Consider a 4-point configuration in the plane such that every 3 points can be covered by a strip of a unit width. Prove that: 1) the four points can be covered by a strip of length at most $\sqrt2$ and 2)if no strip of length less that $\sqrt2$ covers all the four points, then the points are vertices of a square of length $\sqrt2$

In a building whose floors are numbered $1$ to $8$, the builder wants to place elevators so that, for every choice of two floors, there are always at least three elevators that stop on those floors. Furthermore, each elevator can only stop at a maximum of $5$ floors. What is the minimum number of elevators that need to be placed?

[b]p1.[/b] Is it possible to put $9$ numbers $1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9$ in a circle in a way such that the sum of any three circularly consecutive numbers is divisible by $3$ and is, moreover: a) greater than $9$ ? b) greater than $15$? [b]p2.[/b] You can cut the figure below along the sides of the small squares into several (at least two) identical pieces. What is the minimal number of such equal pieces? [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/8/e/9cd09a04209774dab34bc7f989b79573453f35.png[/img] [b]p3.[/b] There are $100$ colored marbles in a box. It is known that among any set of ten marbles there are at least two marbles of the same color. Show that the box contains $12$ marbles of the same color. [b]p4.[/b] Is it possible to color squares of a $ 8\times 8$ board in white and black color in such a way that every square has exactly one black neighbor square separated by a side? [b]p5.[/b] In a basket, there are more than $80$ but no more than $200$ white, yellow, black, and red balls. Exactly $12\%$ are yellow, $20\%$ are black. Is it possible that exactly $2/3$ of the balls are white? PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Given a prime $p$ and a real number $\lambda \in (0,1)$. Let $s$ and $t$ be positive integers such that $s \leqslant t < \frac{\lambda p}{12}$. $S$ and $T$ are sets of $s$ and $t$ consecutive positive integers respectively, which satisfy $$\left| \left\{ (x,y) \in S \times T : kx \equiv y \pmod p \right\}\right| \geqslant 1 + \lambda s.$$Prove that there exists integers $a$ and $b$ that $1 \leqslant a \leqslant \frac{1}{ \lambda}$, $\left| b \right| \leqslant \frac{t}{\lambda s}$ and $ka \equiv b \pmod p$.

The deputies in a parliament were split into $10$ fractions. According to regulations, no fraction may consist of less than five people, and no two fractions may have the same number of members. After the vacation, the fractions disintegrated and several new fractions arose instead. Besides, some deputies became independent. It turned out that no two deputies that were in the same fraction before the vacation entered the same fraction after the vacation. Find the smallest possible number of independent deputies after the vacation.

A grid is called $k$-special if in each cell is written a distinct integer such that the set of integers in the grid is precisely the set of positive divisors of $k$. A grid is called $k$-awesome if it is $k$-special and for each positive divisor $m$ of $k$, there exists an $m$-special grid within this $k$-special grid (within meaning you could draw a box in this grid to obtain the new grid). Find the sum of the $4$ smallest integers $k$ for which no $k$-awesome grid exists. [i]Proposed by Oliver Hayman[/i]

[b]p1.[/b] Solve the equation $$\frac{\sqrt{x^2 - 2x + 1}}{x^2 - 1}+\frac{x^2 - 1}{\sqrt{x^2 - 2x + 1}}=\frac52.$$ [b]p2.[/b] Solve the inequality: $\frac{1 - 2\sqrt{1-x^2}}{x} \le 1$. [b]p3.[/b] Let $ABCD$ be a convex quadrilateral such that the length of the segment connecting midpoints of the two opposite sides $AB$ and $CD$ equals $\frac{|AD| + |BC|}{2}$. Prove that $AD$ is parallel to $BC$. [b]p4.[/b] Solve the equation: $\frac{1}{\cos x}+\frac{1}{\sin x}= 2\sqrt2$. [b]p5.[/b] Long, long ago, far, far away there existed the Old Republic Galaxy with a large number of stars. It was known that for any four stars in the galaxy there existed a point in space such that the distance from that point to any of these four stars was less than or equal to $R$. Master Yoda asked Luke Skywalker the following question: Must there exist a point $P$ in the galaxy such that all stars in the galaxy are within a distance $R$ of the point $P$? Give a justified argument that will help Like answer Master Yoda’s question. [b]p6.[/b] The Old Republic contained an odd number of inhabited planets. Some pairs of planets were connected to each other by space flights of the Trade Federation, and some pairs of planets were not connected. Every inhabited planet had at least one connections to some other inhabited planet. Luke knew that if two planets had a common connection (they are connected to the same planet), then they have a different number of total connections. Master Yoda asked Luke if there must exist a planet that has exactly two connections. Give a justified argument that will help Luke answer Master Yoda’s question. PS. You should use hide for answers.

