International Cal - Talent Search
International Cal - Talent Search
International Cal - Talent Search
Problem 1/1. For every positive integer n, form the number n=s(n), where
s(n) is the sum of the digits of n in base 10. Determine the minimum value
of n=s(n) in each of the following cases:
(i) 10 n 99 (ii) 100 n 999
(iii) 1000 n 9999 (iv) 10000 n 99999
Problem 2/1. Find all pairs of integers, n and k , 2 < k < n, such that the
binomial coefficients
n
n n
; ;
k 1 k k+1
Problem 1/2. What is the smallest integer multiple of 9997, other than 9997
itself, which contains only odd digits?
Problem 2/2. Show that every triangle can be dissected into nine convex
nondegenerate pentagons.
Problem 3/2. Prove that if x; y , and z are pairwise relatively prime positive
integers, and if x1 + y1 = z1 , then x + y , x z , and y z are perfect squares
of integers.
Problem 4/2. Let a, b, c, and d be the areas of the triangular faces of a
tetrahedron, and let ha , hb , hc , and hd be the corresponding altitudes of the
tetrahedron. If V denotes the volume of the tetrahedron, prove that
(a + b + c + d)(ha + hb + hc + hd ) 48V:
Problem 5/2. Prove that there are infinitely many positive integers n such
that the n n n box can not be filled completely with 2 2 2 and 3 3 3
solid cubes.
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 3
Problem 1/3. Note that if the product of any two distinct members of
f1; 16; 27g is increased by 9, the result is the perfect square of an integer.
Find the unique positive integer n for which n + 9, 16n + 9, and 27n + 9 are
also perfect squares.
Problem 2/3. Note that 1990 can be “turned into a square” by adding a digit
on its right, and some digits on its left; i.e., 419904 = 648 2 . Prove that 1991
can not be turned into a square by the same procedure; i.e., there are no digits
d; x; y; : : : such that : : : yx1991d is a perfect square.
Problem 3/3. Find k if P , Q, R, and C
S are points on the sides of quadri-
D
lateral ABCD so that R
AP BQ CR DS S
= = = = k,
PB QC RD SA Q
and the area of quadrilateral P QRS P
A B
is exactly 52% of the area of quadri-
lateral ABCD .
Problem 4/3. Let n points with integer coordinates be given in the xy -plane.
What is the minimum value of n which will ensure that three of the points
are the vertices of a triangle with integer (possibly, 0) area?
Problem 5/3. Two people, A and B , play the following game with a deck of
32 cards. With A starting, and thereafter the players alternating, each player
takes either 1 card or a prime number of cards. Eventually all of the cards
are chosen, and the person who has none to pick up is the loser. Who will
win the game if they both follow optimal strategy?
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 4
Problem 5/4. The sides of 4ABC measure 11, 20, and 21 units. We fold it
along P Q, QR, and RP , where P , Q, and R are the midpoints of its sides,
until A, B , and C coincide. What is the volume of the resulting tetrahedron?
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 5
Problem 1/5. The set S consists of five integers. If pairs of distinct elements
of S are added, the following ten sums are obtained: 1967, 1972, 1973, 1974,
1975, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1991. What are the elements of S ?
Problem 2/5.
Let n 3 and k 2
be integers, and form the 1 3 9 27 81
forward differences of the 2 6 18 54
members of the sequence 4 12 36
2 k 1
1; n; n ; : : : ; n
8 24
16
and successive forward differences thereof, as illustrated on the right for the
case (n; k ) = (3; 5). Prove that all entries of the resulting triangle of positive
integers are distinct from one another.
Problem 3/5. In a mathematical version of baseball, the umpire chooses a
positive integer m, m n, and you guess positive integers to obtain infor-
mation about m. If your guess is smaller than the umpire’s m, he calls it a
“ball”; if it is greater than or equal to m, he calls it a “strike”. To “hit” it
you must state the correct value of m after the 3rd strike or the 6th guess,
whichever comes first. What is the largest n so that there exists a strategy
that will allow you to bat 1:000, i.e. always state m correctly? Describe your
strategy in detail.
p real-valued function such that
Problem 4/5. Prove that if f is a non-constant
for all real x, f (x + 1) + f (x 1) = 3f (x), then f is periodic. What is
the smallest p. p > 0, such that f (x + p) = f (x) for all x?
