FARML 2015

Introduction

1
Welcome to FARML 2015! The following problems are meant to approximate the level of diculty and distribution of
topics usually seen in the three question-and-answer rounds. If possible, try to complete these problems in their event-
appropriate settings.

Some general tips, while you work through these problems:

• Double-check the problem statement before diving in too deep. You don't want to waste lots of time
solving a dierent problem than the one that was asked.

• Draw a good diagram. A geometry problem may have a really weird or confusing problem statement. Drawing
an accurate (and not tiny!) diagram can go a long was towards helping you see the similar triangle, or the missing
construction, or whatever crucial piece is needed to solve the problem.

• Know thyself. It's OK to get less than 100% of problems correct. It's OK to ignore I-10 (or T-10) if that
means you give yourself (or your team) a much better chance at getting correct answers elsewhere. Prioritize,
pick your spots, and give yourself the best chance of getting a good score. For example, focusing on a subset
of problems and giving your team a good chance at, say, 8/10 on Team may be better than wasting valuable
resources (including double-checking manpower) on a slim chance at 10/10.

• Be a good teammate. Be aware of what problems or roles need assistance during Team (and Power). Don't
be bossy or unnecessarily loud. If someone's solution or answer doesn't make sense, be polite and direct with
them. On the ip side, be receptive to criticism and open to the idea that you may have overlooked something.
Don't take it personally if your answer or solution is pointed out as being wrong: everybody makes mistakes; it's
how you handle them that's important.

• Guessing is overrated. Yes, you should have a guess ready for each problem you don't solve. But don't obsess
over it. In particular, don't waste lots of time in Team and Power over group discussions regarding guesses. Those
nal moments are much better spent double- and triple-checking the easier problems.

All problems by Andy Niedermaier.

agnieder@gmail.com
aniedermaier@janestreet.com

F for Fake
1

1
 FARML 2015

TEAM EVENT
T1 Complete the number puzzle below. Clues are given for the four rows. (Answers may not begin with a 0.) Cells
inside a region must all contain the same digit.

1: pq , where p, q are primes

2: a product of consecutive primes

3: a square

4: a multiple of 37

T2 Ollie the Occasional Liar never lies twice in a row. When asked about his favorite palindrome p, Ollie made the
following statements:
• Actually, p is a three-digit number.
• Actually, p's digits sum to 6.
• Actually, p is a prime.
• Actually, p is a four-digit number.
• Actually, p's digits sum to 16.
• Actually, p isn't a perfect square.
• Actually, p is a two-digit number.
Compute the sum of all possible values for the Ollie's favorite palindrome.

T3 Two spies hope to exchange documents in an alley between 11:00 p.m. and midnight. They each follow the same
plan: Pick a random arrival time in that hour and wait in the alley for exactly 5 minutes, in the hopes that
the other spy will be there at some point during that 5-minute interval. If the two intervals do not overlap, the
exchange is a failure. What is the probability that the exchange succeeds?

T4 How many intersection points are there between the graphs y = x sin x and x = y sin y in the range
[−17, 17] × [−17, 17]?

T5 Rhombus ABCD has side length 12. The trisectors of ∠A meet sides BC and CD at F and G, respectively.
∠B meet sides AD and CD at P and Q, respectively. If BF = 7, compute AP .
The trisectors of

T6 Let (u, v, w, x, y, z) be distinct values taken from the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}. Compute the largest possible
v
u+ w
value for y .
x− z
T7 Compute the largest palindrome which is a divisor of 10!

T8 An integer n is worth 1 point for every divisor of 2015 that can be obtained by a substring of n's digits (not
necessarily in consecutive order, but taken left-to-right). For example, 123304 is worth 3 points, for the 1, 13,
and the other 13. (31 and 403 do not count because their digits are not in left-to-right order.) Compute the
smallest integer worth at least 100 points.

1
T9 A wooden cube of side length 2 is placed inside a hollow cube (box) of side length 1. The wooden cube sits on
the base of the box, and its bottom face has the same center as the bottom face of the box. The bottom faces
◦
are rotated 45 from each other, as shown on the next page. Compute the volume of the box's interior that can
be seen from the viewpoint of the lower left corner of the box's bottom.

T10 Complete the number puzzle below. Clues are given for the four rows. (Answers may not begin with a 0.) Cells
inside a region must all contain the same digit.

1: pq , where p, q are odd primes

2: sum of consecutive cubes

3: r · sr , where r, s are odd primes

4: a multiple of qrs

gures for T5 and T9 on next page

 FARML 2015

TEAM EVENT
(Figures)

D Q G C

F
P

A 12 B
T5.

