Let $n$ be a positive integer. Let $S$ be a subset of points on the plane with these conditions: $i)$ There does not exist $n$ lines in the plane such that every element of $S$ be on at least one of them. $ii)$ for all $X \in S$ there exists $n$ lines in the plane such that every element of $S - {X} $ be on at least one of them. Find maximum of $\mid S\mid$. [i]Proposed by Erfan Salavati[/i]

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 $p.$

Find the maximum number $ C$ such that for any nonnegative $ x,y,z$ the inequality $ x^3 \plus{} y^3 \plus{} z^3 \plus{} C(xy^2 \plus{} yz^2 \plus{} zx^2) \ge (C \plus{} 1)(x^2 y \plus{} y^2 z \plus{} z^2 x)$ holds.

Prove that for all natural $ m$, $ n$ polynomial $ \sum_{i \equal{} 0}^{m}\binom{n\plus{}i}{n}\cdot x^i$ has at most one real root.

Is there an integer coefficients polynomial $P(x)$ satisfying \[ \begin{cases} P(1+\sqrt[3]{2})=1+\sqrt[3]{2}\\ P(1+\sqrt{5})=2+3\sqrt{5}\end{cases} \]

Let $P(x)$ be a polynomial whose coefficients are positive integers. If $P(n)$ divides $P(P(n)-2015)$ for every natural number $n$, prove that $P(-2015)=0$. [hide]One additional condition must be given that $P$ is non-constant, which even though is understood.[/hide]

Let $a_1, a_2, \cdots, a_k$ be natural numbers. Let $S(n)$ be the number of solutions in nonnegative integers to $a_1x_1 + a_2x_2 + \cdots + a_kx_k = n$. Suppose $S(n) \neq 0$ for all big enough $n$. Show that for all sufficiently large $n$, we have $S(n+1) < 2S(n)$.

Let $n\ge 1$ be a fixed integer. Calculate the distance $\inf_{p,f}\, \max_{0\le x\le 1} |f(x)-p(x)|$ , where $p$ runs over polynomials of degree less than $n$ with real coefficients and $f$ runs over functions $f(x)= \sum_{k=n}^{\infty} c_k x^k$ defined on the closed interval $[0,1]$ , where $c_k \ge 0$ and $\sum_{k=n}^{\infty} c_k=1$.

Let $P$ and $Q$ be two polynomials with real coeficients such that $P$ has degree greater than $1$ and \[P(Q(x)) = P(P(x)) + P(x).\]Show that $P(-x) = P(x) + x$.

Find all non-constant polynomials $P(x)$ and $Q(x)$ with real coefficients such that $P(Q(x)^2)=P(x)\cdot Q(x)^2$. [i](I. Voronovich)[/i]

Let $P(x)=x^4+5x^3+mx^2+5nx+4$ have $2$ distinct real roots, which sum up to $-5$. If $m,n \in \mathbb {Z_+}$, find the values of $m,n$ and their corresponding roots.

$ A$ and $ B$ play the following game with a polynomial of degree at least 4: \[ x^{2n} \plus{} \_x^{2n \minus{} 1} \plus{} \_x^{2n \minus{} 2} \plus{} \ldots \plus{} \_x \plus{} 1 \equal{} 0 \] $ A$ and $ B$ take turns to fill in one of the blanks with a real number until all the blanks are filled up. If the resulting polynomial has no real roots, $ A$ wins. Otherwise, $ B$ wins. If $ A$ begins, which player has a winning strategy?

Today was the 5th Kettering Olympiad - and here are the problems, which are very good intermediate problems. 1. Find all real $x$ so that $(1+x^2)(1+x^4)=4x^3$ 2. Mark and John play a game. They have $100$ pebbles on a table. They take turns taking at least one at at most eight pebbles away. The person to claim the last pebble wins. Mark goes first. Can you find a way for Mark to always win? What about John? 3. Prove that $\sin x + \sin 3x + \sin 5x + ... + \sin 11 x = (1-\cos 12 x)/(2 \sin x)$ 4. Mark has $7$ pieces of paper. He takes some of them and splits each into $7$ pieces of paper. He repeats this process some number of times. He then tells John he has $2000$ pieces of paper. John tells him he is wrong. Why is John right? 5. In a triangle $ABC$, the altitude, angle bisector, and median split angle $A$ into four equal angles. Find the angles of $ABC.$ 6. There are $100$ cities. There exist airlines connecting pairs of cities. a) Find the minimal number of airlines such that with at most $k$ plane changes, one can go from any city to any other city. b) Given that there are $4852$ airlines, show that, given any schematic, one can go from any city to any other city.

