1. The Careless Mailing Clerk After a typist had written ten letters and had addressed the ten corresponding envelopes, a careless mailing clerk inserted the letters in the envelopes at random, one letter per envelope. What is the probability that exactly nine letters were inserted in the proper envelopes? 2. The Pythagorean Theorem Prove that the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides. 3. Four Equations in Four Unknowns Completely solve the following system of equations: atytz+w= 10 e’+y+2+ut= 30 e+y+2+ ut = 100 wyzw = 24CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 4-7 4. A Test with Zero Score On a 26-question test, five points were deducted for each wrong answer and eight points were credited for each correct answer. If all the questions were answered, how many were correct if the score was zero? 5. Ptolemy's Theorem In any cyclic convex quadrilateral, show that the product of the diagonals equals the sum of the products of the opposite sides. 6. Easy Factoring Without grouping, factor at — aly + ate — at + aly — atk + ty — ay + yt. 7. Mental Computation Square 85 mentally.CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 8-12 8. A Quartic Equation How many negative roots does the equation a — 528 — 42? -— 72 +4=0 have? 9. A Million on Each Side An array of two million points is completely enclosed by a circle having a diameter of 1 inch. Does there exist a straight line having exactly one million of these points on each side of the line? If so, why? 10. An Infinitude of Primes Show that there is an infinitude of prime numbers. 11. Complex Numbers Simplify (27 + 81)/(3 + 2i*). 12. Overlapping Areas A circle of radius 15 intersects another circle, radius 20, at rightCHALLENGE PROBLEMS 13-17 angles. What is the difference of the areas of the nonoverlapping portions? 13. A Tennis Tournament There are n players in an elimination-type singles tennis tourna- ment. How many matches must be played (or defaulted) to determine the winner? 14. Summing a Factorial Series Find the sum of the series 1(1!) + 2(2!) +. 3(8!) + +++ + n(nl). 15. Intersecting Cylinders ‘The axes of symmetry of two 2-inch right circular cylinders intersect at right angles. What volume do the cylinders have in common? 16. Representations of an Integer The number 3 can be expressed as a sum of one or more positive integers in four ways, namely as 3,1 + 2,2+1,and1+1+41. Show that any positive integer n can be so expressed in 2"—! ways. 17. Quartic with a Rational Root Show that the quartic equation ( )at+( )at+( Jet ( )a+( )=0CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 18-20 where the gaps are filled in by any arrangement of the numbers 1, —2, 3, 4, —6, always has a rational root. 18. Resistance of a Cube Each edge of a cube is a 1-ohm resistor. What is the resistance between two diagonally opposite vertices of the cube? 19. A Facetious Division Each letter in the cryptarithm AHH AAH/JOKE=HA uniquely represents a digit in the decimal scale. What is the arith- metic division? 20. The Flower Salesman A girl entered a store and bought x flowers for y dollars (x and y are integers). When she was about to leave, the clerk said, “If you buy ten more flowers I will give you all for $2, and you will save 80 cents a dozen.” Find a and y.CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 21-23 21. Relative Polygonal Areas An equilateral triangle and a regular hexagon have equal perimeters. What is the ratio of their areas? 22. The Inverted Cups It is desired to invert the entire set of n upright cups by a series of moves in each of which n — 1 cups are turned over. Show that this can always be done if n is even, but never if n is odd. 23. The End of the World On April 1, 1946, the Erewhon Daily Howler carried the following item: “The famous astrologer and numerologist of Guayazuela, the Professor Euclide Paracelso Bombasto Umbugio, predicts the end of the world for the year 2141. His prediction is based on profound mathematical and historical investigations. Professor Umbugio com- puted the value of the formula 1492" — 1770" — 1863" + 2141" for n = 0, 1, 2,3, and so on, up to 1945, and found that all the numbers which he obtained in many months of laborious computation are divisible by 1946. Now, the numbers 1492, 1770, and 1863 represent memorable dates: The Discovery of the New World, the Boston Massacre, and the Gettysburg Address. What important date may 2141 be? That of the end of the world, obviously.” Deflate the professor! Obtain his result with little computation.CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 24-96 24, Six Distinct Integers Find the smallest set of six distinct integers with the property that the product of any five of them is one or more periods of the unit repetend of the remaining one. For example: 141 = 0.0243902439---, so 02439 is the unit repetend of 41. 25. Length of a Helix Pb iy RARER Ten turns of a wire are helically wrapped around a cylindrical tube with outside circumference 4 inches and length 9 inches. The ends of the wire coincide with the ends of the same cylindrical element. Find the length of the wire. 26. A Minimum Problem Show that for all positive values of p, g, r, and s, @M+ept)Gt+qtVC+r+V)(F+s+)) pars cannot be less than 81.CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 97-31 27. Digits of a Square Number Show that any perfect square in the decimal system which has two or more digits contains at least two distinct digits. 28. Interlocking Committees There are 15 men on the board of directors of a large company, and 20 committees are associated with the board. It is required to set up these committees so that: (1) Each board member shall belong to four committees; (2) Each committee shall have three board members; (3) No two committees shall have more than one board member in common. 29. The Jigsaw Puzzle In assembling a jigsaw puzzle, let us call the fitting together of two pieces a “move,” independently of whether the pieces consist of single pieces or of blocks of pieces already assembled. What procedure will minimize the number of moves required to solve an n-piece puzzle? What is this minimum number? 30. A Remainder Problem Given that f(z) = xt + 2? + 2? + x + 1, find the remainder when $(z°) is divided by f(z). 31. A Skeleton Division Our good friend and eminent numerologist, Professor Euclide Paracelso Bombasto Umbugio, has been busily engaged testing on his 10CHALLENGE PROBLEM 32 desk calculator the 81 - 10° possible solutions to the problem of re- constructing the following exact long division in which digits indis- criminately were each replaced by zx. xe8rr ULL) LLLLLLLL ree zeee zee Les rere Deflate the Professor! That is, reduce the possibilities to (81 - 10°)°. 