Part I: Problems: Problem 1
Part I: Problems: Problem 1
Part I: Problems
1964
Problem 1.
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1965
Problem 1.
Determine all integers a, b and c such that
a2 + b2 + c2 + 3 < ab + 3b + 2c.
Problem 2.
Among eight points on or inside a circle, prove that there exist
two whose distance is less than the radius of the circle.
1
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 2
Problem 3.
The base ABCD and the top EF GH of a hexahedron are both
squares. The lateral edges AE, BF, CG and DH have equal
length. The circumradius of EF GH is less than the circum-
radius of ABCD, which is in turn less than the circumradius
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faces.
1966
Problem 1.
Do there exist five points A, B, C, D and E in space such that
AB = BC = CD = DE = EA and
Problem 2.
Let n be any positive integer. Prove that the first n digits after
the decimal
√ n point of the decimal expansion of the real number
(5 + 26) are identical.
Problem 3.
Do there exist two infinite sets of non-negative integers such
that every non-negative integer is expressible as the sum of one
element from each set in a unique way?
1967
Problem 1.
In a set of integers which contains both positive and negative
elements, the sum of any two elements, not necessarily distinct,
is also in the set. Prove that the difference between any two
elements is also in the set.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 3
Problems 3
Problem 2.
A convex polygon is divided into triangles by non-intersecting
diagonals. If each vertex of the polygon is a vertex of an odd
number of these triangles, prove that the number of vertices of
the polygon is divisible by 3.
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Problem 3.
The sum of the distances from each vertex of a convex quadri-
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1968
Problem 1.
Prove that in any infinite sequence of positive integers, it is not
possible for every block of three consecutive terms a, b and c to
2ac
satisfy b = .
a+c
Problem 2.
Let n be a positive integer. Inside a circle with radius n are 4n
segments of length 1. Prove that given any straight line, there
exists a chord of the circle, either parallel or perpendicular to
the given line, that intersects at least two of the segments.
Problem 3.
Let n > k > 0 be integers. For each arrangement of n white
balls and n black balls in a row, count the number of pairs
of adjacent balls of different colors. Prove that the number of
arrangements for which the count is n−k is equal to the number
of arrangements for which the count is n + k.
1969
Problem 1. √
Let n be a positive integer. Prove that if 2 + 2 28n2 + 1 is an
integer, then it is the square of an integer.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 4
Problem 2.
Let the lengths of the sides of a triangle be a, b and c, and
the measures of the opposite angles be α, β and γ respectively.
Prove that the triangle is equilateral if
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Problem 3.
A 1 × 8 × 8 block consists of 64 unit cubes such that exactly
one face of each cube is painted black. The initial arrangement
is arbitrary. In a move, we may rotate a row or a column of 8
cubes about their common axis. Prove that after a finite number
of such moves, we can obtain an arrangement in which all the
black faces are on top.
1970
Problem 1.
Let n be a positive integer. An n-gon on the plane is not nec-
essarily convex, but non-adjacent sides do not intersect. Deter-
mine the maximum number of acute angles of this n-gon.
Problem 2.
Determine the probability that five numbers chosen at random
from the first 90 positive integers contain two consecutive
numbers.
Problem 3.
On the plane are a number of points no three of which lie on
the same straight line. Every two of these points are joined
by a segment. Some segments are painted red, some others are
painted blue, while the remaining ones are unpainted. Every two
of the points is connected by a unique polygonal path consisting
only of painted segments. Prove that each unpainted segment
can be painted red or blue so that in any triangle determined
by these points, the number of red sides is odd.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 5
Problems 5
1971
Problem 1.
A straight line intersects the sides BC, CA and AB, or their
extensions, of triangle ABC at D, E and F respectively. Q and
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Problem 2.
In the plane are 22 points where no three of which lie on the
same straight line. Prove that they can be joined in pairs by
11 segments such that these segments intersect one another at
least 5 times.
Problem 3.
Each of 30 boxes can be opened by a unique key. These keys
are then locked at random inside the boxes, with one key in
each. Two of the boxes are then broken open simultaneously,
and the keys inside may be used to try to open other boxes. Keys
retrieved from boxes thus opened may also be used. Determine
the probability that all boxes may be opened.
