Each year a committee appointed by the Unione Matematica Italiana, called “Pro-

getto Olimpiadi della Matematica”, organizes the selection of the Italian team for
the International Mathematical Olympiad. The program is sponsored by the Ital-
ian Ministery for Education (Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione), and is actively
supported by a very large number of mathematics teachers throughout the country.
The selection of students is made in four steps:
1. I giochi di Archimede: this is a very popular competition (with about 300,000
participants), held in November. The papers are given to the students in their
own schools and consist of 16 to 20 multiple choice questions. The questions of
the paper are meant to be suitable to a large number of students and mainly
require ingenuity rather than technical abilities. This competition has two
levels: junior (age 14-16) and senior (age 16-19).
2. Gara di secondo livello: this competition is held in February in about one
hundred locations of Italy. Only the best students in “I giochi di Archimede”
are admitted. The paper contains three kinds of problems: multiple choice
questions, problems with a numerical answer and problems that require a
mathematical proof.
3. Olimpiadi Italiane di Matematica: this competition is held at the beginning of
May in Cesenatico, a town on the Adriatic coast, among the 300 best students
of level 2. Students are invited for a 3-day event, but the competition itself is
held on just one day. The paper contains 6 problems requiring a mathematical
proof. At the end there is an awarding ceremony in the style of the IMO.
4. Stage for the Team Selection: the best 25 students from the previous level
are invited to a one-week stage, usually held at the end of May. The stage
ends with the Team Selection Test, a two-days’ competition in the Olympiad’s
style.
The present booklet collects all the problems given during the selection process in
view of the 2014 I.M.O. in Cape Town. For the problems of the first two sections
we include just the answers and some hints for the required proofs. We provide full
solutions for all problems of the “Olimpiadi Italiane di Matematica”.

Pisa, 19 June 2014 Roberto Dvornicich

chairman of the Committee
Progetto Olimpiadi della Matematica
I Giochi di Archimede
27 November 2013
Problems for junior students
1 Federico has a collection of toy soldiers; he knows he has less than 100, and
definitely more than 30. He arranges them in rows of 7 and has a soldier left; then
he arranges them in rows of 10 and has 2 soldiers left. How many soldiers does he
have?
(A) 32 (B) 50 (C) 62 (D) 71 (E) 92
2 During a conversation between two mathematicians, one says to the other:
“Yesterday I lied.” The other replies, “I also lied yesterday.” One lies on Monday,
Tuesdays, and Wednesday (and only on these days), while the other lies on
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (and only on these days). On which day of the
week did this conversation take place?
(A) Monday (B) Thursday (C) Sunday
(D) this conversation cannot have taken place
(E) the day cannot be uniquely determined
3 Leo tosses a fair coin 7 times, which results in two heads and five tails. If he
tosses the coin one more time, what is the probability that it will come out heads?
(A) 81 (B) 17 (C) 1 − 217 (D) 35
27 (E) 12
4 Andrea writes down the sum of two three-digit numbers along with its result.
Then he replaces each digit with a letter so that the same letter always represents
the same digit, using different letters for different digits. He obtains:
TRE + TRE = SEI. This means that:
(A) the letter E must represent an even digit
(B) the letter S must represent an even digit
(C) the letter E must represent an odd digit dispari greater than 4
(D) the letter E must represent an even digit less than 5
(E) none of the above
5 Until 2013, the population of the penal colony Zoranel was 60% androids, of
which 5% were assigned to surveillance; let q be the percentage of surveillance
androids in that year’s total population. In 2014 the population increased by 10%
due to the arrival of N exiled humans. By how much did the percentage of
androids in the total population decrease?
(A) it didn’t change (B) by less than one tenth of q
(C) by more than one tenth of q (D) it depends on N
(E) it depends on the initial population
6 30 scientists attend a conference; each of them is a mathematician, a physicist,
a chemist, or a biologist. The number of physicists and biologists together is half
the number of mathematicians; the number of physicists and chemists together is
twice the number of biologists. There is at least one physicist. How many are the
2

mathematicians?
(A) 6 (B) 10 (C) 12 (D) 15 (E) 18
7 In a table with 2 rows and 1007 columns, we write down all the numbers from 1
to 1007, in increasing order, in the first row, and the numbers from 1008 to 2014,
in increasing order, in the second. We can now regard the table as 1007 pairs of
numbers, one above the other: in how many of these pairs is the number in the
second row a multiple of the one in the first?
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5 (E) 6
8 Alberto has picked 756 cherries from his grandfather’s cherry tree. He divides
them equally between himself and his friends. Three of them, however, aren’t very
hungry and give back to Alberto a fourth of the cherries they received. Alberto,
who has a bottomless stomach, eats those as well as his own; once he is finished,
he realises he has eaten at least 150 cherries. How many cherries did he eat?
(A) 150 (B) 189 (C) 210 (D) 231 (E) 270
9 Let n be a natural number with 6 positive integer divisors. How many positive
integer divisors does n2 have? N.B.: 1 and the number itself count as divisors.
(A) 11 (B) 12 (C) 15 (D) 36 (E) the answer depends on n
10
Let ABCD be a trapezoid such that the greater base AB is
three times as long as the lesser base CD, and let E be the D C