Let $\mathcal{F}$ be a family of (distinct) subsets of the set $\{1,2,\dots,n\}$ such that for all $A$, $B\in \mathcal{F}$,we have that $A^C\cup B\in \mathcal{F}$, where $A^C$ is the set of all members of ${1,2,\dots,n}$ that are not in $A$. Prove that every $k\in {1,2,\dots,n}$ appears in at least half of the sets in $\mathcal{F}$. [i]Stijn Cambie, Mohammad Javad Moghaddas Mehr[/i]

Let ${a_1, a_2, . . . , a_n,}$ and ${b_1, b_2, . . . , b_n}$ be real numbers with ${a_1, a_2, . . . , a_n}$ distinct. Show that if the product ${(a_i + b_1)(a_i + b_2) \cdot \cdot \cdot (a_i + b_n)}$ takes the same value for every ${ i = 1, 2, . . . , n, }$ , then the product ${(a_1 + b_j)(a_2 + b_j) \cdot \cdot \cdot (a_n + b_j)}$ also takes the same value for every ${j = 1, 2, . . . , n, }$ .

For a positive integer $n$, let $y_n$ be the number of $n$-digit positive integers containing only the digits $2,3,5, 7$ and which do not have a $5$ directly to the right of a $2.$ If $r\geq 1$ and $m\geq 2$ are integers, prove that $y_{m-1}$ divides $y_{rm-1}.$

