Let f be a function such that $f(0) = 0, f(1) = 1$, and $f(n) = 2f(n-1)- f(n- 2) + (-1)^n(2n - 4)$ for all integers $n \ge 2$. Find f(n) in terms of $n$.

For positive real numbers $b_1,b_2,\ldots,b_n$ define $$a_1=\frac{b_1}{b_1+b_2+\ldots+b_n}\enspace\text{ and }\enspace a_k=\frac{b_1+\ldots+b_k}{b_1+\ldots+b_{k-1}}\text{ for }k>1.$$Prove that $a_1+a_2+\ldots+a_n\le\frac1{a_1}+\frac1{a_2}+\ldots+\frac1{a_n}$

A sequence of natural numbers $a_1,a_2,...$ satisfies $a_1 = 1, a_{n+2} = 2a_{n+1} - a_n +2$ for $n \in N$. Prove that for every natural $n$ there exists a natural $m$ such that $a_na_{n+1} = a_m$.

For two rational numbers $r,s$ we say:$$r\mid s$$whenever there exists $k\in\mathbb{Z}$ such that:$$s=kr$$ ${(a_n)}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is an increasing sequence of pairwise coprime natural numbers and ${(b_n)}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is a sequence of distinct natural numbers. Assume that for all $n\in\mathbb{N}$ we have: $$\sum_{i=1}^{n}\frac{1}{a_i}\mid\sum_{i=1}^{n}\frac{1}{b_i}$$ Prove that [b]for all[/b] $n\in\mathbb{N}$ we have: $a_n=b_n$.

We have an infinite sequence of integers $\{x_n\}$, such that $x_1 = 1$, and, for all $n \ge 1$, it holds that $x_n < x_{n+1} \le 2n$. Prove that there are two terms of the sequence,$ x_r$ and $x_s$, such that $x_r - x_s = 2018$.

For each $x>e^e$ define a sequence $S_x=u_0,u_1,\ldots$ recursively as follows: $u_0=e$, and for $n\ge0$, $u_{n+1}=\log_{u_n}x$. Prove that $S_x$ converges to a number $g(x)$ and that the function $g$ defined in this way is continuous for $x>e^e$.

Let $n$ be a positive integer. Consider sequences $a_0, a_1, ..., a_k$ and $b_0, b_1,,..,b_k$ such that $a_0 = b_0 = 1$ and $a_k = b_k = n$ and such that for all $i$ such that $1 \le i \le k $, we have that $(a_i, b_i)$ is either equal to $(1 + a_{i-1}, b_{i-1})$ or $(a_{i-1}; 1 + b_{i-1})$. Consider for $1 \le i \le k$ the number $c_i = \begin{cases} a_i \,\,\, if \,\,\, a_i = a_{i-1} \\ b_i \,\,\, if \,\,\, b_i = b_{i-1}\end{cases}$ Show that $c_1 + c_2 + ... + c_k = n^2 - 1$.

We say that a doubly infinite sequence $. . . , s_{−2}, s_{−1}, s_{0}, s_1, s_2, . . .$ is subaveraging if $s_n = (s_{n−1} + s_{n+1})/4$ for all integers n. (a) Find a subaveraging sequence in which all entries are different from each other. Prove that all entries are indeed distinct. (b) Show that if $(s_n)$ is a subaveraging sequence such that there exist distinct integers m, n such that $s_m = s_n$, then there are infinitely many pairs of distinct integers i, j with $s_i = s_j$ .

Given three numbers $x, y, z$, and set $x_1 = |x - y|, y_1 = | y -z|, z_1 = |z- x|$. From $x_1, y_1, z_1$, form in the same fashion the numbers $x_2, y_2, z_2$, and so on. It is known that $x_n = x, y_n = y, z_n = z$ for some $n$. Find all possible values of $(x, y, z)$.

Sequence ${u_n}$ is defined with $u_0=0,u_1=\frac{1}{3}$ and $$\frac{2}{3}u_n=\frac{1}{2}(u_{n+1}+u_{n-1})$$ $\forall n=1,2,...$ Show that $|u_n|\leq1$ $\forall n\in\mathbb{N}.$

To commemorate the $43rd$ anniversary of the restoration of mathematics competitions, a mathematics enthusiast arranges the first $2021$ integers $1,2,\dots,2021$ into a sequence $\{a_n\}$ in a certain order, so that the sum of any consecutive $43$ items in the sequence is a multiple of $43$. (1) If the sequence of numbers is connected end to end into a circle, prove that the sum of any consecutive $43$ items on the circle is also a multiple of $43$; (2) Determine the number of sequences $\{a_n\}$ that meets the conditions of the question.

Let $\mathcal{S}$ be a set consisting of $n \ge 3$ positive integers, none of which is a sum of two other distinct members of $\mathcal{S}$. Prove that the elements of $\mathcal{S}$ may be ordered as $a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n$ so that $a_i$ does not divide $a_{i - 1} + a_{i + 1}$ for all $i = 2, 3, \dots, n - 1$.