midpoint of the diagonal BD. What is the ratio of the area

of the triangle CDE to the area of the trapezoid? E
(A) 1/3 (B) 1/6 (C) 1/8 (D) 1/12 A B
(E) it cannot be determined with the given information
11 What is the length of the shortest path that passes through all vertices of a
cube of side length 1 m? N.B. the√path may pass inside
√ the cube.
(A) 6 m (B) 7 m (C) (6 + 2) m (D) (6 + 3) m (E) 8 m
12
A modern art sculpture is formed by a circle which is
covered in part by an equilateral triangle, as shown in the
figure: the diameter of the circle√is of the same length as the
height of the triangle, which is 6 m long. What is the area
of the part of the circle not covered by the triangle?
√
(A) ( 32 π− √83 ) m2 (B) π2 m2 (C) (π− 3 4 3 ) m2
√
(D) ( 23 π− 9 8 3 ) m2 (E) 3
2π m
2

13 An urn contains 8 blue marbles and 7 red marbles. Mirco draws two marbles,
one after the other, without putting the first marble back before drawing the
second. What is the probability that the two marbles are of the same colour?
(A) 1/4 (B) 1/2 (C) 7/15 (D) 8/15 (E) none of the above
 3

14 Salvo and Maria (S and M the figure) stand on each side

of a long wall, which forms an angle α with the line that
S
connects them (where 0 < α < 90◦ ). Two doors lie on the P1
points P1 and P2 closest to Salvo and Maria respectively;
the distance between these doors is d > 0. Salvo and Maria
are standing respectively 10 metres and 8 metres from the d
door closest to them. Which of the doors should Salvo walk
through to reach Maria following the shortest possible path? _
(A) door P1 (B) door P2 M
(C) it makes no diffference P2

(D) it depends on the distance d between the two doors

(E) it depends on the angle α
15 What is the coefficient of x199 in (x2 + x + 1)100 ?
(A) 100 (B) 298 (C) 4950 (D) 5050 (E) 992

16 Find the area of the shaded part in the figure, knowing that
the square has side length 2 m and that the points of the star lie
on the midpoints of the sides of the squares. √
(A) 1 m2 (B) 2 m2 (C) 12 m2 (D) π m2 (E) 2 2 m2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
E B E E B E C B E C B C C B A A
4

Problems for senior students

1 Until 2013, the population of the penal colony Zoranel was 60% androids, of which
5% are assigned to surveillance; let q be the percentage of surveillance androids in
that year’s total population. In 2014 the population increased by 10% due to the
arrival of N exiled humans. By how much did the percentage of androids in the
total population decrease?
(A) it didn’t change (B) by less than one tenth of q
(C) by more than one tenth of q (D) it depends on N
(E) it depends on the initial population
2 Leo tosses a fair coin 7 times, which results in two heads and five tails. If he
tosses the coin one more time, what is the probability that it will come out heads?
(A) 18 (B) 17 (C) 1 − 217 (D) 3527 (E) 12
3 Let f be an odd function (i.e. such that f (x) = −f (−x) for every x). Which of
the following functions is necessairly odd?
(A) f (x) −1 (B) (f (x))2 (C) (f (x))2 +f (x) (D) (f (x))3 +1
(E) (f (x))3 +f (x)
4 What is the value of log2 (3) · log3 (4) · log4 (5) · · · · · log126 (127) · log127 (128)?
(A) 1 (B) 4 (C) 6 (D) 7 (E) none of the above
5 Let ABCD be a trapezoid such that the greater base AB
D C
is three times as long as the lesser base CD, and let E be the
midpoint of the diagonal BD. What is the ratio of the area
E
of the triangle CDE to the area of the trapezoid?
(A) 1/3 (B) 1/6 (C) 1/8 (D) 1/12 A B
(E) it cannot be determined with the given information
6 A modern art sculpture is formed by a circle which is
covered in part by an equilateral triangle, as shown in the
figure: the diameter of the circle√is of the same length as the
height of the triangle, which is 6 m long. What is the area
of the part of the circle not covered by the triangle?
√
(A) ( 32 π− √83 ) m2 (B) π2 m2 (C) (π− 3 4 3 ) m2
√
(D) ( 23 π− 9 8 3 ) m2 (E) 3
2π m
2

