GLOBAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

CHAMPIONSHIPS (GAIC) MATH 2024

Organized by AGI Odyssey, Contact: [email protected]

Problem 1. Let S = {1, 2, · · · 2024}, if the set of any n pairwise prime numbers in S has
at least one prime number, the minimum value of n is .

Answer: 16
Reasoning: Taking the 15 numbers 1, 22, 32, ..., 432 violates the condition. Furthermore,
since S does not contain any non-prime numbers with a minimum prime factor of at least 47,
there are only 14 types of non-prime numbers in S, excluding 1. Applying the Pigeonhole
Principle, we conclude that n = 16.

Problem 2. Let Al = (4l + 1)(4l + 2) · · · (4(55 + 1)l). Given a positive integer l such that
525l | Al and 525l+1 ∤ Al , the minimum value of l satisfying these conditions is .

Answer: 3906
Reasoning: Let n = 4l.
55 −1
Then Al = (55 l)!C(5
n
, where ν5 ((55 l)!) = 54 n + 53 n + · · · + n + ν5 (n!) = n + ν5 (n!).
 5 +1)n  4

Thus, we need ν5 C(s n

5 +1)n = n4 − ν5 (n!).
By Kummer’s Theorem, this means in base 5, when adding n and 55 n, there are n4 −ν5 (n!)
carries.
Notice that n4 − ν5 (n!) > n4 − n5 + 25
n


+ · · · = 0,
which implies there must be carries when adding n and 55 n. Thus, n must have at least
6 digits in base 5.
Suppose n = a5 a4 · · · a0 . The number of carries when adding n and 55 n is the same as
the number of carries when adding a5 and a5 a4 · · · a0 .

1
 Since
n n n  h n i h n i 
− v5 (n!) = + + ··· − + + ···
4 n 5n o 25n n o 5 25
= + + ···
5 25
a0 5a1 + a0 25a2 + 5a1 + a0
= + + + ···
5 25 125
a5 + a4 + · · · + a0
=
4
a5 + a0 5
⩾ ⩾ >1
4 4
This indicates that in the quintile system a5 and a5 a4 · · · a0 are carried at least 2 times,
then a1 = 4. While,
a5 + a4 + · · · + a0 a5 + a1 + a0 9
⩾ ⩾ > 2,
4 4 4
which implies a2 = 4. Continuing this process, we find that a1 = a2 = · · · = a5 = 4.
And then a5 +a4 +···+a
4
0
∈ Z, we get a0 = 4.
Obviously, such n is indeed satisfied the requirements. Therefore, the minimum value of
6
l that satisfies the condition is 5 4−1 = 3906
Finally, note that the number of carries when adding 5n to 56 n is the same as the number
of carries when adding 5n to 55 n, which means if l satisfies the conditions, then 5l also satisfies
the conditions, implying that there are infinitely many values of l satisfying the conditions.

Problem 3. Sasha collects coins and stickers, with fewer coins than stickers, but at least 1
coin. Sasha chooses a positive number t > 1 (not necessarily an integer). If he increases the
number of coins by a factor of t, then he will have a total of 100 items in his collection. If he
increases the number of stickers by a factor of t, then he will have a total of 101 items in his
collection. If Sasha originally had more than 50 stickers, then he originally had
stickers.

Answer: 66
Reasoning: Let m and n be the number of coins and stickers Sasha originally had, respec-
tively.
According to the problem, we have:

mt + n = 100, (1)
m + nt = 101. (2)

From (2)−(1), we can learn that

1
(n − m)(t − 1) = 1 =⇒ t = 1 + n−m .
From (1)+(2), we can learn that
201
(n + m)(t + 1) = 201 =⇒ t = m+n − 1.
Let a = n − m and b = n + m.
Since n > m, we have a > 0.

2
 Comparing the two different expressions in terms of t, we get:
1 201
1 + n−m = m+n − 1 ⇔ 1 + a1 = 201
b
− 1 ⇔ 2a+1a
= 201
b
.
2n+1
Because 2a + 1 and a are coprime, a is in lowest terms, which implies that 201 is
divisible by 2a + 1. Since 201 = 3 × 67, it has only four positive divisors: 1, 3, 67, and 201.
Since 2a + 1 > 1, there are three possible cases:
1. 2a + 1 = 3.
201
Then a = 1 ⇒ b
= 3 ⇒ b = 67.
Hence, m = 12 (b − a) = 33,
n = 12 (a + b) = 34,
and t = 2,
which does not satisfy the condition.

2. 2a + 1 = 67.
201 67
Then a = 33 ⇒ b
= 33
⇒ b = 99.
Hence, m = 12 (b − a) = 33,
n = 12 (a + b) = 66,
34
and t = 33
.
It can be easily verified that this case satisfies the condition.

3. 2a + 1 = 201.
201 201
Then a = 100 ⇒ b
= 100
⇒ b = 100.
Hence, m = 12 (b − a) = 0,
and n = 12 (a + b) = 100.
Since the number of coins cannot be 0, this case does not satisfy the condition.
Problem 4. Let n be a positive integer. An integer k is called a ”fan” of n if and only if
0 ⩽ k ⩽ n − 1 and there exist integers x, y, z ∈ Z such that x2 + y 2 + z 2 ≡ 0(mod n) and
xyz ≡ k(mod n). Let f (n) denote the number of fans of n. Then f(2020) = .
Answer: 101
Reasoning: For a fan k of 2020, since there exists x2 + y 2 + z 2 ≡ 0(mod 2020), particularly,
we have x2 + y 2 + z 2 ≡ 0(mod4).
Thus, x2 ≡ 0 or 1(mod 4), which implies x, y, z are all even.
Therefore, k ≡ xyz ≡ 0(mod 4).
Also, x2 + y 2 + z 2 ≡ 0(mod 5), and x2 ≡ 0, 1, 4(mod 5), so there must be a number among
x, y, z that is a multiple of 5.
Hence, k ≡ 0(mod 5).
Therefore, a fan k of 2020 must be a multiple of 20.
Next, we prove that all multiples of 20 are fans of 2020.
Since x2 + y 2 + z 2 ≡ 0(mod 101) has solutions, let x = a, y = 6a, z = 8a, then any
k ≡ xyz ≡ 48a3 (mod 101) is fan of 101.

3
 If there exist i ̸= j such that 48i3 ≡ 48j 3 (mod 101) (0 ⩽ i < j ⩽ 100), then (i − j)(i2 +
ij + j 2 ) ≡ 0(mod 101).
Since i − j ̸= 0(mod 101), we have i2 + ij + j 2 ≡ 0(mod101).
Thus, (2i + j)2 ≡ −3j 2 (mod 101), implying that
-3 is
a quadratic residue modulo 101.
3−1 101−1
3 101
= (−1) 2 · 2 = 1, and 101


But from the law of quadratic reciprocity, 101 3 3
=
−1,
3


so 101 = −1.

−3 3

−1

Furthermore, 101 = 101 101
.
−1 −3
2



Since 100 ≡ 10 ≡ −1(mod 101), we have 101 = 1, which implies 101 = −1, contra-
dicting our assumption.
This indicates that when i traverses the complete system modulo 101, 48i3 also traverses
the complete system modulo 101. Since 0 ⩽ k ⩽ 2019, we conclude that f (2020) = 101.
Problem 5. Four positive integers satisfy a3 = b2 , c5 = d4 , and c − a = 77. Then, d − b =
.
Answer: 235
Reasoning: Given the conditions, we can assume a3 = b2 = x6 and c5 = d4 = y 20 , which
yields y 4 −x2 = (y 2 −x)(y 2 +x) = 77. Hence, we find that y = 3, x = 2, d−b = 243−8 = 235.
Problem 6. The smallest n such that both 3n+1 and 5n+1 are perfect squares is .
Answer: 16
Reasoning: It can be easily verified.
Problem 7. Find the largest positive integer n such that the product of the numbers n, n +
1, n + 2, · · · , n + 100 is divisible by the square of one of these numbers.
Answer: 100!
Reasoning: When n=100!, n(n+1)(n+2)...(n+100) n+100


n2 = 100
is an integer.
If n > 100!, Let the product be divisible by the square of n+k, then: n(n+1)(n+2)...(n+
k−1)(n+k+1)(n+k+2) · · · (n+100) ≡ 0(modn+k), namely, −1k k!(100−k)! ≡ 0(modn+k).
But by n > 100!, −1k k!(100 − k)! < n + k, and −1k k!(100 − k)! non-zero, resulting in
contradiction.
So the maximum n is 100!
Problem 8. Given a positive integer x with m digits in its decimal representation, and let
x3 have n digits. Which of the following options cannot be the value of m + n?

A) 2022 B) 2023
C) 2024 D) 2025

Answer: D
Reasoning: Given that 10m−1 ≤ x < 10m , then 103m−3 ≤ x3 < 103m . Hence, n can take
values 3m − 2, 3m − 1, or 3m. Thus, m + n cannot be congruent to 1 modulo 4. Therefore,
option D is chosen.

4
Problem 9. Positive integers a, b, and c satisfy a > b > c > 1, and also satisfy abc |
(ab − 1)(bc − 1)(ca − 1). There are possible sets of (a, b, c).

Answer: 1
Reasoning: The original statement is equivalent to abc | ab + bc + ca − 1. It’s evident that
c < 3, so c = 2.
Then, 2ab < ab + 2a + 2b implies b < 4, so b = 3.
Substituting back, we find a = 5.

Problem 10. There are sets of positive integers a ≤ b ≤ c such that ab − c,

bc − a, and ca − b are all powers of 2.

Answer: 4
Reasoning: Only the sets (2, 2, 2),(2, 2, 3),(2, 6, 11) and (3, 5, 7) satisfy the conditions.

Problem 11. Define the function f (x) = [x[x]], where [x] represents the largest integer not
exceeding x. For example, [−2.5] = −3.For a positive integer n, let an be the number of
elements in the range set of f (x) when x ∈ [0, n). Then the minimum value of an +90 n
is
.

Answer: 13
Reasoning: When x ∈ [0, 1), only one value satisfies f (x) = 0 , for the positive integer k,
when x ∈ [k, k + 1), x[x] = kx, then f (x) has a total of k values on [k, k + 1), and obviously
the values on different intervals are not equal to each other, then we have:

n2 − n + 2
an = 1 + 1 + 2 + ... + (n − 1) =
2
n2 −n+2
an +90 +90
So = 2
= n2 + 91 − 12 , by the mean value inequality positive integer n should
n √ n n
be around 2 × 91. Substituting n = 13 and n = 14 both yield a result of 13.

Problem 12. If a positive integer’s sum of all its positive divisors is twice the number itself,
then it is called a perfect number. If a positive integer n satisfies both n − 1 and n(n+1)
2
being
perfect numbers, then n = .

Answer: 7
Reasoning: Here we need to use a result from Euler:
n is an even perfect number ⇔ there exists a prime p such that 2p − 1 is prime, and
n = 2p−1 (2p − 1).
Now let’s use this to solve the problem.
Case 1: n is odd. Then n−1 is an even perfect number. We can write n−1 = 2p−1 (2p −1),
where both p and 2p − 1 are primes. In this case,

n (n + 1) 1 p−1 p
2 (2 − 1) + 1 2p−1 (2p − 1) + 2 = 2p−1 (2p − 1) + 1 2p−2 (2p − 1) + 1 .





=
2 2
n(n+1) n(n+1)
When p = 2, n = 7, 2
= 28, in this case, n−1 and 2
are both perfect numbers.

5
 n(n+1)
When p ≥ 3,let N = 2
, then N is odd, and

n+1
= 4p−1 − 2p−2 + 1 = (3 + 1)p−1 − (3 − 1)p−2 + 1,
2
We know by the binomial theorem that ≡ 3 × (p − 1) − (p − 2) × 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 ≡ 6(mod9).
Thus 3 | N , but 32 ∤ N , can set N = 3k, 3 × k, in this case, σ(N ) = σ(3), σ(k) = 4σ(k),
but 2N = 2(mod4), so σ(N ) ̸= 2N , so n(n+1)2
is not perfect.
Case 2: n is an even number, if 4 | n, then n − 1 = −1(mod4) ⇒ n − 1 not a perfect
square number, at this point for any d | n − 1, we can know that d and n−1 d
one mod 4
n−1
remains -1, and the other mod4 remains 1 from d × d = n − 1 ≡ −1(mod4), leading to
d + n−1
d
≡ 0(mod4), and 4 | σ(n − 1), but 2(n − 1) = 2(mod4), so n − 1 is not perfect.
So, 4 ∤ n, then, can be set n = 4k +2, now N = n(n+1)
2
= (2k + 1) (4k +3) is odd. Because
of (2k + 1, 4k + 3) = 1, so σ (N ) = σ (2k + 1) σ (4k + 3) .
Same as above knowable 4 | σ(4k + 3), if σ(N ) = 2N , we can learn that 4 | 2N ⇒ 2 | N ,
this is a contradiction.
To sum up, there is only one n that meets the condition, that is, n = 7.

Problem 13. Try to find all prime numbers with the shape pp + 1(p is a natural number)
that have no more than 19 digits and what the sum of these prime numbers is.

Answer: 264
Reasoning: Obviously p < 19 .
If p is odd, then pp + 1 is divisible by 2, so pp + 1 = 2 is prime only if p = 1.
If p has an odd factor,

mlet p = mk, of which m is odd, then
pp + 1 = p′ + 1 = pk + 1, at this time, pk + 1 | pp + 1 .
Thus pρ+1 is not a prime number.
Thus, p can only be an even number less than 19, with only even factors, i.e. p = 2,4, 8,
16. If p = 16, then

6
1618 = 264 = 210 · 16 > 10006 · 16 = 16 · 1018 ,

Then 1616 + 1is more than 19 digits.

If p = 8, then

3
88 + 1 = 224 + 1 = 28 + 1 = 28 + 1 216 − 28 + 1 is a composite number.

If p = 4, then 44 + 1 = 257 is prime.

If p = 2, then 22 + 1 = 5 is prime.
So the prime numbers are 2, 5, 257, and their sum is 264.

Problem 14. For any positive integer q0 , consider a sequence q1 , q2 , · · · , qn defined by qi =

(qi−1 − 1)3 + 3 (i = 1, 2, · · · , n). If every qi (i = 1, 2, · · · , n) is a power of prime, then the
maximum possible value of n is .

Answer: 2
Reasoning: Since m3 − m = m(m − 1)(m + 1) ≡ 0 (mod 3),

6
 we have qi = (qi−1 − 1)3 + 3 ≡ (qi−1 − 1)3 ≡ qi−1 − 1 (mod 3).
Therefore, among q1 , q2 , and q3 , at least one must be divisible by 3, and this number
should be a power of 3.
If 3 | (q − 1)3 + 3, then 3 | (q − 1)3 , implying 3 | q − 1.
Thus, 33 | (q − 1)3 .
Since 3 | (q − 1)3 + 3, it follows that (q − 1)3 + 3 is a multiple of 3 only when qi = 1, and
this occurs only when i = 0.
However, when q0 = 1, we get q1 = 3, q2 = 11, and q3 = 1003 = 17 × 59. Therefore, the
maximum value of n is 2.
√
Problem
√ 2000 15. The first digit before the decimal point in the decimal representation of ( 2+
5) is and after the decimal point is .

Answer: 1,9
√ √
2000 √
1000
Reasoning: 2+ 5 = 7 + 2 10 .
√
n √
n
Let an = 7 + 2 10 + 7 − 2 10 , then a0 = 2, a1 = 14 .
Note
 that a√n is

a second-order
√ recursive

 sequence whose characteristic equation is
t − 7 + 2 10 t − 7 − 2 10 = 0 , i.e. t2 − 14t + 9 = 0 .
So an+2 − 14an+1 + 9an = 0 .
Thus, an is a series of integers. Calculate the remainder of the first few terms in the
sequence modulo 10:

a0 ≡ 2(mod10), a1 ≡ 4(mod10), a2 ≡ 8(mod10) .

a3 ≡ 6(mod10), a4 ≡ 2(mod10), a5 ≡ 4(mod10).

Notice the a0 ≡ a4 (mod10) , a1 ≡ a5 (mod10), since {an } is second order recursive sequence,
then an+4 ≡ αn (mod10) .
Thus a1000 ≡ a996 ≡ a992 ≡ · · · ≡ a0 ≡ 2(mod10).
√ √
1000
Since 0 < 7 − 2 10 < 1, then 0 < 7 − 2 10 <1.
h √
1000 i
So 7 + 2 10 = an − 1 ≡ 1 (mod10) .
√ √
2000
Then, in the decimal representation of 2+ 5 , the first digit before the decimal
point is 1.
√ √
1000
Also because 0 < 7 − 2 10 < 0.9, then 0 < 7 − 2 10 < 0.1 .
 √ √
n
n
So 7 + 2 10 = 1 − 7 − 2 10 > 0.9 .
√ √
2000
Then, in the decimal representation of 2+ 5 , the first digit after the decimal
point is 9.

Problem 16. N is a 5-digit number composed of 5 different non-zero digits, and N is equal
to the sum of all three digits formed by 3 different digits in these 5 digits, then the sum of
all such 5-digit N is .

Answer: 35964
Reasoning: Let N = a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 be the 5-digit number.

7
 There are P42 = 12 three-digit numbers with a1 as the hundreds digit, P42 = 12 three-digit
numbers with a2 as the tens digit, and P42 = 12 three-digit numbers with a3 as the units
digit. So, according to the given condition:

N = a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 = (a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 ) (100 · 12 + 10 · 12 + 12) = 1332 (a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 ) .

Since 9 | 1332, it follows that 9 | N = a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 , and consequently 9 | (a1 + a2 + a3 +

a4 + a5 ).
Thus, N must be a multiple of 1332 · 9 = 11988.
Considering the possible values of a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 , we have 15 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 ≤
a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 ≤ 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 = 35. Therefore, a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 can only
be 18 or 27.

1. When a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 = 18,
a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 = 1332 · 18 = 23976,
but 2 + 3 + 9 + 7 + 6 = 27 ̸= 18.

2. When a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 = 27,
a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 = 1332 · 27 = 35964, and 3 + 5 + 9 + 6 + 4 = 27.
Therefore, the required 5-digit number is only 35964.

Problem 17. If the last three digits of a positive integer n cubed are 888, then the minimum
value of n is .
Answer: 192
Reasoning: If the cube of a positive integer ends in 8, then the number itself must end in
2, meaning it can be written in the form n = 10k + 2 (where k is a non-negative integer),
and hence n3 = (10k + 2)3 = 1000k 3 + 600k 2 + 120k + 8.
The digit in the tens place of n3 is determined by 120k.
Since we require the tens digit of n3 to be 8, the units digit of 12k should be 8, meaning
the units digit of k must be 4 or 9. Therefore, we can let k = 5m + 4(m is a non-negative
integer).
Then n3 = ⌈10(5m + 4) + 2⌉3 = 125000m3 + 315000m3 + 264600m + 74088.
To make the hundreds digit of n3 8, we need the units digit of 2646m to be 8. The
smallest value of m that satisfies this condition is 3.
Then, k = 5m + 4 = 19, and n = 10k + 2 = 192.
It can be verified that n3 = 7077888, and its last three digits are 888.
Therefore, the minimum value of n is 192.
Problem 18. a, b are both two-digit positive integers, 100a+b and 201a+b are both four-digit
perfect squares, then a + b = .
Answer: 81
Reasoning: Let 100a + b = m2 , 201a + b = n2 , then
101a = n2 − m2 = (n − m) (n + m) , m, n < 100.
So, n − m < 100, n + m < 200, 101 | (m + n) .

8
 Thus, m + n = 101 .
By substituting a = n − m = 2n − 101, we obtain
201(2n − 101) + b = n2 , i.e. n2 − 402n + 20301 = b ∈ (9, 100) .
Verify that n = 59, m = 101 − n = 42 .
Thus, a = n − m = 17, b = n2 − 402n + 20301 = 64, i.e.(a, b) = (17, 64) .
The answer is 17+64=81.

Problem 19. For a positive integer n, which can be uniquely expressed as the sum of the
squares of 5 or fewer positive integers (where two expressions with different summation orders
are considered the same, such as 32 + 42 and 42 + 32 are considered the same expression of
25), then the sum of all the n that satisfy the conditions is .

Answer: 34
Reasoning: First, prove that for all n≥17, there are more than 2 different expressions.
Since every positive integer can be expressed as the sum of the squares of four or less
positive integers (Lagrange’s four-squares theorem),
there exsit non-negative integer xi , yi , zi , wi (i = 1, 2, 3, 4) that satisfy

n − 02 = x20 + y02 + z02 + w62 ,

n − 12 = x21 + y12 + z 2 + w12 ,

n − 22 = x22 + y22 + z22 + w22 ,
n − 32 = x23 + y32 + z32 + w52 ,
n − 42 = x24 + y42 + z42 + w42 ,
It follows that

n = x20 + y02 + z02 + w02 = 12 + x21 + y12 + z12 + w12 = 22 + x22 + y22 + z22 + w22
= 32 + x23 + y32 + z32 + w32 = 42 + x24 + y42 + z42 + u24 .

Suppose n ̸= 12 + 22 + 32 + 42 = 30. Then,

{1, 2, 3, 4} =
̸ {x0 , y0 , z0 , w0 } .

Therefore, there exists k ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4} \ {x0 , y0 , z0 , u0 }, and for such k, x20 + y02 + z62 +
u20 and k 2 + x2k + yk2 + z22 + u2k are distinct.
Because 30 = 12 + 22 + 32 + 42 = 12 + 22 + 52 , it suffices to consider 1 ≤ n ≤ 16.

