Alice has two urns. Each urn contains four balls and on each ball a natural number is written. She draws one ball from each urn at random, notes the sum of the numbers written on them, and replaces the balls in the urns from which she took them. This she repeats a large number of times. Bill, on examining the numbers recorded, notices that the frequency with which each sum occurs is the same as if it were the sum of two natural numbers drawn at random from the range 1 to 4. What can he deduce about the numbers on the balls?

Let $k$ be a positive integer. The organising commitee of a tennis tournament is to schedule the matches for $2k$ players so that every two players play once, each day exactly one match is played, and each player arrives to the tournament site the day of his first match, and departs the day of his last match. For every day a player is present on the tournament, the committee has to pay $1$ coin to the hotel. The organisers want to design the schedule so as to minimise the total cost of all players' stays. Determine this minimum cost.

Let $n \ge 1$ be a positive integer. An $n \times n$ matrix is called [i]good[/i] if each entry is a non-negative integer, the sum of entries in each row and each column is equal. A [i]permutation[/i] matrix is an $n \times n$ matrix consisting of $n$ ones and $n(n-1)$ zeroes such that each row and each column has exactly one non-zero entry. Prove that any [i]good[/i] matrix is a sum of finitely many [i]permutation[/i] matrices.

On the blackboard are written the $2003$ integers from $1$ to $2003$. Lucas must delete $90$ numbers. Next, Mauro must choose $37$ from the numbers that remain written. If the $37$ numbers Mauro chooses form an arithmetic progression, Mauro wins. If not, Lucas wins. Decide if Lucas can choose the $90$ numbers he erases so that victory is assured.

The following picture illustrates the model of the Tháp Rùa (The Central Tower in Hanoi), which consists of $3$ levels. For the first and second levels, each has $10$ doorways among which $3$ doorways are located at the front, $3$ at the back, $2$ on the right side and $2$ on the left side. The third level is on the top of the tower model and has no doorways. The front of the tower model is signified by a circle symbol on the top level (Figure). We paint the tower model with three colors: Blue, Yellow and Brown by fulfilling the following requirements: (a) The top level is painted with only one color. (b) The $3$ doorways at the front on the second level are painted with the same color. (c) The $3$ doorways at the front on the first level are painted with the same color. (d) Each of the remaining $14$ doorways is painted with one of the three colors in such a way that any two adjacent doorways with a common side on the same level, including the pairs at the same corners, are painted with different colors. How many ways are there to paint the first level? How many ways are there to paint the entire tower model? [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/f/9/2249f8595a8efe711680f3dfb8ff959c140a21.png[/img]

Given the natural number N, consider triples of different positive integers $(a, b, c)$ such that $a + b + c = N$. Take the largest possible system of these triples such that no two triples of the system have any common elements. Denote the number of triples of this system by $K(N)$. Prove that: (a) $K(N) >\frac{N}{6}-1$ (b) $K(N) <\frac{2N}{9}$ (L.D. Kurliandchik, Leningrad)

Let $ E$ be a system of $ n^2 \plus{} 1$ closed intervals of the real line. Show that $ E$ has either a subsystem consisting of $ n \plus{} 1$ elements which are monotonically ordered with respect to inclusion or a subsystem consisting of $ n \plus{} 1$ elements none of which contains another element of the subsystem.

(a) Prove that $x^4+3x^3+6x^2+9x+12$ cannot be expressed as product of two polynomials of degree 2 with integers coefficients. (b) $2n+1$ segments are marked on a line. Each of these segments intersects at least $n$ other segments. Prove that one of these segments intersects all other segments.

For which $n{}$ can we partition a regular $n{}$-gon into finitely many triangles such that no two triangles share a side? [i]Based on a problem of the 2017 Miklós Schweitzer competition[/i]

Do there exist 100 points on the plane such that the pairwise distances between them are pairwise distinct consecutive integer numbers larger than 2022?

We say that a rectangle with side lengths $a$ and $b$ [i]fits inside[/i] a rectangle with side lengths $c$ and $d$ if either ($a \le c$ and $b \le d$) or ($a \le d$ and $b \le c$). For instance, a rectangle with side lengths $1$ and $5$ [i]fits inside[/i] another rectangle with side lengths $1$ and $5$, and also [i]fits inside[/i] a rectangle with side lengths $6$ and $2$. Suppose $S$ is a set of $2019$ rectangles, all with integer side lengths between $1$ and $2018$ inclusive. Show that there are three rectangles $A$, $B$, and $C$ in $S$ such that $A$ fits inside $B$, and $B$ [i]fits inside [/i]$C$.

The $n$-element set of real numbers is given, where $n \geq 6$. Prove that there exist at least $n-1$ two-element subsets of this set, in which the arithmetic mean of elements is not less than the arithmetic mean of elements in the whole set.