7 What is the length of the shortest path that passes through all vertices of a cube
of side length 1 m? N.B. the path√may pass inside the
√ cube.
(A) 6 m (B) 7 m (C) (6 + 2) m (D) (6 + 3) m (E) 8 m
8 In a table with 2 rows and 1007 columns, we write down all the numbers from 1
to 1007, in increasing order, in the first row, and the numbers from 1008 to 2014,
in increasing order, in the second. We can now regard the table as 1007 pairs of
numbers, one above the other: in how many of these pairs is the number in the
second row a multiple of the one in the first?
 5

(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5 (E) 6

9 Alberto goes to the stationer’s to buy some notebooks; he wants them all of
different colours. The stationer’s has 2014 notebooks of various colours; there is a
different number of notebooks of each colour, and each one is a power of 2. What
is the greatest number of notebook that Alberto will be able to buy?
(A) 7 (B) 8 (C) 9 (D) 10 (E) 11.
10 A triangle has sides of length 2 cm, 3 cm, and 4 cm. Find the area of the
inscribed circle of the triangle.
5
(A) 12 cm2 (B) 5π 36 cm
2
(C) 5π
12 cm
2
(D) 2π
3 cm
2
(E) π cm2
11 Let k be a fixed positive integer. How many pairs (x, y) of real numbers greater
than or equal to 0 satisfy the equation x2k + y 2k = (xy)k ?
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 3 (D) infinitely many (E) it depends on k
12 Given a triangle ABC, draw the angle bisector from A,
which intersects BC in the point D. If CD + CA = 12 m A
and CD = 13 BC, what is the length of the perimeter of the
triangle?
(A) less than 32 m (B) 32 m (C) 36 m B
D
C
(D) more than 36 m
(E) it cannot be determined with the given information
13 Let n be a natural number with 6 positive integer divisors. How many positive
integer divisors does n2 have? N.B.: 1 and the number itself count as divisors.
(A) 11 (B) 12 (C) 15 (D) 36 (E) the answer depends on n
14 The polynomial p(x) is of degree greater than or equal to 2 and its coefficients
are all integers. Which of the following numbers necessarily divides p(169) − p(1)?
(A) 25 (B) 32 (C) 36 (D) 49 (E) 56
15 Let a, b, c, d, e, f be positive integers. What is the greatest possible number of
pairs (x, y), with x and y between 0 and 1, which satisfy simultaneously the following
equations?
ax2 + bxy = c

dx2 + exy = f

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) infinitely many (E) none of the above
16 Consider the number N = 2000! = 1 · 2 · 3 · · · · · 1999 · 2000. Let X be the number
of zeroes at the end of the base 10 representation of N , and let Y be the number of
zeroes at the end of the base 5 representation of N . The value of X − Y is:
(A) −2 (B) 0 (C) 3 (D) 2013 (E) 2014
17 Arrange the following numbers in increasing order: 333 , 430 , 525 ?
(A) 333 < 430 < 525 (B) 333 < 525 < 430 (C) 430 < 333 < 525
(D) 430 < 525 < 333 (E) 525 < 430 < 333
6

18 There are 5 boxes, each of which contains 72 bananas. In one of theme there
are a number of radioactive bananas. We know that if you randomly choose two of
the boxes and randomly pick a banana from each, there is a 5 % probability that
one of the bananas is radioactive. How many radioactive bananas are there?
(A) 6 (B) 9 (C) 10 (D) 12 (E) none of the above
19 Let p(x) and q(x) be trinomials, i.e. the sum of three non-zero monomials of
different degrees (e.g. −x5 + 3x2 + 2x). How many non-zero monomials does their
product p(x)q(x) have, at least?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

