Found problems: 638
2009 Hong Kong TST, 2
Find the total number of solutions to the following system of equations:
$ \{\begin{array}{l} a^2 + bc\equiv a \pmod{37} \\
b(a + d)\equiv b \pmod{37} \\
c(a + d)\equiv c \pmod{37} \\
bc + d^2\equiv d \pmod{37} \\
ad - bc\equiv 1 \pmod{37} \end{array}$
2005 iTest, 36
Find the determinant of this matrix: $\begin{bmatrix}
2 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 \\
4 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 \\
4 & 4 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 \\
4 & 4 & 4 & 2 & 2 & 2 \\
4 & 4 & 4 & 4 & 2 & 2 \\
4 & 4 & 4& 4 & 4 & 2
\end{bmatrix} $
2010 Mediterranean Mathematics Olympiad, 4
Let $p$ be a positive integer, $p>1.$ Find the number of $m\times n$ matrices with entries in the set $\left\{ 1,2,\dots,p\right\} $ and such that the sum of elements on each row and each column is not divisible by $p.$
1950 Miklós Schweitzer, 4
Put
$ M\equal{}\begin{pmatrix}p&q&r\\
r&p&q\\q&r&p\end{pmatrix}$
where $ p,q,r>0$ and $ p\plus{}q\plus{}r\equal{}1$. Prove that
$ \lim_{n\rightarrow \infty}M^n\equal{}\begin{bmatrix}\frac13&\frac13&\frac13\\
\frac13&\frac13&\frac13\\\frac13&\frac13&\frac13\end{bmatrix}$
2004 IMC, 6
For $ n\geq 0$ define the matrices $ A_n$ and $ B_n$ as follows: $ A_0 \equal{} B_0 \equal{} (1)$, and for every $ n>0$ let
\[ A_n \equal{} \left( \begin{array}{cc} A_{n \minus{} 1} & A_{n \minus{} 1} \\
A_{n \minus{} 1} & B_{n \minus{} 1} \\
\end{array} \right) \ \textrm{and} \ B_n \equal{} \left( \begin{array}{cc} A_{n \minus{} 1} & A_{n \minus{} 1} \\
A_{n \minus{} 1} & 0 \\
\end{array} \right).
\]
Denote by $ S(M)$ the sum of all the elements of a matrix $ M$. Prove that $ S(A_n^{k \minus{} 1}) \equal{} S(A_k^{n \minus{} 1})$, for all $ n,k\geq 2$.
2003 District Olympiad, 1
Let $(G,\cdot)$ be a finite group with the identity element, $e$. The smallest positive integer $n$ with the property that $x^{n}= e$, for all $x \in G$, is called the [i]exponent[/i] of $G$.
(a) For all primes $p \geq 3$, prove that the multiplicative group $\mathcal G_{p}$ of the matrices of the form $\begin{pmatrix}\hat 1 & \hat a & \hat b \\ \hat 0 & \hat 1 & \hat c \\ \hat 0 & \hat 0 & \hat 1 \end{pmatrix}$, with $\hat a, \hat b, \hat c \in \mathbb Z \slash p \mathbb Z$, is not commutative and has [i]exponent[/i] $p$.
(b) Prove that if $\left( G, \circ \right)$ and $\left( H, \bullet \right)$ are finite groups of [i]exponents[/i] $m$ and $n$, respectively, then the group $\left( G \times H, \odot \right)$ with the operation given by $(g,h) \odot \left( g^\prime, h^\prime \right) = \left( g \circ g^\prime, h \bullet h^\prime \right)$, for all $\left( g,h \right), \, \left( g^\prime, h^\prime \right) \in G \times H$, has the [i]exponent[/i] equal to $\textrm{lcm}(m,n)$.
(c) Prove that any $n \geq 3$ is the [i]exponent[/i] of a finite, non-commutative group.
[i]Ion Savu[/i]
2001 IMC, 5
Let $A$ be an $n\times n$ complex matrix such that $A \ne \lambda I_{n}$ for all $\lambda \in \mathbb{C}$. Prove that $A$ is similar to a matrix having at most one non-zero entry on the maindiagonal.