Problem 5/5. In 4ABC , shown on C
the right, let r denote the radius of rC
the inscribed circle, and let rA , rB ,
and rC denote the radii of the circles
tangent to the inscribed circle and to r
the sides emanating from A, B , and rB
rA
C , respectively. Prove that A B
r rA + rB + rC :
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 6
Problem 1/6. Nine lines, parallel to the base of a triangle, divide the other
sides each into 10 equal segments and the area into 10 distinct parts. Find
the area of the original triangle, if the area of the largest of these parts is 76.
Problem 2/6. In how many ways can 1992 be expressed as the sum of one
or more consecutive integers?
Problem 3/6. Show that there exists an equiangular hexagon in the plane,
whose sides measure 5, 8, 11, 14, 23, and 29 units in some order.
Problem 4/6. An international firm has 250 employees, each of whom
speaks several languages. For each pair of employees, (A; B ), there is a
language spoken by A and not by B , and there is another language spoken
by B and not by A. At least how many languages must be spoken at the
firm?
Problem 5/6. An infinite checker-
board is divided by a horizontal line
into upper and lower halves as shown
on the right. A number of check-
ers are to be placed on the board
below the line (within the squares).
A “move” consists of one checker
jumping horizontally or vertically
over a second checker, and removing
the second checker.
What is the minimum value of n which will allow the placement of the last
checker in row 4 above the dividing horizontal line after n 1 moves? De-
scribe the initial position of the checkers as well as each of the moves.
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 7
Problem 1/8. Prove that there is no triangle whose altitudes are of length 4,
7, and 10 units.
Problem 2/8. As shown on the right, x -
there is a real number x, 0 < x < 1, 6
so that the resulting configuration yields
a dissection of the unit square into seven
similar right triangles. This x must sat- 1
isfy a monic polynomial of degree 5.
Find that polynomial. (Note: A polyno-
mial in x is monic if the coefficient of
the highest power of x is 1.) ?
1 -
Problem 3/8. (i) Is it possible to rearrange the numbers 1, 2, 3, : : : , 9 as
a(1), a(2), a(3), : : : , a(9) so that all the numbers listed below are different?
Prove your assertion.
ja(1) j j
1 ; a(2) j j
2 ; a(3) j j
3 ; : : : ; a(9) j
9
Problem 5/8. Given that a; b; x, and y are real numbers such that
a+b = 23;
ax + by = 79;
ax2 + by 2 = 217;
ax3 + by 3 = 691;
determine ax4 + by 4 .
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 9
179 564
278 377 872 762 366 861
971 168
773 780 960
483 186 285
384
741 681 756
147 543 840 855 558 459
642 954
345 657
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 10
19 1 1
Problem 1/11. Express in the form + , where m and n are positive
94 m n
integers.
Problem 2/11. Let n be a positive integer greater than 5. Show that at most
eight members of the set fn + 1; n + 2; : : : ; n + 30g can be primes.
Problem 3/11. A convex 2n-gon is
said to be “rhombic” if all of its sides
are of unit length and if its opposite
sides are parallel. As exemplified on
the right (for the case of n = 4),
a rhombic 2n-gon can be dissected
into rhombi of sides 1 in several dif-
ferent ways. For what value of n can
a rhombic 2n-gon be dissected into
666 rhombi?
Problem 4/11. Prove that if three of the interior angle bisectors of a quadri-
lateral intersect at one point, then all four of them must intersect at that point.
Problem 5/11. Let f (x) = x4 + 17x3 + 80x2 + 203 p x + 125. Find
p the
p g(x), of psmallest degree for which f (3 3) = g(3 3) and
polynomial,
f (5 5) = g (5 5).
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 12
Problem 1/12. A teacher writes a positive integer less than fifty thousand on
the board. One student claims it is an exact multiple of 2; a second student
says it is an exact multiple of 3; and so on, until the twelfth student says that
it is an exact multiple of 13. The teacher observes that all but two of the
students were right, and that the two students making incorrect statements
spoke one after the other. What was the number written on the board?