20 We want to cover a 5x5 square grid with z-shaped tiles,

as shown in the figure. They can be rotated and flipped over,
overlap each other, and even stick out of the grid (as long as
every part of the tile that lies inside the grid overlaps precisely
with 1, 2, 3, or 4 squares). What is the least number of tiles
necessary to accomplish this?
(A) 6 (B) 7 (C) 8 (D) 9 (E) 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
B E E D C C B C C C B C E E D B B B B D
Gara di secondo livello
20 February 2014
1 The faces of two identical regular tetrahedra are painted red, white, green and
blue; colours are chosen randomly, but in such a way that all four colours are used
on each tetrahedron. What is the probability of it being impossible to tell the two
painted tetrahedra apart?
1 2 1 1
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) 1
4! 4! 4 2
2 A village has 60 inhabitants, each belonging to one of three groups: that of
peasants (who always tell the truth), that of werewolves (who always lie) and that
of necromancers (who can tell either the truth or a lie). Members of one group
cannot be told apart from those of any other by their appearance. Upon the arrival
of a tourist, the villagers arrange themselves in a circle, and each of them declares
that the villager to their right is a werewolf. Which of the following statements is
necessarily true?
(A) There is at least one necromancer. (B) The peasants are no more than 30.
(C) There are at most 20 werewolves. (D) The necromancers are no more than 40.
(E) None of the preceding statements is necessarily true.
3 Three friends are dining at Giorgio’s pizzeria; each of them sits on a different side
of a rectangular table: the first one is sitting on a side of length 70 cm; the other
two sit opposite each other, on sides of length l. Pizzas have a diameter of 30 cm;
Giorgio serves the first friend by setting down his pizza so that it is tangent to his
side of the table at its midpoint; the other two pizzas are then placed on the table
in such a way that each is tangent to its owner’s side of the table, and to the first
pizza. What is the minimum value for l (in centimetres) such that the three pizzas
all fit on
√ the table? √ √ √
(A) 10 5 (B) 20 + 5 5 (C) 15 + 10 5 (D) 30 + 10 5 (E) 60
4 Davide is playing the following game: he starts by writing an integer between 1
and 99 inclusive on the blackboard; a move consists of replacing the integer n on
the blackboard with the number given by the last two digits of 51n + 50 (or just by
the last digit, if the last but one is 0). How many different numbers can he write
on the blackboard during the first 100 moves of a single game?
(A) 2 (B) 4 (C) 51 (D) 99 (E) 100
5 Alex, Daniel and Manuela are talking about a two-digit natural number n. Each
one of them makes two assertions, but being somewhat weak in maths, each one
makes one true and one false statement.
Alex says: “n is even. Moreover, it is a multiple of 3.”;
Daniel replies: “Yes, n is a multiple of 3. And the last digit of n is 5.”;
Manuela concludes: “n is a multiple of 5. The sum of its digits is 12.”.
How many different values can n take?
(A) There is no such n. (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3 (E) 4
8

6 How many positive integers that are a power of 4 have a base 3 representation
consisting of any number of 0s, at most two 1s and no 2s?
(A) 4 (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) 0 (E) Infinitely many.

7 Alexandra and Luigi are playing a board game whose

tokens are spaceships, such as the one that is shaded grey
in the picture to the right. If the sides of the dashed
squares have length
√ 1, what is the area
√ of a token? √
2 3 1 2 1 2
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) +
3 6 6 8 8 12
8
 How many ordered triples (x, y, z) of real numbers are solutions to the system
x + y + z = 7

x2 + y 2 + z 2 = 27

xyz = 5?

(A) 6 (B) 3 (C) 2 (D) 0 (E) Infinitely many.
9 Five friends are sitting next to each other on a five seater chairlift; when they
get off, each of them can ride away by going straight, turning left, or turning right.
Collisions are likely to happen when people ride away from a chairlift: if someone
decides to go straight, and someone on their left goes right, then they will collide,
and the same will happen if someone chooses to go right while someone on their
right goes straight or left. On the other hand, for example, no collision will happen
between two people riding away in the same direction. If each of the five friends
chooses their direction at random, with probability 1/3 for each direction, what is
the probability that no collisions happen?
25 3 40 1 7
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)
27 5 81 3 81
1 2 3 4 5
10 Given the polynomial p(x) = (1+x3 )(1+x3 )(1+x3 )(1+x3 )(1+x3 )(1+x39 ),
by developing the product we obtain an expression of the form a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 +
. . . + a402 x402 , where, for example, a0 = a402 = 1. How many of the coefficients
a0 , . . . , a402 are nonzero?
(A) 52 (B) 56 (C) 60 (D) 64 (E) 376
11 A kite pilot performed well in last year’s championship, making the podium a
total of 16 times. After each competition in the championship 10 points are awarded
for first place, 8 points for second place and 5 for third, while no points are awarded
to pilots ending in fourth place or lower. How many different scores were possible
for our kite pilot at the end of last year’s championship?
(A) 153 (B) 80 (C) 78 (D) 75
(E) None of the preceding answers is correct.
12 Let ABC be a triangle with sides AB, CA and BC of length 17, 25 and 26,
respectively. Draw the line through C that is parallel to AB, and let X and Y be
 9