We say that a strictly increasing sequence of positive integers $n_1, n_2,\ldots$ is [i]non-decelerating[/i] if $n_{k+1}-n_k\le n_{k+2}-n_{k+1}$ holds for all positive integers $k$. We say that a strictly increasing sequence $n_1, n_2, \ldots$ is [i]convergence-inducing[/i], if the following statement is true for all real sequences $a_1, a_2, \ldots$: if subsequence $a_{m+n_1}, a_{m+n_2}, \ldots$ is convergent and tends to $0$ for all positive integers $m$, then sequence $a_1, a_2, \ldots$ is also convergent and tends to $0$. Prove that a non-decelerating sequence $n_1, n_2,\ldots$ is convergence-inducing if and only if sequence $n_2-n_1$, $n_3-n_2$, $\ldots$ is bounded from above. [i]Proposed by András Imolay[/i]

For the sequence \[S_n=\frac{1}{\sqrt{n^2+1^2}}+\frac{1}{\sqrt{n^2+2^2}}+\cdots+\frac{1}{\sqrt{n^2+n^2}},\]find the limit \[\lim_{n\to\infty}n\left(n\cdot\left(\log(1+\sqrt{2})-S_n\right)-\frac{1}{2\sqrt{2}(1+\sqrt{2})}\right).\]

Let $F_1, F_2, F_3 \cdots$ be the Fibonacci sequence, the sequence of positive integers satisfying $$F_1 =F_2=1$$ and $$F_{n+2} = F_{n+1} + F_n$$ for all $n \ge 1$. Does there exist an $n \ge 1$ such that $F_n$ is divisible by $2014$? Prove your answer.

Let be given the sequence $(x_n)$ defined by $x_1 = 1$ and $x_{n+1} = 3x_n + \lfloor x_n \sqrt5 \rfloor$ for all $n = 1,2,3,...,$ where $\lfloor x \rfloor$ denotes the greatest integer that does not exceed $x$. Prove that for any positive integer $n$ we have $$x_nx_{n+2} - x^2_{n+1} = 4^{n-1}$$ Trần Nam Dũng

Suppose a sequence of reals $\{a_n\}_{n\geq 0}$ satisfies $a_0 = 0$, $\frac{100}{101} <a_{100}<1$, and $$2a_n - a_{n-1} -a_{n+1} \leq 2 (1-a_n )^3$$ for every $n\geq 1$. (1) Define a sequence $b_n = a_n - \frac{n}{n+1}$. Prove that $b_n\leq b_{n+1}$ for any $n\geq 100$. (2) Determine whether infinite series $\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{a_n}{n^2}$ converges or diverges.

Let $(F_n)_{n\geq 1} $ be the Fibonacci sequence $F_1 = F_2 = 1, F_{n+2} = F_{n+1} + F_n (n \geq 1),$ and $P(x)$ the polynomial of degree $990$ satisfying \[ P(k) = F_k, \qquad \text{ for } k = 992, . . . , 1982.\] Prove that $P(1983) = F_{1983} - 1.$

Let $x_0 = 5$ and $x_{n+1} = x_n + \frac{1}{x_n} \ (n = 0, 1, 2, \ldots )$. Prove that \[45 < x_{1000} < 45. 1.\]

The infinite sequence \( a_1, a_2, \ldots \) is defined by \( a_1 = 1 \) and, for each \( n \geq 1 \), the number \( a_{n+1} \) is the smallest positive integer greater than \( a_n \) that has the following property: for each \( k \in \{1, 2, \ldots, n\} \), the number \( a_{n+1} + a_k \) is not a perfect square. Prove that, for all \( n \), it holds that \( a_n \leq (n - 1)^2 + 1 \).

The sequence $a_0$, $a_1$, $a_2,$ $\ldots$ is defined as follows: \[a_0=2, \qquad a_{k+1}=2a_k^2-1 \quad\text{for }k \geq 0.\] Prove that if an odd prime $p$ divides $a_n$, then $2^{n+3}$ divides $p^2-1$. [hide="comment"] Hi guys , Here is a nice problem: Let be given a sequence $a_n$ such that $a_0=2$ and $a_{n+1}=2a_n^2-1$ . Show that if $p$ is an odd prime such that $p|a_n$ then we have $p^2\equiv 1\pmod{2^{n+3}}$ Here are some futher question proposed by me :Prove or disprove that : 1) $gcd(n,a_n)=1$ 2) for every odd prime number $p$ we have $a_m\equiv \pm 1\pmod{p}$ where $m=\frac{p^2-1}{2^k}$ where $k=1$ or $2$ Thanks kiu si u [i]Edited by Orl.[/i] [/hide]

Let $\alpha_a$ denote the greatest odd divisor of a natural number $a$, and let $S_b=\sum_{a=1}^b\frac{\alpha_a}a$ Prove that the sequence $S_b/b$ has a finite limit when $b\to\infty$, and find this limit.

Let $r$ be a positive integer, and let $a_0 , a_1 , \cdots $ be an infinite sequence of real numbers. Assume that for all nonnegative integers $m$ and $s$ there exists a positive integer $n \in [m+1, m+r]$ such that \[ a_m + a_{m+1} +\cdots +a_{m+s} = a_n + a_{n+1} +\cdots +a_{n+s} \] Prove that the sequence is periodic, i.e. there exists some $p \ge 1 $ such that $a_{n+p} =a_n $ for all $n \ge 0$.

The general term of a sequence of numbers is defined as $a_n =\frac{1}{n^2 - n}$, for every integer $n \ge 3$. That is, $a_3 =\frac16$, $a_4 =\frac{1}{12}$, $a_5 =\frac{1}{20}$, and so on. Find a general expression for the sum $S_n$, which is the sum of all terms from $a_3$ until $a_n$.

The sequence $(a_n)_{n \ge 1}^\infty$ is given by: $a_1=2$ and $a_{n+1}=a_n^2+a_n$ for all $n \ge 1$. For an integer $m \ge 2$, $L(m)$ denotes the greatest prime divisor of $m$. Prove that there exists some $k$, for which $L(a_k) > 1000^{1000}$. [i]Proposed by Nikola Velov[/i]