How many parts can space be divided into by : a) three half-plane? b) four half-planes?

A polyomino $P$ occupies $n$ cells of an infinite grid of unit squares. In each move, we lift $P$ off the grid and then we place it back into a new position, possibly rotated and reflected, so that the preceding and the new position have $n-1$ cells in common. We say that $P$ is a caterpillar of area $n$ if, by means of a series of moves, we can free up all cells initially occupied by $P$. How many caterpillars of area $n=10^{6}+1$ are there? Proposed by Nikolai Beluhov, Bulgaria

All cells of an $n\times n$ table are painted in several colors so that there is no monochromatic $2\times2$ square. A sequence of different cells $a_1,a_2,\ldots,a_k$ is called a [i]colorful[/i] if any two consecutive cells are adjacent and are painted in different colors. What is the largest $k{}$ for which there is a colorful sequence of length $k{}$ regardless of the coloring of the cells of the table? [i]Proposed by N. Belukhov[/i]

Boeotia is comprised of $3$ islands which are home to $2019$ towns in total. Each flight route connects three towns, each on a different island, providing connections between any two of them in both directions. Any two towns in the country are connected by at most one flight route. Find the maximal number of flight routes in the country

Natural numbers from $1$ to $99$ (not necessarily distinct) are written on $99$ cards. It is given that the sum of the numbers on any subset of cards (including the set of all cards) is not divisible by $100$. Show that all the cards contain the same number.

Fix positive integers $k,n$. A candy vending machine has many different colours of candy, where there are $2n$ candies of each colour. A couple of kids each buys from the vending machine $2$ candies of different colours. Given that for any $k+1$ kids there are two kids who have at least one colour of candy in common, find the maximum number of kids.

Every officially published book used to have an ISBN code (International Standard Book Number) which consisted of $10$ symbols. Such code looked like this: $$a_1a_2 . . . a_9a_{10}$$ with $a_1, . . . , a_9 \in \{0, 1, . . . , 9\}$ and $a_{10} \in \{0, 1, . . . , 9, X\}$. The symbol $X$ stood for the number $10$. With a valid ISBN code was $$a_1 + 2a2 + . . . + 9a_9 + 10a_{10}$$ a multiple of $11$. Prove the following statements. (a) If one symbol is changed in a valid ISBN code, the result is no valid ISBN code. (b) When two different symbols swap places in a valid ISBN code then the result is not a valid ISBN.

In a $12\times 12$ grid, colour each unit square with either black or white, such that there is at least one black unit square in any $3\times 4$ and $4\times 3$ rectangle bounded by the grid lines. Determine, with proof, the minimum number of black unit squares.

Let $a,b$ be integers with $0<a<b$. A set $\{x,y,z\}$ of non-negative integers is [i]olympic[/i] if $x<y<z$ and if $\{z-y,y-x\}=\{a,b\}$. Show that the set of all non-negative integers is the union of pairwise disjoint olympic sets.

Tracy has been baking a rectangular cake whose surface is dissected by grid lines in square fields. The number of rows is $ 2^n$ and the number of columns is $ 2^{n \plus{} 1}$ where $ n \geq 1, n \in \mathbb{N}.$ Now she covers the fields with strawberries such that each row has at least $ 2n \plus{} 2$ of them. Show that there four pairwise distinct strawberries $ A,B,C$ and $ D$ which satisfy those three conditions: (a) Strawberries $ A$ and $ B$ lie in the same row and $ A$ further left than $ B.$ Similarly $ D$ lies in the same row as $ C$ but further left. (b) Strawberries $ B$ and $ C$ lie in the same column. (c) Strawberries $ A$ lies further up and further left than $ D.$

The leader of an IMO team chooses positive integers $n$ and $k$ with $n > k$, and announces them to the deputy leader and a contestant. The leader then secretly tells the deputy leader an $n$-digit binary string, and the deputy leader writes down all $n$-digit binary strings which differ from the leader’s in exactly $k$ positions. (For example, if $n = 3$ and $k = 1$, and if the leader chooses $101$, the deputy leader would write down $001, 111$ and $100$.) The contestant is allowed to look at the strings written by the deputy leader and guess the leader’s string. What is the minimum number of guesses (in terms of $n$ and $k$) needed to guarantee the correct answer?

Let $m>1$ be a natural number and $N=m^{2017}+1$. On a blackboard, left to right, are written the following numbers: \[N, N-m, N-2m,\dots, 2m+1,m+1, 1.\] On each move, we erase the most left number, written on the board, and all its divisors (if any). This procces continues till all numbers are deleted. Which numbers will be deleted on the last move.