its intersections with the bisectors of C AB

b and ABC
b respectively. What is the area
of the trapezoid ABXY ?√
(A) 816 (B) 338(1 + 2) (C) 784 (D) 408
(E) It cannot be determined from the information given.
13 What is the exponent of the prime 2 in the factorisation of the number
5
.
..
5 5
(5 − 1)(5 − 1) . . . (5 − 1)
where every term sports an additional 5 with respect to the one preceding it, and
the exponent in the last term is made up of 2014 5s?
14 A knight is in a corner square of a 3 × 3 chequerboard. The knight can be
moved to any of the squares it can reach by taking two horizontal steps and then a
vertical one, or two vertical steps followed by a horizontal one. What is the number
of different ways one can move the knight to the opposite corner of the chequerboard
in exactly 12 moves?
15 A grid with m rows and n columns has each square coloured in white or black,
according to the following two rules:
1. each row has as many white squares as black ones;
2. if a row crosses a column in a black square, then the row and the column have
the same number of black squares; if a row intersects a column in a white
square, than the row and the column have the same number of white squares.
Determine all pairs (m, n) such that there exists such a colouring.
16 Let ABC be an acute triangle and let AM , BN , CL be its medians, concurrent
in the triangle’s centroid G. Let M 0 , N 0 and L0 be the midpoints of AG, BG and CG,
respectively. Show that the six points M , M 0 , N , N 0 , L, L0 lie on a circumference
if and only if ABC is equilateral.
17 Find all pairs (a, b) of positive integers such that a + 1 is a divisor of b − 1 and
b is a divisor of a2 + a + 2.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
D B D A D B C B E C D A 4030 992

Sketch of proof of 15: Note that a stan-
dard chessboard satisfy the condition. In gen-
eral, the grid must have an even number 2a of
columns, with each row having a white squares
and a black squares. Hence each column can
either be of a single colour or have the same
number of squares in each colour. The possi-
ble pairs are (a, 2a) and (2a, 2a) for a a positive
integer.
Sketch of proof of 16: Suppose the six
points lie on a circumference, say centered in
O. Then G and O are on the axes of M M 0 ,
N N 0 and LL0 . Thus G = 0. By the property of
the centroid the conclusion follows easily as well
as the reverse implication.
Sketch of proof of 17: Say b = k(a + 1) + 1
for some non-negative integer k. If k = 0, then
b = 1 and one checks that all pairs (a, 1) with
a positive integer are solutions. If k > 0, write
the second condition as bh = a2 + a + 2; thus
h ≡ 2 (mod a + 1). If h ≥ a + 3 we would have
bh ≥ (a + 2)h ≥ (a + 2)(a + 3) > a2 + a + 2.
Thus only the case h = 2 is possible, and in-
deed (2k, 2k2 + k + 1) with k positive integer are
solutions.
XXX Olimpiadi Italiane della Matematica
Cesenatico, 9 May 2014
1 For each natural number with 3 decimal digits (with the first digit different from
zero), let n0 be the number obtained from n by deleting its zero digits, if any. For
instance, if n = 205, then n0 = 25.
Find the number of positive integers n with three digits for which n0 is a divisor of
n different from n.
2 Let ABC be an acute-angled triangle such that, denoting with H the foot of the
altitude from C, one has AH = 3 · HB. Furthermore, let:
• M be the midpoint of AB;
• N be the midpoint of AC;
• P be the point in the other half-plane than B with respect to the line AC
such that N P = N C e P C = CB.
Prove that ∠AP M = ∠P BA.
3 For each positive integer n, let Dn be the greatest common divisor of all numbers
of the form an + (a + 1)n + (a + 2)n , as a varies over all positive integers.
1. Prove that, for every n, Dn is equal to 3k for some integer k ≥ 0.
2. Prove that, for each k ≥ 0, there exists a positive integer n for which Dn = 3k .

4 On a circle with center A and radius R let B, C, G, H be four distinct points, in

this order, such that G lies on the extension of the median of triangle ABC from
B, and H lies on the extension of the altitude of ABC from B. Let X be the
intersection of the lines AC and GH. Prove that the line segment AX has length
2R.
5 Prove that there exists a positive integer that can be written as a sum of 2015
distinct 2014th powers of positive integers x1 < x2 < · · · < x2015 in at least two
ways.
6 A chessboard of size (2n + 1) × (2n + 1), with n > 0, is coloured so that each of
its squares is either black or white. A square of the chessboard is called special if
there are at least n other squares of the same colour in its row, and at least n other
squares of the same colour in its column.
1. Prove that there are at least 2n + 1 special squares.
2. Give an example with at most 4n special squares.
3. Find the minimum possible number of special squares as a function of n.
12

