IIT Maths Aime Problem Solving by Naveen Vasireddy

87
1987 AIME Problems/Problem 1

Problem
An ordered pair of non-negative integers is called "simple" if the addition in base
re!ires no carr"ing# $ind the n!mber of simple ordered pairs of non-negative integers that s!m
to #
%ol!tion
%ince no carr"ing over is allo&ed' the range of possible val!es of an" digit of is from to the
respective digit in (the val!es of are then fi)ed*# +h!s' the n!mber of ordered pairs &ill
be #
If "o! do not !nderstand the above sol!tion' consider this# $or ever" positive integer ' there is onl"
one &hole n!mber that "o! can add to it to obtain the re!ired s!m# Also' the total n!mber of non-
negative integers that are smaller than or e!al to an integer is beca!se there are
positive integers that are less than it' in addition to and itself#
1987 AIME Problems/Problem ,
Problem
-hat is the largest possible distance bet&een t&o points' one on the sphere of radi!s 19
&ith center and the other on the sphere of radi!s 87 &ith center .
%ol!tion
+he distance bet&een the t&o centers of the spheres can be determined via the distance form!la in
three dimensions/ #
+he largest possible distance &o!ld be the s!m of the t&o radii and the distance bet&een the t&o
centers' ma0ing it #
Problem
2" a proper divisor of a nat!ral n!mber &e mean a positive integral divisor other than 1 and the
n!mber itself# A nat!ral n!mber greater than 1 &ill be called niceif it is e!al to the prod!ct of its
distinct proper divisors# -hat is the s!m of the first ten nice n!mbers.
%ol!tion
3et denote the prod!ct of the distinct proper divisors of # A n!mber is nice in one of t&o
instances/
1.
It has e)actl" t&o distinct prime divisors#
If &e let ' &here are the prime factors' then its proper divisors are and '
and #
2.
It is the c!be of a prime n!mber#
If &e let &ith prime' then its proper divisors are and ' and #
-e no& sho& that the above are the onl" t&o cases# %!ppose that another nice n!mber e)isted that
does not fall into one of these t&o categories# +hen &e can either e)press it in the form
(&ith prime and * or (&ith *#
In the former case' it s!ffices to note that # In the latter
case' then # $or ' &e
need (the case does not &or0*#
+h!s' listing o!t the first ten n!mbers to fit this form'
# %!mming t
hese "ields #
Alternativel"' &e co!ld note that is onl" nice &hen it onl" has t&o divisors' &hich' &hen m!ltiplied'
clearl" "ield # -e 0no& that &hen the prime factori4ation of ' the
n!mber of factors of is
%ince is nice' it ma" onl" have factors ( ' ' ' and *# +his means that # +he
n!mber can onl" be factored into or ' &hich means that either and '
or # +herefore the onl" t&o cases are ' or #
Problem
$ind the area of the region enclosed b" the graph of
%ol!tion
%ince is nonnegative' # %olving this gives !s t&o
e!ations/ # +h!s' # +he ma)im!m and minim!m"
val!e is &hen ' &hich is &hen and # %ince the graph
is s"mmetric abo!t the "-a)is' &e 6!st need case&or0 !pon # ' so &e brea0 !p the
condition /
# +hen #
# +hen #
+he area of the region enclosed b" the graph is that of the !adrilateral defined b" the
points # 2rea0ing it !p into triangles and solving' &e
get #
Problem
$ind if and are integers s!ch that #
%ol!tion
If &e move the term to the left side' it is factorable/
is e!al to # %ince and are integers' cannot e!al a m!ltiple of three#
doesn8t &or0 either' so ' and # +his leaves ' so #
+h!s' #
Problem
:ectangle is divided into fo!r parts of e!al area b" five segments as sho&n in the fig!re'
&here ' and is parallel to # $ind
the length of (in cm* if cm and cm#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
%ince ' and the areas of the trape4oids and are the
same' then the heights of the trape4oids are the same# +h!s both trape4oids have
area # +his n!mber is also e!al to one !arter the area of
the entire rectangle' &hich is ' so &e have #
In addition' &e see that the perimeter of the rectangle
is '
so #
%olving these t&o e!ations gives #
Solution 2
3et ' ' ' and # $irst &e drop a perpendic!lar from to a point
on so # %ince and and the areas of the trape4oids
and are the same' the heights of the trape4oids are both #$rom here' &e have
that # -e are told that this
area is e!al to # %etting these e!al to each
other and solving gives # In the same &a"' &e find that the perpendic!lar from to
is # %o
Solution 3
%ince #
3et # %ince ,A2 - ,a ; <= ; ->' then #3et be the
midpoint of ' and be the midpoint of # %ince the area of and are the
same' then their heights are the same' and so ise!idistant from and # +his means
that is perpendic!lar to ' and is perpendic!lar to # +herefore' '
' ' and are all trape4oids' and ,# +his implies that
%ince ' #
Problem
3et denote the least common m!ltiple of positive integers and # $ind the n!mber of ordered
triples of positive integers for &hich ' ' and #
%ol!tion 1
It8s clear that &e m!st have ' and for
some nonnegative integers # ?ealing first &ith the po&ers of ,/ from the given
conditions' ' # +h!s &e m!st have and at least
one of e!al to 1# +his gives 7 possible triples
/ and #
@o&' for the po&ers of 7/ &e have # +h!s' at least t&o
of m!st be e!al to 1' and the other can ta0e an" val!e bet&een A and 1# +his gives !s a total
of 1A possible triples/ and three possibilities of each of the forms '
and #
%ince the e)ponents of , and 7 m!st satisf" these conditions independentl"' &e have a total
of possible valid triples#
%ol!tion ,
and # 2" loo0ing at the prime factori4ation of ' m!st have
a factor of # If has a factor of ' then there are t&o cases/ either (1* or ' or (,* one
of and has a factor of and the other a factor of # $or case 1' the other n!mber &ill be in the
form of ' so there are possible s!ch n!mbersB since this can be either or there
are a total of possibilities# $or case ,' and are in the form of and '
&ith and (if the" &ere e!al to 1' it &o!ld overlap &ith case 1*# +h!s' there
are cases#
If does not have a factor of ' then at least one of and m!st be ' and both m!st have a
factor of # +hen' there are sol!tions possible 6!st considering ' and a total
of possibilities# M!ltipl"ing b" three' as ' there are # +ogether'
that ma0es sol!tions for #
Problem
-hat is the largest positive integer for &hich there is a !ni!e integer s!ch
that .
%ol!tion 1
M!ltipl"ing o!t all of the denominators' &e get/
%ince ' # Also' ' so #
+h!s' # is !ni!e if it is &ithin a ma)im!m range of ' so #
%ol!tion ,
$lip all of the fractions for
Contin!e as in %ol!tion 1#
Problem
+riangle has right angle at ' and contains a point for &hich ' '
and # $ind #
%ol!tion
3et # %ince ' each of them is e!al to # 2" the 3a& of
Cosines applied to triangles ' and at their respective angles '
remembering that ' &e have
+hen b" the P"thagorean +heorem' ' so
and
1987 AIME Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
Al &al0s do&n to the bottom of an escalator that is moving !p and he co!nts 17A steps# Dis friend'
2ob' &al0s !p to the top of the escalator and co!nts 77 steps# If Al8s speed of &al0ing (in steps per
!nit time* is three times 2ob8s &al0ing speed' ho& man" steps are visible on the escalator at a given
time. (Ass!me that this val!e is constant#*
%ol!tions
Solution 1
3et the total n!mber of steps be ' the speed of the escalator be and the speed of 2ob be #
In the time it too0 2ob to climb !p the escalator he sa& 77 steps and also climbed the entire escalator#
+h!s the contrib!tion of the escalator m!st have been an addition steps# %ince 2ob and the
escalator &ere both moving at a constant speed over the time it too0 2ob to climb' the ratio of their
distances covered is the same as the ratio of their speeds' so #
%imilarl"' in the time it too0 Al to &al0 do&n the escalator he sa& 17A steps' so the escalator m!st
have moved steps in that time# +h!s or #
E!ating the t&o val!es of &e have and so
and and ' the ans&er#
Solution 2
Again' let the total n!mber of steps be ' the speed of the escalator be and the speed of 2ob be
(all "per !nit time"*#
+hen this can be interpreted as a classic chasing problem/ 2ob is "behind" b" steps' and since he
moves at a pace of relative to the escalator' it &ill ta0e time to get to the top#
%imilarl"' Al &ill ta0e time to get to the bottom#
$rom these t&o e!ations' &e arrive
at
' &here &e have !sed the fact that (the
proportion manip!lations are motivated b" the desire to isolate ' prompting the isolation of the
on one side' and the fact that if &e co!ld cancel o!t the 8s' then the 8s in the n!merator and
denominator &o!ld cancel o!t' res!lting in an e!ation &ith b" itself*#
Problem
$ind the largest possible val!e of for &hich is e)pressible as the s!m of consec!tive positive
integers#
%ol!tion
3et !s &rite do&n one s!ch s!m' &ith terms and first term /
#
+h!s so is a divisor of # Do&ever' beca!se &e
have so # +h!s' &e are loo0ing for large factors
of &hich are less than # +he largest s!ch factor is clearl" B for this val!e of
&e do indeed have the valide)pression ' for &hich #
1987 AIME Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
3et be the smallest integer &hose c!be root is of the form ' &here is a positive
integer and is a positive real n!mber less than # $ind #
%ol!tion
In order to 0eep as small as possible' &e need to ma0e as small as possible#
# %ince
and is an integer' &e m!st have
that # +his means that the smallest possible sho!ld be !ite
a bit smaller than 1AAA# In partic!lar' sho!ld be less than 1' so
and # ' so &e m!st have # %ince &e &ant to
minimi4e ' &e ta0e # +hen for an" positive val!e of
' ' so it is possible for to be less than # Do&ever' &e
still have to ma0e s!re a s!fficientl" small e)ists#
In light of the e!ation ' &e need to choose as small
as possible to ins!re a small eno!gh # +he smallest possible val!e for is 1'
&hen # +hen for this val!e of ' ' and &e8re set#
+he ans&er is #
Problem
A given se!ence of distinct real n!mbers can be p!t in ascending order b" means of
one or more "b!bble passes"# A b!bble pass thro!gh a given se!ence consists of comparing the
second term &ith the first term' and e)changing them if and onl" if the second term is smaller' then
comparing the third term &ith the second term and e)changing them if and onl" if the third term is
smaller' and so on in order' thro!gh comparing the last term' ' &ith its c!rrent predecessor and
e)changing them if and onl" if the last term is smaller#
+he e)ample belo& sho&s ho& the se!ence 1' 9' 8' 7 is transformed into the se!ence 1' 8' 7' 9 b"
one b!bble pass# +he n!mbers compared at each step are !nderlined#
%!ppose that ' and that the terms of the initial se!ence are distinct from one
another and are in random order# 3et ' in lo&est terms' be the probabilit" that the n!mber that
begins as &ill end !p' after one b!bble pass' in the place# $ind #
%ol!tion
If an" of is larger than ' one of these n!mbers &ill be compared &ith on the 19th
step of the first b!bble pass and &ill be moved bac0 to the 19th position# +h!s' m!st be the
largest of the first ,A terms# In addition' m!st be larger than b!t smaller
than in order that it move right to the 1Ath position b!t then not contin!e moving right to the
11st#
+h!s' o!r problem can be restated/ -hat is the probabilit" that in a se!ence of 11 distinct real
n!mbers' the largest is in position 11 and the second-largest is in position ,A (the other ,9 n!mbers
are irrelevant*.
+his is m!ch easier to solve/ there are &a"s to order the first thirt"-one n!mbers and &a"s to
arrange them so that the largest n!mber is in the 11st position and the second-largest is in the ,Ath#
+his gives !s a desired probabilit" of ' so the ans&er is #
Problem
Comp!te
#
%ol!tion
+he %ophie Eermain Identit" states that can
be factori4ed as # Each of the terms is in the form of #
Fsing %ophie-Eermain' &e get
that
#
Almost all of the terms cancel o!tG -e are left &ith #
Problem
%!ares and are inscribed in right triangle ' as sho&n in the fig!res belo&#
$ind if area and area #
%ol!tion
2eca!se all the triangles in the fig!re are similar to triangle ' it8s a good idea to !se area ratios#
In the diagram above' Dence' and # Additionall"' the
area of triangle is e!al to both and
%etting the e!ations e!al and solving for ' #
+herefore' # Do&ever' is e!al to the area of triangle
G +his means that the ratio bet&een the areas and is ' and the ratio bet&een the sides
is # As a res!lt' # -e no& need to find
the val!e of ' beca!se #
3et denote the height to the h"poten!se of triangle # @otice that # (+he
height of decreased b" the corresponding height of *
+h!s' #
2eca!se ' #
1988
Problem
Hne commerciall" available ten-b!tton loc0 ma" be opened b" depressing -- in an" order -- the
correct five b!ttons# +he sample sho&n belo& has as its combination# %!ppose that
these loc0s are redesigned so that sets of as man" as nine b!ttons or as fe& as one b!tton co!ld
serve as combinations# Do& man" additional combinations &o!ld this allo&.
%ol!tion
C!rrentl" there are possible combinations# -ith an" integer from to ' the n!mber of &a"s
to choose a set of b!ttons is # @o& &e can !se the identit" # %o the
n!mber of additional combinations is
6!st #
Problem
$or an" positive integer ' let denote the s!are of the s!m of the digits of # $or '
let # $ind #
%ol!tion
-e see that
@ote that this revolves bet&een the t&o n!mbers#
Problem
$ind if #
%ol!tion
:aise both as e)ponents &ith base 8/
A !ic0 e)planation of the steps/ Hn the 1st step' &e !se the propert" of logarithms that #
Hn the ,nd step' &e !se the fact that # Hn the 1rd step' &e !se the change of
base form!la' &hich states for arbitrar" #
Problem
%!ppose that for # %!ppose f!rther
that -hat is the smallest possible val!e
of .
%ol!tion
%ince then
%o # -e no& 6!st need to find an e)ample &here / s!ppose
and B then on the left hand side &e
have # Hn the right hand side' &e
have ' and so the e!ation can hold for #
Problem
3et ' in lo&est terms' be the probabilit" that a randoml" chosen positive divisor of is an
integer m!ltiple of # $ind #
%ol!tion
' so it has factors# H!t of these' &e onl" &ant those
factors of &hich are divisible b" B it is eas" to dra& abi6ection to the n!mber of factors
that has' &hich is # H!r probabilit" is
' and #
Problem
It is possible to place positive integers into the vacant t&ent"-one s!ares of the s!are sho&n
belo& so that the n!mbers in each ro& and col!mn form arithmetic se!ences# $ind the n!mber that
m!st occ!p" the vacant s!are mar0ed b" the asteris0 (I*#
%ol!tion
Solution 1 (specific)
3et the coordinates of the s!are at the bottom left be ' the s!are to the right ' etc#
3abel the leftmost col!mn (from bottom to top* and the bottom-most ro& (from left
to right* # H!r method &ill be to !se the given n!mbers to set !p e!ations to solve
for and ' and then calc!late #
-e can comp!te the s!ares at the intersections of t&o e)isting n!mbers in terms of and B t&o
s!ch e!ations &ill give !s the val!es of and # Hn the fo!rth ro& from the bottom' the common
difference is ' so the s!are at has a val!e of # Hn the third col!mn from the
left' the common difference is ' so that s!are also has a val!e
of # E!ating' &e get #
@o& &e comp!te the s!are # 2" ro&s' this val!e is simpl" the average of and ' so it is
e!al to # 2" col!mns' the common difference is ' so o!r val!e
is # E!ating' #
%olving
gives ' # @o& it is simple to calc!late # Hne &a" to do it is to see that
has and has ' so has # @o&'
has ' so #
Solution 2 (general)
$irst' let the n!mber to be placed in the first col!mn' fo!rth ro&# 3et the n!mber to be
placed in the second col!mn' fifth ro&# -e can determine the entire first col!mn and fifth ro& in terms
of and /
@e)t' let the n!mber to be placed in the second col!mn' fo!rth ro&# -e can determine
the entire second col!mn and fo!rth ro& in terms of ' ' and /
-e have no& determined at least t&o val!es in each ro& and col!mn# -e can finish the table &itho!t
introd!cing an" more variables/
-e no& have a s"stem of e!ations#
%olving' &e find that # +he n!mber in the s!are mar0ed b" the asteris0
is
Problem
In triangle ' ' and the altit!de from divides into segments of length
1 and 17# -hat is the area of triangle .
%ol!tion
3et be the intersection of the altit!de &ith ' and be the length of the altit!de# -itho!t loss of
generalit"' let and # +hen and # Fsing
the tangent s!m form!la'
+he postive val!e of ' so the area is #
Problem
+he f!nction ' defined on the set of ordered pairs of positive integers' satisfies the follo&ing
properties/ Calc!late #
%ol!tion
%ince all of the f!nction8s properties contain a rec!rsive definition e)cept for the first one' &e 0no&
that in order to obtain an integer ans&er# %o' &e have to transform to this
form b" e)ploiting the other properties# +he second one doesn8t help !s immediatel"' so &e &ill !se
the third one#
@ote that
:epeating the process several times'
%ol!tion ,
@otice that satisfies all three properties/
Clearl"' and #
Fsing the identities and ' &e have/
#
Dence' is a sol!tion to the f!nctional e!ation#
%ince this is an AIME problem' there is e)actl" one correct ans&er' and th!s' e)actl" one possible
val!e of #
+herefore' #
Problem
$ind the smallest positive integer &hose c!be ends in #
%ol!tion
A little bit of chec0ing tells !s that the !nits digit m!st be ,# @o& o!r c!be m!st be in the form
of B !sing the binomial theorem gives !s # %ince &e are
loo0ing for the tens digit' &e get # +his is tr!e if the tens digit
is either or # Case&or0/
/ +hen o!r c!be m!st be in the form

of # Dence the lo&est
possible val!e for the h!ndreds digit is ' and so is a valid sol!tion#
/ +hen o!r c!be is #

+he lo&est possible val!e for the h!ndreds digit is ' and &e get ' &hich is o!r minim!m#
+he ans&er is #
Problem
A conve) pol"hedron has for its faces 1, s!ares' 8 reg!lar he)agons' and 9 reg!lar octagons# At
each verte) of the pol"hedron one s!are' one he)agon' and one octagon meet# Do&
man" segments 6oining vertices of the pol"hedron lie in the interior of the pol"hedron rather than
along an edge or a face.
%ol!tion 1
+he n!mber of segments 6oining the vertices of the pol"hedron is # -e m!st no&
s!btract o!t those segments that lie along an edge or a face#
%ince ever" verte) of the pol"hedron lies on e)actl" one verte) of a s!are/he)agon/octagon' &e have
that #
Each verte) is formed b" the intersection of 1 edges# %ince ever" edge is co!nted t&ice' once at each
of its endpoints' the n!mber of edges is #
Each of the segments l"ing on a face of the pol"hedron m!st be a diagonal of that face# Each s!are
contrib!tes diagonals' each he)agon ' and each octagon # +he n!mber of
diagonals is th!s #
%!btracting' &e get that the n!mber of space diagonals is #
%ol!tion ,
-e first find the n!mber of vertices on the pol"hedron/ +here are 5 corners per s!are' 9 corners per
he)agon' and 8 corners per octagon# Each verte) is &here 1 corners coincide' so &e co!nt the corners
and divide b" 1# #
-e 0no& that all vertices loo0 the same (from the problem statement*' so &e sho!ld find the n!mber
of line segments originating from a verte)' and m!ltipl" that b" the n!mber of vertices' and divide b"
, (beca!se each space diagonal is co!nted t&ice beca!se it has t&o endpoints*#
Co!nting the vertices that are on the same face as an arbitrar" verte)' &e find that there are 11
vertices that aren8t possible endpoints of a line originating from the verte) in the middle of the
diagram# =o! can dra& a diagram to co!nt this better/ %ince 11 aren8t possible
endpoints' that means that there are 17 possible endpoints per verte)# +he total n!mber of segments
6oining vertices that aren8t on the same face is
%ol!tion 1
%ince at each verte) one s!are' one he)agon' and one octagon meet' then there are a total
of vertices# +his means that for each segment &e have choices of
vertices for the first endpoint of the segment#
%ince each verte) is the meeting point of a s!are' octagon' and he)agon' then there are other
vertices of the s!are that are not the first one' and connecting the first point to an" of these &o!ld
res!lt in a segment that lies on a face or edge#
%imilarl"' there are points on the ad6acent he)agon and points on ad6oining octagon that' &hen
connected to the first point' &o!ld res!lt in a diagonal or edge#
Do&ever' the s!are and he)agon share a verte)' as do the s!are and octagon' and the he)agon and
octagon#
%!btracting these from the vertices &e have left to choose from' and adding the that &e co!nted
t&ice' &e get
-e over-co!nted' ho&ever' as choosing verte) then is the same thing as choosing then ' so
&e m!st divide #
Alternativel"' &e co!ld have noted from the diagram/
H!r first choice &o!ld be the verte) in the middle (there are of these*' and o!r second choice
&o!ld be an" of the remaining 57 points min!s the 1, that share a face &ith o!t chosen verte)#
%!mming these &e get And &e divide b" as before to get
Problem
3et be comple) n!mbers# A line in the comple) plane is called a mean line for
the points if contains points (comple) n!mbers* s!ch that
$or the n!mbers ' '
' ' and ' there is a !ni!e mean line &ith -intercept 1# $ind
the slope of this mean line#
%ol!tion
Each lies on the comple) line ' so &e can re&rite this as
Matching the real parts and the imaginar" parts' &e get that and
# %implif"ing the second s!mmation' &e find that ' and s!bstit!ting'
the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
-e 0no& that
And beca!se the s!m of the 7 8s m!st cancel this o!t'
-e &rite the n!mbers in the form and &e 0no& that
and
+he line is of e!ation # %!bstit!ting in the polar coordinates' &e have #
%!mming all 7 of the e!ations given for each ' &e get
%olving for ' the slope' &e get
Problem
3et be an interior point of triangle and e)tend lines from the vertices thro!gh to the
opposite sides# 3et ' ' ' and denote the lengths of the segments indicated in the fig!re# $ind the
prod!ct if and #
%ol!tion
Call the cevians A?' 2E' and C$# Fsing area ratios ( and have the same base*' &e
have/
%imilaril"' and #
+hen'
+he identit" is a form of Ceva8s +heorem#
Pl!gging in ' &e get
Problem
$ind if and are integers s!ch that is a factor of #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et8s &or0 bac0&ardsG 3et and let be the pol"nomial s!ch
that #
$irst' clearl" the constant term of m!st be # @o&' &e
have ' &here is some coefficient# Do&ever'
since has no term' it m!st be tr!e that #
3et8s find no&# @otice that all &e care abo!t in finding is
that #
+herefore' # Fndergoing a similar process' ' ' ' and &e see a nice
pattern# +he coefficients of are 6!st the $ibonacci se!ence &ith alternating signsG
+herefore' ' &here denotes the 19th $ibonnaci n!mber and #
Solution 2
3et represent the th n!mber in the $ibonacci se!ence# +herefore'
+he above !ses the similarit" bet&een the $ibonacci rec!rsive definition' '
and the pol"nomial #
and
Solution 3
-e can long divide and search for a patternB then the remainder &o!ld be set to 4ero to solve for #
-riting o!t a fe& e)amples !ic0l" sho&s !s that the remainders after each s!btraction follo& the
$ibonacci se!ence# Carr"ing o!t this pattern' &e find that the remainder
is # %ince the coefficient of m!st be 4ero' this gives !s
t&o e!ations' and # %olving these t&o as above' &e get
that #
+here are vario!s similar sol!tions &hich "ield the same pattern' s!ch as repeated s!bstit!tion
of into the larger pol"nomial#
Solution 4
+he roots of are (the golden ratio* and # +hese t&o m!st also be roots
of # +h!s' &e have t&o e!ations/
and # %!btract these t&o and divide b" to
get # 2!t the form!la for the nth fibonacci
n!mber is (=o! ma" &ant to research this*# +h!s' &e have ' so
since and are relativel" prime' and the ans&er m!st be a positive integer less than '
&e can g!ess that it e!als #
Problem
3et be the graph of ' and denote b" the reflection of in the line # 3et
the e!ation of be &ritten in the form
$ind the prod!ct #
%ol!tion 1
Eiven a point on ' &e loo0 to find a form!la for on # 2oth points lie on a line
that is perpendic!lar to ' so the slope of is #
+h!s # Also' the midpoint of ' ' lies
on the line # +herefore #
%olving these t&o e!ations' &e find and # %!bstit!ting these points
into the e!ation of ' &e get ' &hich &hen e)panded
becomes #
+h!s' #
%ol!tion ,
+he as"mptotes of are given b" and # @o& if &e represent the line b" the
comple) n!mber ' then &e find the direction of the reflection of the as"mptote b"
m!ltipl"ing this b" ' getting # +herefore' the as"mptotes of are given b"
and #
@o& to find the e!ation of the h"perbola' &e m!ltipl" the t&o e)pressions together to get one side of
the e!ation/ # At this point' the right hand side of the
e!ation &ill be determined b" pl!gging the point ' &hich is !nchanged b" the reflection'
into the e)pression# 2!t this is not necessar"# -e see that ' ' so #
Problem
In an office at vario!s times d!ring the da"' the boss gives the secretar" a letter to t"pe' each time
p!tting the letter on top of the pile in the secretar"8s in-bo)# -hen there is time' the secretar" ta0es
the top letter off the pile and t"pes it# +here are nine letters to be t"ped d!ring the da"' and the boss
delivers them in the order #
-hile leaving for l!nch' the secretar" tells a colleag!e that letter has alread" been t"ped' b!t sa"s
nothing else abo!t the morning8s t"ping# +he colleag!e &onders &hich of the nine letters remain to be
t"ped after l!nch and in &hat order the" &ill be t"ped# 2ased !pon the above information' ho& man"
s!ch after-l!nch t"ping orders are possible. (+hat there are no letters left to be t"ped is one of the
possibilities#*
%ol!tion
:e-stating the problem for clarit"' let be a set arranged in increasing order# At an" time an element
can be appended to the end of ' or the last element of can be removed# +he !estion as0s for the
n!mber of different orders in &hich the all of the remaining elements of can be removed' given
that had been removed alread"#
%ince had alread" been added to the pile' the n!mbers had alread" been added at some time
to the pileB might or might not have been added "et# %o c!rrentl" is a s!bset of '
possibl" &ith at the end# Eiven that has elements' there are intervals for to be
inserted' or might have alread" been placed' giving different possibilities#
+h!s' the ans&er is
#
1989
Problem
Comp!te #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et8s call o!r fo!r consec!tive integers # @otice
that #
+h!s' #
Solution 2
@ote that the fo!r n!mbers to m!ltipl" are s"mmetric &ith the center at # M!ltipl" the s"mmetric
pairs to get and
# #
Solution 3
+he last digit !nder the radical is ' so the s!are root m!st either end in or '
since means # Additionall"' the n!mber m!st be near '
narro&ing the reasonable choices to and #
Contin!ing the logic' the ne)t-to-last digit !nder the radical is the same as the last digit
of ' &hich is # J!ic0 comp!tation sho&s that ends in ' &hile ends in #
+h!s' the ans&er is #
Solution 4
%imilar to %ol!tion 1 above' call the consec!tive
integers to ma0e !se of s"mmetr"# @ote that itself
is not an integer - in this case' # +he e)pression
becomes # ?istrib!ting each pair of difference of
s!ares first' and then distrib!ting the t&o res!lting !adratics and adding the constant'
gives # +he inside is a perfect s!are trinomial' since # It8s e!al
to ' &hich simplifies to # =o! can pl!g in the val!e of from there' or f!rther
simplif" to ' &hich is easier to comp!te# Either &a"' pl!gging in
gives #
Problem
+en points are mar0ed on a circle# Do& man" distinct conve) pol"gons of three or more sides can be
dra&n !sing some (or all* of the ten points as vertices.
%ol!tion
An" s!bset of the ten points &ith three or more members can be made into e)actl" one s!ch pol"gon#
+h!s' &e need to co!nt the n!mber of s!ch s!bsets# +here are total s!bsets of a ten-
member set' b!t of these have A members' have 1 member and
have , members# +h!s the ans&er is #
Problem
%!ppose is a positive integer and is a single digit in base 1A# $ind if
%ol!tion
:epeating decimals represent rational n!mbers# +o fig!re o!t &hich rational n!mber' &e s!m
an infinite geometric series' #
+h!s so # %ince 77A and 17 are relativel"
prime' m!st be divisible b" 17' and the onl" digit for &hich this is possible is #
+h!s and #
Problem
If are consec!tive positive integers s!ch that is a perfect
s!are and is a perfect c!be' &hat is the smallest possible val!e of .
%ol!tion
%ince the middle term of an arithmetic progression &ith an odd n!mber of terms is the average of the
series' &e 0no& and # +h!s' m!st be in the form
of based !pon the first part and in the form of based !pon the second part' &ith
and denoting an integers# is minimi4ed if itKs prime factori4ation contains onl" ' and since there
is a c!bed term in ' m!st be a factor of # ' &hich &or0s as the sol!tion#
Problem
-hen a certain biased coin is flipped five times' the probabilit" of getting heads e)actl" once is not
e!al to and is the same as that of getting heads e)actl" t&ice# 3et ' in lo&est terms' be the
probabilit" that the coin comes !p heads in e)actl" o!t of flips# $ind #
%ol!tion
?enote the probabilit" of getting a heads in one flip of the biased coins as # 2ased !pon the problem'
note that # After canceling o!t terms' &e get '
so # +he ans&er &e are loo0ing for is '
so #
Problem
+&o s0aters' Allie and 2illie' are at points and ' respectivel"' on a flat' fro4en la0e#
+he distance bet&een and is meters# Allie leaves and s0ates at a speed of meters per
second on a straight line that ma0es a angle &ith # At the same time Allie leaves ' 2illie
leaves at a speed of meters per second and follo&s the straight path that prod!ces the earliest
possible meeting of the t&o s0aters' given their speeds# Do& man" meters does Allie s0ate before
meeting 2illie.
%ol!tion
3abel the point of intersection as # %ince ' and # According to the la& of
cosines'
%ince &e are loo0ing for the earliest possible intersection' seconds are needed#
+h!s' meters is the sol!tion#
Problem
If the integer is added to each of the n!mbers ' ' and ' one obtains the s!ares of three
consec!tive terms of an arithmetic series# $ind #
%ol!tion
Call the terms of the arithmetic progression ' ma0ing their
s!ares #
-e 0no& that and ' and s!btracting these t&o &e
get (1*# %imilarl"' !sing and '
s!btraction "ields (,*#
%!btracting the first e!ation from the second' &e get ' so # %!bstit!ting bac0&ards
"ields that and #
Problem
Ass!me that are real n!mbers s!ch that
$ind the val!e of #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
@otice that beca!se &e are given a s"stem of e!ations &ith !n0no&ns' the
val!es are not fi)edB indeed one can ta0e an" fo!r of the variables and assign them
arbitrar" val!es' &hich &ill in t!rn fi) the last three#
Eiven this' &e s!spect there is a &a" to derive the last e)pression as a linear combination of the three
given e)pressions# 3et the coefficent of in the first e!ation be B then its coefficients in the
second e!ation is and the third as # -e need to find a &a" to s!m these to
ma0e Lthis is in fact a specific approach generali4ed b" the ne)t sol!tion belo&M#
+h!s' &e hope to find constants satisf"ing
# $HI3ing o!t all of the terms' &e get
Comparing coefficents gives !s the three e!ation s"stem/
%!btracting the second and third e!ations "ields that ' so and # It follo&s that
the desired e)pression is #
Solution 2
@otice that &e ma" re&rite the e!ations in the more compact form as/
and
&here and is &hat &e8re tr"ing to find#
@o& consider the pol"nomial given b" (&e are onl" treating the as
coefficients*#
@otice that is in fact a !adratic# -e are given as and are as0ed to
find # Fsing the concept of finite differences (a protot"pe of differentiation* &e find that the second
differences of consec!tive val!es is constant' so that b" arithmetic operations &e find #
Alternativel"' appl"ing finite differences' one
obtains #
Solution 3
@otice that
I8ll n!mber the e!ations for convenience
3et the coefficient of in be # +hen the coefficient of in is etc#
+herefore'
%o
Solution 4
@otice s!bracting the first e!ation from the second "ields +hen'
repeating for the ,nd and 1rd e!ations' and then s!btracting the res!lt from the first obtained
e!ation' &e get # Adding this t&ice to the first obtained e!ation
gives difference of the desired e!ation and 1rd e!ation' &hich is ,11# Adding to the 1rd e!ation'
&e get
Problem
Hne of E!ler8s con6ect!res &as disproved in the 199As b" three American mathematicians &hen the"
sho&ed there &as a positive integer s!ch that # $ind the val!e of #
%ol!tion
@ote that is even' since the consists of t&o odd and t&o even n!mbers# 2" $ermat8s 3ittle
+heorem' &e 0no& is congr!ent to mod!lo 7# Dence'
Contin!ing' &e e)amine the e!ation mod!lo 1'
+h!s' is divisible b" three and leaves a remainder of fo!r &hen divided b" 7# It8s obvio!s
that ' so the onl" possibilities are or # It !ic0l" becomes apparent that
175 is m!ch too large' so m!st be #
Problem
3et ' ' be the three sides of a triangle' and let ' ' ' be the angles opposite them#
If ' find
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-e can dra& the altit!de to ' to get t&o right triangles# ' from the definition of
the cotangent# $rom the definition of area' ' so #
@o& &e eval!ate the n!merator/
$rom the 3a& of Cosines and the sine area form!la'
+hen #
Solution 2
2" the 3a& of Cosines'
@o&
Solution 3
Fse 3a& of cosines to give !s or therefore # @e)t' &e
are going to p!t all the sin8s in term of # -e get # +herefore' &e
get #
@e)t' !se 3a& of Cosines to give !s # +herefore'
# Also' # Dence' #
3astl"' # +herefore' &e get #
@o&' # After !sing ' &e
get #
Problem
A sample of 1,1 integers is given' each bet&een 1 and 1AAA incl!sive' &ith repetitions allo&ed# +he
sample has a !ni!e mode (most fre!ent val!e*# 3et be the difference bet&een the mode and
the arithmetic mean of the sample# -hat is the largest possible val!e of . ($or real ' is
the greatest integer less than or e!al to #*
%ol!tion
3et the mode be ' &hich &e let appear times# -e let the arithmetic mean be ' and the s!m
of the n!mbers be # +hen
As is essentiall" independent of ' it follo&s that &e &ish to minimi4e or ma)imi4e (in other
&ords' *# Indeed' is s"mmetric abo!t B consider replacing all of
n!mbers in the sample &ith ' and the val!e of remains the same# %o' &itho!t loss of
generalit"' let # @o&' &e &o!ld li0e to ma)imi4e the !antit"
contains n!mbers that ma" appear at most times# +herefore' to ma)imi4e ' &e
&o!ld have appear times' appear times' and so forth# -e can thereb"
represent as the s!m of arithmetic series of # -e
let ' so
&here denotes the s!m of the remaining n!mbers'
namel" #
At this point' &e introd!ce the cr!de estimate
L1M
that ' so and
E)panding (ignoring the constants' as these do not affect &hich "ields a ma)im!m* and scaling' &e
&ish to minimi4e the e)pression # 2"AM-EM' &e
have ' &ith e!alit" coming &hen '
so # %!bstit!ting this res!lt and some arithmetic gives an ans&er of #
In less formal lang!age' it !ic0l" becomes clear after some trial and error that in o!r sample' there
&ill be val!es e!al to one and val!es each of # It is fairl" eas" to find
the ma)im!m# +r" ' &hich "ields ' ' &hich "ields ' ' &hich "ields '
and ' &hich "ields # +he ma)im!m difference occ!rred at ' so the ans&er is #
@otes
N In fact' &hen (&hich some simple testing sho&s that the ma)im!m &ill occ!r aro!nd*'
it t!rns o!t that is an integer an"&a"' so indeed #
Problem
3et be a tetrahedron &ith ' ' ' ' '
and ' as sho&n in the fig!re# 3et be the distance bet&een the midpoints of edges
and # $ind #
%ol!tion
Call the midpoint of and the midpoint of # is the median of triangle # +he
form!la for the length of a median is ' &here ' ' and are the side
lengths of triangle' and is the side that is bisected b" median # +he form!la is a direct res!lt of
the 3a& of Cosines applied t&ice &ith the angles formed b" the median (%te&art8s +heorem*#
-e first find ' &hich is the median of #
@o& &e m!st find ' &hich is the median of #
@o& that &e 0no& the sides of ' &e proceed to find the length of #
Problem
3et be a s!bset of s!ch that no t&o members of differ b" or # -hat is the
largest n!mber of elements can have.
%ol!tion
-e first sho& that &e can choose at most 7 n!mbers from s!ch that no t&o n!mbers
have a difference of or # -e ta0e the smallest n!mber to be ' &hich r!les o!t # @o& &e can
ta0e at most one from each of the pairs/ ' ' ' # @o&' ' b!t
beca!se this isn8t an e)act m!ltiple of ' &e need to consider the last n!mbers#
@o& let8s e)amine # If &e pic0 from the first n!mbers' then &e8re
allo&ed to pic0 ' ' ' ' # +his means &e get 1A members from the
,A n!mbers# H!r ans&er is th!s #
Problem
Eiven a positive integer ' it can be sho&n that ever" comple) n!mber of the form ' &here
and are integers' can be !ni!el" e)pressed in the base !sing the integers as
digits# +hat is' the e!ation
is tr!e for a !ni!e choice of non-negative integer and digits chosen from the
set ' &ith # -e &rite
to denote the base e)pansion of # +here are onl" finitel" man" integers that
have fo!r-digit e)pansions
$ind the s!m of all s!ch #
%ol!tion
$irst' &e find the first three po&ers of /
%o &e need to solve the diophantine e!ation #
+he minim!m the left hand side can go is -75' so ' so &e tr" cases/
Case 1/
+he onl" sol!tion to that is #
Case ,/
+he onl" sol!tion to that is #
Case 1/
cannot be A' or else &e do not have a fo!r digit n!mber#
%o &e have the fo!r digit integers and ' and &e need to find the s!m of
all integers that can be e)pressed b" one of those#
/
-e pl!g the first three digits into base 1A to get # +he s!m of the integers in that form
is #
/
-e pl!g the first three digits into base 1A to get # +he s!m of the integers in that form
is # +he ans&er is #
Problem
Point is inside # 3ine segments ' ' and are dra&n &ith on '
on ' and on (see the fig!re belo&*# Eiven that ' ' ' '
and ' find the area of #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
2eca!se &e8re given three conc!rrent cevians and their lengths' it seems ver" tempting to appl" Mass
points# -e immediatel" see that ' ' and # @o&' &e recall that the
masses on the three sides of the triangle m!st be balanced o!t' so and #
+h!s' and #
:ecalling that ' &e see that and is a median to in #
Appl"ing %te&art8s +heorem' ' and # @o& notice
that ' beca!se both triangles share the same base and the #
Appl"ing Deron8s form!la on triangle &ith sides ' ' and '
and #
Solution 2
Fsing a different form of Ceva8s +heorem' &e have
%olving and ' &e obtain and #
3et be the point on s!ch that # %ince and
' # (Midline +heorem*
Also' since and ' &e see that ' ' etc# (Midline +heorem*
%imilarl"' &e have ( * and th!s #
is a right triangle' so ( * is # +herefore' the area
of # Fsing area
ratio' #
Solution 3
2eca!se the length of cevian is !n0no&n' &e can e)amine &hat happens &hen &e e)tend it or
decrease its length and see that it simpl" changes the angles bet&een the cevians# -o!ldn8t it be
great if it the length of &as s!ch that . 3et8s first ass!me it8s a right angle and
hope that ever"thing &or0s o!t#
E)tend to so that # +he res!lt is that ' ' and
beca!se # @o& &e see that if &e are able to sho& that ' that
is ' then o!r right angle ass!mption &ill be tr!e#
Appl" the P"thagorean +heorem on to get ' so
and # @o&' &e appl" the 3a& of Cosines on triangles and #
3et # @otice that and ' so &e get t&o
nice e!ations#

%olving' ("a"G*#
@o&' the area is eas" to find# #
1990
199A AIME Problems/Problem 1
Problem
+he increasing se!ence consists of all positive integers that are neither
the s!are nor the c!be of a positive integer# $ind the 7AAth term of this se!ence#
%ol!tion
2eca!se there aren8t that man" perfect s!ares or c!bes' let8s loo0 for the smallest perfect s!are
greater than # +his happens to be # @otice that there are s!ares and c!bes less
than or e!al to ' b!t and are both s!ares and c!bes# +h!s' there
are n!mbers in o!r se!ence less than # Magicall"' &e &ant the
term' so o!r ans&er is the smallest non-s!are and non-c!be less than ' &hich is #
199A AIME Problems/Problem ,
Problem
$ind the val!e of #
%ol!tion
%!ppose that is in the form of # $HI3ing "ields
that # +his implies that and e!al one of # +he
possible sets are and B the latter can be discarded since the s!are root m!st be
positive# +his means that # :epeating this for ' the onl"
feasible possibilit" is #
:e&riting' &e get # Fsing the difference of c!bes' &e get
that
#
Problem
3et be a reg!lar and be a reg!lar s!ch that each interior angle of
is as large as each interior angle of # -hat8s the largest possible val!e of .
%ol!tion
+he form!la for the interior angle of a reg!lar sided pol"gon is #
+h!s' # Cross m!ltipl"ing and simplif"ing' &e get # Cross
m!ltipl" and combine li0e terms again to
"ield # %olving for ' &e
get #
and ' ma0ing the n!merator of the fraction positive# +o ma0e
the denominator positive' B the largest possible val!e of is #
Problem
$ind the positive sol!tion to
%ol!tion
-e co!ld clear o!t the denominators b" m!ltipl"ing' tho!gh that &o!ld be !nnecessaril" tedio!s#
+o simplif" the e!ation' s!bstit!te (the denominator of the first fraction*# -e
can re&rite the e!ation as # M!ltipl"ing o!t the denominators no&' &e
get/
%implif"ing' ' so # :e-
s!bstit!ting' # +he positive root is #
Problem
3et be the smallest positive integer that is a m!ltiple of and has e)actl" positive integral
divisors' incl!ding and itself# $ind #
%ol!tion
+he prime factori4ation of # $or to have e)actl" integral
divisors' &e need to have s!ch that # %ince ' t&o of
the prime factors m!st be and # +o minimi4e ' &e can introd!ce a third prime factor' # Also to
minimi4e ' &e &ant ' the greatest of all the factors' to be raised to the least po&er#
+herefore' and #
Problem
A biologist &ants to calc!late the n!mber of fish in a la0e# Hn Ma" 1 she catches a random sample of
9A fish' tags them' and releases them# Hn %eptember 1 she catches a random sample of 7A fish and
finds that 1 of them are tagged# +o calc!late the n!mber of fish in the la0e on Ma" 1' she ass!mes
that ,7O of these fish are no longer in the la0e on %eptember 1 (beca!se of death and emigrations*'
that 5AO of the fish &ere not in the la0e Ma" 1 (beca!se of births and immigrations*' and that the
n!mber of !ntagged fish and tagged fish in the %eptember 1 sample are representative of the total
pop!lation# -hat does the biologist calc!late for the n!mber of fish in the la0e on Ma" 1.
%ol!tion
Hf the fish ca!ght in %eptember' &ere not there in Ma"' so fish &ere there in Ma"# %ince
the percentage of tagged fish in %eptember is proportional to the percentage of tagged fish in
Ma"' #
(@ote the ,7O death rate does not affect the ans&er#*
Problem
A triangle has vertices ' ' and # +he e!ation of
the bisector of can be &ritten in the form # $ind #
%ol!tion
Fse the distance form!la to determine the lengths of each of the sides of the triangle# -e find that it
has lengths of side ' indicating that it is a right triangle# At this point' &e 6!st
need to find another point that lies on the bisector of #
Solution 1
Fse the angle bisector theorem to find that the angle bisector of divides into segments of
length # It follo&s that ' and
so #
+he desired ans&er is the e!ation of the line # has slope ' from &hich &e find the
e!ation to be # +herefore' #
Solution 2
E)tend to a point s!ch that # +his forms an isosceles triangle #
+he coordinates of ' !sing the slope of (&hich is *' can be determined to be #
%ince the angle bisector of m!st to!ch the midpoint of ' &e have fo!nd o!r
t&o points# -e reach the same ans&er of #
Solution 3
2" the angle bisector theorem as in sol!tion 1' &e find that # If &e dra& the right
triangle formed b" and the point directl" to the right of and belo& ' &e get
another (since the slope of is *# Fsing this' &e find that the hori4ontal pro6ection
of is and the vertical pro6ection of is #
+h!s' the angle bisector to!ches at the point ' from
&here &e contin!e &ith the first sol!tion#
Problem
In a shooting match' eight cla" targets are arranged in t&o hanging col!mns of three targets each and
one col!mn of t&o targets# A mar0sman is to brea0 all the targets according to the follo&ing r!les/
1* +he mar0sman first chooses a col!mn from &hich a target is to be bro0en#
,* +he mar0sman m!st then brea0 the lo&est remaining target in the chosen col!mn#
If the r!les are follo&ed' in ho& man" different orders can the eight targets be bro0en.
%ol!tion
%!ppose that the col!mns are labeled ' ' and # +he !estion is as0ing for the n!mber of &a"s to
shoot at the bottom target of the col!mns' or the n!mber of &a"s to arrange 1 s' 1 s' and , s in
a string of 8 letters#
Hf the 8 letters' 1 of them are s' ma0ing possibilities# Hf the remaining 7' 1 are s'
ma0ing possibilities# +he positions of the , s are then fi)ed# +h!s' there
are &a"s of shooting all of the targets#
Alternativel"' the n!mber of &a"s to arrange 1 s' 1 s' and , s in a string of 8 letters is e!al
to #
Problem
A fair coin is to be tossed times# 3et ' in lo&est terms' be the probabilit" that heads never occ!r
on consec!tive tosses# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Clearl"' at least tails m!st be flippedB an" less' then b" the pigeonhole principle there &ill be heads
that appear on consec!tive tosses#
Consider the case &hen tails occ!r# +he heads m!st fall bet&een the tails s!ch that no t&o heads fall
bet&een the same tails' and m!st fall in the positions labeled /
+here are si) slots for the heads to be placed' b!t onl" heads remaining# +h!s' there are
possible combinations of 7 heads# Contin!ing this pattern' &e find that there
are # +here are a total
of possible flips of coins' ma0ing the probabilit" # +h!s' o!r sol!tion
is #
Solution 2
Call the n!mber of &a"s of flipping coins and not receiving an" consec!tive heads # @otice that
tails m!st be received in at least one of the first t&o flips#
If the first coin flipped is a +' then the remaining flips m!st fall !nder one of the config!rations
of #
If the first coin flipped is a D' then the second coin m!st be a +# +here are then config!rations#
+h!s' # 2" co!nting' &e can establish that and #
+herefore' ' forming the $ibonacci se!ence# 3isting them o!t' &e
get ' and the 1Ath n!mber is # P!tting this over to find the
probabilit"' &e get #
199A AIME Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
+he sets and are both sets of comple) roots of !nit"# +he
set is also a set of comple) roots of !nit"# Do& man" distinct
elements are in .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he least common m!ltiple of and is ' so define # -e can &rite the n!mbers of
set as and of set as # can "ield at most different
val!es# All sol!tions for &ill be in the form of #
and are relativel" prime' and it is &ell 0no&n that for t&o relativel" prime integers ' the
largest n!mber that cannot be e)pressed as the s!m of m!ltiples of is # $or '
this is B ho&ever' &e can easil" see that the n!mbers to can be &ritten in terms of #
%ince the e)ponents are of roots of !nities' the" red!ce ' so all n!mbers in the range are
covered# +h!s the ans&er is #
Solution 2
+he 18 and 58th roots of can be fo!nd b" ?e Moivre8s +heorem# +he" are
and respectivel"' &here and and are integers from
to and to ' respectivel"#
# %ince the trigonometric f!nctions
are periodic ever" ' there are at most distinct elements in # As above' all of these
&ill &or0#
Problem
%omeone observed that # $ind the largest positive integer for &hich can be
e)pressed as the prod!ct of consec!tive positive integers#
%ol!tion 1
+he prod!ct of consec!tive integers can be &ritten as for some integer #
+h!s' ' from &hich it becomes evident that # %ince ' &e
can re&rite this
as #
$or ' &e get so # $or greater val!es of ' &e need to find the prod!ct
of consec!tive integers that e!als # can be appro)imated as ' &hich decreases
as increases# +h!s' is the greatest possible val!e to satisf" the given conditions#
%ol!tion ,
3et the largest of the (n-1* consec!tive positive integers be 0# Clearl" 0 cannot be less than or e!al
to n' else the prod!ct of (n-1* consec!tive positive integers &ill be less than nG#
Pe" observation/ @o& for n to be ma)im!m the smallest n!mber (or starting n!mber* of the (n-1*
consec!tive positive integers m!st be minim!m' impl"ing that 0 needs to be minim!m# 2!t the least 0
Q n is (nR1*#
%o the (n-1* consec!tive positive integers are (7' 9' 7S' nR1*
%o &e have (nR1*G /5G ; nG ;Q nR1 ; ,5 ;Q n ; 23
Eenerali4ation/
3argest positive integer n for &hich nG can be e)pressed as the prod!ct of (n-a* consec!tive positive
integers ; (a+1)! 1
$or e)# largest n s!ch that prod!ct of (n-9* consec!tive positive integers is e!al to nG is 7G-1 ; 7A19
Proof/ :easoning the same &a" as above' let the largest of the (n-a* consec!tive positive integers be
0# Clearl" 0 cannot be less than or e!al to n' else the prod!ct of (n-a* consec!tive positive integers
&ill be less than nG#
@o&' observe that for n to be ma)im!m the smallest n!mber (or starting n!mber* of the (n-a*
consec!tive positive integers m!st be minim!m' impl"ing that 0 needs to be minim!m# 2!t the least 0
Q n is (nR1*#
%o the (n-a* consec!tive positive integers are (aR,' aR1' S nR1*
%o &e have (nR1*G / (aR1*G ; nG ;Q nR1 ; (aR1*G ;Q n ; (a+1)! -1
199A AIME Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
A reg!lar 1,-gon is inscribed in a circle of radi!s 1,# +he s!m of the lengths of all sides
and diagonals of the 1,-gon can be &ritten in the form &here ' ' '
and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
+he easiest &a" to do this seems to be to find the length of each of the sides and diagonals# +o do
s!ch' dra& the radii that meet the endpoints of the sides/diagonalsB this &ill form isosceles triangles#
?ra&ing the altit!de of those triangles and then solving &ill "ield the respective lengths#
+he length of each of the 1, sides is

# #
+he length of each of the 1, diagonals that span across , edges is (or notice that
the triangle formed is e!ilateral*#
+he length of each of the 1, diagonals that span across 1 edges is (or notice
that the triangle formed is a right triangle*#
+he length of each of the 1, diagonals that span across 5 edges is #
+he length of each of the 1, diagonals that span across 7 edges

is #
+he length of each of the 9 diameters is #

Adding all of these !p' &e get
# +h!s' the
ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
A second method involves dra&ing a triangle connecting the center of the 1,-gon to t&o vertices of
the 1,-gon# %ince the distance from the center to a verte) of the 1,-gon is ' the 3a& of Cosines can
be applied to this isosceles triangle' to give/
+here are si) lengths of sides/diagonals' corresponding to
Call these lengths from shortest to longest# +he total length that is as0ed for is
' noting that as &ritten gives the diameter of the circle'
&hich is the longest diagonal#
+o simplif" the t&o nested radicals' add them' and call the s!m /
%!aring both sides' the $ and 3 part of $HI3 ca!ses the radicals to cancel' leaving /
Pl!gging that s!m bac0 into the e!ation for /
+h!s' the !antit" as0ed for is
Problem
3et # Eiven that has 1817 digits and that its first
(leftmost* digit is 9' ho& man" elements of have 9 as their leftmost digit.
%ol!tion
-henever "o! m!ltipl" a n!mber b" ' the n!mber &ill have an additional digit over the previo!s
digit' &ith the e)ception &hen the ne& n!mber starts &ith a ' &hen the n!mber of digits remain the
same# %ince has 1819 digits more than ' e)actl" n!mbers have
9 as their leftmost digits#
Problem
+he rectangle belo& has dimensions and # ?iagonals
and intersect at # If triangle is c!t o!t and removed' edges and are 6oined'
and the fig!re is then creased along segments and ' &e obtain a triang!lar p"ramid' all fo!r
of &hose faces areisosceles triangles# $ind the vol!me of this p"ramid#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
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H!r triang!lar p"ramid has base # +he area of this isosceles triangle is
eas" to find b" ' &here &e can find to be b" the P"thagorean +heorem#
+h!s #
[Unparseable or potentially dangerous asy code Unable to con!ert "#S file$T/centerQ
+o find the vol!me' &e &ant to !se the e!ation ' so &e need to find the height of
the tetrahedron# 2" the P"thagorean +heorem' # If &e let be the
center of a sphere &ith radi!s ' then lie on the sphere# +he cross section of the sphere
that contains is a circle' and the center of that circle is the foot of the perpendic!lar from the
center of the sphere# Dence the foot of the height &e &ant to find occ!rs at
the circ!mcenter of #
$rom here &e 6!st need to perform some br!tish calc!lations# Fsing the
form!la (&here is the circ!mradi!s*' &e
find (there are slightl" simpler &a"s to calc!late since &e have
an isosceles triangle*# 2" the P"thagorean +heorem'
$inall"' &e s!bstit!te into the vol!me e!ation to find #
Solution 2
3et (or the triangle &ith sides ' ' * be the base of o!r tetrahedron# -e set
points and as and ' respectivel"# Fsing P"thagoras' &e find
as # -e 0no& that the verte) of the tetrahedron ( * has to be of the form '
&here is thealtit!de of the tetrahedron# %ince the distance from to points ' ' and is '
&e can &rite three e!ations !sing the distance form!la/
%!btracting the last t&o e!ations' &e get # %olving for &ith a bit of effort' &e event!all"
get ' ' # %ince the area of a triangle is ' &e have the base area
as # +h!s' the vol!me is #
Problem
$ind if the real n!mbers ' ' ' and satisf" the e!ations
%ol!tion 1
%et and # +hen the relationship
can be e)ploited/
+herefore/
Conse!entl"' and # $inall"/
%ol!tion ,
A rec!rrence of the form &ill have the closed form '
&here are the val!es of the starting term that ma0e the se!ence geometric' and are the
appropriatel" chosen constants s!ch that those special starting terms linearl" combine to form the
act!al starting terms#
%!ppose &e have s!ch a rec!rrence &ith and #
+hen ' and #
%olving these sim!ltaneo!s e!ations for and ' &e see that and #
%o' #
1991
Problem
$ind if and are positive integers s!ch that
%ol!tion
Solution 1
?efine and # +hen and # %olving these t&o e!ations "ields
a !adratic/ ' &hich factors to # Either
and or and # $or the first case' it is eas" to see that can be (or
vice versa*# In the second case' since all factors of m!st be ' no t&o factors of can s!m
greater than ' and so there are no integral sol!tions for # +he sol!tion is #
Solution 2
%ince ' this can be factored to # As and are integers'
the possible sets for (ignoring cases &here since it is s"mmetrical*
are # +he second e!ation factors
to # +he onl" set &ith a factor of is ' and chec0ing sho&s
that it is o!r sol!tion#
Problem
:ectangle has sides of length 5 and of length 1# ?ivide into
198 congr!ent segments &ith points ' and divide into 198
congr!ent segments &ith points # $or ' dra& the
segments # :epeat this constr!ction on the sides and ' and then dra&
the diagonal # $ind the s!m of the lengths of the 117 parallel segments dra&n#
%ol!tion
+he length of the diagonal is (a 1-5-7 right triangle*# $or each ' is
the h"poten!se of a right triangle &ith sides of # +h!s' its length
is #
+he s!m &e are loo0ing for is # Fsing the form!la for the
s!m of the first nat!ral n!mbers' &e find that the sol!tion
is #
Problem
E)panding b" the binomial theorem and doing no f!rther manip!lation gives

&here for # $or
&hich is the largest.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et # +hen &e ma" &rite # +a0ing
logarithms in both sides of this last e!ation and !sing the &ell-0no&n fact
(valid if *' &e have
@o&' 0eeps increasing &ith as long as the arg!ments in each of
the terms (recall that if *# +herefore' the integer that &e are loo0ing
for m!st satisf" ' &here denotes the greatest integer less than or e!al to #
In s!mmar"' s!bstit!ting and &e finall" find that #
Solution 2
-e 0no& that once &e have fo!nd the largest val!e of ' all val!es after are less than #
+herefore' &e are loo0ing for the largest possible val!e s!ch that/
?ividing b" gives/
#
-e can e)press these binomial coefficients as factorials#
-e note that the can cancel# Also' #
%imilarl"' #
Canceling these terms "ields'
Cross m!ltipl"ing gives/
+herefore' since this identit" holds for all val!es of ' the largest possible val!e of
is #
Problem
Do& man" real n!mbers satisf" the e!ation .
%ol!tion
+he range of the sine f!nction is # It is periodic (in this problem* &ith a period of #
+h!s' ' and # +he sol!tions for occ!r in the domain
of # -hen the logarithm f!nction ret!rns a positiveval!eB !p to it &ill
pass thro!gh the sine c!rve# +here are e)actl" 1A intersections of five periods (ever" t&o integral
val!es of * of the sine c!rve and another c!rve that is ' so there
are val!es (the s!btraction of 9 since all the UintersectionsV
&hen m!st be disregarded*# -hen ' there is e)actl" to!ching point bet&een the t&o
f!nctions/ # -hen or ' &e can co!nt more sol!tions# +he sol!tion
is #
Problem
Eiven a rational n!mber' &rite it as a fraction in lo&est terms and calc!late the prod!ct of the
res!lting n!merator and denominator# $or ho& man" rational n!mbers bet&een A and 1 &ill be
the res!lting prod!ct.
%ol!tion
If the fraction is in the form ' then and # +here are 8 prime n!mbers less than
,A ( *' and each can onl" be a factor of one of or # +here are &a"s of
selecting some combination of n!mbers for B ho&ever' since ' onl" half of them &ill be
bet&een # +herefore' the sol!tion is #
Problem
%!ppose is a real n!mber for &hich
$ind # ($or real ' is the greatest integer less than or e!al to #*
%ol!tion
+here are n!mbers in the se!ence# %ince can be at most apart' all
of the n!mbers in the se!ence can ta0e one of t&o possible val!es# %ince ' the
n!mbers m!st be either or # As the remainder is ' m!st ta0e on of the val!es' &ith being
the val!e of the remaining n!mbers# +he 19th n!mber is ' and
so # %olving sho&s that ' so #
Problem
$ind ' &here is the s!m of the absol!te val!es of all roots of the follo&ing e!ation/
%ol!tion
3et # +hen ' from &hich &e reali4e that # +his
is beca!se if &e e)pand the entire e)pression' &e &ill get a fraction of the form on the right
hand side' &hich ma0es the e!ation simplif" to a !adratic# As this !adratic &ill have t&o roots'
the" m!st be the same roots as the !adratic #
+he given finite e)pansion can then be easil" seen to red!ce to the !adratic
e!ation # +he sol!tions are #
+herefore' # -e concl!de that #
Problem
$or ho& man" real n!mbers does the !adratic e!ation have onl" integer
roots for .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
2" Wieta8s form!las' &here are the roots of the !adratic' and since are
integers' m!st be an integer# Appl"ing the !adratic form!la'
%ince is an integer' &e need to be an integer (let this be */
# Completing the s!are' &e get
-hich implies that is a perfect s!are also (let this be *# +hen
+he pairs of factors of
are
B since is the average of each respective pair and is also an integer' the pairs that &or0 m!st have
the same parit"# +h!s &e get pairs (co!nting positive and negative* of factors that &or0' and
s!bstit!ting them bac0&ards sho& that the" all &or0#
Solution 2
3et # Wieta8s "ields #
-itho!t loss of generalit" let #
+he possible val!es of
are/

#
Problem
%!ppose that and that &here is in lo&est terms#
$ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Fse the t&o trigonometric P"thagorean identities and #
If &e s!are the given ' &e find that
+his "ields #
3et # +hen s!aring'
%!bstit!ting "ields a !adratic
e!ation/ # It t!rns o!t that onl"
the positive root &ill &or0' so the val!e of and #
Solution 2
:ecall that ' from &hich &e find that # Adding the
e!ations
together and dividing b" , gives ' and s!btracting the e!ations and dividing b" ,
gives # Dence'
and # +h!s'
and # $inall"'
so #
Solution 3 (least co%putation)
2" the given' and #
M!ltipl"ing the t&o' &e have
%!btracting both of the t&o given e!ations from this' and simpli"fing &ith the
identit" ' &e get
%olving "ields ' and
Solution 4
Ma0e the s!bstit!tion (a s!bstit!tion commonl" !sed in calc!l!s*# '
so # @o& note the follo&ing/
Pl!gging these into o!r e!alit" gives/
+his simplifies to ' and solving for gives ' and #
$inall"' #
Solution &
-e are given
that
' or e!ivalentl"'
# @ote that &hat &e &ant is
6!st
#
Problem
+&o three-letter strings' and ' are transmitted electronicall"# Each string is sent letter b"
letter# ?!e to fa!lt" e!ipment' each of the si) letters has a 1/1 chance of being received incorrectl"'
as an &hen it sho!ld have been a ' or as a &hen it sho!ld be an # Do&ever' &hether a given
letter is received correctl" or incorrectl" is independent of the reception of an" other letter# 3et be
the three-letter string received &hen is transmitted and let be the three-letter string received
&hen is transmitted# 3et be the probabilit" that comes before in alphabetical order#
-hen is &ritten as a fraction inlo&est terms' &hat is its n!merator.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et !s ma0e a chart of val!es in alphabetical order' &here are the probabilities that each
string comes from and m!ltiplied b" ' and denotes the partial s!ms of (in other
&ords' */
+he probabilit" is ' so the ans&er t!rns o!t to
be ' and the sol!tion is #
Solution 2
3et be the th letter of string # Compare the first letter of the string to the first
letter of the string # +here is a chance that comes before # +here
is a that is the same as #
If ' then "o! do the same for the second letters of the strings# 2!t "o! have to
m!ltipl" the chance that comes before as there is a chance &e &ill get to
this step#
%imilarl"' if ' then there is a chance that &e &ill get to comparing the third
letters and that comes before #
%o &e have #
Solution 3
Consider letter strings instead# If the first letters all get transmitted correctl"' then the string &ill
be first# Hther&ise' the onl" &a" is for both of the first letters to be the same' and then &e consider
the ne)t letter string follo&ing the first letter# +his easil" leads to a
rec!rsion/ #
Clearl"' #
Problem
+&elve congr!ent dis0s are placed on a circle of radi!s 1 in s!ch a &a" that the t&elve dis0s
cover ' no t&o of the dis0s overlap' and so that each of the t&elve dis0s is tangent to its t&o
neighbors# +he res!lting arrangement of dis0s is sho&n in the fig!re belo&# +he s!m of the areas of
the t&elve dis0s can be &ritten in the from ' &here are positive integers and is
not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
-e &ish to find the radi!s of one circle' so that &e can find the total area#
@otice that for them to contain the entire circle' each pair of circles m!st be tangent on the larger
circle# @o& consider t&o ad6acent smaller circles# +his means that the line connecting the radii is a
segment of length that is tangent to the larger circle at the midpoint of the t&o centers# +h!s' &e
have essentiall" have a reg!lar dodecagon &hose vertices are the centers of the smaller triangles
circ!mscribed abo!t a circle of radi!s #
-e th!s 0no& that the apothem of the dodecagon is e!al to # +o find the side length' &e ma0e a
triangle consisting of a verte)' the midpoint of a side' and the center of the dodecagon' &hich &e
denote and respectivel"# @otice that ' and that is a right triangle
&ith h"poten!se and # +h!s ' &hich is the
radi!s of one of the circles# +he area of one circle is th!s ' so the area of
all circles is ' giving an ans&er of #
Problem
:homb!s is inscribed in rectangle so that vertices ' ' ' and are interior
points on sides ' ' ' and ' respectivel"# It is given that '
' ' and # 3et ' in lo&est terms' denote the perimeter of #
$ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et be the center of the rhomb!s# Wia parallel sides and alternate interior angles' &e see that the
opposite triangles are congr!ent ( ' *# J!ic0l" &e reali4e
that is also the center of the rectangle#
2" the P"thagorean +heorem' &e can solve for a side of the rhomb!sB #
%ince the diagonals of a rhomb!s are perpendic!lar bisectors' &e have that #
Also' ' so !adrilateral is c"clic# 2" Ptolem"8s
+heorem' #
2" similar logic' &e have is a c"clic !adrilateral# 3et ' # +he P"thagorean
+heorem gives !s # Ptolem"Ks +heorem gives !s # %ince
the diagonals of a rectangle are e!al' ' and # %olving
for ' &e get # %!bstit!ting into '
-e re6ect beca!se then ever"thing degenerates into s!ares' b!t the condition that
gives !s a contradiction# +h!s ' and bac0&ards solving gives # +he perimeter
of is ' and #
Solution 2
$rom above' &e have and # :et!rning to note
that Dence' b" similarit"# $rom here' it8s
clear that %imilarl"'
+herefore' the perimeter of rectangle
is
Solution 3
+he triangles are isosceles' and similar (beca!se the" have *#
Dence #
+he length of co!ld be fo!nd easil" from the area of /
$rom the right triangle &e have # -e co!ld have also
defined a similar form!la/ ' and then &e fo!nd ' the segment is tangent
to the circles &ith diameters #
+he perimeter
is #
Solution 4
$or convenience' let # %ince the opposite triangles are congr!ent &e have
that ' and therefore # 3et ' then &e
have ' or # E)panding &ith the
form!la ' and since &e have ' &e can solve for # +he rest
then follo&s similaril" from above#
Solution &
-e can 6!st find coordinates of the points# After dra&ing a pict!re' &e can see 5 congr!ent right
triangles &ith sides of ' namel" triangles and #
3et the points of triangle be # 3et point be on ' s!ch
that and # +riangle can be split into t&o similar 1-5-7 right triangles'
and # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem' point is a&a" from point # :epeating the process' if
&e brea0 do&n triangle into t&o more similar triangles' &e find that point is at #
2" reflecting point over point ' &e get point # 2"
reflecting point over point ' &e get point # +h!s' the perimeter is e!al
to ' ma0ing the final ans&er #
Problem
A dra&er contains a mi)t!re of red soc0s and bl!e soc0s' at most in all# It so happens that' &hen
t&o soc0s are selected randoml" &itho!t replacement' there is a probabilit" of e)actl" that both are
red or both are bl!e# -hat is the largest possible n!mber of red soc0s in the dra&er that is consistent
&ith this data.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et and denote the n!mber of red and bl!e soc0s' respectivel"# Also' let # +he
probabilit" that &hen t&o soc0s are dra&n randoml"' &itho!t replacement' both are red or both are
bl!e is given b"
%olving the res!lting !adratic e!ation ' for in terms of ' one obtains
that
@o&' since and are positive integers' it m!st be the case that ' &ith #
Dence' &o!ld correspond to the general sol!tion# $or the present case '
and so one easil" finds that is the largest possible integer satisf"ing the problem conditions#
In s!mmar"' the sol!tion is that the ma)im!m n!mber of red soc0s is #
Solution 2
3et and denote the n!mber of red and bl!e soc0s s!ch that # +hen b"
complementar" co!nting' the n!mber of &a"s to get a red and a bl!e soc0 m!st be e!al
to

' so m!st be a perfect s!are # Clearl"' ' so the larger '
the larger / is the largest perfect s!are belo& ' and o!r ans&er
is #
Solution 3
3et and denote the n!mber of red and bl!e soc0s' respectivel"# In addition' let ' the
total n!mber of soc0s in the dra&er#
$rom the problem' it is clear that
E)panding' &e get
%!bstit!ting for and cross m!ltipl"ing' &e
get
Combining terms' &e get
+o ma0e this e)pression factorable' &e add to both sides' res!lting
in
$rom this e!ation' &e can test val!es for the e)pression ' &hich is the
m!ltiplication of t&o consec!tive integers' !ntil &e find the highest val!e of or s!ch
that #
2" testing and ' &e get that and #
+esting val!es one integer higher' &e get that and # %ince is
greater than ' &e concl!de that is o!r ans&er#
%ince it doesn8t matter &hether the n!mber of bl!e or red soc0s is ' &e ta0e the higher val!e for
' th!s the ma)im!m n!mber of red soc0s is #
Problem
A he)agon is inscribed in a circle# $ive of the sides have length and the si)th' denoted b" ' has
length # $ind the s!m of the lengths of the three diagonals that can be dra&n from #
%ol!tion
3et ' ' and #
Ptolem"8s +heorem on gives ' and Ptolem" on
gives # %!btracting these e!ations give ' and from
this # Ptolem" on gives ' and from this # $inall"' pl!gging
bac0 into the first e!ation gives ' so #
Problem
$or positive integer ' define to be the minim!m val!e of the s!m
&here are positive real n!mbers &hose s!m is 17# +here is a !ni!e positive integer
for &hich is also an integer# $ind this #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Interpret the problem geometricall"# Consider right triangles 6oined at their vertices' &ith
bases and heights # +he s!m of their h"poten!ses is the val!e of #
+he minim!m val!e of ' then' is the length of the straight line connecting the bottom verte) of the
first right triangle and the top verte) of the last right triangle' so
%ince the s!m of the first odd integers is and the
s!m of is 17' &e get If this is integer' &e can
&rite ' for an integer #
+h!s' +he onl" possible val!e' then' for
is ' in &hich case ' and #
Solution 2
+he ine!alit" is a direct res!lt of the Min0o&s0i
Ine!alit"# Contin!e as above#
Solution 3
3et for and # -e then have that
@ote that
that # @ote that for an" angle ' it is tr!e
that and are reciprocals# -e th!s have
that # 2" the AM-DM ine!alit"
on these val!es' &e have that/ +his is th!s the
minim!m val!e' &ith e!alit" &hen all the tangents are e!al# +he onl" val!e for &hich
is an integer is (see above sol!tions for details*#
1992
199, AIME Problems/Problem 1
o
Problem
$ind the s!m of all positive rational n!mbers that are less than 1A and that have denominator 1A
&hen &ritten in lo&est terms#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+here are 8 fractions &hich fit the conditions bet&een A and 1/
+heir s!m is 5# @ote that there are also 8 terms bet&een 1 and , &hich &e can obtain b" adding 1 to
each of o!r first 8 terms# $or e)ample' $ollo&ing this pattern' o!r ans&er
is
Solution 2
2" E!ler8s +otient $!nction' there are n!mbers that are relativel" prime to ' less than # @ote
that the" come in pairs &hich res!lt in s!ms of B th!s the s!m of the smallest
rational n!mbers satisf"ing this is # @o& refer to sol!tion 1#
199, AIME Problems/Problem ,
Problem
A positive integer is called ascending if' in its decimal representation' there are at least t&o digits and
each digit is less than an" digit to its right# Do& man" ascending positive integers are there.
%ol!tion
@ote that an ascending n!mber is e)actl" determined b" its digits/ for an" set of digits (not incl!ding
A' since the onl" position for A is at the leftmost end of the n!mber' i#e# a leading A*' there is e)actl"
one ascending n!mber &ith those digits#
%o' there are nine digits that ma" be !sed/ @ote that each digit ma" be present
or ma" not be present# Dence' there are potential ascending n!mbers' one for
each s!bset of #
Do&ever' &e8ve co!nted one-digit n!mbers and the empt" set' so &e m!st s!btract them off to get
o!r ans&er'
A tennis pla"er comp!tes her &in ratio b" dividing the n!mber of matches she has &on b" the total
n!mber of matches she has pla"ed# At the start of a &ee0end' her &in ratio is e)actl" # ?!ring
the &ee0end' she pla"s fo!r matches' &inning three and losing one# At the end of the &ee0end' her
&in ratio is greater than # -hat8s the largest n!mber of matches she co!ld8ve &on before the
&ee0end began.
%ol!tion
3et be the n!mber of matches &on' so that ' and #
Cross m!ltipl"ing' ' and # +h!s' the ans&er is #
Problem
In Pascal8s +riangle' each entr" is the s!m of the t&o entries above it# In &hich ro& of Pascal8s
+riangle do three consec!tive entries occ!r that are in the ratio .
%ol!tion
In Pascal8s +riangle' &e 0no& that the binomial coefficients of the th ro& are #
3et o!r ro& be the th ro& s!ch that the three consec!tive entries are ' and #
After e)panding and dividing one entr" b" another (to clean !p the factorials*' &e see
that and # %olving' #
Problem
3et be the set of all rational n!mbers ' ' that have a repeating decimal e)pansion in the
form ' &here the digits ' ' and are not necessaril" distinct# +o &rite the
elements of as fractions in lo&est terms' ho& man" different n!merators are re!ired.
%ol!tion
-e consider the method in &hich repeating decimals are normall" converted to fractions &ith an
e)ample/
+h!s' let
If is not divisible b" or ' then this is in lo&est terms# 3et !s consider the other m!ltiples/
m!ltiples of ' of ' and of and ' so ' &hich is the amo!nt
that are neither# +he n!mbers that are m!ltiples of red!ce to m!ltiples of # -e have to co!nt
these since it &ill red!ce to a m!ltiple of &hich &e have removed from ' b!t' this cannot be
removed since the n!merator cannot cancel the #+here aren8t an" n!mbers &hich are m!ltiples
of ' so &e can8t get n!merators &hich are m!ltiples of # +herefore #
Problem
$or ho& man" pairs of consec!tive integers in is no carr"ing re!ired
&hen the t&o integers are added.
%ol!tion
Consider &hat carr"ing means/ If carr"ing is needed to add t&o n!mbers &ith digits and '
then or or # 9# Consider
# has no carr" if # +his gives possible sol!tions#
-ith ' there obvio!sl" m!st be a carr"# Consider # have
no carr"# +his gives possible sol!tions# Considering ' have no
carr"# +h!s' the sol!tion is #
Problem
$aces and of tetrahedron meet at an angle of # +he area of face
is ' the area of face is ' and # $ind the vol!me of the tetrahedron#
%ol!tion
%ince the area ' the perpendic!lar from ? to 2C has length 19#
+he perpendic!lar from ? to A2C is # +herefore' the vol!me is #
Problem
$or an" se!ence of real n!mbers ' define to be the
se!ence ' &hose term is # %!ppose that all of the
terms of the se!ence are ' and that # $ind #
%ol!tion
@ote that the s are reminiscent of differentiationB from the condition ' &e are led to
consider the differential e!ation +his inspires !s to g!ess a !adratic &ith leading coefficient
1/, as the sol!tionB as &e m!st have roots at and #
+h!s' #
%ol!tion ,
3et ' and #
@ote that in ever" se!ence of
'
+hen
%ince
'
%olving' #
%ol!tion 1
-rite o!t and add first terms of the second finite difference se!ence/
S
S
S
Adding the above e!ations &e get/
@o& ta0ing s!m to in e!ation &e get/
@o& ta0ing s!m to in e!ation &e get/
gives #
Problem
+rape4oid has sides ' ' ' and ' &ith parallel
to # A circle &ith center on is dra&n tangent to and # Eiven that '
&here and are relativel" prime positive integers' find #
%ol!tion 1
3et be the base of the trape4oid and consider angles and # 3et and let e!al the
height of the trape4oid# 3et e!al the radi!s of the circle#
+hen
and
3et be the distance along from to &here the perp from meets #
+hen and so no& s!bstit!te this into
to get and #
"o! don8t have to !se trig nor angles A and 2# $rom similar triangles'
and
this implies that so
%ol!tion ,
$rom above' and # Adding these e!ations "ields #
+h!s' ' and #
from sol!tion 1 &e get from 1 that h/r ; 7A/) and h/r ; 7A/ (9,-)*
this implies that 7A/) ;7A/(9,-)* so ) ; 191/1
%ol!tion 1
E)tend and to meet at a point # %ince and are parallel' #
If is f!rther e)tended to a point and is e)tended to a point s!ch that is tangent
to circle ' &e discover that circle is the incircle of triangle # +hen line is the angle
bisector of # 2" homothet"' is the intersection of the angle bisector of &ith #
2" the angle bisector theorem'
3et ' then # #
+h!s' #
%ol!tion 5
+he area of the trape4oid is ' &here is the height of the trape4oid#
?ra& lines CP and 2P# -e can no& find the area of the trape4oid as the s!m of the three triangles
2PC' CP?' and P2A#
L2PCM ; (&here is the radi!s of the tangent circle#*
LCP?M ;
LP2AM ;
L2PCM R LCP?M R LP2AM ; ; +rape4oid area ;
$rom %ol!tion 1 above'
%!bstit!ting ' &e get --Q #
199, AIME Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
Consider the region in the comple) plane that consists of all points s!ch that both and
have real and imaginar" parts bet&een and ' incl!sive# -hat is the integer that is nearest the area
of .
%ol!tion
3et # %ince &e have the ine!alit"
&hich is a s!are of side length #
Also' so &e have ' &hich leads to/
-e graph them/
-e &ant the area o!tside the t&o circles b!t inside the s!are# ?oing a little geometr"' the area of the
intersection of those three graphs is
Problem
3ines and both pass thro!gh the origin and ma0e first-!adrant angles of and radians'
respectivel"' &ith the positive )-a)is# $or an" line ' the transformation prod!ces another line as
follo&s/ is reflected in ' and the res!lting line is reflected in # 3et
and # Eiven that is the line ' find the smallest positive
integer for &hich #
%ol!tion
3et be a line that ma0es an angle of &ith the positive -a)is# 3et be the reflection of in ' and
let be the reflection of in #
+he angle bet&een and is ' so the angle bet&een and m!st also be # +h!s'
ma0es an angle of &ith the positive -a)is#
%imilarl"' since the angle bet&een and is ' the angle bet&een and the
positive -a)is is #
+h!s' ma0es an angle &ith the positive -a)is# %o ma0es an angle
&ith the positive -a)is#
+herefore' iff is an integral m!ltiple of # +h!s' #
%ince ' ' so the smallest positive integer is #
199, AIME Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
In a game of Chomp' t&o pla"ers alternatel" ta0e bites from a 7-b"-7 grid of !nit s!ares# +o ta0e a
bite' a pla"er chooses one of the remaining s!ares' then removes ("eats"* all s!ares in the !adrant
defined b" the left edge (e)tended !p&ard* and the lo&er edge (e)tended right&ard* of the chosen
s!are# $or e)ample' the bite determined b" the shaded s!are in the diagram &o!ld remove the
shaded s!are and the fo!r s!ares mar0ed b" (+he s!ares &ith t&o or more dotted edges have
been removed form the original board in previo!s moves#*
+he ob6ect of the game is to ma0e one8s opponent ta0e the last bite# +he diagram sho&s one of the
man" s!bsets of the set of 17 !nit s!ares that can occ!r d!ring the game of Chomp# Do& man"
different s!bsets are there in all. Incl!de the f!ll board and empt" board in "o!r co!nt#
%ol!tion
2" dra&ing possible e)amples of the s!bset' one can easil" see that ma0ing one s!bset is the same as
dividing the game board into t&o parts#
Hne can also see that it is the same as finding the shortest ro!te from the !pper left hand corner to
the lo&er right hand cornerB %!ch a ro!te &o!ld re!ire 7 lengths that go do&n' and 7 that go across'
&ith the shape on the right "carved" o!t b" the path a possible s!bset#
+herefore' the total n!mber of s!ch paths is
3in0s to 2ranches of Mathematics
+his !estion is one case of the problem of co!nting order ideals or antichains in posets# %pecificall"' it
as0 for the n!mber of order ideals of the prod!ct posetof the chain of length and the chain of
length #
Problem
+riangle has and # -hat8s the largest area that this triangle can
have.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
$irst' consider the triangle in a coordinate s"stem &ith vertices at ' ' and # Appl"ing
the distance form!la' &e see that #
-e &ant to ma)imi4e ' the height' &ith being the base#
%implif"ing gives #
+o ma)imi4e ' &e &ant to ma)imi4e # %o if &e can &rite/ ' then is the
ma)im!m val!e of (this follo&s directl" from the trivial ine!alit"' beca!se if then pl!gging
in for gives !s *#
#
#
+hen the area is #
Solution 2
3et the three sides be ' so the area is b" Deron8s form!la#
2" AM-EM' ' and the ma)im!m possible area
is # +his occ!rs
&hen #
Problem
In triangle ' ' ' and are on the sides ' ' and ' respectivel"# Eiven that
' ' and are conc!rrent at the point ' and that '
find #
%ol!tion
Fsing mass points' let the &eights of ' ' and be ' ' and respectivel"#
+hen' the &eights of ' ' and are ' ' and respectivel"#
+h!s' ' ' and #
+herefore/

#
Problem
?efine a positive integer to be a factorial tail if there is some positive integer s!ch that the
decimal representation of ends &ith e)actl" 4eroes# Do& man" positive integers less than
are not factorial tails.
%ol!tion
+he n!mber of 4eros at the end of
is #
@ote that if is a m!ltiple of ' #
%ince ' a val!e of s!ch that is greater
than # +esting val!es greater than this "ields #
+here are distinct positive integers' ' less than # +h!s' there
are positive integers less than that are not factorial tails#
1993
Problem
Do& man" even integers bet&een 5AAA and 7AAA have fo!r different digits.
%ol!tion
+he tho!sands digit is # If the tho!sands digit is even ( ' , possibilities*' then there are
onl" possibilities for the !nits digit# +his leaves possible digits for the h!ndreds and
for the tens places' "ielding a total of #
If the tho!sands digit is odd ( ' one possibilit"*' then there are choices for the !nits digit' &ith
digits for the h!ndreds and for the tens place# +his gives possibilities# +ogether'
the sol!tion is #
Problem
?!ring a recent campaign for office' a candidate made a to!r of a co!ntr" &hich &e ass!me lies in a
plane# Hn the first da" of the to!r he &ent east' on the second da" he &ent north' on the third da"
&est' on the fo!rth da" so!th' on the fifth da" east' etc# If the candidate &ent miles on the
da" of this to!r' ho& man" miles &as he from his starting point at the end of the da".
%ol!tion
Hn the first da"' the candidate
moves '
and so on# +he E/- displacement is
th!s # Appl"ing difference of
s!ares' &e see that
+he @/% displacement is
%ince ' the t&o distances eval!ate to
and # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem' the ans&er
is #
Problem
+he table belo& displa"s some of the res!lts of last s!mmer8s $rostbite $alls $ishing $estival' sho&ing
ho& man" contestants ca!ght fish for vario!s val!es of #
In the ne&spaper stor" covering the event' it &as reported that
(a* the &inner ca!ght fishB
(b* those &ho ca!ght or more fish averaged fish eachB
(c* those &ho ca!ght or fe&er fish averaged fish each#
-hat &as the total n!mber of fish ca!ght d!ring the festival.
%ol!tion
%!ppose that the n!mber of fish is and the n!mber of contestants is # +he fishers that ca!ght 1 or
more fish ca!ght a total of fish# %ince the" averaged 9 fish'
%imilaril"' those &hom ca!ght 1, or fe&er fish averaged 7 fish per person' so
%olving the t&o e!ation s"stem' &e find that and ' the ans&er#
Problem
Do& man" ordered fo!r-t!ples of integers &ith
satisf" and .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et so # It follo&s
that #
Dence #
%olve them in tems of to get
# +he last t&o sol!tions don8t
follo& ' so &e onl" need to consider the first t&o sol!tions#
+he first sol!tion gives !s and ' and the second one
gives !s #
%o the total n!mber of s!ch fo!r-t!ples is #
Solution 2
3et and # $rom ' #
%!bstit!ting ' ' and into '
Dence'
or #
$or ' &e 0no& that ' so there are
fo!r-t!ples# $or ' ' and there are
fo!r-t!ples# In total' &e have fo!r-t!ples#
Solution 3
%!are both sides of the first e!ation in order to get and terms' &hich &e can pl!g in for#
-e can pl!g in for to get on the left side' and also observe that after
rearranging the first e!ation# Pl!g in for #
@o& observe the possible factors of ' &hich are #
and m!st be factors of ' and m!st be greater than #
&or0' and "ields possible sol!tions# does not &or0' beca!se if '
then m!st differ b" , as &ell' b!t an odd n!mber can onl" res!lt from t&o n!mbers of
different parit"# &ill be even' and &ill be even' so m!st be even#
&or0s' and "ields possible sol!tions' &hile fails for the same reasoning above#
+h!s' the ans&er is
Problem
3et # $or integers ' define # -hat is
the coefficient of in .
%ol!tion
@otice that
Fsing the form!la for the s!m of the first n!mbers' #
+herefore'
%!bstit!ting into the f!nction definition' &e
get # -e onl" need the
coefficients of the linear terms' &hich &e can find b" the binomial theorem#
&ill have a linear term of #

