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2026-06-30
MediumCombinatorics

Five-Digit Number with Digit Product 180

The product of the digits of a 5-digit number is 180. How many such numbers exist?

💡 View Hint

Factor 180 = 2² · 3² · 5. You need 5 digits (each 1–9) whose product is 180. First find all unordered multisets of 5 digits from {1,...,9} with product 180. Then count the arrangements of each multiset (divide 5! by the factorial of each repeated digit's count).

2026-06-29
HardAlgebra

Iterated Function

For x a real number, let f(x) = 0 if x < 1 and f(x) = 2x − 2 if x ≥ 1. How many solutions are there to the equation f(f(f(f(x)))) = x?

💡 View Hint

First understand f: it is 0 for x < 1 and 2x−2 for x ≥ 1 (so f(x) = 2(x−1) for x ≥ 1). To solve f(f(f(f(x)))) = x, work backwards. Let g = f∘f∘f∘f. For each case, track carefully which branch of f applies at each step. Start with f(f(x)) = x and build up.

2026-06-28
MediumGeometry

Pentagon and Equilateral Triangle

Let RSTUV be a regular pentagon. Construct an equilateral triangle PRS with point P inside the pentagon. Find the measure (in degrees) of angle PTV.

💡 View Hint

Interior angle of a regular pentagon is 108°. Triangle PRS is equilateral with P inside the pentagon, so all angles are 60°. Find angle PRT, then use the fact that T and V are vertices of the regular pentagon to find angle PTV. Work through the angles at each vertex systematically.

2026-06-27
HardGeometry

Triangulating a 2003-gon

Consider a 2003-gon inscribed in a circle and a triangulation of it with diagonals intersecting only at vertices. What is the smallest possible number of obtuse triangles in the triangulation?

💡 View Hint

Any triangulation of a 2003-gon with non-crossing diagonals uses exactly 2001 triangles. For a triangle inscribed in a circle to be acute, the center must be inside the triangle. Count how many triangles in the triangulation can be acute — equivalently, can contain the center of the circle. At most one triangle can contain the center, so at least 2000 triangles are non-acute... but can we do better?

2026-06-26
MediumGeometry

Square with Interior Point

OPEN is a square, and T is a point on side NO, such that triangle TOP has area 62 and triangle TEN has area 10. What is the length of a side of the square?

💡 View Hint

Let the side length be s. Place the square with O at origin: O=(0,0), P=(s,0), E=(s,s), N=(0,s). T is on NO, say T=(t,s). Area of triangle TOP = (1/2)|det([P−T, O−T])| = 62 and area of triangle TEN = (1/2) · t · s... Wait, re-read: OPEN is the square with vertices O, P, E, N in order. Set up coordinates carefully and use the area conditions to find s.

2026-06-25
HardCombinatorics

College Clubs

At a certain college, there are 10 clubs and some number of students. For any two different students, there is some club such that exactly one of the two belongs to that club. For any three different students, there is some club such that either exactly one or all three belong to that club. What is the largest possible number of students?

💡 View Hint

Each student can be represented by a binary string of length 10 (membership in each club). The first condition says all strings are distinct. The second condition about any three students is more subtle — it rules out certain configurations. Think about what the conditions imply for the set of characteristic vectors. What structure do they form?

2026-06-24
HardCombinatorics

Senate Committees

In a certain country, there are 100 senators, each of whom has 4 aides. These senators and aides serve on various committees. A committee may consist either of 5 senators, of 4 senators and 4 aides, or of 2 senators and 12 aides. Every senator serves on 5 committees, and every aide serves on 3 committees. How many committees are there altogether?

💡 View Hint

Let x, y, z be the number of committees of each type (5 senators; 4 senators + 4 aides; 2 senators + 12 aides). Set up two equations from the constraints: every senator serves on 5 committees, every aide serves on 3 committees. Count total senator-slots and aide-slots in two ways.

2026-06-23
HardCalculus

Draining the Cone

A right circular cone with a height of 12 inches and a base radius of 3 inches is filled with water and held with its vertex pointing downward. Water flows out through a hole at the vertex at a rate in cubic inches per second numerically equal to the height of the water in the cone. Determine how many seconds it will take for all of the water to flow out of the cone.

💡 View Hint

Let h be the water height. The cone's radius-to-height ratio is 3/12 = 1/4, so at height h the water radius is h/4. Volume: V = πh³/48. Differentiate: dV/dt = πh²/16 · dh/dt. Since dV/dt = −h (rate out), set up the ODE and separate variables to find h(t). Solve for when h = 0.