T9.
 FARML 2015

INDIVIDUAL EVENT
I1 For a set S of positive integers, let f (S) be the subset of S containing only those elements of S which are
relatively prime to the maximum element of S. Dene the set Tn by setting

Tn = (f ◦ f ◦ · · · ◦ f )({1, 2, 3, . . . , 100})
| {z }
n

That is, T1 = f ({1, 2, 3, . . . , 100}), T2 = f (T1 ), T3 = f (T2 ), and so on. Compute the smallest n for which Tn
contains no composite numbers.

I2 Compute the smallest base b for which 92b is a multiple of 19b .

I3 Compute the smallest integer n for which it is possible to draw an n-gon whose vertex angles all measure 167◦
◦
or 174 .

n 16 n
I4 For how many integers n is 24 < 48 < 816 ?

I5 Positive integers c and d satisfy the property that the list c, c2 , 12, cd, d2 , d3 can be rearranged into two separate
3-term geometric sequences. What is the smallest possible value for c + d?

I6 Quadrilateral ABCD is inscribed on semicircle AB , as shown. Perpendicular CP bisects diagonal BD, and
tan ∠BAD = 12
5
. Compute tan ∠ABC .
C

A P B
 FARML 2015

I7 Let d(n) equal the number of divisors of n. Compute the smallest integer n>2 such that

d(n − 2) + d(n) + d(n + 2) = 21.

I8 Regular hexagon ABCDEF 20. Points U, V, W, X, Y, Z are located on the sides of ABCDEF
has sides of length
 one on each of the six sides  such that AU = U V = V C = CW = W X = XE = EY = Y Z = ZA. Compute
[U V W XY Z].

I9 Alec's digital clock displays the time in 24-hour hh:mm:ss format. (That is, 00:00:00 denotes midnight, and the
second before midnight is 23:59:59.) For how many seconds of the day is the time on Alec's clock also a valid
time if written backwards? (As an example: 13:54:22 is one such time, because written backwards it becomes
valid time 22:45:31.)

I10 The sequence {an } satises the property that a1 = sin 17◦ , and for n ≥ 1, 12an − 16an+1 = 16n · a3n . Find the
integer k for which ak is the 17th-smallest term in the list a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . , a2015 .
 FARML 2015

RELAY & TIEBREAKER EVENTS

R1/1 For how many angles A in {1◦ , 2◦ , 3◦ , . . . , 90◦ } is sin 3A · sin 9A > 0?

R1/2 Let T = T N Y W R. Compute the sum i + 2i2 + 3i3 + · · · + T iT .

R1/3 Let T = T N Y W R. Compute the smallest integer N for which i + 2i2 + 3i3 + · · · + N iN = 2T − i.

R2/1 Compute
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2 3 4 5 19 20
− + − + ··· − + .
2 2 2 2 2 2

R2/2 Let T = T N Y W R. Concentric circles O1 and O2 are drawn. The area of the region between them is T π, and
the sum of their perimeters is Tπ as well. Compute [O1 ] + [O2 ].

R2/3 Let T = T N Y W R. n for which

Compute the smallest even positive integer
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2 3 4 5 n−1 n T
− + − + ··· − + > .
2 2 2 2 2 2 π

Tiebreaker Compute the smallest positive integer n for which n! > 5n .

 FARML 2015

ANSWER KEY
T1 The rows, from top to bottom: 2187, 7387, 7744, 7844. (Or alternatively: 5329, 7329, 7744, 7844.)
T2 7063
23
T3 144
T4 6
√
T5 28 39 − 168
243
T6 2
T7 48 384
T8 111 111√555 555 (Note: Best guess.)
T9
43
48
− 7242
T10 The rows, from top to bottom: 3125, 3925, 3993, 3795.

I1 4
I2 70
I3 32
I4 13
I5 20
√
194
I6 12
I7 38 √
I8 1800 − 600 3
I9 9216
I10 69

R1/1 57
R1/2 28 + 29i
R1/3 113

R2/1 100
R2/2 1252π
R2/3 72

TB 12
 FARML 2015

TEAM EVENT
SOLUTIONS

T1 Let the four rows' answers be A, B, C, D. C is a multiple of (11n)2 = 121n2 . Trying

11, so it must be of the form
values for n, we can determine that the only value that works is n = 8 ⇒ C = 7744. For D , the only multiple of
37 of the form 7 X 4 4 is 7844. B needs to be a product of consecutive primes in the 7000's. There is only one pair
q
of primes that works: 83 and 89; their product is B = 7387. Finally, we need A = p to be of the form R S 8 7.
7
The only value that works here is 2187 = 3 . So we have the rows, from top to bottom, are 2187, 7387, 7744, 7844

Alternatively, if we read consecutive primes to mean any list of two or more primes, there is another
solution formed by having a top row of 732 = 5329 and a second row of 17 · 19 · 23 = 7429. (Good job spotting
this one, whoever-it-was in San Diego!)