Adding !p the coefficients' &e get #
Problem
-hat is the smallest positive integer than can be e)pressed as the s!m of nine consec!tive integers'
the s!m of ten consec!tive integers' and the s!m of eleven consec!tive integers.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
?enote the first of each of the series of consec!tive integers as #
+herefore' #
%implif"ing' # +he relationship bet&een s!ggests that is divisible
b" # Also' ' so is divisible b" # -e find that the least possible
val!e of ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et the desired integer be # $rom the information given' it can be determined that' for positive
integers /
+his can be re&ritten as the follo&ing congr!ences/
%ince 9 and 11 are relativel" prime' n is a m!ltiple of 99# It can then easil" be determined that the
smallest m!ltiple of 99 &ith a !nits digit 7 (this can be interpreted from the ,nd congr!ence* is
Solution 3
3et be the desired integer# $rom the given information' &e have here' and are
the middle terms of the se!ence of 9 and 11 n!mbers' respectivel"# %imilarl"' &e have as the 5th
term of the se!ence# %ince' is a m!ltiple of and it is also a m!ltiple of
Dence' for some %o' &e have It follo&s that is the
smallest integer that can be represented in s!ch a &a"#
Problem
+hree n!mbers' ' ' ' are dra&n randoml" and &itho!t replacement from
the set # +hree other n!mbers' ' ' ' are then dra&n randoml" and &itho!t
replacement from the remaining set of 997 n!mbers# 3et be the probabilit" that' after a s!itable
rotation' a bric0 of dimensions can be enclosed in a bo) of dimensions '
&ith the sides of the bric0 parallel to the sides of the bo)# If is &ritten as a fraction in lo&est terms'
&hat is the s!m of the n!merator and denominator.
%ol!tion
Call the si) n!mbers selected # Clearl"' m!st be a dimension of
the bo)' and m!st be a dimension of the bric0#
If is a dimension of the bo)' then an" of the other three remaining dimensions &ill &or0 as a
dimension of the bo)# +hat gives !s possibilities#
If is not a dimension of the bo) b!t is' then both remaining dimensions &ill &or0 as a dimension of
the bo)# +hat gives !s possibilities#
If is a dimension of the bo) b!t arenKt' there are no possibilities (same for *#
+he total n!mber of arrangements is B therefore' ' and the ans&er
is #
'ote that the in the problem' is not !sed' and is cleverl" b"passed in the sol!tion' beca!se &e
can call o!r si) n!mbers &hether the" ma" be
or #
Problem
3et be a set &ith si) elements# In ho& man" different &a"s can one select t&o not necessaril"
distinct s!bsets of so that the !nion of the t&o s!bsets is . +he order of selection does not
matterB for e)ample' the pair of s!bsets ' represents the same selection as the
pair ' #
%ol!tion 1
Call the t&o s!bsets and # $or each of the elements in ' &e can assign it to either ' ' or
both# +his gives !s possible methods of selection# Do&ever' beca!se the order of the s!bsets does
not matter' each possible selection is do!ble co!nted' e)cept the case &here both and contain
all elements of # %o o!r final ans&er is then
%ol!tion ,
Eiven one of s!bsets &ith elements' the other also has possibilitiesB this is beca!se it m!st
contain all of the "missing" elements and th!s has a choice over the remaining # -e
&ant b" 2inomial +heorem# 2!t the order of the sets doesn8t matter'
so &e get #
Problem
+&o tho!sand points are given on a circle# 3abel one of the points # $rom this point' co!nt points in
the cloc0&ise direction and label this point # $rom the point labeled ' co!nt points in the cloc0&ise
direction and label this point # (%ee fig!re#* Contin!e this process !ntil the labels
are all !sed# %ome of the points on the circle &ill have more than one label and some points &ill not
have a label# -hat is the smallest integer that labels the same point as .
%ol!tion
+he label &ill occ!r on the th point aro!nd the circle# (%tarting
from 1* A n!mber &ill onl" occ!p" the same point on the circle
if #
%implif"ing this e)pression' &e see
that # +herefore' one
of or is odd' and each of them m!st be a m!ltiple of or #
$or to be a m!ltiple of and to be a m!ltiple of '
and # +he smallest for this case is #
In order for to be a m!ltiple of and to be a m!ltiple of
' and # +he smallest for this case is larger than '
so is o!r ans&er#
'ote( Hne can 6!st s!bstit!te and to simplif"
calc!lations#
Problem
E!ler8s form!la states that for a conve) pol"hedron &ith vertices' edges' and
faces' # A partic!lar conve) pol"hedron has 1, faces' each of &hich is either
a triangle or a pentagon# At each of its vertices' triang!lar faces and pentagonal faces meet#
-hat is the val!e of .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he conve) pol"hedron of the problem can be easil" vis!ali4edB it corresponds to a dodecahedron (a
reg!lar solid &ith e!ilateral pentagons* in &hich the vertices have all been tr!ncated to
form e!ilateral triangles &ith common vertices# +he res!lting solid has then smaller
e!ilateral pentagons and e!ilateral triangles "ielding a total of faces# In
each verte)' triangles and pentagons are conc!rrent# @o&' the n!mber of edges can
be obtained if &e co!nt the n!mber of sides that each triangle and pentagon
contrib!tes/ ' (the factor in the denominator is beca!se &e are co!nting t&ice each
edge' since t&o ad6acent faces share one edge*# +h!s' # $inall"' !sing E!ler8s form!la &e
have #
In s!mmar"' the sol!tion to the problem is #
Solution 2
As seen above' # Ever" verte) ' there is a triangle for ever" and a pentagon for
ever" b" the given# Do&ever' there are three times ever" triangle &ill be co!nted and five times
ever" pentagon &ill be co!nted beca!se of their n!mbers of vertices# $rom this
observation' # Also' at ever" verte) ' there
are edges coming o!t from that verte) (one &a" to see this is to imagine the leftmost
segment of each triangle and pentagon that is connected to the given verte)' and note that it incl!des
ever" one of the edges e)actl" once*'
so ' and s!btracting the
other e!ation involving the vertices from this
gives
# %ince from the first verte)-related observation
and ' and it !ic0l" follo&s
that #
Problem
Alfred and 2onnie pla" a game in &hich the" ta0e t!rns tossing a fair coin# +he &inner of a game is
the first person to obtain a head# Alfred and 2onnie pla" this game several times &ith the stip!lation
that the loser of a game goes first in the ne)t game# %!ppose that Alfred goes first in the first game'
and that the probabilit" that he &ins the si)th game is ' &here and are relativel" prime
positive integers# -hat are the last three digits of .
%ol!tion
+he probabilit" that the th flip in each game occ!rs and is a head is # +he first person &ins if the
coin lands heads on an odd n!mbered flip# %o' the probabilit" of the first person &inning the game
is ' and the probabilit" of the second person &inning is #
3et be the probabilit" that Alfred &ins the th game' and let be the probabilit" that 2onnie &ins
the th game#
If Alfred &ins the th game' then the probabilit" that Alfred &ins the th game is # If 2onnie
&ins the th game' then the probabilit" that Alfred &ins the th game is #
+h!s' #
%imilarl"' #
%ince Alfred goes first in the st game' #
Fsing these rec!rsive e!ations/
%ince ' #
Problem
+he vertices of are ' ' and # +he si) faces of a die are
labeled &ith t&o 8s' t&o 8s' and t&o 8s# Point is chosen in the interior of '
and points ' ' are generated b" rolling the die repeatedl" and appl"ing the r!le/ If the die
sho&s label ' &here ' and is the most recentl" obtained point' then is the
midpoint of # Eiven that ' &hat is .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
If &e have points (p'* and (r's* and &e &ant to find (!'v* so (r's* is the midpoint of (!'v* and (p'*'
then !;,r-p and v;,s-# %o &e start &ith the point the" gave !s and &or0 bac0&ards# -e ma0e s!re
all the coordinates sta" &ithin the triangle# -e
have/ %
o the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the roll that directl" infl!ences # @ote
that #
+hen !ic0l" chec0ing each addend from the right to the left' &e have the follo&ing information
(remembering that if a point m!st be ' &e can 6!st ignore itG*/ for ' since all addends are
nonnegative' a non- val!e &ill res!lt in a or val!e greater than or ' respectivel"' and
&e can ignore them' for in a similar &a"' and are the onl" possibilities'
and for ' all three &or0# Also' to be in the triangle' and # %ince is
the onl" point that can possibl" infl!ence the coordinate other than ' &e loo0 at that first#
If ' then ' so it can onl" be that
' and # @o&'
considering the coordinate' note that if an" of are ( &o!ld infl!ence the least'
so &e test that*' then ' &hich &o!ld mean
that ' so ' and
no&

' and finall"' #
Problem
Xenn" and Penn" are &al0ing in the same direction' Penn" at 1 feet per second and Xenn" at 1 foot
per second' on parallel paths that are ,AA feet apart# A tall circ!lar b!ilding 1AA feet in diameter is
centered mid&a" bet&een the paths# At the instant &hen the b!ilding first bloc0s the line of sight
bet&een Xenn" and Penn"' the" are ,AA feet apart# 3et be the amo!nt of time' in seconds' before
Xenn" and Penn" can see each other again# If is &ritten as a fraction in lo&est terms' &hat is the
s!m of the n!merator and denominator.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Consider the !nit cicle of radi!s 7A# Ass!me that the" start at points and
+hen at time ' the" end !p at points and +he e!ation of the
line connecting these points and the e!ation of the circle are
-hen the" see each other again' the
line connecting the t&o points &ill be tangent to the circle at the point %ince the radi!s is
perpendic!lar to the tangent &e get or @o& s!bstit!te into and
get @o& s!bstit!te this and into and solve for to get $inall"'
the s!m of the n!merator and denominator is
Solution 2
3et and be Penn"8s initial and final points respectivel" and define and similarl" for Xenn"#
3et be the center of the b!ilding# Also' let be the intersection of and # $inal"' let
and be the points of tangenc" of circle to and respectivel"#
$rom the problem statement' ' and # %ince
' #
%ince ' # %o' #
%ince circle is tangent to and ' is the angle bisector of #
+h!s' #
+herefore' ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
A rectangle that is inscribed in a larger rectangle (&ith one verte) on each side* is called !nst!c0 if it
is possible to rotate (ho&ever slightl"* the smaller rectangle abo!t its center &ithin the confines of the
larger# Hf all the rectangles that can be inscribed !nst!c0 in a 9 b" 8 rectangle' the smallest perimeter
has the form ' for a positive integer # $ind #
%ol!tion
Ans&er/ 558#
%ol!tion/ P!t the rectangle on the coordinate plane so its vertices are at ' for all fo!r
combinations of positive and negative# +hen b" s"mmetr"' the other rectangle is also centered at the
origin' #
@ote that s!ch a rectangle is !nst!c0 if its fo!r vertices are in or on the edge of all fo!r !adrants'
and it is not the same rectangle as the big one# 3et the fo!r vertices of this rectangle be
' ' and for nonnegative # +hen this is a rectangle'
so ' or ' so #
:eflect across the side of the rectangle containing to #
+hen is constant' and the perimeter of the
rectangle is e!al to # +he midpoint of is ' and
since and ' al&a"s lies belo& #
If is positive' it can be decreased to # +his ca!ses to decrease as &ell' to '
&here and is still positive# If and are held in place as ever"thing else moves'
then moves !nits !p and !nits left to ' &hich m!st lie &ithin # +hen
&e m!st have ' and the perimeter of the rectangle is decreased#
+herefore' the minim!m perimeter m!st occ!r &ith ' so #
2" the distance form!la' this minim!m perimeter is
%ol!tion ,
@ote that the diagonal of the rectangle &ith minim!m perimeter m!st have the diagonal along the
middle segment of length 8 of the rectangle (an" other inscribed rectangle can be rotated a bit' then
made smallerB this one can8t beca!se then the rectangle cannot be inscribed since its longest diagonal
is less than 8 in length*# +hen since a rectangle m!st have right angles' &e dra& a circle of radi!s 5
aro!nd the center of the rectangle# Pic0ing the t&o midpoints on the sides of length 9 and opposite
intersection points on the segments of length 8' &e form a rectangle# 3et and be the sides of the
rectangle# +hen since both are t&ice the area of the same right triangle'
and # %o ' so #
Problem
3et be an altit!de of # 3et and be the points &here the circles inscribed in the
triangles and are tangent to # If ' ' and '
then can be e)pressed as ' &here and are relativel" prime integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
$rom the P"thagorean +heorem' ' and #
%!btracting those t&o e!ations "ields # After simplification' &e see
that ' or # @ote that
# +herefore &e have that # +herefore #
@o& note that ' ' and #
+herefore &e have
#
Pl!gging in and simplif"ing' &e have #
1994
Problem
+he increasing se!ence consists of those positive m!ltiples of 1 that are one less
than a perfect s!are# -hat is the remainder &hen the 1995th term of the se!ence is divided b"
1AAA.
%ol!tion
Hne less than a perfect s!are can be represented b" # Either
or m!st be divisible b" 1# +his is tr!e &hen # %ince 1995 is
even' m!st # It &ill be the th s!ch term'
so # +he val!e of is #
Problem
A circle &ith diameter of length 1A is internall" tangent at to a circle of radi!s ,A#
%!are is constr!cted &ith and on the larger circle' tangent at to the smaller
circle' and the smaller circle o!tside # +he length of can be &ritten in the form '
&here and are integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Call the center of the larger circle # E)tend the diameter to the other side of the s!are (at
point *' and dra& # -e no& have a right triangle' &ithh"poten!se of length #
%ince ' &e 0no& that # +he
other leg' ' is 6!st #
Appl" the P"thagorean +heorem/
+he !adratic form!la sho&s that the ans&er is # ?iscard the
negative root' so o!r ans&er is #
Problem
+he f!nction has the propert" that' for each real n!mber
#
If &hat is the remainder &hen is divided b" .
%ol!tion
%o' the remainder is #
Problem
$ind the positive integer for &hich ($or
real ' is the greatest integer *
%ol!tion
@ote that if for some ' then #
+h!s' there are integers s!ch that # %o the s!m of for all
s!ch is #
3et be the integer s!ch that # %o for each integer ' there are
integers s!ch that ' and there are s!ch integers s!ch
that #
+herefore'
#
+hro!gh comp!tation/ and # +h!s' #
%o' #
Problem
Eiven a positive integer ' let be the prod!ct of the non-4ero digits of # (If has onl" one
digits' then is e!al to that digit#* 3et
#
-hat is the largest prime factor of .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
%!ppose &e &rite each n!mber in the form of a three-digit n!mber (so *' and since o!r
ignores all of the 4ero-digits' replace all of the s &ith s# @o& note that in the e)pansion of
&e cover ever" perm!tation of ever" prod!ct of digits' incl!ding the case &here that first
represents the replaced s# Do&ever' since o!r list does not incl!de ' &e have to s!btract # +h!s'
o!r ans&er is the largest prime factor
of #
Solution 2
@ote that ' and #
%o
' # -e
add to get ,117# -hen &e add a digit &e m!ltipl" the
s!m b" that digit#
+h!s # 2!t &e
didn8t co!nt 1AA' ,AA' 1AA' ###' 9AA# -e add another 57 to get # +he largest prime factor of
that is #
Problem
+he graphs of the e!ations
are dra&n in the coordinate plane for +hese 91 lines c!t part of the
plane into e!ilateral triangles of side Do& man" s!ch triangles are formed.
%ol!tion
-e note that the lines partition the he)agon of the si) e)tremal lines into dis6oint !nit reg!lar
triangles' and forms a series of !nit reg!lar triangles along the edge of the he)agon#
%olving the above e!ations for ' &e see that the he)agon in !estion is reg!lar' &ith side
length # +hen' the n!mber of triangles &ithin the he)agon is simpl" the ratio of the area of the
he)agon to the area of a reg!lar triangle# %ince the ratio of the area of t&o similar fig!res is the
s!are of the ratio of their side lengths' &e see that the ratio of the area of one of the si) e!ilateral
triangles composing the reg!lar he)agon to the area of a !nit reg!lar triangle is
6!st # +h!s' the total n!mber of !nit triangles is #
+here are e!ilateral triangles formed b" lines on the edges of the he)agon# +h!s' o!r ans&er
is #
Problem
$or certain ordered pairs of real n!mbers' the s"stem of e!ations
has at least one sol!tion' and each sol!tion is an ordered pair of integers# Do& man" s!ch
ordered pairs are there.
%ol!tion
is the e!ation of a circle of radi!s ' centered at the origin# +he lattice points on
this circle are ' ' and #
is the e!ation of a line that does not pass thro!gh the origin# (%ince
"ields *#
%o' &e are loo0ing for the n!mber of lines &hich pass thro!gh either one or t&o of the lattice
points on the circle' b!t do not pass thro!gh the origin#
It is clear that if a line passes thro!gh t&o opposite points' then it passes thro!gh the origin' and if a
line passes thro!gh t&o non-opposite points' the it does not pass thro!gh the origin#
+here are &a"s to pic0 t&o distinct lattice points' and th!s distinct lines &hich pass
thro!gh t&o lattice points on the circle# Do&ever' of these lines pass thro!gh the origin#
%ince there is a !ni!e tangent line to the circle at each of these lattice points' there are distinct
lines &hich pass thro!gh e)actl" one lattice point on the circle#
+h!s' there are a total of distinct lines &hich pass thro!gh either one or t&o of
the lattice points on the circle' b!t do not pass thro!gh the origin#
Problem
+he points ' ' and are the vertices of an e!ilateral triangle# $ind the val!e of #
%ol!tion
Consider the points on the comple) plane# +he point is then a rotation of degrees
of abo!t the origin' so/
E!ating the real and imaginar" parts' &e have/
%olving this s"stem' &e find that # +h!s' the ans&er is #
'ote/ +here is another sol!tion &here the point is a rotation of degrees of B
ho&ever' this triangle is 6!st a reflection of the first triangle b" the -a)is' and the signs of and
are flipped# Do&ever' the prod!ct is !nchanged#
Problem
A solitaire game is pla"ed as follo&s# %i) distinct pairs of matched tiles are placed in a bag# +he pla"er
randoml" dra&s tiles one at a time from the bag and retains them' e)cept that matching tiles are p!t
aside as soon as the" appear in the pla"er8s hand# +he game ends if the pla"er ever holds three tiles'
no t&o of &hich matchB other&ise the dra&ing contin!es !ntil the bag is empt"# +he probabilit" that
the bag &ill be emptied is &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
3et be the probabilit" of empt"ing the bag &hen it has pairs in it# 3et8s consider the possible
dra&s for the first three cards/
Case 1# -e dra& a pair on the first t&o cards# +he second card is the same as the first &ith
probabilit" ' then &e have pairs left# %o this contrib!tes probabilit" #
Case ,# -e dra& a pair on the first and third cards# +he second card is different from the first &ith
probabilit" and the third is the same as the first &ith probabilit" # -e are left
&ith pairs b!t one card alread" dra&n# Do&ever' having dra&n one card doesn8t affect the game'
so this also contrib!tes probabilit" #
Case 1# -e dra& a pair on the second and third cards# +his is prett" m!ch the same as case ,' so &e
get #
+herefore' &e obtain the rec!rsion # Iterating this for
(obvio!sl" *' &e get ' and #
Problem
In triangle angle is a right angle and the altit!de from meets at +he lengths of
the sides of are integers' and ' &here and are relativel"
prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
%ince ' &e have # It follo&s that
and ' so and are in the form and ' respectivel"#
2" the P"thagorean +heorem' &e find that '
so # 3etting ' &e obtain after dividing thro!gh b"
' # As ' the pairs of factors of are B
clearl" ' so # +hen' #
+h!s' ' and #
Problem
@inet"-fo!r bric0s' each meas!ring are to stac0ed one on top of another to form a
to&er 95 bric0s tall# Each bric0 can be oriented so it contrib!es or or to the total height of
the to&er# Do& man" different to&er heights can be achieved !sing all ninet"-fo!r of the bric0s.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-e have the smallest stac0' &hich has a height of inches# @o& &hen &e change the height of
one of the bric0s' &e either add inches' inches' or inches to the height# @o& all &e need to do is
to find the different change val!es &e can get from 8s' 8s' and 8s# 2eca!se ' ' and are all
m!ltiples of ' the change &ill al&a"s be a m!ltiple of ' so &e 6!st need to find the n!mber of
changes &e can get from 8s' 8s' and 8s#
$rom here' &e co!nt &hat &e can get/
It seems &e can get ever" integer greater or e!al to fo!rB &e can easil" ded!ce this b"
considering parit" or !sing the Chic0en Mc@!gget +heorem' &hich sa"s that the greatest n!mber that
cannot be e)pressed in the form of for being positive integers is #
2!t &e also have a ma)im!m change ( *' so that &ill have to stop some&here# +o find the gaps'
&e can &or0 bac0&ards as &ell# $rom the ma)im!m change' &e can s!btract either 8s' 8s' or 8s#
+he ma)im!m &e can8t get is ' so the n!mbers and belo&' e)cept
and ' &or0# @o& there might be ones that &e haven8t co!nted "et' so &e chec0 all n!mbers
bet&een and # obvio!sl" doesn8t &or0' does since 9 is a
m!ltiple of 1' does beca!se it is a m!ltiple of (and *' doesn8t since is
not divisible b" or ' does since ' and and don8t'
and does#
+h!s the n!mbers ' ' all the &a" to ' ' ' '
and &or0# +hat8s n!mbers# +hat8s the n!mber of
changes "o! can ma0e to a stac0 of bric0s &ith dimensions ' incl!ding not changing it at
all#
Solution 2
Fsing bric0s of dimensions is comparable to !sing bric0s of
dimensions &hich is comparable to !sing bric0s of dimensions # Fsing
7 bric0s of height can be replaced b" !sing , bric0s of height and 1 bric0s of height #
It follo&s that all to&er heights can be made b" !sing 5 or fe&er bric0s of height # +here
are &a"s to b!ild a to&er !sing 5 or fe&er bric0s of height #
+a0ing the heights ' &e see that to&ers !sing a different n!mber of bric0s of height have
!ne!al heights# +h!s' all of the to&er heights are different#
Problem
A fenced' rectang!lar field meas!res meters b" meters# An agric!lt!ral researcher has 1995
meters of fence that can be !sed for internal fencing to partition the field into congr!ent' s!are test
plots# +he entire field m!st be partitioned' and the sides of the s!ares m!st be parallel to the edges
of the field# -hat is the largest n!mber of s!are test plots into &hich the field can be partitioned
!sing all or some of the 1995 meters of fence.
%ol!tion
%!ppose there are s!ares in ever" col!mn of the grid' so there are s!ares in ever"
ro&# +hen ' and o!r goal is to ma)imi4e the val!e of #
Each vertical fence has length ' and there are vertical fencesB each hori4ontal fence has
length ' and there are s!ch fences# +hen the total length of the internal fencing
is ' so # +he
largest m!ltiple of that is is ' &hich &e can easil" verif" &or0s' and the ans&er
is #
Problem
+he e!ation
has 1A comple) roots &here the bar denotes comple)
con6!gation# $ind the val!e of
%ol!tion
3et # After m!ltipl"ing the e!ation b" ' #
Fsing ?eMoivre' &here is an integer bet&een and #
#
%ince ' after e)panding# Dere
ranges from A to 5 beca!se t&o angles &hich s!m to are involved in the prod!ct#
+he e)pression to find is #
2!t so the s!m is #
Problem
A beam of light stri0es at point &ith angle of incidence and reflects &ith an e!al
angle of reflection as sho&n# +he light beam contin!es its path' reflecting off line segments
and according to the r!le/ angle of incidence e!als angle of reflection# Eiven
that and determine the n!mber of times the light beam &ill
bo!nce off the t&o line segments# Incl!de the first reflection at in "o!r co!nt#
%ol!tion
At each point of reflection' &e pretend instead that the light contin!es to travel straight#
@ote that after reflections
(e)cl!ding the first one at * the e)tended line &ill form an angle at point # $or the th
reflection to be 6!st inside or at the point ' &e m!st
have # +h!s' o!r ans&er is' incl!ding the first
intersection' #
Problem
Eiven a point on a triang!lar piece of paper consider the creases that are formed in the
paper &hen and are folded onto 3et !s call a fold point of if these creases'
&hich n!mber three !nless is one of the vertices' do not intersect# %!ppose
that and +hen the area of the set of all fold points of can
be &ritten in the form &here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the
s!are of an" prime# -hat is .
%ol!tion
3et be the intersection of the perpendic!lar bisectors (in other &ords' the intersections of the
creases* of and ' and so forth# +hen are' respectivel"'
the circ!mcenters of # According to the problem statement' the circ!mcenters
of the triangles cannot lie &ithin the interior of the respective triangles' since the" are not on the
paper# It follo&s that B the loc!s of each of the respective conditions
for is the region inside the (semi*circles &ith diameters #
-e note that the circle &ith diameter covers the entire triangle beca!se it is the circ!mcircle
of ' so it s!ffices to ta0e the intersection of the circles abo!t # -e note that their
intersection lies entirel" &ithin (the chord connecting the endpoints of the region is in fact
the altit!de of from *# +h!s' the area of the loc!s of (shaded region belo&* is simpl" the
s!m of t&o segments of the circles# If &e constr!ct the midpoints of and note
that ' &e see that thse segments respectivel" c!t a arc in the circle &ith
radi!s and arc in the circle &ith radi!s #
The diagram shows outside of the grayed locus; notice that the
creases [the dotted blue] intersect within the triangle, which is against the
problem conditions. The area of the locus is the sum of two segments of
two circles; these segments cut out angles by simple
similarity relations and angle-chasing.
Dence' the ans&er is' !sing the definition of triangle
area' '
and #
1995
Problem
%!are is $or the lengths of the sides of s!are are half the lengths of the
sides of s!are t&o ad6acent sides of s!are are perpendic!lar bisectors of t&o ad6acent sides
of s!are and the other t&o sides of s!are are the perpendic!lar bisectors of t&o
ad6acent sides of s!are +he total area enclosed b" at least one of can be
&ritten in the form &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
+he s!m of the areas of the s!ares if the" &ere not interconnected is a geometric se!ence/
+hen s!btract the areas of the intersections' &hich is /
+he ma6orit" of the terms cancel' leaving ' &hich simplifies do&n
to # +h!s' #
Alternativel"' ta0e the area of the first s!are and add of the areas of the remaining s!ares# +his
res!lts in ' &hich &hen simplified &ill prod!ce the same ans&er#
Problem
$ind the last three digits of the prod!ct of the positive roots of #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+a0ing the (logarithm* of both sides and then moving to one side "ields the !adratic
e!ation # Appl"ing the!adratic form!la "ields
that # +h!s' the prod!ct of the t&o roots (both of &hich are positive*
is ' ma0ing the sol!tion #
Solution 2
Instead of ta0ing ' &e ta0e of both sides and simplif"/
Drm### &e 0no& that and are reciprocals' so let # +hen &e
have # M!ltipl"ing b" and simplif"ing gives !s ' as sho&n
above#
2" Wieta8s form!las' the s!m of the possible val!es of is # +his means that the roots and that
satisf" the original e!ation also satisf" -e can combine these logs to
get ' or # $inall"' &e find this val!e mod ' &hich is eas"#
' so o!r
ans&er is #
Problem
%tarting at an ob6ect moves in the coordinate plane via a se!ence of steps' each of length
one# Each step is left' right' !p' or do&n' all fo!r e!all" li0el"# 3et be the probabilit" that the ob6ect
reaches in si) or fe&er steps# Eiven that can be &ritten in the form &here and
are relativel" prime positive integers' find
%ol!tion
It ta0es an even n!mber of steps for the ob6ect to reach ' so the n!mber of steps the ob6ect ma"
have ta0en is either or #
If the ob6ect too0 steps' then it m!st have gone t&o steps N and t&o steps E' in some perm!tation#
+here are &a"s for these fo!r steps of occ!ring' and the probabilit" is #
If the ob6ect too0 steps' then it m!st have gone t&o steps N and t&o steps E' and an additional pair
of moves that &o!ld cancel o!t' either N/S or W/E# +he se!ences N,N,N,E,E,S can be perm!ted
in &a"s# Do&ever' if the first fo!r steps of the se!ence are N,N,E,E in some
perm!tation' it &o!ld have alread" reached the point in fo!r moves# +here are &a"s to
order those fo!r steps and &a"s to determine the order of the remaining t&o steps' for a total of
se!ences that &e have to e)cl!de# +his gives se!ences of steps# +here are the same
n!mber of se!ences for the steps N,N,E,E,E,W' so the probabilit" here is #
+he total probabilit" is ' and #
Problem
Circles of radi!s and are e)ternall" tangent to each other and are internall" tangent to a circle of
radi!s # +he circle of radi!s has a chord that is a common e)ternal tangent of the other t&o circles#
$ind the s!are of the length of this chord#
%ol!tion
-e label the points as follo&ing/ the centers of the circles of radii are respectivel"'
and the endpoints of the chord are # 3et be the feet of
the perpendic!lars from to (so are the points of tangenc"*# +hen &e note
that ' and #
+h!s' (consider similar triangles*# Appl"ing the P"thagorean
+heorem to ' &e find that
Problem
$or certain real val!es of and the e!ation has fo!r non-
real roots# +he prod!ct of t&o of these roots is and the s!m of the other t&o roots is
&here $ind
%ol!tion
%ince the coefficients of the pol"nomial are real' it follo&s that the non-real roots m!st come
in comple) con6!gate pairs# 3et the first t&o roots be # %ince is not real' are not
con6!gates' so the other pair of roots m!st be the con6!gates of # 3et be the con6!gate of '
and be the con6!gate of # +hen'
2" Wieta8s form!las'
&e have
that
#
Problem
3et Do& man" positive integer divisors of are less than b!t do not divide .
%ol!tion
-e 0no& that m!st have factors b" its prime factori4ation# If &e
gro!p all of these factors (e)cl!ding * into pairs that m!ltipl" to ' then one factor per pair is less
than ' and so there are factors of that are less than # +here
are factors of ' &hich clearl" are less than ' b!t are still factors of #
+herefore' there are factors of that do not divide #
Problem
Eiven that and
&here and are positive integers &ith and relativel" prime' find
%ol!tion
$rom the givens' ' and adding to both sides
gives # Completing the s!are on the left in the
variable gives # %ince '
&e have # %!btracting t&ice this from o!r original e!ation
gives ' so the ans&er
is #
%ol!tion ,
3et # M!ltipl"ing &ith the given
e!ation' ' and # %implif"ing and
rearranging the given e!ation' #
@otice that ' and
s!bstit!ting' # :earranging and
s!aring' ' so ' and ' b!t
clearl"' # +herefore' ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
$or ho& man" ordered pairs of positive integers &ith are both and
integers.
%ol!tion
%ince ' ' then (the bars indicate divisibilit"*
and # 2" the E!clidean algorithm' these can be re&ritten respectivel"
as and ' &hich implies that both #
Also' as ' it follo&s that #
L1M
+h!s' for a given val!e of ' &e need the n!mber of m!ltiples of from to
(as *# It follo&s that there are satisfactor" positive integers for all
integers # +he ans&er is
N Another &a" of stating this is to note that if and are integers' then
and m!st be integers# %ince and cannot share common prime factors' it
follo&s that m!st also be an integer#
Problem
+riangle is isosceles' &ith and altit!de %!ppose that there is a point
on &ith and +hen the perimeter of ma" be &ritten in
the form &here and are integers# $ind
%ol!tion 1
3et ' so # +hen' # E)panding !sing
the angle s!m identit" gives +h!s'
# %olving' &e get # Dence' and b" the P"thagorean +heorem#
+he total perimeter is # +he ans&er is th!s #
%ol!tion ,
In a similar fashion' &e encode the angles as comple) n!mbers' so if '
then and # %o &e need onl" find s!ch
that # +his &ill happen
&hen ' &hich simplifies to # +herefore' # 2" the
P"thagorean +heorem' ' so the perimeter is ' giving !s o!r
ans&er' #
Problem
-hat is the largest positive integer that is not the s!m of a positive integral m!ltiple of and a
positive composite integer.
%ol!tion
+he re!ested n!mber m!st be a prime n!mber# Also' ever" n!mber that is a m!ltiple of
greater than that prime n!mber m!st also be prime' e)cept for the re!ested n!mber itself# %o &e
ma0e a table' listing all the primes !p to and the n!mbers that are m!ltiples of greater than
them' !ntil the" reach a composite n!mber#
is the greatest n!mber in the list' so it is the ans&er# @ote that considering &o!ld have
shortened the search' since ' and so &ithin n!mbers at least one m!st be divisible
b" #
Problem
A right rectang!lar prism (i#e#' a rectang!lar parallelpiped* has sides of integral length
&ith A plane parallel to one of the faces of c!ts into t&o prisms' one of &hich
is similar to and both of &hich have non4ero vol!me# Eiven that for ho& man" ordered
triples does s!ch a plane e)ist.
%ol!tion
3et be the prism similar to ' and let the sides of be of length ' s!ch that #
+hen
@ote that if the ratio of similarit" &as e!al to ' &e &o!ld have a prism &ith 4ero vol!me# As one face
of is a face of ' it follo&s that and share at least t&o side lengths in common#
%ince ' it follo&s that the onl" possibilit" is # +hen'
+he n!mber of factors of is # Hnl" in of
these cases is (for ' &e end &ith a prism of 4ero vol!me*# -e can easil" verif" that these
&ill "ield nondegenerate prisms' so the ans&er is #
Problem
P"ramid has s!are base congr!ent edges and
and 3et be the meas!re of the dihedral angle formed b" faces and
Eiven that &here and are integers' find
%ol!tion
Solution 1 (trigono%etry)
+he angle is the angle formed b" t&o perpendic!lars dra&n to ' one on the plane determined
b" and the other b" # 3et the perpendic!lars from and to meet at
-itho!t loss of generalit"' let It follo&s that is a right triangle'
so and +herefore'
$rom the 3a& of Cosines' so
+h!s #
Solution 2 (analytical)!ectors)
-itho!t loss of generalit"' place the p"ramid in a 1-dimensional coordinate s"stem s!ch
that and &here is
!n0no&n#
-e first find @ote that
%ince and this simplifies to
@o& let8s find 3et and be normal vectors to the planes containing faces and
respectivel"# $rom the definition of the dot prod!ct as ' &e &ill be able to
solve for A cross prod!ct "ields (alternativel"' it is simple to find the e!ation of the
planes and ' and then to find their normal vectors*
%imilarl"'
Dence' ta0ing the dot prod!ct of and "ields
$lipping the signs (&e fo!nd the cosine of the s!pplement angle* "ields so the
ans&er is #
Problem
3et be the integer closest to $ind
%ol!tion
-hen ' then # +h!s there are
val!es of for &hich # E)panding !sing the binomial theorem'
+h!s' appears in the s!mmation times' and the s!m for each is
then # $rom to ' &e get
(either adding or !sing the s!m of consec!tive s!ares form!la*#
2!t this onl" acco!nts for
terms' so &e still have terms &ith # +his adds to o!r
s!mmation' giving #
Problem
In a circle of radi!s ' t&o chords of length intersect at a point &hose distance from the center
is # +he t&o chords divide the interior of the circle into fo!r regions# +&o of these regions are
bordered b" segments of !ne!al lengths' and the area of either of them can be e)pressed !ni!el" in
the form &here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of
an" prime n!mber# $ind
%ol!tion
3et the center of the circle be ' and the t&o chords be and intersecting at ' s!ch
that # 3et be the midpoint of # +hen #
2" the P"thagorean +heorem' '
and # +hen is a right triangle'
so # +h!s ' and b" the 3a& of Cosines'
It follo&s that is an e!ilateral triangle' so # +he desired area can be bro0en
!p into t&o regions' and the region bo!nded b" and minor arc # +he former can be
fo!nd b" Deron8s form!la to be # +he
latter is the difference bet&een the area of sector and the e!ilateral '
or #
+h!s' the desired area is ' and #
Problem
3et be the probabilit" that' in the process of repeatedl" flipping a fair coin' one &ill enco!nter a r!n
of heads before one enco!nters a r!n of tails# Eiven that can be &ritten in the form
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+hin0 of the problem as a se!ence of H8s and T8s# @o t&o T8s can occ!r in a ro&' so the se!ence is
bloc0s of to H8s separated b" T8s and ending in H8s# %ince the first letter co!ld be T or the
se!ence co!ld start &ith a bloc0 of H8s' the total probabilit" is that of it had to start &ith and H#
+he ans&er to the problem is then the s!m of all n!mbers of the
form ' &here are all n!mbers ' since the
bloc0s of H8s can range from in length# +he s!m of all n!mbers of the form
is ' so if there are n bloc0s of H8s before the final five H8s' the
ans&er can be re&ritten as the s!m of all n!mbers of the
form ' &here ranges from to ' since that8s
ho& man" bloc0s of H8s there can be before the final five# +his is an infinite geometric series &hose
s!m is ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et respectivel" denote the probabilities that a string of H8s and T8s are s!ccessf!l# A
s!ccessf!l string can either start &ith H' or it can start &ith T and then contin!e &ith a string starting
&ith H (as there cannot be T8s in a ro&*# +h!s
A s!ccessf!l string starting &ith H m!st start &ith a bloc0 of H8s' then a T' then a s!ccessf!l
string starting &ith H' or reach a bloc0 of H8s# +h!s'
+he ans&er is ' and #
1996
Problem
In a magic s!are' the s!m of the three entries in an" ro&' col!mn' or diagonal is the same val!e#
+he fig!re sho&s fo!r of the entries of a magic s!are# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et8s ma0e a table#
Problem
$or each real n!mber ' let denote the greatest integer that does not e)ceed )# $or ho& man"
positive integers is it tr!e that and that is a positive even integer.
%ol!tion
$or integers ' &e &ant ' or # +h!s'
m!st satisf" these ine!alities (since */
+here are for the first ine!alit"' for the second' for the third' and for the fo!rth' so the
ans&er is #
Problem
$ind the smallest positive integer for &hich the e)pansion of ' after li0e
terms have been collected' has at least 1999 terms#
%ol!tion
Fsing %imon8s $avorite $actoring +ric0' &e re&rite as #
2oth binomial e)pansions &ill contain non-li0e termsB their prod!ct &ill contain terms'
as each term &ill have an !ni!e po&er of or and so none of the terms &ill need to be collected#
Dence ' the smallest s!are after is ' so o!r ans&er
is #
Alternativel"' &hen ' the e)ponents of or in can be an" integer bet&een and
incl!sive# +h!s' &hen ' there are terms and' &hen ' there are terms#
+herefore' &e need to find the smallest perfect s!are that is greater than # $rom trial and error'
&e get and # +h!s' --Q #
Problem
A &ooden c!be' &hose edges are one centimeter long' rests on a hori4ontal s!rface# Ill!minated b" a
point so!rce of light that is centimeters directl" above an !pper verte)' the c!be casts a shado& on
the hori4ontal s!rface# +he area of the shado&' &hich does not incl!de the area beneath the c!be is
58 s!are centimeters# $ind the greatest integer that does not e)ceed #
%ol!tion
($ig!re not to scale* +he area of the s!are shado& base is ' and so the sides of the
shado& are # Fsing the similar triangles in bl!e' ' and #
Problem
%!ppose that the roots of are ' ' and ' and that the roots
of are ' ' and # $ind #
%ol!tion
2" Wieta8s form!las on the
pol"nomial ' &e
have ' ' and # +hen
+his is 6!st the definition for #
Alternativel"' &e can e)pand the e)pression to get
A third sol!tion arises if it is seen that each term in the e)pansion of has a
total degree of 1# Another &a" to get terms &ith degree 1 is to m!ltipl"
o!t # E)panding both of these e)pressions and comparing them sho&s
that/

Problem
In a five-team to!rnament' each team pla"s one game &ith ever" other team# Each team has a
chance of &inning an" game it pla"s# (+here are no ties#* 3et be the probabilit" that the
to!rnament &ill prod!ct neither an !ndefeated team nor a &inless team' &here and are
relativel" prime integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
-e can !se complementar" co!nting/ finding the probabilit" that at least one team &ins all games or
at least one team loses all games#
@o more than 1 team can &in or lose all games' so at most one team can &in all games and at most
one team can lose all games#
@o& &e !se PIE/
+he probabilit" that one team &ins all games is #
%imilarit"' the probabilit" that one team loses all games is #
+he probabilit" that one team &ins all games and another team loses all games
is #
%ince this is the opposite of the probabilit" &e &ant' &e s!btract that from 1 to get #
Problem
+&o s!ares of a chec0erboard are painted "ello&' and the rest are painted green# +&o color
schemes are e!ivalent if one can be obtained from the other b" appl"ing a rotation in the plane
board# Do& man" ine!ivalent color schemes are possible.
%ol!tion
+here are possible &a"s to select t&o s!ares to be painted "ello&# +here are fo!r possible
&a"s to rotate each board# Eiven an arbitrar" pair of "ello& s!ares' these fo!r rotations &ill either
"ield t&o or fo!r e!ivalent b!t distinct boards#

For most pairs, there will be
three other equivalent boards.
For those symmetric about the center,
there is only one other.
@ote that a pair of "ello& s!ares &ill onl" "ield distinct boards !pon rotation iff the "ello& s!ares
are rotationall" s"mmetric abo!t the center s!areB there are s!ch pairs# +here are
then pairs that "ield distinct boards !pon rotationB in other &ords' for each of
the pairs' there are three other pairs that "ield an e!ivalent board#
+h!s' the n!mber of ine!ivalent boards is # $or a
board' this arg!ment generali4es to ine!ivalent config!rations#
Problem
+he harmonic mean of t&o positive integers is the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of their
reciprocals# $or ho& man" ordered pairs of positive integers &ith is the harmonic mean
of and e!al to .
%ol!tion
+he harmonic mean of and is e!al to ' so &e have '
and b" %$$+' # @o&' has
factors' one of &hich is the s!are root ( *# %ince ' the ans&er is half of the remaining
n!mber of factors' &hich is #
Problem
A bored st!dent &al0s do&n a hall that contains a ro& of closed loc0ers' n!mbered to # De
opens the loc0er n!mbered 1' and then alternates bet&een s0ipping and opening each loc0er
thereafter# -hen he reaches the end of the hall' the st!dent t!rns aro!nd and starts bac0# De opens
the first closed loc0er he enco!nters' and then alternates bet&een s0ipping and opening each closed
loc0er thereafter# +he st!dent contin!es &andering bac0 and forth in this manner !ntil ever" loc0er is
open# -hat is the n!mber of the last loc0er he opens.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Hn his first pass' he opens all of the odd loc0ers# %o there are onl" even loc0ers closed# +hen he opens
the loc0ers that are m!ltiples of ' leaving onl" loc0ers and # +hen he goes
ahead and opens all loc0ers ' leaving loc0ers either or # De then
goes ahead and opens all loc0ers ' leaving the loc0ers either or
# De then goes ahead and opens all loc0ers ' leaving or # De
then opens ' leaving or # De then opens and
leaves and # De then opens all ' so &e
have and ' leaving loc0ers ' and ' and he is at &here
he started again# De then opens and ' and then goes bac0 and opens loc0er n!mber '
leaving loc0er n!mber !nto!ched# De opens that loc0er#
Solution 2
-e can also solve this &ith rec!rsion# 3et be the last loc0er he opens given that he started &ith
loc0ers# 3et there be loc0ers# After he first reaches the end of the hall&a"' there are loc0ers
remaining# +here is a correspondence bet&een these !nopened loc0ers and if he began &ith
loc0ers# +he loc0er (if he started &ith loc0ers* corresponds to the loc0er (if he
started &ith loc0ers*# It follo&s that as the" are corresponding loc0ers#
-e can comp!te and !se the rec!rsion to find
Problem
$ind the smallest positive integer sol!tion to #
%ol!tion

#
+he period of the tangent f!nction is ' and the tangent f!nction is one-to-one over each period of
its domain#
+h!s' #
%ince ' m!ltipl"ing both sides b"
"ields #
+herefore' the smallest positive sol!tion is #
Problem
3et be the prod!ct of the roots of that have a
positive imaginar" part' and s!ppose that ' &here and #
$ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+h!s '
or
(see cis*#
?iscarding the roots &ith negative imaginar" parts (leaving !s &ith *' &e are left
&ith B their prod!ct is #
Solution 2
3et the fifth roots of !nit"' e)cept for #
+hen ' and since both sides have the
fifth roots of !nit" as roots' &e have # 3ong division
!ic0l" gives the other factor to be # +he sol!tion follo&s as above#
Solution 3
?ivide thro!gh b" # -e get the e!ation # 3et #
+hen # H!r e!ation is
then ' &ith
sol!tions # $or ' &e get # $or ' &e
get (!sing e)ponential form of *# $or ' &e
get # +he ones &ith positive imaginar" parts are ones &here ' so &e
have #
Problem
$or each perm!tation of the integers ' form the s!m
+he average val!e of all s!ch s!ms can be &ritten in the form ' &here and are relativel" prime
positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
2eca!se of s"mmetr"' &e ma" find all the possible val!es for and m!ltipl" b" the
n!mber of times this val!e appears# Each occ!rs ' beca!se if "o! fi) and there are
still spots for the others and "o! can do this times beca!se there are places and can
be#
+o find all possible val!es for &e have to comp!te
+his is e!ivalent to
+he total n!mber of perm!tations is ' so the average val!e is '
and #
Solution 2
-itho!t loss of generalit"' let # -e ma" do this beca!se all s!ms
obtained from these paired se!ences are also obtained in another &a"s b" perm!ting the
ad6acent terms ' and th!s are canceled &hen the average is
ta0en#
%o no& &e onl" have to form the
s!m # ?!e to the s"mmetr" of this
sit!ation' &e onl" need to comp!te the e)pected val!e of the res!lt# m!st al&a"s be the greatest
n!mber in its pairB &ill be the greater n!mber in its pair of the time and the lesser n!mber of
the timeB &ill be the greater n!mber in its pair of the time and the lesser of the timeB and so
forth# Each n!mber either adds or s!btracts from the s!m depending !pon &hether it is one of the five
greater or five lesser n!mbers in the pairs' respectivel"# +h!s
And the ans&er is #
Solution 3
%imilar to %ol!tion 1' &e can find the average val!e of ' and m!ltipl" this b" 7 d!e to
s"mmetr"# And again d!e to s"mmetr"' &e can arbitraril" choose # +h!s there
are &a"s to pic0 the t&o val!es of and from the set
s!ch that # $irst fi) ' and var" from to # +hen fi) ' and var" from
to # Contin!e' and "o! find that the s!m of these &a"s to pic0 is/
#
+h!s' each term contrib!tes on average ' and the s!m &ill be five times this' or #
+he final ans&er is #
Problem
In triangle ' ' ' and # +here is a point for &hich
bisects ' and is a right angle# +he ratio can be &ritten in the form ' &here
and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the midpoint of # %ince ' then and share the same height
and have e!al bases' and th!s have the same area# %imilarl"' and share the same
height' and have bases in the ratio ' so (see area ratios*# @o&'
2" %te&art8s +heorem' ' and b" the P"thagorean
+heorem on '
%!btracting the t&o e!ations "ields #
+hen ' and #
Problem
A rectang!lar solid is made b" gl!ing together c!bes# An
internal diagonal of this solid passes thro!gh the interiors of ho& man" of the c!bes.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Place one corner of the solid at and let be the general coordinates of the diagonall"
opposite corner of the rectangle' &here #
-e consider the vector e!ation of the diagonal segment represented b"/ '
&here #
Consider a point on the diagonal &ith coordinates # -e have 1 0e" observations as this
point moves from to&ards /
1.
+he point crosses one of the faces of a c!be from the o!tside to the inside of the c!be' &hen
e)actl" one of ' ' becomes a positive integer#
1.
-hen e)actl" t&o of ' ' become positive integers' the point enters a ne& c!be thro!gh one of
the edges of the c!be from the o!tside to the inside of the c!be#
1.
-hen all three ' ' become positive integers' the point enters a c!be thro!gh one of its
vertices from the o!tside to the inside of the c!be#
+he n!mber of c!bes the diagonal passes is e!al to the n!mber of points on the diagonal that has
one or more positive integers as coordinates#
If &e slice the solid !p b" the -planes defined b" ' the diagonal &ill c!t these
-planes e)actl" times (plane of is not considered since *# %imilar arg!ments for slices
along -planes and -planes give diagonal c!ts of ' and times respectivel"# +he total c!ts b" the
diagonal is therefore ' if &e can ens!re that no more than positive integer is present in
the )' "' or 4 coordinate in all points on the diagonal# @ote that point is
alread" one s!ch e)ception#
2!t for each diagonal point &ith , (or more* positive integers occ!rring at the same
time' co!nts the n!mber of c!be passes as instead of for each s!ch point# +here
are points in s!ch over-co!nting# -e therefore s!btract one time
s!ch over-co!nting from #
And for each diagonal point &ith e)actl" integers occ!rring at the same
time' co!nts the n!mber of c!be passes as instead of B ie over-co!nts each
of s!ch points b" # 2!t since alread" s!btracted three times for
the case of integers occ!rring at the same time (since there are of these gcd terms that represent
all combinations of 1 edges of a c!be meeting at a verte)*' &e have the final co!nt for each s!ch point
as ' &here is o!r correction term# +hat is' &e need to add
time bac0 to acco!nt for the case of 1 sim!ltaneo!s integers#
+herefore' the total diagonal c!be passes
is/ #
$or ' &e have/ '
' ' #
+herefore #
Solution 2
Consider a point travelling across the internal diagonal' and let the internal diagonal have a length
of # +he point enters a ne& !nit c!be in the dimensions at m!ltiples of
respectivel"# -e proceed b" !sing PIE#
+he point enters a ne& c!be in the dimension times' in the dimension times and in the
dimension' times#
+he point enters a ne& c!be in the and dimensions &henever a m!ltiple of e!als a m!ltiple
of # +his occ!rs times# %imilarl"' a point enters a ne& c!be in the
dimensions times and a point enters a ne& c!be in the
dimensions times#
+he point enters a ne& c!be in the and dimensions &henever some m!ltiples
of are e!al# +his occ!rs times#
+he total n!mber of !nit c!bes entered is
then
Problem
In parallelogram ' let be the intersection of diagonals and # Angles
and are each t&ice as large as angle ' and angle is times as large as
angle # $ind the greatest integer that does not e)ceed #
%ol!tion
Solution 1 (trigno%etry)
3et # +hen ' ' and
# %ince is a parallelogram' it follo&s that # 2" the 3a& of
%ines on '
?ividing the t&o e!alities "ields
P"thagorean and prod!ct-to-s!m identities "ield
and the do!ble and triple angle ( * form!las f!rther simplif" this to
+he onl" val!e of that fits in this conte)t comes
from # +he ans&er
is #
Solution 2 (trigno%etry)
?efine as above# %ince ' it follo&s that ' and
so # +he3a& of
%ines on "ields that
E)panding !sing the sine do!ble and triple angle form!las' &e have
2" the !adratic form!la' &e have ' so (as
the other roots are too large to ma0e sense in conte)t*# +he ans&er follo&s as above#
Solution 3
-e &ill foc!s on # 3et ' so # ?ra&
the perpendic!lar from intersecting at # -itho!t loss of generalit"' let #
+hen ' since is the circ!mcenter of # +hen #
2" the E)terior Angle +heorem' and # +hat implies that #
+hat ma0es # +hen since b" AA ( and refle)ive
on *' #
+hen b" the P"thagorean +heorem' # +hat ma0es
e!ilateral# +hen # +he ans&er follo&s as above#
1997
Problem
Do& man" of the integers bet&een 1 and 1AAA' incl!sive' can be e)pressed as the difference of the
s!ares of t&o nonnegative integers.
%ol!tion
If &e let the t&o s!ares be ' then b" difference of s!ares &e
have # @otice that and have the same parities# +his eliminates all
n!mbers in the form of / &hen is factored' one of the factors m!st be even'
b!t not both' so its factors cannot have the same parit"#
+he remaining n!mbers' &e can describe specific s!ares &hich fit the conditions/
$or all odd ' #
$or all ' #

Problem
+he nine hori4ontal and nine vertical lines on an chec0erboard form rectangles' of &hich
are s!ares# +he n!mber can be &ritten in the form &here and are relativel" prime
positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
+o determine the t&o hori4ontal sides of a rectangle' &e have to pic0 t&o of the hori4ontal lines of the
chec0erboard' or # %imilaril"' there are &a"s to pic0 the vertical sides' giving
!s rectangles#
$or ' there are !nit s!ares' of the s!ares' and so on !ntil of the s!ares#
Fsing the s!m of s!ares form!la' that gives
!s #
+h!s ' and #
Problem
%arah intended to m!ltipl" a t&o-digit n!mber and a three-digit n!mber' b!t she left o!t the
m!ltiplication sign and simpl" placed the t&o-digit n!mber to the left of the three-digit n!mber'
thereb" forming a five-digit n!mber# +his n!mber is e)actl" nine times the prod!ct %arah sho!ld have
obtained# -hat is the s!m of the t&o-digit n!mber and the three-digit n!mber.
%ol!tion
3et be the t&o-digit n!mber' be the three-digit n!mber# P!tting together the given' &e
have # Fsing %$$+' this factori4es
to ' and #
%ince ' &e can !se trial and error on factors of 1AAA# If ' &e get a
non-integer# If ' &e get and ' &hich satisifies the conditions# Dence
the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
As sho&n above' &e have ' so # m!st be 6!st a little
bit smaller than 9' so &e find ' ' and the sol!tion is #
Problem
Circles of radii and are m!t!all" e)ternall" tangent' &here and are relativel" prime
positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
If (in the diagram above* &e dra& the line going thro!gh the centers of the circles &ith radii
and ' that line is the perpendic!lar bisector of the segment connecting the centers of the t&o
circles &ith radii # +hen &e form t&o right triangles' of lengths and '
&her is the distance bet&een the center of the circle in !estion and the segment connecting the
centers of the t&o circles of radii # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem' &e no& have t&o e!ations &ith
t&o !n0no&ns/
%o #
Problem
+he n!mber can be e)pressed as a fo!r-place decimal &here and represent digits'
an" of &hich co!ld be 4ero# It is desired to appro)imate b" a fraction &hose n!merator is 1 or , and
&hose denominator is an integer# +he closest s!ch fraction to is -hat is the n!mber of possible
val!es for .
%ol!tion
+he nearest fractions to &ith n!merator are B and &ith n!merator are
an"&a"# $or to be the best appro)imation for ' the decimal m!st be closer to than
to or #
+h!s can range bet&een and # At ' it
becomes closer to the other fractions' so and the n!mber of val!es of
is #
Problem
Point is in the e)terior of the reg!lar -sided pol"gon ' and is an e!ilateral
triangle# -hat is the largest val!e of for &hich ' ' and are consec!tive vertices of a reg!lar
pol"gon.
%ol!tion 1
3et the other reg!lar pol"gon have sides# Fsing the interior angle of a reg!lar pol"gon form!la' &e
have ' ' and # %ince those
three angles add !p to '
Fsing %$$+'
Clearl" is ma)imi4ed &hen #
%ol!tion ,
As above' find that !sing the form!la for the interior angle of a pol"gon#
%olve for to find that # Clearl"' for to be positive#
-ith this restriction of ' the larger gets' the smaller the fraction becomes# +his can
be proven either b" calc!l!s' b" noting that is a transformed h"perbola' or b" dividing
o!t the rational f!nction to get
Either &a"' minimi4ng &ill ma)imi4e ' and the smallest integer s!ch that is positive
is ' giving
%ol!tion 1
$rom the form!la for the meas!re for an individ!al angle of a reg!lar n-gon' ' the meas!re
of # +ogether &ith the fact that an e!ilateral triangle has angles
meas!ring 9A degrees' the meas!re of (@otice that this val!e decreases
as increasesB hence' &e are loo0ing for the least possible val!e of *# $or to be
vertices of a reg!lar pol"gon' m!st be of the form ' &here is a nat!ral
n!mber greater than or e!al to 1# It is obvio!s that # +he least angle satisf"ing
this condition is # E!ating this &ith and solving "ields
Problem
A car travels d!e east at mile per min!te on a long' straight road# At the same time' a circ!lar
storm' &hose radi!s is miles' moves so!theast at mile per min!te# At time ' the center
of the storm is miles d!e north of the car# At time min!tes' the car enters the storm circle'
and at time min!tes' the car leaves the storm circle# $ind #
%ol!tion
-e set !p a coordinate s"stem' &ith the starting point of the car at the origin# At time ' the car is
at and the center of the storm is at # Fsing the distance form!la'
@oting that is at the ma)im!m point of the parabola' &e can
!se #
Problem
Do& man" different arra"s &hose entries are all 18s and -18s have the propert" that the s!m of
the entries in each ro& is A and the s!m of the entries in each col!mn is A.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
For more detailed explanations, see related problem (AIME I 2007, 10).
+he problem is as0ing !s for all config!rations of grids &ith , 18s and , -18s in each ro& and
col!mn# -e do case&or0 !pon the first t&o col!mns/
+he first t&o col!mns share no t&o n!mbers in the same ro&# +here are &a"s to pic0 t&o 18s
in the first col!mn' and the second col!mn is determined# $or the third and fo!rth col!mns' no t&o
n!mbers can be in the same ro& (to ma0e the s!m of each ro& A*' so again there are &a"s# +his
gives #
+he first t&o col!mns share one n!mber in the same ro&# +here are &a"s to pic0 the position
of the shared 1' then &a"s to pic0 the locations for the ne)t t&o 1s' and then &a"s to orient
the 1s# $or the third and fo!rth col!mns' the t&o ro&s &ith shared 1s or -1s are fi)ed' so the onl" things
that can be changed is the orientation of the mi)ed ro&s' in &a"s# +his gives #
+he first t&o col!mns share t&o n!mbers in th same ro&# +here are &a"s to pic0 the position
of the shared 1s# Ever"thing is then fi)ed#
Adding these cases !p' &e get #
Problem
Eiven a nonnegative real n!mber ' let denote the fractional part of B that is' '
&here denotes the greatest integer less than or e!al to # %!ppose that is
positive' ' and # $ind the val!e of #
%ol!tion 1
3oo0ing at the properties of the n!mber' it is immediatel" g!ess-able that
(the golden ratio* is the ans&er# +he follo&ing is the &a" to derive that/
%ince ' # +h!s ' and it follo&s
that # @oting that is a root' this factors
to ' so (&e discard the negative root*#
H!r ans&er is # Comple) con6!gates red!ce
the second term to # +he first term &e can e)pand b" the binomial theorem to
get
# +he ans&er is #
@ote that to determine o!r ans&er' &e co!ld have also !sed other properties of li0e #
%ol!tion ,
$ind as sho&n above# @ote that satisfies the e!ation (this is the e!ation &e solved
to get it*# +hen' &e can simplif" as follo&s !sing the fibonacci n!mbers/
%o &e &ant since is e!ivalent
to #
Problem
Ever" card in a dec0 has a pict!re of one shape - circle' s!are' or triangle' &hich is painted in one of
the three colors - red' bl!e' or green# $!rthermore' each color is applied in one of three shades - light'
medi!m' or dar0# +he dec0 has ,7 cards' &ith ever" shape-color-shade combination represented# A
set of three cards from the dec0 is called complementar" if all of the follo&ing statements are tr!e/
i# Either each of the three cards has a different shape or all three of the card have the same shape#
ii# Either each of the three cards has a different color or all three of the cards have the same color#
iii# Either each of the three cards has a different shade or all three of the cards have the same shade#
Do& man" different complementar" three-card sets are there.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
*ase 1/ All three attrib!tes are the same# +his is impossible since sets contain distinct cards#
*ase 2/ +&o of the three attrib!tes are the same# +here are &a"s to pic0 the t&o attrib!tes in
!estion# +hen there are &a"s to pic0 the val!e of the first attrib!te' &a"s to pic0 the val!e of the
second attrib!te' and &a" to arrange the positions of the third attrib!te' giving !s
&a"s#
*ase 3/ Hne of the three attrib!tes are the same# +here are &a"s to pic0 the one attrib!te in
!estion' and then &a"s to pic0 the val!e of that attrib!te# +hen there are &a"s to arrange the
positions of the ne)t t&o attrib!tes' giving !s &a"s#
*ase 4/ @one of the three attrib!tes are the same# -e fi) the order of the first attrib!te' and then there
are &a"s to pic0 the ordering of the second attrib!te and &a"s to pic0 the ordering of the third
attrib!te# +his gives !s &a"s#
Adding the cases !p' &e get #
Solution 2
3et8s sa" &e have pic0ed t&o cards# -e no& compare their attrib!tes to decide ho& &e can pic0 the
third card to ma0e a complement set# $or each of the three attrib!tes' sho!ld the t&o val!es be the
same &e have one option - choose a card &ith the same val!e for that attrib!te# $!rthermore' sho!ld
the t&o be different there is onl" one option- choose the onl" val!e that is remaining# In this &a"'
ever" t&o card pic0 corresponds to e)actl" one set' for a total of
possibilities# @ote' ho&ever' that each set is generated b" pairs' so &e8ve overco!nted b" a
m!ltiple of 1 and the ans&er is #
Solution 3
-e call these three t"pes of complementar" sets respectivel"# -hat &e are tr"ing to find is
2" Principle of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion' this is e!ivalent to
@o&' # Hbvio!sl"' and are the same# +h!s' &e have
his sol!tion is incomplete. "o! can help !s o!t b# completin$ it.
Solution 4
+reat the sets as ordered# +hen for each of the three criterion' there are choices if the attrib!te
is different and there are choices is the attrib!te is the same# +h!s all three attrib!tes combine to a
total of possibilities# Do&ever if all three attrib!tes are the same then the set m!st
be composed of three cards that are the same' &hich is impossible# +his ta0es o!t
possibilities# @otice that &e have co!nted ever" set times b" treating the set as ordered# the
final sol!tion is then
Problem 11
3et # -hat is the greatest integer that does not e)ceed .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Fsing the identit"
' that s!mmationred!ces to
+his fraction is e!ivalent to # +herefore'
Solution 2
A slight variant of the above sol!tion' note that
+his is the ratio &e are loo0ing for# red!ces to ' and #
Solution 3
Consider the s!m # +he fraction is given b" the real part divided b" the imaginar" part#
+he s!m can be &ritten (b" ?e Moivre8s +heorem &ith
geometric series*
(after m!ltipl"ing
b" comple) con6!gate*
Fsing the tangent half-angle form!la' this
becomes #
?ividing the t&o parts and m!ltipl"ing each part b" 5' the fraction
is #
Altho!gh an e)act val!e for in terms of radicals &ill be diffic!lt' this is easil" 0no&n/ it is
reall" largeG
%o treat it as tho!gh it &ere # +he fraction is appro)imated
b" #
Problem
+he f!nction defined b" ' &here ' ' and are non4ero real n!mbers' has the
properties ' and for all val!es e)cept # $ind the !ni!e
n!mber that is not in the range of #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
$irst' &e !se the fact that for all in the domain# %!bstit!ting the f!nction definition'
&e have ' &hich red!ces to In order for
this fraction to red!ce to ' &e m!st have and #
$rom ' &e get or # +he second cannot be tr!e' since
&e are given that are non4ero# +his means ' so #
+he onl" val!e that is not in the range of this f!nction is # +o find ' &e !se the t&o val!es of the
f!nction given to !s# -e get and # %!btracting the second
e!ation from the first &ill eliminate ' and this res!lts in ' so
Alternativel"' &e co!ld have fo!nd o!t that b" !sing the fact that #
Solution 2
$irst' &e note that is the hori4ontal as"mptote of the f!nction' and since this is a linear
f!nction over a linear f!nction' the !ni!e n!mber not in the range of &ill be
# # -itho!t loss of generalit"' let ' so the f!nction becomes #
(Considering as a limit* 2" the given' # ' so
# as reaches the vertical as"mptote' &hich is at # Dence #
%!bstit!ting the givens' &e get
Clearl" &e can discard the positive root' so #
Solution 3
-e first note (as before* that the n!mber not in the range of
is ' as is evidentl" never A (other&ise' &o!ld be a constant f!nction' violating the
condition *#
-e ma" represent the real n!mber as ' &ith t&o s!ch col!mn vectors considered e!ivalent
if the" are scalar m!ltiples of each other# %imilarl"' &e can represent a f!nction as
a matri) # $!nction composition and eval!ation then become matri) m!ltiplication#
@o& in general' In o!r problem # It follo&s
that for some non4ero real # %ince it follo&s
that # (In fact' this condition condition is e!ivalent to the condition that for
all in the domain of #*
-e ne)t note that the f!nction eval!ates to A &hen
e!als 19 and 97# +herefore
+h!s ' so ' o!r ans&er#
Solution 4
An" n!mber that is not in the domain of the inverse of cannot be in the range of # %tarting
&ith ' &e rearrange some things to get # Clearl"' is the n!mber
that is o!tside the range of #
%ince &e are given ' &e have that
All the !adratic terms' linear terms' and
constant terms m!st be e!al on both sides for this to be a tr!e statement so &e have that #
+his sol!tion follo&s in the same manner as the last paragraph of the first sol!tion#
Problem
3et be the set of points in the Cartesian plane that satisf"
If a model of &ere b!ilt from &ire of negligible thic0ness' then the total length of &ire re!ired &o!ld be '
&here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime n!mber# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
his sol!tion is non%ri$oro!s.
3et ' #
+hen # -e onl" have a area' so
g!essing points and graphing &on8t be too bad of an idea# %ince ' there8s a s"mmetr"
abo!t all fo!r !adrants' so 6!st consider the first !adrant# -e no& gather some points/
-e can no& graph the pairs of coordinates &hich add !p to # X!st !sing the first col!mn of
information gives !s an interesting lattice pattern/
Plotting the remaining points and connecting lines' the graph loo0s li0e/
Calc!lating the lengths is no& eas"B each rectangle has sides of ' so the ans&er
is # $or all fo!r !adrants' this is ' and #
Solution 2
%ince and
Also #
?efine #
If /
If /
If /
%o the graph of at is s"mmetric to at (reflected over the line );1*
And the graph of at is s"mmetric to at (reflected over the line );,*
And the graph of at is s"mmetric to at (reflected over the line

);A*
Lthis is also tr!e for hori4ontal reflection' &ith ' etcM
%o it is onl" necessar" to find the length of the f!nction at and
/
(3ength ; *
+his graph is reflected over the line ";1' the !antit" of &hich is reflected over ";,'
the !antit" of &hich is reflected over ";A'
the !antit" of &hich is reflected over );1'
the !antit" of &hich is reflected over );,'
the !antit" of &hich is reflected over );A##
%o a total of do!blings ; ; ' the total length ; '
and #
Problem
3et and be distinct' randoml" chosen roots of the e!ation # 3et be
the probabilit" that ' &here and arerelativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
2" ?e Moivre8s +heorem' &e find that ( *
@o&' let be the root corresponding to ' and let be the root corresponding to
# +he magnit!de of is therefore/
-e need # +he cosine difference
identit" simplifies that to #
+h!s' #
+herefore' and cannot be more than a&a" from each other# +his means that for a given
val!e of ' there are val!es for that satisf" the ine!alit"B of them ' and of
them # %ince and m!st be distinct' can have possible val!es# +herefore' the
probabilit" is # +he ans&er is then #
Solution 2
+he sol!tions of the e!ation are the th roots of !nit" and are e!al
to for +he" are also located at the vertices of
a reg!lar -gon that is centered at the origin in the comple) plane#
-itho!t loss of generalit"' let +hen
-e &ant $rom &hat &e 6!st obtained' this is e!ivalent
to +his occ!rs &hen &hich is satisfied
b" (&e don8t incl!de A beca!se that corresponds to *# %o o!t of
the possible ' &or0# +h!s' %o o!r ans&er
is
Problem
+he sides of rectangle have lengths and # An e!ilateral triangle is dra&n so that no
point of the triangle lies o!tside # +he ma)im!m possible area of s!ch a triangle can be
&ritten in the form ' &here ' ' and are positive integers' and is not divisible b" the
s!are of an" prime n!mber# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Consider points on the comple) plane # %ince the
rectangle is !ite close to a s!are' &e fig!re that the area of the e!ilateral triangle is ma)imi4ed
&hen a verte) of the triangle coincides &ith that of the rectangle# %et one verte) of the triangle at '
and the other t&o points and on and ' respectivel"# 3et and # %ince
it8s e!ilateral' then ' so ' and e)panding &e
get #
-e can then set the real and imaginar" parts e!al' and solve
for # Dence a side of the e!ilateral triangle can be fo!nd
b" # Fsing the area form!la ' the area of the
e!ilateral triangle is #
+h!s #
Solution 2
+his is a trigonometric re-statement of the above# 3et B b" alternate interior
angles' # 3et and the side of the e!ilateral triangle be '
so b" the P"thagorean +heorem#
@o& # +his
red!ces to #
+h!s' the area of the triangle is ' &hich "ields the same ans&er as above#
Solution 3
%ince and ' it follo&s that #
:otate triangle degrees cloc0&ise# @ote that the image of is # 3et the image of
be # %ince angles are preserved !nder rotation' # It follo&s
that # %ince ' it follo&s that
!adrilateral is c"clic &ith circ!mdiameter and th!s circ!mradi!s # 3et be its
circ!mcenter# 2" Inscribed Angles' # 2" the definition of
circle' # It follo&s that triangle is e!ilateral# +herefore' #
Appl"ing the 3a& of Cosines to triangle ' # %!aring
and m!ltipl"ing b"
"ields
-%ol!tion b" t+ec%d,,,
1998
Problem
$or ho& man" val!es of is the least common m!ltiple of the positive integers ' ' and .
%ol!tion
It is evident that has onl" ,s and 1s in its prime factori4ation' or #
+he 3CM of an" n!mbers an be fo!nd b" &riting o!t their factori4ations and ta0ing the greatest po&er
for each factor# #
+herefore ' and #
%ince ' there are val!es of #
Problem
$ind the n!mber of ordered pairs of positive integers that satisf"
and #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Pic08s theorem states that/
+he conditions give !s fo!r ine!alities/ ' ' ' # +hese create
a !adrilateral' &hose area is of the 1A b" 1A s!are it is in# A simple &a" to see this is to note that
the t&o triangles o!tside of the !adrilateral form half of the area of the 1A b" 1A s!are#
%o # &e can calc!late b" 6!st co!nting# Ignoring the vertices' the top and right
sides have 15 lattice points' and the t&o diagonals each have 15 lattice points (for the top diagonal'
ever" val!e of corresponds &ith an integer val!e of as and vice versa for the bottom' so
and there are 15 val!es for ) not co!nting vertices*# Adding the fo!r vertices' there are 9A points on
the borders#
%ince the ine!alities also incl!de the e!als case' &e incl!de the bo!ndaries' &hich gives
!s ordered pairs# Do&ever' the !estion as0s !s for positive integers' so
doesn8t co!ntB hence' the ans&er is #
Solution 2
$irst' note that all pairs of the form ' &or0#
@o&' considered the ordered pairs &ith ' so that is a!tomaticall" satisfied#
%ince ' there are possible val!es of # Dence' given ' there are val!es of
possible for &hich and the above conditions are satisfied# 2!t ' so this onl" &or0s
for # +h!s' there are
ordered pairs# $or ' m!st follo& # Dence' there are possibilities for '
and there are
ordered pairs#
2" s"mmetr"' there are also ordered pairs &ith and the above criteria
satisfied#
Dence' the total is
Problem
+he graph of partitions the plane into several regions# -hat is the area of
the bo!nded region.
%ol!tion
-e can split the e!ation into a piece&ise e!ation b" brea0ing !p the absol!te val!e/
$actoring the first one/ (alternativel"' it is also possible to complete the s!are*
Dence' either ' or #
%imilaril"' for the second one' &e get or # If &e graph these fo!r e!ations'
&e see that &e get a parallelogram &ith base ,A and height 5A# Dence the ans&er is #
Problem
@ine tiles are n!mbered respectivel"# Each of three pla"ers randoml" selects and 0eeps
three of the tiles' and s!ms those three val!es# +heprobabilit" that all three pla"ers obtain
an odd s!m is &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
In order for a pla"er to have an odd s!m' he m!st have an odd n!mber of odd tiles/ that is' he can
either have three odd tiles' or t&o even tiles and an odd tile# +h!s' since there are odd tiles and
even tiles' the onl" possibilit" is that one pla"er gets odd tiles and the other t&o pla"ers get even
tiles and odd tile# -e co!nt the n!mber of &a"s this can happen# (-e &ill co!nt ass!ming that it
matters in &hat order the people pic0 the tilesB the final ans&er is the same if &e ass!me the
opposite' that order doesn8t matter#*
-e have choices for the pla"er &ho &ill get three odd tiles' and choices for the tiles that
he gets# +he other t&o odd tiles can be distrib!ted to the other t&o pla"ers in &a"s' and the even
tiles can be distrib!ted bet&een them in &a"s# +his gives !s a total
of possibilities in &hich all three people get odd s!ms#
In order to calc!late the probabilit"' &e need to 0no& the total n!mber of possible distrib!tions for the
tiles# +he first pla"er needs three tiles &hich &e can give him in &a"s' and the second
pla"er needs three of the remaining si)' &hich &e can give him in &a"s# $inall"' the third
pla"er &ill simpl" ta0e the remaining tiles in &a"# %o' there are
&a"s total to distrib!te the tiles#
+h!s' the total probabilit" is so the ans&er is #
Problem
Eiven that find
%ol!tion
+ho!gh the problem ma" appear to be !ite da!nting' it is act!all" not that diffic!lt# al&a"s
eval!ates to an integer (triang!lar n!mber*' and thecosine of &here is 1 if is even and
-1 if is odd# &ill be even if or ' and odd other&ise#
%o o!r s!m loo0s something li0e/
If &e gro!p the terms in pairs' &e see that &e need a form!la
for # %o the first t&o fractions add !p to
' the ne)t t&o to ' and so forth#
If &e pair the terms again no&' each pair adds !p to # +here are s!ch pairs' so
o!r ans&er is #
Problem
3et be a parallelogram# E)tend thro!gh to a point and let meet at
and at Eiven that and find
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+here are several similar triangles# ' so &e can &rite the proportion/
Also' ' so/
%!bstit!ting'
+h!s' #
Solution 2
-e have so # -e also have so #
E!ating the t&o res!lts gives and so &hich solves to
Problem
3et be the n!mber of ordered !adr!ples of positive odd integers that
satisf" $ind
%ol!tion
?efine # +hen ' so #
%o &e &ant to find fo!r integers that s!m !p to 71B &e can imagine this as tr"ing to split !p 71 on the
n!mber line into 5 ranges# +his is e!ivalent to tr"ing to place 1 mar0ers on the n!mbers 1 thro!gh
7AB th!s the ans&er is ' and #
Problem
E)cept for the first t&o terms' each term of the se!ence is obtained b"
s!btracting the preceding term from the one before that# +he last term of the se!ence is the
first negative term enco!nted# -hat positive integer prod!ces a se!ence of ma)im!m length.
%ol!tion
+he best &a" to start is to 6!st &rite o!t some terms#
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
aa
aaa
a
2" no& its obvio!s that the n!mbers are related to the $ibonacci n!mbers#
+h!s'
Solution 1
-e can start to &rite o!t some of the ine!alities no&/
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
And in general'
It is apparent that the bo!nds are slo&l" closing in on ' so &e can 6!st calc!late for some large
val!e of (randoml"' 1A' 11*/
+h!s the se!ence is ma)imi4ed &hen #
Solution 2
It is &ell 0no&n that ' so
approaches #
Problem
+&o mathematicians ta0e a morning coffee brea0 each da"# +he" arrive at the cafeteria independentl"'
at random times bet&een 9 a#m# and 1A a#m#' and sta" for e)actl" min!tes# +he probabilit" that
either one arrives &hile the other is in the cafeteria is and &here and
are positive integers' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et the t&o mathematicians be and # Consider plotting the times that the" are on brea0 on
a coordinate plane &ith one a)is being the time arrives and the second a)is being the time
arrives (in min!tes past 9 a#m#*# +he t&o mathematicians meet each other &hen #
Also beca!se the mathematicians arrive bet&een 9 and 1A' #
-e can !se geometric probabilit" to find the probabilit" that the mathematicians do not meet/
%o the ans&er is #
Solution 2
Case 1/
C
ase ,/
-e dra& a n!mber line representing the time interval# If mathematician comes in at the center of
the time period' then the t&o mathematicions &ill meet if comes in some&here bet&een
min!tes before and after comes (a total range of min!tes*# Do&ever' if comes into the
cafeteria in the first or last min!tes' then the range in &hich is red!ced to some&here in
bet&een and #
-e 0no& tr" to find the &eighted average of the chance that the t&o meet# In the central
min!tes' and have to enter the cafeteria &ithin min!tes of each otherB so if &e fi)
point then has a probabilit" of meeting#
In the first and last min!tes' the probabilit" that the t&o meet ranges from to ' depending
!pon the location of &ith respect to the endpoints# Int!itivel"' the average probabilit" &ill occ!r
at #
%o the &eighted average is/
%olving this !adratic' &e get t&o roots' # Do&ever' ' so &e discard the greater
rootB and th!s o!r ans&er #
Problem
Eight spheres of radi!s 1AA are placed on a flat s!rface so that each sphere is tangent to t&o others
and their centers are the vertices of a reg!lar octagon# A ninth sphere is placed on the flat s!rface so
that it is tangent to each of the other eight spheres# +he radi!s of this last sphere is
&here and are positive integers' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime#
$ind #
%ol!tion
+he 0e" is to reali4e the significance that the fig!res are spheres' not circles# +he ,? analog!e of the
diagram onto the flat s!rface &ill not contain 8 circles tangent to a ninth oneB instead the circles &ill
overlap since the middle sphere has a larger radi!s and &ill sort of Ub!lgeV o!t#
Problem
+hree of the edges of a c!be are and and is an interior diagonal# Points
and are on and respectivel"' so that
and -hat is the area of the pol"gon that is the intersection of plane and the c!be.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
$or non-as"mptote version of image' see Image/1998YAIME-11#png
+his approach !ses anal"tical geometr"# 3et be at the origin' at ' at '
and at # +h!s' is at ' is at ' and is at #
3et the plane have the e!ation # Fsing point ' &e get that #
Fsing point ' &e get # Fsing point ' &e
get # +h!s plane
Kse!ation red!ces to #
-e 0no& need to find the intersection of this plane &ith that of ' ' ' and #
After doing a little bit of algebra' the intersections are the lines '
' ' and # +h!s' there are three more vertices on the pol"gon' &hich are
at #
-e can find the lengths of the sides of the pol"gons no&# +here are 5 right triangles &ith legs of
length 7 and 1A' so their h"poten!ses are # +he other t&o are of s &ith legs of
length 17' so their h"poten!ses are # %o &e have a he)agon &ith
sides 2"s"mmetr"' &e 0no& that opposite angles of the
pol"gon are congr!ent# -e can also calc!late the length of the long diagonal b" noting that it is of the
same length of a face diagonal' ma0ing it #
+he height of the triangles at the top/bottom is # +he P"thagorean
+heorem gives that half of the base of the triangles is # -e find that the middle rectangle is
act!all" a s!are' so the total area is #
Solution 2
$irst' note that &henever the plane intersects t&o opposite faces of the c!be' the res!lting line
segments m!st be parallel# 2eca!se the" are part of parallel planes (the faces*' the" m!st be either
parallel or s0e&B the" are both part of plane ' so the" cannot be s0e&# +herefore' the"
are parallel#
3et the c!be8s vertices be ' ' ' ' ' ' ' and ' &ith ' ' and on the bottom face as
before' being the other bottom verte)' directl" above ' above ' above ' and
above #
Clearl"' the ne)t verte) of the intersection (starting &ith ' ' * &ill be some&here on # 3et it
be ' and have a distance of from ?' and a distance of from #
+hen' the ne)t verte) &ill be some&here on # It m!st be parallel to ' so this implies that it has
a distance of from ' and th!s a distance of from #
@o&' the ne)t verte) (call it * &ill be some&here on # +he segment m!st be parallel to '
so m!st have length ' and m!st be #
%ince ' ' and ' &e m!st have B therefore'
-e can no& find that the he)agon has side lengths ' ' ' ' ' and #
Moreover' opposite angles of this m!st be e!al (b" s"mmetr"*' so segment divides
the he)agon into t&o isosceles trape4oids# It is eas" to find the length of (the"8re midpoints of
opposite edges' so the distance bet&een the t&o points is e!al to a face diagonal of the c!be'
or *' so it is no& eas" to finish the problem# $rom here' &e can contin!e as in the first sol!tion#
3et !s e)amine the relation bet&een one of the o!tside 8 spheres and the center one (&ith radi!s */
If &e dra& the segment containing the centers and the radii perpendic!lar to the flat s!rface' &e get
a trape4oidB if &e dra& the segment parallel to the s!rface that connects the center of the smaller
sphere to the radii of the larger' &e get a right triangle# Call that segment # +hen b" the P"thagorean
+heorem/
is the distance from one of the vertices of the octagon to the center' so the diagonal of the octagon
is of length # -e can dra& another right triangle as sho&n above# Hne leg has a length
of # +he other can be fo!nd b" partitioning the leg into three sections and !sing s
to see that the leg is # P"thagorean +heorem/
+h!s #
Problem
3et be e!ilateral' and and be the midpoints of and respectivel"#
+here e)ist points and on and respectivel"' &ith the propert" that is
on is on and is on +he ratio of the area of triangle to the area of
triangle is &here and are integers' and is not divisible b" the s!are of
an" prime# -hat is .
%ol!tion
-e let ' ' # %ince and
' and #
2" alternate interior angles' &e have and # 2" vertical
angles' #
+h!s ' so #
%ince is e!ilateral' # %olving for and
!sing and gives and #
Fsing the 3a& of Cosines' &e get
-e &ant the ratio of the s!ares of the sides' so
so #
Problem
If is a set of real n!mbers' inde)ed so that its
comple) po&er s!m is defined to be &here 3et be
the s!m of the comple) po&er s!ms of all nonempt" s!bsets of Eiven
that and &ere and are integers' find
%ol!tion
-e note that the n!mber of s!bsets (for no&' incl!ding the empt" s!bset' &hich &e &ill 6!st define to
have a po&er s!m of 4ero* &ith in it is e!al to the n!mber of s!bsets &itho!t a # +o easil" see
this' ta0e all possible s!bsets of # %ince the sets are ordered' a m!st go at the endB
hence &e can 6!st append a to an" of those s!bsets to get a ne& one#
@o& that &e have dra&n that bi6ection' &e can calc!late the comple) po&er s!m rec!rsivel"# %ince
appending a to a s!bset doesn8t change an"thing abo!t that s!bset8s comple) po&er s!m besides
adding an additional term' &e have that ' &here refers to the s!m of all of the
#
It a s!bset of si4e 1 has a 9' then its po&er s!m m!st be ' and there is onl" of these s!ch s!bsets#
+here are &ith ' &ith ' and so forth# %o # +his is e)actl"
the binomial e)pansion of # -e can !se ?e Moivre8s +heorem to calc!late the
po&er/ # Dence '
and #
+h!s' #
Problem
An rectang!lar bo) has half the vol!me of an rectang!lar
bo)' &here and are integers' and -hat is the largest possible val!e of .
%ol!tion
3etKs solve for /
$or the denominator' &e &ill !se a factoring tric0 (collo!iall" 0no&n as %$$+*' &hich states
that #
Clearl"' &e &ant to minimi4e the denominator'
so # +he possible pairs of factors of
are # +hese give and respectivel"# %!bstit!ting into the
n!merator' &e see that the first pair gives ' &hile the second pair gives # -e can !ic0l" test for
the denominator ass!ming other val!es to convince o!rselves that is the best possible val!e for the
denominator# Dence' the sol!tion is #
Proof that setting the denominator to is optimal/
%!ppose ' and s!ppose for the sa0e of contradiction that there e)ist
s!ch that for some and s!ch that
+his implies that
and
%!bstit!ting gives
&hich &e re&rite as
@e)t' note that for to be positive' &e m!st
have and be positive' so
%o //sho!ldn8t this be ,5 R 5(9Rd*. then the entire proof is
fallacio!s (it res!lts in ,(1 R 1 R 1* T 17 &hich is tr!e*
@e)t' &e m!st have that and are positive' so and # Also' b" ho&
&e defined # %o a contradiction# -e alread" sho&ed above that there are some
val!es of and s!ch that that &or0' so this proves that one of these pairs
of val!es of and m!st "ield the ma)imal val!e of #
Problem
?efine a domino to be an ordered pair of distinct positive integers# A proper se!ence of dominos is a
list of distinct dominos in &hich the first coordinate of each pair after the first e!als the second
coordinate of the immediatel" preceding pair' and in &hich and do not both appear for
an" and # 3et be the set of all dominos &hose coordinates are no larger than 5A# $ind the
length of the longest proper se!ence of dominos that can be formed !sing the dominos of
%ol!tion
-e can dra& a comparison bet&een the domino a set of 5A points (labeled 1 thro!gh 5A* in &hich
ever" point is connected &ith ever" other point# +he connections represent the dominoes#
=o! need to have all even n!mber of segments coming from each point e)cept A or , &hich have an
odd n!mber of segments coming from the point# (:easoning for this/ Ever"time "o! go to a verte)'
"o! have to leave the verte)' so ever" verte) reached is e!ivalent to adding , more segments# %o
the degree of each verte) m!st be even' &ith the e)ception of endpoints* %ince there are 19
segments coming from each point it is impossible to to!ch ever" segment#
2!t "o! can get !p to 18 on each segment beca!se "o! go in to the point then o!t on a different
segment# Co!nting going o!t from the starting and ending at the ending point &e have/
1999
Problem
$ind the smallest prime that is the fifth term of an increasing arithmetic se!ence' all fo!r preceding
terms also being prime#
%ol!tion
Hbvio!sl"' all of the terms m!st be odd# +he common difference bet&een the terms cannot be or '
since other&ise there &o!ld be a n!mber in the se!ence that is divisible b" # Do&ever' if the
common difference is ' &e find that ' and form an arithmetic se!ence# +h!s' the
ans&er is #
Alternate %ol!tion
If &e let the arithmetic se!ence to be ' and ' &here is a prime
n!mber and is a positive integer' &e can see that cannot be m!ltiple of or or # %mallest s!ch
prime n!mber is ' and from a !ic0 observation &e can see that &hen is ' the terms of the
se!ence are all prime n!mbers# +he se!ence becomes ' so the ans&er is #
Problem
Consider the parallelogram &ith vertices ' ' ' and # A line thro!gh
the origin c!ts this fig!re into t&o congr!ent pol"gons# +heslope of the line is &here and
are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
3et the first point on the line be &here a is the height above # 3et the
second point on the line be # $or t&o given points' the line &ill pass the origin
iff the coordinates are proportional (s!ch that *# +hen' &e can &rite
that # %olving for "ields that ' so
# +he slope of the line (since it passes thro!gh the origin* is ' and the sol!tion
is #
%ol!tion ,
=o! can clearl" see that a line that c!ts a parallelogram into t&o congr!ent pieces m!st go thro!gh
the center of the parallelogram# +a0ing the midpoint of ' and gives ' &hich
is the center of the parallelogram# +h!s the slope of the line m!st be ' and the sol!tion is #
Problem
$ind the s!m of all positive integers for &hich is a perfect s!are#
%ol!tion
If for some positive integer ' then rearranging &e
get # @o& from the !adratic form!la'
2eca!se is an integer' this means for some nonnegative integer # :earranging
gives # +h!s or ' giving or # +his
gives or ' and the s!m is #
Alternate %ol!tion
%!ppose there is some s!ch that # Completing the s!are' &e have
that ' that is' # M!ltipl"ing both
sides b" 5 and rearranging' &e see that #
+h!s' # -e then proceed as &e did in the previo!s sol!tion#
Problem
+he t&o s!ares sho&n share the same center and have sides of length 1# +he length of
is and the area of octagon is &here and are relativel"
%ol!tion
Solution 1
?efine the t&o possible distances from one of the labeled points and the corners of the s!are !pon
&hich the point lies as and # +he area of the octagon(b" s!btraction of areas*
is #
2" the P"thagorean theorem'
Also'
%!bstit!ting'
+h!s' the area of the octagon is ' so #
Solution 2
Each of the triangle ' ' ' etc# are congr!ent' and their areas are ' since the
area of a triangle is ' so the area of all of them is and the ans&er is #
Problem
$or an" positive integer ' let be the s!m of the digits of ' and let
be $or e)ample' Do& man"
val!es of do not e)ceed 1999.
%ol!tion
$or most val!es of ' &ill e!al # $or those that don8t' the difference m!st be b!mping the
n!mber !p a ten' a h!ndred' etc# If &e ta0e as an e)ample'
And in general' the val!es of &ill then
be in the form of # $rom to ' there are sol!tionsB
incl!ding and there are a total of sol!tions#
Problem
A transformation of the first !adrant of the coordinate plane maps each point to the
point +he vertices of !adrilateral ar
e and 3et be the area
of the region enclosed b" the image of !adrilateral $ind the greatest integer that does not
e)ceed
%ol!tion
$irst &e see that lines passing thro!gh and have e!ations and '
respectivel"# 3oo0ing at the points above' &e see the e!ations for and are
and ' or' after manip!lation and ' respectivel"' &hich are still linear
f!nctions# 2asicall" the s!are of the image points gives bac0 the original points and &e co!ld pl!g
them bac0 into the original e!ation to get the e!ation of the image lines#
@o& ta0e a loo0 at and ' &hich have the e!ations and #
+he image e!ations hence are and ' respectivel"' &hich are the
e!ations for circles#
+o find the area bet&een the circles (act!all"' parts of the circles*' &e need to fig!re o!t the angle of
the arc# +his co!ld be done b" # %o the re!ested
areas are the area of the enclosed part of the smaller circle s!btracted from the area enclosed b" the
part of the larger circle ; # Dence the ans&er
is #
Problem
+here is a set of 1AAA s&itches' each of &hich has fo!r positions' called ' and # -hen the
position of an" s&itch changes' it is onl" from to ' from to ' from to ' or from to #
Initiall" each s&itch is in position # +he s&itches are labeled &ith the 1AAA different
integers ' &here ' and ta0e on the val!es # At step i of a 1AAA-step
process' the -th s&itch is advanced one step' and so are all the other s&itches &hose labels divide
the label on the -th s&itch# After step 1AAA has been completed' ho& man" s&itches &ill be in
position .
%ol!tion
$or each th s&itch (designated b" *' it advances itsel& onl" one time at the th stepB
thereafter' onl" a s&itch &ith larger val!es &ill advance the th s&itch b" one step
provided divides # 3et be the ma) s&itch label# +o find
the divisor m!ltiples in the range of to ' &e consider the e)ponents of the
n!mber # In general' the divisor-co!nt of m!st be a m!ltiple of 5 to
ens!re that a s&itch is in position A/
'
&here
-e consider the cases &here the 1 factors above do not contrib!te m!ltiples of 5#
Case of no ,8s/
+he s&itches m!st be # +here are odd integers in to ' so &e
have &a"s#
Case of a single ,/
+he s&itches m!st be one of or or #
%ince the terms and are three valid choices for the
factor above#
-e have &a"s#
+he n!mber of s&itches in position A is #
Problem
3et be the set of ordered triples of nonnegative real n!mbers that lie in
the plane 3et !s sa" that s!pports &hen e)actl" t&o of the
follo&ing are tr!e/ 3et consist of those triples in that
s!pport +he area of divided b" the area of is &here and are relativel"
%ol!tion
+his problem 6!st re!ires a good diagram and strong 1? vis!ali4ation#
+he region in &here is that of a little triangle on the bottom of the above
diagram' of is the triangle at the right' and the triangle on the left'
&here the triangles are coplanar &ith the large e!ilateral triangle formed
b" # -e can chec0 that each of the three regions mentioned fall !nder
e)actl" t&o of the ine!alities and not the third#
+he side length of the large e!ilateral triangle is ' &hich &e can find !sing 57-57-9A &ith the
a)es# Fsing the form!la for e!ilateral triangles' the area of the large triangle
is # %ince the lines of the smaller triangles are parallel to those of the large triangle'
b" corresponding angles &e see that all of the triangles are similar' so the" are all e!ilateral
triangles# -e can solve for their side lengths easil" b" s!btraction' and &e get #
Calc!lating their areas' &e get # +he ratio ' and the
ans&er is #
+o simplif" the problem' &e co!ld !sed the fact that the area ratios are e!al to the side ratios
s!ared' and &e get #
Problem
A f!nction is defined on the comple) n!mbers b" &here and are positive
n!mbers# +his f!nction has the propert" that the image of each point in the comple) plane
is e!idistant from that point and the origin# Eiven that and that &here
and are relativel" prime positive integers' find
%ol!tion
Solution 1
%!ppose &e pic0 an arbitrar" point on the comple) plane' sa" # According to the definition
of ' this image m!st be e!idistant
to and # +h!s the image m!st lie on the line &ith slope and &hich passes
thro!gh ' so its graph is # %!bstit!ting and ' &e
get #
2" the P"thagorean +heorem' &e have ' and the ans&er is #
Solution 2
Pl!gging in "ields # +his implies that m!st fall on the
line ' given the e!idistant r!le# 2" ' &e get ' and
pl!gging in "ields # +he ans&er is th!s #
Solution 3
-e are given that is e!idistant from the origin and +his translates to
%ince 2!t th!
s %o the ans&er is #
Solution 4
3et and be the points in the comple) plane represented b" and '
respectivel"# implies # Also' &e are given ' so is
isosceles &ith base # @otice that the base angle of this isosceles triangle is e!al to the
arg!ment of the comple) n!mber ' beca!se forms an angle of &ith # ?rop the
altit!de/median from to base ' and "o! end !p &ith a right triangle that
sho&s # %ince and are positive' lies in the first !adrant
and B hence b" right triangle trigonometr" #
$inall"' ' and ' so the ans&er is #
Problem
+en points in the plane are given' &ith no three collinear# $o!r distinct segments 6oining pairs of these
points are chosen at random' all s!ch segments being e!all" li0el"# +he probabilit" that some three of
the segments form a triangle &hose vertices are among the ten given points is &here and
arerelativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
$irst' let !s find the n!mber of triangles that can be formed from the 1A points# %ince none of the
points are collinear' it is possible to pic0 sets of 1 points &hich form triangles# Do&ever' a fo!rth
distinct segment m!st also be pic0ed# %ince the triangle acco!nts for 1 segments' there
are segments remaining#
+he total n!mber of &a"s of pic0ing fo!r distinct segments is # +h!s' the re!ested probabilit"
is # +he sol!tion is #
Problem
Eiven that &here angles are meas!red in degrees' and and are relativel"
prime positive integers that satisf" find
%ol!tion
3et # -e co!ld tr" to manip!late this s!m b"
&rapping the terms aro!nd (since the first half is e!al to the second half*' b!t it !ic0l" becomes
apparent that this &a" is diffic!lt to p!ll off# Instead' &e loo0 to telescope the s!m# Fsing
the identit" ' &e can re&rite as
+his telescopes to # Manip!lating this to !se
the identit" ' &e get ' and o!r ans&er
is #
Alternate %ol!tion
-e note that # -e th!s have that

