Found problems: 815
There are three boxes of stones. Sisyphus moves stones one by one between the boxes. Whenever he moves a stone, Zeus gives him the number of coins that is equal to the difference between the number of stones in the box the stone was put in, and that in the box the stone was taken from (the moved stone does not count). If this difference is negative, then Sisyphus returns the corresponding amount to Zeus (if Sisyphus cannot pay, generous Zeus allows him to make the move and pay later).
After some time all the stones lie in their initial boxes. What is the greatest possible earning of Sisyphus at that moment?
[i]I. Izmest’ev[/i]
Given any set of $9$ points in the plane such that there is no $3$ of them collinear, show that for each point $P$ of the set, the number of triangles with its vertices on the other $8$ points and that contain $P$ on its interior is even.
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 form $x^n-1$ after a finite number of steps?
Let $S$ be a set of $a+b+3$ points on a sphere, where $a$, $b$ are nonnegative integers and no four points of $S$ are coplanar. Determine how many planes pass through three points of $S$ and separate the remaining points into $a$ points on one side of the plane and $b$ points on the other side.
Let $m$ and $n$ be positive integers with $m\geq n$. There are $m$ cupcakes of different flavors arranged around a circle and $n$ people who like cupcakes. Each person assigns a nonnegative real number score to each cupcake, depending on how much they like the cupcake. Suppose that for each person $P$, it is possible to partition the circle of $m$ cupcakes into $n$ groups of consecutive cupcakes so that the sum of $P$'s scores of the cupcakes in each group is at least $1$. Prove that it is possible to distribute the $m$ cupcakes to the $n$ people so that each person $P$ receives cupcakes of total score at least $1$ with respect to $P$.
Find all functions $f:\mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}$ such that for all real numbers $a,b,$ and $c$:
(i) If $a+b+c\ge 0$ then $f(a^3)+f(b^3)+f(c^3)\ge 3f(abc).$
(ii) If $a+b+c\le 0$ then $f(a^3)+f(b^3)+f(c^3)\le 3f(abc).$
[i]Proposed by Ashwin Sah[/i]
King Tin writes the first $n$ perfect squares on the royal chalkboard, but he omits the first (so for n = $3$, he writes $4$ and $9$). His son, Prince Tin, comes along and repeats the following process until only one number remains:
[i]He erases the two greatest numbers still on the board, calls them a and b, and writes the value of $\frac{ab-1}{a+b-2}$ on the board.
[/i]Let $S(n)$ be the last number that Prince Tin writes on the board. Let $\lim_{n\to \infty} S(n) = r$, meaning that $r$ is the unique number such that for every $\epsilon > 0$ there exists a positive integer $N$ so that $|S(n) - r| < \epsilon$ for all $n > N$. If $r$ can be written in simplest form as $\frac{m}{n}$, find $m + n$.
Let $m$ boxes be given, with some balls in each box. Let $n < m$ be a given integer. The following operation is performed: choose $n$ of the boxes and put $1$ ball in each of them. Prove:
[i](a) [/i]If $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime, then it is possible, by performing the operation a finite number of times, to arrive at the situation that all the boxes contain an equal number of balls.
[i](b)[/i] If $m$ and $n$ are not relatively prime, there exist initial distributions of balls in the boxes such that an equal distribution is not possible to achieve.
Mad scientist Kyouma writes $N$ positive integers on a board. Each second, he chooses two numbers $x, y$ written on the board with $x > y$, and writes the number $x^2-y^2$ on the board. After some time, he sends the list of all the numbers on the board to Christina. She notices that all the numbers from 1 to 1000 are present on the list. Aid Christina in finding the minimum possible value of N.
Suppose that $a,b,c,d$ are positive real numbers satisfying $(a+c)(b+d)=ac+bd$. Find the smallest possible value of
$$\frac{a}{b}+\frac{b}{c}+\frac{c}{d}+\frac{d}{a}.$$
[i]Israel[/i]
Let $ S $ be the first quadrant and $ T:S\longrightarrow S $ be a transformation that takes the reciprocal of the coordinates of the points that belong to its domain. Define an [i]S-line[/i] to be the intersection of a line with $ S. $
[b]a)[/b] Show that the fixed points of $ T $ lie on any fixed S-line of $ T. $
[b]b)[/b] Find all fixed S-lines of $ T. $
[i]Gabriel Popa[/i]
Let $x_1, x_2, \dots, x_n$ be different real numbers. Prove that
\[\sum_{1 \leqslant i \leqslant n} \prod_{j \neq i} \frac{1-x_{i} x_{j}}{x_{i}-x_{j}}=\left\{\begin{array}{ll}
0, & \text { if } n \text { is even; } \\
1, & \text { if } n \text { is odd. }
\end{array}\right.\]
Let $n$ be an integer greater than $1.$ $n$ pupils are seated around a round table, each having a certain number of candies (it is possible that some pupils don't have a candy) such that the sum of all the candies they possess is a multiple of $n.$ They exchange their candies as follows: For each student's candies at first, there is at least a student who has more candies than the student sitting to his/her right side, in which case, the student on the right side is given a candy by that student. After a round of exchanging, if there is at least a student who has candies greater than the right side student, then he/she will give a candy to the next student sitting to his/her right side. Prove that after the exchange of candies is completed (ie, when it reaches equilibrium), all students have the same number of candies.
We call the three variable polynomial $P$ cyclic if $P(x,y,z)=P(y,z,x)$. Prove that cyclic three variable polynomials $P_1,P_2,P_3$ and $P_4$ exist such that for each cyclic three variable polynomial $P$, there exists a four variable polynomial $Q$ such that $P(x,y,z)=Q(P_1(x,y,z),P_2(x,y,z),P_3(x,y,z),P_4(x,y,z))$.