Problem 2/12. A regular
dodecagon is inscribed
in a square of area 24
as shown on the right,
where four vertices of
the dodecagon are at the
midpoints of the sides of
the square. Find the area
of the dodecagon.
Problem 3/12. Let S be a set of 30 points in the plane, with the property that
the distance between any pair of distinct points in S is at least 1. Define T to
be a largest possible subset ofpS such that the distance between any pair of
distinct points in T is at least 3. How many points must be in T ?
p p
Problem 4/12. Prove that if 3 2 + 3 4 is a zero of a cubic polynomial with
integer coefficients, then it is the only real zero of that polynomial.
Problem 5/12. In the figure on
the right, `1 and `2 are paral- R B S
lel lines, AB is perpendicular to l2
them, and P; Q; R; S are the in-
C
tersection points of `1 and `2 with
l1
a circle of diameter greater than P A Q
AB and center, C , on the seg-
ment AB . Prove that the prod-
uct P R P S is independent of the
choice of C on the segment AB .
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 13
Notice that the sum of these three prices is $8.25, and that the product of
these three numbers is also 8:25. Identify four prices whose sum is $8.25
and whose product is also 8:25.
Problem 3/14. In a group of eight mathematicians, each of them finds that
there are exactly three others with whom he/she has a common area of in-
terest. Is it possible to pair them off in such a manner that in each of the
four pairs, the two mathematicians paired together have no common area of
interest?
Problem 4/14. For positive integers a and b, define a b to mean that ab + 1
is the square of an integer. Prove that if a b, then there exists a positive
integer c such that a c and b c.
Problem 5/14. Let 4ABC be given, extend its sides, and construct two
hexagons as shown below. Compare the areas of the hexagons.
b a
a
c A A
c b c b
c b b c
B a C B a C
a a b c
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 15
Problem 2/16. For a positive integer n, let P (n) be the product of the
nonzero base 10 digits of n. Call n “prodigitious” if P (n) divides n. Show
that one can not have a sequence of fourteen consecutive positive integers
that are all prodigitious.
Problem 3/16. Disks numbered 1 through n are placed in a row of squares,
with one square left empty. A move consists of picking up one of the disks
and moving it into the empty square, with the aim to rearrange the disks in
the smallest number of moves so that disk 1 is in square 1, disk 2 is in square
2, and so on until disk n is in square n and the last square is empty. For
example, if the initial arrangement is
3 2 1 6 5 4 9 8 7 12 11 10
then it takes at least 14 moves; i.e., we could move the disks into the empty
square in the following order: 7, 10, 3, 1, 3, 6, 4, 6, 9, 8, 9, 12, 11, 12.
What initial arrangement requires the largest number of moves if n = 1995?
Specify the number of moves required.
Problem 4/16. Let ABCD be an ar-
G C
bitrary convex quadrilateral, with E , D
F , G, H the midpoints of its sides,
as shown in the figure on the right. F
Prove that one can piece together tri- H
angles AEH , BEF , CF G, DGH
to form a parallelogram congruent to
parallelogram EF GH . A E B
p 5/16.
Problem p An equiangular octagon ABCDEF GH has sides of length
2, 2 2, 4, 4 2, 6, 7, 7, 8. Given that AB = 8, find the length of EF .
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 17
Problem 1/18. Determine the minimum length of the interval [a; b] such that
a x + y b for all real numbers x y 0 for which 19x + 95y = 1995.
Problem 2/18. For a positive integer n 2, let P (n) denote the product of
the positive integer divisors (including 1 and n) of n. Find the smallest n for
which P (n) = n10 .
Problem 3/18. The graph shown on
3
the right has 10 vertices, 15 edges,
and each vertex is of order 3 (i.e., at
each vertex 3 edges meet). Some of 4 2
the edges are labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
as shown. Prove that it is possible
to label the remaining edges 6, 7, 8, 5 1
: : : , 15 so that at each vertex the sum
of the labels on the edges meeting at
that vertex is the same.