+he desired ans&er is th!s #
Problem
+he inscribed circle of triangle is tangent to at and its radi!s is # Eiven
that and find the perimeter of the triangle#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et be the tangenc" point on ' and on # 2" the +&o +angent +heorem'
' ' and # Fsing '
&here ' &e get # 2" Deron8s
form!la' # E!ating and s!aring both
sides'
-e &ant the perimeter' &hich is #
Solution 2
3et the incenter be denoted # It is commonl" 0no&n that the incenter is the intersection of the angle
bisectors of a triangle# %o let
and
-e have that %o nat!rall" &e loo0 at 2!t since &e have
?oing the algebra' &e get
+he perimeter is therefore
Problem
$ort" teams pla" a to!rnament in &hich ever" team pla"s ever" other team e)actl" once# @o ties
occ!r' and each team has a chance of &inning an" game it pla"s# +he probabilit" that no t&o
teams &in the same n!mber of games is &here and are relativel" prime positive integers#
$ind
%ol!tion
+here are total pairings of teams' and th!s possible o!tcomes# In order for no t&o
teams to &in the same n!mber of games' the" m!st each &in a different n!mber of games# %ince the
minim!m and ma)im!m possible n!mber of games &on are A and 19 respectivel"' and there are 5A
teams in total' each team corresponds !ni!el" &ith some ' &ith ' &here represents
the n!mber of games the team &on# -ith this in mind' &e see that there are a total of o!tcomes
in &hich no t&o teams &in the same n!mber of games#
+he desired probabilit" is th!s # -e &ish to simplif" this into the form ' &here and are
relativel" prime# +he onl" necessar" step is to factor o!t all the po&ers of , from B the remaining
n!mber is clearl" relativel" prime to all po&ers of ,#
+he n!mber of po&ers of , in
is
3etting ' &e have that # %ince and are relativel" prime' o!r
!otient is in the desired form# H!r ans&er is th!s #
Problem
Point is located inside triangle so that angles and are all congr!ent#
+he sides of the triangle have lengths and and the tangent of
angle is &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
?rop perpendic!lars from to the three sides of and let them meet and
at and respectivel"#
3et and # -e have that -e can then !se the tool of
calc!lating area in t&o &a"s Hn the
other hand' -e still need tho!gh# -e have
all these right triangles and &e haven8t even to!ched P"thagoras# %o &e give it a shot/
Adding gives
:ecall that &e fo!nd
that # Pl!gging in ' &e
get ' giving !s for an ans&er#
Solution 2
3et ' ' ' ' ' and #
%o b" the 3a& of Cosines' &e have/ Adding these e!ations and
rearranging' &e have/
@o& ' b" Deron8s form!la#
@o& the area of a triangle' ' &here and are sides on either side of an angle' #
%o' Adding these e!ations "ields/
?ividing b" ' &e have/
+h!s'
#
Problem
Consider the paper triangle &hose vertices are and +he vertices of its
midpoint triangle are the midpoints of its sides# A triang!larp"ramid is formed b" folding the triangle
along the sides of its midpoint triangle# -hat is the vol!me of this p"ramid.
%ol!tion
3et ' ' be the feet of the altit!des to sides ' ' ' respectivel"' of # +he base
of the tetrahedron is the orthocenter of the large triangle' so &e 6!st need to find that' then it8s
eas" from there#
+o find the coordinates of ' &e need to find the intersection point of altit!des and # +he
e!ation of is simpl" # is perpendic!lar to line ' so the slope of is e!al to
the negative reciprocal of the slope of # has slope ' therefore #
+hese t&o lines intersect at ' so that8s the base of the height of the tetrahedron#
3et be the foot of altit!de in # $rom the P"thagorean +heorem' #
Do&ever' since and are' b" coincidence' the same point' and #
+he area of the base is ' so the vol!me is #
Alternate %ol!tion
Consider the diagram provided in the previo!s sol!tion# -e first note that the medial triangle has
coordinates ' ' and # -e can comp!te the area of this triangle as #
%!ppose are the coordinates of the verte) of the res!lting p"ramid# Call this point # Clearl"'
the height of the p"ramid is # +he desired vol!me is th!s #
-e note that &hen folding the triangle to form the p"ramid' some side lengths m!st sta" the same# In
partic!lar' ' ' and # -e then !se distance form!la to find the
distances from to each of the vertices of the medial triangle# -e th!s arrive at a fairl" simple
s"stem of e!ations' "ielding # +he desired vol!me is th!s #
,AAA - 1
,AAA AIME I Problems/Problem 1
Problem
$ind the least positive integer s!ch that no matter ho& is e)pressed as the prod!ct of an" t&o
positive integers' at least one of these t&o integers contains the digit #
%ol!tion
If a factor of has a and a in its prime factori4ation' then that factor &ill end in a # +herefore'
&e have left to consider the case &hen the t&o factors have the s and the s separated' in other
&ords &hether or prod!ces a A first#
Z Z Z
and so on' !ntil'
Z
-e see that generates the first 4ero' so the ans&er is #
,AAA AIME I Problems/Problem ,
Problem
3et and be integers satisf"ing # 3et ' let be the reflection of across the
line ' let be the reflection of across the "-a)is' let be the reflection of across the )-
a)is' and let be the reflection of across the "-a)is# +he area of pentagon is #
$ind #
%ol!tion
%ince ' &e can find the coordinates of the other points/ '
' ' # If &e graph those points' &e notice that since the latter fo!r points
are all reflected across the )/"-a)is' the" form a rectangle' and is a triangle# +he area
of is and the area of is # Adding these
together' &e get # %ince are positive' '
and b" matching factors &e get either or # %ince the latter case is
the ans&er' and #
Problem
In the e)pansion of &here and are relativel" prime positive integers'
the coefficients of and are e!al# $ind #
%ol!tion
Fsing the binomial theorem' #
%ince and are positive relativel" prime integers' and ' and #
Problem
+he diagram sho&s a rectangle that has been dissected into nine non-overlapping s!ares# Eiven that
the &idth and the height of the rectangle are relativel" prime positive integers' find the perimeter of
the rectangle#
%ol!tion
Call the s!ares8 side lengths from smallest to largest ' and let represent the
dimensions of the rectangle#
+he pict!re sho&s that
-ith a bit of trial and error and some arithmetic' &e can !se these e!ations to find that B
&e can g!ess that # +hen solving gives ' ' ' &hich gives
!s # +hese n!mbers are relativel" prime' as desired# (If &e started &ith odd' the
res!lting sides &o!ld not be integers and &e &o!ld need to scale !p b" a factor of to ma0e them
integersB if &e started &ith even' the res!lting dimensions &o!ld not be relativel" prime and
&e &o!ld need to scale do&n#* +he perimeter is #
Problem
Each of t&o bo)es contains both blac0 and &hite marbles' and the total n!mber of marbles in the t&o
bo)es is Hne marble is ta0en o!t of each bo) randoml"# +he probabilit" that both marbles are
blac0 is and the probabilit" that both marbles are &hite is &here and
are relativel" primepositive integers# -hat is .
%ol!tion 1
If &e &or0 &ith the problem for a little bit' &e !ic0l" see that there is no direct combinatorics &a" to
calc!late # +he Principle of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion still re!ires !s to find the individ!al probabilit" of
each bo)#
3et represent the n!mber of marbles in each bo)' and &itho!t loss of generalit" let #
+hen' ' and since the ma" be red!ced to form on the denominator of ' # It
follo&s that ' so there are , pairs of and #
*ase 1/ +hen the prod!ct of the n!mber of blac0 marbles in each bo) is ' so the onl" combination that
&or0s is blac0 in first bo)' and blac0 in second# +hen'
so #
*ase 2/ +he onl" combination that &or0s is 9 blac0 in both#

+h!s' # #
+h!s' #
%ol!tion ,
3et and represent the &hite and blac0 marbles in bo)es 1 and ,#
%ince there are marbles in the bo)/
$rom the fact that there is a chance of dra&ing one blac0 marble from each bo)/
+hin0ing of the n!merator and denominator separatel"' if &as not a red!ced fraction &hen
calc!lating o!t the probabilit"' then # %ince ' this forces the variables to be
and in some perm!tation# -itho!t loss of generalit"' let and #
+he denominator becomes/
%ince there have been blac0 marbles !sed' there m!st be &hite marbles# %!bstit!ting that in/
%ince the factors of that are greater than are and ' the !antit" m!st e!al
one of those# Do&ever' since ' testing and for does not give a correct prod!ct#
+h!s' m!st be a red!ced form of the act!al fraction#
$irst ass!me that the fraction &as red!ced from ' "ielding the e!ations
and # $actoring and sa"ing -3HE that
gives or # +r"ing the first pair and setting the denominator e!al to 1AA
gives/
%ince ' the pairs and can be tried' since each bo)
m!st contain at least one &hite marble# Pl!gging in gives the tr!e
e!ation ' so the n!mber of marbles are
+h!s' the chance of dra&ing , &hite marbles is in lo&est terms'
and the ans&er to the problem is
$or completeness' the fraction ma" be tested# is the highest necessar" denominator that
needs to be tested' since the ma)im!m the denominator can be &hen the s!m
of all integer variables is is &hen the variables are and ' in some perm!tation' &hich
gives # If ' this forces ' since all variables m!st be integers !nder #
+he denominator becomes ' and since there are no& &hite
marbles total' the denominator becomes # +esting gives a
sol!tion' and th!s # +he complete sol!tion for this case is #
Altho!gh the distrib!tion and colors of the marbles is different from the last case' the probabilit" of
dra&ing t&o &hite marbles is ' &hich still simplifies to #
Problem
$or ho& man" ordered pairs of integers is it tr!e that and that
the arithmetic mean of and is e)actl" more than the geometric mean of and .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
2eca!se ' &e onl" consider #
$or simplicit"' &e can co!nt ho& man" valid pairs of that satisf" o!r e!ation#
+he ma)im!m that can be is beca!se m!st be an integer (this is
beca!se ' an integer*# +hen ' and &e contin!e this do&n&ard !ntil
' in &hich case # +he n!mber of pairs of ' and so is then #
Solution 2
3et ; and ;
+hen
+his ma0es co!nting a lot easier since no& &e 6!st have to find all pairs that differ b" ,#
2eca!se ' then &e can !se all positive integers less than 1AAA for and #
-itho!t loss of generalit"' let8s sa" #
-e can co!nt even and odd pairs separatel" to ma0e things easierI/
Hdd/
Even/
+his ma0es 599 odd pairs and 598 even pairs' for a total of pairs#
@ote/ -e are co!nting the pairs for the val!es of and ' &hich' &hen s!ared' translate to the
pairs of &e are tr"ing to find#
Problem
%!ppose that and are three positive n!mbers that satisf" the e!ations
and +hen &here and arerelativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et #
+h!s # %o #
Solution 2
%ince ' so # Also' b" the second
e!ation# %!bstit!tion gives ' ' and ' so the sol!tion is #
Problem
A container in the shape of a right circ!lar cone is inches tall and its base has a -inch radi!s# +he
li!id that is sealed inside is inches deep &hen the cone is held &ith its point do&n and its base
hori4ontal# -hen the li!id is held &ith its point !p and its base hori4ontal' the height of the li!id
is from the base &here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the
c!be of an" prime n!mber# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he scale factor is !niform in all dimensions' so the vol!me of the li!id is of the container# +he
remaining section of the vol!me is of the vol!me' and therefore of the
height &hen the verte) is at the top#
%o' the li!id occ!pies of the height'
or # +h!s #
Solution 2
(Comp!tational* +he vol!me of a cone can be fo!nd b" # In the second container' if &e
let represent the height' radi!s (respectivel"* of the air (so is the height of the li!id*'
then the vol!me of the li!id can be fo!nd b" #
2" similar triangles' &e find that the dimensions of the li!id in the first cone to the entire cone is '
and that B e!ating'
+h!s the ans&er is ' and #
Problem
+he s"stem of e!ations
has t&o sol!tions and # $ind #
%ol!tion
%ince ' &e can red!ce the e!ations to a more recogni4able form/
3et be respectivel"# Fsing %$$+' the above e!ations become (I*
$rom here' m!ltipl"ing the three e!ations gives
?ividing the third e!ation of (I* from this
e!ation' # +his gives '
and the ans&er is #
,AAA AIME I Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
A se!ence of n!mbers has the propert" that' for ever" integer bet&een
and incl!sive' the n!mber is less than the s!m of the other n!mbers# Eiven
that &here and are relativel" prime positive integers' find #
%ol!tion
3et the s!m of all of the terms in the se!ence be # +hen for each integer
' # %!mming this !p for all from '
@o&' s!bstit!ting for ' &e get ' and the ans&er
is #
Problem
3et be the s!m of all n!mbers of the form &here and are relativel"
prime positive divisors of -hat is the greatest integer that does not e)ceed .
%ol!tion
%ince all divisors of can be &ritten in the form of ' it follo&s that can also be
e)pressed in the form of ' &here # +h!s ever" n!mber in the form of &ill be
e)pressed one time in the prod!ct
Fsing the form!la for a geometric series' this red!ces
to ' and #
,AAA AIME I Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
Eiven a f!nction for &hich holds for all
real &hat is the largest n!mber of different val!es that can appear in the
list
%ol!tion
%ince &e can concl!de that (b" the E!clidean algorithm*
%o &e need onl" to consider one period ' &hich can have at most distinct
val!es &hich determine the val!e of at all other integers#
2!t &e also 0no& that ' so the val!es
and are repeated# +his gives a total of
distinct val!es#
+o sho& that it is possible to have distinct' &e tr" to find a f!nction &hich
f!lfills the given conditions# A bit of trial and error &o!ld lead to
the cosine f!nction/ (in degrees*#
Problem
In the middle of a vast prairie' a firetr!c0 is stationed at the intersection of t&o perpendic!lar straight
high&a"s# +he tr!c0 travels at miles per ho!r along the high&a"s and at miles per ho!r across
the prairie# Consider the set of points that can be reached b" the firetr!c0 &ithin si) min!tes# +he area
of this region is s!are miles' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
%ol!tion
3et the intersection of the high&a"s be at the origin ' and let the high&a"s be the ) and " a)es# -e
consider the case &here the tr!c0 moves in the positive ) direction#
After going miles' ho!rs has passed# If the tr!c0 leaves the high&a" it can travel for
at most ho!rs' or miles# It can end !p an"&here off the
high&a" in a circle &ith this radi!s centered at # All these circles are homothetic &ith respect to
a center at #

@o& consider the circle at # ?ra& a line tangent to it at and passing thro!gh # 2" the
P"thagorean +heorem #
+hen ' so the slope of line is # %ince it passes thro!gh its
e!ation is #
+his line and the ) and " a)is bo!nd the region the tr!c0 can go if it moves in the positive ) direction#
%imilarl"' the line bo!nds the region the tr!c0 can go if it moves in positive " direction#
+he intersection of these t&o lines is # +he bo!nded region in J!adrant I is made !p of a
s!are and t&o triangles# # 2" s"mmetr"' the regions in the other
!adrants are the same' so the area of the &hole region is so the ans&er
is #
Problem
In triangle it is given that angles and are congr!ent# Points and lie on
and respectivel"' so that Angle is times as large as
angle &here is a positive real n!mber# $ind the greatest integer that does not e)ceed #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et point be in s!ch that # +hen is a rhomb!s' so
and is an isosceles trape4oid# %ince bisects ' it follo&s b" s"mmetr" in
trape4oid that bisects # +h!s lies on the perpendic!lar bisector of '
and # Dence is an e!ilateral triangle#
@o& ' and the s!m of the angles in
is #
+hen and ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
Again' constr!ct as above#
3et and ' &hich means
# is isosceles &ith ' so # 3et be the intersection of
and # %ince ' is c"clic' &hich
means # %ince is an isosceles trape4oid' ' b!t since
bisects ' #
+herefore &e have that # -e
solve the sim!ltaneo!s e!ations and to get
and # ' ' so
# #
Problem
A stac0 of cards is labelled &ith the integers from to &ith different integers on different
cards# +he cards in the stac0 are not in n!merical order# +he top card is removed from the stac0 and
placed on the table' and the ne)t card is moved to the bottom of the stac0# +he ne& top card is
removed from the stac0 and placed on the table' to the right of the card alread" there' and the ne)t
card in the stac0 is moved to the bottom of the stac0# +he process - placing the top card to the right
of the cards alread" on the table and moving the ne)t card in the stac0 to the bottom of the stac0 - is
repeated !ntil all cards are on the table# It is fo!nd that' reading from left to right' the labels on the
cards are no& in ascending order/ In the original stac0 of cards' ho& man"
cards &ere above the card labeled .
%ol!tion
-e tr" to &or0 bac0&ards from &hen there are , cards left' since this is &hen the 1999 card is laid
onto the table# -hen there are , cards left' the 1999 card is on the top of the dec0# In order for this
to occ!r' it m!st be ,nd on the dec0 &hen there are 5 cards remaining' and this means it m!st be the
5th card &hen there are 8 cards remaining# +his pattern contin!es !ntil it is the 71,th card on the
dec0 &hen there are 1A,5 cards remaining# %ince there are over 1AAA cards remaining' some cards
have not even made one trip thro!gh "et' ,(1A,5 - 1AAA* ; 58' to be e)act# Hnce these cards go
thro!gh' 1999 &ill be the card on the dec0# %ince ever" other card &as removed
d!ring the first ro!nd' it goes to sho& that 1999 &as in position ' meaning that there
&ere cards are above the one labeled #
2000 2
,AAA AIME II Problems/Problem 1
Problem
+he n!mber
can be &ritten as &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
+herefore'
,AAA AIME II Problems/Problem ,
Problem
A point &hose coordinates are both integers is called a lattice point# Do& man" lattice points lie on the
h"perbola .
%ol!tion
@ote that and have the same parities' so both m!st be even# -e first give a factor
of to both and # -e have left# %ince there are factors of '
and since both and can be negative' this gives !s lattice points#
2000 AIME II Problems/Problem 3
Problem
A dec0 of fort" cards consists of fo!r 8s' fo!r 8s'###' and fo!r 8s# A matching pair (t&o cards &ith
the same n!mber* is removed from the dec0# Eiven that these cards are not ret!rned to the dec0'
let be the probabilit" that t&o randoml" selected cards also form a pair' &here and
are relativel" primepositive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
+here are &a"s &e can dra& t&o cards from the red!ced dec0# +he t&o cards &ill form
a pair if both are one of the nine n!mbers that &ere not removed' &hich can happen in
&a"s' or if the t&o cards are the remaining t&o cards of the n!mber that &as removed' &hich can
happen in &a"# +h!s' the ans&er is ' and #
Problem
-hat is the smallest positive integer &ith si) positive odd integer divisors and t&elve positive even
integer divisors.
%ol!tion 1
-e !se the fact that the n!mber of divisors of a n!mber
is # If a n!mber has factors' then it can have at most
distinct primes in its factori4ation#
?ividing the greatest po&er of from ' &e have an odd integer &ith si) positive divisors' &hich
indicates that it either is ( * a prime raised to the th po&er' or t&o primes' one of &hich is
s!ared# +he smallest e)ample of the former is ' &hile the smallest e)ample of the latter
is #
%!ppose &e no& divide all of the odd factors from B then &e re!ire a po&er of &ith
factors' namel" # +h!s' o!r ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
%ome&hat similar to the first sol!tion' &e see that the n!mber has t&o even factors for ever" odd
factor# +h!s' if is an odd factor of ' then and m!st be the t&o corresponding even factors#
%o' the prime factori4ation of is for some set of integers
%ince there are factors of ' &e can &rite/
%ince onl" has factors from the set ' either and all other variables are ' or
and ' &ith again all other variables e!alling # +his gives the t&o n!mbers
and # +he latter n!mber is smaller' and is e!al to #
Problem
Eiven eight disting!ishable rings' let be the n!mber of possible five-ring arrangements on the fo!r
fingers (not the th!mb* of one hand# +he order of rings on each finger is significant' b!t it is not
re!ired that each finger have a ring# $ind the leftmost three non4ero digits of #
%ol!tion
+here are &a"s to choose the rings' and there are distinct arrangements to order the rings L&e
order them so that the first ring is the bottom-most on the first finger that act!all" has a ring' and so
forthM# +he n!mber of &a"s to distrib!te the rings among the fingers is e!ivalent the n!mber of &a"s
&e can drop five balls into 5 !rns' or similarl" dropping five balls into fo!r compartments split b" three
dividers# +he n!mber of &a"s to arrange those dividers and balls is 6!st #
M!ltipl"ing gives the ans&er/ ' and the three leftmost digits are #
Problem
Hne base of a trape4oid is !nits longer than the other base# +he segment that 6oins
the midpoints of the legs divides the trape4oid into t&o regions &hose areas are in the ratio #
3et be the length of the segment 6oining the legs of the trape4oid that is parallel to the bases and
that divides the trape4oid into t&o regions of e!al area# $ind the greatest integer that does not
e)ceed #
%ol!tion
3et the shorter base have length (so the longer has length *' and let the height be # +he
length of the midline of the trape4oid is the average of its bases' &hich is #
+he t&o regions &hich the midline divides the trape4oid into are t&o smaller trape4oids' both &ith
height # +hen'
-e no& constr!ct the line &hich divides the rectangle into t&o regions of e!al area# %!ppose this line
is a distance of from the shorter base# 2" similar triangles' &e have # Indeed'
constr!ct the perpendic!lars from the vertices of the shorter base to the longer base# +his splits the
trape4oid into a rectangle and t&o trianglesB it also splits the desired line segment into three partitions
&ith lengths # 2" similar triangles' &e easil" find that ' as
desired#
+he area of the region incl!ding the shorter base m!st be half of the area of the entire trape4oid' so
%!bstit!ting o!r e)pression for from above' &e find that
+he ans&er is #
Problem
Eiven that
find the greatest integer that is less than #
%ol!tion
M!ltipl"ing both sides b" "ields/
:ecall the identit" # %ince ' it follo&s
that #
+h!s' #
%o' and #
Problem
In trape4oid ' leg is perpendic!lar to bases and ' and diagonals and
are perpendic!lar# Eiven that and ' find #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et be the height of the trape4oid' and let # %ince ' it follo&s
that ' so #
3et be the foot of the altit!de from to # +hen ' and is a right triangle# 2"
the P"thagorean +heorem'
+he positive sol!tion to this !adratic e!ation is #
Solution 2
3et # ?ropping the altit!de from and !sing the P"thagorean +heorem tells !s
that # +herefore' &e 0no& that
vector and vector # @o& &e 0no& that
these vectors are perpendic!lar' so their dot prod!ct is A#
As above' &e can solve this !adratic to get the positve
sol!tion #
Problem
Eiven that is a comple) n!mber s!ch that ' find the least integer that is greater
than #
%ol!tion
Fsing the !adratic e!ation on ' &e
have #
+here are other &a"s &e can come to this concl!sion# @ote that if is on the !nit circle in the comple)
plane' then and # -e
have and # Alternativel"' &e co!ld let and solve to
get #
Fsing ?e Moivre8s +heorem &e have ' '
so #
-e &ant #
$inall"' the least integer greater than is #
Problem
A circle is inscribed in !adrilateral ' tangent to at and to at # Eiven
that ' ' ' and ' find the s!areof the radi!s of the circle#
%ol!tion
Call the center of the circle # 2" dra&ing the lines from tangent to the sides and from to the
vertices of the !adrilateral' fo!r pairs of congr!ent right triangles are formed#
+h!s' '
or #
+a0e the of both sides and !se the identit" for to
get #
Fse the identit" for again to get #
%olving gives #
Problem
+he coordinates of the vertices of isosceles trape4oid are all integers' &ith
and # +he trape4oid has no hori4ontal or vertical sides' and and are the
onl" parallel sides# +he s!m of the absol!te val!es of all possible slopes for is ' &here
%ol!tion
$or simplicit"' &e translate the points so that is on the origin and # %!ppose has
integer coordinatesB then is a vector &ith integer parameters (vector 0no&ledge is not necessar"
for this sol!tion*# -e constr!ct the perpendic!lar from to ' and let be the
reflection of across that perpendic!lar# +hen is a parallelogram' and # +h!s'
for to have integer coordinates' it s!ffices to let have integer coordinates#
L1M
3et the slope of the perpendic!lar be # +hen the midpoint of lies on the line '
so # Also' implies that # Combining these
t&o e!ations "ields
%ince is an integer' then m!st be an integer# +here are pairs of integers &hose
s!ares s!m !p to namel" # -e e)cl!de the cases
beca!se the" lead to degenerate trape4oids (rectangle' line segment' vertical and hori4ontal sides*#
+h!s &e have
+hese "ield ' and the s!m of their absol!te val!es is # +he
ans&er is
N In other &ords' since is a parallelogram' the difference bet&een the )-coordinates and the "-coordinates
of and are' respectivel"' the difference bet&een the )-coordinates and the "-coordinates of and # 2!t since the
latter are integers' then the former are integers also' so has integer coordinates iff has integer coordinates#
,AAA AIME II Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
+he points ' and lie on the s!rface of a sphere &ith center and radi!s # It is given
that ' ' ' and that the distance from to is ' &here
' ' and are positive integers' and are relativel" prime' and is not divisible b" the s!are of
an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the foot of the perpendic!lar from to the plane of # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem on
triangles ' and &e get/
It follo&s that ' so is the circ!mcenter of #
2" Deron8s $orm!la the area of is (alternativel"' a triangle ma" be split
into and right triangles*/
$rom ' &e 0no& that the circ!mradi!s of is/
+h!s b" the P"thagorean +heorem again'
%o the final ans&er is #
Problem
+he e!ation has e)actl" t&o real roots' one of &hich
is ' &here ' and are integers' and are relativel" prime' and #
$ind #
%ol!tion
-e ma" factor the e!ation as/
L1M
@o& for real # +h!s the real roots m!st be the roots of the
e!ation # 2" the !adratic form!la the roots of this are/
+h!s ' and so the final ans&er is #
N A &ell-0no&n techni!e for dealing &ith s"mmetric (or in this case' nearl" s"mmetric* pol"nomials
is to divide thro!gh b" a po&er of &ith half of the pol"nomial8s degree (in this case' divide thro!gh
b" *' and then to !se one of the s!bstit!tions # In this case' the
s!bstit!tion gives an
d ' &hich red!ces the pol"nomial to
6!st # +hen one can bac0&ards solve for #
Problem
Ever" positive integer has a !ni!e factorial base e)pansion ' meaning
that ' &here each is an integer' '
and # Eiven that is the factorial base e)pansion
of ' find the val!e
of #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
@ote that
+h!s for all '
%o no&'
+herefore &e have ' if for some '
and for all other #
+herefore &e have/
Solution 2 (less for%ality)
3et # @ote that since
(or is significantl" smaller than *' it follo&s
that # Dence # +hen
' and as ' it follo&s that #
Dence ' and &e no& need to find the factorial base e)pansion of
%ince ' &e can repeat the above arg!ment rec!rsivel" to
"ield ' and so forth do&n to #
@o& ' so #
+he remaining s!m is no& 6!st # -e can repeatedl" appl" the arg!ment
from the previo!s t&o paragraphs to find that ' and if for
some ' and for all other #
@o& for each ' &e have

# +h!s' o!r ans&er is #
Problem
$ind the least positive integer s!ch that
%ol!tion
-e appl" the identit"
+he motivation for this identit" arises from the need to decompose those fractions' possibl"
into telescoping series#
+h!s o!r s!mmation becomes
%ince ' the s!mmation simpl" red!ces
to # +herefore' the ans&er is #
2001 -1
,AA1 AIME I Problems/Problem 1
Problem
$ind the s!m of all positive t&o-digit integers that are divisible b" each of their digits#
%ol!tion
3et o!r n!mber be ' # +hen &e have t&o conditions/
and ' or divides into and divides into # +h!s or (note
that if ' then &o!ld not be a digit*#
$or ' &e have for nine possibilities' giving !s a s!m of #
$or ' &e have for fo!r possibilities (the higher ones give *' giving !s a s!m
of #
$or ' &e have for one possibilit" (again' higher ones give *' giving !s a s!m
of #
If &e ignore the case as &e have been doing so far' then the s!m is
#
Fsing case&or0' &e can list o!t all of these
n!mbers/ #
,AA1 AIME I Problems/Problem ,
Problem
A finite set of distinct real n!mbers has the follo&ing properties/ the mean of is less
than the mean of ' and the mean of is more than the mean of # $ind the mean
of #
%ol!tion
3et be the mean of # 3et be the n!mber of elements in # +hen' the given tells !s
that and # %!btracting' &e have
-e pl!g that into o!r ver" first form!la' and get/
Problem
$ind the s!m of the roots' real and non-real' of the e!ation ' given that
there are no m!ltiple roots#
%ol!tion 1
$rom Wieta8s form!las' in a pol"nomial of the form ' then the
s!m of the roots is #
$rom the 2inomial +heorem' the first term of is ' b!t '
so the term &ith the largest degree is # %o &e need the coefficient of that term' as &ell as the
coefficient of #
Appl"ing Wieta8s form!las' &e find that the s!m of the roots is #
%ol!tion ,
-e find that the given e!ation has a degree pol"nomial# @ote that there are no m!ltiple
roots# +h!s' if is a root' is also a root# +h!s' &e pair !p pairs of roots that s!m to to
get a s!m of #
Problem
In triangle ' angles and meas!re degrees and degrees' respectivel"# +he bisector of
angle intersects at ' and # +he area of triangle can be &ritten in the
form ' &here ' ' and are positive integers' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an"
prime# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
3et be the foot of the altit!de from to # 2" simple angle-chasing' &e find
that ' and th!s # @o& is
a right triangle and is a right triangle'
so # +he area of
and the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
%ince has a meas!re of ' and th!s has sines and cosines that are eas" to comp!te' &e
attempt to find and ' and !se the form!la that
2" angle chasing' &e find that is a triangle &ith and #
+h!s #
%&itching to the lo&er triangle ' ' and ' &ith #
Fsing the 3a& of %ines on /
-e no& pl!g in ' and into the form!la for the area/
+h!s the ans&er is
Problem
An e!ilateral triangle is inscribed in the ellipse &hose e!ation is # Hne verte) of the
triangle is ' one altit!de is contained in the "-a)is' and the length of each side is '
&here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
?enote the vertices of the triangle and &here is in !adrant 5 and is in !adrant
@ote that the slope of is Dence' the e!ation of the line containing is
+his &ill intersect the ellipse &hen
%ince the triangle is
s"mmetric &ith respect to the "-a)is' the coordinates of and are no&
and respectivel"' for some val!e of
%ince &e8re going to !se the distance form!la' the val!e of is irrelevant# H!r ans&er is
Solution 2
%olving for in terms of gives ' so the t&o other points of the triangle
are and ' &hich are a distance of apart# +h!s e!als the
distance bet&een and ' so b" the distance form!la &e have
%!aring both sides and simplif"ing thro!gh algebra "ields ' so and
the ans&er is #
Solution 3
%ince the altit!de goes along the a)is' this means that the base is a hori4ontal line' &hich means
that the endpoints of the base are and ' and -3HE' &e can sa" that is positive#
@o&' since all sides of an e!ilateral triangle are the same' &e can do this (distance from one of the
endpoints of the base to the verte) and the length of the base*/
%!are both sides'

@o&' &ith the e!ation of the ellipse/
%!bstit!ting'
Moving st!ff aro!nd and solving/
+he second is fo!nd to be e)traneo!s' so' &hen &e go bac0 and fig!re o!t and then (&hich is
the side length*' &e find it to be/
and so &e get the desired ans&er of #
Problem
A fair die is rolled fo!r times# +he probabilit" that each of the final three rolls is at least as large as the
roll preceding it ma" be e)pressed in the form &here and are relativel"
prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tions
Solution 1
:ecast the problem entirel" as a bloc0-&al0ing problem# Call the respective dice # In the
diagram belo&' the lo&est -coordinate at each of ' ' ' and corresponds to the val!e of the roll#
+he red path corresponds to the se!ence of rolls # +his establishes a one-to-one
correspondence bet&een valid dice roll se!ences and bloc0 &al0ing paths#
+he sol!tion to this problem is therefore #
Solution 2
If &e ta0e an" combination of fo!r n!mbers' there is onl" one &a" to order them in a non-decreasing
order# It s!ffices no& to find the n!mber of combinations for fo!r n!mbers from # -e
can vis!ali4e this as ta0ing the fo!r dice and splitting them into 9 slots (each slot representing one of
[1','1'5'7'9\*' or dividing them amongst 7 separators# +h!s' there are o!tcomes of fo!r
dice# +he sol!tion is therefore ' and #
Solution 3
Call the dice rolls # +he difference bet&een the and disting!ishes the n!mber of possible
rolls there are#
If ' then the val!es of are set' and so there are val!es for #
If ' then there are &a"s to arrange for val!es of ' b!t onl" val!es for
#
If ' then there are &a"s to arrange ' and there are onl" val!es
for #
Contin!ing' &e see that the s!m is e!al
to # +he re!ested probabilit"
is #
Solution 4
+he dice rolls can be in the form
A2C?
AA2C
AA22
AAA2
AAAA
&here A' 2' C' ? are some possible val!e of the dice rolls# (+hese forms are not 0eeping trac0 of
&hether or not the dice are in ascending order' 6!st the possible o!tcomes#*
1.
@o&' for the first case' there are &a"s for this# -e do not have to consider the order beca!se
the combination co!nts onl" one of the perm!tationsB &e can sa" that it co!nts the correct (ascending
order* perm!tation#
2.
%econd case/ &a"s to pic0 1 n!mbers' &a"s to pic0 1 of those 1 to d!plicate# A total of
9A for this case#
3.
+hird case/ &a"s to pic0 , n!mbers# -e &ill d!plicate both' so nothing else in this case
matters#
4.
$o!rth case/ &a"s to pic0 , n!mbers# -e pic0 one to d!plicate &ith ' so there are
a total of 1A in this case#
5.
$ifth case/ B all get d!plicated so nothing else matters#
+here are a total of possible dice rolls#
+h!s'
Solution &
Consider the n!mber of possible dice roll combinations &hich &or0 after roll' after rolls' and so on#
+here is 9 possible rolls for the first dice# If the n!mber rolled is a 1' then there are 9 f!rther val!es
that are possible for the second diceB if the n!mber rolled is a ,' then there are 7 f!rther val!es that
are possible for the second dice' and so on#
%!ppose &e generali4e this as a f!nction' sa" ret!rn the n!mber of possible combinations
after rolls and being the beginning val!e of the first roll# It becomes clear that from
above' B ever" val!e of after that is e!al to the s!m of the n!mber of combinations
of rolls that have a starting val!e of at least # If &e slo&l" co!nt thro!gh and add !p all the
possible combinations &e get possibilities#
Solution -
In a manner similar to the above sol!tion' instead consider brea0ing it do&n into t&o sets of t&o dice
rolls# +he first s!bset m!st have a ma)im!m val!e &hich is the minim!m val!e of the second
s!bset#
If the first s!bset ends in a 1' there is s!ch s!bset and there
are &a"s of ma0ing the second s!bset#
If the first s!bset ends in a ,' there is s!ch s!bsets and there are
&a"s of ma0ing the second s!bset#
+h!s' the n!mber of combinations
is ' and the probabilit" again
is #
Problem
+riangle has ' and # Points and are located on
and ' respectivel"' s!ch that is parallel to and contains the center of the inscribed
circle of triangle # +hen ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
%ol!tion 1
3et be the incenter of ' so that and are angle bisectors of and
respectivel"# +hen' so isisosceles' and similarl" is
isosceles# It follo&s that ' so the perimeter of
is # Dence' the ratio of the perimeters of
and is ' &hich is the scale factor bet&een the t&o similar triangles' and
th!s # +h!s' #
%ol!tion ,
+he semiperimeter of is # 2" Deron8s form!la' the area of the &hole
triangle is # Fsing the form!la ' &e find that
the inradi!s is # %ince ' the ratio of the heights of
triangles and is e!al to the ratio bet&een sides and # $rom ' &e
find # +h!s' &e have
%olving for gives so the ans&er is #
Hr &e have the area of the triangle as # Fsing the ratio of heights to ratio of bases of
and from that it is eas" to ded!ce that #
%ol!tion 1 (mass points*
3et be the incircleB then it is be the intersection of all three angle bisectors# ?ra& the bisector
to &here it intersects ' and name the intersection #
Fsing the angle bisector theorem' &e 0no& the ratio is ' th!s &e shall assign a
&eight of to point and a &eight of to point ' giving a &eight of # In the same manner'
!sing another bisector' &e find that has a &eight of # %o' no& &e 0no& has a &eight of '
and the ratio of is # +herefore' the smaller similar triangle is the
height of the original triangle # %o' is the si4e of # M!ltipl"ing this ratio b" the
length of ' &e find is # +herefore' #
Problem
Call a positive integer a 7%10 do!ble if the digits of the base- representation of form a base-
n!mber that is t&ice # $or e)ample' is a 7-1A do!ble beca!se its base- representation is #
-hat is the largest 7-1A do!ble.
%ol!tion
-e let B &e are given that
E)panding' &e find that
or re-arranging'
%ince the s are base- digits' it follo&s that ' and the 3D% is less than # Dence o!r
n!mber can have at most digits in base- # 3etting ' &e find that is o!r
largest 7-1A do!ble#
Problem
In triangle ' ' and # Point is on ' is on ' and is
on # 3et ' ' and ' &here ' ' and are positive and
satisf" and # +he ratio of the area of triangle to the
area of triangle can be &ritten in the form ' &here and are relativel" prime positive
integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
-e let denote areaB then the desired val!e is
Fsing the form!la for the area of a triangle ' &e find that
and similarl" that and # +h!s' &e &ish to find
-e 0no& that ' and also
that #
%!bstit!ting' the ans&er is ' and #
,AA1 AIME I Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
3et be the set of points &hose coordinates and are integers that satisf"
and +&o distinct points are randoml" chosen from +he probabilit" that
the midpoint of the segment the" determine also belongs to is &here and are relativel"
%ol!tion
+he distance bet&een the ' ' and coordinates m!st be even so that the midpoint can have integer
coordinates# +herefore'
$or ' &e have the possibilities ' ' ' ' and ' possibilities#
$or ' &e have the possibilities ' ' ' ' ' ' ' and '
possibilities#
$or ' &e have the possibilities ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
' ' ' ' and ' possibilities#
Do&ever' &e have cases &here &e have simpl" ta0en the same point t&ice' so &e
s!btract those# +herefore' o!r ans&er is #
Problem
In a rectang!lar arra" of points' &ith 7 ro&s and col!mns' the points are n!mbered consec!tivel"
from left to right beginning &ith the top ro&# +h!s the top ro& is n!mbered 1 thro!gh the second
ro& is n!mbered thro!gh and so forth# $ive points' and are selected
so that each is in ro& 3et be the n!mber associated &ith @o& ren!mber the arra"
consec!tivel" from top to bottom' beginning &ith the first col!mn# 3et be the n!mber associated
&ith after the ren!mbering# It is fo!nd that
and $ind the smallest possible val!e of
%ol!tion
3et each point be in col!mn # +he n!mberings for can no& be defined as follo&s#
-e can no& convert the five given e!alities#
E!ations and c
ombine to form %imilarl" e!ations ' ' and combine to form
+a0e this e!ation mod!lo 11 And s!bstit!te for @
+h!s the smallest might be is and b" s!bstit!tion
+he col!mn val!es can also easil" be fo!nd b" s!bstit!tion As these are all positive and less
than ' is the sol!tion#
,AA1 AIME I Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
A sphere is inscribed in the tetrahedron &hose vertices
are and +he radi!s of the sphere
is &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
+he center of the insphere m!st be located at &here is the sphere8s radi!s# m!st also
be a distance from the plane
+he signed distance bet&een a plane and a point can be calc!lated as ' &here E is an"
point on the plane' and P is a vector perpendic!lar to A2C#
A vector perpendic!lar to plane can be fo!nd as
+h!s &here the negative comes from the fact that &e &ant to be in the
opposite direction of
$inall"
Problem
In a certain circle' the chord of a -degree arc is centimeters long' and the chord of a -degree
arc is centimeters longer than the chord of a -degree arc' &here +he length of the
chord of a -degree arc is centimeters' &here and are positive integers#
$ind
%ol!tion
@ote that a c"clic !adrilateral in the form of an isosceles trape4oid can be formed from three chords
of three -degree arcs and one chord of one -degree arc# +he diagonals of this trape4oid t!rn o!t to
be t&o chords of t&o -degree arcs# 3et ' ' and be the chords of the -degree arcs' and
let be the chord of the -degree arc# Also let be e!al to the chord length of the -degree
arc# Dence' the length of the chords' and ' of the -degree arcs can be represented
as ' as given in the problem#
Fsing Ptolem"8s theorem'
-e can then appl" the !adratic form!la to find the positive root to this e!ation since pol"gons
obvio!sl" cannot have sides of negative length#
simplifies to &hich e!als +h!s' the ans&er is #
Problem
A mail carrier delivers mail to the nineteen ho!ses on the east side of Elm %treet# +he carrier notices
that no t&o ad6acent ho!ses ever get mail on the same da"' b!t that there are never more than t&o
ho!ses in a ro& that get no mail on the same da"# Do& man" different patterns of mail deliver" are
possible.
%ol!tion
3et represent a ho!se that does not receive mail and represent a ho!se that does receive mail#
+his problem is no& as0ing for the n!mber of -digit strings of 8s and 8s s!ch that there are no t&o
consec!tive 8s and no three consec!tive 8s#
+he last t&o digits of an" -digit string can8t be ' so the onl" possibilities are ' ' and #
3et be the n!mber of -digit strings ending in ' be the n!mber of -digit strings ending in
' and be the n!mber of -digit strings ending in #
If an -digit string ends in ' then the previo!s digit m!st be a ' and the last t&o digits of
the digits s!bstring &ill be # %o
If an -digit string ends in ' then the previo!s digit can be either a or a ' and the last t&o digits
of the digits s!bstring can be either or # %o
If an -digit string ends in ' then the previo!s digit m!st be a ' and the last t&o digits of
the digits s!bstring &ill be # %o
Clearl"' # Fsing the rec!rsive e!ations and initial val!es/
+herefore' the n!mber of -digit strings is
Problem
+he n!mbers and are randoml" &ritten on the faces of a reg!lar octahedron so
that each face contains a different n!mber# +he probabilit"that no t&o consec!tive n!mbers' &here
and are considered to be consec!tive' are &ritten on faces that share an edge is &here
and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion 1
Choose one face of the octahedron randoml" and label it &ith # +here are three faces ad6acent to this
one' &hich &e &ill call A-faces# +here are three faces ad6acent to t&o of the A-faces' &hich &e &ill call
2-faces' and one face ad6acent to the three 2-faces' &hich &e &ill call the C-face#
Clearl"' the labels for the A-faces m!st come from the set ' since these faces are all
ad6acent to # +here are th!s &a"s to assign the labels for the A-faces#
+he labels for the 2-faces and C-face are the t&o remaining n!mbers from the above set' pl!s and
# +he n!mber on the C-face m!st not be consec!tive to an" of the n!mbers on the 2-faces#
$rom here it is easiest to br!te force the possibilities for the n!mbers on the 2 and C faces/
,158 (,978*/ 8(,* is the onl" one not ad6acent to an" of the others' so it goes on the C-face# 5(9* has
onl" one 2-face it can go to' &hile , and 1 (7 and 8* can be assigned randoml" to the last t&o# ,
possibilities here#
,178 (,778*/ 7 cannot go on an" of the 2-faces' so it m!st be on the C-face# 1 and 8 (, and 7* have onl"
one allo&able 2-face' so 6!st 1 possibilit" here#
,198 (,578*/ 9(5* cannot go on an" of the 2-faces' so it m!st be on the C-face# 1 and 8 (, and 7* have
onl" one allo&able 2-face' so 1 possibilit" here#
,578 (,798*/ All of the n!mbers have onl" one 2-face the" co!ld go to# , and 5 (9 and 8* can go on the
same' so one m!st go to the C-face# Hnl" ,(8* is not consec!tive &ith an" of the others' so it goes on the
C-face# 1 possibilit"#
,178/ @one of the n!mbers can go on the C-face beca!se the" &ill be consec!tive &ith one of the 2-face
n!mbers# %o this possibilit" is impossible#
,598/ 2oth 5 and 9 cannot go on an" 2-face# +he" cannot both go on the C-face' so this possibilit" is
impossible#
+here is a total of possibilities# +here are perm!tations (more li0e "rotations"* of each'
so acceptable &a"s to fill in the rest of the octahedron given the # +here are &a"s to
randoml" fill in the rest of the octahedron# %o the probabilit" is # +he ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
Consider the c!be formed from the face centers of the reg!lar octahedron# Color the vertices in a
chec0er board fashion# -e see0 the n!mber of circ!its traversing the c!be entirel" composed of
diagonals# @otice for an" verte)' it can be lin0ed to at most one different-colored verte)' i#e# its
opposite verte)# +h!s' there are onl" t&o possible t"pes of circ!its ( for blac0 and for &hite*#
+"pe I/ # +here are &a"s to arrange the blac0 vertices and conse!entl"
t&o of the &hite vertices and &a"s to arrange the other t&o &hite vertices# %ince the template has
a period of ' there are circ!its of t"pe I#
+"pe II/ # +here are &a"s to arrange the blac0 vertices and
conse!entl" the &hite vertices# %ince the template has a period of ' there are circ!its of
t"pe II#
+h!s' there are circ!its satisf"ing the given condition' o!t of the possible circ!its#
+herefore' the desired probabilit" is # +he ans&er is #
%ol!tion 1
As in the previo!s sol!tion' consider the c!be formed b" ta0ing each face of the octahedron as a
verte)# 3et one fi)ed verte) be A# +hen each config!ration (letting each verte) have a n!mber val!e
from 1-8* of A and the three vertices ad6acent to A !ni!el" determine a config!ration that satisfies
the conditions' i#e# no t&o vertices have consec!tive n!mbers# +h!s' the n!mber of desired
config!rations is e!ivalent to the n!mber of &a"s of choosing the val!es of A and its three ad6acent
vertices#
+he val!e of A can be chosen in 8 &a"s' and the 1 vertices ad6acent to A can be chosen
in &a"s' since the" aren8t ad6acent to each other' b!t the" can8t' after all' be
consec!tive val!es to A# $or e)ample' if A;1' then the ne)t verte) can8t be 1', or 8' so there are 7
choices# Do&ever' the ne)t verte) also ad6acent to A can be chosen in 5 &a"sB it can8t be e!al to
1','8' or the val!e of the previo!sl" chosen verte)# -ith the same reasoning' the last s!ch verte) has
1 possible choices#
+he total n!mber of &a"s to choose the val!es of the vertices of the c!be independentl" is 8G' so o!r
probabilit" is th!s ' from &hich the ans&er is #
2001 2
,AA1 AIME II Problems/Problem 1
Problem
3et be the largest positive integer &ith the follo&ing propert"/ reading from left to right' each pair
of consec!tive digits of forms a perfect s!are# -hat are the leftmost three digits of .
%ol!tion
+he t&o-digit perfect s!ares are # -e tr" ma0ing a se!ence starting &ith each
one/
# +his terminates since none of them end in a ' giving !s #
' #
' #
' #
+he largest is ' so o!r ans&er is #
,AA1 AIME II Problems/Problem ,
Problem
Each of the st!dents at a high school st!dies either %panish or $rench' and some st!d" both#
+he n!mber &ho st!d" %panish is bet&een percent and percent of the school pop!lation' and
the n!mber &ho st!d" $rench is bet&een percent and percent# 3et be the smallest n!mber
of st!dents &ho co!ld st!d" both lang!ages' and let be the largest n!mber of st!dents &ho co!ld
st!d" both lang!ages# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the percent of people &ho st!d" %panish' be the n!mber of people &ho st!d" $rench' and
let be the n!mber of st!dents &ho st!d" both#
+hen '
and # 2" the Principle of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion'
$or to be smallest' and m!st be minimi4ed#
$or to be largest' and m!st be ma)imi4ed#
+herefore' the ans&er is #
Problem
Eiven that
find the val!e of #
%ol!tion
-e find that b" the rec!rsive form!la# %!mming the rec!rsions
"ields # +h!s #
%ince ' it follo&s that
Problem
3et # +he lines &hose e!ations are and contain points and '
respectivel"' s!ch that is the midpoint of # +he length of e!als ' &here and are
relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
+he coordinates of can be &ritten as and the coordinates of point can be &ritten
as # 2" the midpoint form!la' &e have and # %olving for
gives ' so the point is # +he ans&er is t&ice the distance from to ' &hich
b" the distance form!la is # +h!s' the ans&er is #
Problem
A set of positive n!mbers has the trian$le propert# if it has three distinct elements that are the
lengths of the sides of a triangle &hose area is positive# Consider sets of consec!tive
positive integers' all of &hose ten-element s!bsets have the triangle propert"# -hat is the largest
possible val!e of .
%ol!tion
H!t of all ten-element s!bsets &ith distinct elements that do not possess the triangle propert"' &e
&ant to find the one &ith the smallest ma)im!m element# Call this s!bset # -itho!t loss of
generalit"' consider an" &ith # does not possess the triangle propert"'
so # -e !se this propert" to b!ild !p from the smallest possible and /
is the "smallest" ten-element s!bset &itho!t the triangle propert"' and since the
set is the largest set of consec!tive integers that does not contain this s!bset' it is
also the largest set of consec!tive integers in &hich all ten-element s!bsets possess the triangle
propert"# +h!s' o!r ans&er is #
Problem
%!are is inscribed in a circle# %!are has vertices and on and
vertices and on the circle# +he ratio of the area of s!are to the area of
s!are can be e)pressed as &here and are relativel" prime positive integers
and # $ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the center of the circle' and be the side length of ' be the side length
of # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem' the radi!s of #
@o& consider right triangle ' &here is the midpoint of # +hen' b" the P"thagorean
+heorem'
+h!s (since lengths are positive' &e discard the other root*# +he ratio of the areas of t&o
similar fig!res is the s!are of the ratio of their corresponding side lengths'
so ' and the ans&er is #
Another &a" to proceed from is to note that is the !antit" &e needB th!s' &e
divide b" to get
+his is a !adratic in ' and solving it gives # +he negative
sol!tion is e)traneo!s' and so the ratio of the areas is and the ans&er
is #
Problem
3et be a right triangle &ith ' ' and # 3et be
the inscribed circle# Constr!ct &ith on and on ' s!ch that
is perpendic!lar to and tangent to # Constr!ct &ith on and on s!ch
that is perpendic!lar to and tangent to # 3et be the inscribed circle of and
the inscribed circle of # +he distance bet&een the centers of and can be &ritten
as # -hat is .
%ol!tion
Solution 1 (analytic)
3et be at the origin# Fsing the form!la on ' &here is
the inradi!s (similarl" define to be the radii of *' is
the semiperimeter' and is the area' &e find # Hr' the inradi!s co!ld
be directl" b" !sing the form!la ' &here and are the legs of the right triangle and is
the h"poten!se# (+his form!la sho!ld be !sed onl# &or ri$ht trian$les#* +h!s lie respectivel"
on the lines ' and so #
@ote that # %ince the ratio of corresponding lengths of similar fig!res
are the same' &e have
3et the centers of
be ' respectivel"B then
b" the distance form!la &e have # +herefore' the ans&er
is #
Solution 2 (synt+etic)
-e comp!te as above# 3et respectivel" the points of
tangenc" of &ith #
2" the +&o +angent +heorem' &e find that ' # Fsing the similar
triangles' ' ' so #
+h!s #
Problem
A certain f!nction has the properties that for all positive real val!es of ' and
that for # $ind the smallest for &hich #
%ol!tion
Iterating the condition ' &e find that for positive integers # -e
0no& the definition of from ' so &e &o!ld li0e to
e)press # Indeed'
-e no& need the smallest s!ch that # +he range of '
is # +hen ' and the smallest val!e of is # +hen'
-e &ant the smaller val!e of #
An alternative approach is to consider the graph of ' &hich repeats ever" po&er of ' and
resembles the section from e)panded b" a factor of #
Problem
Each !nit s!are of a 1-b"-1 !nit-s!are grid is to be colored either bl!e or red# $or each s!are'
either color is e!all" li0el" to be !sed# +he probabilit" of obtaining a grid that does not have a ,-b"-,
red s!are is ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
-e can !se complementar" co!nting' co!nting all of the colorings that have at least one red
s!are#
$or at least one red s!are/

+here are fo!r s!ares to choose &hich one &ill be red# +hen there are &a"s to color the rest of
the s!ares#
$or at least t&o s!ares/

+here are t&o cases/ those &ith t&o red s!ares on one side and those &itho!t red s!ares on one side#
+he first case is eas"/ 5 &a"s to choose &hich the side the s!ares &ill be on' and &a"s to color the
rest of the s!ares' so 1, &a"s to do that# $or the second case' there &ill b" onl" t&o &a"s to pic0 t&o
s!ares' and &a"s to color the other s!ares#
$or at least three s!ares/

Choosing three s!ch s!ares leaves onl" one s!are left' &ith fo!r places to place it# +his is
&a"s#
$or at least fo!r s!ares' &e clearl" onl" have one &a"#
2" the Principle of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion' there are (alternativel" s!btracting and
adding* &a"s to have at least one red s!are#
+here are &a"s to paint the s!are &ith no restrictions' so there
are &a"s to paint the s!are &ith the restriction# +herefore' the probabilit" of
obtaining a grid that does not have a red s!are is ' and #
,AA1 AIME II Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
Do& man" positive integer m!ltiples of can be e)pressed in the form ' &here and
are integers and .
%ol!tion
+he prime factori4ation of # -e
have #
%ince ' &e re!ire that # $rom
the factori4ation ' &e see that &or0sB
also' implies that ' and so an" &ill &or0#
+o sho& that no other possibilities &or0' s!ppose ' and
let # +hen &e can &rite ' and &e can
easil" verif" that for #
If ' then &e can have sol!tions of &a"s#
If ' &e can have the sol!tions of ' and so forth#
Problem
Cl!b +r!ncator is in a soccer leag!e &ith si) other teams' each of &hich it pla"s once# In an" of its 9
matches' the probabilities that Cl!b +r!ncator &ill &in' lose' or tie are each # +he probabilit" that
Cl!b +r!ncator &ill finish the season &ith more &ins than losses is ' &here and are relativel"
%ol!tion
@ote that the probabilit" that Cl!b +r!ncator &ill have more &ins than losses is e!al to the probabilit"
that it &ill have more losses than &insB the onl" other possibilit" is that the" have the same n!mber of
&ins and losses# +h!s' b" the complement principle' the desired probabilit" is half the probabilit" that
Cl!b +r!ncator does not have the same n!mber of &ins and losses#
+he possible &a"s to achieve the same n!mber of &ins and losses are ties' &ins and lossesB
ties' &ins' and lossesB ties' &in' and lossB or ties# %ince there are games' there are
&a"s for the first' and ' ' and &a"s for the rest' respectivel"' o!t of a total of # +his gives
a probabilit" of # +hen the desired ans&er is ' so the ans&er
is #
,AA1 AIME II Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
Eiven a triangle' its midpoint triangle is obtained b" 6oining the midpoints of its sides# A se!ence
of pol"hedra is defined rec!rsivel" as follo&s/ is a reg!lar tetrahedron &hose vol!me is 1# +o
obtain ' replace the midpoint triangle of ever" face of b" an o!t&ard-pointing reg!lar
tetrahedron that has the midpoint triangle as a face# +he vol!me of is ' &here and are
%ol!tion
Hn the first constr!ction' ' fo!r ne& tetrahedra &ill be constr!cted &ith side lengths of the
original one# %ince the ratio of the vol!me of similar pol"gons is the c!be of the ratio of their
corresponding lengths' it follo&s that each of these ne& tetrahedra &ill have vol!me # +he
total vol!me added here is then #
-e no& note that for each midpoint triangle &e constr!ct in step ' there are no& places to
constr!ct ne& midpoint triangles for step # +he o!t&ard tetrahedron for the midpoint triangle
provides of the faces' &hile the three e!ilateral triangles s!rro!nding the midpoint triangle provide
the other # Do&ever' the vol!me of the tetrahedra being constr!cted decrease b" a factor of # +h!s
&e have the rec!rsion ' and so #
+he vol!me of ' and
# @ote that the s!mmation &as in fact a geometric series#
Problem
In !adrilateral ' and ' ' '
and # +he length ma" be &ritten in the form ' &here and are relativel" prime
%ol!tion
E)tend and to meet at # +hen' since and ' &e
0no& that # Dence ' and is isosceles#
+hen #
Fsing the similarit"' &e have/
+he ans&er is #
".tension/ $ind #
Problem
+here are comple) n!mbers that satisf" both and # +hese n!mbers
have the form ' &here and angles are
meas!red in degrees# $ind the val!e of #
SOL!IO" "O! #I$E"
Problem
3et ' ' and be three ad6acent s!are faces of a c!be' for &hich '
and let be the eighth verte) of the c!be# 3et ' ' and ' be the points on ' ' and '
respectivel"' so that # A solid is obtained b" drilling a t!nnel thro!gh the
c!be# +he sides of the t!nnel are planes parallel to ' and containing the edges' ' ' and
# +he s!rface area of ' incl!ding the &alls of the t!nnel' is ' &here ' ' and are
positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion

%et the coordinate s"stem so that verte) ' &here the drilling starts' is at # Fsing a little
vis!ali4ation (involving some similar triangles' beca!se &e have parallel lines* sho&s that the t!nnel
meets the bottom face (the )" plane one* in the line segments 6oining to '
and to ' and similarl" for the other three faces meeting at the origin (b" s"mmetr"*#
%o one face of the t!nnel is the pol"gon &ith vertices (in that
order*' ' and the other t&o faces of the
t!nnel are congr!ent to this shape#
Hbserve that this shape is made !p of t&o congr!ent trape4oids each &ith height and bases
and # +ogether the" ma0e !p an area of # +he total area of the
t!nnel is then # Aro!nd the corners and the one opposite &e8re missing an
area of # %o the o!tside area is # +h!s the the total s!rface area
is ' and the ans&er is #
2002 -1
,AA, AIME I Problems/Problem 1
Problem
Man" states !se a se!ence of three letters follo&ed b" a se!ence of three digits as their standard
license-plate pattern# Eiven that each three-letter three-digit arrangement is e!all" li0el"' the
probabilit" that s!ch a license plate &ill contain at least one palindrome (a three-letter arrangement or
a three-digit arrangement that reads the same left-to-right as it does right-to-left* is ' &here
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Consider the three-digit arrangement' # +here are choices for and choices for (since it is
possible for *' and so the probabilit" of pic0ing the palindrome is # %imilarl"'
there is a probabilit" of pic0ing the three-letter palindrome#
2" the Principle of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion' the total probabilit" is
Solution 2
Fsing complementar" co!nting' &e co!nt all of the license plates that do not have the desired
propert"# In order to not be a palindrome' the first and third characters of each string m!st be
different# +herefore' there are three digit non-palindromes' and there are
three letter non palindromes# As there are total three-letter three-digit arrangements' the
probabilit" that a license plate does not have the desired propert" is #
-e s!btract this from 1 to get as o!r probabilit"# +herefore' o!r ans&er
is #
,AA, AIME I Problems/Problem ,
Problem
+he diagram sho&s t&ent" congr!ent circles arranged in three ro&s and enclosed in a rectangle# +he
circles are tangent to one another and to the sides of the rectangle as sho&n in the diagram#
+he ratio of the longer dimension of the rectangle to the shorter dimension can be &ritten
as &here and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et the radi!s of the circles be # +he longer dimension of the rectangle can be &ritten as ' and b"
the P"thagorean +heorem' &e find that the shorter dimension is #
+herefore' # +h!s &e
have and ' so #
%ol!tion ,
%ince &e onl" care abo!t the ratio bet&een the longer side and shorter side' &e can set the longer
side to # %o' this means that each of the radii is # @o&' &e connect the radii of three circles s!ch
that the" form an e!ilateral triangle &ith side length 5# Hbvio!sl"' the height this triangle is '
and the shorter side if the triangle is therefore and &e !se simplification similar to as
sho&ed above' and &e reach the res!lt and the final ans&er is #
Problem
Xane is ,7 "ears old# ?ic0 is older than Xane# In "ears' &here is a positive integer' ?ic08s age and
Xane8s age &ill both be t&o-digit n!mber and &ill have the propert" that Xane8s age is obtained b"
interchanging the digits of ?ic08s age# 3et be ?ic08s present age# Do& man" ordered pairs of positive
integers are possible.
%ol!tion
3et Xane8s age "ears from no& be ' and let ?ic08s age be # If '
then # +he possible pairs of are/
+hat ma0es 19# 2!t ' so &e s!btract all the e)traneo!s
pairs/ and
#
Problem
Consider the se!ence defined b" for # Eiven
that ' for positive integers and &ith ' find #
%ol!tion
# +h!s'
-hich is
%ince &e need a ,9 in the denominator' let #I %!bstit!ting'
%ince m is an integer' ' or # It !ic0l" follo&s that and '
so #
If ' a similar arg!ment to the one above implies and ' &hich
implies ' &hich is impossible since #
Problem
3et be the vertices of a reg!lar dodecagon# Do& man" distinct s!ares in the
plane of the dodecagon have at least t&o vertices in the set
%ol!tion
+here are 99 &a"s of pic0ing t&o vertices# @ote &ith an" t&o vertices one can dra& three s!ares
(t'o &ith the vertices forming a side' another &ith the vertices forming the diagonal*# %o so far &e
have s!ares' b!t &e have overco!nted since some s!ares have their other t&o
vertices in the dodecagon as &ell# All 1, combinations of t&o distinct vertices that form a s!are side
onl" form 1 s!ares' and all 1, combinations of t&o vertices that form a s!are diagonal onl" form 9
s!ares# %o in total' &e have overco!nted b" ' and #
Problem
+he sol!tions to the s"stem of e!ations
are and # $ind #
%ol!tion
3et and let #
$rom the first e!ation/ #
Pl!gging this into the second e!ation "ields and
th!s' #
%o'
#
And
#
+h!s' #
Hne ma" simplif" the &or0 b" appl"ing Wieta8s form!las to directl" find
that #
Problem
+he 2inomial E)pansion is valid for e)ponents that are not integers# +hat is' for all real n!mbers
and &ith '
-hat are the first three digits to the right of the decimal point in the decimal representation
of .
%ol!tion
&ill al&a"s be 1' so &e can ignore those terms' and !sing the definition ( */
%ince the e)ponent of the goes do&n e)tremel" fast' it s!ffices to consider the first fe& terms#
Also' the term &ill not affect the digits after the decimal' so &e need to find the first three
digits after the decimal in
#
(+he remainder after this term is positive b" the :emainder Estimation +heorem*# %ince the repeating
decimal of repeats ever" 9 digits' &e can c!t o!t a lot of 98s from to red!ce the problem to
finding the first three digits after the decimal of
#
+hat is the same as ' and the first three digits after are #
An e!ivalent statement is to note that &e are loo0ing for ' &here is
the fractional part of a n!mber# 2" $ermat8s 3ittle +heorem' '
so B in other &ords' leaves a resid!e of after division b" #
+hen the desired ans&er is the first three decimal places after ' &hich are #
Problem
$ind the smallest integer for &hich the conditions
(1* is a nondecreasing se!ence of positive integers
(,* for all
(1*
are satisfied b" more than one se!ence#
%ol!tion
$rom '

%!ppose that is the smallest possible val!e for that "ields a good se!ence' and
in this se!ence# %o' #
%ince ' the ne)t smallest possible val!e for that "ields a good se!ence
is # +hen' #
2" ' # %o the smallest val!e of is
attained &hen &hich "ields or #
+h!s' is the smallest possible val!e of #
Problem
Darold' +an"a' and Fl"sses paint a ver" long pic0et fence#
Darold starts &ith the first pic0et and paints ever" th pic0etB
+an"a starts &ith the second pic0et and paints ever" th pic0etB and
Fl"sses starts &ith the third pic0et and paints ever" th pic0et#
Call the positive integer paintable &hen the triple of positive integers
res!lts in ever" pic0et being painted e)actl" once# $ind the s!m of all the paintable integers#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
@ote that it is impossible for an" of to be ' since then each pic0et &ill have been painted one
time' and then some &ill be painted more than once#
cannot be ' or that &ill res!lt in painting the third pic0et t&ice# If ' then ma" not e!al
an"thing not divisible b" ' and the same for # @o& for fo!rth and fifth pic0ets to be painted' and
m!st be as &ell# +his config!ration &or0s' so is paintable#
If is ' then m!st be odd# +he same for ' e)cept that it can8t be # +h!s is
and is # %ince this is all ' m!st be and m!st be ' in order for to be
paint-able# +h!s is paintable#
cannot be greater than ' since if that &ere the case then the ans&er &o!ld be greater than '
&hich &o!ld be impossible for the AIME#
+h!s the s!m of all paintable n!mbers is #
Solution 2
Again' note that # +he three conditions state that no pic0et n!mber ma" satisf" an" t&o
of the conditions/ # 2" the Chinese :emainder
+heorem' the greatest common divisor of an" pair of the three n!mbers cannot be (since
other&ise &itho!t loss of generalit" consider B then there &ill be a common
sol!tion *#
@o& for to be paint-able' &e re!ire either or ' b!t not both#
In the former condition' since ' it follo&s that # $or and to be

paint-able' &e re!ire ' and it is eas" to see that &or0s#
In the latter condition' similarl" &e re!ire that # All even n!mbers are painted# -e no& ren!mber
the remaining odd pic0ets to become the set of all positive integers ( '
&here *' &hich re!ires the transformation ' and &ith the painting
starting respectivel" at # H!r ne& n!mber s"stem retains the same conditions as above' e)cept
&itho!t # -e th!s need # +hen for to be painted' &e
re!ire # +his translates to ' &hich &e see &or0s#
+h!s the ans&er is #
,AA, AIME I Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
In the diagram belo&' angle is a right angle# Point is on ' and bisects angle #
Points and are on and ' respectivel"' so that and # Eiven
that and ' find the integer closest to the area of !adrilateral #
%ol!tion
2" the P"thagorean +heorem' # 3etting &e can !se the angle bisector theorem on
triangle to get ' and solving gives and #
+he area of triangle is that of triangle ' since the" share a common side and angle'
so the area of triangle is the area of triangle #
%ince the area of a triangle is ' the area of is and the area of
is #
+he area of triangle is ' and the area of the entire triangle is # %!btracting the
areas of and from and finding the closest integer gives as the ans&er#
Problem
3et and be t&o faces of a c!be &ith # A beam of light emanates from
verte) and reflects off face at point ' &hich is 7 !nits from and 7 !nits from #
+he beam contin!es to be reflected off the faces of the c!be# +he length of the light path from the
time it leaves point !ntil it ne)t reaches a verte) of the c!be is given b" ' &here and are
integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
-e can !se a similar tric0 as &ith reflections in ,?/ Imagine that the entire space is divided into c!bes
identical to the one &e have# @o& let8s follo& a t&o photons of light that start in at the same time/
one of them &ill reflect as given in the problem statement' the second &ill simpl" fl" straight thro!gh
all c!bes# It can easil" be seen that at an" moment in time the photons are in e)actl" the same
position relative to the c!bes the" are inside at the moment# In other &ords' &e can ta0e the c!be
&ith the first photon' translate it and flip if necessar"' to get the c!be &ith the other photon#
It follo&s that both photons &ill hit a verte) at the same time' and at this moment the" &ill have
travelled the same distance#
@o&' the path of the second photon is simpl" a half-line given b" the vector # +hat is' the
points visited b" the photon are of the form for # -e are loo0ing for the smallest
s!ch that all three coordinates are integer m!ltiples of (&hich is the length of the side of the c!be*#
Clearl" m!st be an integer# As and are relativel" prime' the smallest sol!tion is # At this
moment the second photon &ill be at the coordinates #
+hen the distance it travelled
is # And as the
factori4ation of is ' &e have and ' hence #
,AA, AIME I Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
3et for all comple) n!mbers ' and let for all positive integers #
Eiven that and ' &here and are real n!mbers' find #
%ol!tion
Iterating &e get/
$rom this' it follo&s that ' for all #
+h!s
+h!s #
Problem
In triangle the medians and have lengths and ' respectivel"' and #
E)tend to intersect the circ!mcircle of at # +he area of triangle is '
&here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
Appl"ing %te&art8s +heorem to medians ' &e have/
%!bstit!ting the first e!ation into the second and simplification
"ields
#
2" the Po&er of a Point +heorem on ' &e get # +he 3a& of Cosines on
gives
Dence # 2eca!se have the same height
and e!al bases' the" have the same area'
and ' and the
ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
3et and intersect at # %ince medians split one another in a ,/1 ratio' &e have
+his gives isosceles and th!s an eas" area calc!lation# After e)tending the altit!de to and
!sing the fact that it is also a median' &e find
Fsing Po&er of a Point' &e have
2" %ame Deight ?ifferent 2ase'
%olving gives
and
+h!s' o!r ans&er is #
Problem
A set of distinct positive integers has the follo&ing propert"/ for ever" integer in the arithmetic
mean of the set of val!es obtained b" deleting from is an integer# Eiven that 1 belongs to and
that ,AA, is the largest element of &hat is the greatet n!mber of elements that can have.
%ol!tion
3et the s!m of the integers in be ' and let the si4e of be # After an" element is
removed' &e are given that ' so # %ince ' ' and all
elements are congr!ent to 1 mod # %ince the" are positive integers' the largest element is at
least ' the th positive integer congr!ent to 1 mod #
-e are also given that this largest member is ,AA,' so '
and # Also' &e have ' so # +he largest factor of ,AA1
less than 57 is ,9' so and is the largest possible# +his can be achieved
&ith ' for instance#
Problem
Pol"hedron has si) faces# $ace is a s!are &ith face is a
trape4oid &ith parallel to and and face
has +he other three faces are and +he distance from
to face is 1,# Eiven that &here and are positive integers and is
not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime' find
%ol!tion
3et8s p!t the pol"hedron onto a coordinate plane# $or simplicit"' let the origin be the center of the
s!are/ ' ' and # %ince is an isosceles
trape4oid and is an isosceles triangle' &e have s"mmetr" abo!t the -plane#
+herefore' the -component of is A# -e are given that the component is 1,' and it lies over the
s!are' so &e m!st have so (the other
sol!tion' does not lie over the s!are*# @o& let and '
so is parallel to # -e m!st have ' so #
+he last piece of information &e have is that (and its reflection' * are faces of the
pol"hedron' so the" m!st all lie in the same plane# %ince &e have ' ' and ' &e can derive this
plane#I 3et be the e)tension of the intersection of the lines containing # It follo&s that the
pro6ection of onto the plane m!st coincide &ith the ' &here is the
pro6ection of onto the plane # b" a ratio of ' so the distance
from to the plane is and b" the similarit"' the
distance from to the plane is # +he altit!de from to has height #
2" similarit"' the )-coordinate of is # +hen #
@o& that &e have located ' &e can calc!late /
+a0ing the
negative root beca!se the ans&er form as0s for it' &e get '
and #
Hne ma" also do this b"

vectorsB ' so
the plane is # %ince lies on this plane' &e m!st have '
so # +herefore' # %o #
2002 2
,AA, AIME II Problems/Problem 1
Problem
Eiven that
Do& man" distinct val!es of are possible.
%ol!tion
-e e)press the n!mbers as and # $rom this' &e have
2eca!se and are digits' and is bet&een 1 and 9' there are possible val!es#
,AA, AIME II Problems/Problem ,
Problem
+hree vertices of a c!be are ' ' and # -hat is
the s!rface area of the c!be.
%ol!tion
%o' is an e!ilateral triangle# 3et the side of the c!be be #
%o' ' and hence the s!rface area; #
Problem
It is given that &here and are positive integers that form an
increasing geometric se!ence and is the s!are of an integer# $ind
%ol!tion
# %ince the" form an increasing geometric se!ence' is the geometric mean of
the prod!ct # #
%ince is the s!are of an integer' &e can find a fe& val!es of that &or0/ 11' ,A' ,7' 1,' and
17# 11 doesn8t &or0# @or do ,A' 1,' or 17# +h!s' ' and #
Problem
Patio bloc0s that are he)agons !nit on a side are !sed to o!tline a garden b" placing the bloc0s edge
to edge &ith on each side# +he diagram indicates the path of bloc0s aro!nd the garden &hen
#
If ' then the area of the garden enclosed b" the path' not incl!ding the path itself'
is s!are !nits' &here is a positive integer# $ind the remainder &hen is divided
b" #
%ol!tion
-hen ' the path of bloc0s has bloc0s total in it# -hen ' there is 6!st one lonel"
bloc0# +h!s' the area of the garden enclosed b" the path &hen is
'
&here is the area of one bloc0# %ince ' the area of the garden is
#
' :emainder #
Problem
$ind the s!m of all positive integers &here and are non-negative integers' for
&hich is not a divisor of
%ol!tion
%!bstit!te into and ' and find all pairs of non-negative integers (n'm* for
&hich is not a divisor of
%implif"ing both e)pressions/
is not a divisor of
Comparing both e)ponents (noting that there m!st be either e)tra po&ers of , or e)tra po&ers of 1 in
the left e)pression*/
H:
Fsing the first ine!alit" and going case b" case starting &ith n [A' 1' ,' 1###\/
n;A/ &hich has no sol!tion for non-negative integers m
n;1/ &hich is tr!e for m;A b!t fails for higher integers
n;,/ &hich is tr!e for m;A b!t fails for higher integers
n;7/ &hich has no sol!tion for non-negative integers m
+here are no more sol!tions for higher ' as pol"nomials li0e gro& slo&er than e)ponentials
li0e #
Fsing the second ine!alit" and going case b" case starting &ith m [A' 1' ,' 1###\/
m;A/ &hich has no sol!tion for non-negative integers n
m;1/ &hich is tr!e for n;A b!t fails for higher integers
m;,/ &hich is tr!e for n;A b!t fails for higher integers
m;1/ &hich has no sol!tion for non-negative integers n
+here are no more sol!tions for higher ' as pol"nomials li0e gro& slo&er than e)ponentials
li0e #
+h!s there ae si) n!mbers corresponding to (1'A*' (,'A*' (1'A*' (5'A*' (A'1*' and (A',*# Pl!gging them
bac0 into the original e)pression' these n!mbers are ,' 5' 8' 19' 1' and 9' respectivel"# +heir s!m
is #
Problem
$ind the integer that is closest to #
%ol!tion
-e 0no& that #
%o if &e p!ll the o!t of the s!mmation' "o! get
#
@o& that telescopes' leaving "o! &ith/
+he small fractional terms are not eno!gh to bring lo&er than so the ans&er is
If "o! didn8t 0no& ' here8s ho& "o! can find it o!t/
-e 0no& # -e can !se the process of fractional decomposition to split this
into t&o fractions th!s/ for some A and 2#
%olving for A and 2 gives or # %ince there
is no n term on the left hand side' and b" inspection # %olving
"ields
+hen &e have and &e can contin!e as before#
'// Altho!gh the ans&er to Problem 9 doesn8t change' the val!e of the telescoping s!m is incorrect
as given# Instead of the correct s!m
is
Problem
It is 0no&n that' for all positive integers '
#
$ind the smallest positive integer s!ch that is a m!ltiple of #
%ol!tion
is a m!ltiple of if is a m!ltiple of #
%o #
%ince is al&a"s odd' and onl" one of and is even' either #
+h!s' #
If ' then # If ' then # If ' then #
+h!s' there are no restrictions on in #
Ii is eas" to see that onl" one of ' ' and is divisible b" # %o
either #
+h!s' #
$rom the Chinese :emainder +heorem' # +h!s' the
smallest positive integer is #
Problem
$ind the least positive integer for &hich the e!ation has no integer sol!tions for #
(+he notation means the greatest integer less than or e!al to #*
%ol!tion
Solution 1
@ote that if ' then either ' or #
Either &a"' &e &on8t s0ip an" nat!ral n!mbers#
+he smallest s!ch that is # (+he ine!alit" simplifies
to ' &hich is eas" to solve b" trial' as the sol!tion is obvio!sl" #*
-e can no& comp!te/
$rom the observation above (and the fact that * &e 0no& that all integers bet&een
and &ill be achieved for some val!es of # %imilarl"' for &e obvio!sl" have
#
Dence the least positive integer for &hich the e!ation has no integer sol!tions for
is #
Solution 2
:e&riting the given information and simplif"ing it a bit' &e have
@o& note that in order for there to be no integer sol!tions to &e m!st have
-e see0 the smallest s!ch A bit of e)perimentation "ields that is the smallest sol!tion' as
for it is tr!e that $!rthermore' is the smallest s!ch
case# (If !ns!re' &e co!ld chec0 if the res!lt holds for and as it t!rns o!t' it doesn8t#*
+herefore' the ans&er is
Problem
3et be the set 3et be the n!mber of sets of t&o non-empt" dis6oint s!bsets
of # (?is6oint sets are defined as sets that have no common elements#* $ind the remainder obtained
&hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
3et the t&o dis6oint s!bsets be and ' and let # $or each ' either
' ' or # %o there are &a"s to organi4e the elements of into dis6oint ' ' and #
Do&ever' there are &a"s to organi4e the elements of s!ch that and ' and
there are &a"s to organi4e the elements of s!ch that and # 2!t' the
combination s!ch that and is co!nted t&ice#
+h!s' there are ordered pairs of sets # 2!t since the !estion as0s for the
n!mber of !nordered sets ' #
,AA, AIME II Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
-hile finding the sine of a certain angle' an absent-minded professor failed to notice that his
calc!lator &as not in the correct ang!lar mode# De &as l!c0" to get the right ans&er# +he t&o least
positive real val!es of for &hich the sine of degrees is the same as the sine of radians
are and ' &here ' ' ' and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
@ote that degrees is e!al to radians# Also' for ' the t&o least positive
angles s!ch that are ' and #
Clearl" for positive real val!es of #
"ields/ #
"ields/ #
%o' #
Problem
+&o distinct' real' infinite geometric series each have a s!m of and have the same second term# +he
third term of one of the series is ' and the second term of both series can be &ritten in the
form ' &here ' ' and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an"
prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et the second term of each series be # +hen' the common ratio is ' and the first term is #
%o' the s!m is #
+h!s' #
+he onl" sol!tion in the appropriate form is # +herefore' #
,AA, AIME II Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
A bas0etball pla"er has a constant probabilit" of of ma0ing an" given shot' independent of previo!s
shots# 3et be the ratio of shots made to shots attempted after shots# +he probabilit"
that and for all s!ch that is given to be &here ' ' '
and are primes' and ' ' and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tions
Solution 1
+he first restriction is that ' meaning that the pla"er gets e)actl" 5 o!t of 1A bas0ets# +he
second restriction is # +his means that the pla"er ma" never have a shooting average over
5AO# +h!s' the first and second shots m!st fail' since and are both over ' b!t the pla"er ma"
ma0e the third bas0et' since In other &ords' the earliest the first bas0et ma" be made is
attempt 1# Fsing similar reasoning' the earliest the second bas0et ma" be made is attempt 7' the
earliest the third bas0et ma" be made is attempt 8' and the earliest the fo!rth bas0et ma" be made is
attempt 1A#
Fsing < to represent a bas0et and H to represent a fail!re' this 8earliest8 sol!tion ma" be represented
as/
HH<H<HH<H<
+o simplif" co!nting' note that the first' second' and tenth shots are predetermined# +he first t&o
shots m!st fail' and the last shot m!st s!cceed# +h!s' onl" slots 1-9 need to be co!nted' and can be
abbreviated as follo&s/
<H<HH<H
+he problem ma" be separated into five cases' since the first shot ma" be made on attempt 1' 5' 7' 9'
or 7# +he easiest &a" to co!nt the problem is to remember that each < ma" slide to the right' b!t @H+
to the left#
$irst shot made on attempt 1/
<H<HH<H
<H<HHH<
<HH<H<H
<HH<HH<
<HHH<<H
<HHH<H<
<HHHH<<
0otal - 1
@ote that all that needs to be done is change each line in the prior case from starting &ith "<H#####" to
"H<#####"#
0otal - 1
HH<<H<H
HH<<HH<
HH<H<<H
HH<H<H<
HH<HH<<
0otal - &
HHH<<<H
HHH<<H<
HHH<H<<
0otal - 3
HHHH<<<
0otal - 1
+he total n!mber of &a"s the pla"er ma" satisf" the re!irements is #
+he chance of hitting an" individ!al combination (sa"' for e)ample' HHHHHH<<<<* is
+h!s' the chance of hitting an" of these ,1 combinations is
+h!s' the final ans&er is
Solution 2
@ote # +herefore the pla"er made 5 shots o!t of 1A# De m!st ma0e the 1Ath shot' beca!se if
he doesn8t' then # %ince for all less than 11' &e 0no& that #
@o& &e m!st loo0 at the 1rd thro!gh 9th shot#
@o& let8s ta0e a loo0 at those !n-determined shots# 3et8s p!t them into gro!ps/ the 1rd' 5th' and 7th
shots in gro!p A' and the 9th' 7th' 8th' and 9th shots in gro!p 2# +he total n!mber of shots made in
gro!ps A and 2 m!st be 1' since the pla"er ma0es the 1Ath shot# -e cannot have all three shots made
in gro!p A' since # +herefore &e can have t&o shots made' one shot made' or no shots made
in gro!p A#
*ase 1( 2roup 3 contains no %ade s+ots
+he n!mber of &a"s this can happen in gro!p A is 1# @o& &e m!st arrange the shots in gro!p 2
accordingl"# +here are fo!r &a"s to arrange them total' and all of them &or0# +here are 4 possibilities
here#
*ase 2( 2roup 3 contains one %ade s+ot
+he n!mber of &a"s this co!ld happen in gro!p A is 1# @o& &e m!st arrange the shots in gro!p 2
accordingl"# +here are si) &a"s to arrange them total' b!t the arrangement "hit hit miss miss" fails'
beca!se that &o!ld mean # All the rest &or0# +herefore there are 1I7;1& possibilities
here#
*ase 3( 2roup 3 contains t4o %ade s+ots
+he n!mber of &a"s this co!ld happen in gro!p A is , (hit hit miss doesn8t &or0 b!t the rest do*# @o&
&e m!st arrange the shots in gro!p 2 accordingl"# @ote hit miss miss miss and miss hit miss miss fail#
+herefore there are onl" , &a"s to do this' and there are ,I,;4 total possibilities for this case#
+a0ing all these cases into acco!nt' &e find that there are &a"s to have
and # Each of these has a probabilit" of # +herefore the probabilit" that
&e have and is # @o& &e are as0ed to find the prod!ct of the s!m of
the primes and the s!m of the e)ponents' &hich
is #
Problem
In triangle point is on &ith and point is on &ith
and and and intersect at Points and lie on so that is
parallel to and is parallel to It is given that the ratio of the area of triangle to
the area of triangle is &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
#
%ol!tion
3et be the intersection of and #
%ince and ' and #
%o ' and th!s' #
Fsing mass points/
-3HE' let #
+hen/
#
#
#
#
+h!s' # +herefore' ' and #
Problem
+he perimeter of triangle is ' and the angle is a right angle# A circle of radi!s
&ith center on is dra&n so that it is tangent to and # Eiven that
%ol!tion
3et the circle intersect at # +hen note and are similar# Also note
that b" po&er of a point# %o &e have %olving' # %o the
ratio of the side lengths of the triangles is ,# +herefore'
so and %!bstit!ting for ' &e see
that ' so and the ans&er is #
Problem
Circles and intersect at t&o points' one of &hich is ' and the prod!ct of the radii is # +he
)-a)is and the line ' &here ' are tangent to both circles# It is given that can be
&ritten in the form ' &here ' ' and are positive integers' is not divisible b" the s!are of
an" prime' and and are relativel" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et the smaller angle bet&een the -a)is and the line be # @ote that the centers of the t&o
circles lie on the angle bisector of the angle bet&een the -a)is and the line # Also note that
if is on said angle bisector' &e have that # 3et ' for convenience#
+herefore if is on the angle bisector' then # @o& let the centers of the t&o relevant
circles be and for some positive reals and # +hese t&o circles are tangent to
the -a)is' so the radii of the circles are and respectivel"# -e 0no& that the point is a point
on both circles' so &e have that
E)panding these and manip!lating terms gives
It follo&s that and are the roots of the !adratic
It follo&s from Wieta8s $orm!las that the prod!ct of the roots of this !adratic is ' b!t &e &ere
also given that the prod!ct of the radii &as 98# +herefore ' or # @ote that the
half-angle form!la for tangents is
+herefore
%olving for gives that # It then follo&s that #
It then follo&s that # +herefore ' ' and # +he desired
ans&er is then #
2003 1
Problem
Eiven that
&here and are positive integers and is as large as possible' find
%ol!tion
-e !se the definition of a factorial to get
-e certainl" can8t ma0e an" larger if is going to sta" an integer' so the ans&er
is #
Problem
Hne h!ndred concentric circles &ith radii are dra&n in a plane# +he interior of the
circle of radi!s is colored red' and each region bo!nded b" consec!tive circles is colored either red or
green' &ith no t&o ad6acent regions the same color# +he ratio of the total area of the green regions to
the area of the circle of radi!s can be e)pressed as &here and are relativel"
%ol!tion
+o get the green area' &e can color all the circles of radi!s or belo& green' then color all those
&ith radi!s or belo& red' then color all those &ith radi!s or belo& green' and so forth# +his
amo!nts to adding the area of the circle of radi!s ' b!t s!btracting the circle of radi!s ' then
adding the circle of radi!s ' and so forth#
+he total green area is th!s given b" ' &hile the total area is
given b" ' so the ratio is
$or an" ' # -e can cancel the factor of pi from
the n!merator and denominator and simplif" the ratio to
Fsing the form!la for the s!m of an arithmetic series' &e see that this is e!al to
so the ans&er is #
Alternativel"' &e can determine a pattern thro!gh trial-and-error !sing smaller n!mbers#
$or circles' the ratio is #

