For each integer $a_0 > 1$, define the sequence $a_0, a_1, a_2, \ldots$ for $n \geq 0$ as $$a_{n+1} = \begin{cases} \sqrt{a_n} & \text{if } \sqrt{a_n} \text{ is an integer,} \\ a_n + 3 & \text{otherwise.} \end{cases} $$ Determine all values of $a_0$ such that there exists a number $A$ such that $a_n = A$ for infinitely many values of $n$. [i]Proposed by Stephan Wagner, South Africa[/i]

Let us say that a deck of $52$ cards is arranged in a “regular” way if the ace of spades is on the very top of the deck and any two adjacent cards are either of the same value or of the same suit (top and bottom cards regarded adjacent as well). Prove that the number of ways to arrange a deck in regular way is a) divisible by $12!$ (3) b) divisible by $13!$ (5)

For each positive integer $ n$ find all positive integers $ m$ for which there exist positive integers $ x_1<x_2<...<x_n$ with: $ \frac{1}{x_1}\plus{}\frac{2}{x_2}\plus{}...\plus{}\frac{n}{x_n}\equal{}m.$

Let $p$ be a prime. How many different (infinite) sequences $\left(a_k\right)_{k\ge0}$ exist such that for every positive integer $n$ \[\frac{a_0}{a_1}+\frac{a_0}{a_2}+\cdots+\frac{a_0}{a_n}+\frac{p}{a_{n+1}}=1?\]

Let $a,b,c$ be positive integers. Prove that it is impossible to have all of the three numbers $a^2+b+c,b^2+c+a,c^2+a+b$ to be perfect squares.

Sean enters a classroom in the Memorial Hall and sees a $1$ followed by $2020$ $0$'s on the blackboard. As he is early for class, he decides to go through the digits from right to left and independently erase the $n$th digit from the left with probability $\frac{n-1}{n}$. (In particular, the $1$ is never erased.) Compute the expected value of the number formed from the remaining digits when viewed as a base-$3$ number. (For example, if the remaining number on the board is $1000$, then its value is $27$.)

Find the largest positive integer $n$ such that the following is true: There exists $n$ distinct positive integers $x_1,~x_2,\dots,x_n$ such that whatever the numbers $a_1,~a_2,\dots,a_n\in\left\{-1,0,1\right\}$ are, not all null, the number $n^3$ do not divide $\sum_{k=1}^n a_kx_k$.

Let $n_1, n_2, \cdots , n_{51}$ be distinct natural numbers each of which has exactly $2023$ positive integer factors. For instance, $2^{2022}$ has exactly $2023$ positive integer factors $1,2, 2^{2}, 2^{3}, \cdots 2^{2021}, 2^{2022}$. Assume that no prime larger than $11$ divides any of the $n_{i}$'s. Show that there must be some perfect cube among the $n_{i}$'s.

For each of the $9$ positive integers $n,2n,3n,\dots , 9n$ Alice take the first decimal digit (from the left) and writes it onto a blackboard. She selected $n$ so that among the nine digits on the blackboard there is the least possible number of different digits. What is this number of different digits equals to?