39. Triangles in a Circle If n points on the circumference of a circle are joined by straight lines in all possible ways, and no three of these lines meet at a single point inside the circle, find the number of triangles formed, all of whose vertices lie inside the circle. 11CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 33-36 33. Eesy Multiplication Multiply 5,746,320,819 by 125. 34. A Repetitive Series What is the nth term of the repetitive series HAFTAHAETAHAET A 0? 35. Radical Simplification Simplify V2 + V5 + V/2— V5. 36. The Buried Treasure A pirate decided to bury a treasure on an island near the shore of which were two similar boulders A and B and, farther inland, three coconut trees C;, Cz, Cs. Stationing himself at C4, the pirate laid off CA; perpendicular and equal to C,A and directed outwardly from the perimeter of triangle ACB. He similarly laid off CB, perpendicular and equal to CB and also directed outwardly from the perimeter of triangle ACB. He then located Py, the intersection of AB, and BA. Stationing himself at C; and Cs, he similarly located points P: and Py, and finally buried his treasure at the circumcenter of triangle P,P,Ps. Returning to the island some years later, the pirate found that a big storm had obliterated all the coconut trees on the island. How might he find his buried treasure? 12‘CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 37-39 37. Bonus Payments A company offered its 350 employees a bonus of $10 to each male and $8.15 to each female. All the females accepted, but a certain percentage of the males refused to accept. The total bonus paid was not dependent upon the number of men employed. What was the total amount paid to the women? 38. Product Simplificetion Simplify the product (38 + 1) (3" + 1) (8% + 1)++-(3" +1) 39. Untangled Strings Three strings are tied to three pegs on board A. They are tangled and interwoven as shown in the figure. It is required to tie three other strings to the three free ends and attach the free ends of the new strings, which may be tangled, to the three pegs of board B in such a way that the resultant entanglement can be combed out to give three loosely parallel strings. How can this be done? 13CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 40-44 40. A Difference Equal to a Quotient Find two numbers whose difference and whose quotient are each equal to 5. 41. The Dozing Student A student awoke at the end of a class in algebra one morning just in time to hear his teacher say, “.. . and I will give you the hint that all the roots are real and positive.” Looking at the board he dis- covered a 20th degree equation to be solved for homework, which he hastily tried to copy down. He succeeded in getting only the first two terms, x — 20z'%, before his teacher erased the board completely ; however, he did remember that the constant term was +1. Can you help our hero by solving the equation? 42. Edges of a Polyhedron Show that no polyhedron in three-space can have exactly seven edges, while any other integer greater than five is admissible. 43. A Simple Congruence Show that 63! = 61! (mod 71). 44, The Triangle is Equilateral If a, b,c are sides of a triangle such that a+b 4c = ab + be + ca, show that the triangle must be equilateral. 14CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 45-48 45. Simpler Than It Looks Evaluate the radical (x2 +2-4-8 + 3-6-12 + + 1-3-9 + 2-6-18 + 3-9-27 ++ 46. Covering a Checkerboard If two squares of opposite colors are removed from anywhere on an 8-by-8 checkerboard, can the remaining portion of the board be completely covered with 1-by-2 dominoes? 47. A Numerical Equality Show that (1110) (1111) (1112) (1113) = (1,235,431)? — 1 in any system of numeration with a base greater than five. 48. Book Publishing A series of books was published at seven-year intervals. When the seventh book was issued, the sum of the publication years was 13,524. When was the first book published? 15CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 49-51 49. Three Means Show geometrically that the geometric mean @ of two numbers a and 6 is the mean proportional between the arithmetic mean A and the harmonic mean H. 50. Beauty Contest “How about telling me confidentially the secret order of the five beauties to be featured in this year’s Annual?” I proposed to the editor. She, of course, refused, but agreed to pass judgment on my guess. “Is it A~B-C-D-E?”, I asked. “You are most skillful at being wrong,” she chided. “You not only got each person out of her true position but, furthermore, not one in your ranking followed correctly her immediate predecessor.” “Well, then, is it D-A-E-C-B?”, I asked. “Now you are improving,” she encouraged cautiously. ‘You have two in proper position and you have two following correctly their immediate predecessors.” After a little figuring I then told her the correct order, and she swore me to secrecy. What is the correct order? 51. An Equation Involving Series Find n if P4384 54 24+44 64 + (2n)* 242° + (2n- 1)? 199 16CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 52-54 52. Piled Dominoes A set of n smooth dominoes 1 inch by 2 inches by 34 inch is piled on a table, one horizontally placed domino in each layer. Find the largest distance that the top domino can be made to overhang the bottom one. 53. Tossing a Die A die bearing the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on its faces is repeatedly thrown until the total of the throws first exceeds 12. What is the most likely total that will be thus obtained? 54. System of Linear Equations “This system of n linear equations in n unknowns,” said the Great Mathematician, “has a curious property.” “Good heavens!” said the Poor Nut, “What is it?” “Note,” said the Great Mathematician, “that the constants are in arithmetic progression.” “Tt’s all so clear when you explain it!” said the Poor Nut. “Do you mean like 6z + 9y = 12 and 15x + 18y = 21?” “Quite so,” said the Great Mathematician, pulling out his bassoon. 17CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 55-58 “Indeed, the system has a unique solution. Can you find it?” “Good heavens!” cried the Poor Nut, “I am baffled.” Are you? 55. ision by Angle Bisector Prove that the bisector of an angle of a triangle divides the opposite side into segments proportional to the adjacent sides. 