2026-06-22
MediumCalculus

Minimum Vertical Distance

What is the minimum vertical distance between the graphs of 2 + sin(x) and cos(x)?

💡 View Hint

The vertical distance between the graphs is f(x) = (2 + sin x) − cos x = 2 + sin x − cos x. Write sin x − cos x = √2 sin(x − π/4). The minimum value of 2 + √2 sin(x − π/4) occurs when sin(x − π/4) = −1.

2026-06-21
EasyCombinatorics

Counting Palindromes

Determine the number of palindromes that are less than 1000.

💡 View Hint

Count palindromes by number of digits. 1-digit: all 9 (1–9). 2-digit: first digit determines the second, so 9 choices. 3-digit: first and last digits are equal, middle is free — how many choices are there? Add them all up.

2026-06-20
MediumGeometry

Point Outside a Circle

A and B are two points on a circle with center O, and C lies outside the circle, on ray AB. Given that AB = 24, BC = 28, OA = 15, find OC.

💡 View Hint

Since AB = 24 and OA = OB = 15 (radii), use the power of a point. C lies on ray AB beyond B, with BC = 28. So AC = AB + BC = 52. Power of point C with respect to circle O is CA · CB = OC² − r². Compute OC using this relationship.

2026-06-19
EasyCombinatorics

Socks in the Dark

You are in a completely dark room with a drawer containing 10 red, 20 blue, 30 green, and 40 khaki socks. What is the smallest number of socks you must randomly pull out in order to be sure of having at least one of each color?

💡 View Hint

To guarantee at least one of each color, think about the worst case: you could pull out many socks without getting one of each color. The worst case is pulling out all socks of three colors before getting any of the fourth. Which color has the fewest socks? You need to exhaust all socks of the three most common colors and then pick one more.

2026-06-18
HardProbability

Equal Crash Probability

A manufacturer of airplane parts makes a certain engine that has a probability p of failing on any given flight. There are two planes: one with 3 engines and one with 5. A plane crashes if more than half its engines fail. For what values of p do the two plane models have the same probability of crashing?

💡 View Hint

A 3-engine plane crashes if 2 or more engines fail: P₃ = C(3,2)p²(1−p) + p³. A 5-engine plane crashes if 3 or more fail: P₅ = C(5,3)p³(1−p)² + C(5,4)p⁴(1−p) + p⁵. Set P₃ = P₅ and solve. Factor out p² (p=0 is trivial). The resulting equation in p should factor nicely.

2026-06-17
MediumOptimization

Rectangle in a Right Triangle

What is the size of the largest rectangle that can be drawn inside of a 3-4-5 right triangle with one of the rectangle's sides along one of the legs of the triangle?

💡 View Hint

Place the right angle at the origin, with legs along the axes. For a rectangle with one side along a leg of length a (say the leg of length 3), if the rectangle has width x along that leg and height h, similar triangles give h = b(1 − x/a) where b is the other leg. Maximize the area xh. Try all cases (side along the leg of length 3 or 4).

2026-06-16
HardGeometry

Triangle Cevian Problem

Point D is drawn on side BC of equilateral triangle ABC, and AD is extended past D to E such that angles EAC and EBC are equal. If BE = 5 and CE = 12, determine the length of AE.

💡 View Hint

Since triangle ABC is equilateral and angles EAC = EBC, point E lies on the circumcircle of triangle ABC (angles subtended by AC are equal). Use Ptolemy's theorem on the cyclic quadrilateral formed, along with the given lengths BE = 5 and CE = 12.

2026-06-15
MediumGeometry

Circle Meets Square

A circle of radius 3 crosses the center of a square of side length 2. Find the positive difference between the areas of the nonoverlapping portions of the figures.

💡 View Hint

A circle of radius 3 has area 9π. A square of side 2 has area 4. The circle crosses the center of the square, so the center of the circle is at the center of the square. Find the area of intersection using integration or geometric decomposition, then compute (area of circle − overlap) + (area of square − overlap).

2026-06-14
MediumNumber Theory

Coprime to 2001

How many integers between 1 and 2000 inclusive share no common factors with 2001?

💡 View Hint

First factor 2001. Then use Euler's totient function: the count of integers from 1 to n coprime to n is φ(n) = n · ∏(1 − 1/p) over prime factors p of n. Scale appropriately for the range 1 to 2000.

2026-06-13
HardProbability

Ping Pong Expected Games

Frank and Joe are playing ping pong. For each game, there is a 30% chance that Frank wins and a 70% chance Joe wins. During a match, they play games until someone wins a total of 21 games. What is the expected value of the number of games played per match?