1972
Problem 1.
Prove that a(b − c)2 + b(c − a)2 + c(a − b)2 + 4abc > a3 + b3 + c3 ,
where a, b and c are the lengths of the sides of a triangle.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 6
Problem 2.
In a class with at least 4 students, the number of boys is equal to
the number of girls. Consider all arrangements of these students
in a row. Let a be the number of arrangements for which it is
impossible to divide it into two parts so that the number of boys
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1973
Problem 1.
Determine all integers
nand
k, n > k > 0, such that the bino-
n
mial coefficients k−1 , nk and k+1n
form an arithmetic pro-
gression.
Problem 2.
For any point on the plane of a circle other than its center, the
line through the point and the center intersects the circle at two
points. The distance from the point to the nearer intersection
point is defined as the distance from the point to the circle.
Prove that for any positive number , there exists a lattice point
whose distance from a given circle with center (0,0) and radius
r is less than , provided that r is sufficiently large.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 7
Problems 7
Problem 3.
Let n be an integer greater than 4. Every three of n planes have
a common point, but no four of these planes have a common
point. Prove that among the regions into which space is divided
by these planes, the number of tetrahedra is not less than 2n−3 .
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1974
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Problem 1.
When someone enters a library, she writes down on a blackboard
the number of people already in the library at the time. When
someone leaves a library, she writes down on a whiteboard the
number of people still in the library. Prove that at the end of
the day, the numbers on the blackboard are the same as those on
the whiteboard, taking into consideration multiplicity but not
order.
Problem 2.
The lengths of the sides of an infinite sequence of squares are 1,
1 1
, , and so on. Determine the length of the side of the smallest
2 3
square which can contain all squares in the sequence.
Problem 3.
Prove that for any real number x and any positive integer k,
x2 x3 x2k−1 x2k
1−x+ − + ··· − + ≥ 1.
2! 3! (2k − 1)! (2k)!
1975
Problem 1.
Let a, b and c be real numbers such that a > c ≥ 0, b > 0 and
!
2 1 1
ab + = a − b.
(a + c)2 (a − c)2
Find a simpler relation among a, b and c.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 8
Problem 2.
A quadrilateral is inscribed in a convex polygon. Is it always
possible to inscribe in this polygon a rhombus whose side is not
shorter than the shortest side of the quadrilateral?
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Problem 3.
Let the sequence {xn } be defined by x0 = 5 and xn+1 = xn + x1n
for n ≥ 1. Prove that 45 < x1000 < 45.1.
Hungarian Mathematical Olympiad (1964–1997) Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com
1976
Problem 1.
P is a point outside a parallelogram ABCD such that 6 P AB
and 6 P CB are equal but have opposite orientations. Prove that
6 AP B = 6 DP C.
Problem 2.
In 55 distinct subsets of size five of the set {1,2,3,. . . ,90}, if every
two of them have a common number, prove that there exist four
numbers such that each of the 55 subsets contains at least one
of these four numbers.
Problem 3.
Prove that if ax2 + bx + c > 0 for all real number x, then we can
express ax2 + bx + c as the quotient of two polynomials whose
coefficients are all positive.
1977
Problem 1.
Prove that for any integer n ≥ 2, the number n4 + 4n cannot be
prime.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 9
Problems 9
Problem 2.
H is the orthocenter of triangle ABC. The medians from A, B
and C intersect the circumcircle at D, E and F respectively.
P, Q and R are the images of D, E and F under 180◦ rotations
about the midpoints of BC, CA and AB respectively. Prove
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1978
Problem 1.
Let a and b be rational numbers. Prove that if the equation
ax2 + by 2 = 1 has a rational solution (x, y), then it has infinitely
many rational solutions.
Problem 2.
Let n be a positive integer. The vertices of a convex n-gon are
painted so that adjacent vertices have different colors. Prove
that if n is odd, then the polygon can be divided into triangles
by non-intersecting diagonals such that none of these diagonals
has its endpoints painted in the same color.
Problem 3.