56. Divisibility Probability Find the probability that if the digits 0, 1, 2, ---, 9 be placed in random order in the blank spaces of 5_883_8_2_936_5_8_203_9_3_76 the resulting number will be divisible by 396. 57. Equation with No Integer Solutions Prove that the equation x? — 3y? = 17 has no solution in integers. 58. Son of a Mathematics Professor On the blackboard the mathematics professor wrote a polynomial f(«) with integer coefficients and said, “Today is my son’s birthday. When his age A is substituted for z, then f(A) = A. You will note also that f(0) = P and that P is a prime number greater than A.” How old is the professor’s son? 18CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 59-61 59. Locus in Space pf Given a plane E and three noncollinear points A, B, C on the same side of E, the plane ABC not being parallel to E. The points A’, BY’, C’ are arbitrary points in H. The points L, M, N are the re- spective midpoints of A.A’, BB’, CC’, and S is the center of mass of the triangle LMN. Find the locus of S as A’, B’, and C’ move in the plane E independently of each other. 60. Weather Analysis During a period of days, it was observed that when it rained in the afternoon, it had been clear in the morning, and when it rained in the morning, it was clear in the afternoon. It rained on 9 days, and was clear on 6 afternoons and 7 mornings. How long was this period? 61. The Steiner-Lehmus Theorem Prove that if two internal angle bisectors of a triangle are equal, the triangle is isosceles. 19CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 62-65 62. The Hula Hoop Consider a vertical girl whose waist is circular, not smooth, and temporarily at rest. Around the waist rotates a hula hoop of twice its diameter. Show that after one revolution of the hoop, the point originally in contact with the girl has traveled a distance equal to the perimeter of a square circumscribing the girl’s waist. 63. Octasection of a Circle If k is any real number, show that the lines at + katy — 62? — key? + y = 0 cut the circle z* + y? = 1 into eight equal parts. 64. Arithmetic Progression Devoid of Powers Find an integral arithmetic progression with an arbitrarily large number of terms such that no term is a perfect rth power for r = 2,3, 2++,n. 65. Area of Polygon Find the area of the polygon in the figure.CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 66-71 66. A Factorial Equation Find all the solutions of al(n — 1)! =m! 67. Two Related Triangles Show that if a, b, c form a triangle, then V/a, /b, Vc form a triangle. 68. Maximum Angle in a Circle Given two points A and B inside a circle, for what point C on the circumference of the circle is the angle ACB the greatest? 69. Determinant of a Magic Square Let S be the sum of the integer elements of a third-order magic square, and let D be the value of the square considered as a deter- minant. Show that D/S is an integer. 70. Five-digit Nonsquares Prove that no perfect square can be written in the decimal scale with just five digits which are distinct, but congruent modulo 2. 171. Dissection of Spherical Surface How may the total surface of a sphere be divided into the largest possible number of congruent pieces, if each side of each piece is an arc of a great circle less than a quadrant? 21CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 72-76 72. Trisector of Side of Triangle c ? 8 If a line from vertex C of a triangle ABC bisects the median from A, prove that it divides the side AB into the ratio 1:2. 73. A Factorization Factor a + 1, 74. A Curious Number Find a positive number such that 14 of it multiplied by 44 of it equals the number. 75. Two Regular Hexagons Without using radicals, find the ratio of the areas of the regular hexagons inscribed in and circumscribed about the same circle. 76. General Terms of Series Find expressions which could be general terms of these series: (a) 0, 3, 26, 255, 3124, +++; (b) 1, 2, 12, 288, 34560, «++CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 77-79 71. Heat Flow Three edges of a square sheet of metal are kept at 0° each, and the fourth edge is kept at 100°. Neglecting surface radiation losses, find the temperature in the middle of the sheet. 78. Does This Make Sense? If 4 of 20 is 6, then what is 1¢ of 10? 79. Envelope into Tetrahedrons CHARLES W. TRIGG fo 2404 Lone Sean ‘saw Duszo Causromen 92109 Dover Publications, Inc. 31 East 2nd Street Mineole, N.Y. 11502 Can any sealed rectangular envelope, after a single straight cut, be folded into two congruent tetrahedrons? 23CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 80-83 80. A Hammy Cryptarithm In the following cryptarithm, each letter represents a distinct digit in the decimal scale, 7(F RY HAM) =6(HAMFRY). Identify the digits. 81. Sheep Buyers A farmer died and left his two sons a herd of cattle which they sold. The number of dollars received per head was the same as the number of heads. With the proceeds of the sale the sons bought sheep at $10 each and one lamb for less than $10. The sheep and the Jamb were divided between the two brothers so that each received the same number of animals. How much should the son who received only sheep pay to the son who received the lamb, in order that the division should be equitable? 82. A Constant Volume Prove that the volume of a tetrahedron determined by two line segments lying on two skew lines (lines not in the same plane) is unaltered by sliding the segments along their lines but leaving the lengths unaltered. 83. A Repeating Decimal Compute the first period of the repeating decimal equivalent to M49. 24CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 94-85 84. A Radical Equation Solve: (6x + 28)" — (6r — 28)¥# = 2, 85. The Prize Contest Professor E. P. B. Umbugio is trying to supplement his meager academic salary by entering soap contests. One such contest re- quires the contestants to find the number of paths in the following array which spell out the word MATHEMATICIAN: M MAM MATAM MATHTAM MATHEHTAM MATHEMEHTAM MATHEMAMEHTAM MATHEMATAMEHTAM MATHEMATITAMEHTAM MATHEMATICITAMEHTAM MATHEMATICICITAMEHTAM MATHEMATICIAICITAMEHTAM MATHEMATICIANAICITAMEHTAM Umbugio has counted 1587 paths which originate from one of the first five rows. With the deadline for submitting entries approaching, he is distraught, to say the least. Help the professor out by finding the number of paths with a minimum of computation. 25CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 86-69 86. A Constant Sum If ABC is an equilateral triangle, and P is any point on the cir- cumference of the inscribed circle, prove that (PA)? + (PB)? + (PC)? is constant. 87. Two Incompatible Integers If x and y are positive integers and y > 2, show that 2* + 1 is never divisible by 2 — 1. 88. A Multiple-choice Question One and only one of the following pairs of values will not satisfy the equation: 1872 — 104y = 41. Which pair is it? (1) 2 = 8, y = 5; (2) x = 107, y = 192; (3) x = 211, y = 379; (4) x = 314, y = 565; (5) x = 419, y = 753. 89. Concurrency of Medians Prove that the medians 4A’, BB’, CC’ of a triangle ABC are con- current. 26CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 90-93 90. A Surprising Square In what system of numeration is 11111 a perfect square? 91. Polygon Inscribed in Ellipse? Show that one cannot inscribe a regular polygon of more than four sides in an ellipse with unequal axes. 92. Telephone Call to Sinkiang A man is waiting to put through a person-to-person telephone call to Sinkiang. He begins to write the number 0.12345 +++ which has n in the nth place of decimals. Being a tidy doodler, he attends promptly to all “carrying figures.” Show that he may get his mes- sage through before needing to write the digit 8. 93. The Stock Pen A rancher decided that he needed to fence in 14 acres for use as a stock pen. A high straight cliff could be used as one side of a rec- 27CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 94-97 tangular area. What dimensions will enable him to fence in the pen at minimum cost? 94. Five Simultaneous Linear Equations Solve the following set of simultaneous equations: atytetu=5 ytetutv=al etutotr=2 utov+taty=0 otetyt2=4 95. An Almost Universal Theorem State a theorem about integers which is valid for all integers n, with the exceptions n = 5, 17,and 257. 96. Angle Trisectors In the triangle ABC, BD and BE are trisectors of angle B, while CD and CE are trisectors of angle C. £ is the point closer to side BC. Prove that angles BDE and EDC are equal. 97. Units’ Digits of Fibonacci Series In the Fibonacci series, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 18, +++ wherein the rule of formation is Fry2 = Fy, + Fait, Fi = Fs =-1, do the units’ digits form a repetitive sequence? That is, one similar to 055055 «++ . 28CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 98-101 98. Related Cubics Tf a, b, c are roots of 2? + gz + r = 0, form the equation whose roots are (b + c)/a*, (c + a)/b*, and (a + b)/c*. 99. A Skeleton Product The product of three consecutive even integers is 87 + * + * *8. Find the integers and supply the missing digits in the product. 100. Inscribed Decagons If the circumference of a circle is divided into ten equal parts, the chords joining consecutive points of division form a regular decagon. The chords joining every third division point form an equilateral star decagon. Show that the difference between the sides of these decagons is equal to the radius of the circle. 101. The Handshakers Every person on earth has shaken a certain number of hands. Prove that the number of persons who have shaken an odd number of hands is even. 29CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 102-106 102. A Fast Deal Five cards are drawn at random from a pack of cards which have been numbered consecutively from 1 to 97, and thoroughly shuffled. What is the probability that the numbers on the cards as drawn are in increasing order of magnitude? 103. A Perpendicular Bisector Prove that the perpendicular bisector of the line joining the feet of two altitudes of a triangle bisects the third side of the triangle. 104. Condition for Divisibility For what integer a does 2* — x + a divide z¥ + x + 90? 105. The Farmer's Dilemma A farmer must buy 100 head of animals with $100. Calves cost $10 each, lambs cost $3 each, and pigs cost 50 cents each. If the farmer buys at least one of each kind of animal, how many of each kind does he buy? 106. A Factored Integer Find the prime factors of 1,000,027. 30CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 107-110 107. A Folded Card A rectangular card is folded through one corner so that the adjacent, corner falls on a side, thus forming three right triangles with areas in arithmetic progression. If the area of the smallest triangle is 3 square inches, what is the area of the largest? 108. A Unique Square What square is the product of four consecutive odd integers? 109. A Neat Inequality Show that n*™ > 1-3-5+7+++(2n — 1). 110. A Cosine Sum Evaluate cos 5° + cos 77° + cos 149° + cos 221° + cos 293°. 31CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 111-114 111. Quantity Divisible by 9 If f(a) = 2 4 28 + a + xt + 2? + 1, show that f(2%) is divisible by 9. 112. Triangular Numbers in Scale of Nine Show that each member of the infinite series 1, 11, 111, 1111, -+- is a triangular number in the scale of notation with base nine. 113. Relative Polyhedral Volumes A regular tetrahedron and a regular octahedron have equal edges. Find the ratio of their volumes without computing the volume of either. 114. The Space Fillers Show that space can be filled with a tessellation of regular octa- hedrons and tetrahedrons. (A tessellation is a repetitive space-filling pattern.) 32CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 115-118 115. Simple Simplification Reduce 116,690,151/427,863,887 to lowest terms. 116. Sine Sum Prove that the sum of the sines of a triangle never exceeds 3V3/2 with equality only when the triangle is equilateral. 117. Two Ferry Boats Two ferry boats ply back and forth across a river with constant speeds, turning at the banks without loss of time. They leave oppo- site shores at the same instant, meet for the first time 700 feet from one shore, continue on their ways to the banks, return and meet for the second time 400 feet from the opposite shore. As an oral exercise determine the width of the river. 118. Togetherness at Meals Albert and Bertha Jones have five children, Christine, Daniel, Elizabeth, Frederick, and Grace. The father decided that he would like to determine a cycle of seating arrangements at their circular dinner table so that each person would sit by every other person exactly once during the cycle of meals. How did he do it? 33CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 119-191 119. Sum of Digits Find the sum of the digits appearing in the integers 1, 2, 3, «+, (10" — 1). 