@o& the pattern for each ratio is clear# Eiven circles' the ratio is # $or the circle case
(&hich is &hat this problem is*' ' and the ratio is #
Problem
3et the set %!san ma0es a list as follo&s/ for each t&o-element
s!bset of she &rites on her list the greater of the set8s t&o elements# $ind the s!m of the n!mbers
on the list#
%ol!tion
Hrder the n!mbers in the set from greatest to least to red!ce error/
Each element of the set &ill appear in t&o-element s!bsets' once &ith each other n!mber#
&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

+herefore the desired s!m
is #
Problem
Eiven that and that
find
%ol!tion
Fsing the properties of logarithms' &e can simplif" the first e!ation
to # +herefore' #
@o&' manip!late the second e!ation#
2" the P"thagorean identities' ' and &e can s!bstit!te the val!e for
from # #
Problem
Consider the set of points that are inside or &ithin one !nit of a rectang!lar parallelepiped (bo)* that
meas!res b" b" !nits# Eiven that the vol!me of this set is &here and are
positive integers' and and are relativel" prime' find
%ol!tion
+he set can be bro0en into several parts/ the big parallelepiped' e)ternal parallelepipeds
that each share a face &ith the large parallelepiped and have a height of ' the spheres (one
centered at each verte) of the large parallelepiped*' and the c"linders connecting each ad6acent
pair of spheres#
+he vol!me of the parallelepiped is c!bic !nits#
+he vol!me of the e)ternal parallelepipeds

is #
+here are of the spheres' each of radi!s # +ogether' their vol!me is #
+here are of the c"linders' so complete c"linders can be formed# +heir vol!mes are ' '
and ' adding !p to #
+he combined vol!me of these parts is # +h!s' the ans&er
is #
Problem
+he s!m of the areas of all triangles &hose vertices are also vertices of a b" b" c!be
is &here and are integers# $ind
%ol!tion
%ince there are vertices of a c!be' there are total triangles to consider# +he" fall into
three categories/ there are those &hich are entirel" contained &ithin a single face of the c!be (&hose
sides are t&o edges and one face diagonal*' those &hich lie in a plane perpendic!lar to one face of the
c!be (&hose sides are one edge' one face diagonal and one space diagonal of the c!be* and those
&hich lie in a plane obli!e to the edges of the c!be' &hose sides are three face diagonals of the c!be#
Each face of the c!be contains triangles of the first t"pe' and there are faces' so there
are triangles of the first t"pe# Each of these is a right triangle &ith legs of length ' so each triangle
of the first t"pe has area #
Each edge of the c!be is a side of e)actl" of the triangles of the second t"pe' and there are
edges' so there are triangles of the second t"pe# Each of these is a right triangle &ith legs of
length and ' so each triangle of the second t"pe has area #
Each verte) of the c!be is associated &ith e)actl" one triangle of the third t"pe (&hose vertices are its
three neighbors*' and there are vertices of the c!be' so there are triangles of the third t"pe# Each
of the these is an e!ilateral triangle &ith sides of length ' so each triangle of the third t"pe has
area #
+h!s the total area of all these triangles
is and the ans&er
is #
Problem
Point is on &ith and Point is not on so that
and and are integers# 3et be the s!m of all possibleperimeters of # $ind
%ol!tion
?enote the height of as ' ' and # Fsing the P"thagorean
theorem' &e find that and #
+h!s' # +he 3D% is difference of s!ares'
so # As both are integers' m!st be integral divisors
of #
+he pairs of divisors of are # +his "ields the fo!r potential sets
for as # +he last is not a possibilit" since it
simpl" degenerates into a line# +he s!m of the three possible perimeters of is e!al
to #
%ol!tion ,
Fsing %te&art8s +heorem' letting the side length be c' and the cevian be d' then &e
have # ?ividing both sides b" thirt"
leaves # +he sol!tion follo&s as above#
Problem 8
In an increasing se!ence of fo!r positive integers' the first three terms form an arithmetic
progression' the last three terms form a geometric progression' and the first and fo!rth terms differ
b" # $ind the s!m of the fo!r terms#
%ol!tion
?enote the first term as ' and the common difference bet&een the first three terms as # +he fo!r
n!mbers th!s are in the form #
%ince the first and fo!rth terms differ b" ' &e have that # M!ltipl"ing o!t b"
the denominator' +his simplifies
to ' &hich !pon rearranging "ields #
2oth and are positive integers' so and m!st have the same sign# +r" if the" are
both positive (notice if the" are both negative' then and ' &hich is a contradiction*#
+hen' # ?irectl" s!bstit!ting and testing sho&s that ' b!t that if then #
Alternativel"' note that or implies that ' so onl" ma" &or0# Dence' the fo!r
terms are ' &hich indeed fits the given conditions# +heir s!m is #
Problem
An integer bet&een and ' incl!sive' is called balanced if the s!m of its t&o
leftmost digits e!als the s!m of its t&o rightmost digits# Do& man" balanced integers are there.
%ol!tion
If the common s!m of the first t&o and last t&o digits is ' ' there are choices for the
first t&o digits and choices for the second t&o digits (since 4ero ma" not be the first digit*# +his
gives balanced n!mbers# If the common s!m of the first t&o and last t&o digits
is ' ' there are choices for both pairs# +his
gives balanced n!mbers# +h!s' there are in
total balanced n!mbers#
2oth s!mmations ma" be calc!lated !sing the form!la for the s!m of consec!tive s!ares'
namel" #
Problem
+riangle is isosceles &ith and Point is in the interior of the
triangle so that and $ind the n!mber of degrees in
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+a0e point inside s!ch that and #
# Also' since and are congr!ent (b"
A%A*' # Dence is an e!ilateral triangle' so #
+hen # -e no& see
that and are congr!ent# +herefore' '
so #
Solution 2
$rom the givens' &e have the follo&ing angle meas!res/ ' # If
&e define then &e also have # +hen appl" the 3a& of %ines to
triangles and to get
Clearing denominators' eval!ating and appl"ing one of o!r trigonometric identities to
the res!lt gives
and m!ltipl"ing thro!gh b" , and appl"ing the do!ble angle form!la gives
and so B since ' &e m!st
have ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 3
-itho!t loss of generalit"' let # +hen' !sing 3a& of %ines in triangle ' &e
get ' and !sing the sine addition form!la to eval!ate ' &e
get #
+hen' !sing 3a& of Cosines in triangle ' &e get '
since # %o triangle is isosceles' and #
Problem
An angle is chosen at random from the interval 3et be the probabilit" that the
n!mbers and are not the lengths of the sides of a triangle# Eiven
that &here is the n!mber of degrees in and and are positive
integers &ith find
%ol!tion
@ote that the three e)pressions are s"mmetric &ith respect to interchanging and ' and so the
probabilit" is s"mmetric aro!nd # +h!s' ta0e so that # +hen is
the largest of the three given e)pressions and those three lengths not forming a triangle is e!ivalent
to a violation of the triangle ine!alit"
+his is e!ivalent to
and' !sing some of o!r trigonometric identities' &e can re-&rite this as # %ince
&e8ve chosen ' so
+he probabilit" that lies in this range is so that '
and o!r ans&er is #
Problem
In conve) !adrilateral and +he perimeter o
f is 95A# $ind (+he notation means the greatest integer that is less than or
e!al to *
%ol!tion
Solution 1
2" the 3a& of Cosines on at angle and on at angle (note *'
' so # -e 0no&
that ' so '
and #
Solution 2
@otice that ' and ' and ' so &e have side-side-angle
matching on triangles and # %ince the problem does not allo& ' &e
0no& that is not a right angle' and there is a !ni!e other triangle &ith the matching side-
side-angle#
E)tend to so that is isosceles &ith # +hen notice that has
matching side-side-angle' and "et beca!se is not right#
+herefore is the !ni!e triangle mentioned above' so is congr!ent' in some order
of vertices' to # %ince &o!ld impl" ' ma0ing
!adrilateral degenerate' &e m!st have #
%ince the perimeter of is ' #
Dence # ?rop the altit!de of from and call the foot #
+hen right triangle trigonometr" on sho&s that '
so #
Problem
3et be the n!mber of positive integers that are less than or e!al to and &hose base-
representation has more 8s than 8s# $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
In base- representation' all positive n!mbers have a leftmost digit of # +h!s there are n!mbers
that have digits in base notation' &ith of the digits being 8s#
In order for there to be more 8s then 8s' &e m!st
have # +herefore' the n!mber of s!ch n!mbers
corresponds to the s!m of all n!mbers on or to the right of the vertical line of s"mmetr" in Pascal8s
+riangle' from ro&s to (as *# %ince the s!m of the elements of the th ro& is '
it follo&s that the s!m of all elements in ro&s thro!gh
is # +he center elements are in the form ' so the s!m
of these elements is #
+he s!m of the elements on or to the right of the line of s"mmetr" is th!s #
Do&ever' &e also co!nted the n!mbers from to # Indeed' all of these
n!mbers have at least 8s in their base- representation' as all of them are greater
than ' &hich has 8s# +herefore' o!r ans&er is ' and the
remainder is #
Problem
+he decimal representation of &here and are relativel" prime positive integers
and contains the digits ' and consec!tivel"' and in that order# $ind the smallest val!e
of for &hich this is possible#
%ol!tion
+o find the smallest val!e of ' &e consider &hen the first three digits after the decimal point
are #
Hther&ise' s!ppose the n!mber is in the form of ' &ere is a string of digits
and is small as possible# +hen # %ince is
an integer and is a fraction bet&een and ' &e can re&rite this as
' &here # +hen the fraction s!ffices#
+h!s &e have ' or
As ' &e 0no& that the minim!m val!e of is B hence &e
need # %ince ' &e need to be divisible b" ' and this first
occ!rs &hen (note that if ' then *# Indeed' this gives and
the fraction *#
Problem
In and 3et be the midpoint of and let be
the point on s!ch that bisects angle 3et be the point on s!ch
that %!ppose that meets at +he ratio can be &ritten in the
form &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
In the follo&ing' let the name of a point represent the mass located there# %ince &e are loo0ing for a
ratio' &e ass!me that ' ' and in order to simplif" o!r
comp!tations#
$irst' reflect point over angle bisector to a point #
As is an angle bisector of both triangles and ' &e 0no& that lies on # -e
can no& balance triangle at point !sing mass points#
2" the Angle 2isector +heorem' &e can place mass points on of respectivel"#
+h!s' a mass of belongs at both and beca!se 2? is a median of triangle #
+herefore' #
@o&' &e reassign mass points to determine # +his set!p involves
and transversal # $or simplicit"' p!t masses of and at and respectivel"# +o find
the mass &e sho!ld p!t at ' &e comp!te # Appl"ing the Angle 2isector +heorem again
and !sing the fact is a midpoint of ' &e find At this point &e
co!ld find the mass at b!t it8s !nnecessar"# and the
ans&er is #
Solution 2
2" the Angle 2isector +heorem' &e 0no& that # +herefore' b" finding the area
of triangle ' &e see that %olving for "ields
$!rthermore' ' so @o&
b" the identit" ' &e get 2!t
then ' so # +h!s #
@o& b" the Angle 2isector +heorem' ' and &e 0no& that
so #
-e can no& !se mass points on triangle C2?# Assign a mass of to point # +hen m!st
have mass and m!st have mass # +his gives a mass
of # +herefore' ' giving !s an ans&er
of
2003 2
Problem
+he prod!ct of three positive integers is times their s!m' and one of the integers is the s!m of
the other t&o# $ind the s!m of all possible val!es of #
%ol!tion
3et the three integers be # and #
+hen # %ince and are positive'
so is one of so is one of so is one
of so the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be the greatest integer m!ltiple of 8' no t&o of &hose digits are the same# -hat is the
remainder &hen is divided b" 1AAA.
%ol!tion
-e &ant a n!mber &ith no digits repeating' so &e can onl" !se the digits A-9 once in constr!cting o!r
n!mber# +o ma0e the greatest n!mber' &e &ant the greatest digit to occ!p" the leftmost side and the
least digit to occ!p" the rightmost side# +herefore' the last three digits of the greatest n!mber sho!ld
be an arrangement of the digits # %ince the n!mber has to be divisible b" 8' the integer formed
b" the arrangement of is also divisible b" 8# +he onl" arrangement that &or0s is #
+herefore' the remainder &hen the n!mber is divided b" 1AAA is #
Problem
?efine a as a se!ence of letters that consists onl" of the letters ' ' and - some of
these letters ma" not appear in the se!ence - and in &hich is never immediatel" follo&ed b" '
is never immediatel" follo&ed b" ' and is never immediatel" follo&ed b" # Do& man" seven-
letter good &ords are there.
%ol!tion
+here are three letters to ma0e the first letter in the se!ence# Do&ever' after the first letter
(&hatever it is*' onl" t&o letters can follo& it' since one of the letters is restricted# +herefore' the
n!mber of seven-letter good &ords is
+herefore' there are seven-letter good &ords#
Problem
In a reg!lar tetrahedron the centers of the fo!r faces are the vertices of a smaller tetrahedron# +he
ratio of the vol!me of the smaller tetrahedron to that of the larger is ' &here and are
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Embed the tetrahedron in 5-space (It ma0es the calc!lations easier* Its vertices are
' ' '
+o get the center of an" face' &e ta0e the average of the three coordinates of that face# +he vertices
of the center of the faces are/ ' ' '
+he side length of the large tetrahedron is b" the distance form!la +he side length of the smaller
tetrahedron is b" the distance form!la
+heir ratio is ' so the ratio of their vol!mes is
Solution 2
3et the large tetrahedron be ' and the small tetrahedron be ' &ith on '
on ' on ' and on # Clearl"' the t&o reg!lar tetrahedrons are similar' so if &e
can find the ratio of the sides' &e can find the ratio of the vol!mes# 3et ' for o!r convenience#
?ropping an altit!de from to ' and calling the foot ' &e have #
%ince # 2" 3a& of Cosines' &e
have # Dence' the ratio of the vol!mes
is #
Solution 3
Consider the large tetrahedron and the smaller tetrahedron # 3abel the points as
"o! &ish' b!t dropping an altit!de from the top verte) of ' &e see it hits the center of the
base face of # +his center is also one verte) of # Consider a "side" face of '
and the center of that face' &hich is another verte) of # ?ra& the altit!de of this side face
(&hich is an e!ilateral triangle*# +hese t&o altit!des form a right triangle# %ince the center of the
%ide face splits the altit!de of the side face into segments in the ratio of (centroid*' and since the
bases of and are parallel' &e can sa" that the altit!des of tetrahedron
and are in the ratio # +h!s &e comp!te ' and find # +he s!m of the n!merator
and denominator is th!s #
Problem
A c"lindrical log has diameter inches# A &edge is c!t from the log b" ma0ing t&o planar c!ts that
go entirel" thro!gh the log# +he first is perpendic!lar to the a)is of the c"linder' and the plane of the
second c!t forms a angle &ith the plane of the first c!t# +he intersection of these t&o planes has
e)actl" one point in common &ith the log# +he n!mber of c!bic inches in the &edge can be e)pressed
as ' &here n is a positive integer# $ind #
%ol!tion
+he vol!me of the &edge is half the vol!me of a c"linder &ith height 1, and radi!s 9#
+h!s' #
Problem
In triangle and point is the intersection of the medians#
Points and are the images of and respectivel"' after a rotation abo!t
-hat is the area of the !nion of the t&o regions enclosed b" the triangles and
%ol!tion
%ince a triangle is a triangle and a triangle "gl!ed" together
on the side' #
+here are si) points of intersection bet&een and # Connect each of these points
to #
+here are smaller congr!ent triangles &hich ma0e !p the desired area# Also' is made !p
of of s!ch triangles# +herefore' #
Problem
$ind the area of rhomb!s given that the radii of the circles circ!mscribed aro!nd
triangles and are and ' respectivel"#
%ol!tion
+he diagonals of the rhomb!s perpendic!larl" bisect each other# Call half of diagonal 2? and half of
diagonal AC # +he length of the fo!r sides of the rhomb!s is #
+he area of an" triangle can be e)pressed as ' &here ' ' and are the sides and is the
circ!mradi!s# +h!s' the area of is # Also' the area of
is # %etting these t&o e)pressions e!al to each other and simplif"ing
gives # %!bstit!tion "ields and ' so the area of the rhomb!s
is #
Problem
$ind the eighth term of the se!ence &hose terms are formed b" m!ltipl"ing
the corresponding terms of t&o arithmetic se!ences#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
If "o! m!ltipl" the corresponding terms of t&o arithmetic se!ences' "o! get the terms of a !adratic
f!nction# +h!s' &e have a !adratic s!ch that ' '
and # Pl!gging in the val!es for ) gives !s a s"stem of three e!ations/
%olving gives and # +h!s' the ans&er
is
Solution 2
%etting one of the se!ences as and the other as ' &e can set !p the follo&ing
e!alities
-e &ant to find
$oiling o!t the t&o above' &e have
and
Pl!gging in and bringing the constant over "ields
%!btracting the t&o "ields and pl!gging that bac0 in "ields
@o& &e find
#
Problem
Consider the pol"nomials and Eiven
that and are the roots of find
%ol!tion
therefore
therefore
Also
%o
%o in
%ince and
can now be

@o& this also follo&s for all roots of
@o&
@o& b" Wieta8s &e 0no& that %o b" @e&ton %!ms &e can
find
%o finall"
\\
Problem
+&o positive integers differ b" +he s!m of their s!are roots is the s!are root of an integer that
is not a perfect s!are# -hat is the ma)im!m possible s!m of the t&o integers.
%ol!tion
Call the t&o integers and ' so &e have # %!are both sides to
get # +h!s' m!st be a s!are' so &e have '
and # +he s!m of these t&o factors is ' so the" m!st both
be even# +o ma)imi4e ' &e &ant to ma)imi)e ' so &e let it e!al and the other
factor ' b!t solving gives ' &hich is alread" a perfect s!are' so &e have to 0eep going# In
order to 0eep both factors even' &e let the larger one e!al and the other ' &hich gives #
+his chec0s' so the sol!tion is #
Problem
+riangle is a right triangle &ith and right angle at Point is the
midpoint of and is on the same side of line as so that Eiven that
the area of triangle ma" be e)pressed as &here and are positive integers'
and are relativel" prime' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime' find
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-e !se the P"thagorean +heorem on to determine that
3et be the orthogonal pro6ection from to +h!s'
' ' and
$rom the third e!ation' &e get
2" the P"thagorean +heorem in &e have
+h!s'
In ' &e !se the P"thagorean +heorem to get
+h!s'
Dence' the ans&er is
Solution 2
2" the P"thagorean +heorem in ' &e get # %ince is a right triangle'
is the circ!mcenter and th!s' # -e let # 2" the 3a& of Cosines'
It follo&s that # +h!s' #
Solution 3
%!ppose is plotted on the cartesian plane &ith at ' at ' and at #
+hen is at # %ince is isosceles' is perpendic!lar to ' and
since and # +he slope of is so the slope of
is # ?ra& a vertical line thro!gh and a hori4ontal line thro!gh # %!ppose these t&o lines meet
at # then so b" the p"thagorean theorem#
%o and so the coordinates of ? are #
%ince &e 0no& the coordinates of each of the vertices of ' &e can appl" the %hoelace
+heorem to find the area of #
Problem
+he members of a disting!ished committee &ere choosing a president' and each member gave one
vote to one of the ,7 candidates# $or each candidate' the e)act percentage of votes the candidate got
&as smaller b" at least 1 than the n!mber of votes for that candidate# -hat &as the smallest possible
n!mber of members of the committee.
%ol!tion
3et be the n!mber of votes candidate received' and let be the total n!mber
of votes cast# H!r goal is to determine the smallest possible #
Candidate got of the votes' hence the percentage of votes she received is # +he condition in
the problem statement sa"s that #
Hbvio!sl"' if some &o!ld be or ' the condition &o!ld be false# +h!s # -e can then
re&rite the above ine!alit" as #
If for some &e have ' then from the ine!alit" &e 6!st derived &e &o!ld have # If for
some &e have ' then # And if for some &e have ' then '
and hence #
Is it possible to have . -e 6!st proved that to have s!ch ' all have to be at least # 2!t
then ' &hich is a contradiction# Dence the smallest possible is
at least #
@o& consider a sit!ation &here candidates got votes each' and one candidate got votes# In this
sit!ation' the total n!mber of votes is e)actl" ' and for each candidate the above ine!alit" is
satisfied# Dence the minim!m n!mber of committee members is #
@ote/ Each of the candidates received votes' and the last candidate received
votes#
Problem
A b!g starts at a verte) of an e!ilateral triangle# Hn each move' it randoml" selects one of the t&o
vertices &here it is not c!rrentl" located' and cra&ls along a side of the triangle to that verte)# Eiven
that the probabilit" that the b!g moves to its starting verte) on its tenth move is &here
and are relativel" prime positive integers' find
%ol!tion
Solution 1
After n moves' there are possible paths for the ant# 2!t the 0e" is to reali4e that the n!mber of
paths that get bac0 the the start after n moves is the same as the n!mber of paths the do @H+ get
the ant to the start after moves# %o after 1 move' there are A &a"s the get to the start# After ,
moves' there are &a"s to get to the start# After 1 moves' there are &a"s to
get to the start# +h!s after 1A moves' there
are &a"s to get to the start'
so the probabilit" is and the ans&er is #
Solution 2
Consider there to be a cloc0&ise and a co!ntercloc0&ise direction aro!nd the triangle# +hen' in order
for the ant to ret!rn to the original verte)' the net n!mber of cloc0&ise steps m!st be a m!ltiple of 1'
i#e#' # %ince ' it is onl" possible
that #
In the first case' &e pic0 o!t of the ant8s steps to be cloc0&ise' for a total of paths# In the
second case' &e choose of the steps to be cloc0&ise' and in the third case &e choose to be
cloc0&ise# Dence the total n!mber of &a"s to ret!rn to the original verte)
is # %ince the ant has t&o possible steps at each
point' there are ro!tes the ant can ta0e' and the probabilit" &e see0 is ' and the
ans&er is #
Solution 3
3abel the vertices of the triangle &ith the ant starting at # -e &ill ma0e a table of the
n!mber of &a"s to get to in moves # +he val!es of the table are calc!lated from
the fact that the n!mber of &a"s from a verte) sa" in &a"s e!als the n!mber of &a"s to get
to in &a"s pl!s the n!mber of &a"s to get to in
&a"s#
Problem
3et and be points on the coordinate plane# 3et be a conve)
e!ilateral he)agon s!ch that and the "-
coordinates of its vertices are distinct elements of the set +he area of the he)agon
can be &ritten in the form &here and are positive integers and n is not divisible b" the
s!are of an" prime# $ind
%ol!tion
+he "-coordinate of m!st be # All other cases "ield non-conve) and/or degenerate he)agons'
&hich violate the problem statement#
3etting ' and 0no&ing that ' &e can !se re&rite !sing comple)
n!mbers/
# -e
solve for and and find that and that #
+he area of the he)agon can then be fo!nd as the s!m of the areas of t&o congr!ent triangles (
and ' &ith height and base * and a parallelogram ( ' &ith height and base *#
#
+h!s' #
%ol!tion (Incomplete/incorrect*
$rom this image' &e can see that the "-
coordinate of $ is 5' and from this' &e can gather that the coordinates of E' ?' and C' respectivel"' are
8' 1A' and 9#
An ima$e is s!pposed to $o here. "o! can help !s o!t b# creatin$ one and editin$ it in. han(s.
In this image' &e have dra&n perpendic!lars to the -a)is from $ and 2' and have labeled the angle
bet&een the -a)is and segment # +h!s' the angle bet&een the -a)is and segment
is so' # E)panding' &e have
Isolating &e see that ' or # Fsing the fact
that ' &e have ' or # 3etting the side length of the
he)agon be ' &e have # After simplification &e see that #
0+e follo4ing is incorrect as t+e +e.agon is '50 regular (alt+oug+ it is e6uilateral) 0+e
pre!ious 4or7 8S correct9 so 8 a% lea!ing it as part of an inco%plete solution
+he area of the he)agon is ' so the area of the he)agon is '
or #
Problem
3et
3et be the distinct 4eros of and let for
&here and and are real n!mbers# 3et
&here and are integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind
%ol!tion
-e can re&rite the definition of as follo&s/
+his can !ite obvio!sl" be factored as/
@ote that # %o the roots
of are e)actl" all -th comple) roots of ' e)cept for the root
#
3et # +hen the distinct 4eros of are #
-e can clearl" ignore the root as it does not contrib!te to the val!e that &e need to comp!te#
+he s!ares of the other roots are #
Dence &e need to comp!te the follo&ing s!m/
Fsing basic properties of the sine f!nction' &e can simplif" this to
+he five-element s!m is 6!st # -e 0no&
that ' ' and # Dence o!r s!m
eval!ates to/
+herefore the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
@ote that # H!r s!m can be reformed as
%o
And &e can proceed as above#
2004 1
Problem
+he digits of a positive integer are fo!r consec!tive integers in decreasing order &hen read from left
to right# -hat is the s!m of the possible remainders &hen is divided b" .
%ol!tion
A br!te-force sol!tion to this !estion is fairl" !ic0' b!t &e8ll tr" something slightl" more clever/ o!r
n!mbers have the form
' for #
@o&' note that so ' and so # %o
the remainders are all congr!ent to # Do&ever' these n!mbers are negative for o!r
choices of ' so in fact the remainders m!st e!al #
Adding these n!mbers !p' &e get ' o!r ans&er#
Problem
%et consists of consec!tive integers &hose s!m is and set consists of consec!tive
integers &hose s!m is +he absol!te val!e of the difference bet&een the greatest element of and
the greatest element of is # $ind
%ol!tion
3et !s give the elements of o!r sets names/
and # %o &e are given that
so and # Also'
so s
o and #
+hen b" the given' # is
a positive integer so &e m!st have and so #
%ol!tion ,
+he thing abo!t this problem is' "o! have some "choices" that "o! can ma0e freel" &hen "o! get to a
certain point' and these choices &on8t affect the acc!rac" of the sol!tion' b!t &ill ma0e things a lot
easier for !s#
$irst' &e note that for set
'
-here and represent the first and last terms of # +his comes from the s!m of an arithmetic
se!ence#
%olving for ' &e find the s!m of the t&o terms is
?oing the same for set 2' and setting !p the e!ation &ith and being the first and last terms of
set '
#
and so
@o& &e 0no&' ass!me that both se!ences are increasing se!ences' for the sa0e of simplicit"# 2ased
on the fact that set has half the n!mber of elements as set ' and the difference bet&een the
greatest terms of the t&o t&o se!ences is (forget abo!t absol!te val!e' it8s insignificant here
since &e can 6!st ass!me both sets end &ith positive last terms*' "o! can set !p an e!ation &here
is the last term of set A/
@ote ho& i basicall" 6!st co!nted the n!mber of terms in each se!ence here# It8s made a lot simpler
beca!se &e 6!st ass!med that the first term is negative and last is positive for each set' it has
absol!tel" no effect on the end res!ltG +his is a great strateg" that can help significantl" simplif"
problems# Also note ho& e)actl" i !sed the fact that the first and last terms of each se!ence s!m
to and respectivel" (add and to see &hat i mean*#
%olving this e!ation &e find # -e 0no& the first and last terms have to s!m to so &e find
the first term of the se!ence is # @o&' the sol!tion is in clear sight' &e 6!st find the n!mber of
integers bet&een and ' incl!sive' and it is #
@ote ho& this method is not ver" algebra heav"# It seems li0e a lot b" the amo!nt of te)t b!t reall"
the first t&o steps are !ite simple#
Problem
A conve) pol"hedron has vertices' edges' and faces' of &hich are triang!lar and of
&hich are !adrilaterals# A space diagonal is a line segment connecting t&o non-ad6acent vertices that
do not belong to the same face# Do& man" space diagonals does have.
%ol!tion
Ever" pair of vertices of the pol"hedron determines either an edge' a face diagonal or a space
diagonal# -e have total line segmentsdetermined b" the vertices# Hf
these' are edges# Each triang!lar face has face diagonals and each !adrilateral face has ' so
there are face diagonals# +his leaves segments to be the space
diagonals#
Problem
A s!are has sides of length ,# %et is the set of all line segments that have length , and
&hose endpoints are on ad6acent sides of the s!are# +he midpointsof the line segments in set
enclose a region &hose area to the nearest h!ndredth is # $ind #
%ol!tion
-itho!t loss of generalit"' let ' ' ' and be the vertices of the s!are# %!ppose
the endpoints of the segment lie on the t&o sides of the s!are determined b" the verte) # 3et
the t&o endpoints of the segment have coordinates and # 2eca!se the segment has length
,' # Fsing the midpoint form!la' &e find that the midpoint of the segment has
coordinates # 3et be the distance from to # Fsing the distance form!la &e see
that # +h!s the midpoints l"ing on the
sides determined b" verte) form a !arter-circle &ith radi!s 1#
+he set of all midpoints forms a !arter circle at each corner of the s!are# +he area enclosed b" all of
the midpoints is to the nearest h!ndredth# +h!s
Problem
Alpha and 2eta both too0 part in a t&o-da" problem-solving competition# At the end of the second
da"' each had attempted !estions &orth a total of 7AA points# Alpha scored 19A points o!t of 1AA
points attempted on the first da"' and scored 15A points o!t of ,AA points attempted on the second
da"# 2eta &ho did not attempt 1AA points on the first da"' had a positive integer score on each of the
t&o da"s' and 2eta8s dail" s!ccess rate (points scored divided b" points attempted* on each da" &as
less than Alpha8s on that da"# Alpha8s t&o-da" s!ccess ratio &as 1AA/7AA ; 1/7# +he largest possible
t&o-da" s!ccess ratio that 2eta co!ld achieve is &here and are relativel" prime positive
integers# -hat is .
%ol!tion
3et be the n!mber of !estions 2eta ta0es on da" 1 and be the n!mber it gets right# 3et be the
n!mber it gets right on da" ,#
+hese ine!alities follo&/ %olving for a and b and adding the
t&o ine!alities/ $rom here' &e see the largest
possible val!e of is #
Chec0ing o!r conditions' &e 0no& that a m!st be positive so therefore m!st be positive# A !ic0
chec0 sho&s that follo&s all the conditions and res!lts in #
+his ma0es 2eta8s s!ccess ratio # +h!s' the ans&er is #
Problem
An integer is called sna0eli0e if its decimal representation satisfies if
is odd and if is even# Do& man" sna0eli0e integers bet&een 1AAA and 9999 have fo!r
distinct digits.
%ol!tion
-e divide the problem into t&o cases/ one in &hich 4ero is one of the digits and one in &hich it is not#
In the latter case' s!ppose &e pic0 digits s!ch that # +here are
five arrangements of these digits that satisf" the condition of being sna0eli0e/ '
' ' ' # +h!s there are sna0eli0e n!mbers &hich do not
contain the digit 4ero#
In the second case &e choose 4ero and three other digits s!ch that # +here are
three arrangements of these digits that satisf" the condition of being sna0eli0e/ '
' # 2eca!se &e 0no& that 4ero is a digit' there are sna0eli0e n!mbers &hich
contain the digit 4ero# +h!s there are sna0eli0e n!mbers#
Problem
3et be the coefficient of in the e)pansion of the
prod!ct $ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et o!r pol"nomial be #
It is clear that the coefficient of in is '
so ' &here is some pol"nomial divisible b" #
+hen and so '
&here is some pol"nomial divisible b" #
Do&ever' &e also
0no&
#
E!ating coefficients' &e have ' so
and #
Solution 2
3et be the set of integers # +he coefficient of in the e)pansion is
e!al to the s!m of the prod!ct of each pair of distinct terms' or # Also' &e 0no&
that
&here the left-hand s!m can be comp!ted from/
and the right-hand s!m comes from the form!la for the s!m of the first perfect s!ares#
+herefore' #
Problem
?efine a reg!lar -pointed star to be the !nion of line segments s!ch that
the points are coplanar and no three of them are collinear'
each of the line segments intersects at least one of the other line segments at a point other than an
endpoint'
all of the angles at are congr!ent'
all of the line segments are congr!ent' and
the path t!rns co!ntercloc0&ise at an angle of less than 18A degrees at each
verte)#
+here are no reg!lar 1-pointed' 5-pointed' or 9-pointed stars# All reg!lar 7-pointed stars are similar'
b!t there are t&o non-similar reg!lar 7-pointed stars# Do& man" non-similar reg!lar 1AAA-pointed
stars are there.
%ol!tion
-e !se the Principle of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion (PIE*#
If &e 6oin the ad6acent vertices of the reg!lar -star' &e get a reg!lar -gon# -e n!mber the vertices
of this -gon in a co!ntercloc0&ise direction/
A reg!lar -star &ill be formed if &e choose a verte) n!mber ' &here ' and then
form the line segments b" 6oining the follo&ing pairs of verte) n!mbers/

If ' then the star degenerates into a reg!lar -gon or a (,-verte)* line
segment if # +herefore' &e need to find all s!ch that #
@ote that
3et ' and # +he n!mber of 8s that are
not relativel" prime to is/

Werte) n!mbers and m!st be e)cl!ded as val!es for since other&ise a reg!lar n-
gon' instead of an n-star' is formed#
+he cases of a 1st line segment of (A' m* and (A' n-m* give the same star# +herefore &e sho!ld halve
the co!nt to get non-similar stars#
+herefore' the n!mber of non-similar 1AAA-pointed stars is
@ote that in general' the n!mber of -pointed stars is given b" (dividing b" to remove
the reflectional s"mmetr"' s!btracting to get rid of the -step case*' &here is the E!ler8s
totient f!nction# It is &ell-0no&n that '
&here are the distinct prime factors of #
+h!s ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be a triangle &ith sides 1' 5' and 7' and be a 9-b"-7 rectangle# A segment is
dra&n to divide triangle into a triangle and a trape4oid and another segment is dra&n to
divide rectangle into a triangle and a trape4oid s!ch that is similar to and is
similar to +he minim!m val!e of the area of can be &ritten in the form &here and
are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
-e let for the p!rpose of labeling# Clearl"' the dividing
segment in m!st go thro!gh one of its vertices' &itho!t loss of generalit" # +he other
endpoint ( * of the segment can either lie on or # is a trape4oid &ith a right angle then'
from &hich it follo&s that contains one of the right angles of ' and so is similar
to # +h!s ' and hence ' are s#
%!ppose &e find the ratio of the smaller base to the larger base for ' &hich conse!entl" is the
same ratio for # 2" similar triangles' it follo&s that b" the same ratio ' and since
the ratio of the areas of t&o similar fig!res is e!al to the s!are of the ratio of their corresponding
lengths' it follo&s that #
If lies on ' then B the latter can be discarded as e)traneo!s#

+herefore' ' and the ratio # +he area of in this case#
If lies on ' then B the latter can be discarded as e)traneo!s#

+herefore' ' and the ratio # +he area of in this case#
Hf the t&o cases' the second is smallerB the ans&er is ' and #
Problem
A circle of radi!s 1 is randoml" placed in a 17-b"-19 rectangle so that the circle lies
completel" &ithin the rectangle# Eiven that the probabilit" that the circle &ill not to!ch diagonal
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he location of the center of the circle m!st be in the rectangle that is one !nit a&a" from
the sides of rectangle # -e &ant to find the area of the right triangle &ith h"poten!se one
!nit a&a" from # 3et this triangle be #
@otice that and share the same incenterB this follo&s beca!se the corresponding sides
are parallel' and so the perpendic!lar inradii are conc!rrent' e)cept that the inradii of e)tend
one !nit farther than those of # $rom ' &e note
that # +h!s ' and since the
ratio of the areas of t&o similar fig!res is e!al to the s!are of the ratio of their corresponding
lengths' #
+he probabilit" is ' and #
Solution 2
$ile/,AA5 I AIME-1Aa#png
3et the bisector of be ' &ith on # 2" the angle bisector theorem' #
%ince ( is the center of the circle*' &e find that since #
Also so #
-e can appl" the same principle again to find that ' and since ' &e find
that # +he loc!s of all possible centers of the circle on this "half" of the
rectangle is triangle # +here e)ists another congr!ent triangle that is s"mmetric over
that has the same area as triangle # has area '
since is right# +h!s the total area that &or0s is ' and the area of the loc!s of
all centers of an" circle &ith radi!s 1 is # Dence' the desired probabilit" is ' and o!r
ans&er is #
Solution 3
Again' the location of the center of the circle m!st be in the rectangle that is one !nit a&a"
from the sides of rectangle # -e &ant to find the area of the right
triangle &ith h"poten!se one !nit a&a" from #
3et be at the origin' ' ' # +he slope of is #
3et be the right triangle &ith sides one !nit inside # %ince ' the" have
the same slope' and the e!ation of is # Manip!lating' # -e
need to find the val!e of ' &hich can be determined since is one !nit a&a" from # %ince
the diagonal contains the origin' &e can !se the distance from a point to the line form!la at the origin/
+he t&o val!es of correspond to the triangle on top and belo& the diagonal# -e are
considering &hich is belo&' so # +hen the e!ation of is #
%olving for its intersections &ith the lines (bo!ndaries of the internal rectangle*' &e
find the coordinates of are at # +he area
is #
$inall"' the probabilit" is ' and #
$or this sol!tion' if "o! didn8t 0no& the form!la for the distance from a point to a line' "o! can !se
similar triangles to get the ratio/
+his "ields #
Problem
A solid in the shape of a right circ!lar cone is 5 inches tall and its base has a 1-inch radi!s# +he
entire s!rface of the cone' incl!ding its base' is painted# Aplane parallel to the base of the cone divides
the cone into t&o solids' a smaller cone-shaped solid and a fr!st!m-shaped solid in s!ch a &a"
that theratio bet&een the areas of the painted s!rfaces of and and the ratio bet&een
the vol!mes of and are both e!al to # Eiven that &here and are relativel"
prime positive integers' find
%ol!tion
H!r original solid has vol!me e!al to and has s!rface
area ' &here is the slant height of the cone# Fsing theP"thagorean +heorem' &e
get and #
3et denote the radi!s of the small cone# 3et and denote the area of the painted s!rface on
cone and fr!st!m ' respectivel"' and let and denote the vol!me of cone and fr!st!m '
respectivel"# 2eca!se the plane c!t is parallel to the base of o!r solid' is similar to the !nc!t solid
and so the height and slant height of cone are and ' respectivel"# Fsing the form!la for
lateral s!rface area of a cone' &e find that # 2"
s!btracting from the s!rface area of the original solid' &e find that #
@e)t' &e can calc!late # $inall"' &e s!btract from the
vol!me of the original cone to find that # -e 0no& that Pl!gging
in o!r val!es for ' ' ' and ' &e obtain the e!ation # -e
can ta0e reciprocals of both sides to simplif" this e!ation to and so #
+hen so the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be the set of ordered pairs s!ch that and
and are both even# Eiven that the area of the graph of is &here and are
relativel" prime positive integers' find +he notation denotes the greatest integer that is
less than or e!al to
%ol!tion
is even &hen
3i0e&ise/ is even &hen
Eraphing this "ields a series of rectangles &hich become smaller as "o! move to&ard the origin# +he
interval of each bo) is given b" the geometric se!ence ' and the interval is given
b"
Each bo) is the prod!ct of one term of each se!ence# +he s!m of these bo)es is simpl" the prod!ct
of the s!m of each se!ence or/
and the
ans&er is #
Problem
+he pol"nomial has comple) roots of the
form &it
h and Eiven that
&here and are relativel" prime positive integers' find
%ol!tion
-e see that the e)pression for the pol"nomial is ver" diffic!lt to &or0 &ith directl"' b!t there is one
obvio!s transformation to ma0e/ s!m the geometric series/
+his e)pression has roots at ever" th root and th roots of !nit"' other than # %ince and
are relativel" prime' this means there are no d!plicate roots# +h!s' and are the five
smallest fractions of the form or for #
and can both be seen to be larger than an" of ' so these latter five are the
n!mbers &e &ant to add#
and so the ans&er
is #
Problem
A !nicorn is tethered b" a -foot silver rope to the base of a magician8s c"lindrical to&er
&hose radi!s is feet# +he rope is attached to the to&er at gro!nd level and to the !nicorn at
a height of feet# +he !nicorn has p!lled the rope ta!t' the end of the rope is feet from the nearest
point on the to&er' and the length of the rope that is to!ching the to&er is feet' &here
and are positive integers' and is prime# $ind
%ol!tion

3oo0ing from an overhead vie&' call the center of the circle ' the tether point to the !nicorn and
the last point &here the rope to!ches the to&er # is a right triangle beca!se is a radi!s
and is a tangent line at point # -e !se the P"thagorean +heorem to find the hori4ontal
component of has length #
@o& loo0 at a side vie& and "!nroll" the c"linder to be a flat s!rface# 3et be the bottom tether of
the rope' let be the point on the gro!nd belo& ' and let be the point directl" belo&
# +riangles and are similar right triangles# 2" the P"thagorean
+heorem #
3et be the length of #
+herefore #
Problem
$or all positive integers ' let and define a se!ence as
follo&s/ and for all positive integers # 3et be the smallest s!ch
that # ($or e)ample' and #* 3et be the n!mber of positive integers
s!ch that # $ind the s!m of the distinct prime factors of #
%ol!tion
-e bac0co!nt the n!mber of &a"s# @amel"' &e start at ' &hich can onl" be reached
if ' and then &e perform operations that either consist of or # -e
represent these operations in a string format' starting &ith the operation that sends
and so forth do&n&ards# +here are &a"s to pic0 the first operationsB ho&ever' not all of them
ma" be other&ise &e ret!rn bac0 to ' contradicting o!r ass!mption that &as the
smallest val!e of # Fsing complementar" co!nting' &e see that there are onl" &a"s#
%ince &e performed the operation at least once in the first operations' it follo&s
that ' so that &e no longer have to &orr" abo!t reaching again# +h!s the remaining
operations can be pic0ed in &a"s' &ith a total of strings#
Do&ever' &e m!st also acco!nt for a se!ence of or more s in a ro&' beca!se that
implies that at least one of those n!mbers &as divisible b" ' "et the &as never !sed'
contradiction# -e m!st !se complementar" co!nting again b" determining the n!mber of strings
of s of length s!ch that there are s in a ro&# +he first ten are not incl!ded since &e
alread" acco!nted for that scenario above' so o!r string of s m!st be preceded b" a # +here are
no other restrictions on the remaining seven characters# 3etting to denote either of the f!nctions'
and to indicate that the character appears times in a ro&' then o!r bad strings can ta0e the
forms/
+here are &a"s to select the operations for the s' and places to place o!r bloc0#
+h!s' o!r ans&er is ' and the ans&er is #
2004 2
Problem
A chord of a circle is perpendic!lar to a radi!s at the midpoint of the radi!s# +he ratio of the area of
the larger of the t&o regions into &hich the chord divides the circle to the smaller can be e)pressed in
the form &here and are positive integers' and are relativel" prime'
and neither nor is divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind the remainder &hen the
prod!ct is divided b" 1AAA#
%ol!tion
3et be the length of the radi!s of the circle# A right triangle is formed b" half of the chord' half of the
radi!s (since the chord bisects it*' and the radi!s# +h!s' it is a - - triangle' and the area
of t&o s!ch triangles is # +he central angle &hich contains the entire chord
is degrees' so the area of the sector is B the rest of the area of the circle is then
e!al to #
+he smaller area c!t off b" the chord is e!al to the area of the sector min!s the area of the triangle#
+he larger area is e!al to the area of the circle not &ithin the sector and the area of the triangle#
+h!s' the desired ratio is
+herefore' #
Problem
A 6ar has red candies and bl!e candies# +err" pic0s t&o candies at random' then Mar" pic0s t&o
of the remaining candies at random# Eiven that theprobabilit" that the" get the same color
combination' irrespective of order' is &here and are relativel" prime positive integers'
find
%ol!tion
+he probabilit" that +err" pic0s t&o red candies is ' and the probabilit" that Mar" pic0s
t&o red candies after +err" chooses t&o red candies is # %o the probabilit" that the"
both pic0 t&o red candies is # +he same calc!lation &or0s for the bl!e candies#
+he probabilit" that +err" pic0s t&o different candies is ' and the probabilit" that Mar"
pic0s t&o different candies after +err" pic0s t&o different candies is # +h!s' the
probabilit" that the" both choose t&o different candies is # +hen the total probabilit" is
and so the ans&er is #
In the above calc!lations' &e treated the choices as orderedB that is' +err" chose first one cand"' then
a second' and so on# -e co!ld also solve the problem !sing !nordered choices# +he probabilities
calc!lated &ill all be the same' b!t the calc!lations &ill appear some&hat different# $or instance' the
probabilit" that Mar" chooses t&o red candies after +err" chose t&o red candies &ill have the
form ' and the probabilit" that +err" chooses t&o different candies &ill have the form #
It is not diffic!lt that these "ield the same res!lts as o!r calc!lations above' as &e &o!ld e)pect#
Problem
A solid rectang!lar bloc0 is formed b" gl!ing together congr!ent 1-cm c!bes face to face# -hen
the bloc0 is vie&ed so that three of its faces are visible' e)actl" of the 1-cm c!bes cannot be
seen# $ind the smallest possible val!e of
%ol!tion
+he c!bes &hich are not visible m!st lie belo& e)actl" one la"er of c!bes# +h!s' the" form a
rectang!lar solid &hich is one !nit shorter in each dimension# If the original bloc0 has
dimensions ' &e m!st have # +he prime
factori4ation of ' so &e have a variet" of possibilitiesB for instance'
and and ' among others# Do&ever' it sho!ld be fairl" clear that the &a" to
minimi4e is to ma0e and and as close together as possible' &hich occ!rs &hen the
smaller bloc0 is # +hen the e)tra la"er ma0es the entire bloc0 '
and #
An alternate &a" to vis!ali4e the problem is to co!nt the bloc0s that can be seen and s!btract the
bloc0s that cannot be seen# In the given bloc0 &ith dimensions ' the three faces have
' ' and bloc0s each# Do&ever' bloc0s along the first edge' bloc0s along the second edge'
and bloc0s along the third edge &ere co!nted t&ice' so the" m!st be s!btracted# After s!btracting
these three edges' 1 bloc0 has not been co!nted - it &as added three times on each face' b!t
s!btracted three times on each side# +h!s' the total n!mber of visible c!bes
is ' and the total n!mber of invisible c!bes
is ' &hich can be factored into #
Problem
Do& man" positive integers less than 1A'AAA have at most t&o different digits.
%ol!tion
$irst' let8s co!nt n!mbers &ith onl" a single digit# -e have nine of these for each length' and fo!r
lengths' so 19 total n!mbers#
@o&' let8s co!nt those &ith t&o distinct digits# -e handle the cases "A incl!ded" and "A not incl!ded"
separatel"#
+here are &a"s to choose t&o digits' and # Eiven t&o digits' there are &a"s to
arrange them in an -digit n!mber' for a total
of s!ch n!mbers (or &e can list
them/
*# +h!s' &e have n!mbers of this form#
@o&' s!ppose A is one of o!r digits# -e have nine choices for the other digit# $or each choice' &e
have -digit n!mbers &e can form' for a total
of s!ch n!mbers (or &e can list
them/ *# +his gives
!s n!mbers of this form#
+h!s' in total' &e have s!ch n!mbers#
Problem
In order to complete a large 6ob' 1AAA &or0ers &ere hired' 6!st eno!gh to complete the 6ob on
sched!le# All the &or0ers sta"ed on the 6ob &hile the first !arter of the &or0 &as done' so the first
!arter of the &or0 &as completed on sched!le# +hen 1AA &or0ers &ere laid off' so the second !arter
of the &or0 &as completed behind sched!le# +hen an additional 1AA &or0ers &ere laid off' so the third
!arter of the &or0 &as completed still f!rther behind sched!le# Eiven that all &or0ers &or0 at the
same rate' &hat is the minim!m n!mber of additional &or0ers' be"ond the 8AA &or0ers still on the
6ob at the end of the third !arter' that m!st be hired after three-!arters of the &or0 has been
completed so that the entire pro6ect can be completed on sched!le or before.
%ol!tion
Ass!me that one &or0er does 1 !nit of &or0 per da"' and that there are 1AAA !nits of &or0 to be
done# It ta0es th of a da" to do the first !arter of &or0# -e then have 9AA &or0ers to complete
the ne)t ,7A !nits of &or0' so it ta0es of a da" to complete the remaining &or0# +he third ,7A
!nits of &or0 onl" have 8AA &or0ers' so it ta0es of a da" to get this amo!nt of &or0 done# -e no&
have one !arter of &or0 to complete' b!t onl" da"s to complete it' so &e
have to &or0 at of o!r original rate# +h!s &e need &or0ers the last !arter-da"#
-e th!s need 1799 &or0ers' so &e m!st hire more &or0ers#
Problem
+hree clever mon0e"s divide a pile of bananas# +he first mon0e" ta0es some bananas from the pile'
0eeps three-fo!rths of them' and divides the rest e!all" bet&een the other t&o# +he second mon0e"
ta0es some bananas from the pile' 0eeps one-fo!rth of them' and divides the rest e!all" bet&een the
other t&o# +he third mon0e" ta0es the remaining bananas from the pile' 0eeps one-t&elfth of them'
and divides the rest e!all" bet&een the other t&o# Eiven that each mon0e" receives a &hole
n!mber of bananas &henever the bananas are divided' and the n!mbers of bananas the first' second'
and third mon0e"s have at the end of the process are in the ratio &hat is the least possible
total for the n!mber of bananas.
%ol!tion
?enote the n!mber of bananas the first mon0e" got as ' the second ' and the third B the total
is # +h!s' the first mon0e" got ' the second mon0e"
got ' and the third mon0e" got #
+a0ing into acco!nt the ratio aspect' sa" that the third mon0e" too0 bananas in total# +hen'
%olve this to find that # All three fractions m!st be integral# Also note some other
conditions &e have pic0ed !p in the co!rse of the problem' namel" that is divisible b" ' is
divisible b" ' and is divisible b" (ho&ever' since the denominator contains a ' the factors
of cancel' and it onl" reall" needs to be divisible b" *# +h!s' the minimal val!e is &hen each
fraction is e!al to ' and the sol!tion is #
Problem
is a rectang!lar sheet of paper that has been folded so that corner is matched &ith
point on edge +he crease is &here is on and is on +he
dimensions and are given# +he perimeter of rectangle
%ol!tion
%ince is the perpendic!lar bisector of ' it follo&s that (b" %A%*# 2"
the P"thagorean +heorem' &e have # %imilarl"' from ' &e have
+h!s the perimeter of is ' and the ans&er is #
Solution 2 (analytic)
3et ' so and ' and let be the length of the
rectangle# +he slope of is and so the e!ation of is # -e 0no& that is
perpendic!lar to and bisects # +he slope of is th!s ' and so the e!ation of
is # 3et the point of intersection of be # +hen the "-coordinate of is '
so
?ividing the t&o e!ations "ields
+he ans&er is as above#
Problem
Do& man" positive integer divisors of are divisible b" e)actl" ,AA5 positive integers.
%ol!tion
+he prime factori4ation of ,AA5 is # +h!s the prime factori4ation of
is #
-e can co!nt the n!mber of divisors of a n!mber b" m!ltipl"ing together one more than each of
the e)ponents of the prime factors in its prime factori4ation# $or e)ample' the n!mber of divisors
of is #
A positive integer divisor of &ill be of the form # +h!s &e need to find ho&
man" satisf"
-e can thin0 of this as partitioning the e)ponents to and # %o let8s partition the ,8s
first# +here are t&o ,8s so this is e!ivalent to partitioning t&o items in three containers# -e can do
this in &a"s# -e can partition the 1 in three &a"s and li0e&ise &e can partition the 197 in
three &a"s# %o &e have as o!r ans&er#
Problem
A se!ence of positive integers &ith and is formed so that the first three
terms are in geometric progression' the second' third' and fo!rth terms are in arithmetic progression'
and' in general' for all the terms are in geometric progression' and the
terms and are in arithmetic progression# 3et be the greatest term in this
se!ence that is less than # $ind
%ol!tion
3et B then solving for the ne)t several terms' &e find that
' and in general' ' '
&here #
L1M
$rom ' &e find that b"
either the !adratic form!la or trial-and-error/mod!lar arithmetic that # +h!s '
and &e need to find the largest s!ch that either # +his happens
&ith ' and this is the th term of the se!ence#
+he ans&er is #
N -e can sho& this b" sim!ltaneo!s ind!ction/ since
and
Problem
3et be the set of integers bet&een and &hose binar" e)pansions have e)actl" t&o 8s# If a
n!mber is chosen at random from the probabilit" that it is divisible b" is &here and are
relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
A positive integer has e)actl" t&o 1s in its binar" representation e)actl" &hen
for nonnegative integers# +h!s' the set is e!al to the
set # (+he second condition ens!res sim!ltaneo!sl"
that and that each s!ch n!mber less than is co!nted e)actl" once#* +his means there
are total s!ch n!mbers#
@o&' consider the po&ers of mod /
#
It8s clear &hat the pairs can loo0 li0e# If one is of the form (7 choices*' the other m!st be of
the form (7 choices*# If one is of the form (7 choices* the other m!st be of the
form (9 choices*# And if one is of the form (7 choices*' the other m!st be of the
form (9 choices*# +his means that there are
total "good" n!mbers#
+he probabilit" is ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
A right circ!lar cone has a base &ith radi!s and height A fl" starts at a point on the
s!rface of the cone &hose distance from the verte) of the cone is ' and cra&ls along the s!rface of
the cone to a point on the e)act opposite side of the cone &hose distance from the verte) is
$ind the least distance that the fl" co!ld have cra&led#
%ol!tion
3abel the starting point of the fl" as and the ending as and the verte) of the cone as # -ith the
given information' and # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem' the slant height
can be calc!lated b"/ ' so the slant height of the cone is # +he base
of the cone has a circ!mference of ' so if &e c!t the cone along its slant height and thro!gh '
&e get a sector of a circle &ith radi!s #
[Unparseable or potentially dangerous asy code Unable to con!ert "#S
file$
@o& the sector is of the entire circle# %o the degree meas!re of the sector is # @o&
&e 0no& that and are on opposite sides# +herefore' since lies on a radi!s of the circle that is
the "side" of a ,7A degree sector' &ill lie e)actl" half&a" bet&een# +h!s' the radi!s thro!gh &ill
divide the circle into t&o sectors' each &ith meas!re # ?ra& in to create # @o&' b"
the 3a& of Cosines' # $rom there &e
have #
Problem
3et be an isosceles trape4oid' &hose dimensions are
and ?ra& circles of radi!s 1 centered at and and circles of radi!s , centered at
and A circle contained &ithin the trape4oid is tangent to all fo!r of these circles# Its radi!s
is &here and are positive integers' is not divisible b" the s!are of
an" prime' and and are relativel" prime# $ind
%ol!tion
3et the radi!s of the center circle be and its center be denoted as #
Clearl" line passes thro!gh the point of tangenc" of circle and circle # 3et be the height
from the base of the trape4oid to # $rom the P"thagorean +heorem'
-e !se a similar arg!ment &ith the line ' and find the height from the top of the trape4oid to
' ' to be #
@o& is simpl" the height of the trape4oid# 3et be the foot of the perpendic!lar from
to B then # 2" the P"thagorean
+heorem' so &e need to solve the
e!ation # -e can solve this b" moving one radical to the other
side' and s!aring the e!ation t&ice to end &ith a !adratic e!ation#
%olving this' &e get ' and the ans&er
is #
Problem
3et be
a conve) pentagon &ith
and Eiven that the ratio bet&een the area of triangle and the area of
triangle is &here and are relativel" prime positive integers' find
%ol!tion
3et the intersection of and be # %ince it follo&s that is
a parallelogram' and so # Also' as ' it follo&s
that #
2" the 3a& of Cosines' # +h!s the length
similarit" ratio bet&een and is #
3et and be the lengths of the altit!des in to respectivel"#
+hen' the ratio of the areas #
Do&ever' ' &ith all three heights oriented in the same direction#
%ince ' it follo&s that ' and from the similarit"
ratio' # Dence ' and the ratio of the areas
is # +he ans&er is #
Problem
Consider a string of 8s' into &hich signs are inserted to prod!ce an
arithmetic e)pression# $or e)ample' co!ld be obtained from eight 8s
in this &a"# $or ho& man" val!es of is it possible to insert signs so that the res!lting e)pression
has val!e .
%ol!tion
%!ppose &e re!ire s' s' and s to s!m !p to ( *#
+hen ' or dividing b" ' # +hen the !estion is
as0ing for the n!mber of val!es of #
Manip!lating o!r e!ation' &e
have # +h!s the n!mber of
potential val!es of is the n!mber of m!ltiples of from to ' or #
Do&ever' &e forgot to consider the condition that # $or a sol!tion
set ' it is possible that (for e)ample' s!ppose
&e co!nted the sol!tion set ' b!t s!bstit!ting into o!r original e!ation
&e find that ' so it is invalid*# In partic!lar' this invalidates the val!es of for &hich their
onl" e)pressions in terms of fall into the ine!alit" #
$or ' &e can e)press in terms
of and (in other &ords' &e ta0e the greatest
possible val!e of ' and then "fill in" the remainder b" incrementing *#
+hen ' so these val!es &or0#
%imilaril"' for ' &e can let ' and the
ine!alit" # Do&ever'
for ' &e can no longer appl" this approach#
%o &e no& have to e)amine the n!mbers on an individ!al basis# $or '
&or0s# $or ' &e find (!sing that
respectivel"' for integers * that their is no &a" to satisf" the
ine!alit" #
A note/ Above' &e form!lated the sol!tion in a for&ard manner (the last fo!r paragraphs are devoted
to sho&ing that all the sol!tions &e fo!nd &or0ed e)cept for the fo!r cases pointed o!tB in a contest
setting' &e &o!ldn8t need to be nearl" as rigoro!s*# A more nat!ral manner of attac0ing the problem
is to thin0 of the process in reverse' namel" seeing that ' and noting that small
val!es of &o!ld not &or0#
3oo0ing at the n!mber ' &e obvio!sl" see the ma)im!m n!mber of / a string of #
+hen' &e see that the minim!m is # +he ne)t step is to see b" &hat
interval the val!e of increases# %ince is is ' &e can convert a
into and and add to the val!e of # %ince &e have to &or0 &ith' this gives
!s as val!es for #
%ince can be converted into ' &e can add to b" converting into # H!r '
&hich has # -e therefore can add to times b" doing this# All val!es
of not covered b" this can be dealt &ith &ith the !p to #
Problem
A long thin strip of paper is !nits in length' !nit in &idth' and is divided into !nit s!ares#
+he paper is folded in half repeatedl"# $or the first fold' the right end of the paper is folded over to
coincide &ith and lie on top of the left end# +he res!lt is a b" strip of do!ble thic0ness# @e)t' the
right end of this strip is folded over to coincide &ith and lie on top of the left end' res!lting in a
b" strip of !adr!ple thic0ness# +his process is repeated more times# After the last fold' the strip
has become a stac0 of !nit s!ares# Do& man" of these s!ares lie belo& the s!are that &as
originall" the nd s!are co!nting from the left.
%ol!tion 1
@!mber the s!ares # In this case ' b!t &e &ill consider more generall" to
find an ind!ctive sol!tion# Call the n!mber of s!ares belo& the s!are after the final fold in a
strip of length #
@o&' consider the strip of length # +he problem as0s for # -e can derive some !sef!l
rec!rrences for as follo&s/ Consider the first fold# Each s!are is no& paired &ith the
s!are # @o&' imagine that &e relabel these pairs &ith the indices -
then the val!e of the pairs correspond &ith the val!es - specificall"' do!ble' and
ma"be (if the member of the pair that "o!8re loo0ing for is the top one at the final step*#
%o' after the first fold on the strip of length ' the s!are is on top of the s!are# -e can
then &rite
(-e add one beca!se is the odd member of the pair' and it &ill be on top# +his is more easil"
vis!all" demonstrated than proven#* -e can repeat this rec!rrence' adding one ever" time &e pair an
odd to an even (b!t ignoring the pairing if o!r c!rrent s!are is the smaller of the t&o*/
-e can easil" calc!late from a diagram# Pl!gging bac0 in'
%ol!tion ,
More br!te force / thin0ing abo!t the !estion logicall"# -e can find the n!mber of s!ares above the
n!mber instead# If the n!mber doesn8t change position' then &e add the n!mber of s!ares &e 6!st
folded# Hther&ise' &e 6!st ta0e the n!mber of s!ares !nder it before &e folded and no& these are
above the n!mber#
$irst its in position &ith spaces over it# -e flip once' since is to the right it gets flipped onto
itself' going from position to # @o& its in position 81' still has spaces over it#
$lip again' it8s still in position 81 b!t no&' since it didn8t move position' &e add the thic0ness of the
fold &e 6!st flipped' &hich is ,# %o no& there are spaces over it#
$lip again' its to the left of the fold again' so &e add s!ares to get #
$lip again' it goes from in position' and there &as s!are belo& o!r n!mber
before &e flipped' so no& that one n!mber is above it#
$lip again' it goes ' and no& there &ere s!ares belo& it so no& the" are
above it#
$lip again' it goes ' and there &ere s!ares belo& it and no& the" are
above it#
$lip again' it goes and there &ere s!ares belo& it and no& the" are
above it#
$lip again' it sta"s in position' so &e add to get #
above it#
above it#
%ince the !estion as0s for ho& man" s!ares &ere belo& o!r n!mber' o!r ans&er
is #
2005 1
Problem
%i) congr!ent circles form a ring &ith each circle e)ternall" tangent to t&o circles ad6acent to it# All
circles are internall" tangent to a circle &ith radi!s 1A# 3et be the area of the region inside
circle and o!tside of the si) circles in the ring# $ind (the floor f!nction*#
%ol!tion
?efine the radii of the si) congr!ent circles as # If &e dra& all of the radii to the points of e)ternal
tangenc"' &e get a reg!lar he)agon# If &e connect thevertices of the he)agon to the center of the
circle ' &e form several e!ilateral triangles# +he length of each side of the triangle is # @otice
that the radi!s of circle is e!al to the length of the side of the triangle pl!s # +h!s' the radi!s
of has a length of ' and so # ' so #
Problem
$or each positive integer ' let denote the increasing arithmetic se!ence of integers &hose first
term is and &hose common difference is # $or e)ample' is the se!ence $or
ho& man" val!es of does contain the term .
%ol!tion
%!ppose that the th term of the se!ence is # +hen
so # +he ordered pairs of positive integers that satisf"
the last e!ation are ' ' ' ' ' ' '
' ' ' and ' and each of these gives a possible val!e of # +h!s the
re!ested n!mber of val!es is ' and the ans&er is #
Alternativel"' notice that the form!la for the n!mber of divisors states that there
are divisors of #
Problem
Do& man" positive integers have e)actl" three proper divisors (positive integral divisors e)cl!ding
itself*' each of &hich is less than 7A.
%ol!tion
%!ppose is s!ch an integer# +hen one of its factors is ' so m!st be in the form
or for distinct prime n!mbers and #
In the first case' the three proper divisors of are ' and # +h!s' &e need to pic0 t&o prime
n!mbers less than # +here are fifteen of these (
and * so there are n!mbers of the first t"pe#
In the second case' the three proper divisors of are 1' and # +h!s &e need to pic0 a prime
n!mber &hose s!are is less than # +here are fo!r of these ( and * and so fo!r n!mbers of
the second t"pe#
+h!s there are integers that meet the given conditions#
Problem
+he director of a marching band &ishes to place the members into a formation that incl!des all of
them and has no !nfilled positions# If the" are arranged in a s!are formation' there are members
left over# +he director reali4es that if he arranges the gro!p in a formation &ith more ro&s than
col!mns' there are no members left over# $ind the ma)im!m n!mber of members this band can have#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
If then and
so # If is an integer there are no n!mbers &hich are 7
more than a perfect s!are strictl" bet&een and # +h!s' if the n!mber of
col!mns is ' the n!mber of st!dents is &hich m!st be 7 more than a perfect s!are'
so # In fact' &hen &e have ' so this n!mber
&or0s and no larger n!mber can# +h!s' the ans&er is #
Solution 2
?efine the n!mber of ro&s/col!mns of the s!are formation as ' and the n!mber of ro&s of the
rectang!lar formation (so there are col!mns*#
+h!s' # +he !adratic
form!la "ields # m!st be
aninteger' sa" # +hen and # +he factors of
are B is ma)imi4ed for the first case# +h!s' '
and # +he latter obvio!sl" can be discarded' so there are ro&s
and col!mns' ma0ing the ans&er #
Solution 3
+he n!mber of members is for some and # M!ltipl" both sides b"
and complete the s!are to get # +h!s' &e
have # %ince &e &ant to ma)imi4e ' set the first factor
e!al to and the second e!al to # %olving gives ' so the ans&er is #
Problem
:obert has 5 indisting!ishable EH3? coins and 5 indisting!ishable silver coins# Each coin has an
engraving of one face on one side' b!t not on the other# De &ants to stac0 the eight coins on a table
into a single stac0 so that no t&o ad6acent coins are face to face# $ind the n!mber of possible
disting!ishable arrangements of the 8 coins#
%ol!tion
+here are t&o separate parts to this problem/ one is the color (EH3? vs silver*' and the other is the
orientation#
+here are &a"s to position the gold coins in the stac0 of 8 coins' &hich determines the
positions of the silver coins#
Create a string of letters D and + to denote the orientation of the top of the coin# +o avoid ma0ing t&o
faces to!ch' &e cannot have the arrangement D+# +h!s' all possible config!rations m!st be a string of
tails follo&ed b" a string of heads' since after the first D no more tails can appear# +he first D can
occ!r in a ma)im!m of eight times different positions' and then there is also the possibilit" that it
doesnKt occ!r at all' for total config!rations# +h!s' the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be the prod!ct of the nonreal roots of $ind
%ol!tion 1
+he left-hand side of that e!ation is nearl" e!al to # +h!s' &e add 1 to each side in order
to complete the fo!rth po&er and get #
3et be the positive real fo!rth root of ,AA9# +hen the roots of the above e!ation
are for # +he t&o non-real members of this set are and #
+heir prod!ct is #
so #
%ol!tion ,
%tarting li0e before' +his time &e appl" differences of
s!ares# so If "o! thin0 of
each part of the prod!ct as a !adratic' then is bo!nd to hold the t&o non-real
roots since the other definitel" crosses the )-a)is t&ice since it is 6!st translated do&n and right#
+herefore the prod!cts of the roots of or so
#
%ol!tion 1
If &e don8t see the fo!rth po&er' &e can al&a"s factor the 3D% to tr" to create a !adratic
s!bstit!tion# Chec0ing' &e find that and are both roots# %"nthetic division
gives # -e no& have o!r !adratic s!bstit!tion
of ' giving !s # $rom here &e proceed as in
%ol!tion 1 to get #
-%ol!tion b" t+ec%d,,,
%ol!tion 5
:eali4ing that if &e add 1 to both sides &e get &hich can be
factored as # +hen &e can s!bstit!te &ith &hich leaves !s
&ith # @o& s!btracting ,AA9 from both sides &e get some difference of
s!ares # +he !estion as0s for
the prod!ct of the comple) roots so &e onl" care abo!t the last factor &hich is e!al to 4ero# $rom
there &e can solve ' &e can s!bstit!te for giving
!s ' e)panding this &e get # -e 0no& that the
prod!ct of a !adratics roots is &hich leaves !s &ith #
%ol!tion 7
As in sol!tion 1' &e find that # @o& so
and are the real roots of the e!ation# M!ltipl"ing' &e get #
@o& transforming the original f!nction and !sing Wieta8s
form!la' so # -e find that the
prod!ct of the nonreal roots is and &e get #
Problem
In !adrilateral and Eiven
that &here and are positive integers' find
%ol!tion
Solution 1
?ra& the perpendic!lars from and to ' labeling the intersection points as and # +his
forms , right triangles' so and # Also' if &e dra& the hori4ontal line
e)tending from to a point on the line ' &e find another right triangle
# # +he P"thagorean +heorem "ields
that ' so #
+herefore' ' and #
Solution 2
E)tend and to an intersection at point # -e get an e!ilateral triangle # -e denote
the length of a side of as and solve for it !sing the 3a& of Cosines/
+his simplifies to B the !adratic
form!la "ields the (discard the negative res!lt* same res!lt of #
Solution 3
E)tend and to meet at point ' forming an e!ilateral triangle # ?ra& a line
from parallel to so that it intersects at point # +hen' appl" %te&art8s
+heorem on # 3et #
2" the !adratic form!la (discarding the negative res!lt*' '
giving for a final ans&er of #
Problem
+he e!ation has three real roots# Eiven that their s!m is
&here and are relativel" prime positive integers' find
%ol!tion
3et # +hen o!r e!ation reads or # +h!s'
if this e!ation has roots and ' b" Wieta8s form!las &e have # 3et the
corresponding val!es of be and # +hen the previo!s statement sa"s
that so that ta0ing alogarithm gives
and # +h!s the ans&er is #
Problem
+&ent" seven !nit c!bes are painted orange on a set of fo!r faces so that t&o non-painted faces share
an edge# +he ,7 c!bes are randoml" arranged to form a c!be# Eiven the probabilit" of the
entire s!rface area of the larger c!be is orange is &here and are
distinct primes and and arepositive integers' find
%ol!tion
-e can consider the orientation of each of the individ!al c!bes independentl"#
Solution 1
+he !nit c!be at the center of o!r large c!be has no e)terior faces' so all of its orientations &or0#
$or the si) !nit c!bes and the centers of the faces of the large c!be' &e need that the" sho& an
orange face# +his happens in of all orientations' so from these c!bes &e gain a factor of
#
+he t&elve !nit c!bes along the edges of the large c!be have t&o faces sho&ing' and these t&o faces
are 6oined along an edge# +h!s' &e need to 0no& the n!mber of s!ch pairs that are both painted
orange# -e have a pair for each edge' and 7 edges border one of the !npainted faces &hile onl" 7
border t&o painted faces# +h!s' the probabilit" that t&o orange faces sho& for one of these c!bes
is ' so from all of these c!bes &e gain a factor of #
$inall"' &e need to orient the eight corner c!bes# Each s!ch c!be has 1 faces sho&ing' and these three
faces share a common verte)# +h!s' &e need to 0no& the n!mber of vertices for &hich all three
ad6acent faces are painted orange# +here are si) vertices &hich are a verte) of one of the !npainted
faces and t&o vertices &hich have o!r desired propert"' so each corner c!be contrib!tes a probabilit"
of and all the corner c!bes together contrib!te a probabilit" of
%ince these probabilities are independent' the overall probabilit" is 6!st their
prod!ct' and so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
:ather than &orr" abo!t the act!al painted faces' consider the position of the shared edge of the non-
colored faces# +he si) centers of the faces can be calc!lated in the same manner as last time'
getting #
+he t&elve edge c!bes sho& t&o faces# -e &ant the shared edge of the non-colored faces to not be
one of the edges that are e)posed on the o!tside# +here are 7 s!ch edges that can be seen &hen
vie&ed from the o!tside' so the probabilit" the" cannot be seen are #
+he eight corner c!bes each have 9 visible edges from the o!tside' so the probabilit" that the edge of
the non-colored faces is not one of those is # M!ltipl"ing the probabilities together'
&e get the same e)act sol!tion#
As an aside' note that the placement of the t&o !npainted faces is in fact of vital importance/ if the"
&ere on opposite faces' the ans&er &o!ld be A beca!se an" placement of s!ch a c!be in the corner of
the large c!be &o!ld sho& one !npainted face#
Problem
+riangle lies in the cartesian plane and has an area of # +he coordinates of and
are and respectivel"' and the coordinates of are +he line containing
the median to side has slope $ind the largest possible val!e of
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he midpoint of line segment is # +he e!ation of the median can be fo!nd
b" # Cross m!ltipl" and simplif" to "ield that '
so #
Fse determinants to find that the area of is (note that there is a
missing absol!te val!eB &e &ill ass!me that the other sol!tion for the triangle &ill give a smaller val!e
of ' &hich is provable b" follo&ing these steps over again*# -e can calc!late this determinant to
become
# +h!s' #
%etting this e!ation e!al to the e!ation of the median' &e get that '
so # %olving prod!ces that #%!bstit!ting bac0&ards "ields that
B the sol!tion is #
Solution 2
Fsing the e!ation of the median from above' &e can &rite the coordinates of as #
+he e!ation of is ' so # In general form' the line
is # Fse the e!ation for the distance bet&een a line and point to find the
distance bet&een and (&hich is the height of
*/ # @o& &e need the length of ' &hich
is # +he area of
is # +h!s' ' and # -e are
loo0ing for # +he ma)im!m possible val!e of #
Solution 3
Again' the midpoint of line segment is at # 3et be the point ' &hich lies
along the line thro!gh of slope # +he area of triangle can be comp!ted in a n!mber of
&a"s (one possibilit"/ e)tend !ntil it hits the line ' and s!btract one triangle from
another*' and each s!ch calc!lation gives an area of 15# +his is of o!r needed area' so &e simpl"
need the point to be 7 times as far from as is# +h!s ' and
the s!m of coordinates &ill be larger if &e ta0e the positive val!e' so
and the ans&er is #
Problem
A semicircle &ith diameter is contained in a s!are &hose sides have length 8# Eiven the ma)im!m
val!e of is find
%ol!tion
-e note that aligning the base of the semicircle &ith a side of the s!are is certainl" non-optimal# If
the semicircle is tangent to onl" one side of the s!are' &e &ill have "&iggle-room" to increase its
si4e# Hnce it is tangent to t&o ad6acent sides of the s!are' &e &ill ma)imi4e its si4e &hen it to!ches
both other sides of the s!are# +his can happen onl" &hen it is arranged so that the center of the
semicircle lies on one diagonal of the s!are#
@o&' let the s!are be ' and let and be the points at &hich the "corners"
of the semicircle to!ch the s!are# 3et be the center of the semicircle#
Solution 1
?efine the radi!s of the semicircle as # ?ra& the perpendic!lar from to ' &hich forms
a triangle# +he length of the perpendic!lar is # @ote also that is e!al to the
length of that perpendic!lar pl!s the radi!s to the point of tangenc" on # +h!s' '
and # +he diameter is then ' and the
sol!tion is #
Solution 2
2" the comments above' # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem' #
@o&' if &e dra& a line thro!gh the center' ' of the semicircle and its point of tangenc" &ith ' &e
see that this line is perpendic!lar to and so parallel to # +h!s' b" triangle similarit" it
c!ts in half' and so b" s"mmetr" the distance from to is and so the distance from
to is # 2!t this latter !antit" is also the radi!s of the semicircle' so #
H!r t&o previo!s paragraphs give so and
(&here &e discard the negative root of that !adratic* and
so ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 3
-e proceed b" finding the area of the s!are in , different &a"s# +he s!are is obvio!sl" 8I8;95' b!t
&e can also find the area in terms of d# $rom the center of the circle' dra& radii that hit the points
&here the s!are is tangent to the semicircle# +hen the s!are8s area is the area of the small s!are
R,I the area of the trape4oids on the cornersR the area of an isoceles triangle# Adding these all !p
gives %implif"ing gives #
%olving gives so the ans&er is 1,R71,;755
Problem
$or positive integers let denote the n!mber of positive integer divisors of incl!ding 1
and $or e)ample' and ?efine b"
3et denote the n!mber of positive integers &ith odd' and let denote the n!mber
of positive integers &ith even# $ind
%ol!tion
It is &ell-0no&n that is odd if and onl" if is a perfect s!are# (Hther&ise' &e can
gro!p divisors into pairs &hose prod!ct is #* +h!s' is odd if and onl" if there are an odd
n!mber of perfect s!ares less than # %o and are odd'
&hile are even' and are odd' and so on#
%o' for a given ' if &e choose the positive integer s!ch that &e see
that has the same parit" as #
It follo&s that the n!mbers bet&een and ' bet&een and ' and so on' all the &a" !p to the
n!mbers bet&een and have odd# +hese are the onl" s!ch n!mbers less
than (beca!se *#
Solution 1
@otice that the difference bet&een consec!tive s!ares are consec!tivel" increasing odd n!mbers#
+h!s' there are n!mbers bet&een (incl!sive* and (e)cl!sive*' n!mbers bet&een and ' and
so on# +he n!mber of n!mbers from to is #
-henever the lo&est s!are beneath a n!mber is odd' the parit" &ill be odd' and the same for even#
+h!s'
# ' the acco!nting for
the difference bet&een and ' incl!sive# @otice that if &e align the t&o and s!btract'
&e get that each difference is e!al to # +h!s' the sol!tion
is #
Solution 2
%imilarl"' ' &here the acco!nts for
those n!mbers bet&een and #
+h!s #
+hen' # -e
can appl" the form!la # $rom this form!la' it follo&s
that and so that
#
+h!s'
#
Problem
A particle moves in the Cartesian plane according to the follo&ing r!les/
1.
$rom an" lattice point the particle ma" onl" move to
or
2.
+here are no right angle t!rns in the particle8s path#
Do& man" different paths can the particle ta0e from to .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he length of the path (the n!mber of times the particle moves* can range from to B notice
that gives the n!mber of diagonals# 3et represent a move to the right' represent a
move !p&ards' and to be a move that is diagonal# Case&or0 !pon the n!mber of diagonal moves/
*ase / It is eas" to see onl" cases#
*ase / +here are t&o diagonals# -e need to generate a string &ith 8s' 8s' and 8s s!ch
that no t&o 8s or 8s are ad6acent# +he 8s split the string into three sections ( */ b"
the Pigeonhole principle all of at least one of the t&o letters m!st be all together (i#e#' sta" in a ro&*#
If both and sta" together' then there are &a"s#
If either or splits' then there are places to p!t the letter that splits' &hich has possibilities# +he
remaining letter m!st divide into in one section and in the ne)t' giving &a"s# +his
totals &a"s#
*ase / @o& 8s' 8s' and 8s' so the string is divided into partitions (
*#
If the 8s and 8s sta" together' then there are places to p!t them#
If one of them splits and the other sta"s together' then there are places to p!t them' and
&a"s to pic0 &hich splits' giving &a"s#
If both gro!ps split' then there are &a"s to arrange them# +hese add !p
to &a"s#
*ase / @o& ' ' 8s ( *# +here are places to p!t ' places
to p!t ' giving &a"s#
*ase / It is eas" to see onl" case#