Problem 4/18. Let a; b; c; d be distinct real numbers such that
a+b+c+d=3 and a2 + b2 + c2 + d2 = 45:
c5 d5
+ + :
(c a)(c b)(c d) (d a)(d b)(d c)
Problem 5/18. Let a and b be two
lines in the plane, and let C be a a
point as shown in the figure on the
right. Using only a compass and an C
unmarked straight edge, construct an
isosceles right triangle ABC , so that b
A is on line a, B is on line b, and AB
is the hypotenuse of 4ABC .
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 19
Find f (3).
Problem 5/19. In the figure on
the right, determine the area of the
shaded octogon as a fraction of the
area of the square, where the bound-
aries of the octogon are lines drawn
from the vertices of the square to the
midpoints of the opposite sides.
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 20
A
1+
1+ 3+
1+
5+
3+ 1+
1+ 1+
5+ 3+
3+
5+
1+ 1+
E
1+ 1+
1+ 3+
5+
5+
3+ 1+
D
3+ 1+
5+ 3+
1+
5+
1+ 1+
B C
Problem 5/21. Assume that 4ABC , shown in the second figure above,
is isosceles, with \ABC = \ACB = 78Æ . Let D and E be points on
sides AB and AC , respectively, so that \BCD = 24Æ and \CBE = 51Æ .
Determine, with proof, \BED .
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 22
Problem 1/22. In 1996 nobody could claim that on their birthday their age
was the sum of the digits of the year in which they were born. What was the
last year prior to 1996 which had the same property?
p npfor which
Problem 2/22. Determine the largest positive integer
2 p there
p is a
unique positive integer m such that m < n and n + m + n m is
a positive integer.
Problem 3/22. Assume that there are 120 million telephones in current use
in the United States. Is it possible to assign distinct 10-digit telephone num-
bers (with digits ranging from 0 to 9) to them so that any single error in
dialing can be detected and corrected? (For example, if one of the assigned
numbers is 812–877–2917 and if one mistakenly dials 812–872–2917, then
none of the other numbers which differ from 812–872–2917 in a single digit
should be an assigned telephone number.)
Problem 4/22. As shown in the first figure below, a large wooden cube has
one corner sawed off forming a tetrahedron ABCD . Determine the length
of CD , if AD = 6, BD = 8 and area(4ABC ) = 74.
A D
Problem 2/23. We will say that the integer n is fortunate if it can be ex-
pressed in the form 3x2 + 32y 2 , where x and y are integers. Prove that if n
is fortunate, then so is 97n.
Problem 3/23. Exhibit in the plane 19 straight lines so that they intersect
one another in exactly 97 points. Assume that it is permissible to have more
than two lines intersect at some points. Be sure that your solution should be
accompanied by a carefully prepared sketch.
Problem 4/23. Prove that cot 10Æ cot 30Æ cot 50Æ cot 70Æ = 3.
Problem 5/23. Isosceles triangle ABC has been dissected into thirteen
isosceles acute triangles, as shown in the two figures below, where all seg-
ments of the same length are marked the same way, and the second figure
shows the details of the dissection of 4EF G. Given that the base angle, ,
of 4ABC is an integral number of degrees, determine .
C
G
A E F B
E F
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 24
Problem 2/24. Let Nk = 131313 : : : 131 be the (2k + 1)–digit number (in
base 10), formed from k + 1 copies of 1 and k copies of 3. Prove that Nk is
not divisible by 31 for any value of k = 1, 2, 3, : : : .
Problem 3/24. In 4ABC , let AB = 52, BC = 64, CA = 70, and as-
sume that P and Q are points chosen on sides AB and AC , respectively,
so that 4AP Q and quadrilateral P BCQ have the same area and the same
perimeter. Determine the square of the length of the segment P Q.
Problem 4/24. Determine the positive integers x < y < z for which
1 1 1 19
= :
x xy xyz 97
Problem 5/24. Let P be a convex planar polygon with n vertices, and from
each vertex of P construct perpendiculars to the n 2 sides (or extensions
thereof) of P not meeting at that vertex. Prove that either one of these per-
pendiculars is completely in the interior of P or it is a side of P .