In a triangle with no obtuse angles, r is the inradius, R is the
circumradius and H is the longest altitude. Prove that we have
H ≥ R + r.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 10
1979
Problem 1.
A convex pyramid has an odd number of lateral edges of equal
length, and the dihedral angles between neighboring faces are
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Problem 2.
A real-valued function f defined on all real numbers is such that
f (x) ≤ x for all real number x and f (x + y) ≤ f (x) + f (y) for all
real numbers x and y. Prove that f (x) = x for all real number x.
Problem 3.
Let n be a positive integer. An n × n table of letters is such
that no two rows are identical. Prove that a column may be
deleted such that in the resulting n × n − 1 table, no two rows
are identical.
1980
Problem 1.
The points of space are painted in five colors and there is at
least one point of each color. Prove that there exists a plane
containing four points of different colors.
Problem 2.
Let n > 1 be an odd integer. Prove that there exist positive
integers x and y such that
4 1 1
= +
n x y
if and only if n has a prime divisor of the form 4k − 1.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 11
Problems 11
Problem 3.
Two tennis clubs have 1000 and 1001 members respectively. All
2001 players have different strength, and in a match between two
players, the stronger one always wins. The ranking of the players
within each club is known. Find a procedure using at most 11
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1981
Problem 1.
Prove that for any five points A, B, P, Q and R in a plane,
AB + P Q + QR + RP ≤ AP + AQ + AR + BP + BQ + BR.
Problem 2.
Let n > 2 be an even integer. The squares of an n×n chessboard
are painted with 21 n2 colors, with exactly two squares of each
color. Prove that n rooks can be placed on n squares of different
colors such that no two of them attack each other.
Problem 3.
For a positive integer n, r(n) denote the sum of the remainders
when n is divided by 1, 2, . . . , n respectively. Prove that for
infinitely many positive integers n, r(n) = r(n + 1).
1982
Problem 1.
A cube has integer side length and all four vertices of one face
are lattice points. Prove that the other four vertices are also
lattice points.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 12
Problem 2.
Prove that for any integer k > 2, there exist infinitely many
positive integers n such that the least common multiple of n,
n + 1, . . . , n + k − 1 is greater than the least common multiple
of n + 1, n + 2, . . . , n + k.
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Problem 3.
The set of integers are painted in 100 colors, with at least one
Hungarian Mathematical Olympiad (1964–1997) Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com
number of each color. For any two intervals [a, b] and [c, d] of
equal length and with integral endpoints, if a has the same color
as c and b has the same color as d, then a + x has the same color
as c+x for any integer x, 0 ≤ x ≤ b−a. Prove that the numbers
1982 and −1982 are painted in different colors.
1983
Problem 1.
Let x, y and z be rational numbers such that
x3 + 3y 3 + 9z 3 − 9xyz = 0.
Prove that x = y = z = 0.
Problem 2.
In the polynomial f (x) = xn + a1 xn−1 + · · · + an−1 x + 1, n
is a positive integer and a1 , . . . , an−1 are non-negative real
numbers. Prove that f (2) ≥ 3n if f (x) has n real roots.
Problem 3.
Let n be a positive integer. P1 , P2 , . . . , Pn and Q are points in
the plane with no three on the same line. For any two different
points Pi and Pj , there exists a third point Pk such that Q lies
inside triangle Pi Pj Pk . Prove that n is odd.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 13
Problems 13
1984
Problem 1.
When the first 4 rows of Pascal’s Triangle are written down in
the usual way and the numbers in vertical columns are added
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1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 1 4 3 4 1 1
1985
Problem 1.
Let n be a positive integer. The convex (n+1)-gon P0 P1 . . . Pn is
divided by non-intersecting diagonals into n − 1 triangles. Prove
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Problem 2.
Let n be a positive integer. For each prime divisor p of n, con-
sider the highest power of p which does not exceed n. The sum
of these powers is defined as the power-sum of n. Prove that
there exist infinitely many positive integers which are less than
their respective power-sums.
Problem 3.
Each vertex of a triangle is reflected across the opposite side.
Prove that the area of the triangle determined by the three
points of reflection is less than five times the area of the original
triangle.