+ogether' these add !p to #
Solution 2
Another possibilit" is to !se bloc0-&al0ing and rec!rsion/ for each verte)' the n!mber of &a"s to reach
it is ' &here is the n!mber of &a"s to reach the verte) from the left (&itho!t having come
to that verte) (the one on the left* from belo&*' is the n!mber of &a"s to reach the verte) from the
verte) diagonall" do&n and left' and is the n!mber of &a"s to reach the verte) from belo& (&itho!t
having come to that verte) (the one belo&* from the left*#
Assign to each point the triplet # 3et # 3et all lattice
points that contain e)actl" one negative coordinate be assigned to # +his leaves the lattice
points of the first !adrant' the positive parts of the and a)es' and the origin !nassigned# As a
seed' assign to # (-e &ill see ho& this correlates &ith the problem#* +hen define for each
lattice point its triplet th!s/
It is evident that is the n!mber of &a"s to reach from # +herefore &e comp!te
verte) b" verte) the triplets &ith # $inall"' after simple b!t tedio!s
calc!lations' &e find that ' so #
L@ote/%omeone ma" &ish to add an image#M his sol!tion is incomplete. "o! can help !s o!t
b# completin$ it.
Problem
Consider the points and +here is a !ni!e s!are s!ch
that each of the fo!r points is on a different side of 3et be the area of $ind the remainder
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Consider a point s!ch that is perpendic!lar to ' intersects ' and # E
&ill be on the same side of the s!are as point #
3et the coordinates of be # %ince is perpendic!lar to ' and ' &e
have and +he coordinates of are th!s #
@o&' since and are on the same side' &e find the slope of the sides going thro!gh and to
be # 2eca!se the other t&o sides are perpendic!lar' the slope of the sides going
thro!gh and are no& #
3et be the vertices of the s!are so that contains point ' contains
point ' and etc# %ince &e 0no& the slopes and a point on the line for each side of the s!are' &e !se
the point slope form!la to find the linear e!ations# @e)t' &e !se the e!ations to find vertices of
the s!are' then appl" the distance form!la#
-e find the coordinates of to be and the coordinates of to be #
Appl"ing the distance form!la' the side length of o!r s!are is #
Dence' the area of the s!are is # +he remainder &hen is divided b" is #
Solution 2
3et denote a normal vector of the side containing # @ote that intersect and hence
m!st be opposite vertices of the s!are# +he lines containing the sides of the s!are have the
form ' ' ' and # +he lines
form a s!are' so the distance bet&een and the line thro!gh e!als the distance bet&een and
the line thro!gh ' hence ' or # -e can
ta0e and # %o the side of the s!are is ' the area is ' and the ans&er
to the problem is #
Problem
+riangle has +he incircle of the triangle evenl" trisects the median If the area
of the triangle is &here and are integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of a prime'
find
%ol!tion
3et ' and be the points of tangenc" of the incircle &ith ' and ' respectivel"#
-itho!t loss of generalit"' let ' so that is bet&een and # 3et the length of the
median be # +hen b" t&o applications of the Po&er of a Point +heorem' '
so # @o&' and are t&o tangents to a circle from the same point'
so and th!s #
+hen so and
th!s #
@o&' b" %te&art8s +heorem in triangle &ith cevian ' &e have
H!r earlier res!lt from Po&er of a Point &as that ' so &e combine these t&o res!lts
to solve for and &e get
+h!s or # -e discard the val!e as e)traneo!s (it gives !s an e!ilateral triangle*
and are left &ith ' so o!r triangle has sides and so the ans&er
is #
2005 2
Problem
A game !ses a dec0 of different cards' &here is an integer and +he n!mber of possible
sets of 9 cards that can be dra&n from the dec0 is 9 times the n!mber of possible sets of 1 cards that
can be dra&n# $ind
%ol!tion
+he n!mber of &a"s to dra& si) cards from is given b" the binomial
coefficient #
+he n!mber of &a"s to choose three cards from is #
-e are given that '
so #
Cancelling li0e terms' &e get #
-e m!st find a factori4ation of the left-hand side of this e!ation into three consec!tive integers#
%ince 7,A is close to ' &e tr" 8' 9' and 1A' &hich &or0s' so and #
Problem
A DH+E3 pac0ed brea0fast for each of three g!ests# Each brea0fast sho!ld have consisted of three
t"pes of rolls' one each of n!t' cheese' and fr!it rolls# +he preparer &rapped each of the nine rolls and
once &rapped' the rolls &ere indisting!ishable from one another# %he then randoml" p!t three rolls in
a bag for each of the g!ests# Eiven that the probabilit" each g!est got one roll of each t"pe is
&here and are relativel" prime integers' find
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Fse case&or0# -e need onl" calc!late the probabilit" the first and second person all get a roll of each
t"pe' since then the rolls for the third person are determined#
Person 1/
Person ,/
Person 1/ Hne roll of each t"pe is left' so the probabilit" here is #

H!r ans&er is th!s ' and #
Solution 2
Call the three different t"pe of rolls as A' 2' and C# -e need to arrange 1As' 12s' and 1Cs in a string
s!ch that A' 2' and C appear in the first three' second three' etc# +his can occ!r
in different manners# +he total n!mber of possible strings is
# +he sol!tion is therefore ' and #
Problem
An infinite geometric series has s!m ,AA7# A ne& series' obtained b" s!aring each term of the
original series' has 1A times the s!m of the original series# +he common ratio of the original series
is &here and are relativel" prime integers# $ind
%ol!tion
3et8s call the first term of the original geometric series and the common ratio '
so # Fsing the s!m form!la for infinite geometric series' &e
have # +hen &e form a ne& series' # -e 0no& this
series has s!m # ?ividing this e!ation b" ' &e get #
+hen and so ' and
finall" ' so the ans&er is #
(-e 0no& this last fraction is f!ll" red!ced b" the E!clidean algorithm -- beca!se
' # 2!t 5A1 is odd' so #*
Problem
$ind the n!mber of positive integers that are divisors of at least one of
%ol!tion
so has divisors#
so has divisors#
so has divisors#
@o&' &e !se the Principle of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion# -e have total potential divisors so
far' b!t &e8ve overco!nted those factors &hich divide t&o or more of o!r three n!mbers# +h!s' &e
m!st s!btract off the divisors of their pair-&ise greatest common divisors#
&hich has 8 divisors#
%o no& &e have potential divisors# Do&ever' &e8ve no&
!nderco!nted those factors &hich divide all three of o!r n!mbers# 3!c0il"' &e see that the onl" s!ch
factor is 1' so &e m!st add 1 to o!r previo!s s!m to get an ans&er
of #
Problem
?etermine the n!mber of ordered pairs of integers s!ch
that and
%ol!tion I
+he e!ation can be re&ritten as M!ltipl"ing thro!gh
b" and factoring "ields #
+herefore' or ' so either or #
$or the case ' note that and # +h!s' all val!es of from to &ill
&or0#
$or the case ' note that &hile # +herefore' for this case' all val!es
of from to &or0#
+here are possibilities for the s!are case and possibilities for
the c!be case# +h!s' the ans&er is #
@ote that Incl!sion-E)cl!sion does not need to be !sed' as the problem is as0ing for ordered
pairs ' and not for the n!mber of possible val!es of # -ere the problem to as0 for the n!mber
of possible val!es of ' the val!es of !nder &o!ld have to be s!btracted' &hich &o!ld 6!st
be val!es/ and #
%ol!tion II
3et # +hen o!r e!ation becomes # M!ltipl"ing thro!gh b" and solving the
!adratic gives !s or # Dence or #
$or the first case ' can range from , to 55' a total of 51 val!es# $or the second case
' can range from , to 1,' a total of 11 val!es#
+h!s the total n!mber of possible val!es is #
Problem
+he cards in a stac0 of cards are n!mbered consec!tivel" from 1 thro!gh from top to bottom#
+he top cards are removed' 0ept in order' and form pile +he remaining cards form pile +he
cards are then restac0ed b" ta0ing cards alternatel" from the tops of pile and respectivel"# In
this process' card n!mber becomes the bottom card of the ne& stac0' card n!mber 1 is on
top of this card' and so on' !ntil piles and are e)ha!sted# If' after the restac0ing process' at least
one card from each pile occ!pies the same position that it occ!pied in the original stac0' the stac0 is
named magical# $ind the n!mber of cards in the magical stac0 in &hich card n!mber 111 retains its
original position#
%ol!tion
%ince a card from 2 is placed on the bottom of the ne& stac0' notice that cards from pile 2 &ill be
mar0ed as an even n!mber in the ne& pile' &hile cards from pile A &ill be mar0ed as odd in the ne&
pile# %ince 111 is odd and retains its original position in the stac0' it m!st be in pile A# Also to retain
its original position' e)actl" n!mbers m!st be in front of it# +here are
cards from each of piles A' 2 in front of card 111# +his s!ggests that B the total
n!mber of cards is #
Problem
3et $ind #
%ol!tion
-e note that in general'
#
It no& becomes apparent that if &e m!ltipl"
the n!merator and denominator of b" ' the
denominator &illtelescope to ' so
#
It follo&s that #
Problem
Circles and are e)ternall" tangent' and the" are both internall" tangent to circle +he radii
of and are 5 and 1A' respectivel"' and the centersof the three circles are all collinear#
A chord of is also a common e)ternal tangent of and Eiven that the length of the chord
is &here and are positive integers' and are relativel" prime' and is not divisible
b" the s!are of an" prime' find
%ol!tion
3et be the centers and the radii of the circles #
3et be the points of tangenc" from the common e)ternal tangent of ' respectivel"' and
let the e)tension of intersect the e)tension of at a point # 3et the endpoints of the
chord/tangent be ' and the foot of the perpendic!lar from to be # $rom the
similar right triangles '
It follo&s that ' and that # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem on ' &e find
that
and the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
Call o!r desired length # @ote for an" on and on s!ch that that the
f!nction s!ch that is linear# %ince and ' &e can !ic0l" interpolate
that # +hen' e)tend !ntil it reaches the circle on both sidesB call
them # 2" Po&er of a Point' # %ince '
After solving for ' &e
get ' so o!r ans&er is
Problem
$or ho& man" positive integers less than or e!al to
is tr!e for all real .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-e 0no& b" ?e Moivre8s +heorem that for all real n!mbers
and all integers # %o' &e8d li0e to someho& convert o!r given e)pression into a form from &hich &e
can appl" ?e Moivre8s +heorem#
:ecall the trigonometric identities and hold for all real # If
o!r original e!ation holds for all ' it m!st certainl" hold for # +h!s' the !estion is
e!ivalent to as0ing for ho& man" positive integers &e have
that holds for all
real #
# -e 0no& that
t&o comple) n!mbers are e!al if and onl" if both their real partand imaginar" part are e!al# +h!s'
&e need to find all s!ch that and hold for all
real #
if and onl" if either or for some integer #
%o from the e!alit" of the real parts &e need either ' in &hich
case ' or &e need ' in &hich case &ill depend on
and so the e!ation &ill not hold for all real val!es of # Chec0ing in the e!ation for the
imaginar" parts' &e see that it &or0s there as &ell' so e)actl" those val!es of congr!ent
to &or0# +here are of them in the given range#
Solution 2
+his problem begs !s to !se the familiar identit" #
@otice' since # Fsing
this' is recast as # Dence &e m!st
have # +h!s since is a m!ltiple of e)actl" one !arter
of the resid!es are congr!ent to hence &e have #
Problem
Eiven that is a reg!lar octahedron' that is the c!be &hose vertices are the centers of the faces
of and that the ratio of the vol!me of to that of is &here and are relativel" prime
integers' find
%ol!tions
Solution 1
3et the side of the octahedron be of length # 3et the vertices of the octahedron be
so that and are opposite each other and # +he height of the s!are
p"ramid is and so it has vol!me and the &hole
octahedron has vol!me #
3et be the midpoint of ' be the midpoint of ' be the centroid of and be
the centroid of # +hen and the s"mmetr" ratio is (beca!se
the medians of a triangle are trisected b" the centroid*' so # is also a
diagonal of the c!be' so the c!be has side-length and vol!me # +he ratio of the vol!mes
is then and so the ans&er is #
edit/ co!ld someone p!t a'b'c'd'e'f b" the respective vertices on the octohedron. than0s#
Solution 2
3et the octahedron have vertices # +hen the vertices of the c!be lie
at the centroids of the faces' &hich have coordinates # +he c!be has vol!me 8# +he
region of the octahedron l"ing in each octant is a tetrahedron &ith three edges m!t!all" perpendic!lar
and of length 1# +h!s the octahedron has vol!me ' so the ratio is and so
the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be a positive integer' and let be a se!ence of integers s!ch
that and for $ind
)ote* Clearl#, the stip!lation that the se+!ence is composed o& inte$ers is a minor o,ersi$ht, as the
term , &or example, is ob,io!sl# not inte$ral.
%ol!tion
$or ' &e have
#
+h!s the prod!ct is a monovariant/ it decreases b" 1 each time increases b" 1# $or
&e have ' so &hen ' &ill be 4ero for the first time'
&hich implies that ' o!r ans&er#
Problem
%!are has center and are on &ith and
bet&een and and Eiven that &here
and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime' find
%ol!tions
Solution 1 (trigono%etry)
3et be the foot of the perpendic!lar from to # ?enote and '
and (since and *# +hen '
and #
2" the tangent addition r!le ' &e see that
%ince ' this simplifies
to # -e 0no& that ' so &e can s!bstit!te this to find
that #
%!bstit!ting again' &e 0no& have # +his is a !adratic
&ith roots # %ince ' !se the smaller root' #
@o&' # +he ans&er
is #
3abel ' so # :otate abo!t !ntil lies on # @o& &e
0no& that therefore also since is the center of the
s!are# 3abel the ne& triangle that &e created # @o& &e 0no& that rotation
preserves angles and side lengths' so and # ?ra& and #
@otice that since rotations preserve the same angles so
too# 2" %A% &e 0no& that so # @o& &e have a right
&ith 3EE% and and h"poten!se # 2" the P"thagorean +heorem'
and appl"ing the !adratic form!la &e get that # %ince &e ta0e
the positive root' and o!r ans&er is #
Solution 3
3et the midpoint of be and let ' so
then and # ?ra&ing ' &e have ' so
2" the P"thagorean +heorem on '
%etting these t&o e)pressions for e!al and solving
for (it is helpf!l to scale the problem do&n b" a factor of 7A first*' &e
get # %ince ' &e &ant the val!e ' and the
ans&er is #
Problem
3et be a pol"nomial &ith integer coefficients that satisfies and
Eiven that has t&o distinct integer sol!tions and find the prod!ct
%ol!tion
?efine the pol"nomial # 2" the givens'
' ' an
d # @ote that for an" pol"nomial &ith integer coefficients and
an" integers &e have divides # %o divides '
and so m!st be one of the eight n!mbers and so m!st be one of the
n!mbers or # %imilarl"' m!st divide '
so m!st be one of the eight n!mbers or # +h!s' m!st be either 19
or ,,# %ince obe"s the same conditions and and are different' one of them is and the
other is and their prod!ct is #
Problem
In triangle and Point is on &ith Point
is on s!ch that Eiven that &here and are relativel" prime
positive integers' find
%ol!tion
2" the 3a& of %ines and since ' &e have
%!bstit!ting o!r 0no&ns' &e
have # +he ans&er is #
Problem
3et and denote the circles
and respectivel"# 3et be the smallest positive val!e of for
&hich the line contains the center of a circle that is e)ternall" tangent to and internall"
tangent to Eiven that &here and are relativel" prime integers' find
%ol!tion
:e&rite the given e!ations as and #
3et have center and radi!s # @o&' if t&o circles &ith radii and are e)ternall" tangent'
then the distance bet&een their centers is ' and if the" are internall" tangent' it is #
%o &e have
%olving for in both e!ations and setting them e!al' then simplif"ing' "ields
%!aring again and canceling "ields
%o the loc!s of points that can be the center of the circle &ith the desired properties is an ellipse#
%ince the center lies on the line ' &e s!bstit!te for and e)pand/
-e &ant the val!e of that ma0es the line tangent to the ellipse' &hich &ill mean that for
that choice of there is onl" one sol!tion to the most recent e!ation# 2!t a !adratic has one
sol!tion iff its discriminant is ' so #
%olving "ields ' so the ans&er is #
2006 1
Problem
In !adrilateral ' is a right angle' diagonal is perpendic!lar to '
' ' and # $ind the perimeter of #
%ol!tion
$rom the problem statement' &e constr!ct the follo&ing diagram/
Fsing the P"thagorean +heorem/
%!bstit!ting for /
Pl!gging in the given information/
%o the perimeter is ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
3et set be a 9A-element s!bset of and let be the s!m of the elements of
$ind the n!mber of possible val!es of
%ol!tion
+he smallest is # +he largest
is # All n!mbers bet&een and are possible
val!es of %' so the n!mber of possible val!es of % is #
Alternativel"' for ease of calc!lation' let set be a 1A-element s!bset of ' and
let be the s!m of the elements of # @ote that the n!mber of possible is the n!mber of
possible # +he smallest possible is and the largest
is ' so the n!mber of possible val!es of +' and therefore %'
is #
Problem
$ind the least positive integer s!ch that &hen its leftmost digit is deleted' the res!lting integer is of
the original integer#
%ol!tion
%!ppose the original n!mber is &here the are digits and the first
digit' is non4ero# +hen the n!mber &e create is so 2!t
is &ith the digit added to the left' so +h!s'
+he right-hand side of this e!ation is divisible b" seven' so the left-hand side
m!st also be divisible b" seven# +he n!mber is never divisible b" so m!st be divisible b"
2!t is a non4ero digit' so the onl" possibilit" is +his gives or
@o&' &e &ant to minimi4e both and so &e ta0e and +hen
and indeed'
Problem
3et be the n!mber of consec!tive 8s at the right end of the decimal representation of the
prod!ct $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
A n!mber in decimal notation ends in a 4ero for each po&er of ten &hich divides it# +h!s' &e need to
co!nt both the n!mber of 7s and the n!mber of ,s dividing into o!r given e)pression# %ince there are
clearl" more ,s than 7s' it is s!fficient to co!nt the n!mber of 7s#
Hne &a" to do this is as follo&s/ of the n!mbers have a factor of # have a
factor of # have a factor of # And so on# +his gives !s an initial co!nt
of # %!mming this arithmetic series of terms' &e get # Do&ever' &e
have neglected some po&ers of - ever" term for has an additional po&er of dividing it'
for e)traB ever" nG for has one more in addition to that' for a total of e)traB and
similarl" there are e)tra from those larger than and e)tra from # +h!s' o!r final total
is ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
+he n!mber can be &ritten as
&here and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
-e begin b" e!ating the t&o e)pressions/
%!aring both sides "ields/
%ince ' ' and are integers' &e can match coefficients/
%olving the first three e!ations gives/
M!ltipl"ing these e!ations gives #
%ol!tion ,
-e reali4e that the !antit" !nder the largest radical is a perfect s!are and attempt to re&rite the
radicand as a s!are# %tart b" setting ' ' and # %ince
&e attempt to re&rite the radicand in this form/
$actoring' &e see that ' ' and # %etting ' '
and ' &e see that
so o!r n!mbers chec0# +h!s #
%!are rooting gives !s and o!r ans&er is
Problem
3et be the set of real n!mbers that can be represented as repeating decimals of the form
&here are distinct digits# $ind the s!m of the elements of
%ol!tion
@!mbers of the form can be &ritten as # +here are s!ch n!mbers# Each
digit &ill appear in each place val!e times' and the s!m of the digits' A thro!gh 9' is 57# %o
the s!m of all the n!mbers is #
Alternativel"' for ever" n!mber' ' there &ill be e)actl" one other n!mber' s!ch that &hen the"
are added together' the s!m is ' or' more precisel"' 1# As an
e)ample' #
+h!s' the sol!tion can be determined b" dividing the total n!mber of perm!tations b" ,# +he ans&er
is #
Problem
An angle is dra&n on a set of e!all" spaced parallel lines as sho&n# +he ratio of the area of
shaded region to the area of shaded region is 11/7# $ind the ratio of shaded region to the area
of shaded region
%ol!tion
@ote that the ape) of the angle is not on the parallel lines# %et !p a coordinate proof#
3et the set of parallel lines be perpendic!lar to the )-a)is' s!ch that the" cross it at # +he
base of region is on the line # +he bigger base of region is on the line # 3et the top
side of the angle be and the bottom side be )-a)is' as dividing the angle doesn8t change
the problem#
%ince the area of the triangle is e!al to '
%olve this to find that #
Fsing the same reasoning as above' &e get ' &hich is #
Problem
De)agon is divided into five rhomb!ses' and as sho&n#
:homb!ses and are congr!ent' and each has area 3et be the area of
rhomb!s # Eiven that is a positive integer' find the n!mber of possible val!es for #
%ol!tion
3et denote the common side length of the rhombi# 3et denote one of the smaller interior angles of
rhomb!s # +hen # -e also see
that # +h!s can be an"
positive integer in the interval #
and ' so can be an" integer bet&een 1 and 89' incl!sive#
+h!s the n!mber of positive val!es for is #
Problem
+he se!ence is geometric &ith and common ratio &here and are positive
integers# Eiven that find the n!mber of possible
ordered pairs
%ol!tion
%o o!r !estion is e!ivalent to solving for positive
integers# so #
+he prod!ct of and is a po&er of ,# %ince both n!mbers have to be integers' this means that
and are themselves po&ers of ,# @o&' let and /
$or to be an integer' the n!merator m!st be divisible b" # +his occ!rs &hen
beca!se # 2eca!se onl" even integers are being s!btracted from ' the n!merator
never e!als an even m!ltiple of # +herefore' the n!merator ta0es on the val!e of
ever" odd m!ltiple of from to # %ince the odd m!ltiples are separated b" a distance of '
the n!mber of ordered pairs that &or0 is # (-e m!st add 1
beca!se both endpoints are being incl!ded#* %o the ans&er is #
Another &a" is to &rite
%ince ' the ans&er is 6!st the n!mber of odd integers in ' &hich is #
Problem
Eight circles of diameter 1 are pac0ed in the first !adrant of the coordinate plane as sho&n# 3et
region be the !nion of the eight circ!lar regions# 3ine &ith slope 1' divides into t&o regions of
e!al area# 3ine 8s e!ation can be e)pressed in the form &here and are
positive integers &hosegreatest common divisor is 1# $ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he line passing thro!gh the tangenc" point of the bottom left circle and the one to its right and
thro!gh the tangenc" of the top circle in the middle col!mn and the one beneath it is the line &e are
loo0ing for/ a line passing thro!gh the tangenc" of t&o circles c!ts congr!ent areas' so o!r line c!ts
thro!gh the fo!r aforementioned circles splitting into congr!ent areas' and there are an additional t&o
circles on each side# +he line passes thro!gh and ' &hich can be easil" solved to
be # +h!s' #
Solution 2
Ass!me that if !nit s!ares are dra&n circ!mscribing the circles' then the line &ill divide the area of
the concave he)agonal region of the s!ares e!all" (as of "et' there is no s!bstantiation that s!ch
&o!ld &or0' and definitel" &ill not &or0 in general*# ?enote the intersection of the line and the )-
a)is as #
+he line divides the region into , sections# +he left piece is a trape4oid' &ith its
area # +he right piece is the addition of atrape4oid and a rectangle'
and the areas are and ' totaling # %ince &e &ant the
t&o regions to be e!al' &e find that ' so #
-e have that is a point on the line of slope 1' so #
H!r ans&er is #
-e no& assess the validit" of o!r starting ass!mption# -e can do that b" seeing that o!r ans&er
passes thro!gh the tangenc" of the t&o circles' c!tting congr!ent areas' a res!lt e)plored in sol!tion
1#
Problem
A collection of 8 c!bes consists of one c!be &ith edge-length for each integer A
to&er is to be b!ilt !sing all 8 c!bes according to the r!les/
An" c!be ma" be the bottom c!be in the to&er#
+he c!be immediatel" on top of a c!be &ith edge-length m!st have edge-length at most
3et be the n!mber of different to&ers than can be constr!cted# -hat is the remainder &hen is
divided b" 1AAA.
%ol!tion
-e proceed rec!rsivel"# %!ppose &e can b!ild to&ers !sing bloc0s of si4e # Do& man"
to&ers can &e b!ild !sing bloc0s of si4e . If &e remove the bloc0 of si4e
from s!ch a to&er (0eeping all other bloc0s in order*' &e get a valid to&er !sing bloc0s #
Eiven a to&er !sing bloc0s (&ith *' &e can insert the bloc0 of si4e in
e)actl" 1 places/ at the beginning' immediatel" follo&ing the bloc0 of si4e or immediatel"
follo&ing the bloc0 of si4e # +h!s' there are 1 times as man" to&ers !sing bloc0s of
si4e as there are to&ers !sing onl" # +here are , to&ers &hich !se
bloc0s ' so there are to&ers !sing bloc0s ' so the ans&er is #
(@ote that &e cannot sa"' "there is one to&er !sing the bloc0 ' so there are to&ers !sing the
bloc0s #" +he reason this fails is that o!r rec!rsion onl" &or0ed &hen /
&hen ' there are onl" , places to insert a bloc0 of si4e ' at the beginning or at the
end' rather than the 1 places &e have at later stages# Also' note that this method generali4es directl"
to see0ing the n!mber of to&ers &here &e change the second r!le to read' "+he c!be immediatel" on
top of a c!be &ith edge-length m!st have edge-length at most '" &here can be an" fi)ed
integer#*
Problem
$ind the s!m of the val!es of s!ch that ' &here is
meas!red in degrees and
%ol!tion
Hbserve that b" the s!m-to-prod!ct form!las#
?efining and ' &e have #
2!t ' so &e re!ire ' ' ' or #
Dence the sol!tion set is and th!s #
Problem
$or each even positive integer ' let denote the greatest po&er of , that divides $or
e)ample' and $or each positive integer let $ind the
greatest integer less than 1AAA s!ch that is a perfect s!are#
%ol!tion
Eiven ' consider # ?efine # +here
are elements of that are divisible b" ' elements of that are divisible b"
b!t not b" and elements of that are divisible b" b!t not b" #
+h!s
' so &e need for # @o& notice &e also re!ire ' so if also
(b!t *' then ' so &e have #
If ' then ' so &e have #
$inall"' co!ld possibl" be or ,79# +he ma)im!m possible is
th!s #
Alternate %ol!tion
$irst note that if is odd and if is even#
so m!st be
odd so this red!ces to
+h!s $!rther noting that &e can see
that &hich is
the same as above# +o simplif" the process of finding the largest s!are &e can note that if
is odd then m!st be e)actl" divisible b" an odd po&er of # Do&ever' this means is even
b!t it cannot be# +h!s is even and is a large even s!are# +he largest even
s!are is so
Problem
A tripod has three 3EE% each of length feet# -hen the tripod is set !p' the angle bet&een an" pair
of 3EE% is e!al to the angle bet&een an" other pair' and the top of the tripod is feet from the
gro!nd# In setting !p the tripod' the lo&er 1 foot of one leg brea0s off# 3et be the height in feet of
the top of the tripod from the gro!nd &hen the bro0en tripod is set !p# +hen can be &ritten in the
form &here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime#
$ind (+he notation denotes the greatest integer that is less than or e!al to *
%ol!tion
-e &ill !se to denote vol!me (fo!r letters*' area (three letters* or length (t&o letters*#
3et be the top of the tripod' are end points of three 3EE% # 3et be the point on
s!ch that and # 3et be the center of the base e!ilateral triangle # 3et
be the midpoint of segment # 3et be the distance from to the triangle ( is &hat &e
&ant to find*#
-e have the vol!me ratio #
%o #
-e also have the area ratio #
+he triangle is a right triangle so and #
Appl"ing 3a& of Cosines to the triangle &ith ' and ' &e
find/
P!tting it all together' &e find #
#
Problem
Eiven that a se!ence satisfies and for all integers find the
minim!m possible val!e of
%ol!tion
Solution 1
%!ppose # -e have %o
@o& +herefore
%o
Solution 2
$irst' &e state that iff ' and iff ' # @o&
s!ppose for some # @o&' this means that ' and so the n!mber
of positive n!mbers in the set e!als the n!mber of negative n!mbers# @o&
pair the n!mbers in this list !p in the follo&ing &a"/ -henever a positive and a negative n!mber are
ad6acent in this progression' pair them !p and remove them from this list# -e claim that ever" pair
&ill s!m to -1#
If the positive n!mber comes first' then the negative n!mber &ill have a magnit!de three greater' so
this is tr!e# If the negative n!mber comes first' then the positive n!mber &ill have magnit!de three
smaller' and this &ill also be tr!e# @o& let !s e)amine &hat happens &hen &e remove those t&o from
the se!ence# -3HE' let the n!mbers be and # %ince one is positive and the other is
negative' # %o the ne& se!ence &or0s
!nder the same criteria as the old one# In this &a"' &e can pair all of the n!mbers !p in this
s!bse!ence so the s!ms of the pairs are -1# +h!s' the average of these n!mbers &ill be -1/, for all
s!bse!ences that start and end &ith the same n!mber (not incl!ding one of those*#
@o&' ta0e all of the repeating s!bse!ences o!t of the original se!ence# +he onl" thing that &ill be
left &ill be a se!ence for some even # %ince &e started &ith ,AA9 terms' &e
removed (an even n!mber* &ith an average of -1/,# +h!s' the s!m of both this remaining
se!ence and the removed st!ff
is # +his
m!st be minimi4ed' so &e find the roots/
and # Pl!gging in "ields
(and "ields ' a &orse res!lt*# +h!s' is the closest to 4ero this s!m can get#
Solution 3
-e 0no& # -e get rid of the absol!te val!e b" s!aring both
sides/ # %o &e set this !p/
+here are e!ations# %!m them# -e get/
%o
-e 0no& and &e &ant to minimi4e ' so m!st be for it to
be minimal ( &hich is closest to *#
+his means that
2006 2
Problem
In conve) he)agon ' all si) sides are congr!ent' and are right angles'
and and are congr!ent# +he area of the he)agonal region is
$ind #
%ol!tion
3et the side length be called ' so #
+he diagonal # +hen the areas of the triangles A$2
and C?E in total are ' and the area of the rectangle 2CE$ e!als
+hen &e have to solve the e!ation
#
+herefore' is #
Problem
+he lengths of the sides of a triangle &ith positive area are ' ' and ' &here
is a positive integer# $ind the n!mber of possible val!es for #
%ol!tion
2" the +riangle Ine!alit"/
Also/
Combining these t&o ine!alities/
+he n!mber of possible integer val!es for is the n!mber of integers over the interval '
&hich is #
Problem
3et be the prod!ct of the first positive odd integers# $ind the largest integer s!ch that is
divisible b"
%ol!tion
@ote that the prod!ct of the first positive odd integers can be &ritten
as
Dence' &e see0 the n!mber of threes in decreased b" the n!mber of threes in
+here are
threes in and
threes in
+herefore' &e have a total of threes#
$or more information' see also prime factori4ations of a factorial#
%ol!tion +&o
-e co!nt the m!ltiples of belo& ,AA and s!btract the co!nt of m!ltiples of /
Problem
3et be a perm!tation of for &hich
An e)ample of s!ch a perm!tation is $ind the n!mber of s!ch
perm!tations#
%ol!tion
Clearl"' # @o&' consider selecting of the remaining val!es# %ort these val!es in descending
order' and sort the other val!es in ascending order# @o&' let the selected val!es be thro!gh '
and let the remaining be thro!gh # It is no& clear that there is a bi6ection bet&een the
n!mber of &a"s to select val!es from and ordered 1,-t!ples # +h!s' there &ill
be s!ch ordered 1,-t!ples#
Problem
-hen rolling a certain !nfair si)-sided die &ith faces n!mbered 1' ,' 1' 5' 7' and 9' the probabilit" of
obtaining face is greater than ' the probabilit" of obtaining the face opposite is less than '
the probabilit" of obtaining an" one of the other fo!r faces is ' and the s!m of the n!mbers on
opposite faces is 7# -hen t&o s!ch dice are rolled' the probabilit" of obtaining a s!m of 7 is #
Eiven that the probabilit" of obtaining face is &here and arerelativel" prime positive
integers' find
%ol!tion 1
-itho!t loss of generalit"' ass!me that face has a 9' so the opposite face has a 1# 3et be the
probabilit" of rolling a n!mber on one die and let be the probabilit" of rolling a n!mber on
the other die# 7 can be obtained b" rolling a , and 7' 7 and ,' 1 and 5' or 5 and 1# Each has a
probabilit" of ' totaling # %!btracting all these probabilities from
leaves chance of getting a 1 on die and a 9 on die or a 9 on die and a 1 on die /
%ince the t&o dice are identical' and so
Also' &e 0no& that and that the total probabilit" m!st be ' so/
Combining the e!ations/
-e 0no& that ' so it can8t
be # +herefore' the probabilit" is and the ans&er is #
@ote also that the initial ass!mption that face &as the face labelled 9 is !nnecessar" -- &e &o!ld
have carried o!t e)actl" the same steps and fo!nd e)actl" the same probabilit" no matter &hich face
it &as# -e co!ld have labelled as ' for e)ample' and replaced the others &ith variables too' b!t
the notation &o!ld have been harder to follo&#
%ol!tion ,
&e have that the c!be probabilities to land on its faces are ' ' ' ' ' &e also 0no&
that the s!m co!ld be 7 onl" &hen the faces in each of the t&o tosses are opposite hence the
probabilit" to get a 7 is/ m!ltipl"ing b" ,88 &e get/
dividing b" 19 and rearranging &e get/
so the probabilit" $ &hich is greater than is
e!al
Problem
%!are has sides of length 1# Points and are on and respectivel"' so
that is e!ilateral# A s!are &ith verte) has sides that are parallel to those of
and a verte) on +he length of a side of this smaller s!are is &here and are
positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind
%ol!tion 1
Call the vertices of the ne& s!are A8' 28' C8' and ?8' in relation to the
vertices of ' and define to be one of the sides of that s!are# %ince the sides are parallel'
b" corresponding angles and AA] &e 0no& that triangles and are similar# +h!s' the
sides are proportional/ # %implif"ing' &e get
that #
is degrees' so #
+h!s' '
so # %ince
is e!ilateral' # is a ' so #
%!bstit!ting bac0 into the e!ation from the beginning' &e get '
so # +herefore' '
and #
Dere8s an alternative geometric &a" to calc!late (as opposed to trigonometric*/ +he diagonal
is made of the altit!de of the e!ilateral triangle and the altit!de of the # +he former
is ' and the latter is B th!s # +he
sol!tion contin!es as above#
%ol!tion ,
%ince is e!ilateral' # It follo&s that # 3et #
+hen' and #
#
%!are both sides and combine/move terms to get # +herefore
and # +he second sol!tion is obvio!sl" e)traneo!s' so #
@o&' consider the s!are A2C? to be on the Cartesian Coordinate Plane &ith # +hen' the
line containing has slope and e!ation #
+he distance from to is the distance from to #
%imilarl"' the distance from to is the distance from to #
$or some val!e ' these t&o distances are e!al#
%olving for s' ' and #
Problem
$ind the n!mber of ordered pairs of positive integers s!ch that and neither
nor has a 4ero digit#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+here are n!mbers !p to 1AAA that have A as their !nits digit# All of the other e)cl!ded
possibilities are &hen or have a A in the tens digit' and since the e!ation is s"mmetric' &e &ill
6!st co!nt &hen has a A in the tens digit and m!ltipl" b" , (notice that the onl" time both and
can have a A in the tens digit is &hen the" are divisible b" 1AA' &hich falls into the above categor"' so
&e do not have to &orr" abo!t overco!nting*#
E)cl!ding the n!mbers divisible b" 1AA' &hich &ere co!nted alread"' there are n!mbers in ever"
h!ndred n!mbers that have a tens digit of A (this is tr!e from 1AA to 9AA*' totaling s!ch
n!mbersB considering also and &e have # +herefore' there
are s!ch ordered pairs#
Solution 2
3et and be 1 digit n!mbers/
cde
+fgh
----
1000
and m!st add !p to ' and m!st add !p to ' and and m!st add !p to # %ince none of
the digits can be A' there are possibilites if both n!mbers are three digits#
+here are t&o other scenarios# and can be a three digit n!mber and a t&o digit n!mber' or a three
digit n!mber and a one digit n!mber# $or the first scenario' there are possibilities
(the t&o acco!nting for &hether or has three digits* and for the second case there
are possibilities# +h!s' th!s total possibilities for is #
Solution 3
-e first m!st notice that &e can find all the possible val!es of bet&een and and then do!ble
that res!lt#
-hen T T there are < ; possible sol!tion for a so that neither a nor b has a 4ero in it'
co!nting thro!gh ' thro!gh ### thro!gh # -hen T T there are < ;
possible sol!tion for a so that neither a nor b has a 4ero in it' co!nting thro!gh '
thro!gh ### thro!gh # +his can clearl" be e)tended to T T &here is
an integer and T T # +h!s for T a T there are < ; possible val!es of #
+h!s &hen T T there are R ; possible val!es of and #
?o!bling this "ields < ; #
Problem
+here is an !nlimited s!ppl" of congr!ent e!ilateral triangles made of colored paper# Each triangle is
a solid color &ith the same color on both sides of the paper# A large e!ilateral triangle is constr!cted
from fo!r of these paper triangles# +&o large triangles are considered disting!ishable if it is not
possible to place one on the other' !sing translations' rotations' and/or reflections' so that their
corresponding small triangles are of the same color#
Eiven that there are si) different colors of triangles from &hich to choose' ho& man" disting!ishable
large e!ilateral triangles ma" be formed.
%ol!tion
If t&o of o!r big e!ilateral triangles have the same color for their center triangle and the
same m!ltiset of colors for their o!ter three triangles' &e can carr" one onto the other b" a
combination of rotation and reflection# +h!s' to ma0e t&o triangles distinct' the" m!st differ either in
their center triangle or in the collection of colors &hich ma0e !p their o!ter three triangles#
+here are 9 possible colors for the center triangle#
+here are possible choices for the three o!ter triangles' if all three have different colors#
+here are (or * possible choices for the three o!ter triangles' if t&o are one color and
the third is a different color#
+here are possible choices for the three o!ter triangles' if all three are the same color#
+h!s' in total &e have total possibilities#
Problem
Circles and have their centers at (A'A*' (1,'A*' and (,5'A*' and have radii 1' ,' and 5'
respectivel"# 3ine is a common internal tangent to and and has a positive slope' and line is
a common internal tangent to and and has a negative slope# Eiven that lines and intersect
at and that &here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the
s!are of an" prime' find
%ol!tion
Call the centers ' the points of tangenc" (&ith on and on ' and
on *' and the intersection of each common internal tangent to the ) a)is
# since both triangles have a right angle and have vertical angles' and the
same goes for # 2"proportionalit"' &e find that B solving b"
the P"thagorean theorem "ields # Hn ' &e can do the same thing to get
and #
+he vertical altit!de of each of and can each b" fo!nd b" the
form!la (as both prod!cts e!al t&ice of the area of the triangle*# +h!s' the respective
heights are and # +he hori4ontal distance from each altit!de to the intersection of the
tangent &ith the )-a)is can also be determined b" the P"thagorean theorem/ ' and
b" 1A-9A-9A/ #
$rom this information' the slope of each tangent can be !ncovered# +he slope
of # +he slope of #
+he e!ation of can be fo!nd b" s!bstit!ting the point into '
so # +he e!ation of ' fo!nd b" s!bstit!ting point ' is #
P!tting these t&o e!ations together res!lts in the desired
#
+h!s' #
Problem
%even teams pla" a soccer to!rnament in &hich each team pla"s ever" other team e)actl" once# @o
ties occ!r' each team has a chance of &inning each game it pla"s' and the o!tcomes of the
games are independent# In each game' the &inner is a&arded a point and the loser gets A points# +he
total points are acc!milated to decide the ran0s of the teams# In the first game of the to!rnament'
team beats team +he probabilit" that team finishes &ith more points than team is
&here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he res!lts of the five remaining games are independent of the first game' so b" s"mmetr"' the
probabilit" that scores higher than in these five games is e!al to the probabilit" that scores
higher than # -e let this probabilit" be B then the probabilit" that and end &ith the same
score in these give games is #
Hf these three cases ( *' the last is the easiest to calc!late (see
sol!tion , for a &a" to directl" calc!late the other cases*#
+here are &a"s to to have victories' and &a"s for to have victories# %!mming for
all val!es of '
+h!s # +he desired probabilit" is the s!m of the cases &hen '
so the ans&er is ' and #
Solution 2
=o! can brea0 this into cases based on ho& man" ro!nds &ins o!t of the remaining games#
If &ins A games' then m!st &in A games and the probabilit" of this is #
If &ins 1 games' then m!st &in 1 or less games and the probabilit" of this
is #
If &ins , games' then m!st &in , or less games and the probabilit" of this
is #
is #
is #
is #
%!mming these 9 cases' &e get ' &hich simplifies to ' so o!r ans&er is
#
Problem
A se!ence is defined as follo&s and' for all positive
integers Eiven that
and find the remainder &hen is divided b" 1AAA#
%ol!tion
?efine the s!m as # %ince ' the s!m &ill be/
+h!s ' and are both givenB the last fo!r digits of their s!m is ' and half
of that is # +herefore' the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
2r!te $orce# %ince the problem as0s for the ans&er of the end val!e &hen divided b" 1AAA' it &o!ldn8t
be that diffic!lt beca!se "o! onl" need to 0eep trac0 of the last 1 digits#
Problem
E!ilateral is inscribed in a circle of radi!s # E)tend thro!gh to point so
that and e)tend thro!gh to point so that +hro!gh dra& a line
parallel to and thro!gh dra& a line parallel to 3et be the intersection of and
3et be the point on the circle that is collinear &ith and and distinct from Eiven that the
area of can be e)pressed in the form &here and are positive integers' and
are relativel" prime' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime' find
%ol!tion
@otice that beca!se # Also'
beca!se the" both correspond to arc # %o #
2eca!se the ratio of the area of t&o similar fig!res is the s!are of the ratio of the corresponding
sides' #
Problem
Do& man" integers less than can be &ritten as the s!m of consec!tive positive odd
integers from e)actl" 7 val!es of .
%ol!tion
3et the first odd integer be ' # +hen the final odd integer
is # +he odd integers form an arithmetic se!ence &ith
s!m # +h!s' is a factor of #
%ince ' it follo&s that and #
%ince there are e)actl" val!es of that satisf" the e!ation' there m!st be either or factors
of # +his means or # Fnfort!natel"' &e cannot simpl" observe prime
factori4ations of beca!se the factor does not cover all integers for an" given val!e of #
Instead &e do some case&or0/
If is odd' then m!st also be odd# $or ever" odd val!e of ' is also odd' ma0ing this case
valid for all odd # 3oo0ing at the forms above and the bo!nd of ' m!st be
+hose give possibilities for odd #
If is even' then m!st also be even# %!bstit!ting ' &e get

@o& &e can 6!st loo0 at all the prime factori4ations since cover the integers for an" # @ote that
o!r !pper bo!nd is no& /
+hose give possibilities for even #
+he total n!mber of integers is #
Problem
3et be the s!m of the reciprocals of the non-4ero digits of the integers from to incl!sive# $ind
the smallest positive integer for &hich is an integer#
%ol!tion
3et # E)amining the terms in ' &e see that since each digit appears
once and 1 appears an e)tra time# @o& consider &riting o!t # Each term of &ill appear 1A times
in the !nits place and 1A times in the tens place (pl!s one e)tra 1 &ill appear*' so #
In general' &e &ill have that
beca!se each digit &ill appear times in each place in the n!mbers ' and
there are total places#
+he denominator of is # $or to be an integer' m!st be divisible
b" # %ince onl" contains the factors and (b!t &ill contain eno!gh of them &hen *'
&e m!st choose to be divisible b" # %ince &e8re loo0ing for the smallest s!ch ' the ans&er
is #
Problem
Eiven that and are real n!mbers that satisf"/
and that &here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are
of an" prime' find
%ol!tion
3et be a triangle &ith sides of length and ' and s!ppose this triangle is ac!te (so
all altit!des are on the interior of the triangle*# 3et the altit!de to the side of length be of length '
and similarl" for and # +hen &e have b" t&o applications of the P"thagorean
+heorem that # As a f!nction of ' the :D% of this e!ation is strictl"
decreasing' so it ta0es each val!e in its range e)actl" once# +h!s &e m!st have that and
so and similarl" and #
%ince the area of the triangle m!st be the same no matter ho& &e
meas!re' and so and
and # +he semiperimeter of the triangle is so b" Deron8s
form!la &e have # +h!s
and and the ans&er is #
X!stification that there is an ac!te triangle &ith sides of length and /
@ote that and are each the s!m of t&o positive s!are roots of real n!mbers' so #
(:ecall that' b" AIME convention' all n!mbers (incl!ding s!are roots* are ta0en to be real !nless
other&ise indicated#* Also' ' so &e have '
and # 2!t these conditions are e)actl" those of the triangle ine!alit"' so there does e)ist
s!ch a triangle#
2007 1
!!" #$%& $ 'roblems('roblem )
Problem
Do& man" positive perfect s!ares less than are m!ltiples of .
%ol!tion
+he prime factori4ation of is # +h!s' each s!are m!st have at least factors of
and factor of and its s!are root m!st have factors of and factor of # +his means
that each s!are is in the form ' &here is a positive integer less than # +here
are sol!tions#
Problem
A 1AA foot long moving &al0&a" moves at a constant rate of 9 feet per second# Al steps
onto the start of the &al0&a" and stands# 2ob steps onto the start of the &al0&a" t&o
seconds later and strolls for&ard along the &al0&a" at a constant rate of 5 feet per second#
+&o seconds after that' C" reaches the start of the &al0&a" and &al0s bris0l" for&ard
beside the &al0&a" at a constant rate of 8 feet per second# At a certain time' one of these
three persons is e)actl" half&a" bet&een the other t&o# At that time' find the distance in
feet bet&een the start of the &al0&a" and the middle person#
%ol!tion
Clearl" &e have people mo,in$ at speeds of and feet/second# @otice that o!t of the
three people' C" is at the largest disadvantage to begin &ith and since all speeds are close'
it is hardest for him to catch !p# $!rthermore' 2ob is clearl" the farthest along# +h!s it is
reasonable to ass!me that there is some point &hen Al is half&a" bet&een C" and 2ob# At
this time ' &e have that
After solving' # At this time' Al has traveled
feet#
-e co!ld easil" chec0 that Al is in the middle b" tr"ing all three possible
cases# "ields that ' &hich can be disregarded since both
2ob and C" hadn8t started "et# "ields that ' a
contradiction# +h!s' the ans&er is #
Problem
+he comple) n!mber is e!al to ' &here is a positive real n!mber and #
Eiven that the imaginar" parts of and are the same' &hat is e!al to.
%ol!tion
%!aring' &e find that # C!bing and ignoring the real parts of the
res!lt' &e find that #
%etting these t&o e!al' &e get that ' so
and # %ince ' the sol!tion is #
Problem
+hree planets orbit a star circ!larl" in the same plane# Each moves in the same direction
and moves at constant speed# +heir periods are 9A' 85' and 15A# +he three planets and the
star are c!rrentl" collinear# -hat is the fe&est n!mber of "ears from no& that the" &ill all
be collinear again.
%ol!tion
?enote the planets respectivel"# 3et denote the angle &hich each of
the respective planets ma0es &ith its initial position after "ears# +hese are given
b" ' ' #
In order for the planets and the central star to be collinear' ' ' and m!st differ b"
a m!ltiple of # @ote that and ' so #
+hese are sim!ltaneo!sl" m!ltiples of e)actl" &hen is a m!ltiple of ' so the planets
and the star &ill ne)t be collinear in "ears#
Problem
+he form!la for converting a $ahrenheit temperat!re to the corresponding Celsi!s
temperat!re is An integer $ahrenheit temperat!re is converted to
Celsi!s' ro!nded to the nearest integer' converted bac0 to $ahrenheit' and again ro!nded to
the nearest integer#
$or ho& man" integer $ahrenheit temperat!res bet&een 1, and 1AAA incl!sive does the
original temperat!re e!al the final temperat!re.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
E)amine mod!lo 9#
If ' then &e can define # +his sho&s
that # +his
case &or0s#
If ' then &e can define # +his sho&s
that
# %o this case doesn8t &or0#
Eenerali4ing this' &e define that #
+h!s' #
-e need to find all val!es that # +esting ever" val!e of sho&s
that ' so of ever" val!es of &or0#
+here are c"cles of ' giving n!mbers that &or0# Hf the
remaining n!mbers from on&ards' &or0' giving
!s as the sol!tion#
Solution 2
@otice that holds if for some # +h!s' after translating
from &e &ant co!nt ho& man" val!es of there are s!ch that is an
integer from to # +his val!e is comp!ted as ' adding in the e)tra sol!tion
corresponding to #
Solution 3
3et be a degree Celci!s' and ro!nded to the nearest
integer# so it m!st ro!nd to
beca!se # +herefore there is one sol!tion per degree celci!s in the range from
to ' meaning there are sol!tions#
Problem
A frog is placed at the origin on the n!mber line' and moves according to the follo&ing r!le/
in a given move' the frog advances to either the closest point &ith a
greater integer coordinate that is a m!ltiple of 1' or to the closest point &ith a greater
integer coordinate that is a m!ltiple of 11# A mo,e se+!ence is a se!ence of coordinates
&hich correspond to valid moves' beginning &ith A' and ending &ith 19# $or
e)ample' is a move se!ence# Do& man" move se!ences are
possible for the frog.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et !s 0eep a caref!l tree of the possible n!mber of paths aro!nd ever" m!ltiple of #
$rom ' &e can end at either (m!lt# of 1* or (m!lt# of 11*#
Hnl" path leads to
Contin!ing from ' there is &a" to contin!e to
+here are &a"s to reach #
Contin!ing from ' there are &a"s to get to
+here are &a"s (the first 1 to ma0e it incl!sive' the
second to also 6!mp from * to get to #
:egro!ping' &or0 from
+here are &a"s to get to
Contin!ing from ' there are &a"s to contin!e to #
Contin!ing from ' there are (note that the 1 is not to
incl!sive' b!t to co!nt *#
In total' &e get #
In s!mmar"' &e can dra& the follo&ing tree' &here in ' represents the c!rrent
position on the n!mber line' and represents the n!mber of paths to get there/

Again' this totals #
Solution 2
-e divide it into 1 stages# +he first occ!rs before the frog moves past 11# +he second
occ!rs before it moves past ,9' and the last is ever"thing else#
$or the first stage the possible paths are ' ' '
' ' and # +hat is a total of 9#
$or the second stage the possible paths are ' ' '
' ' and # +hat is a total of 9#
$or the third stage the possible paths are ' ' ' '
and # +hat is a total of 7#
Do&ever' &e cannot 6!mp from (this eliminates 7 paths* or (this
eliminates 9 paths*' so &e m!st s!btract #
+he ans&er is
Problem
3et
$ind the remainder &hen is divided b" 1AAA# ( is the greatest integer less than or
e!al to ' and is the least integer greater than or e!al to #*
%ol!tion
+he ceiling of a n!mber min!s the floor of a n!mber is either e!al to 4ero (if the n!mber is
an integer*B other&ise' it is e!al to 1# +h!s' &e need to find &hen or not is an
integer#
+he change of base form!la sho&s that # $or the term to cancel
o!t' is a po&er of # +h!s' is e!al to the s!m of all the n!mbers from 1 to 1AAA'
e)cl!ding all po&ers of , from to #
+he form!la for the s!m of an arithmetic se!ence and the s!m of a geometric
se!ence "ields that o!r ans&er
is #
%implif"ing' &e
get +he
ans&er is
Problem
+he pol"nomial is c!bic# -hat is the largest val!e of for &hich the
pol"nomials and are
both factors of .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-e can see that and m!st have a root in common for them to both be factors of the
same c!bic#
3et this root be #
-e then 0no& that is a root
of '
so #
-e then 0no& that is a root of so &e
get/
or ' so is the highest#
-e can triviall" chec0 into the original e!ations to find that prod!ces a root in
common' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
Again' let the common root be B let the other t&o roots be and # -e can &rite
that and
that #
+herefore' &e can &rite fo!r e!ations (and &e have fo!r variables*'
' ' ' and #
+he first t&o e!ations sho& that # +he last t&o e!ations sho&
that # %olving these sho& that and that # %!bstit!ting bac0 into the
e!ations' &e event!all" find that #
Problem
In right triangle &ith right angle ' and # Its legs and
are e)tended be"ond and # Points and lie in the e)terior of the triangle and are
the centers of t&o circles &ith e!al radii# +he circle &ith center is tangent to
the h"poten!se and to the e)tension of leg ' the circle &ith center is tangent to the
h"poten!se and to the e)tension of leg ' and the circles are e)ternall" tangent to each
other# +he length of the radi!s either circle can be e)pressed as ' &here and
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3abel the points as in the diagram above# If &e dra& and ' &e form t&o right
triangles# As and are both tangents to the circle' &e see that is an angle
bisector# +h!s' # Call and # -e 0no&
that #
If &e call ' then # Appl" the tangent half-angle form!la (
*# -e see that
# Also' # +h!s' ' and #
%imilarl"' &e find that #
+herefore' ' and #
Solution 2
Fse a similar sol!tion to the aforementioned sol!tion# Instead' call ' and then
proceed b" simplif"ing thro!gh identities# -e see that
# In terms of ' &e find that # %imilarl"' &e find that #
%!bstit!ting' &e find that # Fnder a common
denominator' # +rigonometric
identities simplif" this to # $rom here'
it is possible to simplif"/
H!r ans&er is ' and #
Solution 3
3et the point &here C28s e)tension hits the circle be E' and the point &here the h"poten!se
hits that circle be E# Clearl" # 3et # ?ra& the t&o perpendic!lar radii to E
and E# @o& &e have a c"clic !adrilateral# 3et the radi!s be length # -e see that since the
cosine of angle A2C is the cosine of angle E2E is # %ince the meas!re of the angle
opposite to E2E is the complement of this one' its cosine is # Fsing the la& of cosines' &e
see that +his tells !s that #
@o& loo0 at the other end of the h"poten!se# Call the point &here CA hits the circle $ and
the point &here the h"poten!se hits the circle ?# ?ra& the radii to $ and ? and &e have
c"clic !adrilaterals once more# Fsing the la& of cosines again' &e find that the length of
o!r tangents is # @ote that if &e connect the centers of the circles &e have a rectangle
&ith sidelengths 8) and 5)# %o' # %olving &e find that so o!r
ans&er is 717#
Solution 4
2" P"thagoras' # 3et be the -e)center of triangle # +hen the -
e)radi!s is given b" #
+he circle &ith center is tangent to both and ' &hich means that lies on the
e)ternal angle bisector of # +herefore' lies on # %imilarl"' lies on #
3et be the common radi!s of the circles &ith centers and # +he distances from
points and to are both ' so is parallel to ' &hich means that
triangles and are similar#
+he distance from to is ' so the distance from to is #
+herefore'
#
Dence' the final ans&er is #
Solution &
%tart &ith a scaled 19-1A-15 triangle# Inscribe a circle# +he height' and radi!s' are
fo!nd via &here is theperimeter#
C!t the fig!re thro!gh the circle and perpendic!lar to the h"poten!se# %lide the t&o pieces
in opposite directions along the h"poten!se !ntil the" are one diameter of the circle apart#
Complete the t&o partial circles#
+he linear dimensions of the ne& triangle are times the si4e of the original# +he
problem8s 19-1A-15 triangle sits above the circles# E!ate heights and solve for /
+he ans&er is #
Solution -
Fsing homothec" in the diagram above' as &ell as the a!)iliar" triangle' leads to the
sol!tion#
Solution 1
A different approach is to plot the triangle on the Cartesian Plane &ith at '
at ' and at # -e &ish to find the coordinates of and in terms of the
radi!s' &hich &ill be e)pressed as in the rest of this sol!tion# -hen &e 0no& the
coordinates' &e &ill set the distance bet&een the , points e!al to # All points !nits
a&a" from are on the line &ith slope ' and "-intercept
&ill have )-coordinate and li0e&ise &ill have "-coordinate pl!gging this into the
e!ation for the line mentioned in the sentence above gives !s/
and
2" the distance form!la and the fact that the circles and tangent' &e
have/
&hich simplifies into the !adratic e!ation/
And b" the !adratic e!ation' the sol!tions are/ +he sol!tion incl!ding
the " " is e)traneo!s so &e have the radi!s e!al to
-hich simplifies to # +he s!m of the n!merator and the denominator is
Solution : (si%ple algebra)
It is 0no&n that is parallel to A2# +h!s' e)tending and to intersect at D
"ields similar triangles and 2AC' so that ' '
and # It sho!ld be noted that # Also' $DEC is a rectangle' and so A$
; and similarl" for 2E# 2eca!se tangents to a circle are e!al' the h"poten!se can
be e)pressed in terms of r/ +h!s' r ; ' and the ans&er
is
Problem
In a 9 ) 5 grid (9 ro&s' 5 col!mns*' 1, of the ,5 s!ares are to be shaded so that there are
t&o shaded s!ares in each ro& and three shaded s!ares in each col!mn# 3et be the
n!mber of shadings &ith this propert"# $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" 1AAA#

%ol!tion
Solution 1
Consider the first col!mn# +here are &a"s that the balls co!ld be chosen' b!t
-3HE let them be the first three ro&s# (Change the order of the ro&s to ma0e this tr!e#*
-e &ill m!ltipl" &hatever ans&er &e get b" ,A to get o!r final ans&er#
@o& consider the 1)1 that is ne)t to the 1 bo)es &e have filled in# -e m!st p!t one ball in
each ro& (since there m!st be , balls in each ro& and &e8ve alread" p!t one in each*# -e
split into three cases/
All three balls are in the same col!mn# In this case' there are 1 choices for &hich col!mn that
is# $rom here' the bottom half of the board is fi)ed#
+&o balls are in one col!mn' and one is in the other# In this case' there are 1 &a"s to choose
&hich col!mn gets , balls and , &a"s to choose &hich one gets the other ball# +hen' there are
1 &a"s to choose &hich ro& the lone ball is in# @o&' &hat happens in the bottom half of the
board. -ell' the 1 bo)es in the col!mn &ith no balls in the top half m!st all be filled in' so
there are no choices here# In the col!mn &ith t&o balls alread"' &e can choose an" of the 1
bo)es for the third ball# +his forces the location for the last t&o balls# %o &e
have #
All three balls are in different col!mns# +hen there are 1 &a"s to choose &hich ro& the ball in
col!mn , goes and , &a"s to choose &here the ball in col!mn 1 goes# (+he location of the ball
in col!mn 5 is forced#* Again' &e thin0 abo!t &hat happens in the bottom half of the board#
+here are , balls in each ro& and col!mn no&' so in the 1)1 &here &e still have choices' each
ro& and col!mn has one s!are that is not filled in# 2!t there are 9 &a"s to do this# %o in all
there are 19 &a"s#
%o there are different shadings' and the sol!tion is #
Solution 2
+here are to choose the arrangement of the shaded s!ares in each col!mn# E)amine
the positioning of the shaded s!ares in the first t&o col!mns/
Hne e)ample of each case for the first t&o col!mns
If col!mn 1 and col!mn , do not share an" t&o filled s!ares on the same ro&' then there
are combinations for col!mn 1' and then col!mn , is fi)ed# @o&' an" ro& cannot have
more than , shaded s!ares' so after &e pic0 three more s!ares in the third col!mn' the
fo!rth col!mn is also fi)ed# +his gives arrangements#
If col!mn 1 and col!mn , share 1 filled s!are on the same ro& (9 places*' then the" each
share 1 filled s!are on a ro& ( places*' share another empt" s!are on a ro&' and
have , s!ares each on different ro&s# +his gives # @o&' the third and
fo!rths col!mns m!st also share a fi)ed shared shaded s!are in the ro& in &hich the first t&o
col!mns both had spaces' and another fi)ed empt" s!are# +he remaining shaded s!ares can
onl" go in 5 places' so &e get # -e get #
If col!mn 1 and col!mn , share , filled s!ares on the same ro& ( places*' the"
m!st also share , empt" s!ares on the same ro& ( *# +he last t&o s!ares can be
arranged in positionsB this totals to # @o&' the third and fo!rth
col!mns have a fi)ed , filled s!ares in common ro&s and , empt" s!ares in common ro&s#
+he remaining , s!ares have places' giving #
If col!mn 1 and col!mn , share 1 filled s!ares on the same ro& ( places*' then
the s!ares on col!mns 1 and 5 are fi)ed#
+h!s' there are n!mber of shadings' and the sol!tion is
#
Solution 3
-e dra& a bi6ection bet&een &al0ing from to as follo&s/ if in the th
ro&' the th and th col!mns are shaded' then the st step is in the direction
corresponding to ' and the th step is in the direction corresponding to ( * here#
-e can no& !se thePrinciple of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion based on the stip!lation that to
solve the problem/
%o that the ans&er is #
Solution 4
Consider all possible shadings for a single ro&# +here are &a"s to do so' and
denote these as ' ' ' ' ' and
&here indicates that col!mns and are shaded# $rom o!r condition on the
col!mns' &e have %!mming the first
t&o and the last t&o e!ations' &e have '
from &hich &e have # 3i0e&ise' and since these pairs shade in
complimentar" col!mns# %o the si) ro&s are paired !p into a ro& and its compliment# In all'
&e can have 1 a8s and 1 b8s and similar set!ps for / and / ' , a8s' , b8s' 1 c and 1 d and
similar set!ps for all si) arrangements' or one of each# +his first case gives
sol!tionsB the second gives sol!tions' and the final case
gives sol!tions# In all' &e have 189A sol!tions' for an ans&er of #
Solution &
Each shading can be bro!ght' via ro& s&apping operations' to a state &ith a
shaded in the lo&er left hand corner# +he n!mber of s!ch arrangements m!ltiplied
b" &ill be the total# Consider ro&s , and 1 !p from the bottom/ the" each have
one of their allotted t&o s!ares shaded# ?epending ho& the remaining three shades are
distrib!ted' the col!mn totals of col!mns ,'1' and 5 from the left can be of the
form # $orm 1/ +he entire lo&er left rectangle is shaded'
forcing the opposite rectangle to also be shadedB th!s 1 arrangement $orm ,/ +here
is a col!mn &ith nothing shaded in the bottom right ' so it m!st be completel" shaded
in the !pper right # @o& consider the !pper right half col!mn that &ill have shade#
+here are &a"s of choosing this shade' and all else is determined from hereB th!s 1
arrangements $orm 1/ +he !pper right &ill have e)actl" shades per col!mn and
ro&# +his is e!ivalent to the n!mber of terms in a determinant' or arrangements
Hf the &a"s of choosing to complete the bottom half of the ' form 1 is achieved in
e)actl" 1 &a"B form , is achieved in &a"sB and form in the remaining &a"s# +h!s'
the &eighted total is # Complete/
Problem
$or each positive integer ' let denote the !ni!e positive integer s!ch
that # $or e)ample' and # If find
the remainder &hen is divided b" 1AAA#
%ol!tion
and # +herefore if and onl" if
is in this range' or # +here are n!mbers in this range' so the s!m
of over this range is # ' so all n!mbers to have their
f!ll range# %!mming this !p &ith the form!la for the s!m of the first s!ares (
*' &e get # -e need onl"
consider the beca!se &e are &or0ing &ith mod!lo #
@o& consider the range of n!mbers s!ch that # +hese n!mbers
are to # +here are (1 to be incl!sive* of
them# ' and ' the sol!tion#
Problem
In isosceles triangle ' is located at the origin and is located at # Point is
in the first !adrant &ith and angle # If triangle is rotated
co!ntercloc0&ise abo!t point !ntil the image of lies on the positive -a)is' the area of
the region common to the original and the rotated triangle is in the
form ' &here are integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et the ne& triangle be ( ' the origin' is a verte) of both triangles*# 3et
intersect &ith at point ' intersect &ith at ' and intersect &ith
at # +he region common to both triangles is the !adrilateral # @otice
that ' &here &e let denote area#
+o find /
%ince and both have meas!res ' both of their complements are '
and # -e 0no& that '
so #
+h!s is a # It can be solved b" dra&ing an altit!de splitting the
angle into and angles' forming a right triangle and a
isosceles right triangle# %ince &e 0no& that ' the base of the
triangle is ' the base of the is ' and their common height is #
+h!s' the total area of #
+o find /
%ince is also a triangle'
and
%ince # -ith some horrendo!s algebra'
&e can calc!late
+o finish'
Dence' #
Solution 2
:edefine the points in the same manner as the last time ( ' intersect at ' '
and *# +his time' notice that #
+he area of # +he altit!de of is
clearl" # +he tangent addition r!le "ields (see
above*# +h!s' #
+he area of (&ith a side on the "-a)is* can be fo!nd b" splitting it into t&o
triangles' and right triangles# # +he sine
s!btraction r!le sho&s that # ' in terms
of the height of ' is e!al to #
+he area of &as fo!nd in the previo!s sol!tion to
be #
+herefore'