Solution to 1: We can immediately rule out the case in which n only has non-zero
digits, since it would follow that n0 = n. We are left with the following cases:
1) The second and third digits of n are equal to zero, so that n is of the form
n = a00, n0 = a, and n0 |n of every a ∈ {1, . . . , 9}. This case gives us 9 solutions.
2) The second digit of n is non-zero and the third is zero. Therefore n = ab0,
n0 = ab with a, b ∈ {1, . . . , 9}. This case gives us 9 · 9 = 81 solutions.
3) The second digit of n is zero and the third is nonzero. In this case n is of
the form a0b and n0 is of the form ab. We must therefore look for the cases in
which 10a + b divides 100a + b. Since 10a + b must certainly divide 10(10a + b) =
100a + 10b, this is equivalent to finding the cases in which 10a + b divides the
difference (100a + 10b) − (10a + b) = 9b.
Writing k(10a + b) = 100a + b and considering the last digit, we find that (k − 1)b
is divisible by 10, so at least one of k − 1 and b is divisible by 5. Since clearly
1 < k < 10 and 1 ≤ b ≤ 9, we have that k − 1 = 5 or b = 5.
For k − 1 = 5 we find 60a + 6b = 100a + b, from which we get b = 8a and therefore
a = 1, b = 8. We can verify that n = 108 is indeed a solution, as 18 divides 108.
For b = 5 we can use the equivalent property that 10a + b divides 9b, which means
that 10a + 5 divides 45; we can immediately see that the divisors of 45 of the form
10a + 5 with a ≥ 1 are 15 and 45, which gives us the solutions n = 105 (15 divides
105) and n = 405 (45 divides 405). In this case there are 3 solutions.
In conclusion, the total number of solutions is 9 + 81 + 3 = 93.

Solution to 2: Since AH = 3HB, H is the midpoint of M B; CH is then both

altitude and median of the triangle CM B, which is therefore isosceles. This means
that M lies on the circle with centre C and radius CB. By the inscribed angle
theorem it follows that M\ PB = M\ CB/2 = HCB.
\
The triangle CP B is by definition isosceles with base P B, and therefore CP
\ B =
CBP . Furthermore, since P lies on the circle with diameter CA, CP A is a right
\ [
angle.
Therefore 90◦ = CP\ B + BP
\ M +M \ P A, and at the same time sum of the internal
◦
angles of the triangle CHB is 90 = HCB
\ + CBP \+P \ BA. Since, as shown above,
CP
\ B = CBP
\ and BP \ M = HCB,
\ it follows that M \ PA = P\ BA.

Solution to 3: Following the definition of Dn , if we set a = Dn we find that

Dn divides Dnn + (Dn + 1)n + (Dn + 2)n , and if we set a = Dn + 1 we find that
Dn also divides (Dn + 1)n + (Dn + 2)n + (Dn + 3)n . Dn therefore divides the
difference ((Dn + 1)n + (Dn + 2)n + (Dn + 3)n )−(Dnn + (Dn + 1)n + (Dn + 2)n ) =
(Dn + 3)n − Dnn , and since Dn clearly divides Dnn we find that Dn divides (Dn + 3)n .
Developing (Dn + 3)n , we find it is the sum of terms of the form Dnb 3n−b , where b
goes from 0 to n, and each of these terms is divisible by Dn save for the one term
where b = 0. Therefore (Dn + 3)n = 3n + multiples of Dn , from which we find that
Dn divides 3n : it follows that Dn is itself a power of 3, as we set out to prove.
 13

We observe right away that D2 = 1: D2 is a power of 3 and by definition divides

12 + 22 + 32 = 14, which means that D2 = 1.
We then find that D1 = 3: if we set a = 1 we find that D1 divides 6, which means
that D1 , a power of 3, is either 1 or 3. On the other hand, for every a the number
a + (a + 1) + (a + 2) = 3(a + 1) is a multiple of 3, so D1 = 3.
We will now show that for every k ≥ 0 D3k = 3k+1 . We have just verified this for
k = 0. Since D3k is a power of 3 it is enough to see that D3k is divisible by 3k+1 but
not by 3k+2 . Since we go from an +(a+1)n +(a+2)n to (a+1)n +(a+2)n +(a+3)n
by adding (a + 3)n − an , to show that 3k+1 divides D3k we only need to verify that
k k k k k
3k+1 divides 13 + 23 + 33 and every difference (a + 3)3 − a3 . To show that D3k
k k k
is not divisible by 3k+2 it is enough to show that 13 + 23 + 33 is not divisible by
k+2
3 .
We will prove the first statement by induction on k: for k = 0 this is obvious.
k k
Suppose that, for a certain k, (a + 3)3 − a3 is a multiple of 3k+1 . Cubing both
k k k+1 k+1 k
side of (a + 3)3 = a3 + c · 3k+1 , we find that (a + 3)3 = a3 + 3a2·3 · c · 3k+1 +
k k+1 k+1 k
3a3 · c2 · 32(k+1) + c3 · 33(k+1) and therefore (a + 3)3 − a3 = a2·3 · c · 3k+2 +
k
a3 · c2 · 32k+3 + c3 · 33k+1 , which is obviously divisible by 3k+2 .
k k k
As for 13 + 23 + 33 , we will simultaneously show that it is divisible by 3k+1 but
not by 3k+2 . This is trivial for k = 0, as 1 + 2 + 3 is divisible by 3 but not by 9. For
k
k ≥ 1 we note that 33 is divisible by 3k+2 , so it is sufficient to prove the statement
k k k k k
for 13 + 23 rather than for 13 + 23 + 33 . Again, we use induction on k. For
k
k = 1 we find that 1 + 23 is divisible by 32 but not by 33 . Now suppose that 1 + 23
k
is divisible by 3k+1 but not by 3k+2 : this means that 1 + 23 = 3k+1 · c, where c is
3k+1 k
not a multiple of 3. We then
have that 1 + 2 = 1 + (23 )3 = 1 + (3k+1 c − 1)3 =
k+2 k+1 2 2k+1 3
3 c−3 c +3 c
. The right side is a multiple of 3k+2 but not of 3k+3 ,
since c − 3k+1 c2 + 32k+1 c3 is not divisible by 3, as it is the sum of multiples of 3
and c, which is not divisible by 3. This concludes the proof.
Solution to 4: Let M be the midpoint of AC and K the foot of the altitude
of ABC from B. Since AC is perpendicular to BH and AB = AH = R, we
have that AC is the perpendicular bisector of BH, and therefore BK = KH. The
right triangles AKB and AKH are congruent, as are the right triangles M KB and
M KH, since their respective sides have the same length. Then