120. Feeding Three Truck-drivers Three truck-drivers went into a roadside cafe. One truck-driver purchased four sandwiches, a cup of coffee and ten doughnuts for $1.69. Another truck-driver purchased three sandwiches, a cup of coffee and seven doughnuts for $1.26. What did the third truck- driver pay for a sandwich, a cup of coffee and a doughnut? 121. Overlapping Squares The vertex A of square ABCD is placed so that it coincides with the center of square MN PQ and so that AB trisects MN. If AB = MN, find the common area. 34CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 122-124 122. Solution without Expansion Without actually expanding solve: (12% — 1) (6 — 1) (4x — 1)(8e — 1) = 5. 123. Problem in Primes A multiplication of a three-place number by a two-place number has the form 2 2 PP PPPP PPPP PPPPDP The p’s are all prime digits, different from unity. Determine their values and show that the solution is unique. 124. Intersecting Great Circles In general, n great circles on a sphere will intersect in n(n — 1) points. Show how to place the numbers 1, 2, ---, n(n — 1) on these points in such a way that the sum of the numbers on every great circle is the same. (The plane of a great circle passes through the center of the sphere.) 35CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 125-198 125. Costly Club Ten people decided to start a club. If there had been five more in the group, the initial expense to each would have been $100 less. What was the initial cost per person? 126. Binomial Coefficients What is the largest value of y such that there is a binomial expansion in which the coefficients of y consecutive terms are in the ratio 1:2:3:+++:y? Identify the corresponding expansion and the terms. 127. Quantity Divisible by 8640 Show that for all integer values of z, x? — 6a? + 9x5 — 42% is divisible by 8640. 128. Dissected Pentagon 36CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 129-132 A pentagon consists of a square symmetrically surmounted by an isosceles right triangle. Dissect the pentagon into three pieces which can be reassembled into an isosceles right triangle. 129. Infinite Product Evaluate the infinite product: 34-9! 2712. . « (gn) ¥3", 130. Never a Square Prove that for n a positive integer n* + 2n? + 2n? + 2n + 1 is never a perfect square. 131. Chords of a Circle A circle is divided into n equal parts. Every division point is then connected to every division point m steps away, except that no diameters are drawn. Prove that not more than two of these lines pass through any interior point of the circle. 132. Nine-digit Determinants The nine positive digits can be arranged into 3-by-3 arrays in 9! ways. Find the sum of the determinants of these arrays. 37CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 133-135 133. Six Common Points Find six points common to the graphs of 2x? + Bxy — 2y* — 6x + 3y = 0 and 32? + Try + 2y? — Te + y — 134, A Shuffled Deck Prove that if the top 26 cards of an ordinary shuffled deck contain more red cards than there are black cards in the bottom 26, then there are in the deck at least three consecutive cards of the same color. 135. Equal Angles Given an acute-angled triangle ABC and one altitude AH, select any point D on AH, then draw BD and extend it until it intersects 38CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 136-139 AC in E. Draw CD and extend it until it intersects AB in F. Prove that angle AHE = angle AHF. 136. A Consistent System For what value of k is the following system consistent? e+ty=1 ket y=2 atkhy=3 137. Diophantine Equation Show that the equation 2? — y? = a? always has integral solutions whenever a is a positive integer. 138. Dissection of Triangle into Two Similar Triangles Show that any given triangle can be dissected by straight cuts into four pieces which can be arranged to form two triangles similar to the given triangle. 139. The Moving Digits ‘A number of less than 30 digits begins with the two digits 15 on the left, 15~ ~~; and when it is multiplied by 5, the result is merely to move these two digits to the right-hand end, thus, ~~~ -16. Find the number. 39CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 140-142 140. Vertex of a Tetrahedron Show that in every tetrahedron there must be at least one vertex at which each of the face angles is acute. 141. The Lucky Prisoners A jailer, carrying out the terms of a partial amnesty, unlocked every cell in the prison row. Next he locked every second cell. Then he turned the key in every third cell, locking those cells which were open and opening those cells which were locked. He continued this way, on the nth trip turning the key in every nth cell. Those prisoners whose cells eventually remained open were allowed to go free. Who were the lucky ones? 142. No Point in Common No one of six circular areas in a plane contains the center of another. Show that the six areas have no point in common. 40CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 143-147 143. Mental Multiplication Multiply 96 by 104, 144. A Unique Triad Prove that there is only one set of three distinct positive integers, having no common divisor greater than unity, such that each is a divisor of the sum of the other two. 145. The Enclosed Corner Across one corner of a rectangular room two 4-foot screens are placed so as to enclose the maximum floor space. Determine their positions. 146. Relatively Prime Integers If a, b, and c are integers with no factor common to all three, and 1/a + 1/b = 1/c, show that (a + 6), (a — c), and (b — c) are all perfect squares. 147. Diophantine Duo Solve a? — b* — c? = 8abe and a? = 2(b + c) simultaneously in positive integers. aCHALLENGE PROBLEMS 148-151 148. Bimedians of a Tetrahedron Prove that the lines joining the midpoints of opposite edges of a regular tetrahedron intersect at right angles. 149. Pied Product When the type for a multiplication of the form (abc) (bea) (cab) was set the digits of the product became pied so that it read 234,235,286. Given that a > b > c and that the correct units’ digit is 6, restore the digits of the product to their proper order. 150. A Peculiar Number If a certain number is reduced by 7 and the remainder is multiplied by 7, the result is the same as when the number is reduced by 11 and the remainder is multiplied by 11. Find the number. 151. Three of a Kind Prove that at a gathering of any six people, some three of them are either mutual acquaintances or are complete strangers to each other. 42CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 152-155 152. A Simplification Problem simptity V5)" + (4 — 15)" my 6+ 85)" — (6 — 35) 153. Product of Three Primes A certain number is the product of three prime factors, the sum of whose squares is 2331. There are 7560 numbers (including unity) which are less than the number and prime to it. The sum of its divisiors (including unity and the number itself) is 10,560. Find the number. 154. Representation of Rational Number Prove that any positive rational number can be expressed as a finite sum of distinct terms of the harmonic series, 1, 4, 4%, M4, sees dfn 155. Condition That a Triangle Is Isosceles If from the feet of the bisectors of the interior angles of a triangle 43CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 156-159 perpendiculars erected to the respective sides are concurrent, prove that the triangle is isosceles. 156. Classified Integers Split the integers 1, 2, 3, -- +16 into two classes of eight numbers each such that the C(8, 2) = 28 sums formed by taking the sums of pairs is the same for both classes, 157. Economical Ballots A certain physical society is planning a ballot for the election of three officers. There are 3, 4, and 5 candidates for the three offices, respectively. There is a rule in effect (in order to eliminate the ordering of the candidates on the ballot as a possible influence on the election) that for each office, each candidate must appear in each position the same number of times as any other candidate. What is the smallest number of different ballots necessary? 158. Comparison of Ratios If x and y are positive, which ratio is the greater, (@+y)i(@+y) or (a — ¥*):(e@— y)? 159. Mixtilinear Triangle Find the radius of the circle inscribed in the mixtilinear triangle formed by the two legs of a given right triangle ABC and the semi- circumference described externally upon the hypotenuse AB. a4(CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 160-168 160. Pandiagonal Heterosquare We define a pandiagonal heterosquare as a square array of the first n? positive integers, so arranged that no two of the rows, columns, and diagonals (broken as well as straight) have the same sum. Is there any n for which these 4n sums are consecutive numbers? 161. A Product of 2+" Prove that the integer next greater than (v3 + 1)?" has a factor Qn, 162. In a Nonagon SL” Let AB, BC be two adjacent sides of a regular nonagon inscribed in a circle with center 0. Let M be the midpoint of AB and N the midpoint of the radius perpendicular to BC. Show that angle OMN = 30°. 45CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 163-167 163. Spending Money A father budgeted $6 to distribute equally among his children for spending money at the beach. When two young cousins joined the party and shared in the equal distribution, each child received 25 cents less than had been planned. How many children were in the party? 164. Summing an Infinite Series Find the sum of the infinite series, 1+ 22+ 324+ 42°+---,2<1. 165. A Fenced Square Field A square field is enclosed by a tight board fence of 11-foot boards laid horizontally four boards high. The number of boards in the fence equals the number of acres in the field. What is the size of the field? 166. Triangular Numbers from Odd Squares Prove that every odd square in the octonary system (scale of eight) ends in 1, and if this be cut off, the remaining part is a triangular number. 167. Inscribed Circles Which of the following triangles has the larger inscribed circle, one with sides 17, 25, and 26 or one with sides 17, 25, and 28? 46CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 168-170 168. An Inscribed Dodecagon A convex polygon of twelve sides inscribed in a circle has in some order six sides of length V2 and six of length +/24. What is the radius of the circle? 169. A Susceptible Diophantine Equation Find a solution in positive integers of a? + bt = c. 170. Antifreeze A 21-quart-capacity car radiator is filled with an 18-percent alcohol solution. How many quarts must be drained and then replaced by a 90-percent alcohol solution for the resulting solution to contain 42 percent alcohol? 47CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 171-174 171. Maximum-minimum without Calculus Find the maximum and minimum values of (2? — 2x + 2)/(2% —2) without using the calculus. 172. Tangent Sum Equal to Product Consider the tangents of 117°, 118° and 125°. Prove that their sum is equal to their product. 173. A Faded Document Reconstruct this “faded document” division in which the illegible digits are represented by asterisks. anes ae )eneade + wee eel ae 3* 174. Bisecting Yin and Yang The monad, or yin and yang, is essentially a circle divided into two equal parts by equal semicircles on opposite sides of a diameter. Bisect each of the equal areas with a single line. 48CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 175-178 175. Number That Is Factor of Its Reverse In what system of numeration is 297 a factor of 792? 176. Square Dad Legally married in California, my neighbor has reached a square age. The product of the digits of his age is his wife’s age. The age of their daughter is the sum of the digits of her father’s age, and the age of their son is the sum of the digits of his mother’s age. How old are they? 177. Tetrahedron through a Straw Given a flexible, thin-walled cylinder, such as a soda straw, with diameter d. What is the edge e of the largest regular tetrahedron that can be pushed through the straw? 178. A Product of (2 — 1)? Show that a"! — n(a— 1) — a is divisible by (a — 1)?, where n is a positive integer. 49CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 179-181 179. Determinant of Pascal's Triangle The arithmetic triangle of binomial 1 1 1 1 1 1 coefficients was arranged by Pascalas 12 3 4 5 6 shown. Prove that the determinant 13 6 10 15 21 of any square array based on the first 1 4 10 20 35 56 row (or column) has unit value. 15 15 35 70 126 16 21 56 126 252 180. Rational Coordinates In the equation 22° + 2y? — 322 — 3y? + 1 = 0, if any rational value is assigned to z, show that at least one rational value can be computed for y. 181. A Closed Construction Starting at a point P on the side BC of a triangle ABC, mark Q on AB with BQ = BP, R on CA with AR = AQ, P’ on BC with CP' = CR, Q’ on AB with BQ’ = BP’, and so on. Prove that the 50CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 182-186 construction closes, i.e., that CP = CR’, and that the six points P, Q, R, P’, Q, R’ lie on the same circle. 