9
 The following positive integers have two or more different expressions:

4 = 22 = 12 + 12 + 12 + 12
5 = 12 + 22 = 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 + 12
8 = 22 + 22 = 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 + 22
9 = 32 = 12 + 22 + 22
10 = 12 + 32 = 12 + 12 + 22 + 22
11 = 12 + 12 + 32 = 12 + 12 + 12 + 22 + 22
12 = 12 + 12 + 12 + 32 = 22 + 22 + 22
13 = 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 + 32 = 12 + 22 + 22 + 22
14 = 12 + 22 + 32 = 12 + 12 + 22 + 22 + 22
16 = 42 = 22 + 22 + 22 + 22

However, the following six positive integers have only one unique expression:

1 = 12
2 = 12 + 12
3 = 12 + 12 + 12
6 = 12 + 12 + 22
7 = 12 + 12 + 12 + 22
15 = 12 + 12 + 22 + 32

Therefore, the desired positive integer n is 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, or 15.

Problem 20. Given that the product of the digits of a natural number x is equal to 44x −
86868, and the sum of its digits is a perfect cube. Then the sum of all such natural numbers
x is .
Answer: 1989
Reasoning: Since 44x ≥ 86868, we have x ≥ 86868+43
 
44
= 1975.
Thus, x is at least a four-digit number.
On the other hand, if x has k ≥ 5 digits, then 44x − 86868 > 4 × 10k − 105 ≥ 3 × 10k > 9k ,
which implies 44x − 86868 > p(x), where p(x) is the product of the k digits of x. This is
a contradiction, so x is exactly a four-digit number.
Given that the sum of the digits S(x) satisfies 1 ≤ S(x) ≤ 36, we have S(x) = 1, 8, or
27. Obviously, S(x) = 1 is not valid.
Since 0 < p(x) ≤ 94 = 6561, we have x ≤ 86868+6561
 
44
= 2123.
The only possibilities for x satisfying 1975 ≤ x ≤ 2123, S(x) = 8 or 27, and p(x) ̸= 0 are
1989, 1998, 2114, and 2123. After checking, we find that only x = 1989 satisfies the given
condition, where the product of its digits equals 44x − 86868. Therefore, x = 1989 is the
unique solution to this problem.
Hence, the sum of all such natural numbers x is 1989.

10
Problem 21. Given a is a prime number and b is a positive integer such that 9(2a + b)2 =
509(4a + 511b), we need to find the values of a and b.
Answer: 251,7
Reasoning:
Since 9(2a + b)2 = 32 (2a + b)2 is a perfect square, it follows that 509(4a + 511b) must also
be a perfect square. Since 509 is a prime number, we can express 4a + 511b as 509 × 32 k 2 .
Hence, the original equation becomes 9(2a + b)2 = 5092 × 32 k 2 , which simplifies to
2a + b = 509k.
Substituting b = 509k − 2a into the equation , we get 4a + 511(509k − 2a) = 509 × 32 k 2 .
Solving this equation yields a = k(511−9k)
2
.
k(511−9k)
Since a is prime, 2
must also be prime. Thus, we consider the following cases:
k(511−9k)
(1) When k = 1, a = 2
= 511−9
2
= 251 is prime, and b = 509k − 2a = 509 − 2a = 7.
k(511−9k) 511−18
(2) When k = 2, a = 2
= 2 = 493 = 17 × 29, which is not prime.
(3) When k > 2 and k is odd, a = k(511−9k) 2
= k · 511−9k
2
is prime. Since k > 1, 511−9k
2
= 1,
but this equation has no integer solutions.
(4) When k > 2 and k is even, a = k(511−9k) 2
= k2 (511 − 9k) is prime. Since k2 > 1,
511 − 9k = 1, but this equation has no integer solutions.
Thus, we conclude that a = 251 and b = 7.
Problem 22. Let φ(n) denote the number of natural numbers coprime to and less than n.
Then, when φ(pq) = 3p + q, what is the sum of p and q?
Answer: 14
Reasoning: (1) Proof: When p and q are distinct primes, φ(pq) = (p − 1)(q − 1).
Since p and q are distinct primes, the natural numbers less than pq and coprime to pq
cannot be divisible by p or q.
Out of the pq − 1 natural numbers from 1 to pq − 1, q − 1 numbers are divisible by p and
p − 1 numbers are divisible by q. Thus,
φ(pq) = pq − 1 − (p − 1) − (q − 1) = (p − 1)(q − 1).
(2) From (1), we have (p − 1)(q − 1) = 3p + q, which simplifies to pq − 4p − 2q + 1 = 0, or
(p − 2)(q − 4) = 7. (
p − 2 = 1,
q − 4 = 7,
(
p − 2 = 7,
q − 4 = 1,
(
p − 2 = −1,
q − 4 = −7,
(
p − 2 = −7,
q − 4 = −1.
Solving these equations, we get p = 3, q = 11.
Hence, the sum of p and q is 14.

11
Problem 23. Consider the sequence {Sn } constructed as follows: S1 = {1, 1}, S2 = {1, 2, 1},
S3 = {1, 3, 2, 3, 1}, and in general, if Sk = {a1 , a2 , · · · , an }, then Sk+1 = {a1 , a1 + a2 , a2 , a2 +
a3 , · · · , an−1 + an , an }. What is the number of terms equal to 1988 in S1988 ?

Answer: 840
Reasoning: Let φ(n) denote the Euler’s totient function, which counts the number of
positive integers less than n that are coprime to n.
It’s easy to observe that in Sn , every pair of adjacent numbers are coprime, and the larger
number equals the sum of its two adjacent neighbors.
Now, we use mathematical induction to prove that for n ≥ 2, each pair of coprime
numbers a and b less than or equal to n appears adjacent exactly twice in S2 , S3 , · · · , Sn .
By symmetry, it suffices to show that a and b appear adjacent exactly once to the left of
n. The case n = 2 is obvious.
Assume the result holds for n − 1 (n − 1 ≥ 2). Consider only the left of 2.
If a < n, then a and b are not adjacent in Sn .
Otherwise, if a and b are adjacent in Sn , then α − b and b are both in Sn−1 and adjacent.
By the inductive hypothesis, α and b are adjacent in S2 , S3 , · · · , Sn−1 . Thus, α − b and b are
adjacent in S2 , S3 , · · · , Sn−2 . This implies that a − b and b are adjacent in S2 , S3 , · · · , Sn−1
at least twice, a contradiction.
Therefore, a and b appear adjacent exactly once to the left of n. By symmetry, they
appear adjacent exactly once to the right of n as well. Hence, a and b appear adjacent
exactly twice in S2 , S3 , · · · , Sn .
Now, consider those first occurrences of n in S2 , S3 , · · · , Sn (not limited to the left of 2).
These are the numbers in Sn coprime to n, less than n, and their sum equals n. By the above
argument, there are exactly 2φ(n) numbers adjacent to n. Thus, the number of occurrences
of n in Sn is φ(n).
Hence, in S1938 , the number of occurrences of 1988 is φ(1988) = φ(4)φ(7)φ(71) = 840.

Problem 24. For a natural number n, let S(n) denote the sum of its digits. For example,
S(611) = 6 + 1 + 1 = 8. Let a, b, and c be three-digit numbers such that a + b + c = 2005,
and let M be the maximum value of S(a) + S(b) + S(c). How many sets (a, b, c) satisfy
S(a) + S(b) + S(c) = M ?

Answer: 17160
Reasoning: Let a = 100a3 + 10a2 + a1 , b = 100b3 + 10b2 + b1 , and c = 100c3 + 10c2 + c1 ,
where 1 ≤ a3 , b3 , c3 ≤ 9 and 0 ≤ a2 , b2 , c2 , a1 , b1 , c1 ≤ 9.
Define i = a1 + b1 + c1 , j = a2 + b2 + c2 , and k = a3 + b3 + c3 . Given the conditions of
the problem, we have i + 10j + 100k = 2005, and i, j, k are each less than or equal to 27.
We find the possible values of (i, j, k): (i, j, k) = (5, 0, 20), (5, 10, 19), (5, 20, 18), (15, 9, 19),
(15, 19, 18), (25, 8, 19), (25, 18, 18).
Thus, when (i, j, k) = (25, 18, 18), S(a) + S(b) + S(c) = i + j + k is maximized.
For i = 25, the possible pairs (a1 , b1 , c1 ) are (7, 9, 9), (8, 8, 9), and their permutations,
giving 3 × 2 = 6 possible pairs.
For j = 18, the possible pairs (a2 , b2 , c2 ) are:

(0, 9, 9), (1, 8, 9), (2, 7, 9), (2, 8, 8), (3, 6, 9), (3, 7, 8),

12
 (4, 5, 9), (4, 6, 8), (4, 7, 7), (5, 5, 8), (5, 6, 7), (6, 6, 6)
and their permutations,
so there are 6 × 7 + 3 × 4 + 1 = 55 possible pairs.
For k = 18, the possible pairs (a3 , b3 , c3 ) are the same as (a2 , b2 , c2 ), except (0, 9, 9) and
its permutations are excluded. Therefore, there are 55 − 3 = 52 possible pairs for (a3 , b3 , c3 ).
Hence, the number of sets (a, b, c) satisfying the condition is 6 × 55 × 52 = 17160.

Problem 25. For a natural number n, let K(n, 0) = ∅. For any non-negative integers m
and n, define K(n, m + 1) as the set of elements k such that 1 ≤ k ≤ n and K(k, m) ∩ K(n −
k, m) = ∅, then the set K(2004, 2004) contains elements.

Answer: 127
Reasoning: Let’s first list out some terms and try to identify a pattern:
K(1, m) = 1,K(2, m) = 2;
K(3, m) = {1, 2, 3}, K(4, m) = {4};
K(5, m) = {1, 4, 5}, K(6, m) = {2, 4, 6};
K(7, m) = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}, K(8, m) = {8};
K(9, m) = {1, 8, 9}, K(10, m) = {2, 8, 10};
K(11, m) = {1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11};
K(12, m) = {4, 8, 12};
K(13, m) = {1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13};
K(14, m) = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14};
K(15, m) = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15},K(16, m) = {16}.
It seems K(n, m) only depends on n, not on m.
Now, let’s prove two lemmas using mathematical induction.
Lemma 1: K(2n, m) = {2j|j ∈ K(n, m)}.
Proof: Assume the proposition holds for positive integers less than n.
For i = 1, it’s clear that 1 ∈ K(2n − 1, m) and 1 ∈ / K(2n, m), then n ∈ N+ implies
2j + 1 ∈/ K(2n, m).
Also, 2j ∈ K(2n, m) ⇐⇒ K(2j, m) ∩ K(2n − 2j, m) = ∅
⇐⇒ K(j, m) ∩ K(n − j, m) = ∅ (by induction hypothesis)
⇐⇒ j ∈ K(n, m).
Lemma 2: K(2n +i, m) = {2n +i}∪K(i, m)∪{2n +i−j|j ∈ K(i, m)}, where 1 ≤ i < 2n .
Proof: Assume the proposition holds for positive integers less than 2n + i.
For any j ∈ K(i, m), if j < i, then
K(j, m) ∩ K(i − j, m) = ∅
⇒ K(j, m) ∩ K(2n − i, m) = ∅ (by induction hypothesis)
⇒ j ∈ K(2n + i, m).
If j = i, then i ∈ K(i, m) and K(j, m) ∩ {2n } = ∅, so
K(i, m) ∩ K(2n , m) = ∅ and thus i ∈ K(2n + i, m).
So, K(i, m) ⊂ K(2n + i, m).
n
For any j ∈ K(2n + i, m), if j < 2 2+i , then
K(j, m) ∩ K(2n + i − j, m) = ∅
⇒ j ∈ K(i, m) (by induction hypothesis).
If j = i + k and k < 2n−1 , then we need to prove K(i + k, m) ∩ K(2n − k, m) ̸= ∅.

13
 n
In binary representation, if j < 2 2+i and there is no carry when adding i and k, then
2a ∈ K(i + k, m) ∩ K(2n − k, m);
otherwise, if there is a carry at position t < n, then 2t ∈ K(i + k, m) ∩ K(2n − k, m).
This concludes the proof of Lemma 2.
Now, let’s answer the original question. From Lemma 1 and Lemma 2, we have:
|K(2004, m)| = |K(1002, m)| = |K(501, m)| = |K(256 + 245, m)|
= 2|K(245, m)| + 1 = 2|K(128 + 117, m)| + 1
= 4|K(117, m)| + 3 = 4|K(64 + 53, m)| + 3
= 8|K(53, m)| + 7 = 8|K(32 + 21, m)| + 7
= 16|K(21, m)| + 15 = 16|K(16 + 5, m)| + 15
= 32|K(5, m)| + 31 = 32 × 3 + 31 = 127.
So, there are 127 elements in the set K(2004, 2004).
Problem 26. Let T = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and M = a71 + a722 + a733 + a744 ai ∈ T, i = 1, 2, 3, 4 .


If the elements of M are arranged in descending order, then the 2005th number is .
5 5 6 3 5 5 6 2
A) + 2+ 3+ 4 B) + 2+ 3+ 4
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
1 1 0 4 1 1 0 3
C) + 2 + 3 + 4 D) + 2 + 3 + 4
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

Answer: C
Reasoning: Let [a1 a2 · · · ak ]p denote a k-digit number in base p. Multiplying each number
in set M by 74 , we get:
M ′ = a1 · 73 + a2 · 72 + a3 · 7 + a4 | ai ∈ T, i = 1, 2, 3, 4 = {[a1 a2 a3 a4 ] , |ai ∈ T, i = 1, 2, 3, 4} .


The largest number in M ′ is [6666]7 = [2400]10 .

In decimal, the 2005th number in descending order from 2400 is 2400 - 2004 = 396. And
[396]10 = [1104]7 , dividing this number by 74 , we obtain the numbers in M as 71 + 712 + 703 + 744 .
Thus, option C is selected.
Pn
Problem 27. Mutually prime positive integers pn , qn satisfy qn
= 1 + 21 + 13 + · · · + n1 . The
sum of all positive integers n such that 3|pn is .
Answer: 31
Reasoning: Express
n in ternary representation:
n = ak ak−1 · · · a0 3 = ak · 3k + · · · + a1 · 31 + a0 ,
where aj ∈ {0, 1, 2}, j = 0, 1, 2, · · · , k, αk ̸= 0 .
k
Let An denote the least common multiple
Pn 1 1

of 1, 2, · · · , n, then An = 3 ·b+1
Bn , 3\Bn .
Let Ln = An · qn = An 1 + 2 + · · · + n , then Ln ∈ N+ , and 3|pn ⇔ 3 |Ln .
Let Sj = 1≤i≤ n 1i , j = 0, 1, 2, · · · , k , then
P
3j

X 1
Ln = 3k · Bn = Bn · Sk + 31 · Bn · Sk−1 + · · · + 3k · Bn · So .(∗)
1≤i≤n
i

14
 Lemma:When ai = 0 or 2, Bi · Sj ≡ 0(mod3); when ai = 1, Bn · Sj ≡ Bn (mod3).
1 1 3(2m+1) 1 1


Proof: Since 3m+1 + 3m+2 = (3m+1)(3m+2) , we have Bn · 3m+1 + 3m+2 ≡ 0(mod3)
Bn
So when aj = 0 or 2, Bn · Sj ≡ 0(mod3); when aj = 1, Bn Sj ≡ 3r+1 ≡ Bn (mod3).
k+1
Returning to the original question, suppose 3 |Ln . From (*), we have Bn Sk ≡ 0(mod3).
From the lemma, we know ak = 2, Sk = 32 . If k = 0, then n = 2.
When k ≥ 1, from (*), we have
3 1
+ 31 · Bn · Sk−1 mod9 , so 0 ≡ Bn · Sk−1 + Bn · ≡ Bn · Sk−1 − Bn (mod3) ,


0 ≡ Bn ·
2 2
thus Bn ·Sk−1 ≡ Bn (mod3). From the lemma, we know ak−1 = 1, Sk−1 = 1+ 12 + 14 + 51 + 17 .
If k = 1, then n = (2, 1)3 = 7.
When k≥2, from (*), we have
3
0 ≡ Bn · + 31 · Bn · Sk−1 + 32 · Bn · Sk−2 (mod27) ,
2  
1 1 1 1 1
so 0 ≡ 3 · Bn · Sk−2 + Bn · + Bn · 1 + + + +
2 2 4 5 7
 
1 1 1
≡ 3 · Bn · S−2 + Bn · 2 + + +
4 5 7
≡ 3 · Bn · Sk−2 + Bn (2 − 2 + 2 + 4) ≡ 3 · (Bn · Sk−2 − Bn ) (mod9) .
So Bn ·Sk−2 ≡ Bn (mod3). From the lemma, we know ai−2 = 1, Si−2 = 1+ 21 + 14 +· · ·+ 22 1
.
If k ≥ 3, from (*), we have
 
3 1 1 1 1 1
0 ≡ Bn · + 3 · Bn · 1 + + + + + 32 · Bn · Sk−2 + 33 · Bn · Sk−3 (mod81) ,
2 2 4 5 7
 
1 1 1
so 0 ≡ Bn 2 + + + + 3 · Bn · Sk−2 + 32 · Bn · Sk−3 ≡ Bn (2 + 7 + 11 + 4)
4 5 7
+ 3 · Bn · Sk−2 + 32 · Bn · Sk−3
≡ −3 · Bn + 3 · Bn · Sk−2 + 32 · Bn · Sk−3 (mod27) ,
 
1 1 1
from which 0 ≡ 3 · Bm · Sk̇−3 + Bn −1 + 1 + + + · · · +
2 4 22
    
1 1 1 1 1 1
≡ 3 · Bn · Sk−3 + Bn −1 + 1 + + − − − 1 × 2 + 1 + +
2 4 4 2 2 4
≡ 3 · Bn · Sk−3 + Bn (5 − 2) ≡ 3 · Bn · Sk−3 + 3 · Bn (mod9) .

Thus Bn · Sk−3 + Bn ≡ 0(mod3), and from the lemma, we know this is impossible.
Therefore, the sought-after positive integers n are 2, 7, and 22.

Problem 28. Given x and y are prime numbers. The sum of the values of y in the solutions
of the indeterminate equation x2 − y 2 = xy 2 − 19 is .

Answer: 10
Reasoning: If x = y, then there are obviously no solutions to the equation.

15
 From the given equation, we have xy ≡ −19(mody). Since x and y are both coefficients
and x ̸= y, then (x, y) = 1. By Fermat’s Little Theorem, we have xy−1 ≡ 1(mody). Thus,
we have x + 19 ≡ 0 (mody).
Similarly, 19 − y ≡ 0 (modx). As x − y + 19 ≡ 0 (mody) and x − y + 19 ≡ 0 (modx), we
get x − y + 19 ≡ 0(modxy).
It is evident that x − y + 19 ̸= 0, thus x + y + 19 > |x − y + 19| ≥ xy, implying
(x − 1)(y − 1) < 20. Therefore, |x − y| < 19 and x − y + 19 ≥ xy, i.e., (x + 1)(y − 1) ≤ 18.
So, when x ≥ 5, we have either y = 2 or y = 3. However, x2 − 2x < 0, x3 − 3x < 0, and
2
xy − 19 > 0, leading to contradictions. Hence, x ≤ 4.
It can be verified that the solutions to the original indeterminate equation are (2,3) and
(2,7).

Problem 29. The number of non-zero integer pairs (a, b) for which (a3 + b) (a + b3 ) =
(a + b)4 holds is .

Answer: 6
Reasoning: Note that (a3 + b) (a + b3 ) = (a + b)4

⇔ a4 + a3 b3 + ab + b4 = a4 + 4a3 b + 6a2 b2 + 4ab3 + b4

⇔ a3 b3 + 2a2 b2 + ab = 4a3 b + 8a2 b2 + 4ab3
⇔ ab(ab + 1)2 = 4ab(a + b)2
⇔ ab (ab + 1)2 − 4(a + b)2 = 0
 

Hence, (a, 0) and (0, b) are solutions to the given equation, where a, b ∈ Z. Additional
solutions must satisfy (ab + 1)2 − 4 (a + b)2 = 0. Since (ab + 1)2 − 4 (a + b)2 = 0, either
ab + 1 = 2(a + b) or ab + 1 = −2(a + b). We consider two cases:
1. If ab + 1 = 2(a + b), then we have (a − 2)(b − 2) = 3. Thus, we have
( ( ( (
a − 2 = 3, a − 2 = 1, a − 2 = −3, a − 2 = −1,
or or or
b−2=1 b−2=3 b − 2 = −1 b − 2 = −3.
Solving these, we get
a = 5, b = 3; a = 3, b = 5; a = −1, b = 1; a = 1, b = −1.
If ab + 1 = −2(a + b), then we have (a + 2)(b + 2) = 3.
Similarly, solving, we get
a = 1, b = −1; a = −1, b = 1; a = −5, b = −3; a = −3, b = −5.
In summary, the set of all possible solutions to the given equation is
[
{(a, 0) | a ∈ Z} {(0, b) | b ∈ Z} ∪ {(−5, −3), (−3, −5), (−1, 1), (1, −1), (3, 5), (5, 3)} .
Among them, there are 6 pairs of non-zero integer solutions: (−5, −3), (−3, −5), (−1, 1), (1, −1),
(3, 5), (5, 3).