T2 Let the statements be S1 , S2 , . . . , S7 . Three of the statements are about the number of digits of p, at most 1 of
which can be true. If S1 is true, then S4 and S7 are both false, which means S3 , S5 , and S6 must all be true.
That is, p must be a 3-digit prime (and a non-square) whose digits sum to 16. The only 3-digit palindrome that
ts these criteria is 727.

If S4 is true, then S1 and S7 are false, so it must be the case that S2 and S6 are true: so p is now a 4-digit
non-square palindrome whose digits sum to 6. This gives possible values of 3003, 2112, and 1221.

Finally, if S7 is true, then S1 and S4 are false, which means S2 , S 3 , and S5 are all true. This is impossible,
though, since S2 and S5 cannot both be true.

Altogether, the sum of the possible values for p is 727 + 3003 + 2112 + 1221 = 7063

T3 If we plot the arrival time of Spy #1 on the x-axis and the arrival time of Spy #2 on the y -axis, the region of
successful handos is given by |x − y| ≤ 5:

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

The probability that the hando is successful is just the ratio of the shaded area over the area of the 60 × 60
23
region. The shaded region has area 602 − 2 · 1
2
· 552 = 602 − 552 , so the probability is 1 − ( 55
60
)2 =
144
 FARML 2015

Rather hard extension: Can you nd the answer to the 3-spies version of this problem?

T4 The graph of x sin x is bounded inside the region −|x| ≤ y ≤ |x|, and y sin y is bounded inside the region
−|y| ≤ x ≤ |y|, as shown below:

15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0

-5 -5

-10 -10

-15 -15

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15

The intersection of these regions is just the two lines y = ±x. So for the rst line, we need only consider x = 0
and x = π2 + kπ , for integer values of k. (And likewise for the second line, with y in place of x.) Furthermore,
the graphs are related in that one is obtained by ipping the other across the line y = x. The only intersection
points happen to occur along y = x, of which there are 6 in total. (If the region were extended just a little, we
would have another intersection point, at x = − 11π
2
.)

15

10

-5

-10

-15

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
 FARML 2015

T5 Let α = ∠BAF = 13 · ∠A.

◦ ◦
Then ∠B = 180 − ∠A = 180 − 3α, and so ∠AF B = 2α. By the Law of Sines, 7 = sin α ⇒
12 sin 2α 6
cos α = 7
.
Similarly, if we set β = ∠ABP = 3 · ∠B , we must have AP = ⇒ cos β = AP → AP = 6 sec β .
1 12 sin 2β 6
sin β

Since β = 60◦ − α, we have

6
AP = =
cos(60◦ − α)
6
=
cos 60◦ cos α + sin 60◦ sin α
6
= √ √
1
2
· 6
7
+ 2
3
· 713
6
= √
3
7
+ 1439
84 √
= √ = 28 39 − 168
6 + 39
T6 We want a small (positive) denominator and a large numerator. The numerator can be at most 19 = 10 + 91 . The
smallest denominators are gotten as follows: 10 = 1 − 10 , 9 = 1 − 9 , 8 = 1 − 8 , . . .. We cannot optimize both at
1 9 1 8 1 7

once, since we would be re-using one or more integers. If we use the 1 in the numerator, the best we can do is
( ) ( )
10 + 18 / 2 − 95 = 90.

So now try using 1 in the denominator. We'll clearly want to use w =2 to get the best we can out of the
numerator. Trying the dierent cases

7 + 26 10 + 72 10 + 92
9 , , ,...
1 − 10 1 − 89 1 − 87
( ) ( ) 243
we see that the best of the bunch is 10 + 72 / 1 − 89 =
2
T7 Palindromes with an even number of digits are all multiples of 11, so we need only consider potential palindromes
with an odd number of digits. Let's start with 10! and work our way downward. Note that if our palindrome N
is odd, then it must be at most 3 · 5 · 7, which is less than 5000. So rst consider even N with 7 digits. 10! is
3 2

between 3 million and 4 million; in order for N to be an even palindrome it cannot be a multiple of 10; this means
10!
N is a divisor of
52
= 145 152. This isn't a palindrome (darn), but any even palindrome divisor of 10! will be
a divisor of 145 152. If we start dividing by small divisors of 2 , we quickly see that 3 · 2 = 48 384 as the answer.
10! 1 10!
5 5

2
The next few factorials with (new) largest palindrome divisors are 14! (525 525), 17! (595 595), 19! (969 969),
and 22! (405 909 504).