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 25
Problem 1/25. Assume that we have 12 rods, each 13 units long. They are
to be cut into pieces measuring 3, 4, and 5 units, so that the resulting pieces
can be assembled into 13 triangles of sides 3, 4, and 5 units. How should the
rods be cut?
Problem 2/25. Let f (x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients, and as-
sume that f (0) = 0 and f (1) = 2. Prove that f (7) is not a perfect square.
Problem 3/25. One can show that for every quadratic equation (x p)(x
q ) = 0 there exist constants a; b, and c, with c 6= 0, such that the equation
(x a)(b x) = c is equivalent to the original equation, and the faulty
reasoning “either x a or b x must equal to c” yields the correct answers
“x = p or x = q ”.
Determine constants a; b, and c, with c 6= 0, so that the equation (x 19)(x
97) = 0 can be “solved” in such manner.
(ii) each of them contains each of the nine digits 1, 2, 3, . . . , 9 exactly once?
Problem 3/27. Assume that f (1) = 0, and that for all integers m and n,
f (m + n) = f (m) + f (n) + 3(4mn − 1).
Determine f (19).
Problem 3/28. Determine, with a mathematical proof, the value of bxc; i.e.,
the greatest integer less than or equal to x, where
1 1 1 1 1
x = 1 + √ + √ + √ + √ + ··· + √ .
2 3 4 5 1, 000, 000
Problem 4/28. Let n be a positive integer and assume that for each integer
k, 1 ≤ k ≤ n, we have two disks numbered k. It is desired to arrange the
2n disks in a row so that for each k, 1 ≤ k ≤ n, there are k disks between
the two disks that are numbered k. Prove that
(i) if n = 6, then no such arrangement is possible;
(ii) if n = 7, then it is possible to arrange the disks as desired.
Problem 5/28. Let S be the set of all points of a unit cube (i.e., a cube each
of whose edges is of length 1) that are at least as far from any of the vertices
of the cube as from the center of the cube. Determine the shape and volume
of S.
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 29
Problem 1/29. Several pairs of positive integers (m, n) satisfy the equation
19m + 90 + 8n = 1998. Of these, (100, 1) is the pair with the smallest value
for n. Find the pair with the smallest value for m.
r 1 1
Problem 2/29. Determine the smallest rational number such that + +
s k m
1 r
≤ whenever k, m, and n are positive integers that satisfy the inequality
n s
1 1 1
+ + < 1.
k m n
Problem 3/29. It is possible to arrange eight
of the nine numbers
2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 1
in the vacant squares of the 3 by 4 array
shown on the right so that the arithmetic av- 9 5
erage of the numbers in each row and in each
column is the same integer. Exhibit such an 14
arrangement, and specify which one of the
nine numbers must be left out when complet-
ing the array.
Problem 1/30. Determine the unique pair of real numbers (x, y) that satisfy
the equation
(4x2 + 6x + 4)(4y 2 − 12y + 25) = 28.
Problem 2/30. Prove that there are infinitely many ordered triples of positive
integers (a, b, c) such that the greatest common divisor of a, b, and c is 1, and
the sum a2 b2 + b2 c2 + c2 a2 is the square of an integer.
Problem 2/31. There are infinitely many ordered pairs (m, n) of positive
integers for which the sum
m + (m + 1) + (m + 2) + · · · + (n − 1) + n
is equal to the product mn. The four pairs with the smallest values of m are
(1, 1), (3, 6), (15, 35), and (85, 204). Find three more (m, n) pairs.
A
Problem 5/31. In the figure shown on the
right, O is the center of the circle, OK and
OA are perpendicular to one another, M
is the midpoint of OK, BN is parallel to B N
OK, and ∠AM N = ∠N M O.
K M O
Determine the measure of ∠ABN in de-
grees.