[u]Part 1 [/u] [b]p1.[/b] Calculate $$(4!-5!+2^5 +2^6) \cdot \frac{12!}{7!}+(1-3)(4!-2^4).$$ [b]p2.[/b] The expression $\sqrt{9!+10!+11!}$ can be expressed as $a\sqrt{b}$ for positive integers $a$ and $b$, where $b$ is squarefree. Find $a$. [b]p3.[/b] For real numbers $a$ and $b$, $f(x) = ax^{10}-bx^4+6x +10$ for all real $x$. Given that $f(42) = 11$, find $f (-42)$. [u]Part 2[/u] [b]p4.[/b] How many positive integers less than or equal to $2023$ are divisible by $20$, $23$, or both? [b]p5.[/b] Larry the ant crawls along the surface of a cylinder with height $48$ and base radius $\frac{14}{\pi}$ . He starts at point $A$ and crawls to point $B$, traveling the shortest distance possible. What is the maximum this distance could be? [b]p6.[/b] For a given positive integer $n$, Ben knows that $\lfloor 20x \rfloor = n$, where $x$ is real. With that information, Ben determines that there are $3$ distinct possible values for $\lfloor 23x \rfloor$. Find the least possible value of $n$. [u]Part 3 [/u] [b]p7.[/b] Let $ABC$ be a triangle with area $1$. Points $D$, $E$, and $F$ lie in the interior of $\vartriangle ABC$ in such a way that $D$ is the midpoint of $AE$, $E$ is the midpoint of $BF$, and $F$ is the midpoint of $CD$. Compute the area of $DEF$. [b]p8.[/b] Edwin and Amelia decide to settle an argument by running a race against each other. The starting line is at a given vertex of a regular octahedron and the finish line is at the opposite vertex. Edwin has the ability to run straight through the octahedron, while Amelia must stay on the surface of the octahedron. Given that they tie, what is the ratio of Edwin’s speed to Amelia’s speed? [b]p9.[/b] Jxu is rolling a fair three-sided die with faces labeled $0$, $1$, and $2$. He keeps going until he rolls a $1$, immediately followed by a $2$. What is the expected number of rolls Jxu makes? [u]Part 4 [/u] [b]p10.[/b] For real numbers $x$ and $y$, $x +x y = 10$ and $y +x y = 6$. Find the sum of all possible values of $\frac{x}{y}$. [b]p11.[/b] Derek is thinking of an odd two-digit integer $n$. He tells Aidan that $n$ is a perfect power and the product of the digits of $n$ is also a perfect power. Find the sum of all possible values of $n$. [b]p12.[/b] Let a three-digit positive integer $N = \overline{abc}$ (in base $10$) be stretchable with respect to $m$ if $N$ is divisible by $m$, and when $N$‘s middle digit is duplicated an arbitrary number of times, it‘s still divisible by $m$. How many three-digit positive integers are stretchable with respect to $11$? (For example, $432$ is stretchable with respect to $6$ because $433...32$ is divisible by $6$ for any positive integer number of $3$s.) [u]Part 5 [/u] [b]p13.[/b] How many trailing zeroes are in the base-$2023$ expansion of $2023!$ ? [b]p14.[/b] The three-digit positive integer $k = \overline{abc}$ (in base $10$, with a nonzero) satisfies $\overline{abc} = c^{2ab-1}$. Find the sum of all possible $k$. [b]p15.[/b] For any positive integer $k$, let $a_k$ be defined as the greatest nonnegative real number such that in an infinite grid of unit squares, no circle with radius less than or equal to $a_k$ can partially cover at least $k$ distinct unit squares. (A circle partially covers a unit square only if their intersection has positive area.) Find the sumof all positive integers $n \le 12$ such that $a_n \ne a_{n+1}$. PS. You should use hide for answers. Rounds 6-9 have been posted [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c3h3267915p30057005]here[/url]. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Given a $24 \times 24$ square grid, initially all its unit squares are coloured white. A move consists of choosing a row, or a column, and changing the colours of all its unit squares, from white to black, and from black to white. Is it possible that after finitely many moves, the square grid contains exactly $574$ black unit squares?

Three acute triangles are inscribed in the same circle with their vertices being nine distinct points. Show that one can choose a vertex from each triangle so that the three chosen points determine a triangle each of whose angles is at most $90^\circ$.

Let $T$ be a finite set of positive integers greater than 1. A subset $S$ of $T$ is called [i]good[/i] if for every $t \in T$ there exists some $s \in S$ with $\gcd(s, t) > 1$. Prove that the number of good subsets of $T$ is odd.

[i]Nocycleland[/i] is a country with $500$ cities and $2013$ two-way roads, each one of them connecting two cities. A city $A$ [i]neighbors[/i] $B$ if there is one road that connects them, and a city $A$ [i]quasi-neighbors[/i] $B$ if there is a city $C$ such that $A$ neighbors $C$ and $C$ neighbors $B$. It is known that in Nocycleland, there are no pair of cities connected directly with more than one road, and there are no four cities $A$, $B$, $C$ and $D$ such that $A$ neighbors $B$, $B$ neighbors $C$, $C$ neighbors $D$, and $D$ neighbors $A$. Show that there is at least one city that quasi-neighbors at least $57$ other cities.

Let $D_{1}, D_{2}, . . . , D_{n}$ be rectangular parallelepipeds in space, with edges parallel to the $x, y, z$ axes. For each $D_{i}$, let $x_{i} , y_{i} , z_{i}$ be the lengths of its projections onto the $x, y, z$ axes, respectively. Suppose that for all pairs $D_{i}$ , $D_{j}$, if at least one of $x_{i} < x_{j}$ , $y_{i} < y_{j}$, $z_{i} < z_{j}$ holds, then $x_{i} \leq x_{j}$ , $y_{i} \leq y_{j}$, and $z_{i} < z_{j}$ . If the volume of the region $\bigcup^{n}_{i=1}{D_{i}}$ equals 1997, prove that there is a subset $\{D_{i_{1}}, D_{i_{2}}, . . . , D_{i_{m}}\}$ of the set $\{D_{1}, . . . , D_{n}\}$ such that $(i)$ if $k \not= l $ then $D_{i_{k}} \cap D_{i_{l}} = \emptyset $, and $(ii)$ the volume of $\bigcup^{m}_{k=1}{D_{i_{k}}}$ is at least 73.