1986
Problem 1.
Prove that three rays from the same point contain three face
diagonals of some rectangular block if and only if the rays include
pairwise acute angles with sum 180◦ .
Problem 2.
Let n be any integer greater than 2. Determine the maximum
value of h and the minimum value of H such that
a1 a2 an
h< + + ··· + <H
a1 + a2 a2 + a3 an + a1
for any positive real numbers a1 , a2 , . . . , an .
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 15
Problems 15
Problem 3.
From the first 100 positive integers, k of them are drawn at
random and then added. For which positive integers k is the
sum equally likely to be odd or even?
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1987
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Problem 1.
Find all positive integers a, b, c and d such that a + b = cd and
ab = c + d.
Problem 2.
Does there exist a set of points in space having at least one but
finitely many points on each plane?
Problem 3.
Let n be a positive integer. Among 3n + 1 members of a club,
every two play exactly one of tennis, badminton and table ten-
nis against each other. Each member plays each game against
exactly n other members. Prove that there exist three members
such that every two of them play a different game.
1988
Problem 1.
P is a point inside a convex quadrilateral ABCD such that the
areas of the triangles P AB, P BC, P CD and P DA are all equal.
Prove that either AC or BD bisects the area of ABCD.
Problem 2.
From among the numbers 1, 2, . . . , n, we want to select triples
(a, b, c) such that a < b < c and, for two selected triples (a, b, c)
and (a0 , b0 , c0 ), at most one of the equalities a = a0 , b = b0 and
c = c0 holds. What is the maximum number of such triples?
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 16
Problem 3.
The vertices of a convex quadrilateral P QRS are lattice points
and 6 SP Q + 6 P QR < 180◦ . T is the point of intersection of
P R and QS. Prove that there exists a lattice point other than
P or Q which lies inside or on the boundary of triangle P QT .
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1989
Hungarian Mathematical Olympiad (1964–1997) Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com
Problem 1.
A circle is disjoint from a line m which is not horizontal. Con-
struct a horizontal line such that the ratio of the lengths of the
sections of this line within the circle and between m and the
circle is maximum.
Problem 2.
For any positive integer m, denote by s(m) the sum of its digits
in base ten. For which positive integers m is it true that we have
s(mk) = s(m) for all integers k such that 1 ≤ k ≤ m?
Problem 3.
From an arbitrary point (x, y) in the coordinate plane, one is al-
lowed to move to (x, y+2x), (x, y−2x), (x+2y, y) or (x, x−2y).
However, one cannot reverse the immediately
√ preceding move.
Prove that starting from the point (1, 2), it is not possible to
return there after any number of moves.
1990
Problem 1.
Let p be any odd prime and n be any positive integer. Prove
that at most one divisor d of pn2 is such that d+n2 is the square
of an integer.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 17
Problems 17
Problem 2.
I is the incenter of triangle ABC. D, E and F are the excen-
ters opposite A, B and C respectively. The bisector of 6 BIC
cuts BC at P . The bisector of 6 CIA cuts CA at Q. The bisec-
tor of 6 AIB cuts AB at R. Prove that DP, EQ and F R are
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concurrent.
Problem 3.
Hungarian Mathematical Olympiad (1964–1997) Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com
1991
Problem 1.
(ab + c)n − c
Prove that ≤ an , where n is a positive integer and
(b + c)n − c
a ≥ 1, b ≥ 1 and c > 0 are real numbers.
Problem 2.
A convex polyhedron has two triangular faces and three quadri-
lateral faces. Each vertex of one of the triangular faces is joined
to the point of intersection of the diagonals of the opposite
quadrilateral face. Prove that these three lines are concurrent.
Problem 3.
Given are 998 red points in the plane, no three on a line. A
set of blue points is chosen so that every triangle with all three
vertices among the red points contains a blue point in its interior.
What is the minimum size of a set of blue points which works
regardless of the positions of the red points?
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 18
1992
Problem 1.