Problem 30. If the sum of the digits of a natural number α equals 7, then a is called an
”auspicious number”. Arrange all ”auspicious numbers” in ascending order a1 , a2 , a3 , · · · , if
an = 2005, then a5n = .

16
Answer: 52000
Reasoning: Because the number of non-negative integer solutions of the equation x1 + x2 +
· · · + xt = m is C m + t − 1, and the number of integer solutions satisfying x1 ≥ 1, xi ≥ 0
m−1−2
(i ≥ 2) is Cm−2 . Now taking m = 7, we can find that the number of k-digit ”auspicious
6
numbers” is P (k) = Ck+5 .
2005 is the smallest ”auspicious number” of the form 2abc, and P (1) = C66 = 1, P (2) =
C6 = 7, P (3) = C68 = 28. For the four-digit ”auspicious numbers” 1abc, the number of such
7

numbers satisfying a + b + c = 6 is the number of non-negative integer solutions, which is

6
C6+3−1 = 28.
Because 2005 is the 1st+7th+28th+28th+1st=65th ”auspicious number”, i.e., a65 =
2005, so n = 65, 5n = 325.
P (4) = C96 = 84, P (5) = C10 6
= 210, and 6k=1 P (k) = 330.
P
So, the last six five-digit ”auspicious numbers” from largest to smallest are: 70000,61000,
60100,60010,60001,52000.
Hence, the 325th ”auspicious number” is 52000, i.e., a5n = 52000.

Problem 31. The number of integers n in the interval 1 ≤ n ≤ 106 such that the equation
n = xy has non-negative integer solutions x, y, and x ̸= n is .

Answer: 1111  
Reasoning: Let N xy represent the number of integers xy .
If 1 < x5 ≤ 106 , using the principle of inclusion-exclusion, we have

N (xy ) = N x2 +N x3 +N x5 +N x7 +N x11 +N x13 +N x17 +N x19 −N x6

−N x10 − N x14 − N x15 − N x15 .

Since there are 103 − 1 square numbers greater than 1 and less than or equal to 106 , we have
N (x2 ) = 999. Similarly, there are 102 − 1 square numbers greater than 1 and less than or
equal to 106 , i.e., N (x3 ) = 99.
Since 155 = 819375 < 106 , there are 15 − 1 fifth power numbers greater than 1 and less
than or equal to 106 , i.e., N (x5 ) = 14. Continuing this pattern, we can deduce that when
1 < xy ≤ 106 ,

N (xy ) = 999 + 99 + 14 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 − 9 − 2 − 1 − 1 = 1110.

Additionally, when n = 1, there is a non-negative integer solution with x > 1 and y = 0.

Therefore, the number of integers n satisfying the conditions is 1111.

Problem 32. Let p be a real number. If all three roots of the cubic equation 5x3 − 5(p +
1)x2 + (71p − 1)x + 1 = 66p are natural numbers, then the sum of all possible values of p is
.

Answer: 76
Reasoning:
Approach 1: Since 5 − 5(p + 1) + (77p − 1) + 1 = 66p, x = 1 is a natural number solution
of the original cubic equation.

17
 By synthetic division, the cubic equation is reduced to the quadratic equation 5x2 −5px+
66p − 1 = 0(1).
This problem is transformed into finding all real numbers p such that the equation (1)
has two natural number solutions.
Let u and v(u ≤ v) be the two natural number solutions of equation (1). By Vieta’s
formulas, we have: (
v + u = p, (2)
vu = 15 (66p − 1).(3)
From (2) and (3), we eliminate p to get 5uv = 66(u + v) − 1 .(4)
From the condition, neither u nor v can be divisible by 2, 3, or 11. So, u ≥ 14.
66u−1
Furthermore: Since 49, ν = 5u−66 .(5) u > 66/5 and u ≥ 14 imply u ≥ 17.
Since 2, 3, and 11 do not divide u, u ≥ 17.
66u−1
Also from ⊑≥u, we get 5u−66 ≥ u.
√
2
Thus, 5u2 − 132u + 1≤0, and u ≤ 66+ 566 −5 < 132 5
.
Since 2, 3, and 11 do not divide u, u can only be 17, 19, 23, or 25.
By solving (5) when u = 17, 19, 23, 25, we find that when u = 17, ν = 59, and both are
natural numbers.
66u−1
Approach 2: From equation (5) in Approach 1, we get v = 5u−66 = 13 + u+857
5u−66
=
1 4351 1 19×229



13 + 5 1 + 5u−66 = 13 + 5 1 + 5u−66 .
To ensure v is an integer, 5u − 66 must divide 19 or 229.
By considering the prime factors of 19 and 229, we find that 5u − 66 = 19 when u = 17,
and 5u − 66 = 229 when u = 59. Since 5u − 66 = 229 leads to v ∈ / N, we discard it.
Therefore, p = u + v = 76.
Approach 3: From Approach 1, for equation (1) to have natural numbers as solutions,
∆ = 25p2 − 4 × 5(66p − 1) must be a perfect square.
Assuming 25p2 − 20(66p − 1) = q 2 , we get (5p − 132)2 − 17404 = q 2 . Let 5p − 132 = m,
then m2 − q 2 = 17404.
This implies both m and q are even. Setting m = 2m0 and q = 2q0 , we get m20 −
q02 = 4351 = 19 × 229. Solving the system of equations derived from m > q, we find
m0 = ±2176, ±124.
Thus, 5p − 132 = 2m0 = ±4352 or 248. From equation (5) in Approach 1, p is a natural
number. From (3), we conclude that both u and v are odd.
Since (2) implies p is even, we find p = 76.

Problem 33. The number of triples of positive integers (a, b, c) satisfying a2 +b2 +c2 = 2005
and a ≤ b ≤ c is .

Answer: 7
Reasoning: Since any odd perfect square leaves a remainder of 1 when divided by 4, and
any even perfect square is a multiple of 4, it follows that among three squares, there must
be two even squares and one odd square.
Let a = 2m, b = 2n, c = 2k − 1, where m, n, k are positive integers. The original equation
becomes:
m2 + n2 + k(k − 1) = 501(1)

18
Since the remainder when a square is divided by 3 can only be 0 or 1, two cases need to be
considered.
(i) If 3|k(k − 1), then both m and n must be multiples of 3. Let m = 3m1 , n = 3n1 , and
k(k−1)
3
be an integer. This yields:

k(k − 1)
3m2 + 3n2 + = 167(2)
3
Solving for k(k−1)
3
≡ 167 ≡ 2 (mod 3) gives k(k−1) 3
= 3r + 2, and k(k − 1) = 9r + 6.
(3)Since k ≤ 22, we can try k = 3, 7, 12, 16, 21, which lead to:
(
k = 3,
m21 + n21 = 55
(
k = 7,
m21 + n21 = 51
(
k = 12,
m21 + n21 = 41
(
k = 16,
m21 + n21 = 29
(
k = 21,
m21 + n21 = 9
Among these, only k = 12 and k = 16 have positive integer solutions.
For k = 12, we get (m1 , n1 ) = (4, 5), resulting in a = 6m1 = 24, b = 6n1 = 30, c =
2k − 1 = 23.
For k = 16, we get (m1 , n1 ) = (2, 5), resulting in a = 6m1 = 12, b = 6n1 = 30, c =
2k − 1 = 31.
(ii) If 3 ∤ k(k − 1), then either k or k − 1 must be divisible by 3. Hence, k is congruent
to 2 modulo 3, and k can only be 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, or 20.
For each of these values, we need to check if k(k−1) 3
yields an integer:
2 2
For k = 2, m1 + n1 = 499, which does not have a solution.
For k = 5, m21 + n2 = 481, which has solutions (m, n) = (9, 20) or (15, 16).
For k = 8, m21 + n21 = 391, which does not have a solution.
For k = 11, m2 + n2 = 319, which does not have a solution.
For k = 14, m21 + n21 = 229, which does not have a solution.
For k = 17, m21 + n21 = 121 = 112 , resulting in (m, n) = (2, 15).
For k = 20, m2 + n21 = 121 = 112 , which does not have a solution.
Therefore, there are 7 solutions:
(23, 24, 30), (12, 30, 31), (9, 18, 40), (9, 30, 32), (4, 15, 42), (15, 22, 36), (4, 30, 33). All of these
satisfy the original equation.
Problem 34. The maximum positive integer k that satisfies 1991k | 199019911992 +199219911990
is .

19
Answer: 1991
Reasoning: First, let’s prove by mathematical induction: α
For any odd number a ≥ 3, for all positive integers n, we have (1 + a)a = 1 + Sn an+1 ,
where Sn is an integer and a ∤ Sn .
For n = 1, we have (1 + a)a = 1+Cµ1 a+Cµ2 a2 +· · ·+Cµµ aa = 1+a2 1 + Cµ2 + Cµ3 a + · · · + aa−2 .

Since a is odd, a|Ca2 , thus a|Ca2 + Ca3 α + · · · + αα−2 , and therefore a ∤ S1 = 1 + Ca2 + · · · + aa−2 .
Hence, equation(1) holds for n = 1.
Assume that equation(1) holds for a natural number n = k0 . Then
h ia
a
(1 + a)a0 +1 = (1 + a)k0 = 1 + Sk0 ak0 +1

= 1 + Sk0 ak0 +2 + Cu2 Sk20 a2k0 +2 + · · · + Sk0 aa(k0 +1) = 1 + Sk0 +1 ak0 +2 ,
where Sk0 +1 = Sk0 + Ca2 Sk20 ak0 + · · · + Ski 0 aa(k0 +1)−k0 −2 . By the induction hypothesis,
a ∤ Sk , hence a ∤ Sk0 +1 . Therefore, equation(1) holds for n = k0 + 1.
Hence, equation(1) holds for all natural numbers n. Similarly, we can prove: n
For any odd number b ≥ 3, for all positive integers n, we have (b − 1)b = −1 + Tn bn+1 ,
where Tn is an integer and b ∤ Tn .
Using(1)and (2), we can find integers S and T such that 1991∤ S, 1991 ∤ T , and
1992 1990
19901991 + 19921991 = T · 19911993 + S · 19911991 = 19911991 T · 19912 + S .

Thus, the maximum k we seek is 1991.

Problem 35. Let a and b be positive integers such that 79 | (a + 77b) and 77 | (a + 79b).
Then the smallest possible value of the sum a + b is .

Answer: 193
Reasoning: Note that

79 | (a + 77b) ⇔ 79 | (a − 2b) ⇔ 79 | (39a − 78b) ⇔ 79 | (39a + b),

77 | (a + 79b) ⇔ 77 | (a + 2b) ⇔ 77 | (39a + 78b) ⇔ 77 | (39a + b),

so 79 × 77 | (39a + b). Thus, 39a + b = 79 × 77k, where k ∈ N+ .
Note that

39a + 39b = 79 × 77k + 38b = (782 − 1)k + 38b = (782 − 39)k + 38(k + b).

So, 39 | (b + k), and we have b + k ≥ 39. Therefore, 39α + 39b ≥ (782 − 39) + 38 × 39,
which implies a + b ≥ 156 − 1 + 38 = 193.
It is easy to see that b = 38 and α = 155 satisfy the given conditions. Therefore,
a + b = 193.
Hence, the minimum value of (s + n)min = 193.

Problem 36. Let ai , bP

i (i = 1, 2, . . . , n) be rational numbers such that for any real number x,
we have x + x + 4 = ni=1 (ai x + bi )2 . Then the minimum possible value of n is
2
.

20
Answer: 5
2
2
2
2
Reasoning: Since x2 + x + 4 = x + 12 + 23 + 12 + 12 + 21 , it is clear that n = 5 is
possible. We will now prove that n = 4 is not possible.
Proof by contradiction: Suppose n = 4. Let x2 +x+4 = 4i=1 (ai x+bi )2 , where ai , bi ∈ Q.
P
Then,
4 4 4
X X 1 X
a2i = 1, ai b i = , and b2i = 4.
i=1 i=1
2 i=1

So,
15
= (−α1 b2 + α2 b1 − α3 b4 + α4 b3 )2 +(−α1 b4 + α3 b1 − α1 b2 + α2 b1 )2 +(−α1 b4 + α4 b1 − α2 b3 + α3 b2 )2 .
4
The above expression implies that a2 + b2 + c2 = 15d2 ≡ −d2 (mod 8) has a solution.
Without loss of generality, assume that at least one of a, b, c, d is odd and a2 , b2 , c2 , d2 ≡ 0, 1, 4
(mod 8). It is clear that the above expression has no solution, leading to a contradiction.
Hence, n = 4 is not possible.
−β n n
Problem 37. Let α and β be the two roots of the equation x2 −x−1 = 0. Define αn = αα−β
for n = 1, 2, . . .. For some positive integers a and b, with a < b, if for any positive integer
n, b divides an − 2nan , then the sum of all such positive integers b is .

Answer: 5
Reasoning:

1. First, let’s prove that for any positive integer n, we have αn+2 = αn+1 + αn . Note that

αn+2 − β n+2 = (α + β)(αn+1 − β n+1 ) − αβ(αn − β n ) = (αn+1 − β n+1 ) + (αn − β n ),

which implies an+2 = an+1 + an .

2. Given the conditions, we know that b divides α1 − 2α, i.e., b|1 − 2α. Since b > α,
we have b = 2α − 1. Furthermore, for any positive integer n, we have b|αn − 2nαn ,
b|αn+1 −2(n+1)αn+1 , and b|αn+2 −2(n+2)αn+2 . Combining these with αn+2 = αn+1 +αn
and b = 2α − 1 being odd, we get

b|(n + 2)an+2 − (n + 1)an+1 − nan .

Since (b, a) = 1, we have b|(n + 2)a2 − (n + 1)a − n.

3. By setting n to n + 1 in the above equation, we get b|(n + 3)a2 − (n + 2)a − (n + 1).

Subtracting this from the previous equation yields b|a2 − a − 1, i.e., 2a − 1|a2 − a − 1.
So, 2a − 1|2a2 − 2a − 2. Since 2α2 ≡ α (mod 2α − 1), we have 2α − 1| − α − 2 and
2α − 1| − 2α − 4. Thus, 2α − 1| − 5, implying 2α − 1 = 1 or 5. However, 2α − 1 = 1
leads to b = α, which is a contradiction. Hence, 2α − 1 = 5, giving α = 3 and b = 5.

21
 4. Now, we need to show that when a = 3 and b = 5, for any positive integer n, we have
5|(αn − 2nαn ). For n = 1, 2, we have α1 = 1 and α2 = α + β = 1, so α1 − 2 × 3 = −5
and α2 − 2 × 2 × 32 = −35, which confirms the condition. Assuming the condition
holds for n = k, k + 1, we can prove it for n = k + 2 as well. Hence, (a, b) = (3, 5)
satisfies the conditions.
Problem 38. Let n be a natural number greater than 3 such that 1 + Cn1 + Cn2 + Cn3 divides
22000 . Then, the sum of all such n satisfying this condition is .
Answer: 30
Reasoning: Since 2 is a prime number, the problem is equivalent to finding natural numbers
n > 3 such that
1 + Cn1 + Cn2 + Cn3 = 2k for some k ∈ N, k ≤ 2000.
We have
n(n − 1) n(n − 1)(n − 2) (n + 1)(n2 − n + 6)
1 + Cn1 + Cn2 + Cn3 = 1 + n + + = ,
2 6 6
which means
(n + 1)(n2 − n + 6) = 3 × 2k+1 .
Let’s substitute m = n + 1, then we have

m(m2 − 3m + 8) = 3 × 2k+1 .

Now, let’s consider different cases for m.

1. If m = 2s where m > 4 and s ≥ 3, then m2 − 3m + 8 = 3 × 2t for some t ∈ N. If s ≥ 4,
then m2 − 3m + 8 = 3 × 2t ≡ 8 (mod 16). So, t = 3, which implies m2 − 3m + 8 = 24,
i.e., m(m − 3) = 16, which is not possible. Thus, we have only s = 3, which gives
m = 8, i.e., n = 7.

2. If m = 3 × 2u where m > 4 and u ≥ 1, then m2 − 3m + 8 = 2ν for some ν ∈ N. If

u ≥ 4, then m2 − 3m + 8 = 2ν ≡ 8 (mod 16). So, ν = 3, which implies m(m − 3) = 0,
which is not possible. Also, for u = 1 and u = 2, m2 − 3m + 8 cannot be a power of 2.
When m = 3 × 23 = 24, we find n = 23.
Thus, the solutions are n = 7 and n = 23. Therefore, the sum is 7 + 23 = 30.
25
Problem 39. In the decimal representation, the product of the digits of k equals 8
k − 211.
Then the sum of all positive integers k satisfying this condition is .
Answer:160
Reasoning: Let k be a decimal number, and let s be the product of the digits of k.
It’s easy to see that s ∈ N, so 8 divides k and 25 8
k − 211 ≥ 0, implying k ≥ 1688 25
. Since
k ∈ N+ , we have k ≥ 68.
Also, since 8 divides k, the units digit of k must be even, making s even as well. Since
211 is odd, 25 8
k is odd, implying 16 divides k. Let k = a1 a2 · · · ai , where 0 ≤ ai ≤ 9 for
i = 2, 3, · · · , t and 1 ≤ a1 ≤ 9. By definition, we have:

22
 t
Y
S= ai ≤ a1 × 9−i < a1 × 10−1 = a1 00 · · · 0} ≤ k .
| {z
i=1 t−1 digits

Therefore, k > s = 25
8
k − 211, implying k ≤ 99.
Since 8 divides k and 16 does not divide k, we have k = 72 or 88. Upon verification,
both k = 72 and k = 88 satisfy the given condition. Hence, the answer is 72 + 88 = 160.

Problem 40. Let n be an integer, and let p(n) denote the product of its digits (in decimal
representation). Then the sum of all n such that 10 p(n) = n2 + 4n − 2005 is .

Answer: 45
Reasoning: (1) First, we prove that p(n) ≤ n.
Assume n has k + 1 digits, where k ∈ N. Then n = 10k αk + 10k−1 αk−1 + · · · + 10α1 + α0 ,
where a1 , a2 , · · · , ak ∈ {1, 2, · · · , 9}. Thus, we have p(n) = a9 a1 · · · ak ≤ ak 9k ≤ ak 10k ≤ n.
Therefore, p(n) ≤ n.
(2) First, note that n2 + 4n − 2005 ≥ 0 implies n ≥ 43. Furthermore, n2 + 4n − 2005 =
10 p(n) ≤ 10n implies n ≤ 47. Hence, we deduce that n ∈ {43, 44, 45, 46, 47}. Upon checking
each case, we find n = 45.

Problem 41. There are some positive integers with more than two digits, such that each
pair of adjacent digits forms a perfect square. Then the sum of all positive integers satisfying
the above conditions is .

Answer:97104
Reasoning: It is easy to observe that the perfect squares with two digits are: 16, 25, 36,
49, 64, 81.
Note that, starting from the given digits, there can be at most 1 two-digit perfect square.
Therefore, after the first two-digit number is selected, the remaining part of the number is
uniquely determined. Since there are no perfect squares starting with 5 or 9, the number
cannot start with 25 or 81.
Starting from 16, we get 164 and 1649; From 36, we get 364 and 3649; From 64, we get
649; From 81, we get 816, 8164, and 81649.
Therefore, the numbers satisfying the condition are 164, 1649, 364, 3649, 649, 8164, and
81649.

Problem 42. Let α be ( an integer, and |α| ≤ 2005. The number of values of α that make
x2 = y + α,
the system of equations have integer solutions is .
y2 = x + α

Answer: 90
Reasoning: If (x, y) is an integer solution to the given system of equations, subtracting the
two equations gives

x2 − y 2 = y − x ⇐⇒ (x − y) (x + y + 1) = 0.
Consider the following two cases.

23
 (1) When x−y = 0. Let x = y = m be substituted into the system of equations, resulting
in α = m2 −m = m (m − 1). It’s easy to see that α is the product of two consecutive integers.
Thus, α is non-negative, and these numbers do not exceed 2005. Moreover, 45×44 = 1980 <
2005 and 46 × 45 = 2070 > 2005. Since m can take all integers from 1 to 45, there are 45
values of α satisfying this condition.
(2) When x + y + 1 = 0. Let x = m and y = −(m + 1) be substituted into the system
of equations, resulting in a = m2 + m + 1 = m (m + 1) + 1. It’s easy to see that α is one
greater than the product of two consecutive integers. Adding 1 to the α obtained in the first
case gives the α in the second case. Again, there are 45 distinct values of α satisfying this
condition.
In conclusion, there are a total of 90 values of α satisfying the condition.

Problem 43. Divide the set S = {1, 2, · · · , 2006} into two disjoint subsets A and B such
that:
(1) B ∈ A;
(2) If a ∈ A and b ∈ B with a + b ∈ S, then a + b ∈ B;
(3) If a ∈ A, b ∈ B, and ab ∈ S, then ab ∈ A.
The number of elements in set A is .