182. Grouped Odd Integers The consecutive odd integers are grouped as follows: 1; (3, 5); (7, 9, 11); (18, 15, 17, 19); «++. Find the sum of the numbers in the nth group. 183. The Sixteen-point Sphere Can the radius of its sixteen-point sphere ever be one-half of the circumradius of a tetrahedron? (The sixteen-point sphere passes through the circumcenters of the faces.) 184. Concurrent Circles The other three points of intersection of three concurrent circles lie on the same straight line. Prove that their centers and the point of concurrency lie on the same circle. 185. Golf Tournament A golf pro wishes to arrange a tournament for 16 members of his club. They are to play in foursomes and each member is to play in the same foursome with every other member once and only once. Show how the rounds can be arranged. 186, Square Triangular Numbers Show that there are infinitely many square triangular numbers. 51CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 187-189 187. System in Three Variables Solve the system: « + y + 2 = 6, cy + yz + ax = 11, cyz = 6. 188. Imbedded Polyhedron The vertices and edges of a certain polyhedron, from which the inside and the faces have been removed, may be imbedded in the plane, allowing stretching. Sketch the original polyhedron if the plane imbedding is as shown. 189. Baseball Team Standings Following is the won-lost record of the baseball teams in the National League on July 14, 1965: we wu Chicago 41 46 New York 29 «56 Cincinnati 49 36 Philadelphia 45 39 Houston 39 45 Pittsburgh 44 43 Los Angeles 51 38 St. Louis 41 45 Milwaukee 42 40 San Francisco 45 38 Arrange the teams in correct descending order of “percentage” won without calculating the “percentages.”CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 190-194 190. A Sweet Purchase A housewife purchased some sugar for $2.16. Had the sugar cost 1 cent a pound less, she would have received 3 pounds more for the same expenditure. How many pounds of sugar did she buy? 191. Intersections of Diagonals Find the number of intersections of the diagonals of a convex polygon of 7 sides. 192. Two Vanishing Triads Prove that if the sum of the members of each of two number triads is zero, then the sums of the cubes of the members of the triads are in the same ratio as the products of the members. 193. Condition for Factorability If a and b are prime to 3 and a + b is of the form 3k, then show that 2* + x? + 1 is factorable. 194. Parallel Resistances The equivalent electrical resistance z of two resistances x and y connected in parallel is given by the relationship I/z = 1/a + 1/y, t,y,2>0. Determine the solution in positive integers. 53CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 195-198 195. Minimum Bisector What is the curve of minimum length which bisects the area of an equilateral triangle? 196. A Peculiar Square Find a nine-digit integer of the form a,a,a3b1b2ba,0,0; which is the product of the squares of four distinct primes, a, ~ 0, bibs; 2(aya20s) . 197. A Series of Tests Professor Tester gave marks based upon an average of a series of tests. As John came into the last test, he realized that he would have to make a 97 in order to average 90 for the course. On the other hand, if he was as low as 73, he would still be able to average 87. How many tests were in Professor Tester’s series? 198. Coinciding Points in a Quadrilateral Show that the midpoint of the line segment joining the midpoints of the diagonals of a quadrilateral coincides with the point of inter- section of the line segments joining the midpoints of the opposite sides of the quadrilateral. 54CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 199-201 199. Fractions in Lowest Terms Show that in the sequence 1/n, 2/n, 3/n, «++, (n — 1)/n, wheren is a positive integer greater than 2, an even number of the members are fractions in lowest terms. 200. The Tea Set A silver tea set in a dealer’s window had the following cost marks and retail prices: Sugarbowl........HKHC $6.72 Creamer.....HCKH $6.00 Trey ee AMSL 50.16 ‘Teapot...... SIAB 91.08 Tongs... 6.06.06 HBLT 1.72 —Spoons....... HMIT 10.52 Complete set..............- -BLCSK $166.20 If the markup was the same percent of the cost in each case, break the cost-mark code. 201. Segments Determining an Equilateral Triangle i“ Three segments, 3, 4, and 5 inches long, one from each vertex of an equilateral triangle, meet at an interior point P. How long is the side of the triangle?CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 202-206 202. An Invariant Remainder What number when divided into 1108, 1453, 1844, and 2281, always leaves the same remainder? 203. Nine Non-Zero Digits Find a permutation of the nine non-zero digits with a square root of the form ababe where ab = c’. 204. Dissection for Coincidence Consider two congruent triangles that can be brought into coin- cidence only by a rotation of one of them through a third dimension. How, by cutting the triangles, could coincidence be effected by motion in a plane only? 205. Deflating Umbugio Professor E. P. B. Umbugio has recently been strutting around because he hit upon the solution of the fourth-degree equation which results when the radicals are eliminated from the equation a= (x — 1/2)? + (1 — 1/a)¥. Deflate the professor by solving this equation using nothing higher than quadratic equations. 206. Males with Common Characteristics If 70 percent of the adult males of a community have brown eyes, 75 percent have dark hair, 85 percent are over 5 feet 8 inches tall, 56CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 207-209 and 90 percent weigh more than 140 pounds, what percent at least have all four characteristics? 207. An Area of Constant Width Given two points A and B within a region of constant width 1. Show that there is a path from A to B which touches the boundary b of the region and whose length < 1. [A curve of constant width is a curve such that the distance between parallel tangents (support lines) is constant. ] 208. Comparing Radicals Which is the larger, ~/8! or ¥/9!? 209. Fibonacci Tetrahedron Find the volume of the tetrahedron with vertices (Fn, Fas, Fai2), (Fata, Fass Fngs), (Fuse, Fatty Fags), and (Fug, Faso, Psat), where F; is the ith Fibonacci number in the sequence, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, «++. 57CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 210-213 210. The Regular Octahedron A regular octahedron, edge e, is cut by a plane parallel to one of its faces. Find (a) the perimeter, and (b) the area of the section. 