💡 View Hint

A match ends when one player reaches 21 wins. Let p = 0.3 (Frank) and q = 0.7 (Joe). The total number of games ranges from 21 to 41. Think of the match as a negative binomial problem. The expected number of games equals E[games until Frank gets 21] weighted by P(Frank wins) plus E[games until Joe gets 21] weighted by P(Joe wins). Use the negative binomial distribution.

2026-06-12
MediumGeometry

Tetrahedron Volume

Find the volume of the tetrahedron with vertices (5, 8, 10), (10, 10, 17), (4, 45, 46), and (2, 5, 4).

💡 View Hint

Use the scalar triple product formula: V = |det([b−a, c−a, d−a])| / 6, where a, b, c, d are the four vertices. Form the 3×3 matrix with rows (b−a), (c−a), (d−a) and compute its determinant.

2026-06-11
MediumGeometry

Chord in a Ring

Two circles are concentric. The area of the ring between them is A. In terms of A, find the length of the longest chord contained entirely within the ring.

💡 View Hint

Let the two circles have radii r and R (r < R) with the same center. The longest chord entirely within the ring is tangent to the inner circle. If the chord is tangent to the inner circle, its length is 2√(R² − r²). The area of the ring is π(R² − r²) = A. Express the chord length in terms of A.

2026-06-10
EasyProbability

Lunch Overlap

The cafeteria in a certain laboratory is open from noon until 2 in the afternoon every Monday for lunch. Two professors eat 15-minute lunches sometime between noon and 2. What is the probability that they are in the cafeteria simultaneously on any given Monday?

💡 View Hint

Model each professor's arrival time as a uniform random variable on [0, 120] minutes. They overlap if |X − Y| < 15. Draw the 120×120 square and find the area of the region where |X − Y| < 15 as a fraction of the total area.

2026-06-09
EasyProbability

Dice Divisible by Five

If two fair dice are tossed, what is the probability that their sum is divisible by 5?

💡 View Hint

List all pairs (a, b) with a + b divisible by 5. The possible sums divisible by 5 are 5 and 10. Count the pairs giving sum 5: (1,4),(2,3),(3,2),(4,1). Count the pairs giving sum 10: (4,6),(5,5),(6,4). Total favorable outcomes out of 36.

2026-06-08
MediumCombinatorics

Odd Integers Summing to 20

How many distinct sets of 8 positive odd integers sum to 20?

💡 View Hint

The 8 odd integers are distinct and positive, so they are at least 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 — but their sum is 64, far more than 20. Wait — reread: 8 positive odd integers (not necessarily distinct) that are sets? Actually re-examine: distinct sets means we want unordered collections. Since they're odd and sum to 20 (even), and odd+odd=even, 8 odd numbers sum to an even number ✓. Start by finding the minimum sum and work from there.

2026-06-07
MediumProbability

Leaving the Exam

Six students taking a test sit in a row of seats with aisles only on the two sides of the row. If they finish the test at random times, what is the probability that some student will have to pass by another student to get to an aisle?

💡 View Hint

Label the six seats 1 through 6. Students in seats 2–5 must pass by someone to reach an aisle unless all students between them and an aisle have already left. It's easier to count the complementary event: all students leave without passing anyone. This requires a specific ordering — think about which students can leave freely.

2026-06-06
MediumNumber Theory

Matt's Paper Piles

Matt has somewhere between 1000 and 2000 pieces of paper he's trying to divide into piles of the same size (but not all in one pile or piles of one sheet each). He tries 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 piles but ends up with one sheet left over each time. How many piles does he need?

💡 View Hint

Matt's count leaves remainder 1 when divided by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. So his count is 1 more than a multiple of lcm(2,3,4,5,6,7,8). Compute that LCM, find multiples in [999, 1999], then determine the number of equal piles.

2026-06-05
HardOptimization

Minimax Expression

Find the minimum possible value of the largest of xy, 1 − x − y + xy, and x + y − 2xy if 0 ≤ x ≤ y ≤ 1.

💡 View Hint

Let the three expressions be A = xy, B = 1 − x − y + xy = (1−x)(1−y), C = x + y − 2xy. Note A + B + C = 1. To minimize the largest of three quantities summing to 1, consider when two of them are equal (and at a maximum). Try setting A = C or B = C and solving.

2026-06-04
HardGeometry

Tangent Circle Radius

Let C be a circle with two diameters intersecting at an angle of 30 degrees. A circle S is tangent to both diameters and to C, and has radius 1. Find the largest possible radius of C.