' and o!r ans&er is #
Solution 3
Call the points of the intersections of the triangles ' ' and as noted in the diagram
(the points are different from those in the diagram for sol!tion 1*# bisects #
+hro!gh D3 congr!enc"' &e can find that is congr!ent to # +his divides the
region (&hich &e are tr"ing to solve for* into t&o congr!ent triangles and
an isosceles right triangle#
%ince ' &e find that #
@o&' &e need to find # +he ac!te angles of the triangles are
and # 2" repeated application of the half-angle form!la' &e can find
that #
+he area of #
+h!s' ' &hich
event!all" simplifies to #
Adding them together' &e find that the sol!tion is
'
and the ans&er is #
Solution 4
$rom the given information' calc!late the coordinates of all the points (b" finding the
e!ations of the lines' e!ating*# +hen' !se the shoelacemethod to calc!late the area of the
intersection#
/
/
/ It passes thr! ' and has a slope of # +he e!ation of its
line is #
/ ' so it passes thr!
point # It has a slope of # %o the e!ation of its line
is #
@o&' &e can e!ate the e!ations to find the intersections of all the points#
is the intersection of # #
+herefore' ' #
+herefore' ' #
+herefore' ' #
-e ta0e these points and tie them together b" shoelace' and the ans&er sho!ld come o!t to
be #
Problem
A s!are p"ramid &ith base and verte) has eight edges of length #
A plane passes thro!gh the midpoints of ' ' and # +he plane8s intersection &ith
the p"ramid has an area that can be e)pressed as # $ind #
[Unparseable or potentially dangerous asy code. Unable to convert EPS fle]
%ol!tion
Solution 1
@ote first that the intersection is a pentagon#
Fse 1? anal"tical geometr"' setting the origin as the center of the s!are base and the
p"ramidKs points oriented as sho&n
above# # Fsing the
coordinates of the three points of intersection ( *' it is
possible to determine the e!ation of the plane# +he e!ation of a plane
resembles ' and !sing the points &e find that
' ' and # It
is then #
[Unparseable or potentially dangerous asy code Unable to con!ert "#S
file$
-rite the e!ation of the lines and s!bstit!te to find that the other t&o points of
intersection on ' are # +o find the area of the pentagon' brea0 it !p
into pieces (an isosceles triangle on the top' an isosceles trape4oid on the bottom*# Fsing
the distance form!la ( *' it is possible to find that the area of the triangle
is # +he trape4oid has
area # In total' the area is ' and
the sol!tion is #
Solution 2
Fse the same coordinate s"stem as above' and let the plane determined b"
intersect at and at # +hen the line is the intersection of the planes
determined b" and #
@ote that the plane determined b" has the e!ation ' and can be
described b" # It intersects the plane
&hen ' or # +his intersection point has # %imilarl"' the
intersection bet&een and has # %o lies on the plane ' from
&hich &e obtain and # +he area of the
pentagon can be comp!ted in the same &a" as above#
Problem
A se!ence is defined over non-negative integral inde)es in the follo&ing &a"/
' #
$ind the greatest integer that does not e)ceed
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-e are given that
' #
Add these t&o e!ations to get
#
+his is an invariant# ?efining for each ' the above e!ation means
#
-e can th!s calc!late that # @o& notice
that # +his means that
# It is onl" a tin" bit less beca!se all the are greater
than ' so &e concl!de that the floor of is #
Solution 2
+he e!ation loo0s li0e the determinant
+herefore' the determinant of this matri) is invariant# E!essing that this se!ence might be
a linear rec!rsion beca!se of the matri) form given belo&' &e define the se!ence
defined b" and for # -e &ish to find and s!ch
that for all # +o do this' &e !se the follo&ing matri) form of a linear
rec!rrence relation
-hen &e ta0e determinants' this e!ation becomes
-e &ant for all # +herefore' &e replace the t&o matrices
b" to find that
+herefore' # Comp!ting
that ' and !sing the fact that ' &e concl!de that #
Clearl"' ' ' and # -e claim that for all # -e proceed
b" ind!ction# If for all ' then clearl"'
-e also 0no& b" the definition of that
-e 0no& that the :D% is b" previo!s &or0# +herefore' # After
s!bst!ting in the val!es &e 0no&' this becomes # +hin0ing of this as
a linear e!ation in the variable ' &e alread" 0no& that this has the
sol!tion # +herefore' b" ind!ction' for all # -e concl!de that
satisfies the linear rec!rrence #
It8s eas" to prove that is a strictl" increasing se!ence of integers for # @o&
+he se!ence certainl" gro&s fast eno!gh s!ch that # +herefore' the largest
integer less than or e!al to this val!e is #
Problem
3et be an e!ilateral triangle' and let and be points on sides and '
respectivel"' &ith and # Point lies on side s!ch
that angle # +he area of triangle is # +he t&o possible val!es of the
length of side are ' &here and are rational' and is an integer not divisible
b" the s!are of a prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
?enote the length of a side of the triangle ' and of as # +he area of the entire
e!ilateral triangle is # Add !p the areas of the triangles !sing the form!la
(notice that for the three o!tside triangles'
*/ # +his simplifies
to # %ome terms &ill cancel o!t'
leaving #
is an e)ternal angle to ' from &hich &e find
that ' so # %imilarl"' &e find
that # +h!s' # %etting !p a ratio of sides' &e get
that # Fsing the previo!s relationship bet&een and ' &e can solve for #
Fse the !adratic form!la' tho!gh &e onl" need the root of the discriminant# +his
is
# +he ans&er is #
2007 2
Problem
A mathematical organi4ation is prod!cing a set of commemorative license plates# Each plate
contains a se!ence of five characters chosen from the fo!r letters in AIME and the fo!r
digits in # @o character ma" appear in a se!ence more times than it appears among
the fo!r letters in AIME or the fo!r digits in # A set of plates in &hich each possible
se!ence appears e)actl" once contains license plates# $ind #
%ol!tion
+here are 7 different characters that can be pic0ed' &ith A being the onl" n!mber that can
be repeated t&ice#
If appears A or 1 times amongst the se!ence' there are se!ences
possible#
If appears t&ice in the se!ence' there are places to place the s# +here
are &a"s to place the remaining three characters# +otall"' that gives
!s #
+h!s' ' and #
Problem
$ind the n!mber of ordered triples &here ' ' and are positive integers' is
a factor of ' is a factor of ' and #
%ol!tion
?enote and # +he last condition red!ces to #
+herefore' is e!al to one of the 9 factors of #
%!btracting the one' &e see that # +here are
e)actl" &a"s to find pairs of if # +h!s' there
are sol!tions of #
Alternativel"' note that the s!m of the divisors of is (notice
that after distrib!ting' ever" divisor is acco!nted for*# +his eval!ates to #
%!btract for reasons noted above to get # $inall"' this changes ' so &e have
to add one to acco!nt for that# -e get #
Problem
%!are has side length ' and points and are e)terior to the s!are s!ch
that and # $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
E)tend and to their points of intersection# %ince and
are both right triangles' &e can come to the concl!sion that the t&o ne&
triangles are also congr!ent to these t&o (!se A%A' as &e 0no& all the sides are and the
angles are mostl" complementar"*# +h!s' &e create a s!are &ith sides #
is the diagonal of the s!are' &ith length B the ans&er is #
Solution 2
A slightl" more anal"tic/br!te-force approach/
?rop perpendic!lars from and to and '
respectivel"B constr!ct right triangle &ith right
angle at P and #
%ince ' &e
have # %imilarl"' #
%ince ' &e have #
@o&' &e see that #
Also' # 2" the P"thagorean
+heorem' &e have
# +herefore' #
Problems
+he &or0ers in a factor" prod!ce &idgets and &hoosits# $or each prod!ct' prod!ction time is
constant and identical for all &or0ers' b!t not necessaril" e!al for the t&o prod!cts# In one
ho!r' &or0ers can prod!ce &idgets and &hoosits# In t&o ho!rs' &or0ers can
prod!ce &idgets and &hoosits# In three ho!rs' &or0ers can prod!ce &idgets
and &hoosits# $ind #
%ol!tions
%!ppose that it ta0es ho!rs for one &or0er to create one &idget' and ho!rs for one
&or0er to create one &hoosit#
+herefore' &e can &rite that (note that t&o ho!rs is similar to having t&ice the n!mber of
&or0ers' and so on*/
%olve the s"stem of e!ations &ith the first t&o e!ations to find that #
%!bstit!te this into the third e!ation to find that ' so #
Problem
+he graph of the e!ation is dra&n on graph paper &ith
each s!are representing one !nit in each direction# Do& man" of the b" graph paper
s!ares have interiors l"ing entirel" belo& the graph and entirel" in the first !adrant.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+here are s!ares in total formed b" the rectangle &ith edges on the ) and "
a)es and &ith vertices on the intercepts of the e!ation' since the intercepts of the lines
are #
Co!nt the n!mber of s!ares that the diagonal of the rectangle passes thro!gh# %ince the
t&o diagonals of a rectangle are congr!ent' &e can consider instead the diagonal
# +his passes thro!gh 8 hori4ontal lines ( * and ,,, vertical lines ( *#
At ever" time &e cross a line' &e enter a ne& s!are# %ince 9 and ,,1 are relativel" prime'
&e donKt have to &orr" abo!t crossing an intersection of a hori4ontal and vertical line at one
time# -e m!st also acco!nt for the first s!are# +his means that it passes
thro!gh s!ares#
+he n!mber of non-diagonal s!ares is # ?ivide this in , to get the
n!mber of s!ares in one of the triangles' &ith the ans&er being #
Solution 2
Co!nt the n!mber of each s!ares in each ro& of the triangle# +he intercepts of
the line are #
In the top ro&' there clearl" are no s!ares that can be formed# In the second ro&' &e see
that the line gives a val!e of ' &hich means that
!nit s!ares can fit in that ro&# In general' there are
triangles# %ince ' &e see that there are more
than triangles# @o&' co!nt the fractional
parts#
# Adding them !p' &e
get #
Solution 3
$rom Pic08s +heorem' # In other &ords' and I is #
Solution 4
-e 0no& that the n!mber of s!ares intersected in an rectangle
is # %o if &e appl" that here' &e get that the n!mber of intersected
s!ares is/
#
@o& 6!st s!btract that from the total n!mber of s!ares and divide b" ,' since &e &ant the
n!mber of s!ares belo& the line#
%o'
Problem
An integer is called parit#%monotonic if its decimal representation
satisfies if is odd' and if is even# Do& man" fo!r-digit parit"-
monotonic integers are there.
%ol!tion
3et8s set !p a table of val!es# @otice that A and 9 both cannot appear as an" of
beca!se of the given conditions# A clear pattern emerges#
$or e)ample' for in the second col!mn' &e note that is less than ' b!t greater
than ' so there are fo!r possible places to align as the second digit#
*igit )st nd +rd ,th
! ! ! ! -,
) ) , )- -,
) , )- -,
+ ) , )- -,
, ) , )- -,
. ) , )- -,
- ) , )- -,
" ) , )- -,
/ ) , )- -,
0 ! ! ! -,
$or an" n!mber from 1-8' there are e)actl" 5 n!mbers from 1-8 that are odd and less than
the n!mber or that are even and greater than the n!mber (the same &ill happen for A and
9 in the last col!mn*# +h!s' the ans&er is #
Problem
Eiven a real n!mber let denote the greatest integer less than or e!al to $or a
certain integer there are e)actl" positive integers s!ch
that and divides for all s!ch that
$ind the ma)im!m val!e of for
%ol!tion
$or ' &e see that all &or0' giving 7 integers# $or ' &e see that
in ' all of the even n!mbers &or0' giving 1A integers# $or ' &e get 11' and
so on# -e can predict that at &e get 7A#
+o prove this' note that all of the n!mbers from divisible b" &or0#
+h!s' (the one to be incl!sive*
integers &ill fit the conditions# #
+he ma)im!m val!e of # +herefore' the sol!tion
is #
Problem
A rectang!lar piece of paper meas!res 5 !nits b" 7 !nits# %everal lines are dra&n parallel to
the edges of the paper# A rectangle determined b" theintersections of some of these lines is
called basic if
(i* all fo!r sides of the rectangle are segments of dra&n line segments' and
(ii* no segments of dra&n lines lie inside the rectangle#
Eiven that the total length of all lines dra&n is e)actl" ,AA7 !nits' let be the ma)im!m
possible n!mber of basic rectangles determined# $ind theremainder &hen is divided b"
1AAA#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
?enote the n!mber of hori4ontal lines as ' and the n!mber of vertical lines as # +he
n!mber of basic rectangles is # #
%!bstit!ting' &e find that #
$HI3 this to get a !adratic' # Fse to find the ma)im!m possible
val!e of the !adratic/ # Do&ever' this gives a non-integral
ans&er for # +he closest t&o val!es that &or0 are and #
-e see that # +he sol!tion is #
Solution 2
-e reali4e that dra&ing vertical lines and hori4ontal lines' the n!mber of basic
rectangles &e have is # +he easiest possible case to see is vertical
and hori4ontal lines' as # @o&' for ever" 5 vertical lines "o! ta0e
a&a"' "o! can add 7 hori4ontal lines' so "o! basicall" have the
e!ation ma)imi4e#
E)panded' this gives # $rom "o! get that the verte) is
at # +his is not an integer tho!gh' so "o! see that &hen ' "o!
have and that &hen );9' "o! have
# ' so the ma)im!m integral val!e for ) occ!rs &hen # @o& "o! 6!st
eval!ate &hich is #
Problem
:ectangle is given &ith and Points and lie on
and respectivel"' s!ch that +heinscribed circle of triangle
is tangent to at point and the inscribed circle of triangle is tangent to
at point $ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
%everal P"thagorean triples e)ist amongst the n!mbers
given# # Also' the length
of #
Fse the +&o +angent theorem on # %ince both circles are inscribed in congr!ent
triangles' the" are congr!entB therefore' # 2" the +&o +angent
theorem' note that '
ma0ing # Also'
# #
$inall"' #
Also' # E!ating' &e see
that ' so #
Solution 2
2" the +&o +angent theorem' &e have that # %olve for #
Also' ' so # %ince ' this can
become #
%!bstit!ting in their val!es' the ans&er is #
Solution 3
Call the incenter of and the incenter of # ?ra&
triangles #
?ra&ing ' -e find that # Appl"ing the same thing for ' &e
find that as &ell# ?ra& a line thro!gh parallel to the sides of the rectangle'
to intersect the opposite side at respectivel"# ?ra&ing and ' &e can
find that # -e then !se Deron8s form!la to get/
#
%o the inradi!s of the triangle-t"pe things is #
@o&' &e 6!st have to find ' &hich can be done &ith simple s!btraction' and
then &e can !se the P"thagorean +heorem to find #
his sol!tion is incomplete. "o! can help !s o!t b# completin$ it.
Problem
3et be a set &ith si) elements# 3et be the set of all s!bsets of %!bsets and of
' not necessaril" distinct' are chosen independentl" and at random from #
+he probabilit" that is contained in at least one of or is &here ' ' and
are positive integers' isprime' and and are relativel" prime# $ind (+he
set is the set of all elements of &hich are not in *
%ol!tion 1
Fse case&or0/
has 9 elements/
Probabilit"/
m!st have either A or 9 elements' probabilit"/ #
has 7 elements/
Probabilit"/
m!st have either A' 9' or 1' 7 elements# +he total probabilit" is #
has 5 elements/
Probabilit"/
m!st have either A' 9B 1' 7B or ,'5 elements# If there are 1 or 7 elements' the set
&hich contains 7 elements m!st have fo!r emcompassing and a fifth element o!t of
the remaining n!mbers# +he total probabilit"
is #
-e co!ld 6!st contin!e o!r case&or0# In general' the probabilit" of pic0ing 2 &ith
elements is # %ince the s!m of the elements in the th ro& of Pascal8s +riangle is ' the
probabilit" of obtaining or &hich encompasses is # In addition' &e m!st
co!nt for &hen is the empt" set (probabilit"/ *' of &hich all sets of &ill &or0
(probabilit"/ *#
+h!s' the sol!tion &e are loo0ing for
is
#
+he ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
&e need to be a s!bset of or &e can divide each element of into 5 categories/
it is in and
it is in b!t not in
it is not in b!t is in
or it is not in and not in
these can be denoted as ' ' ' and
&e note that if all of the elements are in ' or &e have that is a
s!bset of &hich can happen in &a"s
similarl" if the elements are in ' ' or &e have that is a s!bset
of &hich can happen in &a"s as &ell
b!t &e need to ma0e s!re &e don8t over-co!nt &a"s that are in both sets these are
&hen or &hich can happen in &a"s so o!r probabilit"
is #
so the final ans&er is #
Problem
+&o long c"lindrical t!bes of the same length b!t different diameters lie parallel to each
other on a flat s!rface# +he larger t!be has radi!s and rolls along the s!rface to&ard the
smaller t!be' &hich has radi!s # It rolls over the smaller t!be and contin!es rolling along
the flat s!rface !ntil it comes to rest on the same point of its circ!mference as it started'
having made one complete revol!tion# If the smaller t!be never moves' and the rolling
occ!rs &ith no slipping' the larger t!be ends !p a distance from &here it starts# +he
distance can be e)pressed in the form &here and are integers and is
not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind
%ol!tion
If it &erenKt for the small t!be' the larger t!be &o!ld travel # Consider the distance
from &hich the larger t!be first contacts the smaller t!be' !ntil &hen it completel" loses
contact &ith the smaller t!be#
?ra&ing the radii as sho&n in the diagram' notice that the h"poten!se of the right
triangle in the diagram has a length of # +he hori4ontal line divides the radi!s
of the larger circle into on the top half' &hich indicates that the right triangle
has leg of 58 and h"poten!se of 99' a #
$ind the length of the p!rple arc in the diagram (the distance the t!be rolled' b!t not the
hori4ontal distance*# +he si)t" degree central angleindicates to ta0e of the
circ!mference of the larger circle (t&ice*' &hile the central angle in the
smaller circle indicates to ta0e of the circ!mference# +his adds !p
to #
+he act!al hori4ontal distance it ta0es can be fo!nd b" !sing the s# +he
missing leg is e!al in length to # +h!s' the total hori4ontal distance covered is #
+h!s' &e get ' and o!r ans&er is #
Problem
+he increasing geometric se!ence consists entirel" of integral po&ers of
Eiven that
and
find
%ol!tion
%!ppose that ' and that the common ratio bet&een the terms is #
+he first conditions tells !s that # Fsing the r!les
of logarithms' &e can simplif" that to # +h!s' # %ince
all of the terms of the geometric se!ence are integral po&ers of ' &e 0no& that both
and m!st be po&ers of 1# ?enote and # -e find that # +he
possible positive integral pairs of are #
+he second condition tells !s that # Fsing the s!m
form!la for a geometric series and s!bstit!ting and ' this simplifies
to # +he fractional part # +h!s' &e
need # Chec0ing the pairs above' onl" is close#
H!r sol!tion is therefore #
Problem
A triang!lar arra" of s!ares has one s!are in the first ro&' t&o in the second' and in
general' s!ares in the th ro& for -ith the e)ception of the bottom ro&'
each s!are rests on t&o s!ares in the ro& immediatel" belo& (ill!strated in given
diagram*# In each s!are of the eleventh ro&' a or a is placed# @!mbers are then placed
into the other s!ares' &ith the entr" for each s!are being the s!m of the entries in the
t&o s!ares belo& it# $or ho& man" initial distrib!tions of 8s and 8s in the bottom ro& is
the n!mber in the top s!are a m!ltiple of .
%ol!tion
3abel each of the bottom s!ares as #
+hro!gh ind!ction' &e can find that the top s!are is e!al
to # (+his also ma0es sense based on a
combinatorial arg!ment/ the n!mber of &a"s a n!mber can "travel" to the top position
going onl" !p is e!al to the n!mber of times it &ill be co!nted in the final s!m#*
E)amine the e!ation # All of the coefficients from &ill be m!ltiples of
(since the n!merator &ill have a *# +h!s' the e)pression boils do&n
to # :ed!ce to find
that # H!t of ' either all are e!al to ' or
three of them are e!al to # +his gives possible combinations of
n!mbers that &or0#
+he seven terms from can ass!me either or ' giving !s possibilities# +he
ans&er is therefore #
Problem
3et be a pol"nomial &ith real coefficients s!ch that and
for all ' $ind
%ol!tion
3et be a root of # +hen &e have B since is a root' &e
have B therefore is also a root# +h!s' if is real and non-4ero'
' so has infinitel" man" roots# %ince is a pol"nomial (th!s of finite degree*
and is non4ero' has no real roots#
@ote that is not constant# -e then find t&o comple) roots/ # -e find
that ' and that # +his means
that # +h!s' are roots
of the pol"nomial' and so &ill be a factor of the pol"nomial# (@ote/
+his re!ires the ass!mption that # Clearl"' ' beca!se that &o!ld
impl" the e)istence of a real root#*
+he pol"nomial is th!s in the form of # %!bstit!ting into the given
e)pression' &e have
+h!s either is A for an" ' or satisfies the
same constraints as # Contin!ing' b" infinite descent' for some #
%ince for some ' &e have B so #
Comment/ +he ans&er is clearl" correct' b!t the proof has a gap' i#e# there is no reason
that # %ince has no real roots' the degree m!st be even#
Consider # +hen since is non-4ero' # @o& the
f!nction applied repeatedl" from some real starting val!e of ) becomes arbitraril"
large' and the limit of as approaches infinit" is 1' so ;1 for all )'
or # +hen for some pol"nomial '
and # @o& s!ppose
h has degree m# It is clearl" monic# Ass!me that the ne)t highest non-4ero coefficient in h is
0# +hen' s!btracting from both sides of the e!ation "ields a
pol"nomial e!alit" &ith degree on the left and degree on the right' a
contradiction# %o ' and #
Problem
$o!r circles and &ith the same radi!s are dra&n in the interior
of triangle s!ch that is tangent to sides and ' to and '
to and ' and is e)ternall" tangent to and # If the sides of
triangle are and the radi!s of can be represented in the form '
&here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
$irst' appl" Deron8s form!la to find that the area is # Also the
semiperimeter is # %o the inradi!s is #
@o& consider the incenter I# 3et the radi!s of one of the small circles be # 3et the centers
of the three little circles tangent to the sides of be ' ' and # 3et the centre of
the circle tangent to those three circles be P# A homothet" centered at ta0es
to &ith factor # +he same homothet" ta0es to the circ!mcentre of '
so ' &here is the circ!mradi!s of # +he circ!mradi!s
of can be easil" comp!ted b" ' so doing that reveals #
+hen ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
Consider a 11-15-17 triangle# L2" Deron8s $orm!la or b" 7-1,-11 and 9-1,-17 right
triangles#M
+he inradi!s is ' &here is the semiperimeter# %cale the triangle &ith the
inradi!s b" a linear scale factor'
+he circ!mradi!s is &here and are the side-lengths#
%cale the triangle &ith the circ!mradi!s b" a linearscale factor' #
C!t and combine the triangles' as sho&n# +hen solve for 5!/
+he sol!tion is #
2008 1
Problem
Hf the st!dents attending a school part"' of the st!dents are girls' and of the
st!dents li0e to dance# After these st!dents are 6oined b" more bo" st!dents' all of &hom
li0e to dance' the part" is no& girls# Do& man" st!dents no& at the part" li0e to
dance.
%ol!tions
Solution 1
%a" that there &ere girls and bo"s at the part" originall"# li0e to dance# +hen'
there are girls and bo"s' and li0e to dance#
+h!s' ' solving gives # +h!s' the n!mber of people that li0e to dance
is #
Solution 2
3et the n!mber of girls be # 3et the n!mber of total people originall" be #
-e 0no& that from the problem#
-e also 0no& that from the problem#
-e no& have a s"stem and &e can solve#
+he first e!ation becomes/
#
+he second e!ation becomes/
@o& &e can s!b in b" m!ltipl"ing the first e!ation b" # -e can pl!g this into
o!r second e!ation#
-e 0no& that there &ere originall" people# Hf those' li0e to dance#
-e also 0no& that &ith these people' bo"s 6oined' all of &hom li0e to dance# -e 6!st
simpl" need to add to get
Problem
%!are has sides of length !nits# Isosceles triangle has base ' and
the area common to triangle and s!are is s!are !nits# $ind the length of
the altit!de to in #
%ol!tion
3et meet at and let meet at # Clearl"' since the area
of trape4oid is # Also' #
3et the height of be # 2" the similarit"' ' &e get # +h!s' the
height of is #
@ote that if the altit!de of the triangle is at most ' then the ma)im!m area of the
intersection of the triangle and the s!are is #
Problem
Ed and %!e bi0e at e!al and constant rates# %imilarl"' the" 6og at e!al and constant rates'
and the" s&im at e!al and constant rates# Ed covers 0ilometers after bi0ing for ho!rs'
6ogging for ho!rs' and s&imming for ho!rs' &hile %!e covers 0ilometers after 6ogging
for ho!rs' s&imming for ho!rs' and bi0ing for ho!rs# +heir bi0ing' 6ogging' and
s&imming rates are all &hole n!mbers of 0ilometers per ho!r# $ind the s!m of the s!ares
of Ed8s bi0ing' 6ogging' and s&imming rates#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et the bi0ing rate be ' s&imming rate be ' 6ogging rate be ' all in 0m/h#
-e have # %!btracting the second from t&ice the first
gives # Mod 5' &e need # +h!s' #
and give non-integral ' b!t gives # +h!s' o!r ans&er
is #
Solution 2
3et ' ' and be the bi0ing' 6ogging' and s&imming rates of the t&o people#
Dence' and # %!btracting gives !s
that # Adding three times this to the first e!ation gives
that # Adding fo!r times the previo!s e!ation to the first given
one gives !s that # +his gives !s that ' and
then and # +herefore' #
Problem
+here e)ist !ni!e positive integers and that satisf" the e!ation
# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Completing the s!are' #
+h!s b" difference of s!ares#
%ince is even' one of the factors is even# A parit" chec0 sho&s that if one of them is
even' then both m!st be even# %ince ' the factors m!st be and #
%ince ' &e have and B the latter e!ation implies
that #
Indeed' b" solving' &e find is the !ni!e sol!tion#
Solution 2
-e complete the s!are li0e in the first sol!tion/ # %ince consec!tive
s!ares differ b" the consec!tive odd n!mbers' &e note that and m!st differ b" an
even n!mber# -e can !se case&or0 &ith the even n!mbers' starting &ith #
+h!s' and the ans&er is #
Solution 3
-e see that # 2" !adratic resid!es' &e find that
either # Also' '
so # Combining' &e see that #
+esting and other m!ltiples of ' &e !ic0l" find that is the
sol!tion#
Solution 4
-e solve for )/
%o is a perfect s!are# %ince ,55 is even' the difference is even'
so &e tr" / ' #
Pl!gging into o!r e!ation' &e find that ' and indeed satisfies the
original e!ation#
Solution &
3et for some ' s!bstit!te into the original e!ation to
get #
All terms e)cept for the last one are even' hence m!st be even' hence let # -e
obtain # :earrange to #
Hbvio!sl" for the right hand side is negative and the left hand side is positive#
Dence # 3et ' then #
-e have # 3eft hand side simplifies to # As m!st be
an integer' m!st divide the left hand side# 2!t is a prime' &hich onl" leaves t&o
options/ and #
Hption gives !s a negative # Hption gives !s '
and ' hence #
Problem
A right circ!lar cone has base radi!s and height # +he cone lies on its side on a flat table#
As the cone rolls on the s!rface of the table &itho!t slipping' the point &here the cone8s
base meets the table traces a circ!lar arc centered at the point &here the verte) to!ches
the table# +he cone first ret!rns to its original position on the table after ma0ing
complete rotations# +he val!e of can be &ritten in the form ' &here and are
positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
+he path is a circle &ith radi!s e!al to the slant height of the cone' &hich is #
+h!s' the length of the path is #
Also' the length of the path is 17 times the circ!mference of the base' &hich is #
%etting these e!al gives ' or # +h!s' ' and
' giving an ans&er of #
Problem
A triang!lar arra" of n!mbers has a first ro& consisting of the odd integers in
increasing order# Each ro& belo& the first has one fe&er entr" than the ro& above it' and
the bottom ro& has a single entr"# Each entr" in an" ro& after the top ro& e!als the s!m
of the t&o entries diagonall" above it in the ro& immediatel" above it# Do& man" entries in
the arra" are m!ltiples of .
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et the th n!mber in the th ro& be # -riting o!t some n!mbers' &e find
that #
L1M
-e &ish to find all s!ch that # %ince and
are relativel" prime' it follo&s that # %ince ever" ro& has one less element
than the previo!s ro&' (the first ro& has elements' the second ' and
so forthB so can range from to in the first ro&' and so forth*# Dence
it follo&s that implies that itself#
@o&' note that &e need to be odd' and also that
#
-e can chec0 that all ro&s &ith odd satisf"ing indeed contains one entr" that
is a m!ltiple of ' and so the ans&er is #
N Proof/ Indeed' note that ' &hich is the correct
form!la for the first ro&# -e claim the res!lt b" ind!ctionon # 2" definition of the
arra"' ' and b" o!r ind!ctive h"pothesis'
thereb" completing o!r ind!ction#
Solution 2
+he res!lt above is fairl" int!itive if &e &rite o!t several ro&s' each time dividing the res!lt
thro!gh b" (as this doesn8t affect divisibilit" b" *# +he second ro& &ill be '
the third ro& &ill be ' and so forth# Clearl"' onl" the odd-n!mbered ro&s can
have a term divisible b" # Do&ever' &ith each ro& the ro& &ill have one less element' and
the rd ro& is the last time &ill appear# +herefore the n!mber of
m!ltiples is #
Problem
3et be the set of all integers s!ch that # $or e)ample' is the
set # Do& man" of the sets do not contain a
perfect s!are.
%ol!tion
+he difference bet&een consec!tive s!ares is ' &hich means that
all s!ares above are more than apart#
+hen the first sets ( * each have at least one perfect s!are# Also'
since (&hich is &hen *' there are other sets
after that have a perfect s!are#
+here are sets &itho!t a perfect s!are#
Problem
$ind the positive integer s!ch that
%ol!tion
Solution 1
%ince &e are dealing &ith ac!te angles' #
@ote that ' b" tangent addition#
+h!s' #
Appl"ing this to the first t&o terms' &e get #
@o&' #
-e no& have # +h!s' B and
simplif"ing' #
Solution 2 (generali;ation)
$rom the e)pansion of ' &e can see that
and
If &e
divide both of these b" ' then &e have
&hich ma0es for
more direct' less error-prone comp!tations# %!bstit!tion gives the desired ans&er#
Solution 3
Adding a series of angles is the same as m!ltipl"ing the comple) n!mbers &hose arg!ments
the" are# In general' ' is the arg!ment of # +he s!m of these angles is then
6!st the arg!ment of the prod!ct
and e)pansion give !s # %ince the arg!ment of this comple)
n!mber is ' its real and imaginar" parts m!st be e!al# %etting them e!al and solving
gives the ans&er#
2008 AIME I Problems/Problem 9
Problem
+en identical crates each of dimensions ft ft ft# +he first crate is placed flat on the
floor# Each of the remaining nine crates is placed' in t!rn' flat on top of the previo!s crate'
and the orientation of each crate is chosen at random# 3et be the probabilit" that the
stac0 of crates is e)actl" ft tall' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
%ol!tion
Hnl" the heights matter' and each crate is either 1' 5' or 9 feet tall &ith e!al probabilit"#
-e have the follo&ing/
%!btracting 1 times the third from the first gives '
or # +he last doesn8t &or0' obvio!sl"# +his gives the three
sol!tions # In terms of choosing &hich goes &here' the
first t&o sol!tions are analogo!s#
$or ' &e see that there are &a"s to stac0 the
crates# $or ' there are # Also' there are total &a"s to stac0 the
crates to an" height#
+h!s' o!r probabilit" is # H!r ans&er is
the n!merator' #
Hnl" the heights matter' and each crate is either 1' 5' or 9 feet tall &ith e!al probabilit"#
-e have the follo&ing/
%!btracting 1 times the second from the first gives ' or (b'c* ; (,'1*'(7',*'(8'1*'
(11'A*# +he last doesn8t &or0' obvio!sl"# +his gives the three sol!tions (a'b'c* ; (7','1*'
(1'7',*'(1'8'1*# In terms of choosing &hich goes &here' the first t&o sol!tions are
analogo!s# $or (7','1*'(1'7',*' &e see that there are &a"s to stac0
the crates# $or (1'8'1*' there are # Also' there are total &a"s to stac0 the
crates to an" height# +h!s' o!r probabilit"
is # H!r ans&er is the n!merator' #
Problem
3et be an isosceles trape4oid &ith &hose angle at the longer base
is # +he diagonals have length ' and point is at distances and from
vertices and ' respectivel"# 3et be the foot of the altit!de from to # +he
distance can be e)pressed in the form ' &here and are positive integers
and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Ass!ming that is a triangle and appl"ing the triangle ine!alit"' &e see
that # Do&ever' if is strictl" greater than ' then the circle &ith
radi!s and center does not to!ch ' &hich implies that ' a
contradiction# As a res!lt' A' ?' and E are collinear# +herefore' #
+h!s' and are triangles# Dence ' and
$inall"' the ans&er is #
Solution 2
@o restrictions are set on the lengths of the bases' so for calc!lational simplicit"
let # %ince is a triangle' #
+he ans&er is # @ote that &hile this is not rigoro!s' the above sol!tion sho&s
that is indeed the onl" possibilit"#
Solution 3
E)tend thro!gh ' to meet (e)tended thro!gh * at # is an e!ilateral
triangle beca!se of the angle conditions on the base#
If then ' beca!se and therefore #
2" simple angle chasing' is a 1A-9A-9A triangle and th!s '
and
%imilarl" is a 1A-9A-9A triangle and th!s #
E!ating and solving for ' and th!s #
and
Problem
Consider se!ences that consist entirel" of 8s and 8s and that have the propert" that
ever" r!n of consec!tive 8s has even length' and ever" r!n of consec!tive 8s has odd
length# E)amples of s!ch se!ences are ' ' and ' &hile is not s!ch a
se!ence# Do& man" s!ch se!ences have length 15.
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et and denote' respectivel"' the n!mber of se!ences of length ending in and #
If a se!ence ends in an ' then it m!st have been formed b" appending t&o s to the end
of a string of length # If a se!ence ends in a it m!st have either been formed b"
appending one to a string of length ending in an ' or b" appending t&o s to a
string of length ending in a # +h!s' &e have the rec!rsions 2"
co!nting' &e find that #
+herefore' the n!mber of s!ch strings of length is #
Solution 2
-e replace "15" &ith " "# -e first note that &e m!st have an even n!mber of ch!n0s of
8s' beca!se of parit" iss!es# -e then note that ever" ch!n0 of 8s e)cept the last one m!st
end in the se!ence ' since &e need at least t&o 8s to separate it from the ne)t
ch!n0 of 8s# +he last ch!n0 of 8s m!st' of co!rse' end &ith a # +h!s o!r se!ence m!st
loo0 li0e this /
&h
ere each bo) holds an even n!mber of letters (possibl" 4ero*#
If &e &ant a se!ence &ith ch!n0s of 8s' then &e have letters &ith
&hich to fill the bo)es# %ince each bo) m!st have an even n!mber of letters' &e ma" p!t
the letters in the bo)es in pairs# +hen &e have pairs of letters to p!t
into bo)es# 2" a classic balls-and-bins arg!ment' the n!mber of &a"s to do this is
It follo&s that the total n!mber of desirable se!ences is
$or ' this eval!ates as #
Problem
Hn a long straight stretch of one-&a" single-lane high&a"' cars all travel at the same speed
and all obe" the safet" r!le/ the distance from the bac0 of the car ahead to the front of the
car behind is e)actl" one car length for each 17 0ilometers per ho!r of speed or fraction
thereof (+h!s the front of a car traveling 7, 0ilometers per ho!r &ill be fo!r car lengths
behind the bac0 of the car in front of it#* A photoelectric e"e b" the side of the road co!nts
the n!mber of cars that pass in one ho!r# Ass!ming that each car is 5 meters long and that
the cars can travel at an" speed' let be the ma)im!m &hole n!mber of cars that can
pass the photoelectric e"e in one ho!r# $ind the !otient &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
3et be the n!mber of car lengths that separates each car# +hen their speed is # 3et
a !nit be the distance bet&een the cars (front to front*# +hen the length of each !nit
is #
Dence' &e co!nt the n!mber of !nits that pass the e"e in an
ho!r/ # -e &ish to ma)imi4e this#
Hbserve that as gets larger' gets less and less significant' so &e ta0e the limit as
approaches infinit"
@o&' as the speeds are clearl" finite' &e can never act!all" reach f!ll !nits# Do&ever'
&e onl" need to find the n!mber of cars# -e can arbitraril" increase their speed so that the
camera stops (e)actl" one ho!r goes b"* after the car part of the th !nit has passed'
b!t not all of the space behind it# Dence' cars is possible' and the ans&er is #
Problem
3et
%!ppose that
+here is a point for &hich for all s!ch pol"nomials' &here ' ' and
are positive integers' and are relativel" prime' and # $ind #
%ol!tion
Adding the above t&o e!ations gives ' and so &e can ded!ce that #
%imilarl"' pl!gging in and gives and # @o&'
+herefore and # $inall"'
%o #
@o&
#
In order for the above to be 4ero' &e m!st have
and
Canceling terms on the second e!ation gives !s # Pl!gging
that into the first e!ation and solving "ields '
and #
Problem
3et be a diameter of circle # E)tend thro!gh to # Point lies on so that
line is tangent to # Point is the foot of the perpendic!lar from to line #
%!ppose ' and let denote the ma)im!m possible length of segment #
$ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et # %ince ' it follo&s easil" that #
+h!s # 2" the 3a& of Cosines on '
&here
' so/
3et
B this is a !adratic' and its discriminant m!st be
nonnegative/ # +h!s'
E!alit" holds &hen #
Solution 2
$rom the diagram' &e see that ' and
that #
+his is a !adratic e!ation' ma)imi4ed &hen #
+h!s' #
Problem
A s!are piece of paper has sides of length # $rom each corner a &edge is c!t in the
follo&ing manner/ at each corner' the t&o c!ts for the &edge each start at a distance
from the corner' and the" meet on the diagonal at an angle of (see the fig!re belo&*#
+he paper is then folded !p along the lines 6oining the vertices of ad6acent c!ts# -hen the
t&o edges of a c!t meet' the" are taped together# +he res!lt is a paper tra" &hose sides are
not at right angles to the base# +he height of the tra"' that is' the perpendic!lar distance
bet&een the plane of the base and the plane formed b" the !pped edges' can be &ritten in
the form ' &here and are positive integers' ' and is not divisible b"
the th po&er of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
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Solution 1
In the original pict!re' let be the corner' and and be the t&o points &hose distance
is from # Also' let be the point &here the t&o c!ts intersect#
Fsing (a 57-57-9A triangle*' #
is e!ilateral' so # (Alternativel"' &e co!ld find this b" the 3a& of %ines#*
+he length of the perpendic!lar from to in is ' and the length of the
perpendic!lar from to in is # Adding those t&o
lengths' # (Alternativel"' &e co!ld have !sed
that #*
?rop a perpendic!lar from to the side of the s!are containing and let the intersection
be #
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code Unable to con!ert "#S file$
3et be the smaller s!are base of the tra" and let be the larger s!are'
s!ch that ' etc' are edges# 3et be the foot of the perpendic!lar from to
plane #
-e 0no& and # @o&' !se the
P"thagorean +heorem on triangle to find /
+he ans&er is #
Solution 2
In the final p"ramid' let be the smaller s!are and let be the larger
s!are s!ch that ' etc# are edges#
It is obvio!s from the diagram that #
3et and be the positive and a)es in a 1-d coordinate s"stem s!ch that has a
positive coordinate# 3et be the angle made &ith the positive a)is# ?efine and
analogo!sl"#
It is eas" to see that if ' then # $!rthermore' this means
that #
-e have that ' so #
It is eas" to see from the 3a& of %ines that #
@o&' #
It follo&s that the ans&er is #
2008 2
!!/ #$%& $$ 'roblems('roblem )
Problem
3et ' &here the additions
and s!btractions alternate in pairs# $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
%ince &e &ant the remainder &hen is divided b" ' &e ma" ignore the term#
+hen' appl"ing the difference of s!ares factori4ation to consec!tive terms'
Problem
:!dolph bi0es at a constant rate and stops for a five-min!te brea0 at the end of ever" mile#
Xennifer bi0es at a constant rate &hich is three-!arters the rate that :!dolph bi0es' b!t
Xennifer ta0es a five-min!te brea0 at the end of ever" t&o miles# Xennifer and :!dolph begin
bi0ing at the same time and arrive at the -mile mar0 at e)actl" the same time# Do& man"
min!tes has it ta0en them.
%ol!tion
3et :!dolf bi0e at a rate ' so Xennifer bi0es at the rate # 3et the time both ta0e be #
+hen :!dolf stops times (beca!se the rest after he reaches the finish does not co!nt*'
losing a total of min!tes' &hile Xennifer stops times' losing a total
of min!tes# +he time :!dolf and Xennifer act!all" ta0e bi0ing is
then respectivel"#
Fsing the form!la ' since both Xennifer and :!dolf bi0e miles'
%!bstit!ting e!ation into e!ation and simplif"ing' &e find
Problem
A bloc0 of cheese in the shape of a rectang!lar solid meas!res cm b" cm b" cm# +en slices
are c!t from the cheese# Each slice has a &idth of cm and is c!t parallel to one face of the cheese#
+he individ!al slices are not necessaril" parallel to each other# -hat is the ma)im!m possible vol!me
in c!bic cm of the remaining bloc0 of cheese after ten slices have been c!t off.
%ol!tion
3et the lengths of the three sides of the rectang!lar solid after the c!tting be ' so that the
desired vol!me is # @ote that each c!t red!ces one of the dimensions b" one' so that after ten
c!ts' # 2" AM-
EM' # E!alit" is achieved &hen ' &hich
is possible if &e ma0e one slice perpendic!lar to the cm edge' fo!r slices perpendic!lar to the cm
edge' and five slices perpendic!lar to the cm edge#
Problem
+here e)ist !ni!e nonnegative integers and !ni!e integers (
* &ith each either or s!ch that
$ind #
%ol!tion
In base ' &e find that # In other &ords'
In order to re&rite as a s!m of perfect po&ers of ' &e can !se the fact that /
+he ans&er is #
Problem 7
In trape4oid &ith ' let and # 3et
' ' and and be the midpoints of and ' respectivel"# $ind the length #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
E)tend and to meet at a point # +hen #
As ' note that the midpoint of ' ' is the center of the circ!mcircle of #
-e can do the same &ith the circ!mcircle abo!t and (or &e co!ld appl" the homothet" to
find in terms of *# It follo&s that
+h!s #
$or p!rposes of rigor &e &ill sho& that are collinear# %ince ' then and
are homothetic &ith respect to point b" a ratio of # %ince the homothet" carries the
midpoint of ' ' to the midpoint of ' &hich is ' then are collinear#
Solution 2
3et be the feet of the perpendic!lars from onto ' respectivel"# 3et '
so and # Also'
let #
2" AA]' &e have that ' and so
2" the P"thagorean +heorem on ' so #
Solution 3
If "o! drop perpendic!lars from and to ' and call the points if "o! drop perpendic!lars
from and to and call the points &here the" meet ' and respectivel" and
call and ' then "o! can solve an e!ation in tangents# %ince
and ' "o! can solve the e!ation Lb" cross-m!ltiplicationM/
Do&ever' &e 0no& that and are co-f!nctions# Appl"ing this'
@o&' if &e can find '
and the height of the trape4oid' &e can create a right triangle and !se the P"thagorean +heorem to
find #
+he leg of the right triangle along the hori4ontal is/
@o& to find the other leg of the right triangle (also the height of the trape4oid*' &e can simplif" the
follo&ing e)pression/
@o& &e !sed P"thagorean +heorem and get that is e!al to/
Do&ever' and so no& &e end !p &ith/
Solution 4
Plot the trape4oid s!ch that '
' ' and #
+he midpoints of the re!ested sides are
and #
+o find the distance from to ' &e simpl" appl" the distance form!la and the P"thagorean
identit" to get #
Solution &
%imilar to sol!tion 1B @otice that it forms a right triangle# :emembering that the median to the
h"poten!se is simpl" half the length of the h"poten!se' &e !ic0l" see that the length is ,AA8/,-
1AAA/,;7A5#
Solution -
Hbvio!sl"' these angles are random--the onl" special thing abo!t them is that the" add !p to 9A# %o
&e might as &ell let the given angles e!al 57 and 57' and no& the ans&er is triviall" # (+he
trape4oid is isosceles' and "o! see t&o 57-57-9A trianglesBfrom there "o! can get the ans&er#*
Problem
+he se!ence is defined b" +he
se!ence is defined b" $ind #
%ol!tion
:earranging the definitions' &e have from &hich it follo&s
that and #
+hese rec!rsions' and ' respectivel"' correspond to the e)plicit
f!nctions and (after appl"ing o!r initial conditions*# It follo&s
that #
Problem
3et ' ' and be the three roots of the e!ation
$ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
2" Wieta8s form!las' &e have ' and so the desired ans&er
is #
Additionall"' !sing the factori4ation
&e have
that # 2" Wieta8s
again'
Solution 2
Wieta8s form!las gives # %ince is a root of the
pol"nomial' ' and the same can be done
&ith # +herefore' &e have
"ielding the
ans&er #
Problem
3et # $ind the smallest positive integer s!ch that
is an integer#
%ol!tion
2" the prod!ct-to-s!m identities' &e have that # +herefore'
this red!ces to a telescoping series/
+h!s' &e need to be an integerB this can be onl" ' &hich occ!r
&hen is an integer# +h!s # It easil"
follo&s that is the smallest s!ch integer#
Problem
A particle is located on the coordinate plane at # ?efine a mo,e for the particle as a
co!ntercloc0&ise rotation of radians abo!t the origin follo&ed b" a translation of !nits in the
positive -direction# Eiven that the particle8s position after moves is ' find the greatest
integer less than or e!al to #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et P()' "* be the position of the particle on the )"-plane' r be the length HP &here H is the origin'
and be the inclination of HP to the )-a)is# If ()8' "8* is the position of the particle after a move from
P' then
and # 3et be the position of the particle after the nth
move' &here and # +hen
' # +his implies ' #
%!bstit!ting and ' &e have and again for the first time#
+h!s' and # Dence' the final ans&er is
Solution 2
3et the particle8s position be represented b" a comple) n!mber# +he transformation ta0es
to &here and # -e let and
so that &e &ant to find #
2asicall"' the thing comes o!t to
@otice that
$!rthermore' # +h!s' the final ans&er is
Problem
+he diagram belo& sho&s a rectang!lar arra" of points' each of &hich is !nit a&a" from its
nearest neighbors#
?efine a $ro'in$ path to be a se!ence of distinct points of the arra" &ith the propert" that the
distance bet&een consec!tive points of the se!ence is strictl" increasing# 3et be the ma)im!m
possible n!mber of points in a gro&ing path' and let be the n!mber of gro&ing paths consisting of
e)actl" points# $ind #
%ol!tion
-e label o!r points !sing coordinates ' &ith the bottom-left point being # 2"
the P"thagorean +heorem' the distance bet&een t&o points is &here B
these "ield the possible distances (in decreasing order*
As these define lengths' so the ma)im!m
val!e of is # $or no&' &e ass!me that is achievable# 2eca!se it is diffic!lt to
immediatel" impose restrictions on a path &ith increasing distances' &e consider the paths
in shrin(in$ fashion# @ote that the shrin(in$ paths and $ro'in$ paths are e!ivalent' b!t there are
restrictions !pon the locations of the first edges of the former#
+he length is onl" possible for one of the long diagonals' so o!r path m!st start &ith one of the
corners of the grid# -itho!t loss of generalit" (since the grid is rotationall" s"mmetric*' &e let the
verte) be and the endpoint be #
+he length can no& onl" go to pointsB d!e to reflectional s"mmetr" abo!t the main diagonal'
&e ma" -3HE let the ne)t endpoint be #
$rom ' there are t&o possible &a"s to move a&a"' either to or # Do&ever'
from ' there is no &a" to move a&a"' so &e discard it as a possibilit"#
$rom ' the lengths of fort!natel" are all determined' &ith the endpoint
se!ence being #
$rom ' there are possible lengths of (to either *# +h!s' the n!mber of
paths is ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
In triangle ' ' and # Circle has radi!s and is tangent to
and # Circle is e)ternall" tangent to and is tangent to and # @o point of circle lies
o!tside of # +he radi!s of circle can be e)pressed in the form ' &here ' '
and are positive integers and is the prod!ct of distinct primes# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et and be the feet of the perpendic!lars from and to ' respectivel"# 3et the radi!s
of be # -e 0no& that # $rom dra& segment s!ch that is
on # Clearl"' and # Also' &e 0no& is a right triangle#
+o find ' consider the right triangle # %ince is tangent to ' then
bisects # 3et B then # ?ropping the altit!de from
to ' &e recogni4e the right triangle' e)cept scaled b" #
%o &e get that # $rom the half-angle identit"' &e find that #
+herefore' # 2" similar reasoning in triangle ' &e see that #
-e concl!de that #
%o o!r right triangle has sides ' ' and #
2" the P"thagorean +heorem' simplification' and the !adratic form!la' &e can get '
for a final ans&er of #
Problem
+here are t&o disting!ishable flagpoles' and there are flags' of &hich are identical bl!e flags'
and are identical green flags# 3et be the n!mber of disting!ishable arrangements !sing all of the
flags in &hich each flagpole has at least one flag and no t&o green flags on either pole are ad6acent#
$ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
+he &ell 0no&n problem of ordering elements of a string of elements s!ch that none of the
elements are ne)t to each other has sol!tions# (1*
-e generali4e for bl!es and greens# Consider a string of elements s!ch that &e &ant to
choose the greens s!ch that none of them are ne)t to each other# -e &o!ld also li0e to choose a place
&here &e can divide this string into t&o strings s!ch that the left one represents the first pole' and the
right one represents the second pole' in order !p the pole according to position on the string#
Do&ever' this method does not acco!nt for the fact that the first pole co!ld end &ith a green' and the
second pole co!ld start &ith a green' since the original string ass!med that no greens co!ld be
consec!tive# -e solve this problem b" introd!cing an e)tra bl!e' s!ch that &e choose o!r divider b"
choosing one of these bl!es' and not incl!ding that one as a flag on either pole#
$rom (1*' &e no& have &a"s to order the string s!ch that no greens are ne)t to each other'
and &a"s to choose the e)tra bl!e that &ill divide the string into the t&o poles/
or orderings in total#
Do&ever' &e have overco!nted the sol!tions &here either pole has no flags' &e have to co!nt these
separatel"# +his is the same as choosing o!r e)tra bl!e as one of the t&o ends' and ordering the
other bl!es and greens s!ch that no greens are ne)t to each other/ for a total of s!ch
orderings#
+h!s' &e have orderings that satisf" the conditions in the problem/
pl!gging in and ' &e get #
Problem
A reg!lar he)agon &ith center at the origin in the comple) plane has opposite pairs of sides one !nit
apart# Hne pair of sides is parallel to the imaginar" a)is# 3et be the region o!tside the he)agon' and
let # +hen the area of has the form ' &here and are positive
integers# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
If a point is in ' then the point is in
(&here cis denotes *# %ince is s"mmetric ever" abo!t the origin' it
s!ffices to consider the area of the res!lt of the transformation &hen ' and then to
m!ltipl" b" to acco!nt for the entire area#
-e note that if the region ' &here is the region (in green belo&* o!tside the
circle of radi!s centered at the origin' then is simpl" the region inside a circle of radi!s
centered at the origin# It no& s!ffices to find &hat happens to the mapping of the region (in
bl!e belo&*#
+he e!ation of the he)agon side in that region is ' &hich is transformed
to # 3et &here B
then ' so the e!ation
becomes # Dence the side is sent to an arc of the !nit
circle centered at ' after considering the restriction that the side of the he)agon is a segment of
length #
Incl!ding ' &e find that is the !nion of si) !nit circles centered at ' ' as
sho&n belo&#

+he area of the reg!lar he)agon is # +he total area of the si)
sectors is # +heir s!m is ' and #
%ol!tion , !sing Calc!l!s (Cheating*
Hne can describe the line parallel to the imaginar" a)is !sing polar coordinates
as
so is e!al to
?ividing the he)agon to 1, e!al parts &e get that
&hich is a ro!tine comp!tation/
#
Problem
3et and be positive real n!mbers &ith # 3et be the ma)im!m possible val!e of for &hich
the s"stem of e!ations has a sol!tion in
satisf"ing and # +hen can be e)pressed as a fraction ' &here and
are relativel" primepositive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
@otice that the given e!ation implies
-e have ' so #
+hen' notice ' so #
+he sol!tion satisfies the e!ation' so ' and the ans&er
is #
Solution 2
Consider the points and # +he" form an e!ilateral triangle &ith the origin# -e let the side
length be ' so and #
+h!s and &e need to ma)imi4e this for #
A !ic0 differentiation sho&s that ' so the ma)im!m is at the
endpoint # -e then get
+hen' ' and the ans&er is #
Solution 3
Consider a c"clic !adrilateral &ith '
and # +hen $rom Ptolem"8s
+heorem' ' so
%im
plif"ing' &e have #
@ote the circ!mcircle of has radi!s ' so and has an arc of degrees'
so # 3et #
' &here both and are since triangle m!st
be ac!te# %ince is an increasing f!nction over ' is also increasing f!nction
over #
ma)imi4es at ma)imi4es at # +his s!ared is ' and #
Problem
$ind the largest integer satisf"ing the follo&ing conditions/
(i* can be e)pressed as the difference of t&o consec!tive c!besB
(ii* is a perfect s!are#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-rite ' or
e!ivalentl"' #
%ince and are both odd and their difference is ' the" are relativel" prime# 2!t since
their prod!ct is three times a s!are' one of them m!st be a s!are and the other three times a
s!are# -e cannot have be three times a s!are' for then &o!ld be a s!are
congr!ent to mod!lo ' &hich is impossible#
+h!s is a s!are' sa" # 2!t is also a s!are' sa" #
+hen # %ince and have the same parit" and their
prod!ct is even' the" are both even# +o ma)imi4e ' it s!ffices to ma)imi4e
and chec0 that this "ields an integral val!e for # +his occ!rs &hen and ' that
is' &hen and # +his "ields and ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
%!ppose that the consec!tive c!bes are and # -e can !se completing the s!are and the
first condition to get/ &here and are non-negative
integers# @o& this is a Pell e!ation' &ith sol!tions in the form
# Do&ever' is even and is odd# It is eas" to see that the parit" of and s&itch
each time (b" ind!ction*# Dence all sol!tions to the first condition are in the form/
&here # %o &e can (&ith ver" little effort* obtain the
follo&ing/ # It is an AIME problem so it is implicit
that ' so # It is eas" to see that is strictl" increasing b" ind!ction#
Chec0ing in the second condition &or0s (&e 0no& is odd so &e don8t
need to find *# %o &e8re done#
2009 1
Problem
Call a -digit n!mber $eometric if it has distinct digits &hich' &hen read from left to right' form a
geometric se!ence# $ind the difference bet&een the largest and smallest geometric n!mbers#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Ass!me that the largest geometric n!mber starts &ith a nine# -e 0no& that the common ratio m!st
be a rational of the form for some integer ' beca!se a &hole n!mber sho!ld be attained for the
1rd term as &ell# -hen ' the n!mber is # -hen ' the n!mber is # -hen ' &e
get ' b!t the integers m!st be distinct# 2" the same logic' the smallest geometric n!mber is #
+he largest geometric n!mber is and the smallest is # +h!s the difference
is #
Solution 2
Consider the three-digit n!mber # If its digits form a geometric se!ence' &e m!st have
that ' that is' #
+he minim!m and ma)im!m geometric n!mbers occ!r &hen is mini4ed and ma)imi4ed'
respectivel"# +he minim!m occ!rs &hen B letting and achieves this' so the smallest
possible geometric n!mber is 1,5#
$or the ma)im!m' &e have that B is ma)imi4ed &hen is the greatest possible perfect
s!areB this happens &hen ' "ielding # +h!s' the largest possible geometric n!mber is
995#
H!r ans&er is th!s #
Solution 3
+he smallest geometric n!mber is 1,5 beca!se 1,1 and an" n!mber containing a 4ero does not &or0#
995 is the largest geometric n!mber beca!se the middle digit cannot be 8 or 7# %!btracting the
n!mbers gives
Problem
+here is a comple) n!mber &ith imaginar" part and a positive integer s!ch that
$ind #
%ol!tion
1st Solution
3et #
+hen and
2" comparing coefficients' e!ating the real terms on the leftmost and rightmost side of the e!ation'
&e concl!de that
2" e!ating the imaginar" terms on each side of the e!ation'
&e concl!de that
-e no& have an e!ation for /
and this e!ation sho&s that
2nd Solution
%ince their imaginar" part has to be e!al'
Problem
A coin that comes !p heads &ith probabilit" and tails &ith probabilit" independentl"
on each flip is flipped eight times# %!ppose the probabilit" of three heads and five tails is e!al to
of the probabilit" of five heads and three tails# 3et ' &here and are relativel" prime
%ol!tion
+he probabilit" of three heads and five tails is and the probabilit" of five heads and
three tails is #
Problem 5
In parallelogram ' point is on so that and point is on so
that # 3et be the point of intersection of and # $ind #
%ol!tion 1
Hne of the &a"s to solve this problem is to ma0e this parallelogram a straight line# %o the &hole
length of the line is ( or *' and is
( or * is
%o the ans&er is
%ol!tion ,
?ra& a diagram &ith all the given points and lines involved# Constr!ct parallel lines
and to ' &here for the lines the endpoints are on and ' respectivel"' and each
point refers to an intersection# Also' dra& the median of !adrilateral &here the
points are in order from top to bottom# Clearl"' b" similar triangles'
and # It is not diffic!lt to see that is the center of !adrilateral and
th!s the midpoint of as &ell as the midpoint of (all of this is easil" proven &ith s"mmetr"*#
$rom more triangle
similarit"'
#
%ol!tion 1
Fsing vectors' note that and # @ote
that for some positive ) and "' b!t at the same time is a scalar m!ltiple
of # %o' &riting the e!ation in terms of and ' &e
have # 2!t the coefficients of the t&o vectors m!st be e!al beca!se' as
alread" stated' is a scalar m!ltiple of # -e then see that
and # $inall"' &e have and'
simplif"ing' and the desired !antit" is #
%ol!tion 5
-e approach the problem !sing mass points on triangle as displa"ed belo&#
2!t as does not protr!de from a verte)' &e &ill have to "split the mass" at point # $irst' &e
0no& that bisects # +herefore' &e assign e!al masses to points and # In this case' &e
assign and a mass of 17 each# @o& &e split the mass at ' so &e balance segments
and separatel"' and then the mass of is the s!m of those masses# A mass of 981 is re!ired to
balance segment ' &hile a mass of 199, is re!ired to balance segment # +herefore' has a
mass of # Also' has a mass of 15# +herefore' '
so #
Problem
+riangle has and # Points and are located on and
respectivel" so that ' and is the angle bisector of angle # 3et be the point of
intersection of and ' and let be the point on line for &hich is the midpoint
of # If ' find #
%ol!tion
%ince is the midpoint of and ' !adrilateral is a parallelogram' &hich
implies and is similar to
+h!s'
@o& lets appl" the angle bisector theorem#
Problem
Do& man" positive integers less than are there s!ch that the e!ation has a
sol!tion for . (+he notation denotes the greatest integer that is less than or e!al to #*
%ol!tion
$irst' m!st be less than ' since other&ise &o!ld be at least &hich is greater than #
@o&' m!st be an integer' so lets do case &or0/
$or ' no matter &hat is
$or ' can be an"thing bet&een to e)cl!ding
+his gives !s 8s
+his gives !s 8s
+his gives !s 8s
+his gives !s 8s
%ince m!st be less than ' &e can stop here and the ans&er ans&er is
#
Problem
+he se!ence satisfies and for # 3et be the least
integer greater than for &hich is an integer# $ind #
%ol!tion
+he best &a" to solve this problem is to get the iterated part o!t of the e)ponent/
%inc
e ' &e can easil" !se ind!ction to sho&
that # %o no& &e onl" need to find the ne)t val!e of that
ma0es an integer# +his means that m!st be a po&er of # -e test /
+his has no integral sol!tions' so &e tr" /
Problem 8
3et # Consider all possible positive differences of pairs of elements of #
3et be the s!m of all of these differences# $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-hen comp!ting ' the n!mber &ill be added times (for terms '
' ###' *' and s!btracted times# Dence can be comp!ted
as #
-e can no& simpl" eval!ate # Hne reasonabl" simple &a"/
Solution 2
In this sol!tion &e sho& a more general approach that can be !sed even if &ere replaced b" a
larger val!e#
As in %ol!tion 1' &e sho& that #
3et and let # +hen obvio!sl" #
Comp!ting is eas"' as this is simpl" a geometric series &ith s!m #
Dence #
-e can comp!te !sing a tric0 0no&n as the change of s!mmation order#
Imagine &riting do&n a table that has ro&s &ith labels A to 1A# In ro& ' &rite the n!mber into the
first col!mns# =o! &ill get a triang!lar table# Hbvio!sl"' the ro& s!ms of this table are of the
form ' and therefore the s!m of all the n!mbers is precisel" #
@o& consider the ten col!mns in this table# 3et8s label them 1 to 1A# In col!mn ' "o! have the
val!es to ' each of them once# And this is 6!st a geometric series &ith the s!m # -e
can no& s!m these col!mn s!ms to get # Dence &e
have # +his simplifies
to #
Dence #
+hen #
Solution 3
Consider the !ni!e differences # %imple case&or0 "ields a s!m
of

# +his method
generali4es nicel" as &ell#
Problem
A game sho& offers a contestant three pri4es A' 2 and C' each of &hich is &orth a &hole n!mber of
dollars from ^ to ^ incl!sive# +he contestant &ins the pri4es b" correctl" g!essing the price of
each pri4e in the order A' 2' C# As a hint' the digits of the three prices are given# Hn a partic!lar da"'
the digits given &ere # $ind the total n!mber of possible g!esses for all three pri4es
consistent &ith the hint#
%ol!tion
%ince &e have three n!mbers' consider the n!mber of &a"s &e can p!t these three n!mbers together
in a string of 7 digits# $or e)ample' if ' then the string is
%ince the strings have seven digits and three threes' there are arrangements of all s!ch
strings#
In order to obtain all combination of A'2'C' &e partition all the possible strings into 1 gro!ps#
3et8s loo0 at the e)ample# -e have to partition it into 1 gro!ps &ith each gro!p having at least 1 digit#
In other &ords' &e need to find the sol!tion to
+his gives !s
&a"s b" balls and !rns# 2!t &e have co!nted the one &ith 7 digit n!mbersB that
is' #
+h!s' each arrangement has &a"s per arrangement' and there are
&a"s#
Problem
+he Ann!al Interplanetar" Mathematics E)amination (AIME* is &ritten b" a committee of five
Martians' five Wen!sians' and five Earthlings# At meetings' committee members sit at a ro!nd table
&ith chairs n!mbered from to in cloc0&ise order# Committee r!les state that a Martian m!st
occ!p" chair and an Earthling m!st occ!p" chair ' $!rthermore' no Earthling can sit immediatel"
to the left of a Martian' no Martian can sit immediatel" to the left of a Wen!sian' and no Wen!sian can
sit immediatel" to the left of an Earthling# +he n!mber of possible seating arrangements for the
committee is # $ind #
%ol!tion
since the 7 members of each plant committee are distinct &e get that the n!mber of arrangement of
sittings is in the form beca!se for each M'W'E se!ence &e have arrangements &ithin the
Ms' Ws' and Es# &hich res!lts in a n!mber above
%ince after each planet' onl" members of another planet can follo&' &e simpl" co!nt the lengths of
the bloc0s adding !p to ten# +hese bloc0s m!st be of the form MWE &ith a certain n!mber of
M8s'W8s'and E8s'&e consider a fe& different cases/
1# Hne bloc0 of five people- +here is onl" one &a" to arrange this so #
,# $ive bloc0s of one person - +here is also onl" one &a" to arrange this so &e get #
1# +&o bloc0s - +here are t&o cases/ and # Each of these can be arranged t&o &a"s so &e
get #
5# +hree bloc0s - +here are also t&o cases/ and #Each of these can be arranged
three &a"s giving !s #
7# $o!r bloc0s - +here is onl" one case/ # +his can be arranged fo!r &a"s giving
!s #
Combining all these cases' &e get
Problem
Consider the set of all triangles &here is the origin and and are distinct points in the
plane &ith nonnegative integer coordinates s!ch that # $ind the n!mber of
s!ch distinct triangles &hose area is a positive integer#
%ol!tion 1
3et the t&o points and be defined &ith coordinatesB and
-e can calc!late the area of the parallelogram &ith the determinant of the matri) of the coordinates
of the t&o points(shoelace theorem*#
%ince the triangle has half the area of the parallelogram' &e 6!st need the determinant to be even#
+he determinant is
%ince is not even' m!st be even' th!s the t&o 8s m!st be of the same parit"#
Also note that the ma)im!m val!e for is and the minim!m is # +here are even and odd
n!mbers available for !se as coordinates and th!s there are s!ch
triangles#
%ol!tion ,
As in the sol!tion above' let the t&o points and be defined &ith coordinatesB
and #
If the coordinates of and have nonnegative integer coordinates' and m!st be lattice points
either
on the nonnegative )-a)is
on the nonnegative "-a)is
in the first !adrant

-e can calc!late the "-intercept of the line to be and the )-intercept to
be #
Fsing the point-to-line distance form!la' &e can calc!late the height of from verte) (the
origin* to be/
3et be the base of the triangle that is part of the line #
+he area is calc!lated as/
3et the n!merical area of the triangle be #
%o'
-e 0no& that is an integer# %o' ' &here is also an integer#
-e defined the points and as and #
Changing the "-coordinates to be in terms of )' &e get/
and #
+he distance bet&een them e!als #
Fsing the distance form!la' &e get

-3HE' &e can ass!me that #
+a0ing the last t&o e!alities from the string of e!alities and p!tting in o!r ass!mption
that ' &e get
#
?ividing both sides b" ' &e get
As &e mentioned' is an integer' so is an even integer# Also' and are both positive
integers# %o' and are bet&een A and 59' incl!sive# :emember' as &ell#
+here are 58 ordered pairs s!ch that their positive difference is ,#
+here are 59 ordered pairs s!ch that their positive difference is 5#

###
$inall"' there are , ordered pairs s!ch that their positive difference is 58#
%!mming them !p' &e get that there are triangles#
%ol!tion 1
-e present a non-anal"tic sol!tionB consider the lattice points on the line # +he line
has intercepts and ' so the lattice points for divide the line into
e!al segments# Call the area of the large triangle # An" triangle formed &ith the origin having a
base of one of these segments has area (call this val!e * beca!se the height is the same as
that of large triangle' and the bases are in the ratio # A segment comprised of small segments
(all ad6acent to each other* &ill have area # :e&riting in terms of the original
area' ' ' and # It is clear that in order to have a
nonnegative integer for as desired' m!st be even# +his is e!ivalent to finding the n!mber of
&a"s to choose t&o distinct -val!es and ( * s!ch that their positive difference
( * is even# $ollo& one of the previo!s methods above to choose these pairs and arrive at the ans&er
of 9AA#
Problem
In right &ith h"poten!se ' ' ' and is the altit!de to # 3et
be the circle having as a diameter# 3et be a point o!tside s!ch that and are
both tangent to circle # +he ratio of the perimeter of to the length can be e)pressed in
the form ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
3et be center of the circle and ' be the t&o points of tangent s!ch that is on and is
on # -e 0no& that #
%ince the ratios bet&een corresponding lengths of t&o similar diagrams are e!al' &e can
let and # Dence and
the radi!s #
%ince &e have and ' &e
have #
Dence # let ' then &e have Area
; ; # +hen &e
get #
@o& the e!ation loo0s ver" comple) b!t &e can ta0e a g!ess here# Ass!me that is a rational
n!mber (If it8s not then the ans&er to the problem &o!ld be irrational &hich can8t be in the form of
* that can be e)pressed as s!ch that # 3oo0 at both sidesB &e can 0no& that has to be a
m!ltiple of and not of and it8s reasonable to thin0 that is divisible b" so that &e can cancel
o!t the on the right side of the e!ation#
3et8s see if fits# %ince '
and # Ama4ingl" it
fitsG
%ince &e 0no& that ' the other sol!tion of this
e!ation is negative &hich can be ignored# Dence #
Dence the perimeter is ' and is #
Dence ' #
%ol!tion ,
As in %ol!tion ' let and be the intersections of &ith and respectivel"#
$irst' b" p"thagorean theorem' # @o& the area of
is ' so and the inradi!s of is #
@o& from &e find that so and
similarl"' #
@ote ' ' and # %o &e have
' # @o& &e can comp!te the area of in t&o &a"s/ b" heron8s form!la and
b" inradi!s times semiperimeter' &hich "ields

+he !adratic form!la no& "ields # Pl!gging this bac0 in' the perimeter of
is so the ratio of the perimeter to is and o!r
ans&er is
%ol!tion 1
As in %ol!tion ' let and be the intersections of &ith and respectivel"#
:ecall that the distance from a point o!tside a circle to that circle is the same along both tangent lines
to the circle dra&n from the point#
:ecall also that the length of the altit!de to the h"poten!se of a right-angle triangle is the geometric
mean of the t&o segments into &hich it c!ts the h"poten!se#
3et # 3et # 3et # +he semi-perimeter of
is # %ince the lengths of the sides of are ' and ' the s!are of its
area b" Deron8s form!la is #
+he radi!s of is # +herefore # As is the in-circle of ' the area of is
also ' and so the s!are area is #
+herefore ?ividing both sides
b" &e get/ and so # +he semi-perimeter
of is therefore and the &hole perimeter is # @o& ' so the ratio
of the perimeter of to the h"poten!se is and o!r ans&er is
%ol!tion 5
-e shall "et again let and be the intersections of and to ' respectivel"# -e &ant to find
the perimeter of ' &hich is # -e can easil" find
and !sing the fact that ' ' and are all similar triangles# -e get
and # %ince and are tangents to ' ' and
similarl" # -e no& &ish to find and #
3et the center of the given circle be # -e 0no& that ' '
and # %ince all si) angles s!m to ' # If
&e 0ne& the radi!s of circle no&' then &e co!ld find and ' and then &e
can !se the s!m (or difference* of tangents form!la to find ' &hich reveals # +his
means &e sho!ld find the radi!s of # -e can easil" see that the height of triangle from has
length ' so the radi!s of is # @o& &e shall proceed &ith the above plan#
# #
#
+herefore ' and the perimeter of
is # %ince ' the desired ratio is '
and #
Problem
+he terms of the se!ence defined b" for are positive integers# $ind
the minim!m possible val!e of #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+his !estion is g!essable b!t let8s prove o!r ans&er
let p!t into no&
and set them e!al no&
let8s re&rite it
3et ma0e it loo0s nice and let
%ince and are integer' &e can see is divisible b"
2!t &e can8t have an infinite se!ence of proper factors' !nless
+h!s'
%o no&' &e 0no&
+o minimi4e ' &e need and
+h!s' ans&er
Solution 2
If ' then either
or
All the integers bet&een and &o!ld be incl!ded in the se!ence# Do&ever the se!ence is
infinite' so event!all" there &ill be a non-integral term#
%o ' &hich # -hen ' # +he smallest s!m of t&o
factors &hich have a prod!ct of is
Problem
$or ' define ' &here # If and ' find
the minim!m possible val!e for #
%ol!tion
2eca!se the order of the 8s doesn8t matter' &e simpl" need to find the n!mber of s s s and s
that minimi4e # %o let and represent the n!mber of s' s' s' and s respectivel"# +hen
&e can &rite three e!ations based on these variables# %ince there are a total of s' &e 0no&
that # -e also 0no& that
and # -e can no& solve these do&n to t&o variables/
%!bstit!ting this into the second and third e!ations' &e get
and +he second of these can be red!ced to
@o& &e s!bstit!te from the first ne& e!ation into the other ne&
e!ation#
%ince and are integers' the t&o sol!tions to this are or #
If "o! pl!g both these sol!tions in to it is apparent that the second one ret!rns a smaller val!e# It
t!rns o!t that ' ' ' and '
so #
Problem
In triangle ' ' ' and # 3et be a point in the interior of #
3et and denote the incenters of triangles and ' respectivel"# +he circ!mcircles of
triangles and meet at distinct points and # +he ma)im!m possible area
of can be e)pressed in the form ' &here ' ' and are positive integers and is
%ol!tion
$irst' b" 3a& of Cosines' &e have
+herefore' #
3et and be the circ!mcenters of triangles and ' respectivel"#
2eca!se and are half of and ' respectivel"' the above e)pression
&o!ld be'
%imilarl"'
+herefore is constant ( *# Also' is or &hen is or # 3et point be on the
same side of as &ith B is on the circle &ith as the center
and as the radi!s' &hich is # +he shortest distance from to is #
-hen the area of is the ma)im!m' the distance from to has to be the greatest# In
this case' it8s # +he ma)im!m area of is
2009 2
Problem
2efore starting to paint' 2ill had o!nces of bl!e paint' o!nces of red paint' and o!nces of
&hite paint# 2ill painted fo!r e!all" si4ed stripes on a &all' ma0ing a bl!e stripe' a red stripe' a &hite
stripe' and a pin0 stripe# Pin0 is a mi)t!re of red and &hite' not necessaril" in e!al amo!nts# -hen
2ill finished' he had e!al amo!nts of bl!e' red' and &hite paint left# $ind the total n!mber of o!nces
of paint 2ill had left#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
After the pin0 stripe is dra&n' all three colors &ill be !sed e!all" so the pin0 stripe m!st bring the
amo!nt of red and &hite paint do&n to o!nces each# %a" is the fraction of the pin0 paint that is
red paint and is the si4e of each stripe# +hen e!ations can be &ritten/
and # +he second e!ation becomes and s!bstit!ting the
first e!ation into this one &e get so # +he amo!nt of each color left over at the
end is th!s and #
Solution 2
-e 0no& that all the stripes are of e!al si4e# -e can then sa" that is the amo!nt of paint per
stripe# +hen &ill be the amo!nt of bl!e paint left# @o& for the other t&o stripes# +he amo!nt
of &hite paint left after the &hite stripe and the amo!nt of red paint left after the bl!e stripe
are and respectivel"# +he pin0 stripe is also r o!nces of paint' b!t let there be
o!nces of red paint in the mi)t!re and o!nces of &hite paint# -e no& have t&o
e!ations/ and # %olving "ields 0 ; 15
and r ; 9,# -e no& see that there &ill be o!nces of paint left in each
can#
Solution 3
3et the amo!nt of paint each stripe painted !sed be # Also' let the amo!nt of paint of each color left
be # 1 stripe is dra&n &ith the bl!e paint' and 1 stripes are dra&n &ith the red and &hite paints# Add
together the amo!nt of red and &hite paint' and obtain the follo&ing
e!ations / and # %olve to obtain # +herefore
is ' &ith three cans of e!al amo!nt of paint' the ans&er is #
Problem
%!ppose that ' ' and are positive real n!mbers s!ch that ' '
and # $ind
%ol!tion 1
$irst' &e have/
@o&' let ' then &e have/
+his is all &e need to eval!ate the given form!la# @ote that in o!r case &e have ' '
and # -e can no& comp!te/
%imilarl"' &e get
and
and therefore the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
-e 0no& from the first three e!ations that ; ' ; ' and
; # %!bstit!ting' &e get
R R
-e 0no& that ; ' so &e get
R R
R R
+he and the cancel o!t to ma0e ' and &e can do this for the other t&o terms# -e obtain
R R
; R R ; #
Problem
In rectangle ' # 3et be the midpoint of # Eiven that line and line
are perpendic!lar' find the greatest integer less than #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
$rom the problem' and triangle is a right triangle# As is a rectangle'
triangles ' and are also right triangles# 2" ' '
and ' so # +his gives #
and ' so ' or ' so ' or ' so the
ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the ratio of to # Hn the coordinate plane' plot '
' ' and # +hen # $!rthermore' the slope of is
and the slope of is # +he" are perpendic!lar' so the" m!ltipl" to ' that is'
&hich implies that or # +herefore so #
Problem
A gro!p of children held a grape-eating contest# -hen the contest &as over' the &inner had eaten
grapes' and the child in -th place had eaten grapes# +he total n!mber of grapes eaten
in the contest &as # $ind the smallest possible val!e of #
%ol!tion
<esol!ing t+e a%biguity
+he problem statement is conf!sing' as it can be interpreted in t&o &a"s/ Either as "there is a
s!ch that the child in -th place had eaten grapes"' or "for all ' the child in -th place
had eaten grapes"#
+he second meaning &as apparrentl" the intended one# Dence &e &ill restate the problem statement
in this &a"/
A gro!p of children held a grape-eating contest# -hen the contest &as over' the follo&ing &as tr!e/
+here &as a s!ch that for each bet&een and ' incl!sive' the child in -th place had eaten
e)actl" grapes# +he total n!mber of grapes eaten in the contest &as # $ind the
smallest possible val!e of #
Solution 1
+he total n!mber of grapes eaten can be comp!ted as the s!m of the arithmetic progression &ith
initial term (the n!mber of grapes eaten b" the child in -st place*' difference ' and n!mber
of terms # -e can easil" comp!te that this s!m is e!al to #
Dence &e have the e!ation ' and &e are loo0ing for a sol!tion ' &here
both and are positive integers' ' and is minimi4ed# (+he condition
states that even the last child had to eat a non-negative n!mber of grapes#*
+he prime factori4ation of is # Dence there are &a"s ho& to factor into
t&o positive terms and /
' ' then is a sol!tion#
In each of the other three cases' &ill obvio!sl" be less than ' hence these are not valid
sol!tions#
+he smallest valid sol!tion is therefore ' #
Solution 2
If the first child ate grapes' then the ma)im!m n!mber of grapes eaten b" all the children
together is # %imilarl"' if the first child
ate grapes' the ma)im!m total n!mber of grapes eaten
is #
$or the val!e is less than # Dence m!st be at
least # $or ' the ma)im!m possible s!m is # And &e can easil"
see that ' hence grapes can indeed be
achieved for b" dropping the last fo!r children#
Dence &e fo!nd a sol!tion &ith and 0ids' and &e also sho&ed that no smaller
sol!tion e)ists# +herefore the ans&er is #
Problem 7
E!ilateral triangle is inscribed in circle ' &hich has radi!s # Circle &ith radi!s is internall"
tangent to circle at one verte) of # Circles and ' both &ith radi!s ' are internall" tangent to
circle at the other t&o vertices of # Circles ' ' and are all e)ternall" tangent to circle '
&hich has radi!s ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the intersection of the circles &ith centers and ' and be the intersection of the circles
&ith centers and # %ince the radi!s of is ' ; # Ass!me ; # +hen and
are radii of circle and have length # ; ' and it can easil" be sho&n that angle
; degrees# Fsing the 3a& of Cosines on triangle ' &e obtain
; R - cos #
+he and the cos cancel o!t/
R R ; R -
R ; -
; ; # +he radi!s of circle is R ; ' so the ans&er is R ; #
Problem
3et be the n!mber of five-element s!bsets that can be chosen from the set of the first nat!ral
n!mbers so that at least t&o of the five n!mbers are consec!tive# $ind the remainder &hen is
divided b" #
%ol!tion
-e can !se complementar" co!nting# -e can choose a five-element s!bset in &a"s# -e &ill
no& co!nt those &here no t&o n!mbers are consec!tive# -e &ill sho& a bi6ection bet&een this set'
and the set of 1A-element strings that contain 7 s and 7 s' thereb" sho&ing that there are
s!ch sets#
Eiven a five-element s!bset of in &hich no t&o n!mbers are consec!tive' &e can
start b" &riting do&n a string of length 15' in &hich the -th character is if and other&ise#
@o& &e got a string &ith 7 s and 9 s# As no t&o n!mbers &ere consec!tive' &e 0no& that in o!r
string no t&o s are consec!tive# -e can no& remove e)actl" one from bet&een each pair of s to
get a string &ith 7 s and 7 s# And clearl" this is a bi6ection' as from each string &ith 7 s and 7
s &e can reconstr!ct one original set b" reversing the constr!ction#
Dence &e have ' and the ans&er
is #
Problem
?efine to be for odd and for even#
-hen is e)pressed as a fraction in lo&est terms' its denominator is &ith odd#
$ind #
%ol!tion
$irst' note that ' and that #
-e can no& ta0e the fraction and m!ltipl" both the n!merator and the den!merator
b" # -e get that this fraction is e!al to #
@o& &e can recogni4e that is simpl" ' hence this fraction is ' and o!r s!m t!rns
into #
3et # Hbvio!sl" is an integer' and can be &ritten as # Dence
if is e)pressed as a fraction in lo&est terms' its denominator &ill be of the form for
some #
In other &ords' &e 6!st sho&ed that # +o determine ' &e need to determine the largest po&er
of that divides #
3et be the largest s!ch that that divides #
-e can no& ret!rn to the observation that # +ogether
&ith the obvio!s fact that is odd' &e get that #
It immediatel" follo&s that ' and
hence #
Hbvio!sl"' for the f!nction is is a strictl"
decreasing f!nction# +herefore #
-e can no& comp!te #
Dence #
And th!s &e have ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
?ave rolls a fair si)-sided die !ntil a si) appears for the first time# Independentl"' 3inda rolls a fair si)-
sided die !ntil a si) appears for the first time# 3et and be relativel" prime positive integers s!ch
that is the probabilit" that the n!mber of times ?ave rolls his die is e!al to or &ithin one of the
n!mber of times 3inda rolls her die# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+here are man" almost e!ivalent approaches that lead to s!mming a geometric series# $or e)ample'
&e can comp!te the probabilit" of the opposite event# 3et be the probabilit" that ?ave &ill ma0e at
least t&o more thro&s than 3inda# Hbvio!sl"' is then also the probabilit" that 3inda &ill ma0e at
least t&o more thro&s than ?ave' and o!r ans&er &ill therefore be #
Do& to comp!te .
%!ppose that 3inda made e)actl" thro&s# +he probabilit" that this happens is ' as
she m!st ma0e !ns!ccessf!l thro&s follo&ed b" a s!ccessf!l one# In this case' &e need ?ave to
ma0e at least thro&s# +his happens iff his first thro&s are !ns!ccessf!l' hence the
probabilit" is #
+h!s for a fi)ed the probabilit" that 3inda ma0es thro&s and ?ave at least thro&s
is #
+hen' as the events for different are dis6oint' is simpl" the s!m of these probabilities over all #
Dence/
Dence the probabilit" &e &ere s!pposed to comp!te is ' and
the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the probabilit" that the n!mber of times ?ave rolls his die is e!al to or &ithin one of the
n!mber of times 3inda rolls her die# (-e &ill call this event "a &in"' and the opposite event &ill be "a
loss"#*
3et both pla"ers roll their first die#
-ith probabilit" ' both thro& a si) and &e &in#
-ith probabilit" e)actl" one of them thro&s a si)# In this case' &e &in iff the remaining pla"er
thro&s a si) in their ne)t thro&' &hich happens &ith probabilit" #
$inall"' &ith probabilit" none of them thro&s a si)# @o& comes the cr!cial observation/ At this
moment' &e are in e)actl" the same sit!ation as in the beginning# Dence in this case &e &ill &in &ith
probabilit" #
-e 6!st derived the follo&ing linear e!ation/
%olving for ' &e get ' hence the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be the n!mber of sol!tions in positive integers to the e!ation ' and
let be the n!mber of sol!tions in positive integers to the e!ation # $ind the
remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
2r!te force# It is act!all" reasonabl" eas" to comp!te and e)actl"#
$irst' note that if ' then m!st be odd# 3et # -e
get ' &hich simplifies to # $or an" pair of positive
integers s!ch that &e have e)actl" one s!ch that the e!alit" holds#
Dence &e need to co!nt the pairs #
$or a fi)ed ' can be at most # Dence the n!mber of sol!tions is
%imilarl"' &e can comp!te that '
hence #
Solution 2
-e can avoid comp!ting and ' instead &e &ill comp!te directl"#
@ote that if and onl" if # Dence
there is an almost 1-to-1 correspondence bet&een the positive integer sol!tions of the t&o e!ations#
+he onl" e)ceptions are the sol!tions of the first e!ation in &hich at least one of the variables is
e!al to # +he val!e is the n!mber of s!ch sol!tions#
If ' &e get the e!ation # +he variable m!st be odd' and it m!st be
bet&een and ' incl!sive# $or each s!ch there is e)actl" one valid # Dence in this case there
are valid sol!tions#
If ' &e get the e!ation ' or e!ivalentl" # +he variable
m!st be bet&een and ' incl!sive' and for each s!ch there is e)actl" one valid # Dence in this
case there are valid sol!tions#
If ' &e get the e!ation # +he variable m!st be odd' th!s let #
-e get ' or e!ivalentl"' # Again' &e see that m!st be odd' th!s
let # -e get ' &hich simplifies to # @o&' &e see that
m!st be bet&een and ' incl!sive' and for each s!ch &e have e)actl" one valid # Dence in this
case there are valid sol!tions#
$inall"' &e m!st note that there are t&o special sol!tions/ one &ith ' and one
&ith # -e co!nted each of them t&ice' hence &e have to s!btract t&o from the total#
+herefore ' and the ans&er is #
Solution 3
Perform a similar operation as in %ol!tion ,' b!t onl" on / if and onl"
if # +he val!e is th!s the additional sol!tions &e have for this
e!ation as opposed to the second#
+he second e!ation re!ires to be even' so the largest sol!tion for
&o!ld be and the smallest # @o& let # @ote that &e can
ma0e &itho!t problems' and li0e&ise &ith all the sol!tions in bet&eenB so
the onl" additional sol!tions for &ill be belo& the smallest for # Accordingl"' can e!al
or &hen or #
%o there are onl" t&o e!ations to consider/ and '
or and #
If ' m!st be bet&een and to obtain positive integer sol!tions beca!se
&hen B there is e)actl" one valid for each #
If ' m!st be bet&een and to obtain positive integer sol!tionsB there is e)actl"
one valid for each #
+herefore #
$o!r lightho!ses are located at points ' ' ' and # +he lightho!se at is 0ilometers from the
lightho!se at ' the lightho!se at is 0ilometers from the lightho!se at ' and the lightho!se
at is 0ilometers from the lightho!se at # +o an observer at ' the angle determined b" the
lights at and and the angle determined b" the lights at and are e!al# +o an observer at
' the angle determined b" the lights at and and the angle determined b" the lights at and
are e!al# +he n!mber of 0ilometers from to is given b" ' &here ' ' and are relativel"
prime positive integers' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind R R #
%ol!tion 1
3et be the intersection of and # 2" the Angle 2isector +heorem' ; ' so ;
and ; ' and R ; ; ' so ; ' and ; # 3et be the altit!de from
to # It can be seen that triangle is similar to triangle ' and triangle is similar
to triangle # If ; ' then ; ' ; ' and ; # %ince
R ; ; ' ; ' and ; # +he ans&er is R R ; #
%ol!tion ,
E)tend and to intersect at # @ote that since
and b" A%A congr!enc" &e have #
+herefore #
2" the angle bisector theorem' and # @o& &e appl" %te&art8s theorem to
find /
and o!r final ans&er is #
Problem
$or certain pairs of positive integers &ith there are e)actl" distinct positive
integers s!ch that # $ind the s!m of all possible val!es of the prod!ct
#
%ol!tion
-e have ' hence &e can re&rite the ine!alit" as follo&s/
-e can no& get rid of the logarithms' obtaining/ And this
can be re&ritten in terms of as
$rom it follo&s that the sol!tions for m!st be the
integers # +his &ill happen if and onl" if the lo&er bo!nd on is in a
s!itable range -- &e m!st have #
Hbvio!sl" there is no sol!tion for # $or the left ine!alit" can be re&ritten
as ' and the right one as #
:emember that &e m!st have # Do&ever' for &e have ' and hence
' &hich is a contradiction# +his onl" leaves !s &ith the cases #
$or &e have &ith a single integer sol!tion #
$or &e have &ith a single integer sol!tion #
$or o!r ine!alit" has no integer sol!tions for #

+herefore the ans&er is #
Problem
$rom the set of integers ' choose pairs &ith so that no t&o
pairs have a common element# %!ppose that all the s!ms are distinct and less than or e!al
to # $ind the ma)im!m possible val!e of #
%ol!tion
%!ppose that &e have a valid sol!tion &ith pairs# As all and are distinct' their s!m is at
least # Hn the other hand' as the s!m of each pair is distinct and
at most e!al to ' the s!m of all and is at
most #
Dence &e get a necessar" condition on / $or a sol!tion to e)ist' &e m!st
have # As is positive' this simplifies to '
&hence ' and as is an integer' &e have #
If &e no& find a sol!tion &ith ' &e can be s!re that it is optimal#
$rom the proof it is clear that &e don8t have m!ch "mane!vering space"' if &e &ant to constr!ct a
sol!tion &ith # -e can tr" to !se the smallest n!mbers/ to # -hen !sing
these n!mbers' the average s!m &ill be # Dence &e can tr" loo0ing for a nice s"stematic sol!tion
that achieves all s!ms bet&een and ' incl!sive#
%!ch a sol!tion indeed does e)ist' here is one/
Partition the n!mbers to into fo!r se!ences/
%e!ences and have elements each' and the s!ms of their corresponding elements
are # %e!ences and have elements each' and
the s!ms of their corresponding elements are #
+h!s &e have sho&n that there is a sol!tion for and that for larger no sol!tion e)ists#
Problem
3et and be the endpoints of a semicirc!lar arc of radi!s # +he arc is divided into seven
congr!ent arcs b" si) e!all" spaced points ' ' ' # All chords of the form or are
dra&n# 3et be the prod!ct of the lengths of these t&elve chords# $ind the remainder &hen is
divided b" #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et the radi!s be 1 instead# All lengths &ill be halved so &e &ill m!ltipl" b" at the end# Place the
semicircle on the comple) plane' &ith the center of the circle being A and the diameter being the real
a)is# +hen are 9 of the 15th roots of !nit"# 3et B then
correspond to # 3et be their reflections across the diameter# +hese points
correspond to # +hen the lengths of the segments
are # @oting that represents 1 in the comple)
plane' the desired prod!ct is
for # Do&ever' the pol"nomial has as its 4eros
all 15th roots of !nit" e)cept for and # Dence
+h!s the prod!ct is ( * &hen the radi!s is 1' and the prod!ct
is # +h!s the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the midpoint of and # Ass!me is closer to instead of # ; # Fsing
the 3a& of Cosines'
; ' ; ' # # # ;
%o ; # It can be rearranged to form
; #
; - ' so &e have
;
;
;
It can be sho&n that ; ' so ; ; ; ' so the ans&er
is
Solution 3
@ote that for each the triangle is a right triangle# Dence the prod!ct is t&ice
the area of the triangle # Pno&ing that ' the area of can also be e)pressed
as ' &here is the length of the altit!de from onto # Dence &e have #
2" the definition of &e obvio!sl" have #
$rom these t&o observations &e get that the prod!ct &e sho!ld comp!te is e!al to '
&hich is the same identit" as in %ol!tion ,#
*o%puting t+e product of sines
In this section &e sho& one &a" ho& to eval!ate the prod!ct #
3et # +he n!mbers are the -th comple) roots of
!nit"# In other &ords' these are the roots of the pol"nomial # +hen the
n!mbers are the roots of the pol"nomial #
-e 6!st proved the identit" # %!bstit!te # +he right
hand side is obvio!sl" e!al to # 3et8s no& e)amine the left hand side# -e have/
+herefore the si4e of the left hand side in o!r e!ation
is # As the right hand side is ' &e get
that # Do&ever' since sin ; sin ' then &o!ld be the s!are root
of ' or ' &hich is &hat &e needed to find#
Problem
+he se!ence satisfies and for # $ind the greatest
integer less than or e!al to #
%ol!tion
0+e ob!ious substitution
An obvio!s &a" ho& to get the from !nder the s!are root is to !se the s!bstit!tion #
+hen the s!are root simplifies as
follo&s/ #
+he ne& rec!rrence then becomes and #
Solution 1
-e can no& simpl" start to comp!te the val!es b" hand/
-e no& discovered that # And as each is !ni!el" determined b" ' the se!ence
becomes periodic# In other &ords' &e have '
and #
+herefore the ans&er is
Solution 2
After &e do the s!bstit!tion' &e can notice the fact that ' &hich ma" s!ggest
that the form!la ma" have something to do &ith the !nit circle# Also' the e)pression often
appears in goniometr"' for e)ample in the relationship bet&een the sine and the cosine# 2oth
observations s!ggest that the form!la ma" have a neat geometric interpretation#
Consider the e!ation/
@ote that for &e have and # @o& s!ppose that &e have
for some # +hen o!r e!ation becomes/
?epending on the sign of ' this is either the angle addition' or the angle s!btraction form!la for
sine# In other &ords' if ' then ' other&ise #
-e have # +herefore ' ' and so
on# (:emember that is the constant defined as #*
+his process stops at the first ' &here e)ceeds # +hen &e8ll
have and the se!ence &ill start to oscillate#
@ote that ' and ' hence is strictl" bet&een and #
+hen ' and # +herefore s!rel" #
Dence the process stops &ith ' &e then have # As in the previo!s
sol!tion' &e concl!de that ' and that the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be a diameter of a circle &ith diameter 1# 3et and be points on one of the semicirc!lar
arcs determined b" s!ch that is the midpoint of the semicircle and # Point lies on
the other semicirc!lar arc# 3et be the length of the line segment &hose endpoints are the
intersections of diameter &ith chords and # +he largest possible val!e of can be
&ritten in the form ' &here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are
of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tions
Solution 1
3et be the center of the circle# ?efine ' ' and let and
intersect at points and ' respectivel"# -e &ill e)press the length of as a f!nction of
and ma)imi4e that f!nction in the interval #
3et be the foot of the perpendic!lar from to # -e comp!te as follo&s#
(a* 2" the E)tended 3a& of %ines in triangle ' &e have
(b* @ote that and # %ince and are similar
right triangles' &e have ' and hence'
(c* -e have
and ' and hence b" the 3a& of
%ines'
(d* M!ltipl"ing (a*' (b*' and (c*' &e have
'
&hich is a f!nction of (and the constant *# ?ifferentiating this &ith respect to "ields
'
and the n!merator of this is
'
&hich vanishes &hen # +herefore' the length of is ma)imi4ed
&hen ' &here is the val!e in that satisfies #
@ote that
'
so # -e comp!te
'
so the ma)im!m length of is ' and the ans&er
is #
Solution 2
%!ppose and intersect at and ' respectivel"' and let and #
%ince is the midpoint of arc ' bisects ' and &e get
+o find ' &e note that
and ' so -riting ' &e can s!bstit!te 0no&n
val!es and m!ltipl" the e!ations to get +he val!e &e &ish
to ma)imi4e is 2" the AM-EM
ine!alit"' ' so giving the ans&er
of # E!alit" is achieved &hen s!b6ect to the
condition ' &hich occ!rs for and #
2010 1
,A1A AIME I Problems/Problem 1
Problem
Ma"a lists all the positive divisors of # %he then randoml" selects t&o distinct divisors from this
list# 3et be the probabilit" that e)actl" one of the selected divisors is a perfect s!are# +he
probabilit" can be e)pressed in the form ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
%ol!tion
# +h!s there are divisors' of &hich are s!ares (the e)ponent
of each prime factor m!st either be or *# +herefore the probabilit" is
,A1A AIME I Problems/Problem ,
Problem
$ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
@ote that (see mod!lar arithmetic*# +hat is a
total of integers' so all those integers m!ltiplied o!t are congr!ent
to # +h!s' the entire e)pression is congr!ent
to #
Problem
%!ppose that and # +he !antit" can be e)pressed as a rational n!mber '
%ol!tion
-e solve in general !sing instead of # %!bstit!ting ' &e have/
?ividing b" ' &e get #
+a0ing the th root' ' or #
In the case ' ' ' '
"ielding an ans&er of #
Problem
Xac0ie and Phil have t&o fair coins and a third coin that comes !p heads &ith probabilit" # Xac0ie flips
the three coins' and then Phil flips the three coins# 3et be the probabilit" that Xac0ie gets the same
n!mber of heads as Phil' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+his can be solved !ic0l" and easil" &ith generating f!nctions#
3et represent flipping tails#
+he generating f!nctions for these coins are ' 'and in order#
+he prod!ct is # ( means there are &a"s to get heads' eg there
are &a"s to get heads' and therefore tail' here#*
+he s!m of the coefficients s!ared (total n!mber of possible o!tcomes' s!ared beca!se the event is
occ!rring t&ice* is and the s!m of the s!ares of each coefficient
(the s!m of the n!mber of &a"s that each coefficient can be chosen b" the t&o people*
is # +he probabilit" is then #
(@otice the relationship bet&een the addends of the n!merator here and the cases in the follo&ing
sol!tion#*
Solution 2
-e perform case&or0 based !pon the n!mber of heads that are flipped#
*ase 1/ @o heads#
+he onl" possibilit" is +++ (the third coin being the !nfair coin*# +he probabilit" for this to happen to Xac0ie
is +h!s the probabilit" for this to happen to both pla"ers is
*ase 2/ Hne head#

-e can have either D++' +D+' or ++D# +he first t&o happen to Xac0ie &ith the same chance' b!t the
third happens of the time' since the !nfair coin is heads instead of tails# -ith 1 possibilities for Xac0ie
and 1 for Phil' there are a total of 9 &a"s for them both to have 1 head#
M!ltipl"ing and adding !p all 9 &a"s' &e have a
overall chance for this case#
*ase 3/ +&o heads#

-ith DD+ ' D+D ' and +DD possible' &e proceed as in Case ,' obtaining
*ase 4/ +hree heads#

%imilar to Case 1' &e can onl" have DDD' &hich has chance# +hen in this case &e get
$inall"' &e ta0e the s!m/ ' so o!r ans&er
is #
Problem
Positive integers ' ' ' and satisf" ' '
and # $ind the n!mber of possible val!es of #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Fsing the difference of
s!ares'
'
&here e!alit" m!st hold so and # +hen &e see is ma)imal
and is minimal' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
%ince m!st be greater than ' it follo&s that the onl" possible val!e for is
(other&ise the !antit" &o!ld be greater than *# +herefore the onl" possible ordered
pairs for are ' ' ### ' ' so has possible val!es#
Problem
3et be a !adratic pol"nomial &ith real coefficients
satisf"ing for all real n!mbers ' and
s!ppose # $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et ' # Completing the s!are' &e
have ' and ' so it follo&s that for
all (b" the +rivial Ine!alit"*#
Also' ' so ' and obtains its minim!m at the point #
+hen m!st be of the form for some constant B s!bstit!ting
"ields # $inall"' #
Solution 2
It can be seen that the f!nction m!st be in the form for some real
and # +his is beca!se the derivative of is ' and a global minim!m occ!rs onl"
at (in addition' beca!se of this derivative' the verte) of an" !adratic pol"nomial occ!rs at
*# %!bstit!ting and &e obtain t&o e!ations/
' and #
%olving' &e get and ' so # +herefore' #
Solution 3
3et B note that # %etting ' &e find that
e!alit" holds &hen and therefore &hen B this is tr!e iff '
so #
3et B clearl" ' so &e can &rite ' &here is
some linear f!nction# Pl!g into the given ine!alit"/
' and th!s
$or all B note that the ine!alit" signs are flipped if ' and that the division is invalid
for # Do&ever'
'
and th!s b" the sand&ich theorem B b" the definition of a contin!o!s
f!nction' # Also' ' so B pl!gging in and
solving' # +h!s ' and so #
Problem
?efine an ordered triple of sets to be minimall#
intersectin$ if and # $or
e)ample' is a minimall" intersecting triple# 3et be the n!mber of
minimall" intersecting ordered triples of sets for &hich each set is a s!bset of # $ind
the remainder &hen is divided b" #
'ote/ represents the n!mber of elements in the set #
%ol!tion
3et each pair of t&o sets have one element in common# 3abel the common elements as ' ' # %et
&ill have elements and ' set &ill have and ' and set &ill have and # +here
are &a"s to choose val!es of ' and # +here are !npic0ed n!mbers' and each
n!mber can either go in the first set' second set' third set' or none of them# %ince &e have choices
for each of n!mbers' that gives !s #
$inall"' ' so the ans&er is #
Problem
$or a real n!mber ' let denominate the greatest integer less than or e!al to # 3et denote the
region in the coordinate plane consisting of points s!ch that # +he region
is completel" contained in a dis0 of radi!s (a dis0 is the !nion of a circle and its interior*# +he
minim!m val!e of can be &ritten as ' &here and are integers and is not divisible b" the
s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
+he desired region consists of 1, bo)es' &hose lo&er-left corners are integers sol!tions
of ' namel" %ince the points themselves are
s"mmetric abo!t ' the bo)es are s"mmetric abo!t # +he distance from to the
f!rthest point on an a)is-bo)' for instance ' is +he distance
from to the f!rthest point on a !adrant-bo)' for instance ' is
+he latter is the larger' and is ' giving an ans&er of #
Problem
3et be the real sol!tion of the s"stem of e!ations '
' # +he greatest possible val!e of can be &ritten in the form '
%ol!tion
Add the three e!ations to get # @o&' let #
' and ' so #
@o& c!be both sidesB the terms cancel o!t# %olve the remaining !adratic to get #
+o ma)imi4e choose and so the s!m is
giving #
,A1A AIME I Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
3et be the n!mber of &a"s to &rite in the
form ' &here the 8s are integers' and #
An e)ample of s!ch a representation is # $ind #
%ol!tion
If &e choose and s!ch that there is a !ni!e choice of
and that ma0es the e!alit" hold# %o is 6!st the n!mber of combinations of and &e can
pic0# If or &e can let be an"thing from to # If then or #
+h!s #
Problem
3et be the region consisting of the set of points in the coordinate plane that satisf"
both and # -hen is revolved aro!nd the line &hose e!ation
is ' the vol!me of the res!lting solid is ' &here ' ' and are positive
integers' and are relativel" prime' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime#
$ind #
%ol!tion
+he ine!alities are e!ivalent to # -e can set them e!al to find
the t&o points of intersection' # +his implies that
one of ' from &hich &e find that # +he
region is a triangle' as sho&n above# -hen revolved abo!t the line ' the res!lting
solid is the !nion of t&o right cones that share the same base and a)is#
3et denote the height of the left and right cones' respectivel" (so *' and let denote
their common radi!s# +he vol!me of a cone is given b" B since both cones share the same base'
then the desired vol!me is # +he distance from the point to the
line is given b" # +he distance bet&een
and is given b" # +h!s' the
ans&er is #
,A1A AIME I Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
3et be an integer and let # $ind the smallest val!e of s!ch that for
ever" partition of into t&o s!bsets' at least one of the s!bsets contains integers ' ' and (not
necessaril" distinct* s!ch that #
'ote/ a partition of is a pair of sets ' s!ch that ' #
%ol!tion
-e claim that is the minimal val!e of # 3et the t&o partitioned sets be and B &e &ill tr" to
partition and s!ch that the condition is not satisfied# -itho!t loss of
generalit"' &e place in # +hen m!st be placed in ' so m!st be placed in ' and m!st be
placed in # +hen cannot be placed in an" set' so &e 0no& is less than or e!al to #
$or ' &e can partition into
and ' and in neither set are there val!es &here
(since and *# +h!s #
Problem
:ectangle and a semicircle &ith diameter are coplanar and have nonoverlapping
interiors# 3et denote the region enclosed b" the semicircle and the rectangle# 3ine meets the
semicircle' segment ' and segment at distinct points ' ' and ' respectivel"# 3ine
divides region into t&o regions &ith areas in the ratio # %!ppose that ' '
and # +hen can be represented as ' &here and are positive integers and
is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he center of the semicircle is also the midpoint of # 3et this point be H# 3et be the length
of #
:escale ever"thing b" 5,' so # +hen so #
%ince is a radi!s of the semicircle' # +h!s is an e!ilateral triangle#
3et ' ' and be the areas of triangle ' sector ' and trape4oid respectivel"#
+o find &e have to find the length of # Pro6ect and onto to get points and #
@otice that and are similar# +h!s/
#
+hen # %o/
3et be the area of the side of line containing regions # +hen
Hbvio!sl"' the is greater than the area on the other side of line # +his other area is e!al to the
total area min!s # +h!s/
#
@o& 6!st solve for #
?on8t forget to !n-rescale at the end to get #
$inall"' the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the center of the semicircle# It follo&s that ' so
triangle is e!ilateral#
3et be the foot of the altit!de from ' s!ch that and #
$inall"' denote ' and # E)tend to point so that is on and is
perpendic!lar to # It then follo&s that # %ince and are similar'
Eiven that line divides into a ratio of ' &e can also sa" that
&here the first term is the area of trape4oid ' the second and third terms denote the areas
of a f!ll circle' and the area of ' respectivel"' and the fo!rth term on the right side of the
e!ation is e!al to # Cancelling o!t the on both sides' &e obtain
2" adding and collecting li0e terms'
#
%ince '
' so the ans&er is
Solution 3
@ote that the total area of is and th!s one of the regions has
area
As in the above sol!tions &e discover that ' th!s sector of the semicircle has
of the semicircle8s area#
%imilarl"' dropping the perpendic!lar &e observe that ' &hich is of the
total rectangle#
?enoting the region to the left of as and to the right as ' it becomes clear that
if then the regions &ill have the desired ratio#
Fsing the 1A-9A-9A triangle' the slope of ' is ' and th!s #
is most easil" fo!nd b" /
E!ating'
%olving'
Problem
$or each positive integer n' let # $ind the largest val!e of n for
&hich #
'ote( is the greatest integer less than or e!al to #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
Hbserve that is strictl" increasing in # -e reali4e that &e need terms to add !p to aro!nd '
so &e need some se!ence of s' s' and then s#
It follo&s that # Man!all" chec0ing sho&s that and # +h!s' o!r
ans&er is #
Solution 2
2eca!se &e &ant the val!e for &hich ' the average val!e of the 1AA terms of the
se!ence sho!ld be aro!nd # $or the val!e of to be ' # -e &ant
0n to be aro!nd the middle of that range' and for 0 to be in the middle of A and 1AA' let '
so ' and # ' so &e &ant to lo&er
# +esting "ields ' so o!r ans&er is still #
Solution 3
$or an" &here the s!m is close to ' all the terms in the s!m m!st be e!al to ' or # 3et
be the n!mber of terms less than or e!al to and be the n!mber of terms e!al to (also
co!nted in *# -ith this definition of and the total &ill be ' from
&hich # @o& is the smallest integer for &hich
or ' th!s %imilarl"'
+herefore' %ince &e
&ant the largest possible ' the ans&er is #
Problem
In &ith ' ' and ' let be a point on s!ch that
the incircles of and have e!al radii# 3et and be positive relativel"
prime integers s!ch that # $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et ' then # Also let Clearl"' # -e can also
e)press each area b" the rs form!la# +hen # E!ating and
cross-m!ltipl"ing "ields or @ote that for d to be
positive' &e m!st have #
2" %te&art8s +heorem' &e have
or 2r!te forcing b" pl!gging in o!r previo!s res!lt for ' &e
have Clearing the fraction and gathering li0e terms' &e
get
Aside* -ince m!st be rational in order &or o!r ans'er to be in the desired &orm, 'e can !se
the .ational .oot heorem to re,eal that is an inte$er. he onl# s!ch in the abo,e%stated ran$e
is .
3egitimatel" solving that !artic' note that and sho!ld clearl" be sol!tions'
corresponding to the sides of the triangle and th!s degenerate cevians# $actoring those o!t' &e
get +he onl" sol!tion in the
desired range is th!s # +hen ' and o!r desired ratio ' giving !s an ans&er
of #
Solution 2
3et and so # 3et the incenters of and
be and respectivel"' and their e!al inradii be # $rom ' &e
find that
3et the incircle of meet at and the incircle of meet at # +hen note
that is a rectangle# Also' is right beca!se and are the angle bisectors
of and respectivel" and # 2" properties
oftangents to circles an
d # @o& notice that the altit!de of to is of
length ' so b" similar triangles &e find that (1*#
E!ating (1* &ith (1* and (,* separatel" "ields
and adding these &e have
Solution 3
3et the incircle of hit ' ' at ' and let the incircle of hit
' ' at # ?ra& the incircle of ' and let it be tangent to at # Hbserve
that &e have a homothet" centered at A sending the incircle of to that of ' and one
centered at ta0ing the incircle of to that of # +hese have the same po&er' since the"
ta0e incircles of the same si4e to the same circle# Also' the po&er of the homothet"
is #
2" standard comp!tations' and #
@o&' let and # -e &ill no& go aro!nd and chase lengths# Hbserve
that # +hen' # -e also
have ' so and #
Hbserve no& that # Also'
# %olving' &e
get and (as a side note' note
that ' a res!lt that I act!all" believe appears in Mandelbrot 1997-
,AA1' or some boo0 in that time-range*#
@o&' &e get # +o finish' &e &ill comp!te area
ratios# # Also' since their inradii are e!al' &e get
# E!ating and cross m!ltipl"ing "ields the !adratic ' so # Do&ever'
observe that ' so &e ta0e # H!r ratio is
therefore ' giving the ans&er #
Solution 4
%!ppose the incircle of to!ches at ' and the incircle of to!ches at #
+hen
-e have
'
' '
+herefore
And since ' '
@o&'
%o or # 2!t from (1* &e 0no& that ' or '
so ' ' #
Sidenote
In the problem' and the e!al inradi!s of the t&o triangles happens to be #
2010 2
,A1A AIME II Problems/Problem 1
Problem
3et be the greatest integer m!ltiple of all of &hose digits are even and no t&o of &hose digits
are the same# $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
If &e incl!de all the even digits for the greatest integer m!ltiple' &e find that it is impossible for it to
be divisible b" ' therefore b" as &ell# +he ne)t logical tr" &o!ld be ' &hich happens to be
divisible b" # +h!s
,A1A AIME II Problems/Problem ,
Problem ,
A point is chosen at random in the interior of a !nit s!are # 3et denote the distance
from to the closest side of # +he probabilit" that is e!al to ' &here and
%ol!tion
An" point o!tside the s!are &ith side length that have the same center as the !nit s!are and
inside the s!are side length that have the same center as the !nit s!are has #
%ince the area of the !nit s!are is ' the probabilit" of a point &ith is the area of
the shaded region' &hich is the difference of the area of t&o s!ares
+h!s' the ans&er is
Problem
3et be the prod!ct of all factors (not necessaril" distinct* &here and are integers
satisf"ing # $ind the greatest positive integer s!ch that divides #
%ol!tion
In general' there are pairs of integers that differ b" beca!se &e can let be an"
integer from to and set e!al to # +h!s' the prod!ct is (or
alternativel"' #*
-hen &e co!nt the n!mber of factors of ' &e have 5 gro!ps' factors that are divisible b" at least
once' t&ice' three times and fo!r times#
@!mber that are divisible b" at least once/