[b]p1.[/b] Catherine's teacher thinks of a number and asks her to subtract $5$ and then multiply the result by $6$. Catherine accidentally switches the numbers by subtracting 6 and multiplying by $5$ to get $30$. If Catherine had not swapped the numbers, what would the correct answer be? [b]p2.[/b] At Acton Boxborough Regional High School, desks are arranged in a rectangular grid-like configuration. In order to maintain proper social distancing, desks are required to be at least 6 feet away from all other desks. Assuming that the size of the desks is negligible, what is the maximum number of desks that can fit in a $25$ feet by $25$ feet classroom? [b]p3.[/b] Joshua hates writing essays for homework, but his teacher Mr. Meesh assigns two essays every $3$ weeks. However, Mr. Meesh favors Joshua, so he allows Joshua to skip one essay out of every $4$ that are assigned. How many essays does Joshua have to write in a $24$-week school year? [b]p4.[/b] Libra likes to read, but she is easily distracted. If a page number is even, she reads the page twice. If a page number is an odd multiple of three, she skips it. Otherwise, she reads the page exactly once. If Libra's book is $405$ pages long, how many pages in total does she read if she starts on page $1$? (Reading the same page twice counts as two pages.) [b]p5.[/b] Let the GDP of an integer be its Greatest Divisor that is Prime. For example, the GDP of $14$ is $7$. Find the largest integer less than $100$ that has a GDP of $3$. [b]p6.[/b] As has been proven by countless scientific papers, the Earth is a flat circle. Bob stands at a point on the Earth such that if he walks in a straight line, the maximum possible distance he can travel before he falls off is $7$ miles, and the minimum possible distance he can travel before he falls off is $3$ miles. Then the Earth's area in square miles is $k\pi$ for some integer $k$. Compute $k$. [b]p7.[/b] Edward has $2$ magical eggs. Every minute, each magical egg that Edward has will double itself. But there's a catch. At the end of every minute, Edward's brother Eliot will come outside and smash one egg on his forehead, causing Edward to lose that egg permanently. For example, starting with $2$ eggs, after one minute there will be $3$ eggs, then $5$, $9$, and so on. After $1$ hour, the number of eggs can be expressed as $a^b + c$ for positive integers $a$, $b$, $c$ where $a > 1$, and $a$ and $c$ are as small as possible. Find $a + b + c$. [b]p8.[/b] Define a sequence of real numbers $a_1$, $a_2$, $a_3$, $..$, $a_{2019}$, $a_{2020}$ with the property that $a_n =\frac{a_{n-1} + a_n + a_{n+1}}{3}$ for all $n = 2$, $3$, $4$, $5$,$...$, $2018$, $2019$. Given that $a_1 = 1$ and $a_{1000} = 1999$, find $a_{2020}$. [b]p9.[/b] In $\vartriangle ABC$ with $AB = 10$ and $AC = 12$, points $D$ and $E$ lie on sides $\overline{AB}$ and $\overline{AC}$, respectively, such that $AD = 4$ and $AE = 5$. If the area of quadrilateral $BCED$ is $40$, find the area of $\vartriangle ADE$. [b]p10.[/b] A positive integer is called powerful if every prime in its prime factorization is raised to a power greater than or equal to $2$. How many positive integers less than 100 are powerful? [b]p11.[/b] Let integers $A,B < 10, 000$ be the populations of Acton and Boxborough, respectively. When $A$ is divided by $B$, the remainder is $1$. When $B$ is divided by $A$, the remainder is $2020$. If the sum of the digits of $A$ is $17$, find the total combined population of Acton and Boxborough. [b]p12.[/b] Let $a_1$, $a_2$, $...$, $a_n$ be an increasing arithmetic sequence of positive integers. Given $a_n - a_1 = 20$ and $a^2_n - a^2_{n-1} = 63$, find the sum of the terms in the arithmetic sequence. [b]p13.[/b] Bob rolls a cubical, an octahedral and a dodecahedral die ($6$, $8$ and $12$ sides respectively) numbered with the integers from $1$ to $6$, $1$ to $8$ and $1$ to $12$ respectively. If the probability that the sum of the numbers on the cubical and octahedral dice equals the number on the dodecahedral die can be written as $\frac{m}{n}$ , where $m, n$ are relatively prime positive integers, compute $n - m$. [b]p14.[/b] Let $\vartriangle ABC$ be inscribed in a circle with center $O$ with $AB = 13$, $BC = 14$, $AC = 15$. Let the foot of the perpendicular from $A$ to BC be $D$ and let $AO$ intersect $BC$ at $E$. Given the length of $DE$ can be expressed as $\frac{m}{n}$ where $m$, $n$ are relatively prime positive integers, find $m + n$. [b]p15.[/b] The set $S$ consists of the first $10$ positive integers. A collection of $10$ not necessarily distinct integers is chosen from $S$ at random. If a particular number is chosen more than once, all but one of its occurrences are removed. Call the set of remaining numbers $A$. Let $\frac{a}{b}$ be the expected value of the number of the elements in $A$, where $a, b$ are relatively prime positive integers. Find the reminder when $a + b$ is divided by $1000$. PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Prove that there exist infinitely many collections of positive integers $ (a,b,c,d,e,f)$ such that $ a < b < c$ and the equalities $ ab \minus{} c \equal{} de,$ $ bc \minus{} a \equal{} ef$ and $ ac \minus{} b \equal{} df$ hold.

Find all polynomials $P(x)$ with integer coefficients such that for all real numbers $s$ and $t$, if $P(s)$ and $P(t)$ are both integers, then $P(st)$ is also an integer.

How many positive divisors does number $20!$ have?