💡 View Hint

Place the center of C at the origin. The two diameters form four sectors. The small circle S is tangent to both diameters and internally tangent to C. If the angle between diameters is 30°, the circle S sits in a 30° wedge. Use the formula for a circle inscribed in an angle: its center is at distance r/sin(θ/2) from the vertex, where θ is the angle.

2026-06-03
HardProbability

Coin Sequence Race

A fair coin is flipped every second and the results are recorded with 1 meaning heads and 0 meaning tails. What is the probability that the sequence 10101 occurs before the first occurrence of the sequence 010101?

💡 View Hint

Use the Conway leading number method or set up a Markov chain. Let states track the current longest suffix of each target sequence. Consider: if you have seen '10101', could '010101' have already appeared? Think carefully about overlaps between the two sequences.

2026-06-02
MediumGeometry

Slicing the Sphere

What fraction of the Earth's volume lies above the 45 degrees north parallel? You may assume the Earth is a perfect sphere. The volume in question is the smaller piece that we would get if the sphere were sliced into two pieces by a plane.

💡 View Hint

The 45° north parallel lies at height h = R sin(45°) = R/√2 above the equator. Use the spherical cap volume formula: V = πh²(3R − h)/3. Then divide by the total sphere volume (4πR³/3).

2026-06-01
HardCombinatorics

Letter Dice Puzzle

Jorge has three four-sided dice with a letter on each side. He rolls all three dice 8 times and tries to write a word using the letters he has rolled. On his sheet are now: DAL, DOR, GAT, IER, ONS, RIT, RED, VEN. Which four letters were on each of the three dice?

💡 View Hint

Each word uses exactly one letter from each die. Analyze letter co-occurrences: D appears with A, O, G, I, R, E, V. A appears with D, L, T, R, E, N. Find letters that never appear together (must be on different dice). Build the dice by finding a 3-coloring of the letter graph.

2026-06-01
EasyAlgebra

Fast Food Equations

The cost of 3 hamburgers, 5 milk shakes, and 1 order of fries at a certain fast food restaurant is $23.50. At the same restaurant, the cost of 5 hamburgers, 9 milk shakes, and 1 order of fries is $39.50. What is the cost of 2 hamburgers, 2 milk shakes, and 2 orders of fries at this restaurant?

💡 View Hint

Set up a system of equations. Notice that subtracting the first equation from the second eliminates one variable. What does 2 hamburgers + 2 milkshakes + 2 fries equal in terms of the two given equations?

2026-05-31
HardNumber Theory

Special Divisor Property

We call a divisor d of a positive integer N proper if d ≠ 1 and d ≠ N. Thus 2 and 3 are proper divisors of 6, and prime numbers never have proper divisors. Determine all positive integers N with at least two proper divisors and with the property that if d > e are two different proper divisors of N, then d−e is also a (not necessarily proper) divisor of N.

💡 View Hint

Consider small cases first. If N = p², the only proper divisor is p, so the condition is vacuously satisfied... wait, N needs at least two proper divisors. Try N = p³ (proper divisors: p, p²; difference p²-p = p(p-1), must divide p³, so p-1 divides p², giving p=2, N=8). Try N = pq (proper divisors: p, q; difference |p-q| must divide pq). Try N = p²q, etc.

2026-05-30
EasyNumber Theory

Digit Sum of Page Numbers

Bas has a mathematics book with pages numbered from 1 to 549. He adds up all the digits that appear in the page numbers. What is the result?

💡 View Hint

Count digit occurrences. For pages 1-9: each digit 1-9 appears once. For 10-99: count tens and units separately. For 100-549: count hundreds, tens, and units. Alternatively, use the formula: sum of digits from 1 to n.

2026-05-29
MediumNumber Theory

Special Year Numbers

It holds that (20+25)² = 2025. There are two more four-digit year numbers ABCD satisfying the equation (AB+CD)² = ABCD. Which year numbers have this very special property?

💡 View Hint

Let AB = 10a + b and CD = 10c + d, or more simply let the first two digits be m and the last two be n. Then (m+n)² = 100m + n. So (m+n)² - (m+n) = 99m, giving (m+n)(m+n-1) = 99m. Let s = m+n, then s(s-1) = 99m and n = s - m = s - s(s-1)/99.

2026-05-28
EasyNumber Theory

Divisibility by 11

We consider numbers of the form 100...001. For which numbers of zeros is this number divisible by 11?

💡 View Hint

A number is divisible by 11 if the alternating sum of its digits is divisible by 11. For 100...001, the digits are 1, then k zeros, then 1. Use the divisibility rule for 11: 10 ≡ -1 (mod 11), so 10^(k+1) + 1 ≡ (-1)^(k+1) + 1 (mod 11). This is 0 when k+1 is odd, i.e., k is even.