211. Never an Integer Prove that 1 + 44 + 4% + +++ + 1/n is never an integer for any n>1. 212. Three Consecutive Odd Integers Show that there are no three consecutive odd integers such that each is the sum of two squares greater than zero. 213. Vanishing Vector Sum Prove that the sum of the vectors from the center O of a regular n-gon to its vertices is zero.CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 914-219 214. The Sliding Ellipse Two fixed lines are perpendicular to each other. An ellipse moves so that it is always tangent to both lines. Find the locus of its center. 215. Superposed Radical Evaluate Vil + Vid ¢ OV FBO) 216. Fibonacci Pythagorean Triangles Find Pythagorean triangles whose sides are Fibonacci numbers. 217. Hole in Sphere The axis of a cylindrical hole 10 inches long coincides with a diam- eter of a sphere through which it is drilled. What is the volume of the material remaining? 218. The Commuter If a man walks to work and rides back home it takes him an hour and a half. When he rides both ways it takes 30 minutes. How long would it take him to make the round trip by walking? 219. Odd Base of Notation Show that any integer in a system of notation with an odd base is odd, if and only if it has an odd number of odd digits. 59CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 220-999 220. Journey on a Dodecahedron Suppose that the vertices of a polyhedron represent places that we want to visit, while the edges represent the only possible routes. Hamilton considered the problem of visiting all the places, without repetition, on a single journey. [See, for example, W. W. R. Ball and H. 8. M. Coxeter, Mathematical Recreations and Essays, The Macmillan Company, New York, (1956), p. 262.] This is easily solved for the pentagonal dodecahedron. Prove that it cannot be done for the rhombic dodecahedron. 221. Rhombic Dodecahedrons Show that space can be filled with rhombic dodecahedrons. 299. A Fibonacci Relationship For the Fibonacci sequence {F,}, where Fi = F: = 1, Fa = F,4 + F,-2, n 2 3, show that every fifth number in the sequence is divisible by 5. 60CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 223-226 293. Cryptic Multiplication After making an ordinary arithmetic multiplication, a OEE man replaced every even digit with F and every odd digit EE with O. He obtained the arrangement on the right. #O EE What was the multiplication? EOE OOEE 224. Creased Rectangle Two opposite vertices of an 2-by-y rectangle are brought into coincidence, and the rectangle is flattened out to form a crease. Find the length of the crease. 225. A Man's Birthdate In 1987 a man stated that he was x years old in the year 22, He added, “If the number of my years be added to the number of my month, the result equals the square of the day of the month on which I was born.” When was he born? 226. A Fractional Equation Solve the equation (x — a)/b + (« — b)/a = b/(x — a) + a/(x— b). 61CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 227-230 227. A Particular Isosceles Triangle — e-Q A A M An isosceles triangle ABC has a vertex angle C = 20°. Points M and N are so taken on AC and BC that angle ABM = 60° and angle BAN = 50°. Without resorting to trigonometry, prove that angle BMN = 30°. 228. Tree Leaves If there are more trees than there are leaves on any one tree, then there exist at least two trees with the same number of leaves. True or false? 229. A Diophantine Cubic Solve 2? + 1 = y? in integers. 230. Countries on a Sphere Suppose that the surface of a sphere is divided into triangular “countries,” where triangular means that each country touches ex- actly three others. A vertex of the graph formed by the boundary lines of the countries is called even or odd depending on whether an even or an odd number of boundary lines runs into it. Is there such 62CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 231-233 a triangulation having exactly two odd vertices in which these vertices are adjacent? 231. Henry's Trip Henry started a trip into the country between 8 A.M. and 9 A.M. when the hands of the clock were together. He arrived at his desti- nation between 2 P.M. and 3 P.M. when the hands of the clock were exactly 180° apart. How long did he travel? 232. A Power Series Express 1/(1 + z)(1 + 2*) (1 + 2*)(1 + 2*) as a power series. 233. Parallels in a Triangle HY Through any interior point P in triangle ABC, lines are drawn parallel to the three sides of the triangle, dividing these sides into three segments each. If the middle segments of sides a, b, and ¢ are denoted by a’, b’, and c’, respectively, show that a/a+b/b+ec/e=1. 63CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 234-237 234. A Partitioning Problem Partition 316 into two parts so that one part is divisible by 13 and the other part by 11. 235. Fair Fares Find the digits in the scale of six which are uniquely represented by the letters in F A RE S = (F E E)?. 236. How Old Is Willie? “Did your teacher give you that problem?” I asked. “It looks rather tedious.” “No,” said Willie, “I made it up. It’s a polynomial equation with my age asaroot. That is, z stands for my age my last birthday.” “Well, then,” I remarked, “It shouldn’t be so hard to work out —integer coefficients, integral root. Suppose I tryz =7 +--+. No, that gives 77.” “Do I look only seven years old?” demanded Willie. “Well, let me try a larger integer ---. No, that gives 85, not zero.” “Oh, stop kidding!” said Willie, looking over my shoulder. “You know I’m older than that.” How old is Willie? 237. Accelerating Particle A particle moves in a straight line starting from rest and finishing at rest, and covers unit distance in unit time. Prove that at some point its acceleration has a magnitude of at least 4 units. It is. assumed that » and a are continuous functions of t. 64CHALLENGE PROBLEMS 238-240 238. Stamps for Buck A boy sent to buy $1 worth of stamps asked for some 2-cent stamps, ten times as many 1-cent stamps and the rest in 5-cent stamps. How many of each did he buy? 239. A Twenty Question Game As a variation of the game of Twenty Questions, suppose I think of a number which you are to determine by asking me not more than twenty questions, each of which can be answered by only “yes” or “no.’’ What is the largest number that I should be per- mitted to choose so that you may determine it in twenty questions? 240. Inscribed Spheres If the faces of a hexahedron are equilateral triangles congruent to the faces of a regular octahedron, find the ratio of the radii of the inscribed spheres. 65