Answer: 154
Reasoning: Clearly, 1 ∈ B (if not, 1 ∈ A, and by condition (3), for any b ∈ B, 1×b = b ∈ A,
contradiction). For any a ∈ A, by condition (2), a + 1 ∈ B, thus, for any k ∈ N, ka + 1 ∈ B.
Hence, 2 ∈ B (if not, 2 ∈ A, and for any k ∈ N, 2k+1 ∈ B, leading to 13 ∈ B, contradiction).
Similarly, 3, 4, 6, and 12 ∈ B, implying that any factor of α − 1 for α ∈ A belongs to B. By
condition (3), for any a ∈ A, we have 2a, 3a ∈ A. Since 13 ∈ A, we have 13 + 1 = 14 ∈ B (if
not, 7 ∈ B, implying 14 ∈ A, contradiction). Also, 2 × 13 + 1 = 27 ∈ B, leading to 9 ∈ B.
Similarly, 3 × 13 + 1 = 40 ∈ B, hence 20, 10, 5 ∈ B, and 8 ∈ B (if not, 8 ∈ A, implying
8 × 5 = 40 ∈ A, contradiction). Moreover, 5 × 13 + 1 = 66 ∈ B, yielding 33, 22, 11 ∈ B.
Thus, {1, 2, · · · , 12} ⊆ B, and 13 ∈ A. By condition (2), for any k ∈ N and i = 1, 2, · · · , 12,
we have 13k + i ∈ B. By condition (3), for any k ∈ N and i = 1, 2, · · · , 12, we have
13(13k + i) ∈ A, especially 13i ∈ A for i = 1, 2, · · · , 12. If 132 t ∈ B for some t ∈ N+ , then
by condition (2), 132 t + ∈ B,
 13i = 13(13t + i) 2006  contradiction. Therefore, for any t ∈ N+ ,
2
13 t ∈ A. Thus, A = 13t t = 1, 2, · · · , 13 and B = S − A. Upon inspection, these
sets satisfy the conditions.

Problem 44. Let S be a finite set of integers. Suppose that for any two distinct elements
p, q ∈ S, there exist three elements a, b, c ∈ S (not necessarily distinct, and a ̸= 0) such that
the polynomial F (x) = αx2 + bx + c satisfies F (p) = F (q) = 0. The maximum number of
elements in S is

Answer: 3
Reasoning: It is easy to verify that S = {−1, 0, 1} satisfies the condition. Now, we will
prove that |S|max = 3.
(1) At least one of 1 and −1 must belong to S. Conversely, assume a1 , a2 ∈ S such
that by the given condition, there exist α, b, c ∈ S satisfying F (a1 ) = F (a2 ) = 0. Then,
c
a
= a1 a2 ⇒ c = aa1 a2 . Then, there exists a3 = c ∈ S, and repeating this process yields

24
αi (i = 1, 2, · · · ) ∈ S, but |α1 | ≤ |α2 | < |α3 | < · · · < |αk | < · · · , which contradicts the fact
that S is a finite set.
(2) Without loss of generality, let 1 ∈ S. There exists a1 ∈ S(α ̸= 1). Then, by the given
condition, there exist a, b, c ∈ S such that a+b+c = 0 ⇒ b = −a−c, and a1 +1 = − ab = 1+ ac .
Thus, a1 = ac ⇒ c = aa1 .
(i) If a1 ≥ 2, then for α ̸= ±1, |c| > |a1 |. We can find α2 = c ∈ S(|a2 | > |a1 |), leading
to |a1 | < |a2 | < · · · ∈ S, which contradicts the finiteness of S. If a = 1, b = −a1 − 1; a =
−1, b = a1 + 1, then for any α = ±1, |b| > |αi |, which also leads to a contradiction.
(ii) If a1 ≤ −2, consider − ab = a1 + 1, ac = a1 . By the assumption, there is no a ∈ S
such that a ≥ 2. Since a1 ≤ −2, b and c have opposite signs. If a ≤ −2, then c > |a1 | ≥ 2,
which is a contradiction. If a = −1, then b = a1 + 1, c = −a1 ≥ 2, which also contradicts. If
α = 1, then b = −a1 − 1, c = a1 . If a1 ≤ −3, then b ≥ 2, which is a contradiction. Thus, we
conclude that a1 ∈ {−2, −1, 0}.
It is evident that S = {−2, −1, 0, 1} does not satisfy the condition. For example, for
−1, −2 ∈ S, x2 + 3x + 2 = 0, which is impossible. Therefore, |S|max = 3.
Problem 45. A natural number whose last four digits are 2022 and is divisible by 2003 has
a minimum value of .
Answer: 2672002
Reasoning: Set this number to be 10000x + 2002, then
−2002 1 1 + 2003 × 3
x= = =
10000 10000 10000
601 661 667
= = =
1000 100 10
= 267(mod2003).
So the sought value is 2672002.
Problem 46. The number of positive integer solution in (x2 + 2) (y 2 + 3) (z 2 + 4) = 60xyz
is .
Answer: 8
Reasoning: First, let’s determine the upper bounds for x, y, z. Because,
x2 + 2 y 2 + 3 = x2 y 2 + 3x2 + 2y 2 + 6

> x2 y 2 + 4 + 2 x2 + y 2

⩾ 4xy + 4xy = 8xy

we have from the original equation
8xy (z 2 + 4) < 60xyz,
2z 2 − 15z + 8 < 0.
From (1), it is obvious that z < 8, and since z = 7 does not satisfy (1), we have z ⩽ 6. The
right side of the original equation is divisible by 5, and since
x2 ≡ 0, ±1(mod5),
x2 + 2 ≡ 1, 2, 3(mod5),
y 2 + 3 ≡ 2, 3, 4(mod5),

25
it must be that z 2 + 4 is divisible by 5. Thus z ≡ ±1(mod5), soz = 1, 4, 6. If z = 6, then

x2 + 2 y 2 + 3 = 9xy,

but √ √ √
x2 + 2 y 2 + 3 ⩾ 2 2x · 2 3y = 4 6xy > 9xy,

contradiction.
If z = 4, then (x2 + 2) (y 2 + 3) = 12xy. When x=1, y 2 + 3 = 4y, so y=1 or 3. When x=2,
y 2 + 3 = 4y, so y=1 or 3. Thus x ⩾ 3, from (2)

12y = x + x2 (y 2 + 3) > x (y 2 + 3) ⩾ 3 (y 2 + 3) ,

thus, y 2 − 4y + 3 < 0, and hence, y = 2. Then from (2) we obtain 7 (x2 + 2) = 24x, 7 | x , so
x ⩾ 7. But 7 (x2 + 2)−24x > x(7x−24) > 0, which has no solution. If z = 1 , then we again
arrive at (2). Thus, the total number of solutions for this problem is 2 × 4 = 8. The specific
solutions are (x, y, z) = (1, 1, 4), (1, 3, 4), (2, 1, 4), (2, 3, 4), (1, 1, 1), (1, 3, 1), (2, 1, 1), (2, 3, 1).
Problem 47. The number of integers satisfying the condition that x2 + 5n + 1 is a perfect
square is known to be .
Answer: 4
Reasoning: When n is a positive integer, (n + 1)2 < n2 + 5n + 1 < (n + 3)2 . Therefore

n2 + 5n + 1 = (n + 2)2 = n2 + 4n + 4,
n = 3.

When n=0, n2 + 5n + 1 = 1 is a perfect square.

When n is a negative integer, let m = −n, then m is a positive interger, and n2 + 5n + 1 =
m2 − 5m + 1.
If m ⩽ 4, then m2 − 5m + 1 < 0 . If m = 5 (i.e., n = −5 ), then m2 − 5m + 1 = 1 is a perfect
square.
If m > 5 , set k = m − 5 , then m2 − 5m + 1 = k(k + 5) + 1 = k 2 + 5k + 1.
From the previous results, we know k = 3, m = 8, n = −8 .
Therefore, the values of the integer n are 3, 0, −5, −8.
Problem 48. If p, q, r are prime numbers such that p + q + r = 1000, then the remainder
when p2 q 2 r2 is divided by 48 is .
Answer: 48
Reasoning: One of p, q, r must be 2. Without loss of generality, let’s assume r = 2. Then
p and q are both not 2, and p + q = 1000 − 2 . Because 1000-2-3 is a multiple of 5 and not
a prime number, both p and q are not 3.

p2 ≡ q 2 ≡ 1(mod4),
p2 ≡ q 2 ≡ 1(mod3),
p2 q 2 ≡ 1(mod12),
p2 q 2 r2 ≡ 4(mod48),

26
Problem 49. Given x, y, z are integers, and 10x3 + 20y 3 + 2006xyz = 2007z 3 , then the
maximum of x + y + z is .

Answer: 0
Reasoning: The left side of the original equation consists of three even terms, so the right
side 2007z 3 is also even, implying z is even.
Since 2007z 3 , 2006xyz, and 20y 3 are all divided by 4, 10x3 is also divided by 4, making
x even.
Further, since 10x3 ,2006xyz, and 2007z 3 are all divided by 8, 20y 3 is also divisible by 8,
making y even.
Dividing both sides of the original equation by 8, we get:
 x 3  y 3 x y  z   z 3
10 + 20 + 2006 = 2007 .
2 2 2 2 2 2
Similarly, x2 , y2 , z2 are all even, Therefore, we can replace them with x4 , y4 , z4 . Continuing
this process, we find that 2xn , 2yn , 2zn (where, n = 0, 1, 2, · · · ) are all integer solutions of the
original equation. However, when x ̸= 0, taking 2n > |x| implies 2xn is not an integer, hence
x=0 . Similarly, y=0, z=0 . Therefore, the only integer solution of the original equation is
x = y = z = 0 , leading to x + y + z = 0.

Problem 50. For a positive integer n, if the first two digits of 5n and 2n are the same,
denoted as a and b respectively, then the value of the two-digit number ab is .

Answer: 31
Reasoning: Let this two-digit number be x, Then there exist positive integers k, h , such
that
10k · x < 2n < 10k (x + 1),
10n · x < 5n < 10h (x + 1),
Multiplying both equations, we get 10k+h x2 < 10n < 10k+h (x + 1)2 . Since x is a two-digit
number, 102 ⩽ x2 , (x + 1)2 ⩽ 104 , so 10k+h+2 < 10n < 10k+h+4 , which implies n=k+h+3
. Canceling out 10k+h , we get x2 < 103 < (x + 1)2 . Since 312 = 961, 322 = 1024 , we have
x=31 , hence ab = 31 .
2020×2019×···×1977
Problem 51. The remainder when 44!
is divided by 2021 is .

Answer: 1975
Reasoning: Firstly, the product of the consecutive 44 integers from 1977 to 2020 is divided
by 44!, meaning 2020×2019×···×1977
44!
is a positive integer. Secondly, 2021 is not a prime number,
because 2021 = 43 × 47. Since 44! does not have a prime factor of 47 , and 42 × 47 =
2021 − 47 = 1974, thus

1977 = 3, 1978 = 4, · · · , 2020 = 46,

2020×2019×···×1977
44!
= 46!44!
div 2
= 46×45
2
≡ (−1)×(−2)
2
≡ 1 ≡ 1975(mod47).

27
Also
2020 × 2019 × · · · × 1977 2020 × 2019 × · · · × 1979 1978 × 1977
= ×
44! 42! 43 × 44
(−1) × (−2) × · · · × (−42) 46 × 1977
≡ ×
42! 44
3 × (−1)
≡ = −3 ≡ 1975(mod43),
1
Thus 2020×2019×···×1977
44!
≡ 1975(mod2021)
√ 2022
√3an +1 ,
P
Problem 52. Given the sequence {an } : a1 = 1, an+1 = 3−an
then an = .
n=1

Answer: 0 √ √
Reasoning:
√ It is
√ easy to obtain a 1 = 1, a2 = 2 + 3, a3 = −2 − 3, a4 = −1, a5 =
−2 + 3, a6 = − 3, a7 = 1. Then the sequence {an } is periodic with a period of 6, therefore
2022
P
an = 337(a1 + a2 + ... + a6 ) = 0.
n=1

Problem 53. Given 2bx2 + ax + 1 − b ≥ 0 holds for x ∈ [−1, 1], find the maximum value of
a + b.
Answer: 2
Reasoning: From the problem statement, we know xa + (2x2 − 1)b ≥ −1 always holds for
x ∈ [−1, 1]. Taking x = − 21 , we get
1
− (a + b) ≥ −1 ⇒ a + b ≤ 2.
2
When a = 34 , b = 32 , 2bx2 + ax + 1 − b = 34 x2 + 43 x + 13 = 13 (2x + 1)2 ≥ 0, which always holds
for x ∈ [−1, 1]. At this time, a + b = 2. Therefore, the maximum value of a + b is 2.
Problem 54. Given x, y ∈ [0, +∞), and satisfying x3 + y 3 + 6xy = 8. Then the minimum
value of 2x2 + y 2 = .
Answer: 38
Reasoning: According to Euler’s formula x3 + y 3 + z 3 − 3xyz = (x + y + z)(x2 + y 2 +
z 2 − xy − yz − zx), it is easy to know x + y = 2, and from Cauchy’s inequality, we know
2x2 + y 2 ≥ 83
Problem 55. Given f (x) and g(x) are two quadratic functions with the coefficient of the
quadratic term being 1 for both. If g(6) = 35, fg(−1)
(−1)
= fg(1)
(1)
= 21
20
, then f (6) = .
Answer: 35
Reasoning: Let f (x) = x2 + ax + b, g(x) = x2 + cx + d. From the given condition we have:
20(1 − a + b) = 21(1 − c + d),○
1
20(1 + a + b) = 21(1 + c + d),○
2
From ○ 1 + ○,2 we have 40 + 40b = 42 + 42d, then 20b = 1 + 21d.// From ○ 1 − ○,
2 we
have −40a = −42c, then 20a = 21c. From g(6) = 35, we have 36 + 6c + d = 35. So
20
36 + 6 × 21 a + 20b−1
21
= 35. Thus 6a + b = −1. Then f (6) = 36 + 6a + b = 35.

28
Problem 56. Given (n + 1)a+1 − na+1 < na( a + 1) < nan+1 − (n − 1)a+1 (−1 < a < 0)○.
1
106
P 1
Letx = 3 , then the integer part of x is
√
k
.
k=4
Answer: 14996
Reasoning: In ○, 1 take α = − 13 , n = 4, 5, · · · , 106 , by adding inequalities, we have
2 2 P5 1
10 2
(106 + 1) 3 − 4 3 < 23 √
3
k
< (106 2
) 3
− 3 3 . Then the integer part of x is 14996.
k=4
m
Problem 57. Let a1 = π6 , an ∈ (0, π2 ), and tan an+1 · cos an = 1(n ≥ 1). If 1
Q
sin ak = 100
,
k=1
then m = .
Answer: 3333
Reasoning: From tan an+1 · cos an = 1 ⇒ tan2 an+1 − tan2 an = 1 ⇒ tan2 an − tan2 a1 =
√ m
n − 1 ⇒ tan2 an = n − 1 + 13 ⇒ sinan = √3n−2 1 1
Q
3n+1
. From sin ak = √3m+1 = 100 , we have
k=1
m = 3333.
Problem 58. Let y = f (x) be a strictly monotonically increasing function, and let its
inverse function be y = g(x). Let x1 , x2 be the solutions to the equations f (x) + x = 2 and
g(x) + x = 2 respectively. Then x1 + x2 = .
Answer: 2
Reasoning: Given that f (x) + x is strictly monotonically increasing and f (x1 ) + x1 = 2 =
g(x2 )+x = f (g(x2 ))+g(x2 ). Therefore, x1 = g(x2 ), x2 = f (x1 ). Thus, x1 +x2 = x1 +f (x1 ) =
2.
√
Problem 59. Let x0 > 0, x0 ̸= 3, Q(x0 , 0), P (0, 4), and the line PQ intersects the hyperbola
2 −→ −→ −−→
x2 − y3 = 1 at points A and B. If P Q = tQA = (2 − t)QB, then x0 = .
√
Answer: 22
4 −→ −→
Reasoning: Let lP Q : y = kx + 4(k < 0), A(x1 , y1 ). Then Q( −k , 0). From P Q = tQA ⇒
(− k4 , −4) = t(x1 + k4 , y1 ) ⇒ − k4 = t(x1 + k4 ), −4 = ty1 ⇒ x1 = − kt4 − k4 , y1 = − 4t . From
point A being on the hyperbola, we get (48 − 3k 2 )t2 + 96t − 16k 2 + 48 = 0. Similarly, from
−→ −−→
P Q = (2 − t)QB, we can obtain the equation √(48 − 3k 2 )(2 − t)2 + 96(2 − t) − 16k 2 + 48 =
√
0 ⇒ t + (2 − t) = − 48−3k 96
2 ⇒ k = −4 2, x0 = 22 .
Problem 60. Assuming sequence Fn satisfying: F1 = F2 = 1, Fn+1 = Fn + Fn−1 (n ≥ 2).
Then the number of sets of positive integers (x, y) that satisfy 5Fx − 3Fy = 1 is
Answer: 3
Reasoning: From the given conditions, we know for any n ≥ 2, we have Fn+1 > Fn . Notice
that Fn ∈ Z+ , F3 = 2, F4 = 3, F5 = 5, F6 = 8, F7 = 13, · · · . When x = 1, 2, there does not
exist Fr satisfying 5Fx − 3Fy = 1. When x = 3, in this case, to satisfy 5F3 − 3Fy = 1, then
Fy = 3, which means y = 4. Thus, (x, y) = (3, 4) meets the requirement. By 5Fx − 3Fy = 1,
we know y > x. If x + 1=y, then simplifying ○ 1 gets Fx−2 − Fx−3 = 1(x ≥ 4). Therefore,
x−2 = 3 or 4 ⇒ x = 5or6. Thus, (x, y) = (5, 6) or (6, 7) meets the requirement. If y = x−2,
then 5Fx − 3Fy < 5Fx − 6Fx < 0, it’s a contradiction. Overall, (x, y) = (3, 4) or (5,6) or
(6,7), a total of 3 sets.

29
Problem 61. For some positive integers n, there exists a positive integer k ≥ 2 such that
k−1
P k
P
for positive integers x1 , x2 , ..., xk satisfying the given condition, xi xi+1 = n, xi = 2019
i=1 i=1
the number of such positive integers is .

Answer: 1017073
k−1
P
Reasoning: n = xi xi+1 (x1 +x3 +· · · )(x2 +x4 +· · · ) = (x1 +x3 +· · · )(2019−x1 −x3 −· · · ).
i=1
From 1009 × 1010 = 1019090 ⇒ n = 1019090. When x1 = 1009, x2 = 1010, if k = 2, one
can obtain n = 1019090. Let xs be the smallest number among all considered values, then
k
P
equality n = xs ( xi − xs ) = xs (2019 − xs ) = 2018 holds true if and only if x1 = x2 =
i=1
· · · = x2019 = 1. Let S = {x|x ∈ Z, 1008 × 1011x < 1009 × 1010}. We will prove the
range of n falls in S in the following. By dividing S into 1008 intervals: S2018 = {x|x ∈
Z, 1008 × 1011 < x < 1009 × 1010}, Si = {x|x ∈ Z, i(2019 − i) < x < (i + 1)(2018 − i)},
where, i = 1, 2, · · · , 1008. When n = 1009 × 1010, the construction is given. If t ∈ Si and
t ̸= 1009 × 1010, let t = (i + 1)(2018 − i) − a, a ∈ [1, 2018 − 2i], take k = 4, x1 = 1,
x2 = 2018 − i − a, x3 = i, x4 = a, now, n = (i + 1)(2018 − i) − a. Therefore, it proved that
every number in set S has corresponding k and xi meets the problem’s criteria. Thus, the
sought positive number n ∈ [2018, 1019090].

Problem 62. Considering all non-increasing functions f : {1, 2, · · · , 10} → {1, 2, · · · , 10},
some of these functions have fixed points, while others do not. The difference in the number
of these two types of functions is .

Answer: 4862
Reasoning: Below, a stronger conclusion is proven: For positive integers n, considering
all non-increasing functions f : {1, 2, · · · , n} → {1, 2, · · · , n}, among these functions, it’s
demonstrated that the difference in the number of functions with and without fixed points
n−1 n−2 n−1
is C2n−2 − C2n−2 = n1 C2n−2 . It’s noted that there can be at most one fixed point in function
f . First, using the method of inserting dividers, the number of non-increasing functions is
n−1 n−1
Cn−1+n = C2n−1 . If a function f has a fixed point, i.e., there exists c, such that f (c) = c.
When the fixed point is c, dividing it into two parts [1, c − 1] and [c + 1, n] and applying
the method of inserting dividers again to calculate the number of non-increasing functions,
c−1 n−c
the number of such functions f with a fixed point is obtained as Cn−c+c−1−1 Cc−1+n−c+1 =
c−1 2
(Cn−1 ) . Consequently, the total number of functions f with a fixed point is calculated as
n
c−1 2 n−1
P
(Cn−1 ) = C2n−2 . As a result, the number of functions f without a fixed point is found
c=1
n−1 n−1 n−2 n−1 n−2
as C2n−1 − C2n−2 = C2n−2 . Therefore, the sought difference is calculated as C2n−2 − C2n−2 =
1 n−1
C
n 2n−2
. In this problem, with n = 10, the answer is 4862.

Problem 63. Given an integer coefficient polynomial P (x) satisfying: P (−1) = −4, P (−3) =
−40, P (−5) = −156. The maximum number of solutions x for P (P (x)) = x2 is .