2026-05-27
HardNumber Theory

The Machine Function

Bas has a machine where you can insert a card with a positive integer n ≥ 1, after which the machine returns a card with a positive integer on it. If Bas inserts the same card into the machine twice, the same card always comes out. We denote the number on this new card as M(n). The machine satisfies the following rules for all positive integers n and m: If n > m, then M(n) > M(m). It holds that M(M(n)) = 3n. Bas inserts the number 2025 into the machine. What is the result?

💡 View Hint

Write n in base 3. The function M acts on the base-3 representation by shifting digits. If n = (a_k a_{k-1} ... a_0)_3, then M(n) corresponds to a specific digit manipulation. Find the pattern by computing small values.

2026-05-25
MediumAlgebra

Self-Referential Cubic

How many triples of real numbers (a, b, c) exist such that the equation x³ + ax² + bx + c = 0 has exactly a, b, and c as its solutions?

💡 View Hint

By Vieta's formulas: a+b+c = -a, ab+bc+ca = b, abc = -c. Analyze cases based on whether c = 0 or c ≠ 0.

2026-05-24
EasyCombinatorics

Compositions of 10

We can write the number 3 in exactly three ways as a sum of (at least two) positive integers, where the order matters: 3 = 1+2 = 2+1 = 1+1+1. In how many ways can we do this for the number 10?

💡 View Hint

The number of compositions of n into k parts is C(n-1, k-1). Sum over k from 2 to n, or use the recurrence: each composition of n can be formed by adding 1 to the first part of a composition of n-1, or by prepending 1 to a composition of n-1.

2026-05-23
MediumAlgebra

Concorde Flight Time

The Concorde was the fastest passenger aircraft ever built. If you departed London at 12:00 noon on a flight to New York, a 6000 km flight, you would arrive there at 11:00 in the morning. This was possible due to the 5-hour time difference between the two cities. The other way around, the Concorde was even faster, because the jet stream would accelerate the aircraft by 250 km/h instead of slowing it down by the same amount. If you departed New York at 12:00 noon with the Concorde to London, what time would you arrive there?

💡 View Hint

Let v be the Concorde's speed without wind. London to New York: distance = 6000 km, time = 11:00 - 12:00 + 5h = 4h (accounting for time zone). So v = 6000/4 = 1500 km/h. New York to London: speed = v + 250 = 1750 km/h (with jet stream). Time = 6000/1750 hours. Add 5h time difference.

2026-05-22
MediumNumber Theory

Mersenne Prime and Difference of Squares

Since last month, p = 2^136279841 − 1 is the largest known prime number. We consider solutions of the equation x² + p = y², where x and y are positive integers. What are all possible values of x + y?

💡 View Hint

Rewrite as y² - x² = p, so (y-x)(y+x) = p. Since p is prime, the only factorizations are 1·p.

2026-05-21
HardAlgebra

Nested Polynomial and Cosine

Let α = 2cos(π/11). Show that α is a solution of the equation ((((x²−2)²−2)²−2)²−2)²−2 = −x. What are the other solutions of this equation? Prove your answer!

💡 View Hint

Use the identity 2cos(θ)=e^(iθ)+e^(-iθ) and the fact that the 11th roots of unity satisfy a cyclotomic polynomial.

2026-05-20
HardNumber Theory

Prime with Trailing Ones

Let n be a positive integer and suppose that the number 7111...111, consisting of a 7 followed by n ones, is prime. Prove that n−1 is divisible by 3.

💡 View Hint

Write the number as 7·10ⁿ + (10ⁿ - 1)/9. Consider the number modulo 3 and use properties of repunits.

2026-05-19
MediumNumber Theory

Minimum Digit Sum

From a set of 100 different positive integers less than 1000, we add up all their digits. What is the smallest possible result?

💡 View Hint

To minimize the sum of all digits, use numbers with as many zeros as possible. Consider numbers like 100, 200, ..., 900 and fill the rest with single-digit numbers.

2026-05-18
HardAlgebra

Integer Roots Cubic

Determine whether there exists a function f of the form x³ + ax² + bx + c with a, b, c integers satisfying: the solutions of f(x) = 0 are three distinct integers; the solutions of f'(x) = 0 are two distinct integers.

💡 View Hint

Use Vieta's formulas. If f(x)=(x-r)(x-s)(x-t), then f'(x) has roots at the critical points. The derivative roots being integers imposes strong constraints on r, s, t.