Found problems: 5923
Choose terms of the harmonic series so that the sum of the chosen terms be finite. Prove that the sequence of these terms is of density zero in the sequence
$ 1,\frac12,\frac13,\dots,\frac1n,\dots$
Let $\{x_n\}$ and $\{y_n\}$ be two sequences of natural numbers defined as follow:
$x_1 = 1, \,\,\, x_2 = 1, \,\,\, x_{n+2} = x_{n+1} + 2x_n$ for $n = 1, 2, 3, ...$
$y_1 = 1, \,\,\, y_2 = 7, \,\,\, y_{n+2} = 2y_{n+1} + 3y_n$ for $n = 1, 2, 3, ...$
Prove that, except for the case $x_1 = y_1 = 1$, there is no natural value that occurs in the two sequences.
An arithmetic sequence is a sequence of numbers for which the difference between two consecutive numbers applies terms is constant. So this is an arithmetic sequence with difference $\frac56$:
$$\frac13,\frac76, 2,\frac{17}{6},\frac{11}{3},\frac92.$$
The sequence of seven natural numbers $60$, $70$, $84$, $105$, $140$, $210$, $420$ has the property that the sequence inverted numbers (i.e. the row $\frac{1}{60}$, $\frac{1}{70}$, $\frac{1}{84}$, $\frac{1}{105}$, $\frac{1}{140}$, $\frac{1}{210}$,$\frac{1}{420}$ ) is an arithmetic sequence.
(a) Is there a sequence of eight different natural numbers whose inverse numbers are one form an arithmetic sequence?
(b) Is there an infinite sequence of distinct natural numbers whose inverses are form an arithmetic sequence?
Consider $f (n, m)$ the number of finite sequences of $ 1$'s and $0$'s such that each sequence that starts at $0$, has exactly n $0$'s and $m$ $ 1$'s, and there are not three consecutive $0$'s or three $ 1$'s. Show that if $m, n> 1$, then
$$f (n, m) = f (n-1, m-1) + f (n-1, m-2) + f (n-2, m-1) + f (n-2, m-2)$$
The sequence $(a_n)$ is defined with the recursion $a_{n + 1} = 5a^6_n + 3a^3_{n-1} + a^2_{n-2}$ for $n\ge 2$ and the set of initial values $\{a_0, a_1, a_2\} = \{2013, 2014, 2015\}$. (That is, the initial values are these three numbers in any order.)
Show that the sequence contains no sixth power of a natural number.
The $n^\text{th}$ term of a sequence is $a_n=(-1)^n(4n+3)$. Compute the sum \[a_1+a_2+a_3+\cdots+a_{2008}.\]
$\{a_n\}$ is a positive integer sequence such that $ a_{i+2} = a_{i+1} + a_{i} (i \ge 1) $. For positive integer $n$, define $\{b_n\}$ as
\[ b_n = \frac{1}{a_{2n+1}} \sum_{i=1}^{4n-2} { a_i } \]
Prove that $b_n$ is positive integer, and find the general form of $b_n$.
A sequence with first two terms equal $1$ and $24$ respectively is defined by the following rule: each subsequent term is equal to the smallest positive integer which has not yet occurred in the sequence and is not coprime with the previous term. Prove that all positive integers occur in this sequence.
Compute the number of geometric sequences of length $3$ where each number is a positive integer no larger than $10$.
Define the sequence of positive integers $f_n$ by $f_0 = 1, f_1 = 1, f_{n+2} = f_{n+1} + f_n$. Show that $f_n =\frac{ (a^{n+1} - b^{n+1})}{\sqrt5}$, where $a, b$ are real numbers such that $a + b = 1, ab = -1$ and $a > b$.
Let $B$ be a set of $k$ sequences each having $n$ terms equal to $1$ or $-1$. The product of two such sequences $(a_1, a_2, \ldots , a_n)$ and $(b_1, b_2, \ldots , b_n)$ is defined as $(a_1b_1, a_2b_2, \ldots , a_nb_n)$. Prove that there exists a sequence $(c_1, c_2, \ldots , c_n)$ such that the intersection of $B$ and the set containing all sequences from $B$ multiplied by $(c_1, c_2, \ldots , c_n)$ contains at most $\frac{k^2}{2^n}$ sequences.
Let $ a>1$ be a positive integer. Prove that every non-zero positive integer $ N$ has a multiple in the sequence $ (a_n)_{n\ge1}$, $ a_n\equal{}\left\lfloor\frac{a^n}n\right\rfloor$.
For a sequence $u_1,u_2\dots,$ define $\Delta^1(u_n)=u_{n+1}-u_n$ and, for all integer $k>1$, $\Delta^k(u_n)=\Delta^1(\Delta^{k-1}(u_n))$. If $u_n=n^3+n$, then $\Delta^k(u_n)=0$ for all $n$
$\textbf{(A) }\text{if }k=1\qquad$
$\textbf{(B) }\text{if }k=2,\text{ but not if }k=1\qquad$
$\textbf{(C) }\text{if }k=3,\text{ but not if }k=2\qquad$
$\textbf{(D) }\text{if }k=4,\text{ but not if }k=3\qquad$
$\textbf{(E) }\text{for no value of }k$
We’re playing a game with a sequence of $2008$ non-negative integers.