2009 Miklós Schweitzer, 5
Let $ G$ be a finite non-commutative group of order $ t \equal{} 2^nm$, where $ n, m$ are positive and $ m$ is odd. Prove, that if the group contains an element of order $ 2^n$, then
(i) $ G$ is not simple;
(ii) $ G$ contains a normal subgroup of order $ m$.
2017 Simon Marais Mathematical Competition, A3
For each positive integer $n$, let $M(n)$ be the $n\times n$ matrix whose $(i,j)$ entry is equal to $1$ if $i+1$ is divisible by $j$, and equal to $0$ otherwise. Prove that $M(n)$ is invertible if and only if $n+1$ is square-free. (An integer is [i]square-free[/i] if it is not divisible by a square of an integer larger than $1$.)
2013 Tuymaada Olympiad, 8
Cards numbered from 1 to $2^n$ are distributed among $k$ children, $1\leq k\leq 2^n$, so that each child gets at least one card. Prove that the number of ways to do that is divisible by $2^{k-1}$ but not by $2^k$.
[i] M. Ivanov [/i]
2006 Romania National Olympiad, 1
Let $A$ be a $n\times n$ matrix with complex elements and let $A^\star$ be the classical adjoint of $A$. Prove that if there exists a positive integer $m$ such that $(A^\star)^m = 0_n$ then $(A^\star)^2 = 0_n$.
[i]Marian Ionescu, Pitesti[/i]
2013 Math Prize For Girls Problems, 10
The following figure shows a [i]walk[/i] of length 6:
[asy]
unitsize(20);
for (int x = -5; x <= 5; ++x)
for (int y = 0; y <= 5; ++y)
dot((x, y));
label("$O$", (0, 0), S);
draw((0, 0) -- (1, 0) -- (1, 1) -- (0, 1) -- (-1, 1) -- (-1, 2) -- (-1, 3));
[/asy]
This walk has three interesting properties:
[list]
[*] It starts at the origin, labelled $O$.
[*] Each step is 1 unit north, east, or west. There are no south steps.
[*] The walk never comes back to a point it has been to.[/list]
Let's call a walk with these three properties a [i]northern walk[/i]. There are 3 northern walks of length 1 and 7 northern walks of length 2. How many northern walks of length 6 are there?
2003 Alexandru Myller, 2
Let be two $ 3\times 3 $ real matrices that have the property that
$$ AX=\begin{pmatrix}0\\0\\0\end{pmatrix}\implies BX=\begin{pmatrix}0\\0\\0\end{pmatrix} , $$
for any three-dimensional vectors $ X. $
Prove that there exists a $ 3\times 3 $ real matrix $ C $ such that $ B=CA. $
2004 Putnam, A3
Define a sequence $\{u_n\}_{n=0}^{\infty}$ by $u_0=u_1=u_2=1,$ and thereafter by the condition that
$\det\begin{vmatrix} u_n & u_{n+1} \\ u_{n+2} & u_{n+3} \end{vmatrix}=n!$
for all $n\ge 0.$ Show that $u_n$ is an integer for all $n.$ (By convention, $0!=1$.)
1976 IMO Longlists, 25
We consider the following system
with $q=2p$:
\[\begin{matrix} a_{11}x_{1}+\ldots+a_{1q}x_{q}=0,\\ a_{21}x_{1}+\ldots+a_{2q}x_{q}=0,\\ \ldots ,\\ a_{p1}x_{1}+\ldots+a_{pq}x_{q}=0,\\ \end{matrix}\]
in which every coefficient is an element from the set $\{-1,0,1\}$$.$ Prove that there exists a solution $x_{1}, \ldots,x_{q}$ for the system with the properties:
[b]a.)[/b] all $x_{j}, j=1,\ldots,q$ are integers$;$
[b]b.)[/b] there exists at least one j for which $x_{j} \neq 0;$
[b]c.)[/b] $|x_{j}| \leq q$ for any $j=1, \ldots ,q.$
2003 China Team Selection Test, 2
In triangle $ABC$, the medians and bisectors corresponding to sides $BC$, $CA$, $AB$ are $m_a$, $m_b$, $m_c$ and $w_a$, $w_b$, $w_c$ respectively. $P=w_a \cap m_b$, $Q=w_b \cap m_c$, $R=w_c \cap m_a$. Denote the areas of triangle $ABC$ and $PQR$ by $F_1$ and $F_2$ respectively. Find the least positive constant $m$ such that $\frac{F_1}{F_2}<m$ holds for any $\triangle{ABC}$.