We consider the set of expressions that can be written with real numbers, $\pm$, $+$, $\times$, and parenthesis, such that if each $\pm$ is independently replaced with either $+$ or $-$, we are left with a valid arithmetic expression. For example, this includes: \[0\pm 1, 1 \pm 2, 1+2\times (1+2\pm 3), (1 \pm 2) \times (3 \pm 4).\] We define the [i]range[/i] of an expression of this form to be the set of all of the possible values when replacing each $\pm$ with either a $+$ or a $-$. For example, [list] [*] $1 \pm 2$ has range $\{-1,3\}$, since $1-2=-1$ and $1+2=3$. [*] $(1 \pm 1) \times (1 \pm 1)$ has range $\{0,4\}$, since $(1-1)(1-1)=(1-1)(1+1)=(1+1)(1-1)=0$ and $(1+1)(1+1)=4.$ [*] $(1 \pm 2)(3\pm 4)$ has range $\{-7,-3,1,21\}$, since $(1-2)(3+4)=-7$, $(1+2)(3-4)=-3$, $(1-2)(3-4)=1$, and $(1+2)(3+4)=21$. [/list] We will prove that every finite nonempty set of real numbers is the range of some expression of this form. Call a nonempty set of real numbers [i]good[/i] if it is the range of some expression of this form. (a) For each of the following sets, find an expression with a range equal to the given set. You do not need to justify the expression. [list=i] [*] $\{1\}$ [*] $\{1,3\}$ [*] $\{-1,0,1\}$ [/list] (b) Prove that if $S$ and $T$ are good sets, the product set $S \cdot T = \{ xy \mid x \in S, y \in T \}$ (the set of product of elements of $S$ with elements of $T$) is good. (c) Prove that if a set $S$ not containing $0$ is good, the set $S \cup \{ 0 \}$ (obtained upon adding $0$ to $S$) is good. (d) Prove that every finite nonempty set of real numbers is good.

A class has $25$ students. The teacher wants to stock $N$ candies, hold the Olympics and give away all $N$ candies for success in it (those who solve equally tasks should get equally, those who solve less get less, including, possibly, zero candies). At what smallest $N$ this will be possible, regardless of the number of tasks on Olympiad and the student successes?

Let $ k,m,n$ be integers such that $ 1 < n \leq m \minus{} 1 \leq k.$ Determine the maximum size of a subset $ S$ of the set $ \{1,2,3, \ldots, k\minus{}1,k\}$ such that no $ n$ distinct elements of $ S$ add up to $ m.$

Suppose Alan, Michael, Kevin, Igor, and Big Rahul are in a running race. It is given that exactly one pair of people tie (for example, two people both get second place), so that no other pair of people end in the same position. Each competitor has equal skill; this means that each outcome of the race, given that exactly two people tie, is equally likely. The probability that Big Rahul gets first place (either by himself or he ties for first) can be expressed in the form $\tfrac{m}{n}$, where $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime positive integers. Compute $m+n$.

Let $A$ be a set of $8$ elements, and $B := (B_1,...,B_7)$ be an ordered $7$-tuple of subsets of $A$. Let $N$ be the number of such $7$-tuples $B$ such that there exists a unique $4$-element subset $I \subseteq \{1,2,...,7\}$ for which the intersection $\cap _{ i\in I} B_i$ is nonempty. Find the remainder when $N$ is divided by $67$.

On a round table, $n$ bowls are arranged in a circle. Anja walks around the table clockwise, placing marbles in the bowls according to the following rule: She places a marble in any first bowl, then goes one bowl further and puts a marble in there. Then she goes two shells before putting another marble, then she goes three shells, etc. If there is at least one marble in each shell, she stops. For which $n$ does this occur?

How many ways are there to line up $19$ girls (all of different heights) in a row so that no girl has a shorter girl both in front of and behind her?

In chess, a knight placed on a chess board can move by jumping to an adjacent square in one direction (up, down, left, or right) then jumping to the next two squares in a perpendicular direction. We then say that a square in a chess board [i]can be attacked[/i] by a knight if the knight can end up on that square after a move. Thus, depending on where a knight is placed, it can attack as many as eight squares, or maybe even less. In a $10 \times 10$ chess board, what is the maximum number of knights that can be placed such that each square on the board can be attacked by at most one knight?

A card deck consists of $1024$ cards. On each card, a set of distinct decimal digits is written in such a way that no two of these sets coincide (thus, one of the cards is empty). Two players alternately take cards from the deck, one card per turn. After the deck is empty, each player checks if he can throw out one of his cards so that each of the ten digits occurs on an even number of his remaining cards. If one player can do this but the other one cannot, the one who can is the winner; otherwise a draw is declared. Determine all possible first moves of the first player after which he has a winning strategy. [i]Proposed by Ilya Bogdanov & Vladimir Bragin, Russia[/i]

The positive integer $n$ has the property that, in any set of $n$ integers, chosen from the integers $1,2, \ldots, 1988,$ twenty-nine of them form an arithmetic progression. Prove that $n > 1788.$

Each unit square of a $5 \times 5$ board is colored blue or yellow. Prove that there is a rectangle with sides parallel to the sides. axes of the board, such that its four corners are the same color.

A regular $2012$-gon is inscribed in a circle. Find the maximal $k$ such that we can choose $k$ vertices from given $2012$ and construct a convex $k$-gon without parallel sides.

In a tournament, every team plays exactly once against every other team. One won match earns $3$ points for the winner and $0$ for the loser. With a draw both teams receive $1$ point each. At the end of the tournament it appears that all teams together have achieved $15$ points. The last team on the final list scored exactly $1$ point. The second to last team has not lost a match. a) How many teams participated in the tournament? b) How many points did the team score in second place in the final ranking?