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 32
Problem 2/32. For a nonzero integer i, the exponent of 2 in the prime fac-
torization of i is called ord2 (i). For example, ord2 (9) = 0 since 9 is odd,
and ord2 (28) = 2 since 28 = 22 × 7. The numbers 3n − 1 for n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
are all even, so ord2 (3n − 1) ≥ 1 for n > 0.
a) For which positive integers n is ord2 (3n − 1) = 1?
b) For which positive integers n is ord2 (3n − 1) = 2?
c) For which positive integers n is ord2 (3n − 1) = 3?
Prove your answers.
1
Problem 3/32. Let f be a polynomial of degree 98, such that f (k) = k
for
k = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 99. Determine f (100).
E R D
P Q
A F B
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 33
Problem 1/33. The digits of the three-digit integers a, b, and c are the nine
non-zero digits 1, 2, 3, . . . , 9, each of them appearing exactly once. Given
that the ratio a : b : c is 1 : 3 : 5, determine a, b, and c.
Problem 2/33. Let N = 111 . . . 1222 . . . 2, where there are 1999 digits of 1
followed by 1999 digits of 2. Express N as the product of four integers, each
of them greater than 1.
Problem 3/33. Triangle ABC has angle A measuring 30◦ , angle B mea-
suring 60◦ , and angle C measuring 90◦ . Show four different ways to divide
triangle ABC into four triangles, each similar to triangle ABC but with one
quarter of the area. Prove that the angles and sizes of the smaller triangles
are correct.
Problem 4/33. There are 8436 steel balls, each with radius 1 centimeter,
stacked in a tetrahedral pile, with one ball on top, 3 balls in the second layer,
6 in the third layer, 10 in the fourth, and so on. Determine the height ot the
pile in centimeters.
Problem 1/34. The number N consists of 1999 digits such that if each pair
of consecutive digits in N were viewed as a two-digit number, then that
number would either be a multiple of 17 or a multiple of 23. The sum of the
digits of N is 9599. Determine the rightmost ten digits of N .
Problem 2/34. Let C be the set of non-negative integers which can be ex-
pressed as 1999s + 2000t where s and t are also non-negative integers.
(a) Show that 3, 994, 001 is not in C.
(b) Show that if 0 ≤ n ≤ 3, 994, 001 and n is an integer not
in C, then 3, 994, 001 − n is in C. B
Problem 5/35. We say that a finite set of points is well scattered on the
surface of a sphere if every open hemisphere (half the surface of the sphere
without its boundary) contains at least one of the points. While {(1, 0, 0),
(0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1)} is not well scattered on the unit sphere (the sphere of
radius 1 centered at the origin), but if you add the correct point P , it becomes
well scattered. Find, with proof, all possible points P that would make the
set well scattered.
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 36
Problem 1/36. Determine the unique 9-digit integer M that has the follow-
ing properties: (1) its digits are all distinct and non-zero; and (2) for every
positive integer m = 2, 3, 4, . . . , 9, the integer formed by the leftmost m
digits of M is divisible by m.
Problem 1/37. Determine the smallest five-digit positive integer N such that
2N is also a five-digit integer and all ten digits from 0 to 9 are found in N
and 2N .
24
Problem 2/37. It was recently shown that 22 + 1 is not a prime number.
Find the four rightmost digits of this number.
Problem 2/38. Compute 17761492! (mod 2000); i.e., the remainder when
17761492! is divided by 2000. (As usual, the exclamation point denotes fac-
torial.)
Problem 4/38. Prove that every polyhedron has two vertices at which the
same number of edges meet.
Problem 1/39. Find the smallest positive integer with the property that it has
divisors ending in every decimal digit; i.e., divisors ending in 0, 1, 2, . . . , 9.
Problem 2/39. Assume that the irreducible fractions between 0 and 1, with
denominators at most 99, are listed in ascending order. Determine which two
17
fractions are adjacent to 76 in this listing.
Problem 4/39. Assume that each member of the sequence < ¦i >∞ i=1 is
either a + or − sign. Determine the appropriate sequence of + and − signs
so that r q
√
2 = 6 ¦1 6 ¦2 6 ¦3 · · ·.
Also determine what sequence of signs is necessary if the sixes in the nested
roots are replaced by sevens. List all integers that work in the place of the
sixes and the sequence of signs that are needed with them.