Let us consider one variable polynomials with the senior coefficient equal to one. We shall say that two polynomials $P(x)$ and $Q(x)$ commute, if $P(Q(x))=Q(P(x))$ (i.e. we obtain the same polynomial, having collected the similar terms). a) For every a find all $Q$ such that the $Q$ degree is not greater than three, and $Q$ commutes with $(x^2 - a)$. b) Let $P$ be a square polynomial, and $k$ is a natural number. Prove that there is not more than one commuting with $P$ $k$-degree polynomial. c) Find the $4$-degree and $8$-degree polynomials commuting with the given square polynomial $P$. d) $R$ and $Q$ commute with the same square polynomial $P$. Prove that $Q$ and $R$ commute. e) Prove that there exists a sequence $P_2, P_3, ... , P_n, ...$ ($P_k$ is $k$-degree polynomial), such that $P_2(x) = x^2 - 2$, and all the polynomials in this infinite sequence pairwise commute.

Find all polynomyals $P(x)$ with real coefficients which satisfy the following equality for all real numbers $x$: \[ P(x^2)+x(3P(x)+P(-x))=(P(x))^2+2x^2 . \]

Suppose the polynomial $P(x) \equiv x^3 + ax^2 + bx +c$ has only real zeroes and let $Q(x) \equiv 5x^2 - 16x + 2004$. Assume that $P(Q(x)) = 0$ has no real roots. Prove that $P(2004) > 2004$

The functions $ f(x) ,\ g(x)$ satify that $ f(x) \equal{} \frac {x^3}{2} \plus{} 1 \minus{} x\int_0^x g(t)\ dt,\ g(x) \equal{} x \minus{} \int_0^1 f(t)\ dt$. Let $ l_1,\ l_2$ be the tangent lines of the curve $ y \equal{} f(x)$, which pass through the point $ (a,\ g(a))$ on the curve $ y \equal{} g(x)$. Find the minimum area of the figure bounded by the tangent tlines $ l_1,\ l_2$ and the curve $ y \equal{} f(x)$ .

Let $K$ be a finite field with $q$ elements and let $n \ge q$ be an integer. Find the probability that by choosing an $n$-th degree polynomial with coefficients in $K,$ it doesn't have any root in $K.$

Let $P(x)$ be a polynomial such that, when divided by $x - 2$, the remainder is $3$ and, when divided by $x - 3$, the remainder is $2$. If, when divided by $(x - 2)(x - 3)$, the remainder is $ax + b$, find $a^2 + b^2$.

Let $p(x)$ be a polynomial with integer coefficients. Suppose that there exist different integers $a$ and $b$ such that $f(a) = b$ and $f(b) = a$. Show that the equation $f(x) = x$ has at most one integer solution.

If three of the roots of the quartic polynomial $f(x) = x^4 + ax^3 + bx^2 + cx + d$ are $0$, $2$, and $4$, and the sum of $a$, $b$, and $c$ is at most $12$, then find the largest possible value of $f(1)$.

The polynomial $$x^{10} + ?x^9 + ?x^8 + ... + ?x + 1$$ is written on the blackboard. Two players substitute (real) numbers instead of one of the question marks in turn. ($9$ turns total.) The first wins if the polynomial will have no real roots. Who wins?

The Young Scientist and the Old Scientist play the following game, taking turns in an alternating fashion, with the Young Scientist starting first. The player on turn fills in one of the stars in the equation \[ x^4 + *x^3 + *x^2 + *x + * = 0 \] with a positive real number. Who has a winning strategy if the goals of the players are: a) the Young Scientist - to make the resulting equation have no real roots, and the Old Scientist -- to make it have real roots? b) the Young Scientist - to make the resulting equation have real roots, and the Old Scientist -- to make it have none?

Let $P(x)$ be a nonconstant complex coefficient polynomial and let $Q(x,y)=P(x)-P(y).$ Suppose that polynomial $Q(x,y)$ has exactly $k$ linear factors unproportional two by tow (without counting repetitons). Let $R(x,y)$ be factor of $Q(x,y)$ of degree strictly smaller than $k$. Prove that $R(x,y)$ is a product of linear polynomials. [b]Note: [/b] The [i]degree[/i] of nontrivial polynomial $\sum_{m}\sum_{n}c_{m,n}x^{m}y^{n}$ is the maximum of $m+n$ along all nonzero coefficients $c_{m,n}.$ Two polynomials are [i]proportional[/i] if one of them is the other times a complex constant. [i]Proposed by Navid Safaie[/i]

Find all polynomials $P(x)$ for which there exists a sequence $a_1, a_2, a_3, \ldots$ of real numbers such that \[a_m + a_n = P(mn)\] for any positive integer $m$ and $n$.