$100$ ones are written in a circle. Petya and Vasya take turns making \( 10^{10} \) moves each. In each move, Petya chooses 9 consecutive numbers and decreases each by $2$. Vasya chooses $10$ consecutive numbers and increases each by $1$. They alternate turns, starting with Petya. Prove that Vasya can act in such a way that after each of his moves, there are always at least five positive numbers, regardless of how Petya plays. \\

In a room, there are $100$ light switches, labeled with the positive integers ${1,2, . . . ,100}$. They’re all initially turned off. On the $i$ th day for $1 \le i \le 100$, Bob flips every light switch with label number $k$ divisible by $i$ a total of $\frac{k}{i}$ times. Find the sum of the labels of the light switches that are turned on at the end of the $100$th day.

A necklace contains $2016$ pearls, each of which has one of the colours black, green or blue. In each step we replace simultaneously each pearl with a new pearl, where the colour of the new pearl is determined as follows: If the two original neighbours were of the same colour, the new pearl has their colour. If the neighbours had two different colours, the new pearl has the third colour. (a) Is there such a necklace that can be transformed with such steps to a necklace of blue pearls if half of the pearls were black and half of the pearls were green at the start? (b) Is there such a necklace that can be transformed with such steps to a necklace of blue pearls if thousand of the pearls were black at the start and the rest green? (c) Is it possible to transform a necklace that contains exactly two adjacent black pearls and $2014$ blue pearls to a necklace that contains one green pearl and $2015$ blue pearls? Proposed byTheresia Eisenkölbl

A white plane is partitioned onto cells (in a usual way). A finite number of cells are coloured black. Each black cell has an even (0, 2 or 4) adjacent (by the side) white cells. Prove that one may colour each white cell in green or red such that every black cell will have equal number of red and green adjacent cells.

Fix positive integers $k$ and $n$.Derive a simple expression involving Fibonacci numbers for the number of sequences $(T_1,T_2,\ldots,T_k)$ of subsets $T_i$ of $[n]$ such that $T_1\subseteq T_2\supseteq T_3\subseteq T_4\supseteq\ldots$. [color=#008000]Moderator says: and the original source for this one is Richard Stanley, [i]Enumerative Combinatorics[/i] vol. 1 (1st edition), exercise 1.15.[/color]

In a sports meeting a total of $m$ medals were awarded over $n$ days. On the first day one medal and $\frac{1}{7}$ of the remaining medals were awarded. On the second day two medals and $\frac{1}{7}$ of the remaining medals were awarded, and so on. On the last day, the remaining $n$ medals were awarded. How many medals did the meeting last, and what was the total number of medals ?

The infinite sequence $a_0,a _1, a_2, \dots$ of (not necessarily distinct) integers has the following properties: $0\le a_i \le i$ for all integers $i\ge 0$, and \[\binom{k}{a_0} + \binom{k}{a_1} + \dots + \binom{k}{a_k} = 2^k\] for all integers $k\ge 0$. Prove that all integers $N\ge 0$ occur in the sequence (that is, for all $N\ge 0$, there exists $i\ge 0$ with $a_i=N$).

The numbers $1$ through $16$ are to be written in the cells of a $4\times 4$ board. (a) Prove that this can be done in such a way that any two numbers in cells that share a side differ by at most $4$. (b) Prove that this cannot be done in such a way that any two numbers in cells that share a side differ by at most $3$.

Let $m,n > 2$ be even integers. Consider a board of size $m \times n$ whose every cell is colored either black or white. The Guesser does not see the coloring of the board but may ask the Oracle some questions about it. In particular, she may inquire about two adjacent cells (sharing an edge) and the Oracle discloses whether the two adjacent cells have the same color or not. The Guesser eventually wants to find the parity of the number of adjacent cell-pairs whose colors are different. What is the minimum number of inquiries the Guesser needs to make so that she is guaranteed to find her answer?(Czech Republic)