T8 (Note: I don't have a proof for this one, just an educated guess. Let me know if you nd a better answer!) Our

current best answer is 111 111 555 555

Having 2015 = 5 · 13 · 31, the divisors are 1, 5, 13, 31, 65, 155, 403, and 2015. The number 111 111 555 555 has
( ) ( )
6 1's, 6 5's, and 6 · 62 = 90 155's, for a score of 102 points. Note that 111 111 155 555 has 7 + 5 + 7 · 52 = 82
points; 12-digit numbers that begin with even more 1's will score fewer points.

The intuition here is that anything other than a series of 1's followed by a series of 5's is suboptimal com-
pared to a 1's-and-5's approach. E.g., a 1's-and-3's approach with a 1's and b 3's will score at most ab + a

2This is really easy to gure out in Mathematica!

 FARML 2015

points. With a + b ≤ 12, this scores at most 42 points. A 1's-and-6's-and-5's approach is strictly inferior to a 1's-
and-5's approach, since any substring that scores with a 6 would score just the same if the 6 were replaced with a 1.

(Finally, any n that contains a 2015 or 403 is probably wasting space.)

(Note: San Diego coach Hao Ye has veried via Mathematica that 111 111 555 555 is indeed the smallest integer
to score 100 or more points among numbers only containing the digits 1, 3, 5.)

T9 Consider the base (ground) level of the combined cube-in-box setup:

B R A

C D
From the vantage point of C , we can view the entire vertical region above triangles √
CRB and CDS . Note
2
that AR has the same length as the main diagonal of the inner (black) square, namely 2 . (Draw the parallel
√
dotted line through A to CD .) Thus BR = 1 − 2 , and the combined volume of the two vertical wedges is
2
√
2 · 12 · 1 · BR = 1 − 22 .

Now consider the visible volume between those two wedges. We can think of this region as two pyramids.
The smaller one has a square base (the vertical face whose bottom edge is P Q) and one of its triangular faces
1
along the oor (namely, CP Q). The base has area 4 and the height is just the altitude of C to P Q, which is
√ √ √ √
1
2
( 2 − 12 ) = 22 − 14 . So this pyramid has volume 13 · 14 · ( 22 − 14 ) = 242 − 48
1
.

The larger pyramid has all triangular faces, one of which is on the ceiling. (The height of this pyramid is 1.)
The face on the ceiling is just triangle CRS , The area of this face is four times the area of CP Q, so the volume
√ √
of this pyramid is 3 · 1 · 4 · 2 · 2 · ( 2 − 4 ) = 6 − 12 .
1 1 1 2 1 2 1

√
43 7 2
Altogether, the visible volume is −
48 24
T10 As before, let the four rows' answers be A, B, C, D. 3 · 73 , 3 · 113 , 3 · 133 , 5 · 35 and
The viable options for C are
5 · 5 . Of these, only 3 · 11 = 3993 has the same middle two digits. We now know that C = 3993 and all the
5 3
5
other values are in the 3000's. This is enough to give A = 5 = 3125, and so B is of the form 3 X 2 5. It can be
then determined that B = 12 + 13 = 3925. Finally, D is of the form 3 R 9 S and is a multiple of 5 · 3 · 11 = 165.
3 3

The only value that works here is 3795. In summary, the rows from top to bottom are 3125, 3925, 3993, 3795
 FARML 2015

INDIVIDUAL EVENT
SOLUTIONS

I1 Let S be the original set, {1, 2, 3, . . . , 100}. Let's make a chart:

set max val prime factors removed by f

S 100 2, 5
T1 99 3, 11
T2 97 97
T3 91 7, 13

Since T4 contains no multiples of 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, or 13, it cannot contain any composite integers. So n=4 is the
answer.