It is given positive integer $n$. Let $a_1, a_2,..., a_n$ be positive integers with sum $2S$, $S \in \mathbb{N}$. Positive integer $k$ is called separator if you can pick $k$ different indices $i_1, i_2,...,i_k$ from set $\{1,2,...,n\}$ such that $a_{i_1}+a_{i_2}+...+a_{i_k}=S$. Find, in terms of $n$, maximum number of separators

[b]Q.[/b] Consider in the plane $n>3$ different points. These have the properties, that all $3$ points can be included in a triangle with maximum area $1$. Prove that all the $n>3$ points can be included in a triangle with maximum area $4$. [i]Proposed by TuZo[/i]

There are $n > 2022$ cities in the country. Some pairs of cities are connected with straight two-ways airlines. Call the set of the cities {\it unlucky}, if it is impossible to color the airlines between them in two colors without monochromatic triangle (i.e. three cities $A$, $B$, $C$ with the airlines $AB$, $AC$ and $BC$ of the same color). The set containing all the cities is unlucky. Is there always an unlucky set containing exactly 2022 cities?

Let $n$ be natural number. Each of the numbers $\in\{1,2,\ldots ,n\}$ is coloured in black or white. When we choose a number, we flip it's colour and the colour of all the numbers which have at least one common divider with the chosen number. At the beginning all the numbers were coloured white. For which $n$ are all the numbers black after a finite number of changes?

$N$ students are seated at desks in an $m \times n$ array, where $m, n \ge 3$. Each student shakes hands with the students who are adjacent horizontally, vertically or diagonally. If there are $1020 $handshakes, what is $N$?

Let $ P$ be a convex $ n$ polygon each of which sides and diagnoals is colored with one of $ n$ distinct colors. For which $ n$ does: there exists a coloring method such that for any three of $ n$ colors, we can always find one triangle whose vertices is of $ P$' and whose sides is colored by the three colors respectively.

How many ways are there to permute the letters $\{S,C,R, A,M,B,L,E\}$ without the permutation containing the substring $L AME$?

Josie and Ross are playing a game on a $20 \times 20$ chessboard. Initially the chessboard is empty. The two players alternately take turns, with Josie going first. On Josie’s turn, she selects any two different empty cells, and places one white stone in each of them. On Ross’ turn, he chooses any one white stone currently on the board, and replaces it with a black stone. If at any time there are $ 8$ consecutive cells in a line (horizontally or vertically) all of which contain a white stone, Josie wins. Is it possible that Ross can stop Josie winning - regardless of how Josie plays?

On the planet Mars there are $100$ states that are in dispute. To achieve a peace situation, blocs must be formed that meet the following two conditions: (1) Each block must have at most $50$ states. (2) Every pair of states must be together in at least one block. Find the minimum number of blocks that must be formed.

On a circumference of a circle, seven points are selected, at which different positive integers are assigned to each of them. Then fit simultaneously, each number is replaced by the least common multiple of the two neighboring numbers to it. If the same number $n$ is obtained in each of the seven points, determine the smallest possible value for $n$. [hide=original wording]Sobre una circunferencia de un círculo, se seleccionan siete puntos, a los cuales se le asignan enteros positivos distintos a cada uno de ellos. Luego, en forma simultánea, cada número se reemplaza por el mínimo común múltiplo de los dos números vecinos a él. Si se obtiene el mismo número n en cada uno de los siete puntos, determine el menor valor posible para n.[/url]

Mari and Yuri play the next play. At first, there are two piles on the table, with $m$ and $n$ candies, respectively. At each turn, players eats one pile of candy from the table and distribute another pile of candy into two non-empty parts ,. Everything is done in turn and wins the player who can no longer share the pile (when there is only one candy left). Which player will win if both use the optimal strategy and Mari makes the first move?

There're $n$ students whose names are different from each other. Everyone has $n-1$ envelopes initially with the others' name and address written on them respectively. Everyone also has at least one greeting card with her name signed on it. Everyday precisely a student encloses a greeting card (which can be the one received before) with an envelope (the name on the card and the name on envelope cannot be the same) and post it to the appointed student by a same day delivery. Prove that when no one can post the greeting cards in this way any more: (i) Everyone still has at least one card; (ii) If there exist $k$ students $p_1, p_2, \cdots, p_k$ so that $p_i$ never post a card to $p_{i+1}$, where $i = 1,2, \cdots, k$ and $p_{k+1} = p_1$, then these $k$ students have prepared the same number of greeting cards initially.

A total of $731$ objects are put into $n$ nonempty bags where $n$ is a positive integer. These bags can be distributed into $17$ red boxes and also into $43$ blue boxes so that each red and each blue box contain $43$ and $17$ objects, respectively. Find the minimum value of $n$.