E)ponent corresponding to each one of them
%!m
@!mber that are divisible b" at least t&ice/

%!m
@!mber that are divisible b" at least three times/

%!m
@!mber that are divisible b" at least fo!r times/

%!m
%!mming these give an ans&er of #
Problem
?ave arrives at an airport &hich has t&elve gates arranged in a straight line &ith e)actl" feet
bet&een ad6acent gates# Dis depart!re gate is assigned at random# After &aiting at that gate' ?ave is
told the depart!re gate has been changed to a different gate' again at random# 3et theprobabilit" that
?ave &al0s feet or less to the ne& gate be a fraction ' &here and are relativel"
%ol!tion
+here are potential gate assignments# -e need to co!nt the valid ones#
@!mber the gates thro!gh # Eates and have fo!r gates &ithin feet# Eates and have
five# Eates and have si)# Eates and have have seven# Eates thro!gh have eight#
+herefore' the n!mber of valid gate assignments is ' and the
probabilit" is # Dence' the ans&er is given b" #
Problem
Positive n!mbers ' ' and satisf"
and #
$ind #
%ol!tion
Fsing the properties of logarithms' b" ta0ing the log base 1A of both sides'
and b" !sing the fact
that #
+hro!gh f!rther simplification' &e find that # It can be seen that
there is eno!gh information to !se the form!la '
as &e have both and ' and &e &ant to find #
After pl!gging in the val!es into the e!ation' &e find that is
e!al to #
Do&ever' &e &ant to find ' so &e ta0e the s!are root
of ' or #
Problem
$ind the smallest positive integer &ith the propert" that the pol"nomial can be
&ritten as a prod!ct of t&o nonconstant pol"nomials &ith integer coefficients#
%ol!tion
+here are t&o &a"s for a monic fo!rth degree pol"nomial to be factored into t&o non-constant
pol"nomials &ith real coefficients/ into a c!bic and a linear e!ation' or , !adratics#
*ase 1/ +he factors are c!bic and linear#

3et be the linear root' &here is a root of the given !artic' and let be
the c!bic#
2" the rational roots theorem' then ' or # Hbserve that
%etting coefficients e!al' &e have ' '
and ' and #
It follo&s that ' ' or ' &hich reach minim!m &hen '
&here #
*ase 2/ +he factors are !adratics#

3et and be the t&o !adratics' so that
+herefore' again setting coefficients e!al'
' ' ' and so #
%ince ' the onl" possible val!es for are and # $rom this &e find that the
possible val!es for are and # +herefore' the ans&er is #
Problem 7
3et ' &here a' b' and c are real# +here e)ists a comple) n!mber s!ch
that the three roots of are ' ' and ' &here # $ind #
%ol!tion
%et ' so ' ' #
%ince ' the imaginar" part of a'b'c m!st be A#
%tart &ith a' since it8s the easiest one to do/ '
and therefore/ ' ' #
@o&' do the part &here the imaginar" part of c is A' since it8s the second easiest one to
do/ # +he imaginar" part is/ ' &hich is A' and therefore );5'
since );A doesn8t &or0#
%o no&' '
and therefore/ # $inall"' &e
have #
Problem
3et be the n!mber of ordered pairs of nonempt" sets and that have the follo&ing properties/
'
'
+he n!mber of elements of is not an element of '
+he n!mber of elements of is not an element of #

$ind #
%ol!tion
3et !s partition the set into n!mbers in and n!mbers in '
%ince m!st be in and m!st be in ( ' &e cannot partition into t&o sets of 9
beca!se needs to end !p some&here' or either*#
-e have &a"s of pic0ing the n!mbers to be in #
%o the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be a reg!lar he)agon# 3et ' ' ' ' ' and be the midpoints of sides
' ' ' ' ' and ' respectivel"# +hesegments ' ' ' ' ' and
bo!nd a smaller reg!lar he)agon# 3et the ratio of the area of the smaller he)agon to the area
of be e)pressed as a fraction &here and are relativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the intersection of and
and be the intersection of and #
3et be the center#
Solution 1
3et (&itho!t loss of generalit"*#
@ote that is the vertical angle to an angle of reg!lar he)agon' and so has degree #
2eca!se and are rotational images of one another' &e get
that and hence #
Fsing a similar arg!ment' ' and
Appl"ing the 3a& of cosines on '
+h!s' ans&er is #
Solution 2
-e can !se coordinates# 3et be at &ith at '
then is at '
is at '
is at '
3ine has the slope of and the e!ation of
3ine has the slope of and the e!ation
3et8s solve the s"stem of e!ation to find
$inall"'
Problem
$ind the n!mber of second-degree pol"nomials &ith integer coefficients and integer 4eros for
&hich #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et # +hen # $irst consider the case &here
and (and th!s * are positive# +here are &a"s to split !p the prime factors bet&een ' '
and # Do&ever' and are indisting!ishable# In one case' ' &e have #
+he other cases are do!ble co!nting' so there are #
-e m!st no& consider the vario!s cases of signs# $or the cases &here ' there are a total
of fo!r possibilities' $or the case ' there are onl" three
possibilities' as is not disting!ishable from the second of
those three#
+h!s the grand total is #
Solution 2
-e !se 2!rnside8s 3emma# +he set being acted !pon is the set of integer triples s!ch
that # 2eca!se and are indisting!ishable' the perm!tation gro!p consists of the
identit" and the perm!tation that s&itches and # In c"cle notation' the gro!p consists of
and # +here are fi)ed points of the first perm!tation (after distrib!ting the primes
among ' ' and then considering their signs* and fi)ed points of the second perm!tation (
*# 2" 2!rnside8s 3emma' there are disting!ishable
triples #
@ote/ +he perm!tation gro!p is isomorphic to #
Problem
?efine a %$rid to be a matri) &hich satisfies the follo&ing t&o properties/
1.
E)actl" five of the entries are 8s' and the remaining fo!r entries are 8s#
2.
Among the eight ro&s' col!mns' and long diagonals (the long diagonals are
and ' no more than one of the eight has all three entries e!al#
$ind the n!mber of distinct %$rids#
%ol!tion
+he %$rid can be consider as a tic-tac-toe board/ five 8s and fo!r 8s#
+here are &a"s to fill the board &ith five 8s and fo!r 8s# @o& &e need to s!btract the
n!mber of bad grids#
3et three-in-a-ro&/col!mn/diagonal be a "&in" and let pla"er be the one that fills in and pla"er
fills in #
*ase ( Each pla"er &ins once#
If pla"er ta0es a diagonal' the other cannot &in' and if either ta0es a ro&/col!mn' all col!mn/ro& are
bloc0ed' so the" either both ta0e a ro& or both ta0e a col!mn#
1.
2oth ta0es a ro&/
&a"s for pla"er to pic0 a ro&'
&a"s for pla"er '
&a"s for pla"er to ta0e a single bo) in the remaining ro&#

+here are cases#
2.
2oth ta0es a col!mn/ Fsing similar reasoning' there are cases#
Case / cases
*ase ( Pla"er &ins t&ice#
1.
A ro& and a col!mn
&a"s to pic0 the ro&'
to pic0 the col!mn#

+here are cases
2.
A ro&/col!mn and a diagonal
&a"s to pic0 the ro&/col!mn'
to pic0 the diagonal#

+here are cases
3.
, diagonals It is clear that there is onl" case#
Case total/
+h!s' the ans&er is
,A1A AIME II Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
+&o noncongr!ent integer-sided isosceles triangles have the same perimeter and the same area# +he
ratio of the lengths of the bases of the t&o triangles is # $ind the minim!m possible val!e of their
common perimeter#
%ol!tion 1
3et the first triangle has side lengths ' ' ' and the second triangle has side lengths ' ' '
&here #
E!al perimeter/
E!al Area/
%ince and are integer' the minim!m occ!rs &hen ' ' and # Dence' the
perimeter is #
%ol!tion ,
3et be the semiperimeter of the t&o triangles# Also' let the base of the longer triangle be and
the base of the shorter triangle be for some arbitrar" factor # +hen' the dimensions of the t&o
triangles m!st be and # 2" Deron8s $orm!la' &e have
%ince and are coprime' to minimi4e' &e m!st have and # Do&ever' &e &ant
the minim!m perimeter# +his means that &e m!st m!ltipl" o!r minim!m semiperimeter b" ' &hich
gives !s a final ans&er of #
Problem
+he cards in a dec0 are n!mbered # Ale)' 2lair' Core"' and ?"lan each pic0s a card
from the dec0 &itho!t replacement and &ith each card being e!all" li0el" to be pic0ed' +he t&o
persons &ith lo&er n!mbered cards from a team' and the t&o persons &ith higher n!mbered cards
form another team# 3et be the probabilit" that Ale) and ?"lan are on the same team' given that
Ale) pic0s one of the cards and ' and ?"lan pic0s the other of these t&o cards# +he minim!m
val!e of for &hich can be &ritten as # &here and are relativel" prime positive
integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Clearl" is a !adratic centered at #
Hnce the t&o cards are dra&n' there are &a"s for the other t&o people to dra&#
Ale) and ?"lan are the team &ith higher n!mbers if 2lair and Core" both dra& belo& ' &hich occ!rs
in &a"s#
Ale) and ?"lan are the team &ith lo&er n!mbers if 2lair and Core" both dra& above ' &hich
occ!rs in &a"s#
+h!s'
-e can loo0 at as
%o &e need
3et
%o or ' and or ' so or #
+h!s' ' and the ans&er is #
Problem
+riangle &ith right angle at ' and # Point on is chosen s!ch
that and # +he ratio can be represented in the form '
&here ' ' are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the circ!mcenter of and let the intersection of &ith the circ!mcircle be # It no&
follo&s that # Dence is isosceles
and #
?enote the pro6ection of onto # @o& # 2" the p"thagorean
theorem' # @o& note that # 2" the p"thagorean
theorem' # Dence it no& follo&s that'
+his gives that the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
3et ' b" convention# Also' 3et and # $inall"' let
and #
-e are then loo0ing for
@o&' b" arc interceptions and angle chasing &e find that ' and that
therefore +hen' since (it intercepts the same arc as * and is
right'
#
Fsing la& of sines on ' &e additionall" find that %implification b" the do!ble
angle form!la "ields
#
-e e!ate these e)pressions for to find that # %ince ' &e have
eno!gh information to solve for and # -e obtain
%ince &e 0no& ' &e !se
Problem 17
In triangle ' ' ' and # Points and lie on
&ith and # Points and lie on 2 &ith
and # 3et be the point' other than ' of intersection of the circ!mcircles
of and # :a" meets at # +he ratio can be &ritten in the form '
%ol!tion
3et # since # %ince !adrilateral is
c"clic' and ' "ielding and #
M!ltipl"ing these together "ields #
# Also' is the center of spiral similarit" of segments and '
so # +herefore' ' &hich can easil" be comp!ted b" the angle
bisector theorem to be # It follo&s that ' giving !s an ans&er
of #
'ote( %piral similarities ma" so!nd comple)' b!t the"8re reall" not# +he fact
that is reall" 6!st a res!lt of simple angle chasing#
2011 1
!)) #$%& $ 'roblems('roblem )
Problem 1
Xar A contains fo!r liters of a sol!tion that is 57O acid# Xar 2 contains five liters of a sol!tion that is
58O acid# Xar C contains one liter of a sol!tion that is acid# $rom 6ar C' liters of the sol!tion is
added to 6ar A' and the remainder of the sol!tion in 6ar C is added to 6ar 2# At the end both 6ar A and
6ar 2 contain sol!tions that are 7AO acid# Eiven that and are relativel" prime positive integers'
find #
%ol!tion 1
+here are 3 of acid in Xar A# +here are 3 of acid in Xar 2# And there
are 3 of acid in Xar C# After transfering the sol!tions from 6ar C' there &ill be
3 of sol!tion in Xar A and 3 of acid in Xar A#
3 of sol!tion in Xar 2 and of acid in Xar 2#
%ince the sol!tions are 7AO acid' &e can m!ltipl" the amo!nt of acid for each 6ar b" ,' then e!ate
them to the amo!nt of sol!tion#
Add the e!ations to get %olving
gives #
If &e s!bstit!te bac0 in the original e!ation &e get so # %ince and are
relativel" prime' and # +h!s #
%ol!tion ,
Hne might cleverl" change the content of both Xars#
%ince the end res!lt of both Xars are acid' &e can t!rn Xar A into a 1 gallon li!id
&ith acid
and Xar 2 into 1 gallon li!id &ith acid#
@o&' since Xar A and Xar 2 contain the same amo!nt of li!id' t&ice as m!ch li!id &ill be po!r into
Xar A than Xar 2' so of Xar C &ill be po!r into Xar A#
+h!s' and #
%olving for "ields
%o the ans&er is
%ol!tion 1
Hne ma" first combine all three 6ars in to a single container# +hat container &ill have liters of li!id'
and it sho!ld be acidic# +h!s there m!st be liters of acid#
X!g A contained ' or of acid' and 6!g 2 or # %olving for the amo!nt of
acid in 6!g C' ' or #
Hnce one 0no&s that the 6!g C is acid' !se sol!tion 1 to fig!re o!t m and n#
!)) #$%& $ 'roblems('roblem
Problem
In rectangle ' and # Points and lie inside rectangle so
that ' ' ' ' and line intersects segment # +he
length can be e)pressed in the form ' &here ' ' and are positive integers and
%ol!tion 1
3et !s call the point &here intersects point ' and the point &here intersects
point # %ince angles and are both right angles' and angles and are
congr!ent d!e to parallelism' right triangles and are similar# +his implies
that # %ince ' # ( is the same
as beca!se the" are opposite sides of a rectangle#* @o&' &e have a s"stem/
%olving this s"stem (easiest b" s!bstit!tion*' &e get that/
Fsing the P"thagorean +heorem' &e can solve for the remaining sides of the t&o right triangles/
and
@otice that adding these t&o sides &o!ld give !s t&elve pl!s the overlap # +his means that/
%ince isn8t divisible b" an" perfect s!are' o!r ans&er is/
%ol!tion ,
E)tend lines and to meet at point # ?ra& the altit!de from point to line
e)tended#

In right ' ' ' th!s b" P"thagoras +heorem &e
have/
+h!s o!r ans&er is/
,A11 AIME I Problems/Problem 1
Problem
3et be the line &ith slope that contains the point ' and let be the line
perpendic!lar to line that contains the point # +he original coordinate a)es are erased'
and line is made the -a)is and line the -a)is# In the ne& coordinate s"stem' point is on the
positive -a)is' and point is on the positive -a)is# +he point &ith coordinates in the
original s"stem has coordinates in the ne& coordinate s"stem# $ind #
%ol!tion
Eiven that has slope and contains the point ' &e ma" &rite the point-slope
e!ation for as # %ince is perpendic!lar to and contains the
point ' &e have that the slope of is ' and conse!entl" that the point-slope
e!ation for is #
Converting both e!ations to the form ' &e have that has the
e!ation and that has the e!ation # Appl"ing the
point-to-line distance form!la' ' to point and lines and ' &e find that the
distance from to and are and ' respectivel"#
%ince and lie on the positive a)es of the shifted coordinate plane' &e ma" sho& b" graphing the
given s"stem that point P &ill lie in the second !adrant in the ne& coordinate s"stem# +herefore' the
abscissa of is negative' and is therefore B similarl"' the ordinate of is positive and is
therefore #
+h!s' &e have that and that # It follo&s
that #
Problem 5
In triangle ' ' and # +he angle bisector of angle
intersects at point ' and the angle bisector of angle intersects at point # 3et and
be the feet of the perpendic!lars from to and ' respectivel"# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
E)tend s!ch that it intersects lines and at points and ' respectivel"#
=e%%a 1( are %idpoints of and
#roof( Consider the reflection of the verte) over the line ' and let this point be #
%ince ' &e have that is the image of after reflection over ' and from the
definition of reflection # +hen it is easil" seen that since is an angle
bisector' that ' so lies on # %imilarl"' if &e define to be the reflection
of over ' then &e find that lies on # +hen &e can no& see that '
&ith a homothet" of ratio ta0ing the first triangle to the second# +hen this same homothet" ta0es
ever"thing on the line to ever"thing on the line # %o since lie on ' this
homothet" also ta0es to so the" are midpoints' as desired#
=e%%a 2( are isosceles triangles
#roof( +o sho& that is isosceles' note that ' &ith similarit" ratio of
# %o it s!ffices to sho& that triangle is isosceles# 2!t this follo&s !ic0l" from 3emma 1'
since is both an altit!de and an angle bisector of # is isosceles b" the same
reasoning#
%ince is a midline' it then follo&s that and # %ince
and are both isosceles' &e have that and #
%ince is a midline' # -e &ant to find ' &hich is 6!st #
%!bstit!ting the val!es of ' &e have that the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the intersection of and ' or rather the incenter of triangle # @oting
that and are right' &e concl!de that is a c"clic !adrilateral' so
b" Ptolem"8s +heorem' @o& let and be inradii to
and respectivel" in the follo&ing pict!re' &hich is not to scale#
-e 0no& that # In triangle ' &e have
+herefore' '
and # +h!s # Fsing a similar method' &e can find
that # +herefore' o!r Ptolem"8s e)pression simplifies to
Fsing right triangles
and ' &e also 0no& that and # +h!s
2!t this
last e)pression is e!al to # +his a tangent to the incircle' so it has
length #
Problem
+he vertices of a reg!lar nonagon (9-sided pol"gon* are to be labeled &ith the digits 1 thro!gh 9 in
s!ch a &a" that the s!m of the n!mbers on ever" three consec!tive vertices is a m!ltiple of 1# +&o
acceptable arrangements are considered to be indisting!ishable if one can be obtained from the other
b" rotating the nonagon in the plane# $ind the n!mber of disting!ishable acceptable arrangements#
%ol!tion
$irst' &e determine &hich possible combinations of digits thro!gh &ill "ield s!ms that are m!ltiples
of # It is simplest to do this b" loo0ing at each of the digits #
-e see that the n!mbers and are congr!ent to ' that the n!mbers and are
congr!ent to ' and that the n!mbers and are congr!ent to # In order for
a s!m of three of these n!mbers to be a m!ltiple of three' the mod s!m m!st be congr!ent to #
J!ic0 inspection reveals that the onl" possible combinations are
and # Do&ever' ever" set of three consec!tive vertices m!st s!m to a m!ltiple of three' so
!sing an" of ' or &o!ld ca!se an ad6acent s!m to incl!de e)actl" ,
digits &ith the same mod 1 val!e' and this is an !nacceptable arrangement# +h!s the onl" possible
gro!pings are composed of three digits congr!ent to three different val!es#
-e see also that there are t&o possible arrangements for these trios on the nonagon/ a digit
congr!ent to can be located co!ntercloc0&ise of a digit congr!ent to and cloc0&ise of a
digit congr!ent to ' or the reverse can be tr!e#
+he nonagon can be rotated' so if &e find all possible strings beginning &ith one partic!lar digit' &e
have fo!nd all indisting!ishable arrangements# $or each of the t&o trio arrangements' &e find
possible strings/
+he first digit is predetermined as beca!se &e &ant to avoid strings that rotate to become
indisting!ishable' so &e have one option as a choice for the first digit# +he other t&o
n!mbers can be arranged in &a"s# +he three and three can both be
arranged in &a"s# +herefore' the desired res!lt is #
Problem
%!ppose that a parabola has verte) and e!ation ' &here
and is an integer# +he minim!m possible val!e of can be &ritten in the form ' &here
%ol!tion
If the verte) is at ' the e!ation of the parabola can be e)pressed in the
form # E)panding' &e find that '
and # $rom the problem' &e 0no& that the parabola can be e)pressed in
the form ' &here is an integer# $rom the above e!ation' &e can
concl!de that ' ' and # Adding !p all of these gives
!s # -e 0no& that is an integer' so m!st be divisible b"
19# 3et # If ' then # +herefore' if ' #
Adding !p gives !s
Problem 7
$ind the n!mber of positive integers for &hich there e)ist nonnegative integers ' ' '
s!ch that
%ol!tion
3et # +he problem then becomes finding the n!mber
of positive integer roots for &hich and are nonnegative integers# -e
pl!g in and see that # @o&' &e can sa"
that for some pol"nomial &ith integer coefficients# +hen
if ' # +h!s' if ' then # @o&' &e need to
sho& that for all ' # -e tr" &ith the first fe& that satisf" this# $or
' &e see &e can satisf" this if ' ' ' '
' ' ' '
beca!se (based on
the idea ' leading to a chain of s!bstit!tions of this
0ind* # +h!s is a possible val!e of # $or
other val!es' for e)ample ' &e can !se the same strateg"' &ith
' ' ' ' and '
beca!se

# It8s clearl" seen &e can !se the same strateg" for
all # -e co!nt all positive satisf"ing ' and see there are
%ol!tion ,
Hne notices that if and onl" if there e)ist non-negative integers
s!ch that #
+o prove the for&ard case' &e proceed b" directl" finding # %!ppose is an
integer s!ch that # -e &ill co!nt ho& man" ' ho& man" ' etc#
%!ppose the n!mber of is non-4ero# +hen' there m!st be at least s!ch since divides
all the remaining terms' so m!st also divide the s!m of all the terms# +h!s' if &e let
for ' &e have' -ell clearl"' is greater than '
so # &ill also divide ever" term' ' &here # %o' all the terms' '
&here m!st s!m to a m!ltiple of # If there are e)actl" terms &here ' then &e
m!st have at least terms &here # %!ppose there are e)actl" s!ch terms
and for # @o&' &e have' Hne can
repeat this process for s!ccessive po&ers of !ntil the n!mber of terms reaches ,A11# %ince there
are terms after the th po&er' &e &ill onl" hit e)actl" ,A11 terms if is a factor
of ,A1A# +o see this'
+h!s'
&hen (&hich is an integer since b" ass!mption' there are
e)actl" ,A11 terms# +o see that these terms s!m to a po&er of ' &e reali4e that the s!m is a
geometric series/
+h!s'
&e have fo!nd a sol!tion for the case #
@o&' for the reverse case' &e !se the form!la
%!ppose has a sol!tion# %!btract ,A11 from both sides to get
@o& appl" the form!la to get
&here are some integers# :earranging this e!ation' &e
find &here # +h!s' if is a sol!tion' then #
%o' there is one positive integer sol!tion corresponding to each factor of ,A1A#
%ince ' the n!mber of sol!tions is #
Problem
In triangle ' ' ' and # Points and are on &ith
on ' points and are on &ith on ' and points and are on &ith
on # In addition' the points are positioned so that ' ' and #
:ight angle folds are then made along ' ' and # +he res!lting fig!re is placed on a level
floor to ma0e a table &ith triang!lar legs# 3et be the ma)im!m possible height of a table
constr!cted from triangle &hose top is parallel to the floor# +hen can be &ritten in the
form ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers and is a positive integer that is
%ol!tion
@ote that the area is given b" heron8s form!la and it is # 3et denote the length of the
altit!de dropped from vertice i# It follo&s that #
$rom similar triangles &e can see that # -e can see this is tr!e
for an" combination of a'b'c and th!s the minim!m of the !pper bo!nds for h
"ields #
Problem
%!ppose is in the interval and # $ind #
%ol!tion
-e can re&rite the given e)pression as %!are both sides and divide b"
to get :e&rite as
+esting val!es !sing the rational root theorem gives as a
root' does fall in the first !adrant so it satisfies the interval# +here are no& t&o &a"s to
finish this problem#
>irst 4ay( %ince ' &e have Fsing the P"thagorean Identit" gives
!s # +hen &e !se the definition of to comp!te o!r final
ans&er# #
Second 4ay( M!ltipl"ing o!r old e!ation b" gives
%o' #
,A11 AIME I Problems/Problem 1A
Problem
+he probabilit" that a set of three distinct vertices chosen at random from among the vertices of a
reg!lar n-gon determine an obt!se triangle is # $ind the s!m of all possible val!es of #
%ol!tion 1
Inscribe the reg!lar pol"gon inside a circle# A triangle inside this circle &ill be obt!se if and onl" if its
three vertices lie on one side of a diameter of the circle#
2rea0 !p the problem into t&o cases/ an even n!mber of sides ' or an odd n!mber of sides
# After loo0ing at a fe& diagrams' it becomes apparent that there are e)actl" points on one side of a
diameter#
Case 1/ -sided pol"gon# +here are clearl" different triangles total# +o find triangles that meet
the criteria' choose the left-most point# +here are obvio!sl" choices for this point# $rom there' the
other t&o points m!st be &ithin the points remaining on the same side of the diameter# %o o!r
desired probabilit" is
so
#
and so the pol"gon has sides#
Case ,/ -sided pol"gon# %imilarl"' total triangles# Again choose the leftmost point'
&ith choices# $or the other t&o points' there are again possibilities#
+he probabilit" is
so
and o!r pol"gon has sides#
Adding'
%ol!tion ,
-e !se case&or0 on the locations of the vertices' if &e choose the locations of vertices on
the n-gon (&here the vertices of the n-gon are in cloc0&ise order* to be the
vertices of triangle A2C' in order' &ith the restriction that #
2" s"mmetr"' &e can ass!me -/H 3HE that the location of verte) A is verte) #
@o&' verte) 2 can be an" of # -e start in on case&or0#
Case 1/ verte) 2 is at one of the locations # (+he ceiling f!nction is necessar"
for the cases in &hich n is odd#*
@o&' since the cloc0&ise arc from A to 2 meas!res more than 18A degreesB for ever" location of
verte) C &e can choose in the above restrictions' angle C &ill be an obt!se angle#
+here are choices for verte) 2 no& (again' the ceiling f!nction is necessar" to satisf" both
odd and even cases of n*# If verte) 2 is placed at ' there are possible places for verte)
C#
%!mming over all these possibilities' &e obtain that the n!mber of obt!se triangles obtainable from
this case is #
Case ,/ verte) 2 is at one of the locations not covered in the first case#
@ote that this &ill res!lt in the same n!mber of obt!se triangles as case 1' b!t m!ltiplied b" ,# +his is
beca!se fi)ing verte) 2 in ' then co!nting !p the cases for vertices C' and again for vertices C and
A' respectivel"' is combinatoriall" e!ivalent to fi)ing verte) A at ' then co!nting cases for verte) 2'
as ever" triangle obtained in this &a" can be rotated in the n-gon to place verte) A at ' and &ill not
be congr!ent to an" obt!se triangle obtained in case 1' as there &ill be a different side opposite the
obt!se angle in this case#
+herefore' there are total obt!se triangles obtainable#
+he total n!mber of triangles obtainable is #
+he ratio of obt!se triangles obtainable to all triangles obtainable is therefore
#
%o' #
@o&' &e have that is divisible b" # It is no& m!ch easier to perform trial-
and-error on possible val!es of n' beca!se &e see that #
-e find that and both &or0' so the final ans&er is #
Problem
3et be the set of all possible remainders &hen a n!mber of the form ' a nonnegative integer' is
divided b" # 3et be the s!m of the elements in # $ind the remainder &hen is divided
b" #
%ol!tion
@ote that and # %o &e m!st find the
first t&o integers and s!ch that and and # @ote
that and &ill be greater than , since remainders of &ill not be possible after , (the n!mbers
follo&ing &ill al&a"s be congr!ent to A mod!lo 8*# @ote that (see E!ler8s
theorem* and are all distinct mod!lo 1,7 (proof belo&*# +h!s'
and are the first t&o integers s!ch that # All that is left is to find in
mod # After some comp!tation/
+o
sho& that are distinct mod!lo 1,7' s!ppose for the sa0e of contradiction that the" are
not# +hen' &e m!st have at least one of or # Do&ever'
&riting ' &e can easil" verif" that
and ' giving !s the needed contradiction#
,A11 AIME I Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
%i) men and some n!mber of &omen stand in a line in random order# 3et be the probabilit" that a
gro!p of at least fo!r men stand together in the line' given that ever" man stands ne)t to at least one
other man# $ind the least n!mber of &omen in the line s!ch that does not e)ceed 1 percent#
%ol!tion
?enote (n* be n consec!tive men and Y bet&een (n* and (m* be some n!mber of &omen bet&een the
men (possibl" 4ero*#
+here are five cases to consider/
_(2)_(2)_(2)_
_(3)_(3)_
_(2)_(4)_
_(4)_(2)_
_(6)_
+he first t&o cases give !s all the possible &a"s to arrange the people# 3et there be &omen# $or the
first case' if &e thin0 of (n* as dividers' &e get &a"s# $or the second case' &e get
cases#
+he third to fifth cases co!nt the cases &e desire# +he third and fo!rth cases give !s if &e
p!t 1 &oman bet&een (,* and (5* before &e co!nt#
the last case gives !s
so the probabilit" is
the n!merator simplifies to #
+he denominator simplifies to
so the &hole faction simplifies to
%ince is slightl" less than 1 &hen is large' &ill be close to # +he" e!al each other
&hen #
If &e let or ' &e &ill notice that the ans&er is
!)) #$%& $ 'roblems('roblem )+
Problem
A c!be &ith side length 1A is s!spended above a plane# +he verte) closest to the plane is labeled #
+he three vertices ad6acent to verte) are at heights 1A' 11' and 1, above the plane# +he distance
from verte) to the plane can be e)pressed as ' &here ' ' and are positive integers'
and # $ind #
%ol!tion
%et the c!be at the origin &ith the three vertices along the a)es and the plane e!al
to ' &here # +hen the (directed* distance from an" point
()'"'4* to the plane is # %o' b" loo0ing at the three vertices' &e
have ' and b" rearranging and
s!mming' #
%olving the e!ation is easier if &e s!bstit!te ' to get ' or #
+he distance from the origin to the plane is simpl" d' &hich is e!al
to ' so
%ol!tion ,
%et the c!be at the origin and the ad6acent vertices as (1A' A' A*' (A' 1A' A* and (A' A' 1A*# +hen
consider the plane a) R b" R c4 ; A# 2eca!se A has distance A to it (and distance d to the original'
parallel plane*' the distance from the other vertices to the plane is 1A-d' 11-d' and 1,-d respectivel"#
+he distance form!la gives and
An eas" algebraic manip!lation gives the e!ation in the first problem#
Problem
3et be a reg!lar octagon# 3et ' ' ' and be the midpoints of
sides ' ' ' and ' respectivel"# $or ' ra" is constr!cted
from to&ards the interior of the octagon s!ch that ' ' '
and # Pairs of ra"s and ' and ' and ' and and meet at '
' ' respectivel"# If ' then can be &ritten in the
form ' &here and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et # +h!s &e have that #
%ince is a reg!lar octagon and '
let #
E)tend and !ntil the" intersect# ?enote their intersection as # +hro!gh similar
triangles _ the triangles formed' &e find that #
-e also have that thro!gh A%A congr!ence (
' ' *# +herefore' &e ma"
let #
+h!s' &e have that and that #
+herefore #
%!aring gives that and conse!entl"
that thro!gh the identities
and #
+h!s &e have that #
+herefore #
Solution 2
3et # +hen and are the pro6ections of and onto the line '
so ' &here # +hen
since '
' and #
!)) #$%& $ 'roblems('roblem ).
Problem
$or some integer ' the pol"nomial has the three integer roots ' ' and #
$ind #
%ol!tion
-ith Wieta8s form!la' &e 0no& that ' and #
since an" one being 4ero &ill ma0e the the other #
# -3HE' let #
+hen if ' then and if ' #
-e 0no& that ' have the same sign# %o # ( and *
Also' ma)imi4e &hen if &e fi)ed # Dence' #
%o #
so #
@o& &e have limited to #
3et8s !s anal"4e #
Dere is a table/
-e can tell &e don8t need to bother &ith '
' %o &on8t &or0# '
is not divisible b" ' ' &hich is too small to get #
' is not divisible b" or or ' &e can clearl" tell that is too m!ch#
Dence' ' # ' #
Ans&er/
%ol!tion ,
%tarting off li0e the previo!s sol!tion' &e 0no& that ' and #
+herefore' #
%!bstit!ting' #
$actoring the perfect s!are' &e get/ or #
+herefore' a s!m ( * s!ared min!s a prod!ct ( * gives ##
-e can g!ess and chec0 different Ks starting &ith since #
therefore #
%ince no factors of can s!m to ( being the largest s!m*' a R b cannot e!al #
ma0ing #
and so cannot &or0 either#
-e can contin!e to do this !ntil &e reach #
ma0ing #
' so one root is and another is # +he roots s!m to 4ero' so the last root
m!st be #
#
2011 2
,A11 AIME II Problems/Problem 1
Problem
Ear" p!rchased a large beverage' b!t onl" dran0 of it' &here and are relativel"
prime positive integers# If he had p!rchased half as m!ch and dr!n0 t&ice as m!ch' he &o!ld have
&asted onl" as m!ch beverage# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the fraction cons!med' then is the fraction &asted# -e have '
or ' or or # +herefore'
Problem ,
Hn s!are ' point lies on side and point lies on side ' so
that # $ind the area of the s!are #
%ol!tion
?ra&ing the s!are and e)amining the given lengths' "o! find that the
three segments c!t the s!are into three e!al hori4ontal sections# +herefore' ( being the side
length*' ' or # %olving for ' &e get '
and
Area of the s!are is #
Problem 1
+he degree meas!res of the angles in a conve) 18-sided pol"gon form an increasing arithmetic
se!ence &ith integer val!es# $ind the degree meas!re of the smallest angle#
%ol!tion
Solution 1
+he average angle in an 18-gon is # In an arithmetic se!ence the average is the same as the
median' so the middle t&o terms of the se!ence average to # +h!s for some positive (the
se!ence is increasing and th!s non-constant* integer ' the middle t&o terms are
and # %ince the step is the last term of the se!ence is ' &hich m!st be
less than ' since the pol"gon is conve)# +his gives ' so the onl" s!itable positive
integer is 1# +he first term is then
Solution 2
=o! co!ld also solve this problem &ith e)terior angles# E)terior angles of an" pol"gon add !p to #
%ince there are e)terior angles in an 18-gon' the average meas!re of an e)terior angles
is # -e 0no& from the problem that since the e)terior angles m!st be in an arithmetic
se!ence' the median and average of them is # %ince there are even n!mber of e)terior angles' the
middle t&o m!st be and ' and the difference bet&een terms m!st be # Chec0 to ma0e s!re
the smallest e)terior angle is greater than / # It is' so the greatest
e)terior angle is and the smallest interior angle is #
Problem 5
In triangle ' # +he angle bisector of intersects at point ' and point is
the midpoint of # 3et be the point of the intersection of and # +he ratio of to
can be e)pressed in the form ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tions
Solution 1
3et be on s!ch that # It follo&s that '
so b" the Angle 2isector +heorem# %imilarl"' &e see b" the
midline theorem that # +h!s' and #
Solution 2
Assign mass points as follo&s/ b" Angle-2isector +heorem' ' so &e
assign # %ince ' then '
and #
Solution 3
2" Menela!s8 +heorem on &ith transversal '
Solution 4
-e &ill !se bar"centric coordinates# 3et ' ' # 2" the Angle
2isector +heorem' # %ince is the midpoint of
' # +herefore' the e!ation for line 2M is #
3et # Fsing the e!ation for ' &e get
+herefore' so the ans&er is #
Problem
+he s!m of the first ,A11 terms of a geometric se!ence is ,AA# +he s!m of the first 5A,, terms is
18A# $ind the s!m of the first 9A11 terms#
%ol!tion
%ince the s!m of the first terms is ' and the s!m of the fist terms is ' the s!m of
the second terms is # +his is decreasing from the first ,A11' so the common ratio is less than
one#
2eca!se it is a geometric se!ence and the s!m of the first ,A11 terms is ' second is '
the ratio of the second terms to the first terms is # $ollo&ing the same pattern' the s!m
of the third terms is #
+h!s' ' so the s!m of the first terms is #
Problem 9
?efine an ordered !adr!ple of integers as interesting if '
and # Do& man" interesting ordered !adr!ples are there.
%ol!tion 1
:earranging the ine!alit" &e get # 3et ' then
is a partition of 11 into 7 positive integers or
e!ivalentl"/ is a partition of 9 into 7 non-
negative integer parts# Wia a standard balls and !rns arg!ment' the n!mber of &a"s to partition 9 into
7 non-negative parts is # +he interesting !adr!ples correspond to
partitions &here the second n!mber is less than the fo!rth# 2" s"mmetr" there as man" partitions
&here the fo!rth is less than the second# %o' if is the n!mber of partitions &here the second
element is e!al to the fo!rth' o!r ans&er is #
-e find as a s!m of 5 cases/
t&o parts e!al to 4ero' &a"s'
t&o parts e!al to one' &a"s'
t&o parts e!al to t&o' &a"s'
t&o parts e!al to three' &a"#

+herefore' and o!r ans&er is
%ol!tion ,
3et !s consider o!r !adr!ple (a'b'c'd* as the follo&ing image )a)bc))d))# +he location of the letter
a'b'c'd represents its val!e and ) is a place holder# Clearl" the !adr!ple is interesting if there are
more place holders bet&een c and d than there are bet&een a and b# A holders bet&een a and b
means &e consider a and b as one !nit ab and c as c) "ielding &a"s' 1 holder bet&een a
and b means &e consider a and b as one !nit a)b and c as c)) "ielding &a"s' , holders
bet&een a and b means &e consider a and b as one !nit a))b and c as c))) "ielding &a"s
and there cannot be 1 holders bet&een a and b so o!r total is 79R,AR5; #
Problem
Ed has five identical green marbles' and a large s!ppl" of identical red marbles# De arranges the green
marbles and some of the red ones in a ro& and finds that the n!mber of marbles &hose right hand
neighbor is the same color as themselves is e!al to the n!mber of marbles &hose right hand
neighbor is the other color# An e)ample of s!ch an arrangement is EE:::EE:E# 3et be the
ma)im!m n!mber of red marbles for &hich s!ch an arrangement is possible' and let be the
n!mber of &a"s he can arrange the marbles to satisf" the re!irement# $ind the remainder
%ol!tion
-e are limited b" the n!mber of marbles &hose right hand neighbor is not the same color as the
marble# 2" s!rro!nding ever" green marble &ith red marbles - :E:E:E:E:E:# +hat8s 1A "not the
same colors" and A "same colors#" @o&' for ever" red marble &e add' &e &ill add one "same color"
pair and 0eep all 1A "not the same color" pairs# It follo&s that &e can add 1A more red marbles for a
total of # -e can place those ten marbles in an" of 9 "bo)es"/ +o the left of the first green
marble' to the right of the first b!t left of the second' etc# !p !ntil to the right of the last# +his is a
stars-and-bars problem' the sol!tion of &hich can be fo!nd as &here n is the n!mber of
stars and 0 is the n!mber of bars# +here are 1A stars (+he !nassigned :s' since each "bo)" m!st
contain at least one' are not co!nted here* and 7 "bars'" the green marbles# %o the ans&er
is ' ta0e the remainder &hen divided b" 1AAA to get the ans&er/ #
Problem
3et ' ' ' ' be the 1, 4eroes of the pol"nomial # $or each ' let be one of
or # +hen the ma)im!m possible val!e of the real part of can be &ritten as '
&here and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
+he t&elve dots above represent the 1, roots of the e!ation # If &e &rite
' then the real part of is and the real part of is # +he bl!e dots represent those roots for
&hich the real part of is greater than the real part of ' and the red dots represent those roots
for &hich the real part of is greater than the real part of # @o&' the s!m of the real parts of the
bl!e dots is easil" seen to be and the negative of the s!m of the
imaginar" parts of the red dots is easil" seen to also be # Dence o!r desired s!m
is ' giving the ans&er #
Problem 9
3et be non-negative real n!mbers s!ch that '
and # 3et and be positive relativel" prime integers s!ch that is the
ma)im!m possible val!e of #
$ind #
%ol!tion
@ote that neither the constraint nor the e)pression &e need to ma)imi4e involves prod!cts
&ith # $actoring o!t sa" and &e see that the constraint
is ' &hile the e)pression &e &ant to ma)imi4e
is # Adding the left side of the constraint to
the e)pression' &e
get/ # +his ne&
e)pression is the prod!ct of three non-negative terms &hose s!m is e!al to 1# 2" AM-EM this
prod!ct is at most # %ince &e have added at least the desired ma)im!m is at most #
It is eas" to see that this !pper bo!nd can in fact be achieved b" ens!ring that the constraint
e)pression is e!al to &ith `for e)ample' b" choosing
and small eno!gh`so o!r ans&er is
An e)ample is/
Another e)ample is
,A11 AIME II Problems/Problem 1A
Problem 1A
A circle &ith center has radi!s ,7# Chord of length 1A and chord of length 15 intersect at
point # +he distance bet&een the midpointsof the t&o chords is 1,# +he !antit" can be
represented as ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind the remainder
&hen is divided b" 1AAA#
%ol!tion 1
3et and be the midpoints of and ' respectivel"' s!ch that intersects #
%ince and are midpoints' and #
and are located on the circ!mference of the circle' so #
+he line thro!gh the midpoint of a chord of a circle and the center of that circle is perpendic!lar to
that chord' so and are right triangles (&ith and being the right
angles*# 2" the P"thagorean +heorem' ' and #
3et ' ' and be lengths ' ' and ' respectivel"# HEP and H$P are also right triangles'
so ' and
-e are given that has length 1,' so' !sing the 3a& of Cosines &ith /
%!bstit!ting for and ' and appl"ing the Cosine of %!m form!la/
and are ac!te angles in right triangles' so s!bstit!te opposite/h"poten!se for sines
and ad6acent/h"poten!se for cosines/
Combine terms and m!ltipl" both sides b"
/
Combine terms again' and divide both sides b" 95/
%!are both sides/
+his red!ces to B #
%ol!tion ,
-e begin as in the first sol!tion# Hnce &e see that has side lengths 1,',5' and ,7' &e can
comp!te its area &ith Deron8s form!la/
#
%o its circ!mradi!s is # %ince is c"clic &ith diameter ' &e
have ' so and the ans&er is #
Problem
3et be the matri) &ith entries as follo&s/ for ' B for
' B all other entries in are 4ero# 3et be the determinant of matri) #
+hen can be represented as ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
@ote/ +he determinant of the matri) is ' and the determinant of the
matri) B for ' the determinant of an matri) &ith first ro& or first
col!mn is e!al to ' &here is
the determinant of the matri) formed b" eliminating the ro& and col!mn
containing #
%ol!tion
Fsing
the e)pansionar"/rec!rsive definition of determinants (also stated in the problem*/
+his pattern repeats beca!se the first element in the first ro& of is al&a"s 1A' the second element
is al&a"s 1' and the rest are al&a"s A# +he ten element directl" e)pands to # +he three
element e)pands to 1 times the determinant of the the matri) formed from omitting the second
col!mn and first ro& from the original matri)# Call this matri) # has a first col!mn entirel" of
4eros e)cept for the first element' &hich is a three# A propert" of matrices is that the determinant can
be e)panded over the ro&s instead of the col!mns (still !sing the rec!rsive definition as given in the
problem*' and the determinant fo!nd &ill still be the same# +h!s' e)panding over this first col!mn
"ields # +h!s' the e)pression t!rns into #
+h!s' the e!ation holds for all n Q ,#
+his e!ation can be re&ritten as # +his version of the e!ation
involves the difference of s!ccessive terms of a rec!rsive se!ence# Calc!lating bac0&ards from
the rec!rsive form!la and from the form!la "ields # E)amining the
differences bet&een s!ccessive terms' a pattern emerges#
' '
' ' #
+h!s' #
+h!s' the desired s!m is
+his is an infinite geometric series &ith first term and common ratio # +h!s' the s!m
is #
+h!s' #
,A11 AIME II Problems/Problem 1,
Problem 1,
@ine delegates' three each from three different co!ntries' randoml" select chairs at a ro!nd table that
seats nine people# 3et the probabilit" that each delegate sits ne)t to at least one delegate from
another co!ntr" be ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Fse complementar" probabilit" and Principle of Incl!sion-E)cl!sion# If &e consider the delegates from
each co!ntr" to be indisting!ishable and n!mber the chairs' &e have
total &a"s to seat the candidates#
Hf these' there are &a"s to have the candidates of at least some one co!ntr" sit
together# +his comes to
Among these there are &a"s for candidates from t&o co!ntries to each sit together# +his
comes to
$inall"' there are &a"s for the candidates from all the co!ntries to sit in three bloc0s (9
cloc0&ise arrangements' and 9 co!nter-cloc0&ise arrangements*#
%o' b" PIE' the total co!nt of !n&anted arrangements
is %o the fraction
+h!s
Problem
Point lies on the diagonal of s!are &ith # 3et and be
the circ!mcenters of triangles and respectivel"# Eiven that
and ' then ' &here and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
?enote the midpoint of be and the midpoint of be # 2eca!se the" are the
circ!mcenters' both Hs lie on the perpendic!lar bisectors of and and these bisectors go
thro!gh and #
It is given that # 2eca!se and are radii of the same circle' the have the
same length# +his is also tr!e of and # 2eca!se
' # +h!s' and are isosceles right triangles# Fsing
the given information above and s"mmetr"' # 2eca!se A2P and A?P share one
side' have one side &ith the same length' and one e!al angle' the" are congr!ent b" %A%# +his is
also tr!e for triangle CP2 and CP?# 2eca!se angles AP2 and AP? are e!al and the" s!m to 1,A
degrees' the" are each 9A degrees# 3i0e&ise' both angles CP2 and CP? have meas!res of 1,A
degrees#
2eca!se the interior angles of a triangle add to 18A degrees' angle A2P has meas!re 77 degrees and
angle P?C has meas!re 17 degrees# %!btracting' it is fo!nd that both angles and
have meas!res of 1A degrees# +h!s' both triangles and are 1A-9A-9A right triangles#
2eca!se $ and E are the midpoints of A2 and C? respectivel"' both $2 and ?E have lengths of 9#
+h!s' # 2eca!se of 57-57-9A right triangles' #
@o&' !sing 3a& of Cosines on and letting '
Fsing !adratic form!la'
2eca!se it is given that ' ' so the min!s version of the above e!ation is too
small# +h!s' and a R b ; ,5 R 7, ;
%ol!tion ,
+his ta0es a slightl" different ro!te than %ol!tion 1#
%ol!tion 1 proves that and that # Constr!ct diagonal and !sing the
t&o statements above it !ic0l" becomes clear that b" isosceles triangle
base angles# 3et the midpoint of diagonal be ' and since the diagonals are perpendic!lar' both
triangle and triangle are 1A-9A-9A right triangles# %ince
' and # 1A-9A-9A triangles8 sides are in the
ratio ' so # #
Dence' #
%ol!tion 1
Fse vectors# In an plane' let be ' be ' be ' be ' and be
P' &here # It remains to find #
+he line is the perpendic!lar bisector of and ' so and lies on the line# @o&
comp!te the perpendic!lar bisector of # +he center has coordinate ' and the segment is
part of the -a)is' so the perpendic!lar bisector has e!ation # %ince is
thecirc!mcenter of triangle ' it lies on the perpendic!lar bisector of both and ' so
%imilarl"' +he relation can no&
be &ritten !sing dot prod!ct as
Comp!tation of both sides "ields %olve for gives '
so # +he ans&er is 7,R,5
Problem 15
+here are perm!tations of s!ch that for '
divides for all integers &ith # $ind the remainder &hen is
divided b" #
%ol!tions
Solution 1
Each position in the 1A-position perm!tation is !ni!el" defined b" an ordered triple # +he th
position is defined b" this ordered triple &here is ' is ' and is #
+here are , choices for ' 1 for ' and 7 for ' "ielding possible triples# 2eca!se the
least common m!ltiple of ,' 1' and 7 is 1A' none of these triples are repeated and all are !sed# 2" the
conditions of the problem' if i is the same in t&o different triples' then the t&o n!mbers in these
positions m!st be e!ivalent mod ,# If 6 is the same' then the t&o n!mbers m!st be e!ivalent mod
1' and if is the same' the t&o n!mbers m!st be e!ivalent mod 7#
+he ordered triple (or position* in &hich the n!mber one can be placed has , options for i' 1 for 6' and
7 for 0' res!lting in 1A different positions it can be placed#
+he ordered triple &here , can be placed in is some&hat constrained b" the placement of the n!mber
1# 2eca!se 1 is not e!ivalent to , mod ,' 1' or 7' the i' 6' and 0 in their ordered triples m!st be
different# +h!s' for the n!mber ,' there are (,-1* choices for i' (1-1* choices for 6' and (7-1* choices
for 0# +h!s' there are 1I,I5;8 possible placements for the n!mber t&o once the n!mber one is
placed#
2eca!se 1 is e!ivalent to 1 mod ,' it m!st have the same i as the ordered triple of 1# 2eca!se 1 is
not e!ivalent to 1 or , mod 1 or 7' it m!st have different 6 and 0 val!es# +h!s' there is 1 choice for i'
(,-1* choices for 6' and (5-1* choices for 0' for a total of choices for the placement of 1#
As above' 5 is even' so it m!st have the same val!e of i as ,# It is also 1 mod 1' so it m!st have the
same 6 val!e of 1# 5 is not e!ivalent to 1' ,' or 1 mod 7' so it m!st have a different 0 val!e than that
of 1' ,' and 1# +h!s' there is 1 choice for i' 1 choice for 6' and (1-1* choices for 0' "ielding a total
of possible placements for 5#
7 is odd and is e!ivalent to , mod 1' so it m!st have the same i val!e as 1 and the same 6 val!e of ,#
7 is not e!ivalent to 1' ,' 1' or 5 mod 7' so it m!st have a different 0 val!e from 1' ,' 1' and 5#
Do&ever' 5 different val!es of 0 are held b" these fo!r n!mbers' so 7 m!st hold the one remaining
val!e# +h!s' onl" one possible triple is fo!nd for the placement of 7#
All n!mbers from 9 to 1A are also fi)ed in this manner# All val!es of i' 6' and 0 have been !sed' so
ever" one of these n!mbers &ill have a !ni!e triple for placement' as above &ith the n!mber five#
+h!s' after 1' ,' 1' and 5 have been placed' the rest of the perm!tation is fi)ed#
+h!s' # +h!s' the remainder &hen is divided b"
is
Solution 2
-e observe that the condition on the perm!tations means that t&o n!mbers &ith indices
congr!ent are themselves congr!ent for $!rthermore' s!ppose
that +hen' there are indices congr!ent to and n!mbers
congr!ent to beca!se ,' 1' and 7 are all factors of 1A# +herefore' since ever" inde)
congr!ent to m!st contain a n!mber congr!ent to and no n!mber can appear t&ice in the
perm!tation' onl" the indices congr!ent to contain n!mbers congr!ent to In other
&ords'
+his tells !s that in a valid perm!tation' the congr!ence classes are simpl" s&apped aro!nd'
and if the set is a congr!ence class for ,' 1' or 7' the set is still a
congr!ence class Clearl"' each valid perm!tation of the n!mbers 1 thro!gh 1A corresponds
to e)actl" one perm!tation of the congr!ence classes mod!lo ,' 1' and 7# Also' if &e choose some
perm!tations of the congr!ence classes mod!lo ,' 1' and 7' the" correspond to e)actl" one valid
perm!tation of the n!mbers 1 thro!gh 1A# +his can be sho&n as follo&s/ $irst of all' the choice of
perm!tations of the congr!ence classes gives !s ever" n!mber in the perm!tation mod!lo ,' 1' and 7'
so b" the Chinese :emainder +heorem' it gives !s ever" n!mber 2eca!se the
n!mbers m!st be bet&een 1 and 1A incl!sive' it th!s !ni!el" determines &hat n!mber goes in each
inde)# $!rthermore' t&o different indices cannot contain the same n!mber# -e &ill prove this b"
contradiction' calling the indices and for If then the" m!st have the same
resid!es mod!lo ,' 1' and 7' and so mod!lo ,' 1' and 7# Again !sing the Chinese :emainder
+heorem' &e concl!de that so beca!se and are both bet&een 1 and 1A
incl!sive' giving !s a contradiction# +herefore' ever" choice of perm!tations of the congr!ence
classes mod!lo ,' 1' and 7 corresponds to e)actl" one valid perm!tation of the n!mbers 1 thro!gh 1A#
-e have no& established a bi6ection bet&een valid perm!tations of the n!mbers 1 thro!gh 1A and
perm!tations of the congr!ence classes mod!lo ,' 1' and 7' so is e!al to the n!mber of
perm!tations of congr!ence classes# +here are al&a"s congr!ence classes
so
Problem
3et # A real n!mber is chosen at random from the interval # +he
probabilit" that is e!al to ' &here ' ' ' ' and
are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
+able of val!es of /
In order for to hold' m!st be an integer and hence m!st
be a perfect s!are# +his limits to or or since' from the table
above' those are the onl" val!es of for &hich is an perfect s!are# Do&ever' in order
for to be ro!nded do&n to ' m!st be less than the ne)t perfect s!are
after (for the said intervals*# @o&' &e consider the three cases/
Case /
m!st be less than the first perfect s!are after ' &hich is ' i.e./
(beca!se implies *
%ince is increasing for ' &e 6!st need to find the val!e &here ' &hich &ill
give !s the &or0ing range #
%o in this case' the onl" val!es that &ill &or0 are #
Case /
m!st be less than the first perfect s!are after ' &hich is #
Case /
m!st be less than the first perfect s!are after ' &hich is #
@o&' &e find the length of the &or0ing intervals and divide it b" the length of the total
interval' /
2012 1
,A1, AIME I Problems/Problem 1
Problem 1
$ind the n!mber of positive integers &ith three not necessaril" distinct digits' ' &ith
and s!ch that both and are m!ltiples of #
%ol!tions
Solution 1
A positive integer is divisible b" if and onl" if its last t&o digits are divisible b" $or an" val!e of '
there are t&o possible val!es for and ' since &e find that if is even' and m!st be either
or ' and if is odd' and m!st be either or # +here are th!s &a"s to choose and
for each and &a"s to choose since can be an" digit# +he final ans&er is then #
Solution 2
A n!mber is divisible b" fo!r if its last t&o digits are divisible b" 5# +h!s' &e re!ire that
and are both divisible b" # If is odd' then and m!st both be meaning
that and are or # If is even' then and m!st be meaning that and are
or # $or each choice of there are choices for and for for a total of
n!mbers#
,A1, AIME I Problems/Problem ,
Problem ,
+he terms of an arithmetic se!ence add to # +he first term of the se!ence is increased b" ' the
second term is increased b" ' the third term is increased b" ' and in general' the th term is
increased b" the th odd positive integer# +he terms of the ne& se!ence add to # $ind the s!m of
the first' last' and middle terms of the original se!ence#
%ol!tions
Solution 1
If the s!m of the original se!ence is then the s!m of the ne& se!ence can be e)pressed
as +herefore' @o& the middle
term of the original se!ence is simpl" the average of all the terms' or and the first and
last terms average to this middle term' so the desired s!m is simpl" three times the middle term'
or
Solution 2
After the adding of the odd n!mbers' the total of the se!ence increases
b" # %ince the s!m of the first positive odd n!mbers is ' there m!st
be terms in the se!ence' so the mean of the se!ence is # %ince the first' last' and
middle terms are centered aro!nd the mean' o!r final ans&er is
Problem 1
@ine people sit do&n for dinner &here there are three choices of meals# +hree people order the beef
meal' three order the chic0en meal' and three order the fish meal# +he &aiter serves the nine meals in
random order# $ind the n!mber of &a"s in &hich the &aiter co!ld serve the meal t"pes to the nine
people so that e)actl" one person receives the t"pe of meal ordered b" that person#
%ol!tion
Call a beef meal a chic0en meal and a fish meal @o& sa" the nine people order
meals respectivel" and sa" that the person &ho receives the correct meal is the
first person# -e &ill solve for this case and then m!ltipl" b" to acco!nt for the different &a"s in
&hich the person to receive the correct meal co!ld be pic0ed# @ote' this implies that the dishes are
indisting!ishable' tho!gh the people aren8t# $or e)ample' t&o people &ho order chic0en are separate'
tho!gh if the" receive fish' there is onl" 1 &a" to order them#
+he problem &e m!st solve is to distrib!te meals to orders &ith no
matches# +he t&o people &ho ordered 8s can either both get 8s' both get 8s' or get one and
one -e proceed &ith case&or0#
If the t&o people both get 8s' then the three meals left to distrib!te m!st all go to the people#
+he people then get in some order' &hich gives three possibilities# +he indisting!ishabilit" is
easier to see here' as &e distrib!te the meals to the people' and there is onl" 1 &a" to order this'
as all three meals are the same#
If the t&o people both get 8s' the sit!ation is identical to the above and three possibilities arise#
If the t&o people get in some order' then the people m!st get and the people m!st
get +his gives possibilities#
%!mming across the cases &e see there are possibilities' so the ans&er is
Problem 5
2!tch and %!ndance need to get o!t of ?odge# +o travel as !ic0l" as possible' each alternates
&al0ing and riding their onl" horse' %par0"' as follo&s# 2!tch begins b" &al0ing &hile %!ndance rides#
-hen %!ndance reaches the first of the hitching posts that are convenientl" located at one-mile
intervals along their ro!te' he ties %par0" to the post and begins &al0ing# -hen 2!tch reaches %par0"'
he rides !ntil he passes %!ndance' then leaves %par0" at the ne)t hitching post and res!mes &al0ing'
and the" contin!e in this manner# %par0"' 2!tch' and %!ndance &al0 at and miles per ho!r'
respectivel"# +he first time 2!tch and %!ndance meet at a milepost' the" are miles from ?odge' and
the" have been traveling for min!tes# $ind #
%ol!tion
-hen the" meet at the milepost' %par0" has been ridden for miles total# Ass!me 2!tch rides %par0"
for miles' and %!ndance rides for miles# +h!s' &e can set !p an e!ation' given that %par0"
ta0es ho!rs per mile' 2!tch ta0es ho!rs per mile' and %!ndance ta0es ho!rs per mile/
+he smallest possible integral val!e of is ' so &e pl!g in and and get
ho!rs' or min!tes# %o o!r ans&er is
Problem 7
3et be the set of all binar" integers that can be &ritten !sing e)actl" 4eros and ones &here
leading 4eros are allo&ed# If all possible s!btractions are performed in &hich one element of is
s!btracted from another' find the n!mber of times the ans&er is obtained#
%ol!tion
-hen is s!btracted from a binar" n!mber' the n!mber of digits &ill remain constant if and onl" if the
original n!mber ended in +herefore' ever" s!btraction involving t&o n!mbers from &ill
necessaril" involve e)actl" one n!mber ending in +o solve the problem' then' &e can simpl" co!nt
the instances of s!ch n!mbers# -ith the in place' the seven remaining 8s can be distrib!ted in an"
of the remaining spaces' so the ans&er is #
Problem 9
+he comple) n!mbers and satisf" and the imaginar" part of is '
for relativel" prime positive integers and &ith $ind
%ol!tion
%!bstit!ting the first e!ation into the second' &e find that and th!s -e
0no& that beca!se &e are given the imaginar" part of so &e can divide b" to
get %o' m!st be a nd root of !nit"' and th!s the imaginar" part of &ill be of the
form &here @ote that is prime and b" the
conditions of the problem' so the denominator in the arg!ment of this val!e &ill al&a"s be
+h!s'
Problem 7
At each of the si)teen circles in the net&or0 belo& stands a st!dent# A total of coins are
distrib!ted among the si)teen st!dents# All at once' all st!dents give a&a" all their coins b" passing
an e!al n!mber of coins to each of their neighbors in the net&or0# After the trade' all st!dents have
the same n!mber of coins as the" started &ith# $ind the n!mber of coins the st!dent standing at the
center circle had originall"#
%ol!tions
Solution 1
%a" the st!dent in the center starts o!t &ith coins' the st!dents neighboring the center st!dent
each start &ith coins' and all other st!dents start o!t &ith coins# +hen the -coin st!dent has five
neighbors' all the -coin st!dents have three neighbors' and all the -coin st!dents have fo!r
neighbors#
@o& in order for each st!dent8s n!mber of coins to remain e!al after the trade' the n!mber of coins
given b" each st!dent m!st be e!al to the n!mber received' and th!s
%olving these e!ations' &e see that Also' the total n!mber of coins
is so
Solution 2
%ince the st!dents give the same n!mber of gifts of coins as the" receive and still end !p the same
n!mber of coins' &e can ass!me that ever" gift of coins has the same n!mber of coins# 3et be the
n!mber of coins in each gift of coins# +here people &ho give gifts of coins' people &ho give
gifts of coins' and person &ho gives gifts of coins# +h!s'
+herefore the ans&er is
Problem 8
C!be labeled as sho&n belo&' has edge length and is c!t b" a plane passing
thro!gh verte) and the midpoints and of and respectivel"# +he plane divides the
c!be into t&o solids# +he vol!me of the larger of the t&o solids can be &ritten in the form &here
%ol!tion/ thin0 o!tside the bo)
?efine a coordinate s"stem &ith at the origin and and on the ' ' and a)es
respectivel"# +he and It follo&s that the plane going
thro!gh and has e!ation 3et be the intersection of
this plane and edge and let @o& since is on the
plane# Also' lies on the e)tensions of segments and so the
solid is a right triang!lar p"ramid# @ote also that
p"ramid is similar to &ith scale factor and th!s the vol!me of
solid &hich is one of the solids bo!nded b" the c!be and the plane'
is 2!t the vol!me
of is simpl" the vol!me of a p"ramid &ith base and height &hich is
%o @ote' ho&ever' that this vol!me is less than and th!s this solid
is the smaller of the t&o solids# +he desired vol!me is
then
Alternative %ol!tion (!sing calc!l!s* / thin0 inside the bo)
3et be the intersection of the plane &ith edge then is similar to and the
vol!me is a s!m of areas of cross sections of similar triangles r!nning parallel to
face 3et be the distance from face let be the height parallel to of the
cross-sectional triangle at that distance' and be the area of the cross-sectional triangle at that
distance# and then ' and the vol!me
is +h!s the vol!me of the larger solid
is
Alternative %ol!tion / thin0 inside the bo) li0e a total nerd
If "o! memori4ed the form!la for a fr!st!m' then this problem is ver" trivial#
+he form!la for a fr!st!m is/
&here is the area of the base and is the height from the chopped of ape) to the
base#
-e can easil" see that from s"mmetr"' the area of the smaller front base is and the area of the
larger bac0 base is
@o& to find the height of the ape)#
E)tend the and (call the intersection of the plane &ith E* to meet at # @o& from
similar triangles and &e can easil" find the total height of the triangle to be
@o& straight from o!r form!la' the area is +h!s the ans&er is/
Problem 9
3et and be positive real n!mbers that satisf"
+he val!e of can be e)pressed in the
form &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
%ince there are onl" t&o dependent e!ations given and three !n0no&ns' the three e)pressions given
can e!ate to an" common val!e' so to simplif" the problem let !s ass!me &itho!t loss of generalit"
that +hen %olvi
ng these e!ations' &e !ic0l" see that and
then $inall"' o!r desired val!e is
and th!s
,A1, AIME I Problems/Problem 1A
Problem 1A
3et be the set of all perfect s!ares &hose rightmost three digits in base are # 3et be the
set of all n!mbers of the form ' &here is in # In other &ords' is the set of n!mbers that
res!lt &hen the last three digits of each n!mber in are tr!ncated# $ind the remainder &hen the
tenth smallest element of is divided b" #
%ol!tion
It is apparent that for a perfect s!are to satisf" the constraints' &e m!st
have or @o& in order for to be
a m!ltiple of at least one of and m!st be a m!ltiple of and since
and are in different resid!e classes mod one term m!st have all the factors of and th!s
m!st be a m!ltiple of $!rthermore' each of and m!st have at least t&o factors
of since other&ise co!ld not possibl" be divisible b" %o therefore the
conditions are satisfied if either or is divisible b" or e!ivalentl"
if Co!nting !p from to &e see that the tenth val!e of
is and th!s the corresponding element in
is
Problem 11
A frog begins at and ma0es a se!ence of 6!mps according to the follo&ing r!le/
from the frog 6!mps to &hich ma" be an" of the points
or +here are points
&ith that can be reached b" a se!ence of s!ch 6!mps# $ind the remainder &hen
is divided b"
%ol!tion
$irst of all' it is eas" to see b" ind!ction that for an" in the frog8s 6!mp se!ence' &ill
be a m!ltiple of and &ill be a m!ltiple of +he base case obvio!sl" satisfies
the constraints and if and an" of the fo!r transformations &ill s!stain this
propert"/
%o &e 0no& that an" point the frog can reach &ill satisf" and +o sho&
that the frog can reach an" s!ch point' denote the total ammo!nts of each specific transformation in
the frog8s 6!mp se!ence to be and respectivel"# +hen
and and the e!ations
and m!st be solvable in integers#
2!t implies and
th!s %imilarl" implies and
have the same parit"# @o& in order for an integer sol!tion to e)ist' there m!st al&a"s be a &a" to
ens!re and have identical parities and also and have identical
parities# +he parit" of is completel" dependent on so the parities of and
m!st be chosen to match this val!e# 2!t the parit" of can then be ad6!sted b" adding or
s!btracting !ntil it is identical to the parit" of as chosen before' so &e concl!de that it is
al&a"s possible to find an integer sol!tion for and th!s an" point that
satisfies and can be reached b" the frog#
+o co!nt the n!mber of s!ch points in the region &e first note that an" s!ch point
&ill lie on the intersection of one line of the form and another line of the
form +he intersection of t&o s!ch lines &ill "ield the point
&hich &ill be integral if and onl" if and have the same parit"# @o& since &e
find that
%o there are possible odd val!es and possible even val!es for and possible odd val!es
and possible even val!es for Ever" pair of lines described above &ill "ield a valid accessible
point for all pairs of and &ith the same parit"' and the n!mber of points is
th!s
,A1, AIME I Problems/Problem 1,
Problem 1,
3et be a right triangle &ith right angle at 3et and be points on &ith
bet&een and s!ch that and trisect If then can be &ritten
as &here and are relativel" prime positive integers' and is a positive integer not
divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind
%ol!tion
Solution 1
-itho!t loss of generalit"' set # +hen' b" the Angle 2isector +heorem on triangle ' &e
have # -e appl" the 3a& of Cosines to triangle to get '
&hich &e can simplif" to get #
@o&' &e have b" another application of the 3a& of Cosines to
triangle ' so # In addition' ' so
#
H!r final ans&er is #
Solution 2
(+his sol!tion does not !se the Angle 2isector +heorem or the 3a& of Cosines' b!t it !ses the 3a& of
%ines and more trig*
$ind val!es for all angles in terms of # '
' ' ' and #
Fse the la& of sines on and /
In ' # +his simplifies to #
In ' # +his simplifies to #
%olve for and e!ate them so that "o! get #
$rom this' #
Fse a trig identit" on the denominator on the right to obtain/
+his simplifies to
+his gives ?ividing b" ' &e have
# H!r final ans&er is #
Solution 3
(+his sol!tion avoids advanced trigonometr"*
3et be the foot of the perpendic!lar from to ' and let be the foot of the perpendic!lar
from to #
@o& let # Clearl"' triangles and are similar
&ith ' so #
%ince triangles and are 1A-9A-9A right triangles' &e can easil" find other lengths in
terms of # $or e)ample' &e see that and #
+herefore #
Again !sing the fact that triangles and are similar' &e see
that ' so #
+h!s ' and o!r ans&er is #
Solution 4
(Another sol!tion &itho!t trigonometr"*
E)tend to point s!ch that # It is then clear that is similar to #
3et ' # +hen #
-ith the Angle 2isector +heorem' &e get that # $rom 1A-9A-9A ' &e get
that and #
$rom ' &e have that # %implif"ing
"ields ' and ' so o!r ans&er
is #
!) #$%& $ 'roblems('roblem )+
Problem 11
+hree concentric circles have radii and An e!ilateral triangle &ith one verte) on each circle
has side length +he largest possible area of the triangle can be &ritten as &here
and are positive integers' and are relativel" prime' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an"
prime# $ind
%ol!tion 1
:einterpret the problem in the follo&ing manner# E!ilateral triangle has a point on the
interior s!ch that and A co!nter-cloc0&ise rotation abo!t
verte) maps to and to @ote that angle is and &hich
tells !s that triangle is e!ilateral and that -e no& notice that
and &hich tells !s that angle is beca!se there is a - - P"thagorean triple#
@o& note that and
so and Appl"ing the la& of cosines on triangle
"ields
and th!s the area of e!als
so o!r final ans&er is
%ol!tion ,
-e claim that there are , distinct e!ilateral triangles (!p to congr!ence* that have the given
propertiesB one of &hich has largest area# -e have , cases to considerB either the center of the
circles lies in the interior of triangle or it does not (and &e shall sho& that both can happen*# +o
see that the first case can occ!r' refer to %ol!tion 1 above' or for a less creative and more direct
approach proceed as follo&s# Fsing the notation from %ol!tion 1' let be the meas!re of angle
so that angle has meas!re # 3et # +he la& of cosines on
triangles and "ields and # %olving this
s"stem &ill "ield the val!e of # %ince &e have
that # %!bstit!ting these into the
e!ation &e
obtain # After clearing denominators'
combining li0e terms' isolating the s!are root' s!aring' and e)panding' &e
obtain so that b" the !adratic form!la # Fnder the
h"pothesis that lies in the interior of triangle ' m!st be # +o see this' note that
the other val!e for is ro!ghl" so that ' b!t since and &e have a
contradiction# -e then obtain the area as in %ol!tion 1#
@o&' s!ppose does not lie in the interior of triangle # -e then obtain conve)
!adrilateral &ith diagonals and intersecting at # Dere #
-e ma" let denote the meas!re of angle so that angle meas!res # @ote that
the la& of cosines on triangles and "ield the same e!ations as in the first case &ith
replaced &ith # +h!s &e obtain again # If then ' b!t
this is impossible since b!t the shortest possible distance from to is the height of
e!ilateral triangle &hich is B a contradiction# Dence in this
case # 2!t' the area of this triangle is clearl" less than that in the first case' so &e
are done# Dence the phrasing of the !estion (the triangle &ith ma)imal area* is absol!tel" necessar"
since there are , possible triangles (!p to congr!ence*#
Problem 15
Comple) n!mbers and are 4eros of a pol"nomial
and +he points corresponding to and in the comple) plane are the
vertices of a right triangle &ith h"poten!se $ind
%ol!tions
%ol!tion 1
2" Wieta8s form!la' the s!m of the roots is e!al to A' or #
+herefore' # 2eca!se the centroid of an" triangle is the average of its vertices' the
centroid of this triangle is the origin# 3et one leg of the right triangle be and the other leg be #
-itho!t the loss of generalit"' let be the h"poten!se# +he magnit!des of ' ' and are 6!st of
the medians beca!se the origin' or the centroid in this case' c!ts the median in a ratio of #
%o' beca!se is t&o thirds of the median from #
%imilarl"' # +he median from is 6!st half the h"poten!se
beca!se the median of an" right triangle is 6!st half the h"poten!se#
%o' #
Dence' #
+herefore' #
%ol!tion ,
Ass!me and are real' so at least one of and m!st be real' &ith the remaining roots being
pairs of comple) con6!gates# -itho!t loss of generalit"' &e ass!me is real and and are
and respectivel"# 2" s"mmetr"' the triangle described b" and m!st be isosceles and is
th!s an isosceles right triangle &ith h"poten!se @o& since has no term' &e m!st
have and th!s Also' since the length of the
altit!de from the right angle of an isosceles triangle is half the length of the h"poten!se'
and th!s -e can then solve for /
@o& is the distance bet&een and so and
th!s
!) #$%& $ 'roblems('roblem ).
Problem 17
+here are mathematicians seated aro!nd a circ!lar table &ith seats n!mbered in
cloc0&ise order# After a brea0 the" again sit aro!nd the table# +he mathematicians note that there is a
positive integer s!ch that
( * for each the mathematician &ho &as seated in seat before the brea0 is seated in seat after
the brea0 (&here seat is seat *B
( * for ever" pair of mathematicians' the n!mber of mathematicians sitting bet&een them after the brea0'
co!nting in both the cloc0&ise and the co!ntercloc0&ise directions' is different from either of the n!mber
of mathematicians sitting bet&een them before the brea0#
$ind the n!mber of possible val!es of &ith
%ol!tion
It is a &ell-0no&n fact that the set forms a complete set of resid!es if and onl"
if is relativel" prime to #
+h!s' &e have is relativel" prime to # In addition' for an" seats and ' &e m!st have
not be e!ivalent to either or mod!lo to satisf" o!r conditions# +hese simplif"
to and mod!lo ' so m!ltiplication b" both
and m!st form a complete set of resid!es mod as &ell#
+h!s' &e have ' ' and are relativel" prime to # -e m!st find all for &hich s!ch an
e)ists# obvio!sl" cannot be a m!ltiple of or ' b!t for an" other ' &e can set ' and
then and # All three of these &ill be relativel" prime to ' since t&o
n!mbers and are relativel" prime if and onl" if is relativel" prime to # In this case' ' '
and are all relativel" prime to ' so &or0s#
@o& &e simpl" co!nt all that are not m!ltiples of or ' &hich is eas" !sing incl!sion-e)cl!sion# -e
get a final ans&er of
2012 2
,A1, AIME II Problems/Problem 1
Problem 1
$ind the n!mber of ordered pairs of positive integer sol!tions to the
e!ation #
%ol!tion
%olving for gives !s so in order for to be an integer' &e m!st
have +he smallest possible val!e of is obvio!sl" and
the greatest is so the total n!mber of sol!tions is
,A1, AIME II Problems/Problem ,
Problem ,
+&o geometric se!ences and have the same common ratio'
&ith ' ' and # $ind #
%ol!tion
Call the common @o& since the th term of a geometric se!ence &ith first term and common
ratio is &e see that 2!t
e!als so
Problem 1
At a certain !niversit"' the division of mathematical sciences consists of the departments of
mathematics' statistics' and comp!ter science# +here are t&o male and t&o female professors in each
department# A committee of si) professors is to contain three men and three &omen and m!st also
contain t&o professors from each of the three departments# $ind the n!mber of possible committees
that can be formed s!b6ect to these re!irements#
%ol!tion
+here are t&o cases/
Case 1/ Hne man and one &oman is chosen from each department#
Case ,/ +&o men are chosen from one department' t&o &omen are chosen from another department'
and one man and one &oman are chosen from the third department#
$or the first case' in each department there are &a"s to choose one man and one
&oman# +h!s there are total possibilities conforming to case 1#
$or the second case' there is onl" &a" to choose t&o professors of the same gender from a
department' and again there are &a"s to choose one man and one &oman# +h!s there
are &a"s to choose t&o men from one department' t&o &omen from another
department' and one man and one &oman from the third department# Do&ever' there are
different department orders' so the total n!mber of possibilities conforming to case , is #
%!mming these t&o val!es "ields the final ans&er/ #
Problem 5
Ana' 2ob' and Cao bi0e at constant rates of meters per second' meters per second' and
meters per second' respectivel"# +he" all begin bi0ing at the same time from the northeast corner of a
rectang!lar field &hose longer side r!ns d!e &est# Ana starts bi0ing along the edge of the field'
initiall" heading &est' 2ob starts bi0ing along the edge of the field' initiall" heading so!th' and Cao
bi0es in a straight line across the field to a point on the so!th edge of the field# Cao arrives at
point at the same time that Ana and 2ob arrive at for the first time# +he ratio of the field8s
length to the field8s &idth to the distance from point to the so!theast corner of the field can be
represented as ' &here ' ' and are positive integers &ith and relativel" prime#
$ind #
%ol!tion 1 (bash*
3et be the labeled lengths as sho&n in the diagram# Also' ass!me -3HE the time ta0en is
second#
Hbserve that or ' and or # %!btracting the
second e!ation from the first gives ' or #
@o&' let !s solve and # @ote that ' or # -e also have #
-e have a s"stem of e!ations/
%!aring the first e!ation gives ' and s!btracting the second from this
gives # @o& s!btracting this from
gives ' or # @o& &e have the follo&ing t&o
e!ations/
Adding the e!ations and dividing b" t&o gives ' and it follo&s that #
+he ratios &e desire are therefore ' and o!r ans&er
is #
@ote that in o!r diagram' &e labeled the part of the bottom and the side # Do&ever' these labels
are interchangeable# -e can cancel o!t the case &here the side is and the part of the bottom
is b" noting a restriction of the problem/ "###a rectang!lar field &hose longer side r!ns d!e &est#"
If &e had the side be ' then the entire bottom &o!ld be ' clearl" less than
and therefore violating o!r restriction#
%ol!tion , (!glier bash*
3et P' J' and : be the east-&est distance of the field' the north-so!th distance' and the distance from
the so!theast corner to point ?' respectivel"#
Ana8s distance to point ? ;
2ob8s distance to point ? ;
Cao8s distance to point ? ;
%ince the" arrive at the same time' their distance/speed ratios are e!al' so/
3oo0ing at the last t&o parts of the e!ation/
3oo0ing at the first t&o parts of the e!ation above/
If /
Do&ever' this ma0es P T J' b!t &e are given that P Q J# +herefore' ' and/
+he sol!tion is #
Problem 7
In the accompan"ing fig!re' the o!ter s!are has side length # A second s!are of side
length is constr!cted inside &ith the same center as and &ith sides parallel to those of #
$rom each midpoint of a side of ' segments are dra&n to the t&o closest vertices of # +he res!lt is
a fo!r-pointed starli0e fig!re inscribed in # +he star fig!re is c!t o!t and then folded to form a
p"ramid &ith base # $ind the vol!me of this p"ramid#
%ol!tion
+he vol!me of this p"ramid can be fo!nd b" the e!ation ' &here is the base and is the
height# +he base is eas"' since it is a s!are and has area #
+o find the height of the p"ramid' the height of the fo!r triangles is needed' &hich &ill be called # 2"
dra&ing a line thro!gh the middle of the larger s!are' &e see that its length is e!al to the length of
the smaller rectangle and t&o of the triangle8s heights# +hen ' &hich means
that #
-hen the p"ramid is made' "o! see that the height is the one of the legs of a right triangle' &ith the
h"poten!se e!al to and the other leg having length e!al to half of the side length of the smaller
s!are' or # %o' the P"thagorean +heorem can be !sed to find the height#
$inall"'
Problem 9
3et be the comple) n!mber &ith and s!ch that the distance
bet&een and is ma)imi4ed' and let # $ind #
%ol!tion
3et8s consider the ma)imi4ation constraint first/ &e &ant to ma)imi4e the val!e of
%implif"ing' &e have
+h!s &e onl" need to ma)imi4e the val!e of #
+o ma)imi4e this val!e' &e m!st have that is in the opposite direction of # +he !nit vector in
the comple) plane in the desired direction is # $!rthermore' &e 0no& that the magnit!de
of is ' beca!se the magnit!de of is # $rom this information' &e can find
that
%!aring' &e get #
$inall"'
Problem 7
3et be the increasing se!ence of positive integers &hose binar" representation has e)actl" ones#
3et be the 1AAAth n!mber in # $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
H0a"' an e)ercise in co!nting (lots of binomials to calc!lateG*# In base ,' the first n!mber is
' &hich is the onl" &a" to choose 8 18s o!t of 8 spaces' or # -hat abo!t 9 spaces. -ell' all told'
there are ' &hich incl!des the first 1# %imilarl"' for 1A spaces' there are &hich
incl!des the first 9# $or 11 spaces' there are ' &hich incl!des the first 57# =o!8re getting
the handle# $or 1, spaces' there are ' &hich incl!des the first 197B for 11 spaces' there
are ' so &e no& 0no& that has e)actl" 11 spaces' so the digit is 1#
@o& &e 6!st proceed &ith the other 1, spaces &ith 7 18s' and &e8re loo0ing for
the n!mber# -ell' ' so &e 0no& that the digit also is 1' and
&e8re left &ith finding the n!mber &ith 11 spaces and 9 18s# @o&
&hich is too big' b!t +h!s' the digit is 1' and &e8re no& loo0ing for
the n!mber &ith 9 spaces and 7 18s# Contin!ing the same process' ' so
the digit is 1' and &e8re left to loo0 for the n!mber &ith 8 spaces and 5 18s# 2!t
here ' so @ m!st be the last or largest 7-digit n!mber &ith 5 18s# +h!s the last 8 digits
of m!st be ' and to s!mmari4e' in base #
+herefore' ' and the
ans&er is #
Problem 8
+he comple) n!mbers and satisf" the s"stem $ind the smallest possible
val!e of #
%ol!tion
M!ltipl"ing the t&o e!ations together gives !s and m!ltipl"ing
b" then gives !s a !adratic in / Fsing the !adratic
form!la' &e find the t&o possible val!es of to be ;
+he smallest possible val!e of is then obvio!sl"
Problem 9
3et and be real n!mbers s!ch that and # +he val!e of
can be e)pressed in the form ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
E)amine the first term in the e)pression &e &ant to eval!ate' ' separatel" from the second
term' #
0+e >irst 0er%
Fsing the identit" ' &e have/
0+e Second 0er%
3et the e!ation be e!ation 1' and let the e!ation be e!ation ,# D!ngr" for
the &idel"-!sed identit" ' &e cross m!ltipl" e!ation 1 b" and m!ltipl"
e!ation , b" #
E!ation 1 then becomes/
#
E!ation , then becomes/
AhaG -e can s!are both of the res!lting e!ations and match !p the res!lting 3D% &ith the res!lting
:D%/
Appl"ing the identit" (&hich is similar to b!t a bit
different*' &e can change into/
:earranging' &e get #
%o' #
%!aring E!ation 1 (leading to *' &e can solve for /
Fsing the identit" ' &e can solve for #
+h!s' #
'o4 /ac7 to t+e Solution!
$inall"' #
%o' the ans&er is #
,A1, AIME II Problems/Problem 1A
Problem 1A
$ind the n!mber of positive integers less than for &hich there e)ists a positive real n!mber
s!ch that #
@ote/ is the greatest integer less than or e!al to #
%ol!tion
-e 0no& that cannot be irrational beca!se the prod!ct of a rational n!mber and an irrational
n!mber is irrational (b!t is an integer*# +herefore is rational#
3et &here a'b'c are nonnegative integers and (essentiall"' ) is a mi)ed
n!mber*# +hen'
Dere it is s!fficient for to be an integer# -e
can !se case&or0 to find val!es of n based on the val!e of a/
nothing beca!se n is positive
+he pattern contin!es !p to # @ote that if ' then # Do&ever if ' the
largest possible ) is ' in &hich is still less than # +herefore the n!mber of positive
integers for n is e!al to
%ol!tion ,
@otice that is contin!o!s over the region for an" integer # +herefore' it ta0es all
val!es in the range over that interval# @ote that if
then and if ' the ma)im!m val!e attained is # It follo&s that the
ans&er is
Problem 11
3et ' and for ' define # +he val!e of that
satisfies can be e)pressed in the form ' &here and are relativel" prime
%ol!tion
After eval!ating the first fe& val!es of ' &e obtain #
%ince ' # -e set this e!al to ' i#e#
# +he ans&er is th!s
Problem 1,
$or a positive integer ' define the positive integer to be %sa&e if differs in absol!te val!e b"
more than from all m!ltiples of # $or e)ample' the set of -safe n!mbers
is # $ind the n!mber of positive integers less than or e!al
to &hich are sim!ltaneo!sl" -safe' -safe' and -safe#
%ol!tion
-e see that a n!mber is -safe if and onl" if the resid!e of is greater than and less
than B th!s' there are resid!es that a -safe n!mber can have# +herefore' a
n!mber satisf"ing the conditions of the problem can have different resid!es ' different
resid!es ' and different resid!es # +his means that b" the Chinese :emainder
+heorem' can have different resid!es mod # +h!s' there are
val!es of satisf"ing the conditions in the range # Do&ever' &e m!st no& remove
an" val!es greater than that satisf" the conditions# 2" chec0ing resid!es' &e easil" see that the
onl" s!ch val!es are and ' so there remain val!es satisf"ing the conditions of the
problem#
!) #$%& $$ 'roblems('roblem )+
Problem 11
E!ilateral has side length # +here are fo!r distinct triangles '
' ' and ' each congr!ent to ' &ith # $ind
#
%ol!tion 1
@ote that there are onl" t&o possible locations for points and ' as the" are both from
point and from point ' so the" are the t&o points &here a circle centered at &ith
radi!s and a circle centered at &ith radi!s intersect# 3et be the point on the
opposite side of from ' and the point on the same side of as #
3et be the meas!re of angle (&hich is also the meas!re of angle *B b" the 3a& of
Cosines'
+here are t&o e!ilateral triangles &ith as a sideB let be the third verte) that is farthest
from ' and be the third verte) that is nearest to #
Angle B b" the 3a& of Cosines'
Angle B b" the 3a& of
Cosines'
+here are t&o e!ilateral triangles &ith as a sideB let be the third verte) that is farthest
from ' and be the third verte) that is nearest to #
Angle B b" the 3a& of Cosines'
Angle B b" the 3a& of
Cosines'
+he sol!tion is/
%!bstit!ting for gives the sol!tion
%ol!tion ,
+his problem is prett" m!ch destro"ed b" comple) plane geometr"' &hich is similar to vector
geometr" onl" &ith the po&er of eas" rotation# Place the triangle in the comple) plane b" letting be
the origin' placing along the )-a)is' and in the first !adrant# 3et # If denotes the
si)th root of !nit"' ' then &e have ' ' and :ecall that co!nter-cloc0&ise
rotation in the comple) plane b" an angle is accomplished b" m!ltiplication b" (and cloc0&ise
rotation is m!ltiplication b" its con6!gate*# %o' &e can find and b" rotating aro!nd b"
angles of and ' &here is the ape) angle in the isoceles triangle &ith sides ' '
and # +hat is' let ' and then/
' and # @o& notice that ' so this simplifies
f!rther to/
' and #
%imilarl"' &e can &rite ' ' ' and b" rotating and aro!nd b" /
' '
' # +h!s/
' ' ' #
@o& to find some magnit!des' &hich is eas" since &e chose as the origin/
'
'
'
#
Adding these !p' the s!m
e!als #
(Isn8t that nice.* @otice that ' and ' so that this s!m
simplifies f!rther to #
$inall"' ' &hich is fo!nd !sing the la& of cosines on that isoceles
triangle/ ' so #
+h!s' the s!m e!als #
%ol!tion 1
+his method !ses comple) n!mbers &ith as the origin# 3et ' ' '
&here #
Also' let be or # +hen
+herefore' ' so
%ince ' are one of or ' &itho!t loss of generalit"' let and
# +hen
Hne can similarl" get and ' so the desired s!m is
e!al to
@ote
that '
so the s!m of these t&o is 6!st # +herefore the desired s!m is e!al to
Problem 15
In a gro!p of nine people each person sha0es hands &ith e)actl" t&o of the other people from the
gro!p# 3et be the n!mber of &a"s this handsha0ing can occ!r# Consider t&o handsha0ing
arrangements different if and onl" if at least t&o people &ho sha0e hands !nder one arrangement do
not sha0e hands !nder the other arrangement# $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
Eiven that each person sha0es hands &ith t&o people' &e can vie& all of these thro!gh graph theor"
as 8rings8# +his &ill split it into fo!r cases/ +hree rings of three' one ring of three and one ring of si)'
one ring of fo!r and one ring of five' and one ring of nine# (All other cases that s!m to nine &on8t
&or0' since the" have at least one 8ring8 of t&o or fe&er points' &hich doesn8t satisf" the handsha0ing
conditions of the problem#*
*ase 1( +o create o!r gro!ps of three' there are # In general' the n!mber of &a"s &e
can arrange people &ithin the rings to co!nt properl" is ' since there are &a"s to
arrange items in the circle' and then &e don8t &ant to &ant to consider reflections as separate entities#
+h!s' each of the three cases has arrangements# +herefore' for this case' there
are
*ase 2( $or three and si)' there are sets for the rings# $or organi4ation &ithin the ring' as
before' there is onl" one &a" to arrange the ring of three# $or si)' there is # +his
means there are arrangements#
*ase 3( $or fo!r and five' there are sets for the rings# -ithin the five' there are
' and &ithin the fo!r there are arrangements# +his means the total is #
*ase 4( $or the nine case' there is arrangement for the ring# -ithin it' there
are arrangements#
%!mming the cases' &e have #
Problem 17
+riangle is inscribed in circle &ith ' ' and # +he bisector of
angle meets side at and circle at a second point # 3et be the circle &ith
diameter # Circles and meet at and a second point # +hen ' &here and
%ol!tion 1
Fse the angle bisector theorem to find ' ' and !se the %te&art8s +heorem to
find # Fse Po&er of the Point to find ' and so # Fse la& of cosines
to find ' hence as &ell' and is e!ilateral'
so #
I8m s!re there is a more elegant sol!tion from here' b!t instead &e do8ll some hair" la& of cosines/
(1*
Adding these t&o and simplif"ing &e get/
(,*# Ah' b!t (since lies on *'
and &e can find !sing the la& of cosines/
' and pl!gging
in &e get #
Also' ' and (since is on the circle &ith diameter *'
so #
Pl!gging in all o!r val!es into e!ation (,*' &e get/
' or #
$inall"' &e pl!g this into e!ation (1*' "ielding/
# +h!s'
or +he ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
3et ' ' for convenience# -e claim that is a s"mmedian# Indeed' let
be the midpoint of segment # %ince ' it follo&s that and
conse!entl" # +herefore' # @o& let # %ince is a diameter'
lies on the perpendic!lar bisector of B hence ' ' are collinear#
$rom ' it immediatel" follo&s that !adrilateral is c"clic#
+herefore' ' impl"ing that is a s"mmedian' as claimed#
+he rest is standardB here8s a !ic0 &a" to finish# $rom above' !adrilateral is harmonic'
so # In con6!nction &ith ' it follo&s
that # (@otice that this holds for all triangles #* +o finish'
s!bstit!te ' ' to obtain as before#
-Solution by t+ec%d,,,
2013 1
Problem 1
+he AIME +riathlon consists of a half-mile s&im' a 1A-mile bic"cle ride' and an eight-mile r!n# +om
s&ims' bic"cles' and r!ns at constant rates# De r!ns fives times as fast as he s&ims' and he bic"cles
t&ice as fast as he r!ns# +om completes the AIME +riathlon in fo!r and a !arter ho!rs# Do& man"
min!tes does he spend bic"cling.
%ol!tion Hne
3et represent the rate +om s&ims in miles per min!te# +hen &e have
%olving for ' &e find ' so the time +om spends bi0ing is
,A11 AIME I Problems/Problem ,
Problem ,
$ind the n!mber of five-digit positive integers' ' that satisf" the follo&ing conditions/
(a* the n!mber is divisible b"
(b* the first and last digits of are e!al' and
(c* the s!m of the digits of is divisible b"
%ol!tion
+he n!mber ta0es a form of ' in &hich # 3et and be arbitrar" digits# $or each
pair of ' there are e)actl" t&o val!es of that satisf" the condition of # +herefore' the
ans&er is
Problem 1
3et be a s!are' and let and be points on and respectivel"# +he line
thro!gh parallel to and the line thro!gh parallel to divide into t&o s!ares and
t&o nons!are rectangles# +he s!m of the areas of the t&o s!ares is of the area of s!are
$ind
%ol!tion
It8s important to note that is e!ivalent to
-e define as the length of the side of larger inner s!are' &hich is also ' as the length of the
side of the smaller inner s!are &hich is also ' and as the side length of # %ince &e are
given that the s!m of the areas of the t&o s!ares is of the the area of A2C?' &e can represent
that as # +he s!m of the t&o nons!are rectangles can then be represented
as #
3oo0ing bac0 at &hat &e need to find' &e can represent as # -e have the
n!merator' and dividing b" t&o gives !s the denominator # ?ividing gives !s an ans&er
of #
%ol!tion ,
3et the side of the s!are be # +herefore the area of the s!are is also # -e label as and
as # @otice that &hat &e need to find is e!ivalent to/ # %ince the s!m of the t&o s!ares (
* is (as stated in the problem* the area of the &hole s!are' it is clear that the s!m of the
t&o rectangles is # %ince these t&o rectangles are congr!ent' the" each have
area/ # Also note that the area of this is # Pl!gging this into o!r e!ation &e get/
Problem 5
In the arra" of 11 s!ares sho&n belo&' 8 s!ares are colored red' and the remaining 7 s!ares are
colored bl!e# If one of all possible s!ch colorings is chosen at random' the probabilit" that the chosen
colored arra" appears the same &hen rotated 9A degrees aro!nd the central s!are is ' &heren is a
positive integer# $ind n#
%ol!tion
-hen the arra" appears the same after a 9A degree rotation' the top formation m!st loo0 the same as
the right formation' &hich loo0s the same as the bottom one' &hich loo0s the same as the right one#
+here are fo!r of the same config!ration# +here are not eno!gh red s!ares for these to be all red' nor
are there eno!gh bl!e s!ares for there to be more than one bl!e s!are in each three-s!are
formation# +h!s there are , reds and 1 bl!e in each' and a bl!e in the center# +here are 1 &a"s to
choose &hich of the s!ares in the formation &ill be bl!e' leaving the other t&o red#
+here are &a"s to have 7 bl!e s!ares in an arra" of 11#
; ' so n ;
Problem
+he real root of the e!ation can be &ritten in the form '
&here ' ' and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tions
Solution 1
-e have that ' so it follo&s that # %olving for
"ields ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the real root of the given pol"nomial# @o& define the c!bic
pol"nomial # @ote that m!st be a root of # Do&ever &e can
simplif" as ' so &e m!st have that # +h!s '
and # -e can then m!ltipl" the n!merator and denominator of b" to
rationali4e the denominator' and &e therefore have ' and the ans&er is #
Solution 3
It is clear that for the algebraic degree of to be that there e)ists some c!befree integer and
positive integers s!ch that and (it is possible that ' b!t then the
problem &o!ldn8t as0 for both an and *# 3et be the a!tomorphism over &hich
sends and &hich sends (note / is a c!bic root of !nit"*#
3etting be the root' &e clearl" &e have b" Wieta8s# +h!s it follo&s #
@o&' note that is a root of # +h!s
so # Chec0ing the non-c!bicroot dimension part' &e
get so it follo&s that #
Solution 4
-e proceed b" !sing the c!bic form!la#
3et ' ' ' and # +hen let
and # +hen the real root of is
@o& note that
and +h!s
and hence the
ans&er is #
Problem 9
Melinda has three empt" bo)es and te)tboo0s' three of &hich are mathematics te)tboo0s# Hne bo)
&ill hold an" three of her te)tboo0s' one &ill hold an" fo!r of her te)tboo0s' and one &ill hold an" five
of her te)tboo0s# If Melinda pac0s her te)tboo0s into these bo)es in random order' the probabilit" that
all three mathematics te)tboo0s end !p in the same bo) can be &ritten as ' &here and are
%ol!tion Hne
+he total &a"s the te)tboo0s can be arranged in the 1 bo)es is ' &hich is e!ivalent
to # If all of the math te)tboo0s are p!t into the bo) that can hold 1 te)tboo0s'
there are &a"s for the other te)tboo0s to be arranged# If all of the math te)tboo0s are p!t into
the bo) that can hold 5 te)tboo0s' there are &a"s to choose the other boo0 in that bo)' times
&a"s for the other boo0s to be arranged# If all of the math te)tboo0s are p!t into the bo) &ith the
capabilit" of holding 7 te)tboo0s' there are &a"s to choose the other , te)tboo0s in that bo)'
times &a"s to arrange the other 7 te)tboo0s# ' '
and ' so the total n!mber of &a"s the math te)tboo0s can all be placed
into the same bo) is # %o' the probabilit" of this occ!rring
is # If the n!merator and denominator are both divided b" ' &e
have # %implif"ing the n!merator "ields ' and dividing both n!merator
and denominator b" 1A res!lts in # +his fraction cannot be simplified an" f!rther' so
and # +herefore' #
%ol!tion +&o
Consider the boo0s as either math or not-math &here boo0s in each categor" are indistig!ishable from
one another# +hen' there are total disting!ishable &a"s to pac0 the boo0s# @o&' in order to
determine the desired propabilit"' &e m!st find the total n!mber of &a"s the condition that all math
boo0s are in the same bo) can be satisfied# -e proceed &ith case&or0 for each bo)/
*ase 1( +he math boo0s are placed into the smallest bo)# +his can be done in &a"s#
*ase 2( +he math boo0s are placed into the middle bo)# +his can be done in &a"s#
*ase 3( +he math boo0s are placed into the largest bo)# +his can be done in &a"s#
%o' the total &a"s the condition can be satisfied is # +his can be simplified
to b" the Doc0e" %tic0 Identit"# +herefore' the desired probabilit" is ; '
and #
Problem 7
A rectang!lar bo) has &idth inches' length inches' and height inches' &here and are
relativel" prime positive integers# +hree faces of the bo) meet at a corner of the bo)# +he center
points of those three faces are the vertices of a triangle &ith an area of s!are inches# $ind
#
%ol!tion 1
3et the height of the bo) be #
After !sing the P"thagorean +heorem three times' &e can !ic0l" see that the sides of the triangle are
1A' ' and # %ince the area of the triangle is ' the altit!de of the
triangle from the base &ith length is #
Considering the t&o triangles created b" the altit!de' &e !se the P"thagorean theorem t&ice to find
the lengths of the t&o line segments that ma0e !p the base of #
-e find/
%olving for gives !s # %ince this fraction is simplified/
%ol!tion ,
-e ma" !se vectors# 3et the height of the bo) be # -itho!t loss of generalit"' let the front bottom
left corner of the bo) be # 3et the center point of the bottom face be ' the center of the left
face be and the center of the front face be #
-e are given that the area of the triangle is # +h!s' b" a &ell 0no&n form!la' &e note
that -e !ic0l" attain that and
(-e can arbitraril" assign the long and short ends d!e to s"mmetr"*
Comp!ting the cross prod!ct' &e find/
+h!s/
%ol!tion 1
3et the height of the bo) be #
After !sing the P"thagorean +heorem three times' &e can !ic0l" see that the sides of the triangle are
1A' ' and # +herefore' &e can !se Deron8s form!la to set !p an
e!ation for the area of the triangle#
+he semiperimeter is (1A R R */,
9AA ; ((1A R R */,*((1A R R */,
- 1A*((1A R R */, - *((1A R
R */, - *#
%olving' &e get #
Problem 8
+he domain of the f!nction is a closed interval of length ' &here
and are positive integers and # $ind the remainder &hen the smallest possible s!m is
divided b" 1AAA#
%ol!tion
-e 0no& that the domain of is ' so # @o& &e can appl" the
definition of logarithms/ %ince the domain of has
length ' &e have that
A larger val!e of &ill also res!lt in a larger val!e of since the n!merator increases faster than the
denominator' so &e &ant to find the smallest val!e of that also res!lts in an integer val!e of # +he
problem states that # +h!s' first &e tr" /
@o&' &e tr" /
%ince is the smallest val!e
of that res!lts in an integral val!e' &e have minimi4ed ' &hich
is #
%ol!tion ,
-e start &ith the same method as above# +he domain of the arcsin f!nction is '
so #
$or to be an integer' m!st divide ' and # +o minimi4e ' sho!ld be as small as
possible beca!se increasing &ill decrease ' the amo!nt "o! are s!btracting' and
increase ' the amo!nt "o! are addingB this also leads to a small &hich clearl"
minimi4es #
-e let e!al ' the smallest factor of that isn8t # +hen &e
have
' so the ans&er is #
Problem 9
A paper e!ilateral triangle has side length # +he paper triangle is folded so that verte)
to!ches a point on side a distance from point # +he length of the line segment along &hich
the triangle is folded can be &ritten as ' &here ' ' and are positive integers' and are
relativel" prime' and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
3et and be the points on and ' respectivel"' &here the paper is folded#
3et be the point on &here the folded to!ches it#
3et ' ' and be the lengths ' ' and ' respectivel"#
-e have ' ' ' ' ' and #
Fsing the 3a& of Cosines on /
+he sol!tion is #
%ol!tion ,
Proceed &ith the same labeling as in %ol!tion 1#
+herefore' #
%imilarl"' #
@o&' and are similar triangles' so
#
%olving this s"stem of e!ations "ields and #
+he sol!tion is #
Problem 1A
+here are non4ero integers ' ' ' and s!ch that the comple) n!mber is a 4ero of the
pol"nomial # $or each possible combination of and ' let be the
s!m of the 4eros of # $ind the s!m of the 8s for all possible combinations of and #
%ol!tion
%ince is a root' b" the Comple) Con6!gate :oot +heorem' m!st be the other imaginar"
root# Fsing to represent the rational root' &e have
Appl"ing difference of s!ares' and regro!ping' &e have
%o matching coefficients' &e obtain
2" Wieta8s each so &e 6!st need to find the val!es of in each pair# -e proceed b"
determining possible val!es for ' ' and and !sing these to determine and #
If ' so (r' s* ;
%imilarl"' for ' so the pairs are
$or ' so the pairs are
+hen' since onl" b!t not appears in the e!ations for and ' &e can ignore the pl!s min!s sign
for # +he positive and negative val!es of r &ill cancel' so the s!m of the for is
times the n!mber of distinct val!es (as each val!e of generates a pair *# H!r ans&er is
then #
Problem 11
Ms# Math8s 0indergarten class has 19 registered st!dents# +he classroom has a ver" large n!mber' )'
of pla" bloc0s &hich satisfies the conditions/
(a* If 19' 17' or 15 st!dents are present in the class' then in each case all the bloc0s can be
distrib!ted in e!al n!mbers to each st!dent' and
(b* +here are three integers s!ch that &hen ' ' or st!dents are present
and the bloc0s are distrib!ted in e!al n!mbers to each st!dent' there are e)actl" three bloc0s left
over#
$ind the s!m of the distinct prime divisors of the least possible val!e of ) satisf"ing the above
conditions#
%ol!tion
) m!st be some m!ltiple of the 3CM of 15' 17' and 19 ; B this 3CM is hereb" denoted
and #
1' ,' 1' 5' 7' 9' 7' 8' 1A' and 1, all divide ' so
-e have the follo&ing three mod!lo e!ations/
%olving these e!ations' &e find ' so the smallest possible val!e of @
is
#
Problem 1,
3et be a triangle &ith and # A reg!lar he)agon &ith side
length 1 is dra&n inside so that side lies on ' side lies on ' and one of the
remaining vertices lies on # +here are positive integers and s!ch that the area
of can be e)pressed in the form ' &here and are relativel" prime' and c is not
divisible b" the s!are of an" prime# $ind #
%ol!tion
$irst' find that # ?ra& # @o& dra& aro!nd s!ch that
is ad6acent to and # +he height of is ' so the length of base is # 3et
the e!ation of be # +hen' the e!ation of
is # %olving the t&o e!ations
gives # +he area of is
#
Problem 11
+riangle has side lengths ' ' and # $or each positive
integer ' points and are located on and ' respectivel"' creating three similar
triangles # +he area of the !nion of all
triangles for can be e)pressed as ' &here and are relativel" prime positive
integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Fsing Deron8s $orm!la &e can get the area of the triangle #
%ince then the scale factor for the dimensions of to
is +herefore' the area of is # Also' the dimensions of the other sides of
the can be easil" comp!ted/ and # +his allo&s !s to
comp!te one side of the triangle ' # +herefore' the scale
factor to is ' &hich "ields the length of as #
+herefore' the scale factor for to is # %ome more algebraic
manip!lation &ill sho& that to is still # Also' since the
triangles are dis6oint' the area of the !nion is the s!m of the areas# +herefore' the area is the
geometric series At this point' it ma" be &ise to
"simplif"" # %o the geometric series converges
to # Fsing the diffference of s!ares' &e
get ' &hich simplifies to # Cancellling all
common factors' &e get the red!ced fraction # %o '
"ielding the ans&er #
Problem 15
$or ' let

