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Olympiad_Practice_questions_Set_19_Solutions

The document contains solutions to various mathematical problems, including proofs related to inequalities, divisibility, and properties of integers. It discusses the conditions under which certain sums and least common multiples hold true, as well as the distribution of numbers in a square board. The solutions utilize mathematical principles such as induction and the pigeonhole principle to establish the required results.

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46 views3 pages

Olympiad_Practice_questions_Set_19_Solutions

The document contains solutions to various mathematical problems, including proofs related to inequalities, divisibility, and properties of integers. It discusses the conditions under which certain sums and least common multiples hold true, as well as the distribution of numbers in a square board. The solutions utilize mathematical principles such as induction and the pigeonhole principle to establish the required results.

Uploaded by

deonnjoroge23450
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PAMO/EAMO/IMO Practice Questions Solutions (Set 19)

1. Prove that
√ √ √ p √ 2n3 + n
1+ 2+ 3 + ··· + n2 − 1 + n2 ≥
3
for any positive integer n.
SOLUTION
√ √ √ √
Let S = 1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + n2 . Observe that
√ 
√ √  √ √  √ √   √
S = 1 1 − 2 +2 2 − 3 +3 3 − 4 +· · ·+ n2 − 1 n2 − 1 − n2 +
√
n2 n2 . Therefore
 2   2 
nX−1 √ nX−1
√  k
S= k k − k + 1  + n3 = − √ √  + n3
k=1 k=1
k + k + 1
 2   2

nX −1 n −1 √ 
k 1 X√  1
≥ − √  + n3 = − k + n3 = − S − n2 + n3
2 k 2 2
k=1 k=1

Hence we have
2n3 + n
 
1 n
1+ S ≥ n3 + ⇒ S ≥
2 2 3

2. It is given that n is a positive integer such that both numbers 2n + 1 and


3n + 1 are complete squares. Is it true that n must be divisible by 40?
Justify your answer.
SOLUTION
Suppose that 3n + 1 = k2 and 2n + 1 = l2 for some integers k, l. Then k is
odd. Thus k2 ≡ 1 mod 8. Therefore 3n ≡ 0 mod 8 and therefore 8 | n.
Next observe that k2 ≡ 0, 1, 4 mod 5. Thus if 5 does not divide n, then
k 2 ≡ 0, 4 mod 5. Hence 3n ≡ −1, 3 mod 5. Similarly 2n ≡ −1, 3 mod 5.
Therefore 2n + 3n 6≡ 0 mod 5, a contradiciton.
Therefore 5 divides n and consequently 40 divides n.
3. Let n1 , n2 , . . . , n2000 be 2000 positive integers satisfying n1 < n2 < · · · <
n2000 . Prove that
n1 n1 n1 n1 1
+ + + ··· + < 1 − 1999
[n1 , n2 ] [n2 , n3 ] [n3 , n4 ] [n1999 , n2000 ] 2
where [a, b] denotes the least common multiple of a and b.
SOLUTION
We prove a much stronger result : For any m ∈ N, m ≥ 2, let n1 , n2 , . . . , nm
be integers satisfying
n1 n1 n1 n1 1
+ + + ··· + < 1 − k−1
[n1 , n2 ] [n2 , n3 ] [n3 , n4 ] [nm−1 , nm ] 2

1
With m = 2, since n1 < n2 , we must have [n1 , n2 ] > n1 . Therefore
[n1 , n2 ] = kn1 ≥ 2n1 , i.e., [n1n,n 1
2]
≤ 1 − 12 . Thus the statement is true
for m = 2. Assume that the statement is true for m = k. Let m = k + 1
and n1 , n2 , . . . , nk+1 be positive integers such that n1 < n2 < · · · < nk+1 .
Applying the induction hypothesis to the k integers n2 , n3 , . . . , nk+1 we
obtain
n2 n2 n2 1
+ + ··· + ≤ 1 − k−1
[n2 , n3 ] [n3 , n4 ] [nk , nk+1 ] 2

n1 n1 n1 n1
+ + + ··· +
[n1 , n2 ] [n2 , n3 ] [n3 , n4 ] [nk , nk+1 ]
 
n1 n1 n2 n2
= + + ··· +
[n1 , n2 ] n2 [n2 , n3 ] [nk , nk+1 ]
 
n1 n1 1
≤ + 1 − k−1 .
[n1 , n2 ] n2 2

Denote the last expression by R. If n2 ≥ 2n1 , we have [n1 , n2 ] ≥ 2n1


and therefore R ≤ 21 + 12 1 − 2k−1
1
= 1 − 21k . If n2 < 2n1 , we let d =
gcd (n1 , n2 ) and write n1 = ad, n2 = bd. then a + 1 ≤ b < 2a and
[n1 , n2 ] = abd. Therefore
 
1 a 1 a+1 a 1 1
R= + 1− = − · k−1 ≤ 1 − k .
b b 2k−1 b b 2 2

Hence the case when m = k + 1 is established. By the principle of math-


ematical induction, it follows that the statement is true for all m ≥ 2.
4. Each of the squares in a 50 × 50 square board is lled with a number from
1 to 50 so that each of the numbers 1, 2, . . . , 50 appears exactly 50 times.
Show that there is a row or column containing at least 8 distinct numbers.
SOLUTION
We shall prove in general that if each of the squares in an n × n square
board is lled with a number from 1 to n so that each of the number
1, 2, . . . , n appears √ exactly n times, then there is a row or a column con-
taining at least d ne distinct numbers.
Construct a 2n×n matrix with rows corresonding to the rows and columns
of the board and with columns corresponding to the n numbers such that
an entry is 1 if and only if the corresponding number is in the correspond-
ing row or column of the board. Let the number of 1 in the rows be
r1 , r2 , . . . , r2n and the number of 10 s in the columns be c1 , . . . , cn . Then
2n n
ci .
P P
ri =
i=1 i=1
In the original board, consider the subboard consisting of all rows and
columns that contain a particular number, say, j,The area of this sub-
board is at least n(since it contains at least the n cells
√ that contain the
number j ) and the perimeter is therefore at least 4 n. This means that

2
√ √
cj ≥ 2 n. Thus i=1 √ ri ≥ 2 n. Then the pigeonhole principle implies
P2n
that at least one ri ≥ d ne.

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