PURPLE COMET!

MATH MEET April 2017

HIGH SCHOOL - PROBLEMS

Copyright Titu
c Andreescu and Jonathan Kane

Problem 1
Paul starts at 1 and counts by threes: 1, 4, 7, 10, . . . . At the same time and at the same speed, Penny
counts backwards from 2017 by fives: 2017, 2012, 2007, 2002, . . . . Find the one number that both Paul and
Penny count at the same time.

Problem 2
The figure below shows a large square divided into 9 congruent smaller squares. A shaded square bounded
by some of the diagonals of those smaller squares has area 14. Find the area of the large square.

Problem 3
When Phil and Shelley stand on a scale together, the scale reads 151 pounds. When Shelley and Ryan
stand on the same scale together, the scale reads 132 pounds. When Phil and Ryan stand on the same
scale together, the scale reads 115 pounds. Find the number of pounds Shelley weighs.

Problem 4
Find the least positive integer m such that lcm(15, m) = lcm(42, m). Here lcm(a, b) is the least common
multiple of a and b.

Problem 5
A store had 376 chocolate bars. Min bought some of the bars, and Max bought 41 more of the bars than
Min bought. After that, the store still had three times as many chocolate bars as Min bought. Find the
number of chocolate bars that Min bought.

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Problem 6
For some constant k the polynomial p(x) = 3x2 + kx + 117 has the property that p(1) = p(10). Evaluate
p(20).

Problem 7
Consider an alphabetized list of all the arrangements of the letters in the word BETWEEN. Then
BEEENTW would be in position 1 in the list, BEEENWT would be in position 2 in the list, and so forth.
Find the position that BETWEEN would be in the list.

Problem 8
Find the number of trailing zeros at the end of the base-10 representation of the integer

2 5
52525 · 25252 .

Problem 9
The diagram below shows 4ABC with point D on side BC. Three lines parallel to side BC divide segment
AD into four equal segments. In the triangle, the ratio of the area of the shaded region to the area of the
49 BD m
unshaded region is 33 and CD = n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

Problem 10
Find the number of positive integers less than or equal to 2017 that have at least one pair of adjacent digits
that are both even. For example, count the numbers 24, 1862, and 2012, but not 4, 58, or 1276.

Problem 11
Dave has a pile of fair standard six-sided dice. In round one, Dave selects eight of the dice and rolls them.
He calculates the sum of the numbers face up on those dice to get r1 . In round two, Dave selects r1 dice
and rolls them. He calculates the sum of the numbers face up on those dice to get r2 . In round three, Dave
selects r2 dice and rolls them. He calculates the sum of the numbers face up on those dice to get r3 . Find
the expected value of r3 .

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Problem 12
Let P be a polynomial satisfying P (x + 1) + P (x − 1) = x3 for all real numbers x. Find the value of P (12).

Problem 13
Let ABCDE be a pentagon with area 2017 such that four of its sides AB, BC, CD, and EA have integer
length. Suppose that ∠A = ∠B = ∠C = 90◦ , AB = BC, and CD = EA. The maximum possible perimeter
√
of ABCDE is a + b c, where a, b, and c are integers and c is not divisible by the square of any prime.
Find a + b + c.

Problem 14
Find the sum of all integers n for which n − 3 and n2 + 4 are both perfect cubes.

Problem 15
For real numbers a, b, and c the polynomial p(x) = 3x7 − 291x6 + ax5 + bx4 + cx2 + 134x − 2 has 7 real
roots whose sum is 97. Find the sum of the reciprocals of those 7 roots.

Problem 16
√ 1
Let a1 = 1 + 2 and for each n ≥ 1 define an+1 = 2 − an . Find the greatest integer less than or equal to
the product a1 a2 a3 · · · a200 .

Problem 17p
6
√ p
6
√ 6 √
The expression 1 + 26 + 15 3 − 26 − 15 3 = m + n p, where m, n, and p are positive integers,
and p is not divisible by the square of any prime. Find m + n + p.

Problem 18
In the 3-dimensional coordinate space find the distance from the point (36, 36, 36) to the plane that passes
through the points (336, 36, 36), (36, 636, 36), and (36, 36, 336).

Problem 19
Find the greatest integer n < 1000 for which 4n3 − 3n is the product of two consecutive odd integers.

Problem 20
√ √ 2017
Let a be a solution to the equation x2 + 2 = 3
x3 + 45. Evaluate the ratio of a2 to a2 − 15a + 2.

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Problem 21
The diagram below shows a large circle. Six congruent medium-sized circles are each internally tangent to
the large circle and tangent to two neighboring medium-sized circles. Three congruent small circles are
mutually tangent to one another and are each tangent to two medium-sized circles as shown. The ratio of
√
the area of the large circle to the area of one of the small circles can be written as m + n, where m and n
are positive integers. Find m + n.

Problem 22
Find the number of functions f that map the set {1, 2, 3, 4} into itself such that the range of the function
f (x) is the same as the range of the function f (f (x)).

Problem 23
The familiar 3-dimensional cube has 6 2-dimensional faces, 12 1-dimensional edges, and 8 0-dimensional
vertices. Find the number of 9-dimensional sub-subfaces in a 12-dimensional cube.

Problem 24
Eight red boxes and eight blue boxes are randomly placed in four stacks of four boxes each. The
m
probability that exactly one of the stacks consists of two red boxes and two blue boxes is n, where m and
n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

Problem 25
Leaving his house at noon, Jim walks at a constant rate of 4 miles per hour along a 4 mile square route
returning to his house at 1 PM. At a randomly chosen time between noon and 1 PM, Sally chooses a
random location along Jim’s route and begins running at a constant rate of 7 miles per hour along Jim’s
route in the same direction that Jim is walking until she completes one 4 mile circuit of the square route.
m
The probability that Sally runs past Jim while he is walking is given by n, where m and n are relatively
prime positive integers. Find m + n.

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Problem 26
The incircle of 4ABC is tangent to sides BC, AC, and AB at D, E, and F , respectively. Point G is the
intersection of lines AC and DF as shown. The sides of 4ABC have lengths AB = 73, BC = 123, and
AC = 120. Find the length EG.

Problem 27
Find the minimum value of 4(x2 + y 2 + z 2 + w2 ) + (xy − 7)2 + (yz − 7)2 + (zw − 7)2 + (wx − 7)2 as x, y, z,
and w range over all real numbers.

Problem 28
k(k+1)
Let Tk = 2 be the kth triangular number. The infinite series
∞
X 1
(Tk−1 − 1)(Tk − 1)(Tk+1 − 1)
k=4

m
has the value n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

Problem 29
Find the number of three-element subsets of {1, 2, 3, . . . , 13} that contain at least one element that is a
multiple of 2, at least one element that is a multiple of 3, and at least one element that is a multiple of 5
such as {2, 3, 5} or {6, 10, 13}.

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Problem 30
A container is shaped like a right circular cone with base diameter 18 and height 12. The vertex of the
container is pointing down, and the container is open at the top. Four spheres, each with radius 3, are
placed inside the container as shown. The first sphere sits at the bottom and is tangent to the cone along a
circle. The second, third, and fourth spheres are placed so they are each tangent to the cone and tangent
to the first sphere, and the second and fourth spheres are each tangent to the third sphere. The volume of
the tetrahedron whose vertices are at the centers of the spheres is K. Find K 2 .