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2008 USAMO Problems

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Contents

Day 1

Problem 1

(Titu Andreescu) Prove that for each positive integer n, there are pairwise relatively prime integers k_0,k_1\ldots,k_n, all strictly greater than 1, such that k_0k_1\cdots k_n-1 is the product of two consecutive integers.

Solution

Problem 2

(Zuming Feng) Let ABC be an acute, scalene triangle, and let M, N, and P be the midpoints of \overline{BC}, \overline{CA}, and \overline{AB}, respectively. Let the perpendicular bisectors of \overline{AB} and \overline{AC} intersect ray AM in points D and E respectively, and let lines BD and CE intersect in point F, inside of triangle ABC. Prove that points A, N, F, and P all lie on one circle.

Solution

Problem 3

(Gabriel Carroll) Let n be a positive integer. Denote by S_n the set of points (x, y) with integer coordinates such that \left|x\right|+\left|y+\frac{1}{2}\right|<n A path is a sequence of distinct points (x_1,y_1),(x_2,y_2),\ldots,(x_\ell,y_\ell) in S_n such that, for i=2,\ldots,\ell, the distance between (x_i,y_i) and (x_{i-1},y_{i-1}) is 1 (in other words, the points (x_i,y_i) and (x_{i-1},y_{i-1}) are neighbors in the lattice of points with integer coordinates). Prove that the points in S_n cannot be partitioned into fewer than n paths (a partition of S_n into m paths is a set \mathcal{P} of m nonempty paths such that each point in S_n appears in exactly one of the m paths in \mathcal{P}).

Solution

Day 2

Problem 4

(Gregory Galparin) Let \mathcal{P} be a convex polygon with n sides, n\ge3. Any set of n-3 diagonals of \mathcal{P} that do not intersect in the interior of the polygon determine a triangulation of \mathcal{P} into n - 2 triangles. If \mathcal{P} is regular and there is a triangulation of \mathcal{P} consisting of only isosceles triangles, find all the possible values of n.

Solution

Problem 5

(Kiran Kedlaya) Three nonnegative real numbers r_1, r_2, r_3 are written on a blackboard. These numbers have the property that there exist integers a_1, a_2, a_3, not all zero, satisfying a_1r_1+a_2r_2+a_3r_3=0. We are permitted to perform the following operation: find two numbers x, y on the blackboard with x\le y, then erase y and write y-x in its place. Prove that after a finite number of such operations, we can end up with at least one 0 on the blackboard.

Solution

Problem 6

(Sam Vandervelde) At a certain mathematical conference, every pair of mathematicians are either friends or strangers. At mealtime, every participant eats in one of two large dining rooms. Each mathematician insists upon eating in a room which contains an even number of his or her friends. Prove that the number of ways that the mathematicians may be split between the two rooms is a power of two (i.e., is of the form 2^k for some positive integer k).

Solution

See also

2008 USAMO (Problems • Resources: AoPS | ML)
Preceded by
2007 USAMO
1 2 3 4 5 6 Followed by
2009 USAMO
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