A move consists of picking a integer $b$ from that sequence, of which the neighbours $a$ and $c$ are positive. We then replace $a, b$ and $c$ by $a - 1, b + 7$ and $c - 1$ respectively. It is not allowed to pick the first or the last integer in the sequence, since they only have one neighbour. If there is no integer left such that both of its neighbours are positive, then there is no move left, and the game ends.
Prove that the game always ends, regardless of the sequence of integers we begin with, and regardless of the moves we make.
Define the sequence $(a_n)_{n\geq 1}$ by $a_1=1$, $a_2=p$ and \[a_{n+1}=pa_n-a_{n-1} \textrm { for all } n>1.\]
Prove that for $n>1$ the polynomial $x^n-a_nx+a_{n-1}$ is divisible by $x^2-px+1$.
Using this result, solve the equation \[x^4-56x+15=0.\]
The sequence of positive integers $a_1,a_2,a_3,\dots$ is [i]brazilian[/i] if $a_1=1$ and $a_n$ is the least integer greater than $a_{n-1}$ and $a_n$ is [b]coprime[/b] with at least half elements of the set $\{a_1,a_2,\dots, a_{n-1}\}$. Is there any odd number which does [b]not[/b] belong to the brazilian sequence?
Let $a_0,a_1,a_2 \dots a_n, \dots$ be an infinite sequence of real numbers, defined by $$a_0 = c$$ $$a_{n+1} = {a_n}^2+\frac{a_n}{2}+c$$ for some real $c > 0$. Find all values of $c$ for which the sequence converges and the limit for those values.
[b]p1.[/b] The least prime factor of $a$ is $3$, the least prime factor of $b$ is $7$. Find the least prime factor of $a + b$.
[b]p2.[/b] In a Cartesian coordinate system, the two tangent lines from $P = (39, 52)$ meet the circle defined by $x^2 + y^2 = 625$ at points $Q$ and $R$. Find the length $QR$.
[b]p3.[/b] For a positive integer $n$, there is a sequence $(a_0, a_1, a_2,..., a_n)$ of real values such that $a_0 = 11$ and $(a_k + a_{k+1}) (a_k - a_{k+1}) = 5$ for every $k$ with $0 \le k \le n-1$. Find the maximum possible value of $n$. (Be careful that your answer isn’t off by one!)
[b]p4.[/b] Persons $A$ and $B$ stand at point $P$ on line $\ell$. Point $Q$ lies at a distance of $10$ from point $P$ in the direction perpendicular to $\ell$. Both persons intially face towards $Q$. Person $A$ walks forward and to the left at an angle of $25^o$ with $\ell$, when he is again at a distance of $10$ from point $Q$, he stops, turns $90^o$ to the right, and continues walking. Person $B$ walks forward and to the right at an angle of $55^o$ with line $\ell$, when he is again at a distance of $10$ from point $Q$, he stops, turns $90^o$ to the left, and continues walking. Their paths cross at point $R$. Find the distance $PR$.
[b]p5.[/b] Compute
$$\frac{lcm (1,2, 3,..., 200)}{lcm (102, 103, 104, ..., 200)}.$$
[b]p6.[/b] There is a unique real value $A$ such that for all $x$ with $1 < x < 3$ and $x \ne 2$, $$\left| \frac{A}{x^2-x - 2} +\frac{1}{x^2 - 6x + 8} \right|< 1999.$$
Compute $A$.
[b]p7.[/b] Nine poles of height $1, 2,..., 9$ are placed in a line in random order. A pole is called [i]dominant [/i] if it is taller than the pole immediately to the left of it, or if it is the pole farthest to the left. Count the number of possible orderings in which there are exactly $2$ dominant poles.
[b]p8.[/b] $\tan (11x) = \tan (34^o)$ and $\tan (19x) = \tan (21^o)$. Compute $\tan (5x)$.
PS. You had better use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].
Let $n \ge 1$ be a fixed positive integer. We consider all the sets $S$ which consist of sub-sequences of the sequence $0, 1,2, ..., n$ satisfying the following conditions:
i) If $(a_i)_{i=0}^k$ belongs to $S$, then $a_0 = 0$, $a_k = n$ and $a_{i+1} - a_i \le 2$ for all $0 \le i \le k - 1$.
ii) If $(a_i)_{i=0}^k$ and $(b_j)^h_{j=0}$ both belong to $S$, then there exist $0 \le i_0 \le k - 1$ and $0 \le j_0 \le h - 1$ such that $a_{i_0} = b_{j_0}$ and $a_{i_0+1} = b_{j_0+1}$.