I2 We need 9b + 2 = k(b + 9), for some integer k > 0. Then k = 9b+2

b+9
= 9 − b+9
79
. We need the smallest integer b > 0
for which b + 9 is a divisor of 79. But we can see that the smallest (and only) positive integer for which b + 9
divides 79 is b = 70

I3 If there are a sides with 167◦ and b sides with 174◦ , then

167a + 174b = 180(a + b − 2)

360 = 13a + 6b = 6(a + b) + 7a
To make a + b as small as possible, try to make a as large as we can. We want 360 − 6b = 6(60 − b) to be a

multiple of 13. The largest multiple of 13 we can get is 6 · 52, so use b = 8 ⇒ a = 24 ⇒ a + b = 32

16 3·16 49 n 4n
I4 48 = 22·2 = 22 . So on the left, we need 4n < 249 ⇒ n ≤ 24. On the right, 816 = 23·2 , so we need
3 · 2 > 2 ⇒ n ≥ 12.
4n 49
Combining, we have 12 ≤ n ≤ 24, so there are 13 values for n.

I5 If the two geometric series are a, ar, ar2 , b, bs, bs2 , then the product of the six terms is a3 b3 r3 s3  a perfect cube!
4 6
The product of the six terms must be a cube. Our product is 12c d , so 12c must be a cube. The smallest
2
value of c that works is c = 18. Noting that c , cd, d is
2
always
a geometric progression, let's nd a value of d
3
for which c = 18, 12, and d form a geometric sequence in some order. Depending on where we choose to place
√ √
d3 , we have d3 needing to equal 8, 27, or 12 · 18 = 216. Clearly we will choose d3 = 8 ⇒ d = 2, which gives
c+d = 20. Since the next smallest usable value for c is 8·18 = 144, we cannot do better than a value of 20 for c+d.

I6 Drop perpendicular DQ, as shown below. Let α = ∠BAD and β = ∠ABC , and let d = AB . Then AD = d cos α,
and so AQ = d cos2 α, which means BQ = d sin2 α. Similarly, BP = d cos2 β . Then we have cos2 β = 12 sin2 α.
√
Now, since tan α = 5 , we can solve and get sin α = 13 . Thus cos β = √ · sin α = 13 . We can solve and get
12 12 1 6 2
2
√
√ 194
97
sin β = 13 , and so tan β =
12
C

A Q P B
 FARML 2015

I7 An integer n has an odd number of divisors if and only if it is a square. So in order for the sum d(n − 2) + d(n) +
d(n + 2) to be odd, the set {n − 2, n, n + 2} must contain 1 or 3 squares. Furthermore, at least one of the 3 integers
must have at least 7 divisors. We can't have 3 squares, so we must have exactly 1 square. The smallest integers
with at least 7 divisors are 24, 30, 36 (with 8, 8, and 9 divisors, respectively). Only 36 potentially allows us a set
of 3 terms with 1 square. Trying 3-term sets that contain 36, we have d(36) + d(38) + d(40) = 9 + 4 + 8 = 21 as
the rst solution. Thus n = 38 is the answer.

I8 Let d = AU = U V = V C . Draw diagonal AC , shown below:

C V B

U
W

D A

E Y F
√ √ √ √
Then AC = 20 3 = d + 2 · d · = d(1 + 3). Solving, we get d = 10 3 − 10. The area [U V W XY Z] can be
2
3

obtained by taking the area [ABCDEF ] and subtracting away the areas of the 6 isosceles triangles with apex angle
√
120◦ . 3 of the triangles have repeated side length d, and the other 3 have repeated side length 20 − d = 30 − 10 3.
In this manner, we have:

[U V W XY Z] = [ABCDEF ] − 3[AU Z] − 3[BU V ]

√
3 1 ( )
=6· · 202 − 3 · · sin 120◦ d2 + (20 − d)2
4 2
√
√ 3 3( 2 )
= 600 3 − 2d − 40d + 400
4
√
√ 3 3( √ √ )
= 600 3 − (800 − 400 3) − 400 3 + 800
4
√
= 1800 − 600 3

I9 The rst two digits (the hour) that we can reverse are those which doesn't end in a 6 or higher. That means 16
of the 24 hour values can be reversed. The minutes which can be reversed are those that also do not end in 6 or
higher. That means 36 of 60 values can be reversed. There are 16 seconds which can be reversed  namely, the
seconds which turn into the 16 hour values given earlier. In total there are 16 · 36 · 16 = 96 = 9216 reversible
2

seconds in the day.