For which integers $n = 1, \ldots , 6$ does the equation $$a^n + b^n = c^n + n$$ have a solution in integers?

Determine all possible values of $a_1$ for which there exists a sequence $a_1, a_2, \dots$ of rational numbers satisfying $$a_{n+1}^2-a_{n+1}=a_n$$ for all positive integers $n$.

Find the number of perfect squares of five digits whose last two digits are equal. [i]Gheorghe Iurea[/i]

Nine delegates, three each from three different countries, randomly select chairs at a round table that seats nine people. Let the probability that each delegate sits next to at least one delegate from another country be $\frac{m}{n}$, where $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime positive integers. Find $m+n$.

[b]p1.[/b] Anne purchased yesterday at WalMart in Puerto Rico $6$ identical notebooks, $8$ identical pens and $7$ identical erasers. Anne remembers that each eraser costs $73$ cents. She did not buy anything else. Anne told her mother that she spent $12$ dollars and $76$ cents at Walmart. Can she be right? Note that in Puerto Rico there is no sales tax. [b]p2.[/b] Two men ski one after the other first in a flat field and then uphill. In the field the men run with the same velocity $12$ kilometers/hour. Uphill their velocity drops to $8$ kilometers/hour. When both skiers enter the uphill trail segment the distance between them is $300$ meters less than the initial distance in the field. What was the initial distance between skiers? (There are $1000$ meters in 1 kilometer.) [b]p3.[/b] In the equality $** + **** = ****$ all the digits are replaced by $*$. Restore the equality if it is known that any numbers in the equality does not change if we write all its digits in the opposite order. [b]p4.[/b] If a polyleg has even number of legs he always tells truth. If he has an odd number of legs he always lies. Once a green polyleg told a dark-blue polyleg ”- I have $8$ legs. And you have only $6$ legs!” The offended dark-blue polyleg replied ”-It is me who has $8$ legs, and you have only $7$ legs!” A violet polyleg added ”-The dark-blue polyleg indeed has $8$ legs. But I have $9$ legs!” Then a stripped polyleg started: ”-None of you has $8$ legs. Only I have 8 legs!” Which polyleg has exactly $8$ legs? [b]p5.[/b] Cut the figure shown below in two equal pieces. (Both the area and the form of the pieces must be the same.) [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/e/4/778678c1e8748e213ffc94ba71b1f3cc26c028.png[/img] PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].

Determine the smallest $n$ such that $n \equiv (a - 1)$ mod $a$ for all $a \in \{2,3,..., 10\}$.

Can you find three natural numbers $a, b, c$ whose greatest common divisor is $1$ and which satisfy the equality $$ab + bc + ac = (a + b -c)(b + c - a)(c + a - b) ?$$

Given a positive integer $x \le 233$, let $a$ be the remainder when $x^{1943}$ is divided by $233$. Find the sum of all possible values of $a$.

a) Replace each letter in the following sum by a digit from $0$ to $9$, in such a way that the sum is correct. $\tab$ $\tab$ $ABC$ $\tab$ $\tab$ $DEF$ [u]$+GHI$[/u] $\tab$ $\tab$ $\tab$ $J J J$ Different letters must be replaced by different digits, and equal letters must be replaced by equal digits. Numbers $ABC$, $DEF$, $GHI$ and $JJJ$ cannot begin by $0$. b) Determine how many triples of numbers $(ABC,DEF,GHI)$ can be formed under the conditions given in a).

Let $ABCD$ be a convex quadrilateral with $\angle ABC = 120^{\circ}$ and $\angle BCD = 90^{\circ}$, and let $M$ and $N$ denote the midpoints of $\overline{BC}$ and $\overline{CD}$. Suppose there exists a point $P$ on the circumcircle of $\triangle CMN$ such that ray $MP$ bisects $\overline{AD}$ and ray $NP$ bisects $\overline{AB}$. If $AB + BC = 444$, $CD = 256$ and $BC = \frac mn$ for some relatively prime positive integers $m$ and $n$, compute $100m+n$. [i]Proposed by Michael Ren[/i]

What is the sum of the leading (first) digits of the integers from $ 1$ to $2019$ when the integers are written in base $3$? Give your answer in base $10$.

Find all pairs of positive integers $a, b$ such that $\sqrt{a+2\sqrt{b}}=\sqrt{a-2\sqrt{b}}+\sqrt{b}$ .