Find the maximum value of $|S|$ (among all the above-mentioned sets $S$).
Let the sequence $a_n$, $n\geq2$, $a_n=\frac{\sqrt[3]{n^3+n^2-n-1}}{n} $. Find the greatest natural number $k$ ,such that
$a_2 \cdot a_3 \cdot . . .\cdot a_k <8$
[u]Round 1[/u]
[b]p1.[/b] Alice and Bob played $25$ games of rock-paper-scissors. Alice played rock $12$ times, scissors $6$ times, and paper $7$ times. Bob played rock $13$ times, scissors $9$ times, and paper $3$ times. If there were no ties, who won the most games?
(Remember, in each game each player picks one of rock, paper, or scissors. Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock. If they choose the same object, the result is a tie.)
[b]p2.[/b] On the planet Vulcan there are eight big volcanoes and six small volcanoes. Big volcanoes erupt every three years and small volcanoes erupt every two years. In the past five years, there were $30$ eruptions. How many volcanoes could erupt this year?
[b]p3.[/b] A tangle is a sequence of digits constructed by picking a number $N\ge 0$ and writing the integers from $0$ to $N$ in some order, with no spaces. For example, $010123459876$ is a tangle with $N = 10$. A palindromic sequence reads the same forward or backward, such as $878$ or $6226$. The shortest palindromic tangle is $0$. How long is the second-shortest palindromic tangle?
[b]p4.[/b] Balls numbered $1$ to $N$ have been randomly arranged in a long input tube that feeds into the upper left square of an $8 \times 8$ board. An empty exit tube leads out of the lower right square of the board. Your goal is to arrange the balls in order from $1$ to $N$ in the exit tube. As a move, you may
1. move the next ball in line from the input tube into the upper left square of the board,
2. move a ball already on the board to an adjacent square to its right or below, or
3. move a ball from the lower right square into the exit tube.
No square may ever hold more than one ball. What is the largest number $N$ for which you can achieve your goal, no matter how the balls are initially arranged? You can see the order of the balls in the input tube before you start.
[img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/1/8/bbce92750b01052db82d58b96584a36fb5ca5b.png[/img]
[b]p5.[/b] A $2018 \times 2018$ board is covered by non-overlapping $2 \times 1$ dominoes, with each domino covering two squares of the board. From a given square, a robot takes one step to the other square of the domino it is on and then takes one more step in the same direction. Could the robot continue moving this way forever without falling off the board?
[img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/9/c/da86ca4ff0300eca8e625dff891ed1769d44a8.png[/img]
[u]Round 2[/u]
[b]p6.[/b] Seventeen teams participated in a soccer tournament where a win is worth $1$ point, a tie is worth $0$ points, and a loss is worth $-1$ point. Each team played each other team exactly once. At least $\frac34$ of all games ended in a tie. Show that there must be two teams with the same number of points at the end of the tournament.
[b]p7.[/b] The city of Old Haven is known for having a large number of secret societies. Any person may be a member of multiple societies. A secret society is called influential if its membership includes at least half the population of Old Haven. Today, there are $2018$ influential secret societies. Show that it is possible to form a council of at most $11$ people such that each influential secret society has at least one member on the council.
PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].
Find all $C\in \mathbb{R}$ such that every sequence of integers $\{a_n\}_{n=1}^{\infty}$ which is bounded from below and for all $n\geq 2$ satisfy $$0\leq a_{n-1}+Ca_n+a_{n+1}<1$$ is periodic.
Proposed by Navid Safaei
Frieda the frog begins a sequence of hops on a $3 \times 3$ grid of squares, moving one square on each hop and choosing at random the direction of each hop up, down, left, or right. She does not hop diagonally. When the direction of a hop would take Frieda off the grid, she "wraps around'' and jumps to the opposite edge. For example if Frieda begins in the center square and makes two hops "up'', the first hop would place her in the top row middle square, and the second hop would cause Frieda to jump to the opposite edge, landing in the bottom row middle square. Suppose Frieda starts from the center square, makes at most four hops at random, and stops hopping if she lands on a corner square. What is the probability that she reaches a corner square on one of the four hops?
$\textbf{(A) }\frac{9}{16}\qquad\textbf{(B) }\frac{5}{8}\qquad\textbf{(C) }\frac{3}{4}\qquad\textbf{(D) }\frac{25}{32}\qquad\textbf{(E) }\frac{13}{16}$
Let $u_k$ be a sequence of integers, and let $V_n$ be the number of those which are less than or equal to $n$. Show that if
$$\sum_{k=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{u_k } < \infty,$$
then
$$\lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{ V_{n}}{n}=0.$$
$a_1,a_2,a_3,\dots$ and $b_1,b_2,b_3,\dots$ are sequences of positive integers. Show that we can find $m < n$ such that $a_m \leq a_n$ and $b_m \leq b_n$.