and

so that # +hen &here and are relativel" prime positive integers#
$ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
and
%olving for P' J &e have
%!are both side' and !se pol"nomial rational root theorem to solve
+he ans&er is
Solution 2
Fse s!m to prod!ct form!las to re&rite and
+herefore'
Fsing '
Pl!g in to the previo!s e!ation and cancel o!t the "P" terms to get/
+hen !se the p"thagorean identit" to solve for '
Solution 3
@ote that
+h!s' the follo&ing identities follo& immediatel"/
Consider' no&' the s!m # It follo&s fairl" immediatel" that/
+his follo&s straight from the geometric series form!la and simple simplification# -e can no& m!ltipl"
the denominator b" it8s comple) con6!gate to find/
Comparing real and imaginar" parts' &e find/
%!aring this e!ation and letting /
Clearing denominators and solving for gives sine as #
Problem 17
3et be the n!mber of ordered triples of integers satisf"ing the conditions
(a* ' (b* there e)ist integers ' ' and ' and prime
&here ' (c* divides ' ' and ' and (d* each ordered
triple and each ordered triple form arithmetic se!ences# $ind #
%ol!tion
$rom condition (d*' &e have and #
Condition (c* states that ' ' and # -e s!btract the first
t&o to get ' and &e do the same for the last t&o to get # -e s!btract these t&o
to get # %o or # +he second case is clearl" impossible' beca!se that &o!ld
ma0e ' violating condition (b*# %o &e have ' meaning # Condition (b* implies
that # @o& &e ret!rn to condition (c*' &hich no& implies
that # @o&' &e set for increasing integer val!es of
# "ields no sol!tions# gives ' giving !s one sol!tion# If '
&e get t&o sol!tions# Proceeding in the manner' &e see that if ' &e get 19 sol!tions#
Do&ever' still gives 19 sol!tions# gives 17 sol!tions# +his contin!es !ntil
gives one sol!tion# gives no sol!tion#
+h!s' #
2013 2
Problem 1
%!ppose that the meas!rement of time d!ring the da" is converted to the metric s"stem so that each
da" has metric ho!rs' and each metric ho!r has metric min!tes# ?igital cloc0s &o!ld then be
prod!ced that &o!ld read 6!st before midnight' at midnight' at the former AM'
and at the former PM# After the conversion' a person &ho &anted to &a0e !p at the
e!ivalent of the former AM &o!ld set his ne& digital alarm cloc0 for ' &here ' ' and
are digits# $ind #
%ol!tion
+here are normal min!tes in a da" ' and metric min!tes in a da"#
+he ratio of normal to metric min!tes in a da" is ' &hich simplifies to # +his means that ever"
time 19 normal min!tes pass' ,7 metric min!tes pass# $rom midnight to
AM' normal min!tes pass# +his can be vie&ed as c"cles of 19 normal
min!tes' so 11 c"cles of ,7 metric min!tes pass# Adding to gives ' so the
ans&er is #
,A11 AIME II Problems/Problem ,
Problem ,
Positive integers and satisf" the condition $ind the s!m of all
possible val!es of #
%ol!tion
+o simplif"' &e &rite this logarithmic e)pression as an e)ponential one# X!st loo0ing at the first log' it
has a base of , and an arg!ment of the e)pression in parenthesis# +herefore' &e can ma0e , the
base' A the e)ponent' and the arg!ment the res!lt# +hat means
(beca!se *# ?oing this again' &e get # ?oing the process one more time'
&e finall" eliminate all of the logs' getting # Fsing the propert" that '
&e simplif" to # Eliminating e!al bases leaves # +he largest s!ch
that divides is ' so &e onl" need to chec0 ' ' and # -hen ' B &hen
' B &hen ' # %!mming all the 8s and 8s gives the ans&er of #
Problem 1
A large candle is centimeters tall# It is designed to b!rn do&n more !ic0l" &hen it is first lit and
more slo&l" as it approaches its bottom# %pecificall"' the candle ta0es seconds to b!rn do&n the
first centimeter from the top' seconds to b!rn do&n the second centimeter' and seconds to
b!rn do&n the -th centimeter# %!ppose it ta0es seconds for the candle to b!rn do&n completel"#
+hen seconds after it is lit' the candle8s height in centimeters &ill be # $ind #
%ol!tion
-e find that # $rom Ea!ss8s form!la' &e find that the val!e of +
is # +he val!e of is therefore # -e find that
is ' so # As a res!lt' ' &hich leads
to # -e notice that ' so the ans&er is #
Problem 5
In the Cartesian plane let and # E!ilateral triangle is constr!cted
so that lies in the first !adrant# 3et be the center of # +hen can be
&ritten as ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers and is an integer that is not
%ol!tion 1
+he distance from point to point is # +he vector that starts at point A and ends at point 2 is
given b" # %ince the center of an e!ilateral triangle' ' is also the intersection of
the perpendic!lar bisectors of the sides of the triangle' &e need first find the e!ation for the
perpendic!lar bisector to # +he line perpendic!lar to thro!gh the midpoint'
' can be parameteri4ed b" # At this point' it is !sef!l to note
that is a 1A-9A-9A triangle &ith meas!ring # +his "ields the length of to
be # +herefore' # +herefore
"ielding an ans&er of #
%ol!tion ,
:ather than considering the Cartesian plane' &e !se comple) n!mbers# +h!s A is 1 and 2
is #
:ecall that a rotation of radians co!ntercloc0&ise is e!ivalent to m!ltipl"ing a comple) n!mber
b" ' b!t here &e re!ire a cloc0&ise rotation' so &e m!ltipl" b" to obtain C# Fpon averaging
the coordinates of A' 2' and C' &e obtain the coordinates of P' vi4# #
+herefore is and the ans&er is #
%ol!tion 1
-e can also consider the slopes of the lines# Midpoint of has coordinates # 2eca!se
line has slope ' the slope of line is #
%ince is e!ilateral' and since point is the centroid' &e can !ic0l" calc!late
that # +hen' define and to be the differences bet&een points and #
2eca!se of the slope' it is clear that #
-e can then !se the P"thagorean +heorem on line segment /
"ields and ' after s!bstit!ting # +he coordinates of P are th!s
# M!ltipl"ing these together gives !s ' giving !s as o!r ans&er#
Problem 7
In e!ilateral let points and trisect # +hen can be e)pressed in the
form ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers' and is an integer that is not
%ol!tion
-itho!t loss of generalit"' ass!me the triangle sides have length 1# +hen the trisected side is
partitioned into segments of length 1' ma0ing "o!r comp!tation easier#
3et be the midpoint of # +hen is a 1A-9A-9A triangle &ith '
and # %ince the triangle is right' then &e can find the length of b"
p"thagorean theorem' # +herefore' since is a right triangle' &e can easil"
find and # %o &e can !se
the do!ble angle form!la for sine' #
+herefore' #
%ol!tion ,
-e find that' as before' ' and also the area of is 1/1 the area of # +h!s'
!sing the area form!la' ' and #
+herefore'
%ol!tion 1
-e notice that # -e can find ' to
be ' so o!r ans&er is #
Problem 9
$ind the least positive integer s!ch that the set of consec!tive integers beginning
&ith contains no s!are of an integer#
%ol!tions
Solution 1
3et !s first observe the difference bet&een and ' for an" arbitrar"
# # %o that means for ever" ' the difference bet&een that s!are and
the ne)t s!are have a difference of # @o&' &e need to find an s!ch that #
%olving gives ' so # @o& &e need to find &hat range of n!mbers has to be s!are-
free/ have to all be s!are-free# 3et !s first pl!g in a fe& val!es of to see if &e can
fig!re an"thing o!t# ' ' and # @otice that this does not fit
the criteria' beca!se is a s!are' &hereas cannot be a s!are# +his means' &e m!st
find a s!are' s!ch that the last digits are close to ' b!t not there' s!ch as or # @o&'
the best &e can do is to 0eep on listing s!ares !ntil &e hit one that fits# -e do not need to solve for
each s!are/ remember that the difference bet&een consec!tive s!ares are ' so all &e need
to do is addition# After ma0ing a list' &e find that ' &hile # It
s0ipped ' so o!r ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the n!mber being s!ared# 2ased on the reasoning above' &e 0no& that m!st be at
least ' so has to be at least # 3et be # -e can &rite as '
or # -e can disregard and ' since the" &on8t affect the last
three digits' &hich determines if there are an" s!ares bet&een # %o &e m!st find a
s!are' ' s!ch that it is !nder ' b!t the ne)t s!are is over # -e find that
gives ' and so # -e can be s!re that this s0ips a tho!sand beca!se
the increments it !p each time# @o& &e can solve for / '
&hile # -e s0ipped ' so the ans&er is #
Problem 7
A gro!p of cler0s is assigned the tas0 of sorting files# Each cler0 sorts at a constant rate of
files per ho!r# At the end of the first ho!r' some of the cler0s are reassigned to another tas0B at the
end of the second ho!r' the same n!mber of the remaining cler0s are also reassigned to another tas0'
and a similar assignment occ!rs at the end of the third ho!r# +he gro!p finishes the sorting in ho!rs
and min!tes# $ind the n!mber of files sorted d!ring the first one and a half ho!rs of sorting#
%ol!tion
+here are cler0s at the beginning' and cler0s are reassigned to another tas0 at the end of each
ho!r# %o' ' and simplif" that &e
get # @o& the problem is to find a reasonable integer sol!tion# @o& &e
0no& ' so divides ' as long as is a integer' m!st divide #
@o&' &e s!ppose that ' similarl" &e get ' and so in order to get a
minim!m integer sol!tion for ' it is obvio!s that &or0s# %o &e get and # Hne
and a half ho!r8s &or0 sho!ld be ' so the ans&er is #
Problem 8
A he)agon that is inscribed in a circle has side lengths ' ' ' ' ' and in that order# +he
radi!s of the circle can be &ritten as ' &here and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
3et !s call the he)agon ' &here '
and # -e can 6!st consider one half of the he)agon' ' to ma0e matters
simpler# ?ra& a line from the center of the circle' ' to the midpoint of ' # @o&' dra& a line
from to the midpoint of ' # Clearl"' ' beca!se '
and ' for similar reasons# Also notice that # 3et !s call #
+herefore' ' and so # 3et !s label the radi!s of the circle # +his
means @o& &e can !se simple trigonometr" to solve
for # :ecall that / +hat means # :ecall
that / +hat means # 3et # %!bstit!te to
get and @o& s!bstit!te the first e!ation into the second
e!ation/ M!ltipl"ing both sides b" and reordering gives !s the !adratic
Fsing the !adratic e!ation to solve' &e get that
(beca!se gives a negative val!e*' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
Fsing the trape4oid mentioned above' dra& an altit!de of the trape4oid passing thro!gh
point onto at point # @o&' &e can !se the p"thagorean
theorem/ # E)panding and combining li0e terms gives !s the
!adratic and solving for gives # %o the sol!tion
is #
Solution 3
Xoin the diameter of the circle and let the length be # 2" Ptolem"8s +heorem on
trape4oid ' # %ince it is an isosceles trape4oid'
both diagonals are e!al# 3et them be e!al to each# +hen
%ince is s!btended b" the diameter' it is right# Dence b" the P"thagorean +heorem &ith
right /
$rom the above e!ations' &e have/
%ince the radi!s is half the diameter' it is ' so the ans&er is #
Problem 9
A board is completel" covered b" tiles &itho!t overlapB each tile ma" cover an" n!mber
of consec!tive s!ares' and each tile lies completel" on the board# Each tile is either red' bl!e' or
green# 3et be the n!mber of tilings of the board in &hich all three colors are !sed at least
once# $or e)ample' a red tile follo&ed b" a green tile' a green tile' a bl!e
tile' and a green tile is a valid tiling# @ote that if the bl!e tile is replaced b" t&o
bl!e tiles' this res!lts in a different tiling# $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
$irstl"' &e consider ho& man" different &a"s possible to divide the board# -e ignore the cases
of 1 or , pieces since &e need at least one tile of each color#
+hree pieces/ ' ' ' etc' &a"s in total
$o!r pieces/
$ive pieces/
%i) pieces/
%even pieces/
%econdl"' &e consider ho& man" &a"s to color them/
+hree pieces/
$o!r pieces/
$ive pieces/
%i) pieces/
%even pieces/
$inall"' &e combine then
together/ #
%o the ans&er is #
Problem 1A
Eiven a circle of radi!s ' let be a point at a distance from the center of the circle#
3et be the point on the circle nearest to point # A line passing thro!gh the point intersects the
circle at points and # +he ma)im!m possible area for can be &ritten in the
form ' &here ' ' ' and are positive integers' and are relativel" prime' and is not
%ol!tion 1
@o& &e p!t the fig!re in the Cartesian plane' let the center of the circle ' then '
and
+he e!ation for Circle H is ' and let the slope of the line be ' then the e!ation
for line is
+hen &e get ' according to Wieta8s
$orm!las' &e get
' and
%o'
Also' the distance bet&een and is
%o the area
+hen the ma)im!m val!e of is
%o the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
?ra& perpendic!lar to at # ?ra& perpendic!lar to at #
+herefore' to ma)imi4e area of ' &e need to ma)imi4e area of #
%o &hen area of is ma)imi4ed' #
Event!all"' &e get
%o the ans&er is #
Problem 11
3et ' and let be the n!mber of f!nctions from set to set s!ch
that is a constant f!nction# $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
3et the range be
3et the constant f!nction be ' clearl"'
$or ever" ' since ' &e m!st have #
@o& &e en!merate thro!gh possible si4es of # cannot be more than 5 since all the n!mbers in
m!st map to and an" n!mber other than in m!st have at least one n!mber mapped to it#
1#
-e have choices for ' choices for ' and onl" 1 &a" to map the 9 n!mbers that
are not in (remaining n!mbers* since the range is si4e 1# In total &e have choices#
,#
-e have choices for ' choices for #
Assigning the 7 n!mbers to the t&o elements in "ields choices# Do&ever' one of these
choices is to assign all 7 remaining n!mbers to ' res!lting in being onl" of si4e 1# E)cl!de that and
&e have choices#
In total &e have choices#
1#
@otice that assigning the remaining n!mbers is e!ivalent to distrib!ting 5 n!mbers into three gro!ps
&here t&o of the three gro!ps m!st receive at least 1 n!mber (since &e alread" have all n!mbers
in mapped to ' the restriction is not necessar" for the gro!p*# Ignoring the restrictions &e
have &a"s# @o& min!s the t&o cases &here one of the t&o restricted gro!p is left empt"# +here are
, &a"s to choose the left-o!t gro!p' and &a"s to distrib!te n!mbers for each choice# $inall"' b"
incl!sion-e)cl!sion principle' &e need to add bac0 the case in &hich both restricted gro!ps are left
empt"' &hich has onl" occ!rrence# In all' &e have &a"s to assign the
remaining n!mbers#
In total' &e have choices for this case#
5#
@o& &e have 1 "gro!ps" to fill and onl" 1 remaining n!mbers# +h!s each gro!p m!st receive e)actl" 1
n!mber# Do&ever' &e still have &a"s to perm!te the mappings#
+h!s' &e have choices in total#
+o s!mmari4e' &e have different mappings possible# %o the
ans&er is #
Problem 1,
3et be the set of all pol"nomials of the form ' &here ' ' and are integers#
$ind the n!mber of pol"nomials in s!ch that each of its roots satisfies either or
#
%ol!tion
Ever" c!bic in real coefficients has to have either three real roots or one real and t&o comple) roots
&hich are con6!gates# +his follo&s from Wieta8s form!las# $actorise the
pol"nomial ' &here is the comple) con6!gate of omega# -e 0no& that
is the real root &hich m!st be ' ' ' or ' and it doesn8t matter
&hich# # 3et # Wiate tells !s that *'
b!t (i#e#' adding the con6!gates cancels the imaginar" part*# a the !adratic
coefficient m!st be an integer so is some integer over # ,A or 11 so "o! have a
bo!nd on / either or # ?on8t forget 4eroG -e8re not
do!ble co!nting the n!mbers bet&een and here beca!se there8s an imaginar" part too
-- ' and &hat "o! get &hen "o! solve for beta &ill depend on &hat the magnit!de
&as# =o! have the magnit!de so determines totall" ("o! can solve for the imaginar" part*
and determines # @o& 6!st co!nt/ 5 possibilities for the real root times L(7,R1* possibilities
if pl!s (8AR1* possibilities if ; 719# 2!t this is not all' &e also have
&a"s of constr!cting a totall" real pol"nomial (all real roots*' &hich gives "o! #
Problem 11
In ' ' and point is on so that # 3et be the midpoint
of # Eiven that and ' the area of can be e)pressed in the
form ' &here and are positive integers and is not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime#
$ind #
%ol!tion
Solution 1
After dra&ing the fig!re' &e s!ppose ' so that ' ' and
#
Fsing cosine la& for and '&e get
%o
' ' &e get
Fsing cosine la& in ' &e get
%o'
Fsing cosine la& in and ' &e get
' and according to ' &e can get
Fsing and ' &e can solve and #
$inall"' &e !se cosine la& for '
then ' so the height of this is #
+hen the area of is ' so the ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et be the foot of the altit!de from &ith other points labelled as sho&n belo&#
@o& &e proceed !sing mass points# +o balance
along the segment ' &e assign a mass of and a mass of # +herefore' has a mass of #
As is the midpoint of ' &e m!st assign a mass of as &ell# +his gives a mass of and
a mass of #
@o& let be the base of the triangle' and let be the height# +hen
as ' and as ' &e 0no& that Also'
as ' &e 0no& that # +herefore' b" the P"thagorean +heorem
on ' &e 0no& that
Also' as ' &e 0no& that # $!rthermore' as
' and as ' &e 0no& that and ' so # +herefore' b"
the P"thagorean +heorem on ' &e get %olving this s"stem of e!ations
"ields and # +herefore' the area of the triangle is ' giving !s an ans&er of #
Problem 15
$or positive integers and ' let be the remainder &hen is divided b" ' and for
let # $ind the remainder &hen is divided b" #
%ol!tion
"asy solution 4it+out strict proof
-e can find that
Hbserving these and &e can find that the reminders are in gro!ps of three contin!o!s integers'
considering this is tr!e' and &e get
%o the s!m is ' so the ans&er is #
0+e #roof
+he sol!tion presented above does not prove &h" $()* is fo!nd b" dividing ) b" 1# Indeed' that is the
case' as rigoro!sl" sho&n belo&#
Consider the case &here ) ; 10# -e shall prove that $()* ; f()' 0R1*# $or all )/, Q; n Q 0R1' ) ; ,n
R ' &here A T; T; n# +his is beca!se ) Q 10 R 1 ; 1n and ) T n# Also' as n increases'
decreases# +h!s' ; f()' n* T f()' 0R1* ; 0 - , for all n Q 0R1# Consider all n T 0R1# f()' 0* ; A and
f()' 0-1* ; 1# Also' A T f()' 0-,* T 0-,# +h!s' for 0 Q 7' f()' 0R1* Q f()' n* for n T 0R1#
%imilar proofs appl" for ) ; 10 R 1 and ) ; 10 R ,# +he reader sho!ld feel free to derive these proofs
himself#
Problem 17
3et be angles of an ac!te triangle &ith
+here are positive integers ' ' ' and for &hich
&here and are relativel" prime and
%ol!tions
Solution 1
3et8s dra& the triangle# %ince the problem onl" deals &ith angles' &e can go ahead and set one of the
sides to a convenient val!e# 3et #
2" the 3a& of %ines' &e m!st have and #
@o& let !s anal"4e the given/
@o& &e can !se the 3a& of Cosines to simplif" this/
+herefore/ %imilarl"' @ote that the desired
val!e is e!ivalent to ' &hich is # All that remains is to !se the sine
addition form!la and' after a fe& minor comp!tations' &e obtain a res!lt of # +h!s' the
ans&er is #
Solution 2
3et !s !se the identit" #
Add to both sides of the first given e!ation#
+h!s' as &e have
so is and therefore is #
%imilaril"' &e have and and the rest of the sol!tion proceeds
as above#
2014 1
Problem 1
+he 8 e"elets for the lace of a snea0er all lie on a rectangle' fo!r e!all" spaced on each of the longer sides# +he rectangle
has a &idth of 7A mm and a length of 8A mm# +here is one e"elet at each verte) of the rectangle# +he lace itself m!st pass
bet&een the verte) e"elets along a &idth side of the rectangle and then crisscross bet&een s!ccessive e"elets !ntil it
reaches the t&o e"elets at the other &idth side of the rectrangle as sho&n# After passing thro!gh these final e"elets' each
of the ends of the lace m!st e)tend at least ,AA mm farther to allo& a 0not to be tied# $ind the minim!m length of the lace
in millimeters#
%ol!tion
+he rectangle is divided into three smaller triangles &ith a &idth of 7A mm and a length of mm# According the
p"thagorean theorem' the diagonal of this rectangle is mm# %ince that on the lace' there are 9
of these diagonals' a &idth' and at least ,AA mm e)tension on each side# +herefore' the minim!m of the lace in
millimeters is
,A15 AIME I Problems/Problem ,
Problem ,
An !rn contains green balls and bl!e balls# A second !rn contains green balls and bl!e balls# A single ball is
dra&n at random from each !rn# +he probabilit" that both balls are of the same color is # $ind #
%ol!tion
$irst' &e find the probabilit" both are green' then the probabilit" both are bl!e' and add the t&o probabilities &hich
e!als # +he probabilit" both are green is ' and the probabilit" both are bl!e is ' so
%olving this e!ation' &e get #
Problem 1
$ind the n!mber of rational n!mbers s!ch that &hen is &ritten as a fraction in lo&est terms' the
n!merator and the denominator have a s!m of 1AAA#
%ol!tion
-e have that the set of these rational n!mbers is from to &here each each element has
and is irred!cible#
-e note that # Dence' is irred!cible if is irred!cible' and is
irred!cible if is not divisible b" , or 7# +h!s' the ans&er to the !estion is the n!mber of integers bet&een 999 and 7A1
incl!sive that are not divisible b" , or 7#
-e note there are 599 n!mbers bet&een 7A1 and 999' and
,59 are divisible b" ,
99 are divisible b" 7
59 are divisible b" 1A

Fsing the Principle of Incl!sion and E)cl!sion' &e get that there are n!mbers
bet&een and are not divisible b" either or ' so o!r ans&er is #
Problem 5
Xon and %teve ride their bic"cles along a path that parallels t&o side-b"-side train trac0s r!nning the east/&est direction#
Xon rides east at miles per ho!r' and %teve rides &est at miles per ho!r# +&o trains of e!al length' traveling in
opposite directions at constant b!t different speeds each pass the t&o riders# Each train ta0es e)actl" min!te to go past
Xon# +he &estbo!nd train ta0es times as long as the eastbo!nd train to go past %teve# +he length of each train is '
%ol!tion
$or the p!rposes of this problem' &e &ill !se miles and min!tes as o!r !nitsB th!s' the bi0ers travel at speeds of
mi/min#
3et be the length of the trains' be the speed of train 1 (the faster train*' and be the speed of train ,#
Consider the problem from the bi0ers8 moving frame of reference# In order to pass Xon' the first train has to cover a
distance e!al to its o&n length' at a rate of # %imilarl"' the second train has to cover a distance e!al to its o&n
length' at a rate of # %ince the times are e!al and ' &e have that # %olving for
in terms of ' &e get that #
@o&' let8s e)amine the times it ta0es the trains to pass %teve# +his time' &e a!gment train 18s speed b" ' and decrease
train ,8s speed b" # +h!s' &e have that #
M!ltipl"ing this o!t and simplif"ing' &e get that # %ince &e no& have , e)pressions for in terms
of ' &e can set them e!al to each other/
# %olving for ' &e get that # %ince &e 0no& that it too0 train , 1 min!te to pass
Xon' &e 0no& that # Pl!gging in for and solving for ' &e get that ' and o!r ans&er
is #
!), #$%& $ 'roblems('roblem .
Problem 7
3et the set consist of the t&elve vertices of a reg!lar -gon# A s!bset of is
called "comm!nal" if there is a circle s!ch that all points of are inside the circle' and all points of not in are
o!tside of the circle# Do& man" comm!nal s!bsets are there. (@ote that the empt" set is a comm!nal s!bset#*
%ol!tion
2" loo0ing at the problem and dra&ing a fe& pict!res' it !ic0l" becomes obvio!s that one cannot dra& a circle
that covers , dis6oint areas of the 1,-gon &itho!t incl!ding all the vertices in bet&een those areas# In other &ords'
in order for a s!bset to be comm!nal' all the vertices in the s!bset m!st be ad6acent to one another# -e no& co!nt
the n!mber of &a"s to select a ro& of ad6acent vertices# -e notice that for an" s!bset si4e bet&een 1 and 11'
there are 1, possible s!bsets li0e this (this is tr!e beca!se &e can pic0 an" of the 1, vertices as a "starting"
verte)' incl!de some n!mber of vertices co!ntercloc0&ise from that verte)' and generate all possible
config!rations*# Do&ever' &e also have to incl!de the set of all 1, vertices' as &ell as the empt" set# +h!s' the
total n!mber is #
Problem 9
+he graphs and have "-intercepts of and '
respectivel"' and each graph has t&o positive integer )-intercepts# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
2egin b" setting to A' then set both e!ations to and ' respectivel"#
@otice that beca!se the t&o parabolas have to have positive )-intercepts' #
-e see that ' so &e no& need to find a positive integer &hich has positive integer )-
intercepts for both e!ations#
@otice that if is -, times a s!are n!mber' then "o! have fo!nd a val!e of for &hich the
second e!ation has positive )-intercepts# -e g!ess and chec0 to obtain #
$ollo&ing this' &e chec0 to ma0e s!re the first e!ation also has positive )-intercepts (&hich it does*' so &e can
concl!de the ans&er is #
%ol!tion ,
3et and for the first e!ation' res!lting in # %!bstit!ting bac0 in to the
original e!ation' &e get #
@o& &e set e!al to 4ero' since there are t&o distinct positive integer roots# :earranging' &e
get ' &hich simplifies to # Appl"ing difference of s!ares'
&e get #
@o&' &e 0no& that and are both integers' so &e can !se the fact that ' and
set and (note that letting gets the same res!lt*# +herefore' #
@ote that &e did not !se the second e!ation since &e too0 advantage of the fact that AIME ans&ers m!st be
integers# Do&ever' one can enter into the second e!ation to verif" the validit" of the ans&er#
Problem 7
3et and be comple) n!mbers s!ch that and # 3et # +he ma)im!m
possible val!e of can be &ritten as ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
(@ote that ' for ' denotes the meas!re of the angle that the ra" from to ma0es &ith the
positive real a)is in the comple) plane*
%ol!tion
3et and # +hen' #
M!ltipl"ing both the n!merator and denominator of this fraction b" gives !s/
#
-e 0no& that is e!al to the imaginar" part of the above e)pression divided b" the real part#
3et # +hen' &e have that/
-e need to find a ma)im!m of this e)pression' so &e ta0e the derivative/
+h!s' &e see that the ma)im!m occ!rs &hen # +herefore' ' and #
+h!s' the ma)im!m val!e of is ' or ' and o!r ans&er is #
%ol!tion , (@o calc!l!s*
-itho!t the loss of generalit" one can let lie on the positive ) a)is and since is a meas!re of the angle
if then and &e can see that the !estion is e!ivelent to having a
triangle &ith sides and and tr"ing to ma)imi4e the angle
!sing the la& of cosines &e get/ rearranging/
solving for &e get/
if &e &ant to ma)imi4e &e need to minimi4e ' !sing AM-EM ine!alit" &e get that
the minim!m val!e for hence !sing the
identit" &e get and o!r ans&er is #
Problem 8
+he positive integers and both end in the same se!ence of fo!r digits &hen &ritten in base 1A'
&here digit a is not 4ero# $ind the three-digit n!mber #
%ol!tion (general*
-e have that
+h!s' m!st be divisible b" both and # @ote' ho&ever' that if either or has both a 7
and a , in its factori4ation' the other m!st end in either 1 or 9' &hich is impossible for a n!mber that is divisible b"
either , or 7# +h!s' one of them is divisible b" ' and the other is divisible b" # @oting
that ' &e see that 9,7 &o!ld &or0 for ' e)cept the tho!sands digit is A# +he other
possibilit" is that is a m!ltiple of 19 and is a m!ltiple of 9,7# In order for this to happen' m!st
be congr!ent to -1 (mod 19*# %ince ' &e 0no&
that # +h!s' ' so ' and o!r ans&er
is #
%ol!tion (bashing*
let for positive integer val!es t'a'b'c'd &hen &e s!are @ &e
get that
Do&ever &e dont have to deal &ith this &hole e)pression b!t onl" &ith its last 5 digits so it is s!ffices to consider
onl"/ 0no& &e need to compare each decimal digit
&ith and see &hether the digits are congro!nt in base 1A# &e first consider the
ones digits/
this can happen for onl" 1 val!es / 1' 7 and 9
&e can tr" to solve each case
Case 1
considering the tenths place &e have that/
so
considering the h!ndreds place &e have that
so again
no& considering the tho!sands place &e have that
so &e get b!t cannot be e!al to A so
&e consider
Case ,
( the e)tra ,A is carried from &hich is e!al to ,7*
so
( the e)tra 1AAc is carried from
the tenths place* so
( the e)tra
1AAAb is carried from the h!ndreds place* so a is e!al A again
Case 1
( the e)tra ,A is carried from &hich is
e!al to ,7* if then &e have
so
( t
he e)tra 1AAcR1AA is carried from the tenths place*
if then &e have
so
( the
e)tra 1AAAbR9AAA is carried from the h!ndreds place*
if then &e have
so
so &e have that the last 5 digits of @ are and is e!al to
%ol!tion (not bashing*
2" the Chinese :emainder +heorem' the e!ation is e!ivalent to the t&o
e!ations/ %ince and are coprime' the onl" sol!tions are
&hen #
3et ' # +he statement of the
Chinese :emainder theorem is that is an isomorphism bet&een the t&o rings# In this lang!age' the sol!tions
are ' ' ' and # @o& &e easil" see that
and # @oting that ' it follo&s that # +o
comp!te ' note that in ' so since is linear in
its arg!ments (b" virt!e of being an
isomorphism*' #
+he fo!r candidate digit strings are then # Hf those' onl" has non4ero first
digit' and therefore the ans&er is #
Problem 9
3et be the three real roots of the e!ation #
$ind #
%ol!tion
%!bstit!ting for ' &e
get #
@oting that factors as a difference of s!ares to ' &e can factor the left side
as # +his means that is a root' and the other t&o roots are the roots
of # @ote that the constant term of the !adratic is negative' so one of the t&o roots is positive
and the other is negative# In addition' b" Wieta8s $orm!las' the roots s!m to ' so the positive root m!st be
greater than in order to prod!ce this s!m &hen added to a negative val!e#
%ince is clearl" tr!e' and # M!ltipl"ing
these val!es together' &e find that #
%ol!tion ,
$rom Wieta8s form!lae' &e 0no& that
and +h!s' &e 0no& that (since the AIME has onl"
positive integer ans&ers*#
@o& consider the pol"nomial &ith roots and # E)panding the
pol"nomial ' &e get the
pol"nomial %!bstit!ti
ng the val!es obtained from Wieta8s form!lae' &e find that this pol"nomial is # -e
0no& is a root of this pol"nomial' so &e set it e!al to A and simplif" the res!lting e)pression
to #
Eiven the problem conditions' &e 0no& there m!st be at least 1 integer sol!tion' and that it can8t be ver" large
(beca!se the term !ic0l" gets m!ch larger/smaller than the other ,*# +r"ing o!t some n!mbers' &e !ic0l"
find that is a sol!tion# $actoring it o!t' &e get
that # %ince the other !adratic factor clearl"
does not have an" integer sol!tions and this is an AIME problem' &e 0no& that this m!st be the ans&er the" are
loo0ing for# +h!s' ' so #
%ol!tion 1
Hbserving the e!ation' &e notice that the coefficient for the middle term is e!al to #
Also notice that the coefficient for the term is # +herefore' if the original e)pression &as to be factored
into a linear binomial and a !adratic trinomial' the term of the binomial &o!ld have a coefficient of #
%imilarl"' the term of the trinomial &o!ld also have a coefficient of # +he factored form of the e)pression
&o!ld loo0 something li0e the follo&ing/ &here are all positive
integers (beca!se the term of the original e)pression is negative' and the constant term is positive*'
and #
M!ltipl"ing this e)pression o!t gives #
E!ating this &ith the original e)pression gives # +he onl" positive integer sol!tions of
this e)pression is or # If then
setting "ields and therefore &hich clearl" isn8t e!al
to as the constant term# +herefore' and the factored form of the e)pression
is/ # +herefore' one of the three roots of the original e)pression
is # Fsing the !adratic form!la "ields the other t&o roots as
and # Arranging the roots in ascending order (in the order
*' #
+herefore' #
Problem 1A
A dis0 &ith radi!s is e)ternall" tangent to a dis0 &ith radi!s # 3et be the point &here the dis0s are
tangent' be the center of the smaller dis0' and be the center of the larger dis0# -hile the larger dis0 remains
fi)ed' the smaller dis0 is allo&ed to roll along the o!tside of the larger dis0 !ntil the smaller dis0 has t!rned
thro!gh an angle of # +hat is' if the center of the smaller dis0 has moved to the point ' and the point on the
smaller dis0 that began at has no& moved to point ' then is parallel to #
+hen ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion
Ldiagram neededM
3et be the ne& tangenc" point of the t&o dis0s# +he smaller dis0 rolled along minor arc on the larger dis0#
3et ' in radians# +he smaller dis0 m!st then have rolled along an arc of length ' since it has a
radi!s of # %ince all of the points on ma6or arc on the smaller dis0 have come into contact &ith the larger
dis0 at some point d!ring the rolling' and none of the other points on the smaller dis0 did' the length of ma6or
arc e!als the length of minor arc ' or # %ince ' ' so the angles of
minor arc and minor arc are e!al' so minor arc has an angle of # %ince the smaller dis0 has a
radi!s of ' the length of minor arc is # +his means that e!als the circ!mference of the smaller
dis0' so ' or #
@o&' to find ' &e constr!ct # Also' drop a perpendic!lar from to ' and call this
point # %ince ' is right' and ' and # @o& drop a
perpendic!lar from to ' and call this point # %ince ' '
and # +h!s' &e 0no& that ' and b" !sing the
P"thagorean +heorem on ' &e get that # +h!s' '
so ' and o!r ans&er is #
Problem 11
A to0en starts at the point of an -coordinate grid and then ma0es a se!ence of si) moves# Each move is
1 !nit in a direction parallel to one of the coordinate a)es# Each move is selected randoml" from the fo!r possible
directions and independentl" of the other moves# +he probabilit" the to0en ends at a point on the graph
of is ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion (case&or0*
-e have 5 possible moves/ F' ?' :' and 3# +he total n!mber of paths that co!ld be ta0en is ' or # +here
are 5 possible cases that land along the line / or #
-e &ill co!nt the n!mber of &a"s to end !p at and ' m!ltipl" them b" 5 to acco!nt for the
other !adrants' and add this to the n!mber of &a"s to end !p at #
Case 1/ +he to0en ends at # In order for the to0en to end !p here' it m!st have had 1 right moves' and 1
!p moves# In other &ords' the total n!mber of &a"s to get here is the &a"s to rearrange the letters in the
se!ence ' &hich is
Case ,/ +he to0en ends at # In order for the to0en to end !p here' it co!ld have had , !p moves' 1 right
moves' and 1 left moveB or , right moves' 1 !p moves' and 1 do&n move# +h!s' the total n!mber of &a"s to get
here is s!m of the &a"s to rearrange the letters in the se!ences and ' both of
&hich are ' for a total of possibilities#
Case 1/ +he to0en ends at # In order for the to0en to end !p here' it co!ld have had/
1 right move' 1 !p moves' and , do&n moves# In this case' the n!mber of &a"s to rearrange the letters
in the se!ence is
1 !p move' 1 right moves' and , left moves# In this case' the n!mber of &a"s to rearrange the letters
in the se!ence is
, right moves' 1 left move' , !p moves' and 1 do&n move# In this case' the n!mber of &a"s to
rearrange the letters in the se!ence is
+h!s' the total n!mber of &a"s to end !p at is #
Case 5/ +he to0en ends at # In order for the to0en to end !p here' it co!ld have had/
1 right moves and 1 left moves# In this case' the n!mber of &a"s to rearrange the letters in the
se!ence is
1 !p moves and 1 do&n moves# In this case' the n!mber of &a"s to rearrange the letters in the
se!ence is
1 right move' 1 left move' , !p moves' and , do&n moves# In this case' the n!mber of &a"s to
1 !p move' 1 do&n move' , right moves' and , left moves# In this case' the n!mber of &a"s to
+h!s' the total n!mber of &a"s to end !p at is #
Adding these cases together' &e get that the total n!mber of &a"s to end !p on
is # +h!s' o!r probabilit" is # -hen this fraction is f!ll" red!ced' it
is ' so o!r ans&er is
%ol!tion (case&or0 ,*
Ma0e a chart/
(+) ! (-) " # (+) $ (-)
+1 +1 +1 " +1 +1 + 1
+1 +1 -1 " +1 +1 -1
+1 -1 -1 " +1 -1 -1
-1 -1 -1 " -1 -1 -1
+1 +1 +1 -1 " +1 +1
+1 +1 -1 -1 " +1 -1
+1 -1 -1 -1 " -1 -1 (%2 &'((e)*' b' &wa++,ng -! and #-$)
+1 +1 +1 -1 -1 " +1
+1 +1 -1 -1 -1 " -1 (%2 &'((e)*')
+1 +1 +1 -1 -1 -1 " (%2 &'((e)*')
@ote &e have to m!ltipl" b" t&o to acco!nt for cases li0e R1 R1 R1 Z -1 -1 -1#
@o&' &e !se m!ltinomials and do the arithmetic/
+h!s' there are 8AA R 85A R 58A R 5A ; ,19A cases# 2eca!se there are total cases' the ans&er
is ' so the ans&er is
Problem 1,
3et ' and and be randoml" chosen (not necessaril" distinct* f!nctions from to # +he
probabilit" that the range of and the range of are dis6oint is ' &here and are relativel" prime positive
integers# $ind #
%ol!tion (case&or0*
-e note there are possibilities for each of and from to since the inp!t of the fo!r val!es of
each f!nction has fo!r options each for an o!tp!t val!e#
-e proceed &ith case&or0 to determine the n!mber of possible &ith range 1' ,' etc#
:ange 1/
+here are 5 possibilities/ all elements o!tp!t to 1' ,' 1' or 5#
:ange ,/
-e have &a"s to choose the t&o o!tp!t elements for # At this point &e have t&o possibilities/
either has 1 of 1 element and 1 of the other' or , of each element# In the first case' there are , &a"s to pic0 the
element &hich there are 1 copies of' and &a"s to rearrange the 5 elements' for a total
of &a"s for this case# $or the second case' there are &a"s to rearrange the 5
elements' for a total of &a"s for this case# Adding these t&o' &e get a total of total
possibilities#
:ange 1/
-e have &a"s to choose the three o!tp!t elements for # -e 0no& &e m!st have , of 1 element and 1
of each of the others' so there are 1 &a"s to pic0 this element# $inall"' there are &a"s to
rearrange these elements (since &e can pic0 the locations of the , single elements in this man" &a"s*' and o!r
total is &a"s#
:ange 5/
%ince &e 0no& the elements present' &e have &a"s to arrange them' or ,5 &a"s#
(+o chec0' ' &hich is the total n!mber of possibilities*#
-e no& brea0 do&n b" cases' and co!nt the n!mber of &hose ranges are dis6oint from 8s#
Case 1/ 8s range contains 1 element

-e 0no& that there are 1 possibilities for &ith 1 element# %ince half the possibilities for &ith t&o elements &ill
contain the element in ' there are possibilities for &ith , elements# %ince the possibilities
for &ith 1 elements &ill contain the element in ' there are possibilities for &ith 1 elements#
Clearl"' no 5-element range for is possible' so the total n!mber of &a"s for this case to happen
is #
Case ,/ 8s range contains , elements

-e 0no& that there are , possibilities for &ith 1 element# If has , elements in its range' the" are !ni!el"
determined' so the total n!mber of sets &ith a range of , elements that &or0 for is # @o 1-element
or 5-element ranges for are possible# +h!s' the total n!mber of &a"s for this to happen
is #
Case 1/ 8s range contains 1 elements

In this case' there is onl" 1 possibilit" for - all the o!tp!t val!es are the element that does not appear in 8s
range# +h!s' the total n!mber of &a"s for this to happen is #
%!mming the cases

-e find that the probabilit" of and having dis6oint ranges is e!al to/
+h!s' o!r final ans&er is #
Problem 11
Hn s!are ' points ' and lie on sides and respectivel"' so
that and # %egments and intersect at a point ' and the areas of
the !adrilaterals and are in the ratio $ind
the area of s!are #
%ol!tion
@otice that # +his means passes thro!gh the centre of the s!are#
?ra& &ith on ' on s!ch that and intersects at the centre of the s!are #
3et the area of the s!are be # +hen the area of and the area of #
3et the side side length be #
?ra& and intersects at # #
+he area of ' so the area of #
3et # +hen
Consider the area of #
+h!s' #
%olving ' &e get #
+herefore' the area of
Problem 15
3et be the largest real sol!tion to the e!ation
+here are positive integers ' ' and s!ch that # $ind #
%ol!tion
+he first step is to notice that the 5 on the right hand side can simplif" the terms on the left hand side# If &e
distrib!te 1 to ' then the fraction becomes of the form # A similar cancellation happens &ith the other
fo!r terms# If &e ass!me is not the highest sol!tion (if &e reali4e it is' &e can al&a"s bac0trac0* &e can
cancel the common factor of from both sides of the e!ation#
+hen' if &e ma0e the s!bstit!tion ' &e can f!rther simplif"#
If &e gro!p and combine the terms of the form and ' &e get this e!ation/
+hen' &e can cancel o!t a from both sides' 0no&ing that is a possible sol!tion# After &e do that' &e can
ma0e the final s!bstit!tion #
Fsing the !adratic form!la' &e get that the largest sol!tion for is # +hen' repeatedl"
s!bstit!ting bac0&ards' &e find that the largest val!e of is # +he ans&er is
th!s
Problem 17
In ' ' ' and # Circle intersects at and ' at and '
and at and # Eiven that and ' length ' &here and are
relativel" prime positive integers' and is a positive integer not divisible b" the s!are of an" prime#
$ind #
%ol!tion
$irst &e note that is an isosceles right triangle &ith h"poten!se the same as the diameter of #
-e also note that since is a right angle and the ratios of the sides are #
$rom congr!ent arc intersections' &e 0no& that ' and that from similar triangles
is also congr!ent to # +h!s' is an isosceles triangle &ith ' so is the midpoint
of and # %imilarl"' &e can find from angle chasing that #
+herefore' is the angle bisector of # $rom the angle bisector theorem' &e have '
so and #
3astl"' &e appl" po&er of a point from points and &ith respect to and have
and ' so &e can comp!te that and # $rom the
P"thagorean +heorem' &e res!lt in ' so
2014 2
Problem
Abe can paint the room in 17 ho!rs' 2ea can paint 7A percent faster than Abe' and Coe can
paint t&ice as fast as Abe# Abe begins to paint the room and &or0s alone for the first ho!r
and a half# +hen 2ea 6oins Abe' and the" &or0 together !ntil half the room is painted# +hen
Coe 6oins Abe and 2ea' and the" &or0 together !ntil the entire room is painted# $ind the
n!mber of min!tes after Abe begins for the three of them to finish painting the room#
%ol!tion
$rom the given information' &e can see that Abe can paint of the room in an ho!r' 2ea
can paint of the room in an ho!r' and Coe can paint the room in
of the room in an ho!r# After min!tes' Abe has painted of the room#
-or0ing together' Abe and 2ea can paint of the room in an ho!r' so it ta0es
then ho!rs to finish the first half of the room# All three &or0ing together can
paint of the room in an ho!r' and it ta0es them ho!rs to finish
the room# +he total amo!nt of time the" ta0e is
,A15 AIME II Problems/Problem ,
Problem
Arnold is st!d"ing the prevalence of three health ris0 factors' denoted b" A' 2' and C' &ithin
a pop!lation of men# $or each of the three factors' the probabilit" that a randoml" selected
man in the pop!lation has onl" this ris0 factor (and none of the others* is A#1# $or an" t&o
of the three factors' the probabilit" that a randoml" selected man has e)actl" these t&o ris0
factors (b!t not the third* is A#15# +he probabilit" that a randoml" selected man has all
three ris0 factors' given that he has A and 2 is # +he probabilit" that a man has none of
the three ris0 factors given that he does not have ris0 factor A is ' &here and are
%ol!tion
-e first ass!me a pop!lation of to facilitate solving# +hen &e simpl" organi4e the
statistics given into a Wenn diagram#
3et be the n!mber of men &ith all three ris0 factors# %ince "the probabilit" that a
randoml" selected man has all three ris0 factors' given that he has A and 2 is '" &e can tell
that ' since there are people &ith all three factors and 15 &ith onl" A and
2# +h!s #
3et be the n!mber of men &ith no ris0 factors# It no& follo&s that
+he n!mber of men &ith ris0 factor A
is (1A &ith onl" A' ,8 &ith A and one of the others' and 7 &ith all
three*# +h!s the n!mber of men &itho!t ris0 factor is 77' so the desired conditional
probabilit" is # %o the ans&er is #
Problem
A rectangle has sides of length and 19# A hinge is installed at each verte) of the rectangle'
and at the midpoint of each side of length 19# +he sides of length can be pressed to&ard
each other 0eeping those t&o sides parallel so the rectangle becomes a conve) he)agon as
sho&n# -hen the fig!re is a he)agon &ith the sides of length parallel and separated b" a
distance of ,5' the he)agon has the same area as the original rectangle# $ind #
%ol!tion
-hen &e s!ish the rectangle' the he)agon is composed of a rectangle and t&o isosceles
triangles &ith side lengths 18' 18' and ,5 as sho&n belo&#
2" Deron8s $orm!la' the area of each isosceles triangle
is # %o the area of both is # $rom the
rectangle' o!r original area is # +he area of the rectangle in the he)agon is # %o &e
have
Problem
+he repeating decimals and satisf"
&here ' ' and are (not necessaril" distinct* digits# $ind the three digit n!mber #
%ol!tion 1
@otice repeating decimals can be &ritten as the follo&ing/
&here a'b'c are the digits# @o& &e pl!g this bac0 into the original fraction/
M!ltipl" both sides b" +his helps simplif" the right side as &ell
beca!se /
?ividing both sides b" and simplif"ing gives/
At this point' seeing the factor common to both a and b is cr!cial to simplif"# +his is
beca!se ta0ing to both sides res!lts in/
@otice that &e arrived to the res!lt b" simpl" dividing b" and
seeing H0a"' no& it8s prett" clear to divide both sides b" in the
mod!lar e!ation b!t &e have to &orr" abo!t being m!ltiple of -ell' is a
m!ltiple of so clearl"' co!ldn8t be# Also' @o& finall" &e simplif" and
get/
2!t &e 0no& is bet&een and beca!se it is a digit' so m!st be @o& it is
straightfor&ard from here to find and /
and since a and b are both bet&een and ' &e have # $inall" &e have the digit
integer
%ol!tion ,
@ote that # Also note that the period of is at
most # +herefore' &e onl" need to &orr" abo!t the s!m # Adding the
t&o' &e get $rom this' &e can see that ' '
and ' so o!r desired ans&er is
%ol!tion 1
@oting as above that and ' let # +hen
%olving for gives
2eca!se m!st be integer' it follo&s that m!st be a m!ltiple of (beca!se clearl" is
not*# Inspecting the e!ation' one finds that onl" "ields a digit #
+h!s
Problem 7
:eal n!mbers and are roots of ' and and are roots
of # $ind the s!m of all possible val!es of #
%ol!tion
3et ' ' and be the roots of (per Wieta8s*# +hen and similarl"
for # Also'
%et !p a similar e!ation for /
%implif"ing and adding the e!ations gives
@o&' let8s deal &ith the # E!ating the a in both e!ations (per Wieta*
&hich event!all"
simplifies to
%!bstit!tion into (I* sho!ld give and ' corresponding to and '
and ' for an ans&er of #
Problem
Charles has t&o si)-sided die# Hne of the die is fair' and the other die is biased so that it
comes !p si) &ith probabilit" and each of the other five sides has probabilit" # Charles
chooses one of the t&o dice at random and rolls it three times# Eiven that the first t&o rolls
are both si)es' the probabilit" that the third roll &ill also be a si) is ' &here and are
%ol!tion
+he probabilit" that he rolls a si) t&ice &hen !sing the fair die is # +he
probabilit" that he rolls a si) t&ice !sing the biased die is # Eiven that
Charles rolled t&o si)es' &e can see that it is times more li0el" that he chose the second
die# +herefore the probabilit" that he is !sing the fair die is ' and the probabilit" that he is
!sing the biased die is # +he probabilit" of rolling a third si) is
+herefore' o!r desired is
Problem
3et # $ind the s!m of all positive integers for &hich
%ol!tion 1
$irst' let8s simplif" that big !gl" sigma notation/
@o& &e &rite o!t the notation and simplif"/
Converting to e)ponential form &e have the m!ch nicer e!ation/
HPA=# @o& let8s loo0 at the f!nction f# -ell &e have the base &hich factors nicel"
into # And then there8s the e)ponent# Dmm &ell there8s a pi inside# +hat m!st
co!nt for something# -ell' if ) is odd' then the e)ponent &ill be -1 beca!se the cosine of an
odd m!ltiple of pi is al&a"s -1# Do&ever' if it8s an even m!ltiple of pi' the cosine is 1#
:emember raising to an e)ponent of -1 6!st gives the reciprocal# %o &e have fractions and
then anti-fractions and &e8re m!ltipl"ing them. 3et8s pl!g in the val!es &itho!t simplif"ing/
AhaG MA%% CA@CE3A+IH@###ho&ever' notice &e can8t reall" end beca!se &e don8t 0no& if
the val!e of n is going to be odd or even# -e can prove this mass cancelation happens b"
simpl" loo0ing at consec!tive f!nctions of f/
+herefore this does indeed cancel and &as not a clever trap set b" AIME committee#
Do&ever' &e still don8t 0no& &here to end# %o &e branch off into , cases here/
*ase 1( n is odd
H00 so if n is odd' then the e)ponent of f(n* is -1 and &e have
@o& &e simpl" solve for n in both sit!ations and see &hich one gives !s an integer n/
*ase 2 ( n is e!en
H00 so if n is even' then the e)ponent of f(n* is 1 and &e have/
@o& &e simpl" solve for n in both sit!ations and see &hich one gives !s an integer n/
HPPP $I@A33= 2ACP +H +DE %H3F+IH@/
-e8ve got n;18'1# %o the s!m is clearl"
%ol!tion ,
@ote that is &hen is odd and &hen is even# Also note
that for all # +herefore
2eca!se of this' is
a telescoping series of logs' and &e have
%etting each of
the above !antities to and and solving for ' &e get possible val!es of
and so o!r desired ans&er is
Problem
Circle &ith radi!s , has diameter # Circle ? is internall" tangent to circle at #
Circle is internall" tangent to circle ' e)ternall" tangent to circle ' and tangent to #
+he radi!s of circle is three times the radi!s of circle ' and can be &ritten in the
form ' &here and are positive integers# $ind #
%ol!tion 1
Fsing the diagram above' let the radi!s of be ' and the radi!s of be #
+hen' ' and ' so the P"thagorean theorem in
gives # Also' ' so
@oting that ' &e can no& !se the
P"thagorean theorem in to get
%olving this !adratic is some&hat tedio!s' b!t the constant terms cancel' so the
comp!tation isn8t terrible# %olving gives for a final ans&er of #
Problem
+en chairs are arranged in a circle# $ind the n!mber of s!bsets of this set of chairs that
contain at least three ad6acent chairs#
%ol!tion 1 (Case&or0*
-e 0no& that a s!bset &ith less than chairs cannot contain ad6acent chairs# +here are
onl" sets of chairs so that the" are all ad6acent# +here are s!bsets of chairs
&here all are ad6acent' and or &here there are onl" If there are chairs'
have all ad6acent' or have ad6acent' and or have ad6acent#
-ith chairs in the s!bset' have all ad6acent' or have ad6acent'
or have ad6acent' or have gro!ps of ad6acent chairs' and
or have gro!p of ad6acent chairs# All possible s!bsets &ith more than chairs have at
least gro!p of ad6acent chairs' so &e add or ' or ' or '
and or Adding' &e
get
%ol!tion , (PIE*
%tarting &ith small cases' &e see that fo!r chairs give ' five chairs
give ' and si) chairs give +h!s' n chairs sho!ld
give ' as confirmed above# +his claim can be verified b" the principle of incl!sion-
e)cl!sion/ there are &a"s to arrange ad6acent chairs' b!t then &e s!btract
&a"s to arrange $inall"' &e add to acco!nt for the f!ll s!bset of chairs# +h!s' for
&e get a first co!nt of
Do&ever' &e overco!nt cases in &hich there are t&o distinct gro!ps of three or more chairs#
+ime to case&or0/ &e have cases for t&o gro!ps of directl" opposite each other' for
t&o gro!ps of fo!r' for t&o gro!ps of not s"mmetricall" opposite' for a gro!p of
and a gro!p of ' and for a gro!p of and a gro!p of +h!s' &e have
#
%ol!tion 1 (Complementar" Co!nting*
It is possible to !se rec!rsion to co!nt the complement# @!mber the chairs If
chair is not occ!pied' then &e have a line of chairs s!ch that there is no consec!tive
gro!p of three# If chair is occ!pied' then &e split into more cases# If chairs and are
empt"' then &e have a line of If chair is empt" b!t chair is occ!pied' then &e have a
line of chairs (beca!se chair cannot be occ!pied*B this is similar to &hen chair is
occ!pied and chair is empt"# $inall"' chairs and cannot be sim!ltaneo!sl" occ!pied#
+h!s' &e have red!ced the problem do&n to comp!ting ' &here co!nts
the &a"s to select a s!bset of chairs from a gro!p of n chairs s!ch that there is no gro!p
of chairs in a ro&#
@o&' &e notice that (representing the cases &hen the first'
second' and/or third chair is occ!pied*# Also' ' and
hence # @o& &e 0no& the
complement is ' and s!btracting from
gives #
Problem
3et be a comple) n!mber &ith # 3et be the pol"gon in the comple) plane
&hose vertices are and ever" s!ch that # +hen the area enclosed b"
can be &ritten in the form ' &here is an integer# $ind the remainder &hen is
divided b" #
%ol!tion 1 (long b!t non-bash"*
@ote that the given e!alit" red!ces to
@o&' let and li0e&ise for # Consider circle &ith the origin as the center and
radi!s ,A15 on the comple) plane# It is clear that m!st be one of the points on this circle'
as #
2" ?eMoivre8s +heorem' the comple) mod!l!s of is c!bed &hen is c!bed# +h!s m!st
lie on ' since its the c!be of its mod!l!s' and th!s its mod!l!s' m!st be e!al to 8s
mod!l!s#
Again' b" ?eMoivre8s +heorem' is tripled &hen is c!bed and li0e&ise for # $or ' '
and the origin to lie on the same line' m!st be some m!ltiple of 19A degrees apart
from ' so m!st differ from b" some m!ltiple of 1,A degrees#
@o&' &itho!t loss of generalit"' ass!me that is on the real a)is# (+he circle can be rotated
to p!t in an" other location#* +hen there are precisel" t&o possible distinct locations for B
one is obtained b" going 1,A degrees cloc0&ise from abo!t the circle and the other b"
moving the same amo!nt co!nter-cloc0&ise# Moving along the circle &ith an" other m!ltiple
of 1,A degrees in an" direction &ill res!lt in these three points#
3et the t&o possible locations for be and and the location of be point # @ote
that b" s"mmetr"' is e!ilateral' sa"' &ith side length # -e 0no& that the
circ!mradi!s of this e!ilateral triangle is ' so !sing the form!la and that
the area of an e!ilateral triangle &ith side length is ' so &e have
%ince &e8re concerned &ith the non-radical part of this e)pression and '
and &e are done#
%ol!tion , (short b!t a little bash"*
-itho!t loss of generalit"' let # +hen
+h!s is an isosceles triangle &ith
area an
d
Problem 11
In ' and # # 3et be the midpoint of
segment # Point lies on side s!ch that # E)tend segment
thro!gh to point s!ch that # +hen ' &here and are
relativel" prime positive integers' and is a positive integer# $ind #
%ol!tion
3et be the foot of the perpendic!lar from to ' so # %ince triangle is
isosceles' is the midpoint of ' and # +h!s' is a parallelogram
and # -e can then !se coordinates# 3et be the foot of altit!de and
set as the origin# @o& &e notice special right trianglesG In partic!lar'
and ' so ' ' and midpoint
and the slope of ' so the slope
of Instead of finding the e!ation of the line' &e !se the definition of
slope/ for ever" to the left' &e go !p#
+h!s'
' and ' so the ans&er is #
,A15 AIME II Problems/Problem 1,
Problem
%!ppose that the angles of satisf" +&o sides of
the triangle have lengths 1A and 11# +here is a positive integer so that the ma)im!m
possible length for the remaining side of is $ind
%ol!tion
Hbvio!sl"' in degrees# @ote that # +h!s' o!r
e)pression is of the form # 3et
and # E)panding' &e get '
or ' &hich means that the right side m!st be non-
positive and e)actl" one of and is # Do&ever' this means that the other variable m!st
ta0e on a val!e of 1# -3HE' &e can set ' or B ho&ever' onl" 1,A is
valid' as &e &ant a degenerate triangle# %ince ' the ma)im!m angle bet&een
the sides is clearl" 1,A degrees# Fsing 3a& of Cosines on the triangle' &e
get ' and &e8re done#
Problem
+en ad!lts enter a room' remove their shoes' and toss their shoes into a pile# 3ater' a child
randoml" pairs each left shoe &ith a right shoe &itho!t regard to &hich shoes belong
together# +he probabilit" that for ever" positive integer ' no collection of pairs made
b" the child contains the shoes from e)actl" of the ad!lts is ' &here m and n are
relativel" prime positive integers# $ind
%ol!tion
3et the left shoes be and the right shoes be @otice that there
are possible pairings# +o calc!late the possible cases' &e case&or0
on the n!mber and length of c"cles' &here a c#cle is a se!ence of shoes that starts &ith an
arbitrar" shoe' is contin!ed &hen that shoe is paired &ith another shoe and the ne& shoe
!nder consideration is the paired shoe8s pair' and ends &ith the first shoe8s pair# ($or
e)ample' -Q ' -Q ' -Q is a c"cle of length 1*# +riviall"' if there is a c"cle
of all ten shoes (for e)ample' -Q ' -Q -Q * then there
are &or0ing cases# Hr' there &ill be t&o c"cles of 7 shoes/ I #
@o&' there cannot be a c"cle of 9 and a c"cle of 5 b" the h"pothesisB b" similar reasoning'
o!r t&o cases are the onl" ones that &or0# +o comp!te the probabilit"' &e see that the first
case "ields a probabilit" of and the second case # Adding the
probabilit" gives ' for an ans&er of #
Problem
In ' and # 3et and be points on the
line s!ch that ' ' and # Point is the
midpoint of the segment ' and point is on ra" s!ch that #
+hen ' &here and are relativel" prime positive integers# $ind #
?iagram
%ol!tion
As &e can see'
is the midpoint of and is the midpoint of
is a triangle' so #
is triangle#
and are parallel lines so is triangle also#
+hen if &e !se those informations &e get and
and or
@o& &e 0no& that ' &e can find for &hich is simpler to find#
-e can !se point to split it !p as '
-e can chase those lengths and &e &o!ld get
' so ' so ' so
+hen !sing right triangle ' &e have D2;1A sin (17%*
%o D2;1A sin (17%*; #
And &e 0no& that #
$inall" if &e calc!late #
# %o o!r final ans&er is
Problem
$or an" integer ' let be the smallest prime &hich does not divide ?efine the
integer f!nction to be the prod!ct of all primes less than if '
and if 3et be the se!ence defined b" '
and for $ind the smallest positive integer s!ch
that
%ol!tion
@ote that (in base , for the indices' base 1A for the
val!es* +h!s
' (base ,* ; #

IIT Maths Aime Problem Solving by Naveen Vasireddy

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87

1987 AIME Problems/Problem 1

/ +hen o!r c!be m!st be in the form

/ +hen o!r c!be is #

+he length of each of the 1, sides is

+he length of each of the 1, diagonals that span across 5 edges is #

+he length of each of the 1, diagonals that span across 7 edges

+he length of each of the 9 diameters is #

&ill have a linear term of #

&ill have a linear term of #

&ill have a linear term of #

$or all odd ' #

$or all ' #

%o the graph of at is s"mmetric to at (reflected over the line );1*

And the graph of at is s"mmetric to at (reflected over the line );,*

And the graph of at is s"mmetric to at (reflected over the line

*ase 2/ +he onl" combination that &or0s is 9 blac0 in both#

$or ' &e have for nine possibilities' giving !s a s!m of #

# +his terminates since none of them end in a ' giving !s #

$or at least one red s!are/

$or at least t&o s!ares/

$or at least three s!ares/

In the former condition' since ' it follo&s that # $or and to be

Hne ma" also do this b"

$or circles' the ratio is #

$or circles' the ratio is #

$or circles' the ratio is #

$or circles' the ratio is #

&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

&ill be the greater n!mber in s!bsets#

+he vol!me of the parallelepiped is c!bic !nits#

+he vol!me of the e)ternal parallelepipeds

+here are of the spheres' each of radi!s # +ogether' their vol!me is #

the points are coplanar and no three of them are collinear'

all of the angles at are congr!ent'

all of the line segments are congr!ent' and

If lies on ' then B the latter can be discarded as e)traneo!s#

If lies on ' then B the latter can be discarded as e)traneo!s#

*ase / It is eas" to see onl" cases#

*ase / It is eas" to see onl" case#

Person 1/ Hne roll of each t"pe is left' so the probabilit" here is #

An" c!be ma" be the bottom c!be in the to&er#

If is even' then m!st also be even# %!bstit!ting ' &e get

on the nonnegative )-a)is

on the nonnegative "-a)is

in the first !adrant

+here are 58 ordered pairs s!ch that their positive difference is ,#

+here are 59 ordered pairs s!ch that their positive difference is 5#

' ' then is a sol!tion#

' ' then is a sol!tion#

' ' then is a sol!tion#

$or &e have &ith a single integer sol!tion #

$or &e have &ith a single integer sol!tion #

$or o!r ine!alit" has no integer sol!tions for #

*ase 2/ Hne head#

*ase 3/ +&o heads#

*ase 4/ +hree heads#

@!mber that are divisible b" at least once/