square has a common side or a common vertex with at least one marked square? Indicate a specific configuration of marked squares satisfying (a) and (b) and show that a lesser number of marked squares will not suffice. (A. Andjans, Riga)

One hundred million cities lie on Planet MO. Initially, there are no air routes between any two cities. Now an airline company comes. It plans to establish $5050$ two-way routes, each route connects two different cities, and no two routes connect the same two cities. The "degree" of a city is defined to be the number of routes departing from that city. The "benefit" of a route is the product of the "degrees" of the two cities it connects. Find the maximum possible value of the sum of the benefits of these $5050$ routes.

[b][b]p1.[/b][/b] Find the perimeter of a regular hexagon with apothem $3$. [b]p2.[/b] Concentric circles of radius $1$ and r are drawn on a circular dartboard of radius $5$. The probability that a randomly thrown dart lands between the two circles is $0.12$. Find $r$. [b]p3.[/b] Find all ordered pairs of integers $(x, y)$ with $0 \le x \le 100$, $0 \le y \le 100$ satisfying $$xy = (x - 22) (y + 15) .$$ [b]p4.[/b] Points $A_1$,$A_2$,$...$,$A_{12}$ are evenly spaced around a circle of radius $1$, but not necessarily in order. Given that chords $A_1A_2$, $A_3A_4$, and $A_5A_6$ have length $2$ and chords $A_7A_8$ and $A_9A_{10}$ have length $2 sin (\pi / 12)$, find all possible lengths for chord $A_{11}A_{12}$. [b]p5.[/b] Let $a$ be the number of digits of $2^{1998}$, and let $b$ be the number of digits in $5^{1998}$. Find $a + b$. [b]p6.[/b] Find the volume of the solid in $R^3$ defined by the equations $$x^2 + y^2 \le 2$$ $$x + y + |z| \le 3.$$ [b]p7.[/b] Positive integer $n$ is such that $3n$ has $28$ positive divisors and $4n$ has $36$ positive divisors. Find the number of positive divisors of $n$. [b]p8.[/b] Define functions $f$ and $g$ by $f (x) = x +\sqrt{x}$ and $g (x) = x + 1/4$. Compute $$g(f(g(f(g(f(g(f(3)))))))).$$ (Your answer must be in the form $a + b \sqrt{ c}$ where $a$, $b$, and $c$ are rational.) [b]p9.[/b] Sequence $(a_1, a_2,...)$ is defined recursively by $a_1 = 0$, $a_2 = 100$, and $a_n = 2a_{n-1}-a_{n-2}-3$. Find the greatest term in the sequence $(a_1, a_2,...)$. [b]p10.[/b] Points $X = (3/5, 0)$ and $Y = (0, 4/5)$ are located on a Cartesian coordinate system. Consider all line segments which (like $\overline{XY}$ ) are of length 1 and have one endpoint on each axis. Find the coordinates of the unique point $P$ on $\overline{XY}$ such that none of these line segments (except $\overline{XY}$ itself) pass through $P$. PS. You had better use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Let $a$ and $b$ be positive integers. The cells of an $(a+b+1)\times (a+b+1)$ grid are colored amber and bronze such that there are at least $a^2+ab-b$ amber cells and at least $b^2+ab-a$ bronze cells. Prove that it is possible to choose $a$ amber cells and $b$ bronze cells such that no two of the $a+b$ chosen cells lie in the same row or column.

Majid wants to color the cells of an $n\times n$ chessboard into white and black so that each $2\times 2$ subsquare contains two white cells and two black cells. In how many ways can Majid color this $n\times n$ chessboard?

Pablo and Nacho write together a succession of positive integers of $2006$ terms, according to the following rules: Pablo begins, who in his first turn writes $1$, and from then on, each one in his turn writes an integer positive that is greater than or equal to the last number that the opponent wrote and less than or equal to triple the last number that the opponent wrote. When the two of them have written the $2006$ numbers, the sum $S$ of the first $ 2005$ numbers written (all except the last one) and the sum $T$ of the $2006$ numbers written. If $S$ and $T $ are co-cousins, Nacho wins. Otherwise, Pablo wins. Determine which of the two players has a winning strategy, describe the strategy and demonstrate that it is a winning one.

If the polynomials $f(x)$ and $g(x)$ are written on a blackboard then we can also write down the polynomials $f(x)\pm g(x), f(x)g(x), f(g(x))$ and $cf(x)$, where $c$ is an arbitrary real constant. The polynomials $x^3 - 3x^2 + 5$ and $x^2 - 4x$ are written on the blackboard. Can we write a nonzero polynomial of the form $x^n - 1$ after a finite number of steps? Justify your answer.

Members of a parliament participate in various committees. Each committee consists of at least $2$ people, and it is known that every two committees have at least one member in common. Prove that it is possible to give each member a colored hat (hats are available in black, white or red) so that every committee contains at least $2$ members with different hat colors.

Let $n$ be a given positive integer. Sisyphus performs a sequence of turns on a board consisting of $n + 1$ squares in a row, numbered $0$ to $n$ from left to right. Initially, $n$ stones are put into square $0$, and the other squares are empty. At every turn, Sisyphus chooses any nonempty square, say with $k$ stones, takes one of these stones and moves it to the right by at most $k$ squares (the stone should say within the board). Sisyphus' aim is to move all $n$ stones to square $n$. Prove that Sisyphus cannot reach the aim in less than \[ \left \lceil \frac{n}{1} \right \rceil + \left \lceil \frac{n}{2} \right \rceil + \left \lceil \frac{n}{3} \right \rceil + \dots + \left \lceil \frac{n}{n} \right \rceil \] turns. (As usual, $\lceil x \rceil$ stands for the least integer not smaller than $x$. )

Let $n$ be a positive integer. Marc has $2n$ boxes, and in particular, he has one box filled with $k$ apples for each $k=1,2,3,\ldots,2n$. Every day, Marc opens a box and eats all the apples in it. However, if he eats strictly more than $2n+1$ apples in two consecutive days, he gets stomach ache. Prove that Marc has exactly $2^n$ distinct ways of choosing the boxes so that he eats all the apples but doesn't get stomach ache.

Determine the least integer $k$ for which the following story could hold true: In a chess tournament with $24$ players, every pair of players plays at least $2$ and at most $k$ games against each other. At the end of the tournament, it turns out that every player has played a different number of games.