Problem 1/40. Determine all positive integers with the property that they
are one more than the sum of the squares of their digits in base 10.
Problem 2/40. Prove that if n is an odd positive integer, then
N = 2269n + 1779n + 1730n − 1776n
is an integer multiple of 2001.
Problem 3/40. The figure on the right can be divided into
two congruent halves that are related to each other by a glide
reflection, as shown below it. A glide reflection reflects a
figure about a line, but also moves the reflected figure in a
direction parallel to that line. For a square-grid figure, the
only lines of reflection that keep its reflection on the grid
are horizontal, vertical, 45◦ diagonal, and 135◦ diagonal. Of
the two figures below, divide one figure into two congruent
halves related by a glide reflection, and tell why the other
figure cannot be divided like that.
Problem 4/40. Let A and B be points on a circle which are not diametrically
opposite, and let C be the midpoint of the smaller arc between A and B. Let
D, E and F be the points determined by the intersections of the tangent lines
to the circle at A, B, and C. Prove that the area of 4DEF is greater than
half of the area of 4ABC.
U
Problem 5/40. Hexagon RST U V W is
constructed by starting with a right trian-
gle of legs measuring p and q, construct- T
ing squares outwardly on the sides of this V
triangle, and then connecting the outer q
vertices of the squares, as shown in the
W
figure on the right. p
Given that p and q are integers with p > q,
and that the area of RST U V W is 1922,
determine p and q. R S
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 41
Problem 1/41. Determine the unique positive two-digit integers m and n for
m
which the approximation = .2328767 is accurate to the seven decimals;
n
i.e., 0.2328767 ≤ m/n < 0.2328768.
Problem 2/41. It is well known that there are infinitely many triples of
integers (a, b, c) whose greatest common divisor is 1 and which satisfy the
equation a2 + b2 = c2 .
Prove that there are also infinitely many triples of integers (r, s, t) whose
greatest common divisor is 1 and which satisfy the equation (rs)2 + (st)2 =
(tr)2 .
cos 3x 1 π
Problem 3/41. Suppose = for some angle x, 0 ≤ x ≤ . Deter-
cos x 3 2
sin 3x
mine for the same x.
sin x
Problem 4/41. The projective plane of order three consists of 13 points and
13 lines. These lines are not Euclidean straight lines; instead they are sets of
four points with the properties that each pair of lines has exactly one point
in common and each pair of points has exactly one line that contains both
points. Suppose the points are labeled 1 through 13 and six of the lines are
A = {1, 2, 4, 8}, B = {1, 3, 5, 9}, C = {2, 3, 6, 10}, D = {4, 5, 10, 11},
E = {4, 6, 9, 12}, and F = {5, 6, 8, 13}. What is the line that contains 7 and
8?
Problem 1/42. How many positive five-digit integers are there consisting
of the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, in which one digit appears once and two
digits appear twice? For example, 41174 is one such number, while 75355 is
not.
Problem 2/42. Determine, with proof, the positive integer whose square is
exactly equal to the number
2001
X
1+ (4i − 2)3 .
i=1
Problem 5/42. Let R and S be points on the sides BC and AC, respectively,
of 4ABC, and let P be the intersection of AR and BS. Determine the area
of 4ABC if the areas of 4AP S, 4AP B, and 4BP R are 5, 6, and 7,
respectively.
International Mathematical Talent Search – Round 43
Problem 1/43. We will say that a rearrangement of the letters of a word has
no fixed letters if, when the rearrangement is placed directly below the word,
no column has the same letter repeated. For instance, the blocks of letters
below shows that E S A R E T is a rearrangement with no fixed letters of
T E R E S A, but R E A S T E is not.
T E R E S A T E R E S A
E S A R E T R E A S T E
How many distinguishable rearrangements with no fixed letters does T E R E S A
have? (The two Es are considered identical.)
Problem 2/43. Find five different sets of three positive integers {k, m, n},
such that k < m < n and
1 1 1 19
+ + = .
k m n 84
Seventeen segments are drawn to connect these six points to one another
and to the opposite vertices of the triangle. Determine the points interior to
4ACF at which three or more of these line segments intersect one another.