M
\ BA = M
\ BK ± KBA
\=M HK ± KHA
\ \ =M\HA, (1)

with plus signs if ABC is acute-angled and minus signs if ABC is obtuse-angled.
Since the triangle AGB is also isosceles with base BG, we have that

M
\ GA = M
\ BA. (2)

From (1) and (2) we obtain M

\ HA = M
\ GA. The two points G and H lie on the
14

same side of the line M A and subtend the line segment M A with the same angle,
so the quadrilateral AM GH is cyclic. In particular, AHG
\ + AM \ G = 180◦ .
Now consider the triangles HAX and M AB; they are similar, as XAH \ = BAM \
(they are internal or external angles on the vertex A of the two congruent triangles
AKH and AKB) and AHX \ = AM \ B (they are both supplementary to AM\ G).
It follows that AX/AB = AH/AM , AX = (AB/AM ) · AH = 2R.
Solution to 5: Let N be a positive integer greater than or equal to 2015. Consider
all the increasing sequences x1 < x2 < . . . < x2015 ≤ N of 2015
positive integers less
N
than or equal to N . The number of these sequences is 2015 , since each sequence
is uniquely determined by the choice of a set of 2015 positive integers less than or
equal to N . For each of these sequences we find the sum x2014 1 + x2014
2 + . . . + x2014
2015 .
2014
Since each term is
less than or equal to N , each sum is at most 2015N 2014 .
N
We then have 2015 sums, each less than or equal to 2015N 2014 . If the number
of sums is greater than 2015N 2014 , then there must necessarily exist two sums
of the
same value, since if they were all different then there would be at least
N
2015 of them. To conclude the proof, we must then prove that there exists a
N


positive integer N ≥ 2015 which satisfies the inequality 2015 > 2015N 2014 . Note
N
= N (N −1)(N2015!
−2)···(N −2014)


that 2015 is a polynomial in N of degree 2015, while
2014
2015N is of degree 2014. Since both of the coefficients of the highest degree terms
of the two polynomials are positive, and 2015, the degree of the first polynomial, is
greater than 2014, the degree of the second polynomial, there necessarily exists a
N


positive integer N that satisfies the inequality 2015 > 2015N 2014 .
Solution to 6: (a) This is a consequence of point (c), but for completeness we
will give a simpler proof. Let a square be in the majority in its row or column if it
is of the same colour as at least n other squares in its row or columns, respectively.
Obviously, a square is special if it is in the majority in both its row and its column.
The number of squares in the majority in at least one direction can be found by
adding the number of squares in the majority in their row to the number of squares in
the majority in their column, and subtracting the number of special squares, which
were counted twice. We know that the total cannot be greater than (2n + 1)2 , and
first two terms cannot be less than (2n + 1)(n + 1), so the number of special squares
must be at least 2(2n + 1)(n + 1) − (2n + 1)2 , which is 2n + 1.
(b) Colour the first row from the top completely black, the first column from the
left, except the top left square, completely white, and the rest of the squares in
alternating colours, like a chessboard. This way all the rows except for the first have
a majority of white squares, and all the columns except the first have a majority
of black squares. The special squares must then lie on the first row or the first
columns. On the other hand, it’s easy to verify that all the squares in the first row
or the first columns are special except for the one in the top left corner. The total
number of special squares is therefore 4n.
(c) We will see that there are always at least 4n special squares. The previous
 15