Answer: 0
Reasoning: Notice that, 3|(P (x + 3) − P (x))(x ∈ Z). If x ≡ 0(mod3),then x2 ≡ P (P (x)) ≡
P (P (−3)) = P (−40) ≡ P (−1) = −4 ≡ −1(mod3), contradiction. If x ≡ 1(mod3), then

30
x2 ≡ P (P (x)) ≡ P (P (−5)) = P (−156) ≡ P (−3) = −40 ≡ −1(mod3), contradiction. If
x ≡ 2(mod3), then x2 ≡ P (P (x)) ≡ P (P (−1)) = P (−4) ≡ P (−1) = −4 ≡ −1(mod3),
contradiction. So the number of x satisfying P (P (x)) = x2 is 0.
2 2 √
Problem 64. Given hyperbola Γ : xa2 − yb2 = 1 passes the point M (3, 2), line l passes its
right focus F (2, 0) and cross the right branch of Γ at points A and B, and cross the y-axis
−→ −→ −−→ −−→
at point P. If P A = mAF , P B = nBF , then m + n = .

Answer: 6
Reasoning: From the condition given, it is easy to get the equation of hyperbola Γ is
x2 2 −→ −→ 2m t
3
− y = 1. Let A(x 1 , y1 ), B(x 2 , y2 ), P (0, t), from P A = mAF ⇒ x1 = m+1 , y1 = m+1 ⇒
2m 2 t 2 2 2 −−→ −−→
( m+1 ) − 3( m+1 ) = 3 ⇒ m − 6m − 3(t + 1) = 0. Similarly, from P B = nBF , we
get n2 − 6n − 3(t2 + 1) = 0. Therefore, m, n(m ̸= n) are two real roots of the equation
x2 − 6x − 3(t2 + 1) = 0. Thus, m + n = 6.

Problem 65. Let positive real numbers x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 satisfying x1 x2 + x2 x3 + x3 x4 + x4 x1 =

x1 x3 + x2 x4 . Then the minimum of f = xx21 + xx23 + xx34 + xx41 is .

Answer: 8
Reasoning: From x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 ∈ R, using the mean inequality f = xx12 + xx32 + xx34 + xx14 ≥
q q √ √
8 x1 x3 x2 x4
2 xx12 xx34 + 2 xx21 xx43 = 2(x x +x x )
√1 3 2 4 =
x1 x3 x2 x4
2(x1 +x3 )(x2 +x4 )
√
x1 x2 x3 x4
≥ √
x1 x2 x3 x4
= 8. The equality holds
√
when x1 = x3 = 1, x2 = x4 = 2 + 3.
1
Problem 66. Given sequence {an } satisfying a1 = a, an+1 = 2(an + an
) − 3. If an+1 >
an (n ∈ Z+ ). The range of real number a is .

Answer: (0, 12 ) ∪ (2, +∞)

Reasoning: From a2 − a1 = (a−1)(a−2) a
> 0 ⇒ 0 < a < 2ora > 2. (1) When a > 2, from
the induction we can prove an > 2 ⇒ an+1 − an = (an −1)(aan
n −2)
> 0 ⇒ an+1 > an . (2) When
0 < a < 2 , a2 = 2(a + 2 ) − 3 > 2 ⇒ an > 2 ⇒ an+1 > an > a1 (n ≥ 2). When 12 < 1 < 1,
1 1

a2 = 2(a + a1 ) − 3 ∈ (1, 2] ⇒ an ∈ (1, 2] ⇒ an+1 − an < 0(n ≥ 2), which does not satisfy the
requirement. From the above all, a ∈ (0, 12 ∪ (2, +∞))

Problem 67. Given positive number α, β, γ, δ satisfying α + β + γ + δ = 2π, and k =

3 tan α 4 tan β 5 tan γ 6 tan δ
1+sec α
= 1+sec β
= 1+sec γ
= 1+sec δ
, then k= .
√
Answer: 19
Reasoning: From the given condition, we can obtain k = 3 tan α2 = 4 tan β2 = 5 tan γ2 =
6 tan 2δ . Let a = tan α2 , b = tan β2 , c = tan γ2 , d = tan 2δ . Then 0 = tan α+β+γ+δ =
a+b+c+d−abc−bcd−cda−dab 3
√ √ 2

1+abcd−ab−ac−ad−bc−bd−cd
⇒ k − 19k = 0 ⇒ k = 19 (k = 0, 19 is abandoned).

Problem 68. Let A = {1, 2, · · · , 6}, function f : A → A. Mark p(f ) = f (1) · · · f (6). Then
the number of functions that make p(f )|36 is .

Answer: 580
Reasoning: Because p(f )|36, so p(f )|2a 3b , a, b ∈ {0, 1, 2}. We will count by category in the

31
following.
(1) If b = 0, then the number of choices for a can be C60 (a = 0), C61 (a = 1), C61 + C62 (a = 2),
where, a = 2, the two 2 are in different or the same among f (1), · · · , f (6).
(2) If b = 1, then there are C61 choices for 3. The choices for a can be C60 (a = 0), C61 (a =
1), C51 + C62 (a = 2), where, a = 2, the 2 are among the different or same f (1), · · · , f (6) but
not in the one that contains 3.
(3) If b = 2, then there are C62 choices for 3, the choices of a can be C60 (a = 0), C61 (a = 1),
C41 + C62 (a = 2), where, a = 2, the two 2 can be in different or same among f (1), · · · , f (6),
but can not be in the two that contains 3. Therefore, in total, (C60 + 2C61 + C62 ) + C61 (C60 +
C61 + C51 + C62 ) + C62 (C60 + C61 + C41 + C62 ) = 580
√
Problem 69. If unit complex number a, b satisfy ab̄ + āb = 3, then |a − b| = .
√ √
6− 2
Answer: 2
2
√ p √
Reasoning:
√ √
From |a−b| = (a−b)(ā− b̄) = 1−a b̄−āb+1 = 2− 3 ⇒ |a−b| = 2− 3=
6− 2
2
2 2 √
Problem 70. The right focus F1 of the ellipse Γ1 : x24 + yb2 = 1(0 < b < 2 6) coincides with
the focus of the parabola Γ2 : y 2 = 4px(p ∈ Z+ ). The line l passing through the point F1
with a positive integer slope intersects the ellipse
√ Γ1 at points A and B, and intersects the
parabola Γ2 at points C and D. If 13|AB| = 6|CD|, then b2 + p = .

Answer: 12
Reasoning: Assume line l : k(x − p(k ∈ Z+ ), combine y 2 = 4px, we obtain k 2 x2 − 2p(k 2 +
2
2)x + k 2 p2 = 0. Assume C(x1 , y1 ), D(x2 , y2 ), then x1 + x2 = − 2p(kk2+2) , x1 x2 = p2 . So
2 2 )2 2 2
|CD|2 = 16p (1+k k4
. Combine y = k(x − p) and x24 + yb2 = 1, we obtain (b2 + 24k 2 )x2 −
2
48pk 2 x + 24(k 2 p2 − b2 ) = 0. Assume A(x3 , y3 ), B(x4 , y4 ), then x3 + x4 = − b248pk +24k2
, then
24(k2 p2 −b2 ) 96b2 (1+k 2 )(b2 +24k 2 −p2 k 2 ) √
x3 x4 = b2 +24k2 , so |AB|2 = (b2 +24k2 )2
. From 13|AB| = 6|CD| and b2 =
24 − p2 , we obtain 13k 2 (24 − p2 ) = p(24 − p2 + 24k 2 2
√ ). From 2p < 24, p is positive integer,
only p = 4 satisfies the condtion, therefore, b = 2 2. Thus, b + p = 8 + 4 = 12.

Problem 71. Given that p(x) is a quintic polynomial. If x = 0 is a triple root of p(x)+1 = 0
and x = 1 is a triple root of p(x) − 1 = 0, then the coefficient of the x3 term in the expression
of p(x) is .

Answer: 20
Reasoning: Let p(x) + 1 = x3 (ax2 + bx + c), p(x) − 1 = (x − 1)3 (lx2 + mx + n) Differentiate
the above equation to the first and second order, respectively, and set x = 0, then compare
the coefficients of the corresponding equations to solve for the coefficient. We get l = 12, m =
6, n = 2. Therefore, p(x) = 12x5 − 30x4 + 20x3 − 1.

Problem 72. Set X = {1, 2, · · · , 10}, mapping f : X → X satisfy:

(1) f ◦ f = Ix , where, f ◦ f is a composite mapping, Ix is an identity mapping on X.
(2) |f (i) − i| = 2, for any i ∈ X.
Then the number of mapping f is .

32
Answer: 401
Reasoning: From (1), we know (i) f (x) = x, (ii) f (x) = y(x ̸= y), f (y) = x. Set the
number of mapping fn satisfying the condition when Sn = {1, 2, · · · , n}. When f (1) = 1,
the number of mapping is fn−1 . When f (1) = 2, then f (2) = 1, the number of mapping is
fn−2 . When f (1) = 3, then f (3) = 1, if f (2) = 2, the number of mapping is fn−3 . If f (2) = 4,
then f (4) = 2, the number of mapping is fn−4 . Therefore, fn = fn−1 + fn−2 + fn−3 + fn−4 .
By calculation, f1 = 1, f2 = 2, f3 = 4, f4 = 8, · · · , f10 = 401.
Problem 73. Given a integer coefficient polynomial of degree 2022 with leading coefficient
is 1, how many roots can it possibly have in the interval (0,1) as maximum?
Answer: 2021
Reasoning: First, if all 2022 roots of the polynomial are within the interval (0,1), then
according to Vieta’s formulas, its constant term is the product of these 2022 roots, which
also must lie within the interval, thus it cannot be an integer, which is a contradiction.
Therefore, the polynomial can have at most 2021 roots in the interval (0, 1).
Next, we prove that there exists a leading coefficient 1 integer coefficient polynomial of
degree 2022, which has at least 2021 roots in the interval (0, 1). Let P (x) = x2 022 + (1 −
4042x)(3 − 4042x) · (5 − 4042x) · · · (4041 − 4042x). Note that, for each k = 0, 1, · · · , 2021,
2k 2k 202
we have P ( 4042 ) = ( 4042 ) + (−1)k (2k − 1)!! · (4041 − 2k)!!. When k is even, its value is
positive; when k is odd, its value is negative. It is evident that there are at least 2021 sign
changes in the interval (0, 1), therefore, it has at least 2021 roots in the interval.
 2
x y + y 2 z + z 2 = 0,
Problem 74. The system of equations has how many
z 3 + z 2 y + zy 3 + x2 y = 41 (x4 + y 4 )
sets of real solution (x, y, z) ?.
Answer: 1
Reasoning:
First consider the case that x, y, z are all not equal to 0.
Set (
y = kz. then the system of equations can be written
x2 2
y
+ z + yz 2 = 0
4z 3 4z 2 4x2 4
y 2 + y + 4yz + y = xy2 + y 2
 2
 x = −z − z22 ,  2
y 2 2 y ⇒ z + z2
2 + 2 = 4yz + 4z 2
+ 4z 3
− y 2 + 4.
 xy − 2 = 4yz + 4zy2 + 4z 3 y y y2
y2
− y2 + 4
put y = kz into
the above equation
2
z + k12 + 2 = 4kz 2 + k4z2 + 4zk
−
k 2 z 2 + 4
⇒ (4k − k − 1) z + k2 + k − 4 z − k14 + k42 = 0.
2 4
2 2

Notice that,
2
∆ = k22 + k4 − 4 + 4 k14 + k42 (4k − k 2 − 1)

= k323 + 32
k
− k202 .
If k < 0, i.e. y, z have different signs, then, ∆ < 0, z has no solution. Thus, the system of
equations has no solution.
2 2
If k > 0, when y > 0, z > 0, xy + z + yz 2 > 0, is contradiction with (1). Thus, y < 0, z < 0.
Solved from the original system of equations z 3 − x2 y 2 + x2 y = 41 (x4 + y 4 )

33
now, z 3 − x2 y 2 + x2 y < 0, 14 (x4 + y 4 ) > 0, contradiction. Therefore, there must be 0 among
x, y, z.
(1) When z = 0, the system of equations becomes x4 + y 4 = 0 ⇒ x = y = 0. Thus,
x = y = z = 0. 
z2 = 0
(2) When y = 0, 3 1 4 ⇒ x = y = z = 0.
 z =24 x
z (y + z) = 0,
(3) When x = 0, ⇒ z 3 = 14 y 4 . When y, z are not equal to 0 at
z 3 + zy (z + y 2 ) = 41 y 4
the same time, then z > 0. Therefore, y 2 + z = 0, contradiction.Thus, y = z = 0.
Therefore, the only solution of the system of equations is (x, y, z) = (0, 0, 0).

Problem 75. Set x, y, z are real numbers, satisfying x2 + y 2 + z 2 = 1. Then the maximum
and minimum of (x − y)(y − z)(x − z) are
√ √
Answer: 22 , − 22
Reasoning: Notice that, for any arrangement of x, y, z, only change the sign of the re-
quired formula, don’t change the absolute value of it. Thus, only the maximum needs to be
calculated. Set x ≥ y ≥ z. Then, from the mean inequality,
2  2
(x − z)3

(x − y) + (y − z) x−z
(x − y)(y − z) ≤ = ⇒ (x − y)(y − z)(x − z) ≤ .
2 2 4
√
Thus, only need to prove x − z ≤ 2. In fact, (x − z)2 = 2x2 + 2z 2 − (x + z)2 ≤ 2 (x2 + z 2 ) =
2 − 2y 2 ≤ 2, When x = √12 , y = 0, z = − √12 , the equation above holds true. Hence, the
√ √
√1 2 2
maximum value sought is 2
= 2
, the minimum value is − √12 = − 2
.

Problem 76. If there are a total of 95 numbers, each of which can take any value in +1
or -1, and it is known that the sum of the pairwise products of these 95 numbers is positive,
then what is the minimum possible value of this positive sum?

Answer: 13
Reasoning: Let the minimum positive value be N, then we have 95+2 N = 95 2
P
i=1 ai +2 N =
P95
2
i=1 ai being a perfect square, The smallest perfect square larger than 95 is 121, the
corresponding N is 13, constructed with 53 +1s and 42 -1s.

Problem 77. A monotonically increasing sequence of positive integers, starting from the
third term, with each subsequent term being the sum of the preceding two terms. If its
seventh term is 120, then its eighth term is .

Answer: 194
Reasoning: Set first two terms as x < y, Then, from the given conditions, it can be deduced
that 5x + 8y = 120, restricting x < y, the only positive integer solution is x = 8, b = 10,
hence, it can be further determined that the eighth term is 8x + 13y = 194.

Problem 78. Sequence {an } satisfy a0 = 0, a1 = 1, and for any positive integer n, we have
a2n = an′ a2n+1 = an + 1, then a2024 = .

34
Answer: 7
Reasoning: a2024 = a1012 = a506 = a253 = a126 + 1 = a63 + 1 = a31 + 2 = a15 + 3 = a7 + 4 =
a3 + 5 = a7 + 6 = 7, in fact an is n, which is the number of ones in its binary representations.

Problem 79. Non-negative real numbers x, y, z satisfy 4x2 + 4y 2 + z 2 + 2z = 3, then the

minimum of 5x + 4y + 3z is .

Answer: 3
Reasoning: The given conditions, when squared, result in (2x)2 +(2y)2 +(z +1)2 = 4, Com-
bined with the non-negative condition, it can be obtained that x, y, z ∈ [0, 1], Furthermore,
by utilizing range scaling, we have 5x + 4y + 3z ≥ 4x2 + 4y 2 + 3z ≥ 4x2 + 4y 2 + z 2 + 2z = 3.

Problem 80. Real numbers x, y satisfy 2x − 5y ≤ −6 and 3x + 6y ≤ 25, then the maximum
value of 9x + y is .

Answer: 869 27
Reasoning: By adjusting coefficients, we can obtain 27(9x+y) = 47(3x+6y)+51(2x−5y) ≤
47 × 25 + 51 × (−6) = 869.

Problem 81. The sum of the maximum element and minimum element in set a3 + b 1 ≤ a ≤ b ≤ 2


is .
√
Answer: 5 + 2 3
Reasoning: The maximum element needs to make a as small as possible, b as large as
possible, therefore it is obvious 3 + 2 = 5, while the minimum element needs to make a as
large as possible, b as small √as possible, therefore, we have a =
√ b, and utilizing the mean
inequality we select a = b = 3, the the minimum element is 2 3.

Problem 82. A monotonically increasing function f(x) defined on R+ satisfies f f(x) + x2 =

−1 consistently holds within its domain, then f(1) = .

Answer: -1
Reasoning: According to the given conditions, it can only be f(x) + x2 is a constant value,
set this constant to be t > 0, then we have f(t) + 2t = t and f(t) = −1, solved as t = 1
(neglecting the negative root), therefore f(1) = −1.
n 2
o
Problem 83. Given set: A = x + y x9 + y 2 = 1 , x + y ∈ Z+ , B = {2x + y | x, y ∈
A, x < y}, C = {2x + y | x, y ∈ A, x > y}. Then the sum of all elements in B ∩ C is

Answer: 12 √
Reasoning: Set x = 3 cos θ, y = sin θ. Then x + y = 10 sin(θ + φ). Thus, A = {1, 2, 3}.
Therefore, through enumeration we obtain B = {4, 5, 7}, C = {5, 7, 8} ⇒ B ∩ C = {5, 7}.
So, 5 + 7 = 12.
2 2
Problem 84. Given a hyperbola Γ : x7 − y5 = 1, a line l : ax + by + 1 = 0 intersects
Γ at point A. A tangent to Γ drawn through point A is perpendicular to the line l. Then
7
a2
− b52 = .

35
Answer: 144
Reasoning: Set point A (x0 , y0 ). Then the tangent is x70 x − y05y = 1, slope is 5x 0
7y0
. Addition-
a 5ax0 7by0
ally, the slope of l is − b , then from the given condition 7b y0 = 1 ⇒ x0 = 5a . Combining
point A is on line l, we have x0 = − ab y0 − a1 . Therefore, y0 = − 12b
5 7
, x0 = − 12a . Substituting
7 5 7 5
into the equation of the hyperbola Γ, we obtain 144a2 − 144b2 = 1 ⇒ a2 − b2 = 144.

Problem 85. In the Cartesian coordinate plane xOy, point A(a, 0), B(0, b), C(0, 4), moving
−→ −−→ −−→
point D satisfies |CD| = 1. If the maximum value of |OA + OB + OD| is 6, then the
minimum value of a2 + b2 is .

Answer: 1
Reasoning: From moving point D satisfying |CD| = 1, we know point D lies on a circle
−→ −−→ −−→ p
with center C and radius 1. Set D(x, y), then |OA + OB + OD| = (x + a)2 + (y + b)2 , i.e.,
the maximum value of distance between point (x, y) and point (−a, −b) is 6, this indicates
that point (−a, −b) lies on a circle with center C and radius 5. So a2 +b2 = (−a)2 +(−b)2 ≥ 1,
when a = 0, b = 1, the equation holds true.

Problem 86. Given n is positive integer, for i = 1, 2, · · · , n, positive integer ai and positive
even number bi satisfy 0 < abii < 1, and for any positive integers i1 , i2 (1 ≤ i1 < i2 ≤ n) , ai1 ̸=
ai2 and bi1 ̸= bi2 at least one holds true. If for any positive integer n and Pall positive integers
n
b
ai and positive even numbers bi satisfy the above conditions, we all have i=13 i ≥ c, then the
n2
maximum value of real number c is .

Answer: 34
Reasoning: For any positive integer t, when n = t2 , take integers that satisfy conditions:
a1 = 1, b1 = 2; a2 = 1, b2 = 4;
a3 = 2, b3 = 4; a4 = 3, b4 = 4;
···
a(t−1)2 +1 = 1, b(t−1)2 +1 = 2t;
a(t−1)2 +2 = 2, b(t−1)2 +2 = 2t;
at2P= 2t − 1, Pbt2 = 2t.
Then i=1 bi = tj=1 (2j − 1)2j = 4 tj=1 j 2 − 2 tj=1 j = 2t(t+1)(2t+1)
n
− t(t + 1) = t(t+1)(4t−1)
P P
3 3
.
Pn
i=1 bi t(t+1)(4t−1) (t+1)(4t−1)
So, c ≤ 1 = 3 = 3t2
→ 43 (t → +∞).
n2 3(t2 ) 2
Therefore, c ≤ 43 .
The following is proved by mathematical induction: for each positive integer n and all positive
integers
Pn i
a satisfying the conditions and all positive even numbers bi (i = 1, 2, · · · , n), we all
i=1 bi
have 3 ≥ 43 .
n2
When n = 1, since b1 ≥ 2, then b13 ≥ 2 > 43 .
12
Assume that equation (1) holds true, when n = k (k is positive integer). When n = k + 1,
consider positive integers ai and positive even numbers bi (i = 1, 2, · · · , k + 1) satisfying
conditions.
√ Next, we aim to prove that there exists i0 ∈ {1, 2, · · · , k + 1}, such that bi0 ≥
2 k + 1.
Assume
√ that the conclusion is not true, then for each i = 1, 2, · · · , k + 1, we have 2 ≤ bi <
2 k + 1. Without loss of generality, suppose that the sequence {bi } (i = 1, 2, · · · , k + 1) is

36
 √ √
arranged in increasing order. Set k + 1 = m + a, where, m √ = [ k + 1] ( [x] denotes the
greatest integer not exceeding x), 0 ≤ a < 1. Then 2 ≤ bi < 2 k + 1 = 2m + 2a < 2m + 2 ⇒
2 ≤ bi ≤ 2m + 1. Since bi is even number, thus, 2 ≤ bi ≤ 2m.
For positive integer j(1 ≤ j ≤ m), the number of positive integers Pami satifying bi = 22j is at
most 2j − 1, i.e., ai ∈ {1, 2, · · · , 2j − 1}. Therefore, n = k + 1 ≤ j=1 (2j − 1) = m .
√ √
Thus, m P ≥ k + 1 ≥ m, which implies √ that all equalities hold, i.e., m = k + 1, n =
k+1 = m 2
j=1 (2j − 1) = m , bk+1√ = 2 k + 1, contradiction. Therefore, there exists i0 ∈
{1, 2, · · · , k + 1}, such that bi0 ≥ 2 k + 1.
From the induction
Pk+1 hypothesis,4 we can√obtain
Pk+1 3
i=1 i b = i=1 i b + b i0 > 3
k 2 + 2 k + 1.
i̸=i0
3 √ 2
To prove that equation (1) holds when n=k+1itsuf f icestoshow 43 k 2 + 2 k + 1 ≥ 43 (k + 1) 2 .
Notice that, √ equation
√ (2) √
⇔ 43 k k + 2 k + 1 ≥ 43 (k + 1) k + 1
√ √ √
⇔ 2k √ k+3 k+ √ 1 ≥ 2(k √ + 1) k + 1
⇔ k√+ 1 ≥ 2k(√ k + 1 − k). √ √
2k √ √k =
From 2k( k + 1 − k) = √k+1+ k
< k
k < k + 1.
Then equation (3) holds, thus equation (2) holds, thereby completing the proof of equation
(1). From equation (1), we know that when c = 43 , the original inequality holds.
Therefore, cmax = 43 .
Problem 87. In a cube ABCD − A1 B1 C1 D1 , AA1 = 1, E, F are the midpoints of edges
CC1 , DD1 , then the area of the cross-section obtained by the plane AEF intersecting the
circumscribed sphere of the cube is .
7
Answer: 10 π
Reasoning: Taking A as the origin, and AB, AD, AA1 as the x, y, z axes to establish a spa-
−→ −→
tial rectangular coordinate system, then, A(0, 0, 0),E(1, 1, 12 ),F (0, 1, 21 ), so AE = (1, 1, 12 ), AF =
(0, 1, 12 ). Let the normal vector of plane AEF be n = (x, y, z). Then,
1

x + y + z = 0,
( 
n · AE = 0 2
⇒
n · AF = 0 1
y + z = 0.