I10 The presence of the cubic term a3n

may be a sign that a triple-angle formula is hiding in here somewhere, and
indeed that is the case. However, the 16 term makes things far more complicated. Consider the sequence {bn }
n

given by bn = sin(β · 3 ) for some xed angle β . (Note that the angle inside the sine triples with each successive
n

term.) Since sin 3β = 3 sin β − 4 sin β for any angle β , we would have bn+1 = 3bn − 4bn .
3 3

( )
Here, we have an+1 = 16 12an − 16 · an = 34 an − 16n−1 · a3n . This suggests a formula of the form
1 n 3

an = c · sin(α · 3 ), for some constant c. But wait! Our rst term had no leading constant. (Remember,
n n
 FARML 2015

a1 = 1 · sin 17◦ .) Instead, we will need to try the slight modication an = cn−1 · sin(α · 3n ). It can be veried
1 17◦
that c = 4 , α = 3 are the unique values that allow both the initial conditions and the recursion to be satised.
1 n−1
That is, an = ( 4 ) · sin(17◦ · 3n−1 ).

Now, on to the question. The angle inside the sine keeps getting tripled. Its rst several values  reduced mod
360◦ 17, 51, 153, 459 = 99, 297, 891 = 171, 513 = 153. A-ha! The angle in a7 is the same as that of a3 ! So
 are
starting with a7 , the angles are periodic (with period 4). Of the angles in the period  153, 99, 297, 171  one has
a negative sine whilst the other three have positive sines. Thus the negative terms are simply a5 , a9 , a13 , a17 , . . ..
sin 297◦
They are of the form , so the smallest term in the entire sequence is a5 , the second-smallest is a9 , etc., and
256k
the 17th -smallest is 64 terms after the smallest, namely at term 69
 FARML 2015

RELAY / TIEBREAKER EVENTS

SOLUTIONS

R1/1 Both terms are positive for 1, 2, . . . , 19 and 41, 42, . . . , 59. Both terms are negative for 61, 62, . . . , 79. In total,

there are 57 values for which the product is positive.

R1/2 T = 57. If we divide the terms into groups of 4 terms each, we see that each group has the same sum, namely
2 − 2i. Since we have T = 57, we have 14 groups plus one leftover term, so the sum is 14(2 − 2i) + 57i = 28 + 29i

R1/3 T = 28 + 29i, so 2T − i = 56 + 57i. Just as before, the sum of a group of 4 terms is 2 − 2i. Furthermore, the
real and imaginary terms are both positive only if we have one extra imaginary term. That is, N ≡ 1 mod 4.
(If N were 2 mod 4, then we would have one extra negative real value, and that would make the overall real
sum negative.) Since the sum is 56 + 57i, we can infer that the 56 (real term) represents that we have summed
28 complete groups of 4, and the +57i represents that we had one extra (imaginary) term, so N = 4·28+1 = 113
(20)
R2/1 In the alternating sum of 1−3+6−10, pairing up terms gives −2, −4, −6, . . ., so we have −2−4−6−· · ·−18+ 2
=
−90 + 190 = 100

Alternatively: You may notice that the positive partial sums are all squares: 1, −2, 4, −6, 9, −12, 16, . . ., from
which you could guess that the nal sum is 102 = 100 (Can you prove that the positive partial sum is always a
square?)

If the radii are a > b, then (a − b )π = T π and (2a + 2b)π = T π ⇒ (a + b)(a − b) = T ⇒ a − b = 2. The
2 2
R2/2 T = 100.
( ) 2
sum of the areas is (a +b )π . Note that a +b = 2 (a + b) + (a − b)
2 2 2 2 1 2 2
= T8 +2. Since T = 100, we have 1252π

R2/3 T = 1252π . In this case, it will be most helpful to look at partial sums. The positive partial sums seem to
(2k)
all be perfect squares: 1, −2, 4, −6, 9, −12, 16, . . .. This suggests that if the last term is 2
, then the sum will
2
be k . One can show this is indeed true via induction. (It is also possible to prove this combinatorially via
n 2 T
√
Inclusion-Exclusion.) So we need the smallest even n for which ( 2 ) > π = 1252. Since 35 < 1252 < 36, we
have 72 as the smallest even integer that works.

TB Welp, we'll denitely need n > 5. Let's make a chart!

n n! 5n is n! > 5n ?
6 720 1253 heck no!
7 5040 1253 · 5 nope, not close
8 like, 40 000 6252 wow, still not close
9 360 000ish? 1253 nope
10 exactly-ish 3 600 000 31252 ≈ 107 no, but within a factor of 3
11 call it 40 million call it 50 million ooh, so close
12 580 million? I forgot what the problem was... 250 million or billion or so maybe?
I guess that means the answer is 12, folks. Good luck at ARML!