2004 Italy TST, 3
Given real numbers $x_i,y_i (i=1,2,\ldots ,n)$, let $A$ be the $n\times n$ matrix given by $a_{ij}=1$ if $x_i\ge y_j$ and $a_{ij}=0$ otherwise. Suppose $B$ is a $n\times n$ matrix whose entries are $0$ and $1$ such that the sum of entries in any row or column of $B$ equals the sum of entries in the corresponding row or column of $A$. Prove that $B=A$.
2011 Romania Team Selection Test, 2
Given a prime number $p$ congruent to $1$ modulo $5$ such that $2p+1$ is also prime, show that there exists a matrix of $0$s and $1$s containing exactly $4p$ (respectively, $4p+2$) $1$s no sub-matrix of which contains exactly $2p$ (respectively, $2p+1$) $1$s.
2009 Putnam, A3
Let $ d_n$ be the determinant of the $ n\times n$ matrix whose entries, from left to right and then from top to bottom, are $ \cos 1,\cos 2,\dots,\cos n^2.$ (For example, $ d_3 \equal{} \begin{vmatrix}\cos 1 & \cos2 & \cos3 \\
\cos4 & \cos5 & \cos 6 \\
\cos7 & \cos8 & \cos 9\end{vmatrix}.$ The argument of $ \cos$ is always in radians, not degrees.)
Evaluate $ \lim_{n\to\infty}d_n.$
1999 Putnam, 5
For an integer $n\geq 3$, let $\theta=2\pi/n$. Evaluate the determinant of the $n\times n$ matrix $I+A$, where $I$ is the $n\times n$ identity matrix and $A=(a_{jk})$ has entries $a_{jk}=\cos(j\theta+k\theta)$ for all $j,k$.
2009 VTRMC, Problem 5
Suppose $A,B\in M_3(\mathbb C)$, $B\ne0$, and $AB=0$. Prove that there exists $D\in M_3(\mathbb C)$ with $D\ne0$ such that $AD=DA=0$.
2010 VJIMC, Problem 3
Let $A$ and $B$ be two $n\times n$ matrices with integer entries such that all of the matrices
$$A,\enspace A+B,\enspace A+2B,\enspace A+3B,\enspace\ldots,\enspace A+(2n)B$$are invertible and their inverses have integer entries, too. Show that $A+(2n+1)B$ is also invertible and that its inverse has integer entries.
2016 Korea USCM, 8
For a $n\times n$ complex valued matrix $A$, show that the following two conditions are equivalent.
(i) There exists a $n\times n$ complex valued matrix $B$ such that $AB-BA=A$.
(ii) There exists a positive integer $k$ such that $A^k = O$. ($O$ is the zero matrix.)
2005 IMO Shortlist, 3
Consider a $m\times n$ rectangular board consisting of $mn$ unit squares. Two of its unit squares are called [i]adjacent[/i] if they have a common edge, and a [i]path[/i] is a sequence of unit squares in which any two consecutive squares are adjacent. Two parths are called [i]non-intersecting[/i] if they don't share any common squares.
Each unit square of the rectangular board can be colored black or white. We speak of a [i]coloring[/i] of the board if all its $mn$ unit squares are colored.
Let $N$ be the number of colorings of the board such that there exists at least one black path from the left edge of the board to its right edge. Let $M$ be the number of colorings of the board for which there exist at least two non-intersecting black paths from the left edge of the board to its right edge.
Prove that $N^{2}\geq M\cdot 2^{mn}$.
2010 Romania National Olympiad, 1
Let $a,b\in \mathbb{R}$ such that $b>a^2$. Find all the matrices $A\in \mathcal{M}_2(\mathbb{R})$ such that $\det(A^2-2aA+bI_2)=0$.