2
Take n = (0, −1, 2), the distance from the center of the sphere O( 21 , 12 , 12 ) to the plane AEF
−→ √
|AO|·n 5
is d = |n|
= 10
. Let the radius of the cross-sectional circle be r, because the radius of the
√
3 3 1 7
circumscribed sphere of the cube is R = 2
, therefore,r2 = R2 − d2 = 4
− 20
= 10
, thus the
7
area of the cross-section is 10 π.
Problem 88. In tetrahedron
√ ABCD, triangle ABC is an equilateral triangle, ∠BCD = 90◦ ,
BC = CD = 1,AC = 3,E and F are the midpoints of edges BD and AC respectively. Then
the cosine of the angle formed by lines AE and BF is .
√
Answer: 32
Reasoning: Take the√midpoint M of CE, then ∠M F B is the√
angle formed by AE and BF,
3 3 10
1 6 + − 2
where F M = 2 AE = 4 . Hence, cos∠M F B = 16 √64 √163 = 3 .
2× 4
× 2

37
 −→ −−→ −→
Problem 89. Let P be a point inside triangle ABC, and 2P A = P B + P C = 0. If ∠BAC =
π −−→ −→
3
, BC = 2, then the maximum value of P B · P C is .
Answer: − 14
−−→ −−→ −→ −→
Reasoning: Let M be the midpoint of BC. Then 2P B = P B + P C = −2P A, hence, P is the
−−→ −→ −−→ −−→ −−→ −−→
midpoint of the median AM of edge BC. Therefore, P B · P C = (P M + M B) · (P M + M C) =
−−→ −−→ −−→ −−→ −−→
|P M |2 +M B·M C = |P M |2 −1 = 14 |AM |2 −1. Also, since ∠BAC = π3 , and BC = 2, the locus
of point A is a circle, where BC is a chord on the circle, and the inscribed angle corresponding
√ −−→ −→ −−→
to BC is 60◦ , then AM ≤ 3. Therefore, P B · P C = 14 |AM |2 − 1 < leq 34 − 1 = − 14 .
Problem 90. A rectangular solid whose length, width, and height are all natural numbers,
and the sum of all its edge lengths equals its volume, is called a ”perfect rectangular solid.
The maximum value of the volume of a perfect rectangular solid is .
Answer: 120
Reasoning: Let the length, width, and height be a, b, c, and a > b > c > 1. Then
4(a + b + c) = abc ⇒ a = 4(b+c)
bc−4
⇒ bc > 4 ⇒ b2 > bc > 4. Since a > b, we have

b ≥ 3,
8b > (b2 − 4) c > b2 − 4 ⇒ ⇒ 3 < b < 8.
(b − 4)2 > 20
Thus (a, b, c) = (10, 3, 2), (6, 4, 2), (24, 5, 1), (14, 6, 1), (9, 8, 1). Therefore, the sought maxi-
mum is 24 × 5 × 1 = 120.
−→ −−→ −−→
Problem 91. In the convex quadrilateral ABCD inscribed in a circle, if AB +3BC +2CD +
−−→ −→ −→ −−→
4DA = 0, and |AC| = 4, then the maximum of |AB| + |BC| is .
√
Answer: 4 2
Reasoning: Set AC and BD intersects at point P . From the given conditions,
−→ −→ −−→ −−→ −→ −→ −−→ −−→
⇔ 3P A + P C = 2P B + 2P D ⇒ |P A| : |P C| = 1 : 3, |P B| : |P D| = 1 : 1. Fur-
−→ −→ −−→ −−→ √ √
thermore, by the Power of a Point theorem (|P A|, |P C|, |P B|, |P D|) = q (1, 3, 3, 3). Set
−→ −−→ p √ √
∠AP B = θ. From Cauchy’s inequality: |AB|+|BC| = 4 − 2 3 cos θ + 3(4 + 2 3 cos θ),
p √ √
(1 + 3)(4 + 4) = 4 2, when cos θ = 33 , the equality in the above equation holds.
Problem 92. Given that the edge length of the cube ABCD − A1 B1 C1 D1 is 1, where, E is
the middle point of AB, F is the middle point of CC1 . Then the distance from point D to
the plane passing through the three points D1 , E, F is .
4
√
Answer: 29 29
Reasoning: Set D as the origin, establish a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate
system
respectively with DA, DC, and DD1 as the x, y, and z axes, then D1 (0, 0, 1), E 1, 21 , 0 , F 0, 1, 21 .

normal vector n = (3, 2, 4) to the plane passing through points D1 , E, F . Additionally,

−−→
DD1 = (0, 0, 1), the distance from point D to the plane passing through points D1 , E, F is
−−−→ √
|DD1 ·n| 4
|n|
= 29
29.
√
Problem 93. Given that the vertices of triangle △OAB are O(0, 0), A(4, 4 3), and B(8, 0),
with the incenter denoted as I, let Γ be a circle passing through points A and B, intersecting
circle ⊙I at points P and Q. If the tangents drawn through points P and Q are perpendicular,
then the radius of circle Γ is .

38
 √
Answer: 2 7
Reasoning: Let ⊙I tangent to BO, AB, and AO at points √ D, E, and √ F , respectively. Due
to △OAB being an equilateral triangle, D(4, 0), E(6, 2 3), and F (2, 2 3).
From the given information and the power of a point theorem,
√ we know √ that circle Γ passes
through the midpoints of DE and EF , denoted as G(5, 3) and H(4, 2 3), respectively.
Moreover,
√ since circle Γ passes through points A and B, the radius of circle Γ is found to be
2 7.
Problem 94. A person has some 2 × 5 × 8 bricks and some 2 × 3 × 7 bricks, as well as a
10 × 11 × 14 box. All bricks and the box are rectangular prisms. He wants to pack all the
bricks into the box so that the bricks can fill the entire box. The number of bricks he can fit
into the box is pieces.
Answer: 24
Reasoning: Let the number of 2 × 5 × 8 bricks be a and the number of 2 × 3 × 7 bricks be b.
According to the problem, we have 2×5×8·a+2×3×7·b = 10×11×14 ⇒ 40a+21b = 770.
Since (21, 770) = 7 and (40, 7) = 1, we know that 7 | a. So, 40a ≡ 0 (mod 7) ⇒ a ≡ 0· 77 4
≡0
490 70
(mod 7). This implies that a = 7 or 14. When a = 7, b = 21 = 3 ∈ / Z; When a = 14,
b = 210
21
= 10, satisfying the requirements. In this case, a total of 14 + 10 = 24 bricks are
used. Next, let’s prove that we can indeed use 14 2 × 5 × 8 bricks and 10 2 × 3 × 7 bricks
to form a 10 × 11 × 14 rectangular prism. We stack 7 2 × 5 × 8 bricks vertically to form a
14 × 5 × 8 rectangular prism, and stack the remaining 7 2 × 5 × 8 bricks vertically to form
another 14 × 5 × 8 rectangular prism. Then, we horizontally combine these two 14 × 5 × 8
prisms to form a 14 × 10 × 8 prism. Similarly, we stack 5 2 × 3 × 7 bricks vertically to form
a 10 × 3 × 7 rectangular prism, and stack the remaining 5 2 × 3 × 7 bricks vertically to form
another 10 × 3 × 7 rectangular prism. Then, we horizontally combine these two 10 × 3 × 7
prisms to form a 10 × 3 × 14 prism. Finally, we horizontally combine the 10 × 8 × 14 prism
with the 10 × 3 × 14 prism, resulting in a 10 × 11 × 14 rectangular prism, meeting the
requirements. Therefore, the required number of bricks is 24.
√
Problem 95. Let a be an acute angle not exceeding 45◦ . If cot 2a − 3 = sec a, then a =
degrees.
Answer: 10 √
1
√ 1
cos 2a− 23 sin 2a
Reasoning: According to the given conditions: cos a
= cot 2a − 3 = 2
1
sin 2a
=
2
sin(30◦ −2a)
sin a·cos a
⇒ sin a = sin (30◦ − 2a). Additionally, 0 < a < 45◦ , so a = 10◦ .
Problem 96. Known that there is a regular 200-gon A1 A2 . . . A200 , connecting the diagonals
Ai Ai+9 (i = 1, 2, . . . , 200), where Ai+200 = Ai (i = 1, 2, . . . , 9). Then there are a total of
distinct intersection points inside the regular 200-gon.
Answer: 1600
Reasoning: Obviously, each diagonal intersects with 8 × 2 = 16 other diagonals. Therefore,
there are a total of 200 × 16 div 2 = 1600 intersections. Moreover, all these diagonals should
be tangent to the same circle, which is concentric with and smaller than the circumscribed
circle of the regular 200-gon. Since there can be at most two tangents passing through a
point, there are no three lines intersecting at the same point.

39
Problem 97. The distance between the highest point of the ellipse obtained by counterclock-
2
wise rotating the ellipse x2 + y 2 = 1 about the origin by 45 degrees and the origin is: .
√
Answer: 315
Reasoning: The tangent line drawn through the highest point should be parallel to the x-
axis. Therefore, after clockwise rotation by 45 degrees, this tangent line should have a slope
of 1. By utilizing
 √the √slope
 of the tangent line, we can solve for the coordinates of the point
2 3 3
of tangency as 3 , 3 (discarding the solution in the third quadrant). Consequently, we
√
15
find the distance from the origin to be 3
.

Problem 98. A convex n-gon with interior angles of n degrees each, all integers, and all
different. The degree measure of the largest interior angle is three times the degree measure
of the smallest interior angle. The maximum value that n can take is .

Answer: 20
Reasoning: Let the smallest interior angle be m degrees, then m ≤ 59. The largest interior
angle is 3m degrees, and the next largest interior angle is at most 3m − 1 degrees, and so on
until the second smallest interior angle (the (n − 1)-th largest) is at most 3m − n + 2 degrees.
Therefore, we have:

180(n − 2) ≤ m + 3m + (3m − 1) + (3m − 2) + . . . + (3m − n + 2)

Using m ≤ 59 for simplification, we get n2 + 3n − 482 ≤ 0. Hence, n ≤ 20.

−→ −→ −→ →
−
Problem 99. In triangle ABC with its incenter I, if 3IA + 4IB + 5IC = 0 , then the
measure of angle C is .

Answer: 90
Reasoning: Extending I A, ⃗ I B,
⃗ and I C ⃗ respectively to 3, 4, and 5 times, I becomes the
centroid of the resulting new triangle. Then, we can infer that the ratios of the areas of
1 1 1
triangles IAB, IBC, and ICA are 3×4 : 4×5 : 5×3 = 5 : 3 : 4. Furthermore, since I is the
incenter, we have AB : BC : CA = 5 : 3 : 4. Finally, by the converse of the Pythagorean
theorem, angle C is a right angle.

Problem 100. Given the circle x2 +y 2 = 4 and the point P(2, 1), two mutually perpendicular
lines are drawn through point P, intersecting the circle at points A, B and C, D respectively.
Point A lies inside the line segment P B, and point D lies inside the line segment P C. The
maximum area of quadrilateral ABCD is .
√
Answer: 15
Reasoning: Set midpoints of AB, CD to be M, N relatively.
1 1
SABCD = (P B · P C − P A · P D) = [(P M + M B)(P N + N C) − (P M −
2 2
M A)(P N − N D)] = PM · NC + PN · MB
By the Cauchy inequality

40
 (PM · NC + PN · MB)2 ≤ P M 2 + P N 2 M B 2 + M C 2

= OP 2 22 − OM 2 + 22 − ON 2 = OP 2 8 − OP 2 = 15



√
Hence, the maximum value of the quadrilateral ABCD area is 15.
Problem 101. Given that the area of triangle ABC is 1, and BC = 1, when the product of
the three altitudes of this triangle is maximized, sin A =
8
Answer: 17
Reasoning: Since the area of the triangle is fixed, the product of the three altitudes with
the three sides is also fixed. To maximize the product of the three altitudes, we should
minimize the product of the three sides. Since angle A is fixed with respect to side BC, and
the area of the triangle is given by 12 bc sin A, which is constant, we should maximize sin A,
so that bc is minimized. As shown in the diagram below, draw line l parallel to BC at a
distance of 2 units. Then, draw the perpendicular from B to l, intersecting l at A. Construct
the circumcircle O of triangle ABC. In this configuration, A is at a position that maximizes
angle A, as the angle subtended at the circumference √ of the circle is greater than the angle
17
subtended at the center. Calculate AB = AC = 2 using the Pythagorean theorem, and
then use the cosine rule to find the trigonometric value of angle A.
Problem 102. If each face of a tetrahedron is not an isosceles triangle, then it has at
least distinct edge lengths.
Answer: 3
Reasoning: Each pair of edges needs to be equal.
Problem 103. In tetrahedron ABCD, where AC = 15, BD = 18, E is the trisect point of
AD closer to A, F is the trisect point of BC closer to C, and EF = 14. Then, the cosine
value of the angle between edges AC and BD is .
Answer: 21
Reasoning: Taking the trisect point G on CD closer to C, we have EG//AC and F G//BD,
where EG = 10 and F G = 6.
2 +102 −142
Then, cos ∠EGF = 6 2×6×10 = − 12 .
Since the angle between skew lines is acute, the result is 12 .
√ √
Problem 104. Given that each face of the tetrahedron has edges of lengths 2, 3, and 2,
the volume of this tetrahedron is .
√
Answer: 30 12 .
Reasoning:
√ √ Considering a rectangular parallelepiped
√ √ √ with three face diagonals
√ of lengths
2 6 10 ′ 30
2, 3, 2, the lengths of its three edges are√ 2 , 2 , 2 . Its volume V = 4 . Therefore,
′
the volume of the tetrahedron is V = V3 = 1230 .
Problem 105. Given that the line l intersects two parabolas Γ1 : y 2 = 2px(p > 0) and
Γ2 : y 2 = 4px at four distinct points A (x1 , y1 ), B (x2 , y2 ), D (x3 , y3 ), and E (x4 , y4 ), where
y4 < y2 < y1 < y3 . Let l intersect the x-axis at point M . Given that AD = 6BE, then the
AM
value of M E
is .

41
 √
Answer: 3
Reasoning: According to the given conditions, the slope of the line l exists. Let l : y =
kx + m. Then
 2
y = 2px,
⇒ ky 2 − 2py + 2pm = 0 ⇒ y11 + y12 = yy11+y
y2
2
= m1 .
y = kx + m
1 y3 −y1 y2 −y4
Similarly, y3
+ y14 = 1
m
. Hence, 1
y1
+ y12 = 1
y3
+ y14 ⇒ 1
y1
− y13 = 1
y4
− y12 ⇒ y1 y3
= y2 y4
⇒
|y3 −y1 | y1 · 4pm 2y12
AD
BE
= |y2 −y4 |
= |y 1 y3 |
|y2 y4 |
. By y1 y2 = 2pm
k
and y3 y4 = 4pm
k
, ⇒ y1 y3
y2 y4
= 2pm
ky4
·y4
= y42
= 6. Hence,
AM |y1 |
√ ky1

ME
= |y4 |
= 3.

Problem 106. Given that △ABC is an acute-angled triangle, with A, B, and C as its
internal angles, the minimum value of 2 cot A + 3 cot B + 4 cot C is .
√
Answer: 23
Reasoning: By the inequality (2x − 3y cos γ − 4z cos β)2 + (3y sin γ − 4z sin β)2 ⩾ 0, we can
rearrange it to obtain (2x + 3y + 4z)2 ⩾ 12(cos γ + 1)xy + 24(1 − cos(β + γ))yz +
16(cos β + 1)zx.
= 24(1 − cos(β +
Let’s assume the coefficients, and denote 12(cos γ + 1) q qγ)) = 16(cos
β +
k

k

k

2 k 2
1) = k. This leads to the equation 12 − 1 16 − 1 − 1 − 12 −1 1 − 16 −1 =
k
1 − 24 ⇒ k = 23.
Therefore, (2x+3y+4z)2 ⩾ 23(xy+yz+zx). Also cot A·cot B+cot B·cot C+cot √ C·cot A =
1, thus, (2 cot A + 3 cot B + 4 cot C)2 ⩾ 23. Therefore, the minimum value is 23.

Problem 107. There are 10 points in the plane, with no three points lying on the same line.
Using these 10 points as vertices of triangles, such that any two triangles have at most one
common vertex, we can form at most triangles.

Answer: 13
Reasoning: Considering all triangles containing one of the points A, since there is at most
one common point (which
 10−1  is A), the other two points of these triangles must be different.
Therefore, there are 2
= 4 triangles containing point A. Similarly, for each point, we
can obtain 4 triangles. Hence,  40there
 are a total of 4 × 10 = 40 triangles. Since each triangle
is counted 3 times, at most 3 = 13 triangles can be formed. Here is a construction:

42
 A B C D E F G H I J
√ √ √
First
√ √ √
Second
√ √ √
Third
√ √ √
Fourth
√ √ √
Fifth
√ √ √
Sixth
√ √ √
Seventh
√ √ √
Eighth
√ √ √
Nineth
√ √ √
Tenth
√ √ √
Eleventh
√ √ √
Twelfth
√ √ √
Thirteenth

Problem 108. Given that quadrilateral ABCD is a parallelogram, with the lengths of AB,
AC, AD, and BD being distinct integers, then the minimum perimeter of quadrilateral
ABCD is .

Answer: 32
Reasoning: Let AB = a, AD = b, AC = p, BD = q. Obviously, 2 (a2 + b2 ) = p2 + q 2 .
Without loss of generality, assume a > b and p > q.
Let r = a2 + b2 . 
2 2 x=a
If the equation x + y = r(x > y) has a unique non-negative integer solution ,
y=b
then p = a + b and q = a − b, and in this case, a parallelogram cannot be formed.
Hence, if the equation x2 + y 2 = r(x > y) has at least 2 sets of non-negative integer
solutions, then r is composite, and in its factorization, there are at least 2 primes of the form
4p + 1 multiplied together.
If r = 25 = 5 × 5, then a = 4, b = 3, p = q = 5, which contradicts the inequality of AC
and BD.
If r = 50 = 2 × 5 × 5, then a = b = 5, p = 8, q = 6, which contradicts the inequality of
AB and AD.
If r = 65 = 5 × 13, then a = 7, b = 4, p = 9, q = 7, which contradicts the inequality of
AB and BD.
If r = 85 = 5 × 17, then a = 7, b = 6, p = 11, q = 7, which contradicts the inequality
of AB and BD.
If r = 130 = 2 × 5 × 13, then a = 9, b = 7, p = 14, q = 8, and in this case, a + b = 16, so
the perimeter is 32.
If r = 170 = 2 × 5 × 17, then a = 11, b = 7, p = 14, q = 12, and in this case, a + b = 18,
so the perimeter is 36.
If r = 221 = 13 × 17, then a = 11, b = 10, p = 19, q = 9, and in this case, a + b = 21, so
the perimeter is 42.
For r > 226, a + b > 16, hence the minimum perimeter of ABCD is 32.