Given n positive numbers, define their strange mean as the sum
of the squares of the numbers divided by the sum of the num-
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bers. Define their third power mean as the cube root of the
arithmetic mean of their third powers. There are three mutu-
Hungarian Mathematical Olympiad (1964–1997) Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com
(1) The strange mean can never be smaller than the third
power mean.
(2) The strange mean can never be larger than the third power
mean.
(3) The strange mean may be larger or smaller than the third
power mean.
(a) n = 2;
(b) n = 3.
Problem 2.
For an arbitrary positive integer k, let f1 (k) be the square of
the sum of the digits of k. For n > 1, let fn (k) = f1 (fn−1 (k)).
What is the value of f1992 (21991 )?
Problem 3.
Given a finite number of points in the plane, no three of which
are collinear, prove that they can be painted in two colors so that
there is no half-plane that contains exactly three given points of
one color and no points of the other color.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 19
Problems 19
1993
Problem 1.
Prove that if a and b are positive integers, then there are finitely
many positive integers n for which both an2 + b and a(n + 1)2 + b
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Problem 2.
The sides of triangle ABC have different lengths. Its incircle
touches the sides BC, CA and AB at points K, L and M , re-
spectively. The line parallel to LM and passing through B cuts
KL at point D. The line parallel to LM and passing through
C cuts M K at point E. Prove that DE passes through the
midpoint of LM .
Problem 3.
Let f (x) = x2n + 2x2n−1 + 3x2n−2 + · · · + 2nx + (2n + 1), where
n is a given positive integer. Find the minimum value of f (x)
for real numbers x.
1994
Problem 1.
Let λ be the ratio of the sides of a parallelogram, with λ > 1.
Determine in terms of λ the maximum possible measure of the
acute angle formed by the diagonals of the parallelogram.
Problem 2.
Consider the diagonals of a convex n-gon.
Problem 3.
For 1 ≤ k ≤ n, the set Hk , consists of k pairwise disjoint inter-
vals of the real line. Prove that among the intervals that form
the sets Hk , one can find b n+1
2
c pairwise disjoint ones, each of
which belongs to a different set Hk .
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1995
Hungarian Mathematical Olympiad (1964–1997) Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com
Problem 1.
A lattice rectangle with sides parallel to the coordinate axes
is divided into lattice triangles, each of area 12 . Prove that the
number of right triangles among them is at least twice the length
of the shorter side of rectangle.
Problem 2.
Each of the n variables of a polynomial is substituted with 1 or
−1. If the number of −1s is even, the value of the polynomial
is positive. If it is odd, the value is negative. Prove that the
polynomial has a term in which the sum of the exponents of the
variables is at least n.
Problem 3.
No three of the points A, B, C and D are collinear. Let E
and F denote the intersection points of lines AB and CD, and
of lines BC and DA, respectively. Circles are drawn with the
segments AC, BD and EF as diameters. Show that either the
three circles have a common point or they are pairwise disjoint.
1996
Problem 1.
In the quadrilateral ABCD, AC is perpendicular to BD and
AB is parallel to DC. Prove that BC · DA ≥ AB · CD.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 21
Problems 21
Problem 2.
The same numbers of delegates from countries A and B attend a
conference. Some pairs of them already know each other. Prove
that there exists a non-empty set of delegates from country A
such that either every delegate from country B has an even num-
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Problem 3.
For integers n ≥ 3 and k ≥ 0, mark some of the diagonals of a
convex n-gon. We wish to choose a polygonal line consisting of
2k + 1 marked diagonals and not intersecting itself.
1997
Problem 1.
Let p be an odd prime number. Consider points in the coor-
dinate plane both coordinates of which are numbers in the set
{0, 1, 2, . . . , p − 1}. Prove that it is possible to choose p of these
points such that no three are collinear.
Problem 2.
The incircle of triangle ABC touches the sides at D, E and F .
Prove that its circumcenter and incenter are collinear with the
orthocenter of triangle DEF .
Problem 3.
Prove that the edges of a planar graph can be painted in three
colors so that there is no single-color cycle.
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 22
Answers
Problem 1.
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Problem 2.
106081
1970 The desired probability is 511038
.
22
September 21, 2022 15:10 book-9x6 12815-main page 23
Answers 23
Problem 3.