[i]Solution by Mostafa Eynollahzade and Erfan Salavati[/i]
A convex quadrilateral $ABCD$ satisfies $AB\cdot CD = BC\cdot DA$. Point $X$ lies inside $ABCD$ so that \[\angle{XAB} = \angle{XCD}\quad\,\,\text{and}\quad\,\,\angle{XBC} = \angle{XDA}.\] Prove that $\angle{BXA} + \angle{DXC} = 180^\circ$.
[i]Proposed by Tomasz Ciesla, Poland[/i]
Two circles $\omega_1$ and $\omega_2$ with centers $O_1$ and $O_2$ respectively intersect each other at points $A$ and $B$, and point $O_1$ lies on $\omega_2$. Let $P$ be an arbitrary point lying on $\omega_1$. Lines $BP, AP$ and $O_1O_2$ cut $\omega_2$ for the second time at points $X$, $Y$ and $C$, respectively. Prove that quadrilateral $XPYC$ is a parallelogram.
[i]Proposed by Iman Maghsoudi[/i]
A positive integer $a$ is selected, and some positive integers are written on a board. Alice and Bob play the following game. On Alice's turn, she must replace some integer $n$ on the board with $n+a$, and on Bob's turn he must replace some even integer $n$ on the board with $n/2$. Alice goes first and they alternate turns. If on his turn Bob has no valid moves, the game ends.
After analyzing the integers on the board, Bob realizes that, regardless of what moves Alice makes, he will be able to force the game to end eventually. Show that, in fact, for this value of $a$ and these integers on the board, the game is guaranteed to end regardless of Alice's or Bob's moves.
Let $ABCD$ be a convex quadrilateral, and let $\omega_A$ and $\omega_B$ be the incircles of $\triangle ACD$ and $\triangle BCD$, with centers $I$ and $J$. The second common external tangent to $\omega_A$ and $\omega_B$ touches $\omega_A$ at $K$ and $\omega_B$ at $L$. Prove that lines $AK$, $BL$, $IJ$ are concurrent.
Written on a blackboard are $n$ nonnegative integers whose greatest common divisor is $1$. A [i]move[/i] consists of erasing two numbers $x$ and $y$, where $x\ge y$, on the blackboard and replacing them with the numbers $x-y$ and $2y$. Determine for which original $n$-tuples of numbers on the blackboard is it possible to reach a point, after some number of moves, where $n-1$ of the numbers of the blackboard are zeroes.
Let $M$ be a set of $n \ge 4$ points in the plane, no three of which are collinear. Initially these points are connected with $n$ segments so that each point in $M$ is the endpoint of exactly two segments. Then, at each step, one may choose two segments $AB$ and $CD$ sharing a common interior point and replace them by the segments $AC$ and $BD$ if none of them is present at this moment. Prove that it is impossible to perform $n^3 /4$ or more such moves.
[i]Proposed by Vladislav Volkov, Russia[/i]
For any integer $n\geq 2$, we compute the integer $h(n)$ by applying the following procedure to its decimal representation. Let $r$ be the rightmost digit of $n$.
[list][*]If $r=0$, then the decimal representation of $h(n)$ results from the decimal representation of $n$ by removing this rightmost digit $0$.
[*]If $1\leq r \leq 9$ we split the decimal representation of $n$ into a maximal right part $R$ that solely consists of digits not less than $r$ and into a left part $L$ that either is empty or ends with a digit strictly smaller than $r$. Then the decimal representation of $h(n)$ consists of the decimal representation of $L$, followed by two copies of the decimal representation of $R-1$. For instance, for the number $17,151,345,543$, we will have $L=17,151$, $R=345,543$ and $h(n)=17,151,345,542,345,542$.[/list]
Prove that, starting with an arbitrary integer $n\geq 2$, iterated application of $h$ produces the integer $1$ after finitely many steps.
[i]Proposed by Gerhard Woeginger, Austria[/i]
Two squares, both with side length $1$, are arranged so that one has one vertex in the center of the other. Determine the area of the gray area.
[img]https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xt3pe0rp1SI/XzcGLgEw1EI/AAAAAAAAMYM/vFKxvvVuLvAJ5FO_yX315X3Fg_iFaK2fACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/1997%2BMohr%2Bp2.png[/img]
Construct a tetromino by attaching two $2 \times 1$ dominoes along their longer sides such that the midpoint of the longer side of one domino is a corner of the other domino. This construction yields two kinds of tetrominoes with opposite orientations. Let us call them $S$- and $Z$-tetrominoes, respectively.
Assume that a lattice polygon $P$ can be tiled with $S$-tetrominoes. Prove that no matter how we tile $P$ using only $S$- and $Z$-tetrominoes, we always use an even number of $Z$-tetrominoes.
[i]Proposed by Tamas Fleiner and Peter Pal Pach, Hungary[/i]
In a simple graph $G$, an operation is defined as taking two neighbor vertices $u,v$ which have a common neighbor, deleting the edge between $u,v$ and adding a new vertex $w$ whose neighbors are exactly the common neighbors of $u$ and $v$. Starting with the complete graph $G=K_n$ where $n\ge 3$ is a positive integer, find the maximum number of operations that can be applied.
Proposed by[i] Deniz Can Karaçelebi[/i]
Let $ P$, $ Q$, and $ R$ be the points on sides $ BC$, $ CA$, and $ AB$ of an acute triangle $ ABC$ such that triangle $ PQR$ is equilateral and has minimal area among all such equilateral triangles. Prove that the perpendiculars from $ A$ to line $ QR$, from $ B$ to line $ RP$, and from $ C$ to line $ PQ$ are concurrent.