43
Problem 109. When the two ends of a strip of paper are glued together, forming a loop,
it is called a circular ring. Cutting along the bisector of the paper strip will result in two
circular rings. When a strip of paper is twisted 180 degrees and then the ends are glued
together again, forming a loop, it is called a Mobius strip. Cutting along the bisector of the
Mobius strip will result in a longer loop-like structure. If cut along the bisector of this longer
loop-like structure, it will yield loop-like structure again.
Answer: 2
Reasoning:
Examine the topological structure.
As shown in the figure below, cutting along the quadrisection line of the Möbius strip
is equivalent to cutting along the 14 -line. At this point, the second strip and the third strip
are glued together to form a larger loop-like structure, while the first strip and the fourth
strip are glued together to form the same loop-like structure. Therefore, there are a total of
2 loop-like structures. (It is also easy to obtain by cutting along the n1 -line of the Möbius
strip using this method.)
2 2
Problem 110. In the Cartesian coordinate system xOy, let Γ1 be the ellipse xa2 + yb2 = 1(a >
b > 0) and Γ2 be the parabola y 2 = 12 ax. They intersect at points A and B, and P is the
rightmost point of Γ1 . If points O, A, P, and B are concyclic, then the eccentricity of Γ1
is .
√
Answer: 36
Reasoning: By symmetry, we know that ∠OAP = ∠OBP = 90◦ , so points A and B lie on
the circle with OP as its diameter. From
 x2 y 2
a2
+ b2 = 1,
x2 − ax + y 2 = 0
2 2 2 2 2 4 2 2
⇒ ac 2 x2 − ax + b2 = 0 . Then xA xP = ac2b ⇒ xA = abc2 ⇒ yA2 = −x2A + axA = − ac4b + ac2b .
2 4 2 2 2 2
Combining with yA2 = 12 axA gives − ac4b + √ac2b = 12 · ac2b ⇒ c2 = 2b2 ⇒ 3c2 = 2a2 . Therefore,
the eccentricity e of ellipse Γ1 is e = ac = 36 .
Problem 111. Given the circle Γ : x2 + y 2 = 1, points A and B are two points symmetric
about the x-axis on the circle. M is any point on the circle Γ distinct from A and B. If MA
and MB intersect the x-axis at points P and Q respectively, then the product of the abscissas
of P and Q is .
Answer: 1
Reasoning: Let A(m, n), B(m, −n), M (x0 , y0 ). Then
−n
lM A : y − y0 = xy00−m (x − x0 ) , lM B : y − y0 = xy00−m
+n
(x − x0 ). Setting y=0 yield xP =
y0 (x0 −m) y0 (x0 −m)
x0 − y0 −n , xQ = x0 − y0 +n , So xP xQ

y02 (x0 −m)2 −2x0 y02 (x0 −m)

= x20 + y02 −n2
y02 (x20 −m2 )
= x20 − y02 −n2
y02 m2 −x20 n2
= y02 −n2
.

44
Substituting x20 = 1 − y02 , m2 = 1 − n2 into the above expression, we get
y 2 (1−n2 )−(1−y02 )n2
xP xQ = 0 y 2 −n2
= 1.
0

Problem 112. If three points are randomly chosen from the vertices of a regular 17-sided
polygon, what is the probability that the chosen points form an acute-angled triangle?
3
Answer: 10
Reasoning: When selecting any three points, all forming triangles, there are a total of
C1 73 = 680 triangles, among which there are no right-angled triangles. Classify obtuse-
angled triangles based on the length of the longest side. The longest side corresponds to the
diagonal of the regular 17-sided polygon, which has 7 different lengths (there are 1, 2, ..., 7
vertices between the two ends), with exactly 17 diagonals of each length. Thus, there are
17(1 + 2 + ... + 7) = 467 obtuse-angled triangles. Therefore, the probability of forming an
acute-angled triangle is p = 680−476
680
3
= 10 .

Problem 113. A rook piece moves through each square of a 2023 × 2023 grid paper once,
each time moving only one square (i.e., from the current square to an adjacent square). If
the squares are numbered from 1 to n2 according to the order in which the rook piece reaches
them, let M denote the maximum difference in numbers between adjacent squares. Then the
minimum possible value of M is?

Answer: 4045
Reasoning: Firstly, it is explained that the minimum possible value of M when operating
on a n × n grid paper is 2n − 1. Firstly, it is explained that M can be equal to 2n − 1. In fact,
as long as the rook piece moves in a ’serpentine’ manner on the chessboard: moving along
the bottom row from the leftmost to the rightmost, then moving up one square, then moving
along that row from the rightmost to the leftmost, then moving up one square, and so on.
Then it is proved that M ≥ 2n − 1. By contradiction: Assume M < 2n − 1, observe the
numbers in the top row. Since the difference between any two adjacent numbers in this row
is not greater than 2n − 2, then when the rook piece moves from the smallest number in this
row to the largest number, it cannot pass through the squares in the bottom row, because to
reach the bottom row, it needs to take at least n − 1 steps, and to return, it needs another
n − 1 steps, and it still needs to spend one step for horizontal movement. This indicates
that the rook piece does not pass through the squares in the bottom row when traversing
all the numbers in the top row. Similarly, when the rook piece traverses all the numbers in
the bottom row, it does not pass through the squares in the top row. This indicates that all
the numbers in the top row are either all greater than or all less than all the numbers in the
bottom row. Similarly, all the numbers in the leftmost column are either all greater than or
all less than all the numbers in the rightmost column. Without loss of generality, assume
that all numbers in the leftmost column are greater than those in the rightmost column,
and all numbers in the bottom row are greater than those in the top row. Now observe the
number A at the top left corner and the number B at the bottom right corner. On one hand,
when viewed by column, we have A > B, at the bottom right corner. On one hand, when
viewed by column, we have A¡B. Contradiction. Therefore, the answer to this problem is
2 × 2023 − 1 = 4045.

45
Problem 114. Using the 24-hour clock, the probability of the sum of four digits at a certain
moment being smaller than the sum of the four digits at 20:21 is .
13
Answer: 288
Reasoning: Because the sum of the four digits at the time 20:21 is 5, the digits at other
times satisfying the condition must sum up to 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4.
When the sum of the four digits is 0, there is 1 possibility.
When the sum is 1, there are 4 possibilities.
When the sum is 2, there are 4 + 6 = 10 possibilities.
When the sum is 3, there are 3 + 4 + 12 = 19 possibilities.
When the sum is 4, there are 1 + 3 + 9 + 6 + 12 = 31 possibilities.
Thus, there are a total of 65 possibilities satisfying the condition.
65 13
Therefore, the required probability is 24×60 = 288 .

Problem 115. A six-digit number N = a1 a2 ...a6 composed of non-repeating digits from 1

to 6 satisfies the condition |ak+1 − ak | ̸= 1, (k ∈ {1, 2, · · · , 5}). Then the number of such
six-digit numbers is .

Answer: 90
Reasoning: According to the problem, we know that ak+1 and ak are not adjacent numbers,
there are five cases where the digits are adjacent: (1,2), (2,3), (3,4), (4,5), and (5,6).
(1) If at least one pair is adjacent, there are 5A22 A55 = 1200 possibilities.
(2) If at least two pairs are adjacent, there are two cases:
(i) Three consecutive numbers are adjacent, resulting in 4 × 2A44 = 192 possibilities;
(ii) Two numbers are adjacent, but the two groups of numbers are not adjacent, resulting
in 6 × 22 A44 = 576 possibilities. Therefore, there are a total of 768 possibilities where at least
two pairs are adjacent.
(3) If at least three pairs are adjacent, there are three cases:
(i) Four consecutive numbers are adjacent, resulting in 3 × 2A33 = 36 possibilities;
(ii) Three consecutive numbers and two adjacent numbers, but the two groups of numbers
are not adjacent, resulting in 6 × 2 × 2A33 = 144 possibilities;
(iii) Each of the three pairs has only two adjacent numbers, resulting in 23 A33 = 48
possibilities.
Therefore, there are a total of 228 possibilities where at least three pairs are adjacent.
(4) If at least four pairs are adjacent, there are two cases:
(i) Five consecutive numbers are adjacent, resulting in 2 × 2A22 = 8 possibilities;
(ii) Four consecutive numbers and two adjacent numbers, but the two groups of numbers
are not adjacent, or both groups consist of three consecutive numbers but are not adjacent,
resulting in 32 A22 = 24 possibilities.
Therefore, there are a total of 32 possibilities where at least four pairs are adjacent.
(5) If all five pairs are adjacent, there are 2 possibilities.
By the principle of inclusion-exclusion, we know that the total number of permutations
satisfying the condition is 6! − 1200 + 768 − 228 + 32 − 2 = 90.

Problem 116. Given M = {1, 2, . . . , 8}, A, B are two distincet subsets of set M , satisfying
(1) The number of elements in set A is fewer than the number of elements in set B.

46
 (2) The smallest element in set A is larger than the largest element in set B.
Then the total number of ordered pairs (A, B) satisfying these conditions is .
Answer: 321
Reasoning: Based on the elements of A ∪ B, we can discuss:
If |A ∪ B| = 3, then there is only one way to split these three elements, giving C83 − 1 = 56
possibilities.
If |A ∪ B| = 4, then there is only one way to split these four elements, giving C84 = 70
possibilities.
If |A ∪ B| = 5, then there are two ways to split these five elements, giving C85 × 2 = 112
possibilities.
If |A ∪ B| = 6, then there are two ways to split these six elements, giving C86 × 2 = 56
possibilities.
If |A ∪ B| = 7, then there are three ways to split these seven elements, giving C87 × 3 = 24
possibilities.
If |A ∪ B| = 8, then there are three ways to split these eight elements, giving C88 × 3 = 3
possibilities.
In summary, the number of ordered pairs satisfying the conditions is 56 + 70 + 112 + 56 +
24 + 3 = 321.
Problem 117. Using six different colors to color each edge of the regular tetrahedron ABCD,
each edge can only be colored with one color and edges sharing a vertex cannot have the same
color. The probability that all edges have different colors is .
3
Answer: 17
Reasoning: Classify according to whether the opposite edges of the tetrahedron have the
same color.
If all three pairs of opposite edges have the same color, meaning three colors are used,
then there are A36 different coloring schemes.
If only two pairs of opposite edges have the same color, meaning four colors are used,
then there are C32 A46 different coloring schemes.
If only one pair of opposite edges have the same color, meaning five colors are used, then
there are C31 A56 different coloring schemes.
If all edges have different colors, meaning six colors are used, then there are A66 different
coloring schemes.
A66 3
Therefore, the probability that all edges have different colors is A3 +C 2 A4 +C 1 A5 +A6 = 17 .
6 3 6 3 6 6

Problem 118. The king summons two wizards into the palace. He demands Wizard A
to write down 100 positive real numbers on cards (allowing duplicates) without revealing
them to Wizard B. Then, Wizard B must accurately write down all of these 100 positive
real numbers. Otherwise, both wizards will be beheaded. Wizard A is allowed to provide a
sequence of numbers to Wizard B, where each number is either one of the 100 positive real
numbers or a sum of some of them. However, he cannot tell Wizard B which are the numbers
on the cards and which are the sums of numbers on the cards. Ultimately, the king decides
to pull off the same number of beards from both wizards based on the count of these numbers.
Without the ability to communicate beforehand, the question is: How many beard pulls does
each wizard need to endure at least to ensure their own survival?

47
Answer: 101
Reasoning: If only 100 hint numbers are given, it’s impossible to distinguish whether all 100
numbers are on the cards or there are 99 numbers on the cards, and the largest hint number
is the sum of the number on the 100th card and another number on the card. Therefore, at
least 101 hint numbers are needed. For the 101 hint numbers, we can write down powers of
2 from 21 to 2100 on the cards, and give hints for these 100 numbers as well as their sum.
In this way, by using the number 2, we can determine that there must be a number on one
of the cards that is not greater than 2. Then, using the number 4, we can determine that
there must be another number on one of the cards that is not greater than 4, and so on.
This process allows us to sequentially determine that the numbers on the 100 cards are not
greater than 2 raised to the power of 1 to 100, and then we can infer the specific values of
these 100 numbers based on their sum.
Problem 119. Using 1×1, 2×2, and 3×3 tiles to cover a 23×23 floor (without overlapping
or leaving gaps), what is the minimum number of 1 × 1 tiles needed? (Assuming each tile
cannot be divided into smaller tiles).
Answer: 1
Reasoning: Paint the 3k + 1 columns black, where k = 0, 1, 2, . . . , 7, and the rest white.
Then, there are an odd number of white squares, but both 2 × 2 and 3 × 3 cover an even
number of white squares. Therefore, at least one 1 × 1 tile is needed. Use 2 × 2 and 3 × 3
tiles to first form 2 × 6 and 3 × 6 sections, which can then be combined to form an 11 × 12
grid with 4 copies of 11 × 12 and 1 1 × 1 tile, completing the construction of a 23 × 23 grid.
Problem 120. In a number-guessing game, the host has prearranged a permutation of the
numbers 1 to 100, and participants also need to provide a permutation of these 100 numbers.
Interestingly, as long as the permutation provided by a participant has at least one number
whose position matches that of the host’s permutation, it is considered a successful guess.
How many participants are needed to ensure that at least one person guesses correctly?
Answer: 51
Reasoning: The first person guesses that the first 51 numbers are from 1 to 51, the second
person guesses that the first 51 numbers are 2, 3, 4, . . . , 51, 1, and so on in a rotating fashion.
If all 51 people fail to guess correctly, it implies that the numbers from 1 to 51 are all in the
last 49 positions, which is clearly contradictory. For 50 people, the permutation arranged by
the host can be constructed as follows: fill in numbers from 1 to 100 in the positions 1 to
100 successively, ensuring that each number differs from the guesses of the 50 participants
(at least 50 different numbers). If, for any position k, it’s not possible to do so, it implies
that at least 50 numbers that could have been placed in position k have already been placed
elsewhere. Since any number not yet placed can be placed in at most 50 different positions
(including position k), there will always be a number that can replace the one initially placed
at position k. This process ensures that all 50 participants fail to guess correctly.
Problem 121. There is a stack of 52 face-down playing cards on the table. Mim takes 7
cards from the top of this stack, flips them over, and puts them back at the bottom, calling
it one operation. The question is: how many operations are needed at least to make all the
playing cards face-down again?

48
Answer: 112
Reasoning: Starting from the top of this stack of playing cards, color the 52 cards as follows:
the top three blue, the next four red, the next three blue, the next four red, and so on until
all cards are colored. Note that 52 mod 7 equals 3, meaning that each of Mim’s operations
does not change the distribution of colors in this stack of playing cards. If we only consider
the blue cards, there are a total of eight groups of blue cards (each group consisting of three
cards). After one operation, the top group of blue cards is flipped over and moved to the
bottom. Therefore, flipping all the blue cards requires 8 operations, and flipping them back
requires a total of 16 operations. Similarly, there are seven groups of red cards, and flipping
all the red cards requires 14 operations. Thus, it takes [14, 16] = 112 operations to make all
the playing cards face-down again.

Problem 122. There are two segments of length 3n(0 ≤ n ≤ 1011). How many differ-
ent shapes of triangles can be formed from these 2024 segments? (Congruent triangles are
considered the same.)

Answer: 511566
Reasoning: From the triangle inequality, it’s known that the triangle must be isosceles,
and the length of the legs is not shorter than the length of the base. Then, classifying by
the length of the legs, there are 1 + 2 + . . . + 1011 = 511566 types of triangles.

Problem 123. Let A and B be two subsets of the set {1, 2, . . . , 20}, where A ∩ B = ∅, and
if n ∈ A, then 2n + 2 ∈ B. Let M (A) denote the sum of the elements of A. The maximum
value of M (A) is:

Answer: 39
Reasoning: From 2n+2 ≤ 20 ⇒ n ≤ 9.
According to the pigeonhole principle, A can have at most 6 elements. When A =
{9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4}, we get the maximum value of M (A) as 39.

Problem 124. Alice and Bob are playing a game. They write down four expressions on
four cards: x + y, x − y, x2 + xy + y 2 , and x2 − xy + y 2 . They place these four cards face
down on the table, then randomly choose one card to reveal its expression. Alice can pick
two of the four cards and hand the other two to Bob, then all four cards are revealed. Alice
can assign a value (real number) to one of the variables x or y and inform Bob of which
variable she has assigned and what value. Afterwards, Bob assigns a value (real number) to
the other variable. Finally, they each calculate the product of the values on their two cards,
and the person with the larger product wins. Who has a winning strategy? A. Alice B. Bob
C. Neither of them has a winning strategy.

Answer: A
Reasoning: Alice has a winning strategy.
Firstly, let A and B represent the products of the two cards in Alice’s and Bob’s hands
respectively.
If x − y or x + y is revealed, then Alice chooses any two hidden cards. Otherwise, she
picks one hidden card and one revealed card, ensuring she doesn’t get both x − y and x + y.
If Bob gets both x − y and x + y, then Alice can choose y = 1. In this case,

49
 A = (x2 − xy + y 2 )(x2 + xy + y 2 ) = x4 + x2 + 1,
B = (x − y)(x + y) = x2 − y 2 = x2 − 1,
thus A − B = x2 + 2 > 0, and Alice wins.
If B = (x − y)(x2 + xy + y 2 ) = x3 − y 3 ,
A = (x + y)(x2 − xy + y 2 ) = x3 + y 3 ,
then Alice chooses y > 0.
If A = x3 − y 3 , B = x3 + y 3 , then Alice chooses y < 0.
If A = (x − y)(x2 − xy + y 2 ),
B = (x + y)(x2 + xy + y 2 ),
then A − B = −4x2 y − 2y 3 = −2y(y 2 + 2x2 ), in this case Alice chooses y < 0.
If A = (x + y)(x2 + xy + y 2 ),
B = (x − y)(x2 − xy + y 2 ), then A − B = 4x2 y + 2y 3 = 2y(y 2 + 2x2 ), and Alice chooses
y > 0.
In conclusion, Alice has a winning strategy.
Problem 125. Find the smallest integer k > 2 such that any partition of {2, 3, . . . , k} into
two sets must contain at least one set containing a, b, and c (which are allowed to be the
same), satisfying ab = c.
Answer: 32
Reasoning: Firstly, we provide a counterexample for k = 31.
Let A = {2, 3, 16, 17, . . . , 31} and B = {4, 5, . . . , 15}.
If k < 31, then simply remove integers greater than k from sets A and B respectively.
Next, we prove that the conclusion holds when k = 32.
Conversely, if the conclusion does not hold, then 2 and 4, and 4 and 16 are not in the
same set respectively. Thus, 2 and 16 are in the same set. Similarly, 4 and 8 are in the same
set. In this case, 32 cannot be in any set (32 = 2 × 16 = 4 × 8).
Therefore, the minimum value of k is 32.
Problem 126. On a plane, there are 2019 points. Drawing circles passing through these
points, a drawing method is called ”k-good” if and only if drawing k circles divides the plane
into several closed shapes, and there is no closed shape containing two points. Then, find the
minimum value of k , it ensures that no matter how these 2019 points are arranged, there
always exists a k-good drawing method.
Answer: 1010
Reasoning: First, we prove that k ⩾ 1010.
Take 2019 points on the same line. Obviously, among these 2019 points on the line, at
least 2018 of them need to be passed through by a circle.
Furthermore, since each circle can pass through the points on the line at most twice, if
k ⩽ 1009, then the number of points passed through by these k circles does not exceed 2018.
Note that when equality holds, the first and last points are not contained within any circle,
leading to a contradiction.
Next, we strengthen the proof that no matter how these 2019 points are arranged, there
always exists a 1010-good drawing method.
The strengthened proposition is: ”Prove: there exists a 1010-good drawing method such
that these 1010 circles pass through the same point.”

50
 Perform an inversion transformation with a point on the plane not coinciding with any
of the 2019 points and not lying on the circumcircle of any three points as the center of
inversion. Then, after inversion, to prove the strengthened proposition, it suffices to prove
that for any 2019 non-collinear points on the plane, there exist 1010 lines such that each
pair of points has at least one line passing through them.
A line is said to ”bisect” a set of points if the difference between the number of points
on each side of the line is either 1 or equal.
Lemma:
For any two sets of points A and B, there exists a line l that bisects A and B.
Proof: The portion of a plane divided by a line is called a half-plane. Obviously, there
exists a half-plane containing half of the points in both A and B, i.e., 2× the number of
points in A in the half-plane −|A| ⩽ 1.
It is evident that there exists a half-plane containing fewer than half of the elements in
B and half of the elements in A; there exists a half-plane containing more than half of the
elements in B and half of the elements in A; there exists a way to rotate and translate the
half-plane so that it can be transformed from any half-plane containing half of the elements
in A to another, and the route of translation and rotation through half-planes. Therefore,
by the intermediate value theorem, the proposition is proved.
A region including a given point is called a figure formed by closed lines, and the modulus
of a region is the number of points in the region. Start by connecting a sufficiently large
polygon enclosing all the points. Obviously, there is only one region at the beginning.
Consider drawing 1010 lines in order. Consider making each line bisect the two regions
with the largest moduli at the moment, defining this as one operation. Next, we prove that
this operation can be performed 1010 times.
The first operation generates a new region, and thereafter each operation generates two
new regions. By induction, it is easy to see that the modulus of the region with the maximum
modulus is no more than twice the modulus of the region with the minimum modulus, so if
there is a region with a modulus of 1, then the moduli of the other regions must be either 1
or 2.
Therefore, when the last operation stops, there is at most one region with a modulus of
2 left. Due to parity considerations, there are 2018 regions at this point, and 1009 lines have
been drawn. Drawing one more line to separate the two points left in the same region is
enough. Thus, it is proved that it is possible to sequentially draw 1010 closed shapes such
that no closed shape contains two points. Thus, the proposition is proved.