example lets us conclude that this is the minimum amount. The 2n + 1 rows of the
chessboard are divided into rw rows with a majority of white squares, and rb rows
with a majority of black squares. Similarly, the columns are divided into cw with
a white majority and cb with a black majority. As we can rotate the chessboard
by ninety degrees, which swaps the rows with the columns, and switch the colours
around, we can assume that each of these four numbers is less than of equal to
a rw . In particular, we know that rw is at least n + 1, otherwise rw + rb could not
be equal to 2n + 1. The rw rows with a white majority contain at least (n + 1)rw
white squares, while the cb columns with a black majority contian at least (n + 1)cb
black squares. Those among these (n + 1)(rw + cb ) squares that do not lie in the
intersection of a row with a white majority and a column with a black majority
must therefore be special. The number of special squares cannot therefore be less
than (n + 1)(rw + cb ) − rw cb . Since this is a degree one expression in cb , and the
coefficient of cb is either negative or zero, it has least value when cb is as large as
2
possible. On the other hand, cb cannot exceed rw , so we have at least (2n+2)rw −rw
special squares. For values of rw between 2 and 2n inclusive, this last expression has
value of at least 4n. We are left with two cases: either rw ≤ 1 or rw = 2n + 1. The
first is clearly impossible, as rw is at least n + 1. We will then examine the second
case. Since rw = 2n + 1, there cannot be less than (2n + 1)(n + 1) white squares. If
cb were greater than or equal to 2n, there would be at least 2n(n + 1) black squares.
This means however that there would be more than (2n + 1)2 squares in total. It
follows that cb less than or equal to 2n − 1. In this case, then, there are at least
(n + 1)4n − (2n + 1)(2n − 1) = 4n + 1 special squares.
Italian Team Selection Test
Pisa, 25-26 May 2014

Day 1
A1 Let a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . be the sequence defined by
• a1 = a2 = 1,
• a2n+1 = 2a2n − an for every n ≥ 1,
• a2n+2 = 2a2n+1 for every n ≥ 1.
Show that an is divisible by 5 for every n > 3 such that (n − 3) is divisible by 8.
A2 Let p be a prime number, and let (x1 , x2 , . . . , xp ) be a p-tuple of integers such
that
xn1 + xn2 + . . . + xnp ≡ 0 (mod p)
for every positive integer n.
Show that x1 ≡ x2 ≡ . . . ≡ xp (mod p).
A3 Let ω1 be a circle with centre O. Let AB be a diameter of ω1 and C a point
on ω1 such that 90◦ < ∠AOC < 180◦ . Let K be a point on the line OC such that
C lies between K and O, and let ω2 be the circle with centre K passing through C.
Let E be the other intersection point of the line KB with ω1 , and let S and T be
the two points on ω2 such that the lines ES and ET are tangent to ω2 .
Show that the lines AC, EK, and ST are concurrent.

Day 2
√
B1 Let A0 B0 C0 be a triangle with area 2 on the cartesian plane. Let A1 B1 C1 be
the triangle with vertices on the excentres of A0 B0 C0 . Let A2 B2 C2 be the triangle
with vertices on the excentres of A1 B1 C1 , and so on.
Find whether by iterating this process it is possible to obtain eventually a triangle
with vertices that have rational coordinates, i.e. whether it is possible that for some
n all vertices of the triangle An Bn Cn have rational coordinates.
B2 30 contestants take part in a mathematics competition and are given 8 problems.
Each problem can either be solved or not solved. The number of points each problem
is worth is determined at the end of the competition and is equal to the number of
contestants who did not solve it (for example, if a problem is solved by everyone it
is worth 0 points, while a problem solved by 8 contestants is worth 22 points). The
final score of each contestant is equal to the sum of the points given by each of the
problems he or she has solved.
At the end of the competition only one contestant came in last, with a score that is
strictly less than that of anyone else.
18

Find the greatest possible score that this contestant could have achieved.
B3 Let a, b, c, p, q, r be positive integers such that

ap + bq + cr = aq + br + cp = ar + bp + cq .

Show that a = b = c or p = q = r.

Sources
Problem A1: short list Belarus Mathematical Olympiad 2014 (problem A3)
Problem A2: short list Belarus Mathematical Olympiad 2014 (problem N2)
Problem A3: short list Belarus Mathematical Olympiad 2014 (problem G4)
Problem B1: short list International Mathematical Olympiad 2012 (problem G1)
Problem B2: short list Belarus Mathematical Olympiad 2004 (problem A6)
Problem B3: short list Belarus Mathematical Olympiad 2014 (problem N5)