Problem 127. Zheng flips an unfair coin 5 times. If the probability of getting exactly 1
head is equal to the probability of getting exactly 2 heads and is nonzero, then the probability
of getting exactly 3 heads is .
40
Answer: 243 .
Reasoning: Let the probability of getting a head be p.
According to the given conditions, we have C51 p(1 − p)4 = C52 p2 (1 − p)3 .
Solving this equation, we find p = 31 .
40
Therefore, the probability of getting exactly 3 heads is C53 p3 (1 − p)2 = 243 .

51
Problem 128. Let a1 , a2 , . . . , a6 be any permutation of {1, 2, . . . , 6}. If the sum of any three
consecutive numbers cannot be divided by 3, then the number of such permutations is .

Answer: 96
Reasoning: Taking the numbers in the set modulo 3, we get two 0s, two 1s, and two 2s.
Thus, permutations satisfying the condition that the sum of any three consecutive numbers
cannot be divided by 3 are 002211, 001122, 112200, 110022, 220011, 221100, 011220, 022110,
100221, 122001, 211002, and 200112.
Therefore, the number of permutations satisfying the condition is 12×A22 ×A22 ×A22 = 96.

Problem 129. Given an integer n > 2. Now, there are n people playing a game of ”Passing
Numbers”. It is known that some people are friends (friendship is mutual), and each person
has at least one friend. The rules of the game are as follows: each person first writes down
a positive real number, and the n positive real numbers written by everyone are all different;
then, for each person, if he has k friends, he divides the number he wrote by k, and tells all
his friends the result obtained; finally, each person writes down the sum of all the numbers
he hears. The question is: what is the minimum number of times that someone writes down
different numbers?

Answer: 2
Reasoning: At least 2 people write down different numbers twice.
Let the n people be denoted as A1 , A2 , . . . , An .
Consider the following friendship relationship: Ai is a friend of Aj if and only if |i − j| =
1(1 ≤ i, j ≤ n).
Under this friendship relationship, A1 writes down the number 1, Ai writes down the
number i + 1(2 ≤ i ≤ n − 1), and An writes down the number n+1 2
. Then after one pass,
the numbers written down by A2 , A3 , . . . , An−1 remain unchanged. However, the number
written down by A1 changes from 1 to 32 , and the number written down by An changes from
n+1
2
to n2 .
Hence, at this point, there are 2 people who write down different numbers twice.
Next, we prove that: at least 1 person writes down a smaller number the second time.
For each person, define their value as the ratio of the number they wrote down the first
time to the number of their friends. Let the value of the person with the highest value among
all be M .
Suppose person B has a value of M , and B has k friends. Then the number written
down by B the first time is kM , and according to the rules of the game, the number written
down by B the second time is at most kM . If the number written down by B the second
time is smaller than kM , then the conclusion holds; if the number written down by B the
second time is kM , then the value of each of his friends is also M .
Construct a graph G, where the vertices are the n people, and there is an edge between
two vertices if and only if the two people are friends. Consider the connected component G′
where B is located.
From the above discussion, if the conclusion does not hold, then every person represented
by a vertex in G′ has a value of M . Since the degree of each vertex in G′ is at least 1 and at
most |V | − 1 (where |V | is the number of vertices in G′ ), by the pigeonhole principle, there
must be two vertices with the same degree, which means the two people represented by these

52
vertices wrote down the same number the first time, contradicting the condition. Thus, the
conclusion holds.
Note that the sum of the numbers written down by all people the first time is equal to
the sum of the numbers written down by all people the second time. From the conclusion,
we know that at least one person writes down a smaller number the second time, thus, there
must be another person who writes down a larger number the second time, so at least 2
people write down different numbers twice.

Problem 130. A restaurant can offer 9 types of appetizers, 9 types of main courses, 9 types
of desserts, and 9 types of wines. A company is having a dinner party at this restaurant, and
each guest can choose one appetizer, one main course, one dessert, and one type of wine. It
is known that any two people’s choices of the four dishes are not completely identical, and it
is also impossible to find four people on the spot who have three identical choices but differ
pairwise in the fourth choice (for example, there are no 9 people who have the same appetizer,
main course, and dessert, but differ pairwise in the wine). Then, at most how many guests
can there be?

Answer: 5832
Reasoning: Consider the general case, replacing 9 with n.
Consider unordered
triples (x, y, z), where x, y, z belong to three different categories of
dishes. There are 43 × n × n × n = 4n3 such triples.
Because no n guests can simultaneously choose three identical dishes, for any triple
(x, y, z), it can belong to at most n − 1 guests.
Moreover, each guest chooses one dish from each of the four categories, so each guest has
4 triples.
Let there be x guests.
Then 4x ≤ 4n3 (n − 1) ⇒ x ≤ n3 (n − 1).
Next, we prove that when there are n3 (n − 1) guests, the conditions of the problem can
be satisfied.
We consider four categories of dishes as four sets A, B, C, D, and each set contains n
dishes labeled as 1, 2, . . . , n.
We will remove the following selections: the sum of the four numbers chosen is exactly
divisible by n. There are n3 such selections to remove. The remaining number of selections
is n4 − n3 , which corresponds to n4 − n3 guests, each with one selection.
According to the selection rules, we know that no two people choose the same four dishes.
(1)
If a particular triple appears more than n − 1 times, select n guests containing this triple.
According to conclusion (1), there exists a category of dishes such that the n dishes chosen
by these guests from this category are all different.
Because each category of dishes has only n dishes, these n guests cover all dishes in this
category.
Since 1, 2, . . . , n form a complete residue system modulo n, there must be an integer
i(1 ≤ i ≤ n) such that n ≡ x + y + z + i (mod n).
However, such selections have been removed, which is a contradiction.
Therefore, the selections of these n4 − n3 dishes satisfy the conditions of the problem.

53
 Thus, the maximum possible number of guests is n4 − n3 .
In this case, when n = 9, the maximum number of guests is 94 − 93 = 5832.

Problem 131. Alice and Bob are playing hide-and-seek. Initially, Bob selects a point
B inside a unit square (without informing Alice). Then, Alice sequentially selects points
P0 , P1 , . . . , Pn on the plane. After each selection of a point Pk (1 ≤ k ≤ n, and at this point,
Alice has not yet chosen the next point), Bob informs Alice which of the points Pk and Pk−1
is closer to point B. After Alice selects Pn and receives Bob’s response, she chooses a final
1
point A. If the distance between A and B does not exceed 2020 , Alice wins. Otherwise, Bob
wins. When n = 18, which of the following options is correct? A. Alice cannot guarantee
victory. B. Alice can guarantee victory.

Answer: A
Reasoning: It suffices to prove that even under optimal conditions for each step, Alice still
cannot guarantee victory.
Note that if we draw the perpendicular bisector of Pk Pk−1 for each k(1 ≤ k ≤ n), Alice can
determine on which side of the perpendicular bisector point B lies. Consequently, starting
from the selection of P1 , after each point is chosen, Alice can narrow down the range where
point B is guaranteed to be by at most 21 . Thus, after selecting n points, Alice can ensure
that point B lies within an area of no less than 21n .
If Alice can guarantee victory, she should be able to cover an area of no less than 21n with
1
a disk of radius 2020 .
1
< 4 × 2120 = 2118 = 21n when n = 18.


Therefore, we must have π 2020 2

Thus, inequality (1) does not hold.

Hence, Alice cannot guarantee victory.

Problem 132. Anna, Carl take turns selecting numbers from the set {1, 2, · · · , p−1} (where
p is a prime greater than 3). Anna goes first, and each number can only be selected once.
Each number chosen by Anna is multiplied by the number Carl selects next. Carl wins if,
after any round, the sum of all products computed so far is divisible by p. Anna wins if, after
all numbers are chosen, Carl has not won. Which of the following options is correct?
A. Anna has a winning strategy. B. Carl has a winning strategy. C. Both players have
no winning strategy.

Answer: B
Reasoning: Carl has a winning strategy.
Carl’s winning strategy is to choose the number p − a whenever Anna selects the number
a in a round.
Next, we prove that Carl’s strategy guarantees his victory.
Conversely, if Carl’s selection strategy does not lead to victory, specifically, if he still has
p−1 p−1

are chosen, then it implies that p does not divide 1(p − 1) + 2(p −
not won after all numbers
2) + · · · + 2 p − 2 .
Let S denote:
 
p−1 p−1
S = 1(p − 1) + 2(p − 2) + · · · + p−
2 2

54
    2 !
p−1 2 2 p−1
= p 1 + 2 + ··· + − 1 + 2 + ··· +
2 2
 
p−1 1 p−1 p+1
= p 1 + 2 + ··· + − · · p
2 6 2 2
Thus, p does not divide S if and only if 24 | (p2 − 1) · (2).
Since p is an odd prime number,

8 | (p2 − 1) ⇒ 8 | (p − 1)(p + 1)

Combining equations (1) and (2), we have

3 ∤ (p2 − 1) ⇒ 3 ∤ (p − 1)(p + 1)

Thus, 3 | p, which means p = 3, contradicting the conditions.

Therefore, Carl’s strategy guarantees his victory.
Problem 133. Xiao Ming is playing a coin game with three doors. Each time he opens a
door, it costs him 2 coins. After opening the first door, he can see the second door. Upon
opening the second door, two equally likely options appear: either return to the outside of
the first door or proceed to the third door. Upon opening the third door, three equally likely
options appear: either return to the outside of the first door, stay in place and need to reopen
the third door, or pass the game. If Xiao Ming wants to pass the game, on average, he needs
to spend how many coins?
Answer: 22
Reasoning: List all possible paths:
(1) First door → Second door → First door, using 4 coins, with a probability of 12 ;
(2) First door → Second door → Third door → First door, using 6 coins, with a proba-
bility of 16 ;
(3) First door → Second door → Third door → Third door, using 6 coins, with a prob-
ability of 16 ;
(4) First door → Second door → Third door → Pass, using 6 coins, with a probability
1
of 6 .
Let E1 be the average number of coins needed to pass from the first door, and E2 be the
average number of coins needed to pass from the third door. According to the problem:
E1 = 12 (4 + E1 ) + 12 (4 + E2 )
E2 = 13 (2 + E1 ) + 13 (2 + E2 ) + 13 × 2.
Solving yields E1 = 22, E2 = 14.
Thus, on average, it takes 22 coins to pass from the first door.
Problem 134. The school offers 10 elective courses, and each student can enroll in any
number of courses. The director selects k students, where although each student’s combi-
nation of courses is different, any two students have at least one course in common. At
this point, it is found that any student outside these k students cannot be classmates with
these k students regardless of how they enroll (having one course in common is enough to be
classmates). Then k = .

55
Answer: 512
Reasoning: Let S be a set with ten elements. According to the problem, A1 , A2 , · · · , Ak
are subsets of S, each pairwise intersecting non-empty and mutually distinct. Any other
subset of S cannot intersect all of A1 , A2 , · · · , Ak .
First, note that there are 210 subsets of S, and they can be paired up to form 29 pairs of
complements. Thus, k ≤ 29 .
Secondly, if k < 29 , then besides A1 , A2 , · · · , Ak , all the other subsets must contain a pair
of complementary subsets, denoted as C and D. Hence, there also exist Ai ∩ C = ∅ and
Aj ∩ D = ∅.
Since C and D are complementary, it follows that Ai ⊂ D and Aj ⊂ C. Thus, Ai ∩Aj = ∅,
which is a contradiction.
Therefore, k = 29 or 512.

Problem 135. Let n be a positive integer. Now, a frog starts jumping from the origin of
the number line and makes 2n − 1 jumps. The process satisfies the following conditions:
(1) The frog will jump to each point in the set {1, 2, 3, · · · , 2n − 1} exactly once, without
missing any.
(2) Each time the frog jumps, it can choose a step length from the set {20 , 21 , 22 , · · · },
and it can jump either left or right.
Let T be the reciprocal sum of the step lengths of the frog. When n = 2024, the minimum
value of T is .

Answer: 2024
Reasoning: For a positive integer n, we prove that the minimum value of T is n.
First, we provide an estimation.
Initially, we notice that the frog’s jump length must be one of the terms in the set
{20 , 21 , · · · , 2n−1 }; otherwise, it would jump out of bounds.
Let ai (0 ≤ i ≤ n − 1) denote the number of times the frog jumps 2i steps. According to
the conditions, we have a0 + a1 + · · · + an−1 = 2n − 1.
Lemma: For any k = 1, 2, · · · , n, we have an−1 + · · · + an−k ≤ 2n − 2n−k .
To prove this, let m = n − k and consider the jump lengths modulo 2m . We categorize
jumps less than 2m−1 as ”small jumps” and those greater than or equal to 2m as ”big jumps”.
It is notable that small jumps change the residue class modulo 2m , while big jumps do not.
n
For each residue class modulo 2m , the frog can make at most 22m −1 big jumps. Therefore,
n
the number of big jumps is at most 2m 22m − 1 = 2n − 2m .

The lemma is proved.

For example, when n = 3: for k = 1, a2 ≤ 23 − 22 implies that there can be at most four
jumps of length 4; for k = 2, a2 + a1 ≤ 23 − 21 implies that there can be at most six jumps
of length 2 or 4; for k = 3, a2 + a1 + a0 ≤ 23 − 20 implies a total of at most 7 jumps. To
achieve the maximum S, it is observed that when a2 = 4, a1 = 2, a0 = 1, the maximum is
attained. Therefore, it is speculated that the maximum value is attained when am = 2m .
Let A = a0 + a1 + · · · + an−1 = 2n − 1, and T = a0 + a21 + · · · + a2n−1
n−1
. Then, according to
the lemma, we have:
A − T ≤ 2n − n − 1
⇒T ≥n

56
 Equality holds when am = 2m .
Next, we use induction to construct two types of paths such that the frog jumps to
{0, 1, · · · , 2n − 1} exactly once, stopping at x where x ∈ {1, 2n − 1}.
When n = 2, there are two paths: {0, 2, 1, 3} and {0, 2, 3, 1}.
Assume the claim holds for n, we prove it for n + 1.
(i) By the induction hypothesis, there is a path from 0 to 2: {0, 2, 4, · · · , 2n+1 − 2}. (ii)
Similarly, there is a path from 1 to 2n+1 − 1: {1, 3, 5, · · · , 2n+1 − 1}. (iii) Connecting these
two paths requires one step from 2 to 1.
Therefore, we can use the path 0 → (2n+1 − 2) → (2n+1 − 1) → 1.
Hence, the minimum value of T is n.
In this question, when n = 2024, the answer is 2024.
Problem 136. Given that there are 66 dwarves with a total of 111 hats, each hat belonging
to a specific dwarf, and each hat is dyed in one of 66 colors. During the holiday, each dwarf
wears his own hat. It is known that for any holiday, the colors of the hats worn by all dwarves
are different. For any two holidays, there is at least one dwarf who wears hats of different
colors on the two occasions. The question is: how many holidays can the dwarves celebrate
at most?
Answer: 222
Reasoning: The problem examines the maximum number of different perfect matches for
a bipartite graph with two sets of the same number of vertices under the condition of a
specified number of edges, and clarifies the basic structure of the graph when obtaining the
maximum value.
The problem structure is described using a graph.
Let V = {v1 , v2 , · · · , v66 } be the set of 66 dwarves, and U = {u1 , u2 , · · · , u66 } be the set
of 66 colors.
If dwarf vi has a hat of color uj , then draw an edge between vi and uj , and let E be
the set of all such edges, obtaining the graph G(V, U ; E). Each way of wearing hats that
satisfies the requirements for every holiday is a perfect match of G. The problem is to find
the maximum number f (G) of different perfect matches for graph G.
The lemma
h
states
i
that for a bipartite graph G (V1 , V2 ; E) with |V1 | = |V2 |, it holds that
|E|−|E1 |
f (G) ≤ 2 2
, where [x] represents the largest integer not exceeding the real number x.
Proof is by mathematical induction.
It is easy to prove that when |V1 | = |V2 | = 1, the conclusions hold true.
Suppose the conclusions hold when |V1 | = |V2 | = n − 1(n ≥ 2). Consider the case when
|V1 | = |V2 | = n.
Consider the bipartite graph G (V1 , V2 ; E).
If G has isolated vertices, then f (G) = 0, and the conclusions hold true. Otherwise, let
a ∈ V1 be the vertex in G with the smallest degree N (N ≥ 1), and let b1 , b2 , · · · , bN be the
neighbors of a. Let Gi = (Ui , Ui′ ; Ei ) denote the bipartite graph obtained by deleting vertex
a and vertices bi , as well as the edges incident to a or bi .
Then |Ui | = |Ui′ | = n − 1, and |Ei | ≤ |E| − (2N − 1).  
|Ei |−|Ui |
|E|−(2N −1)−(n−1)
By the induction hypothesis, it follows that f (Gi ) ≤ 2 2
≤ 2[ 2 ] =
|E|−n
[
2 2 ] 2N1−1 .

57
 |E|−n
Therefore, f (G) = f (G1 ) + f (G2 ) + · · · + f (GN ) ≤ N
2N −1
2[ 2 ].
|E|−n |E|−n
By Bernoulli’s inequality, 2N −1 ≥ 1 + (N − 1) = N . Thus, f (G) ≤ 2NN 2[ 2 ] ≤ 2[ 2 ] .
The lemma is proved.
In particular, when n = 66, |E| ≤ 111,
111−66
f (G) ≤ 2[ 2 ] = 222 .
On the other hand, let graph G be composed of 22 complete bipartite graphs K2,2 and
one bipartite graph K1,1 . In this case, |E| = 110, and each complete bipartite graph K2,2
has 2 perfect matches, so f (G) = 222 .
Therefore, the maximum number of different perfect matches is 222 .
Problem 137. There are n cards, each labeled with the numbers 1, 2, · · · , n. These n cards
are distributed among 17 people, with each person receiving at least 1 card. Then, there is
always one person who receives cards with numbers x and y, where x > y, and 118x ⩽ 119y.
The smallest positive integer n that satisfies this condition is .
Answer: 2023
Reasoning: Consider the residue classes modulo 17, where the residue class with residue i
is represented as 17k + i (k is a natural number 1 ⩽ i ⩽ 17). Let Ai denote the residue class
with residue i. For any x and y in each Ai , we have x − y ⩾ 17. Then
y ⩽ x − 17, x ⩽ n
⇒ 119y − 118x ⩽ 119(x − 17) − 118x
= x − 2023 ⩽ n − 2023.
If n < 2023 , then 11y − 118x ⩽ x − 2023 < 0 ⇒ 119y < 118x, and 118x ⩽ 119y,
contradiction. Therefore, when n < 2023, the condition is not satisfied.
When n = 2023, since 2023 = 17 × 119, it is known that 118 × 17 + i(i = 0, 1, · · · , 17)
are 18 numbers not exceeding n. By the Pigeonhole Principle, among these 18 numbers
×17 + i(i = 0, 1, · · · , 17) , there must be two numbers x and (x > y) in the possession of the
same person.
Let x = 118 × 17 + x1 and y = 118 × 17 + y1 , where 17 ⩾ x1 ⩾ y1 ⩾ 0 . then

118x − 119y
= 118 (118 × 17 + x1 ) − 119 (118 × 17 + y1 )
= (118x1 − 119y1 ) − 118 × 17
⩽ 118x1 − 118 × 17
⩽ 118 × 17 − 118 × 17 = 0.
Therefore, when n=2023, the condition is satisfied.
In conclusion, the smallest positive integer n satisfying the condition is 2023.
Problem 138. let a1 , a2 , · · · , a9 be a permutation of 1, 2, · · · , 9. If the permutation C =
(a1 , a2 , · · · , a9 ) can be obtained from 1, 2, · · · , 9, by swapping two elements at most 4 times,
the total number of permutations satisfying this condition is .
Answer: 27568
Reasoning: Since there are 9 single cycles in the permutation (1, 2, · · · , 9), if the permuta-
tion C = (a1 , a2 , · · · , a9 ) can be obtained from the permutation (1, 2, · · · , 9) by swapping at

58
most 4 times, it is known from analysis that the number of cycles in C must be no less than
5. Below is the classification counting:
(1) 9 cycles, there is 1.
(2) 8 cycles, then 1 2-cycle, there are C29 · (2 − 1)! = 36 permutations.
C2C2
(3) 7 cycles, as 3 + 6 × 1 = 2 + 2 + 5 × 1 , there are C93 · (3 − 1)! + 92! 7 − 546 permutations.
C2 C2 C2
(4) 6 cycles, as 4+5×1=3+2+4×1=2+2+2+3×1 there are C49 ·3!+C39 C27 ·2!+ 9 3!7 9 = 4536
permutations.
(5) 5 circles, as 5 + 4 × 1 = 4 + 2 + 3 × 1 = 3 + 3 + 3 × 1 = 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 × 1 =
C 3 ·2!C 2 C 2 C2C2C2C2
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1, C95 · 4! + C94 C52 · 3! + C93 C63 · 2! + 9 2! 6 4 + 9 74! 5 3 = 22449 permutations.
In conclusion, there are 27568 permutations satisfying the requirements.

Problem 139. Let sequence a1 , a2 , · · · , a10 satisfy 1 ⩽ a1 ⩽ la2 ⩽ · · · ⩽ a10 ⩽ 40, a4 ⩾ 6,

and log2 (|ai − i| + 1) ∈ N(i = 1, 2, · · · , 10) The number of such sequences is .

Answer: 869
Reasoning: Consider bi = ai − i. Then bi ∈ {0, ±1, ±3, ±7, · · · }, and bi+1 − bi ⩾ −1.
Thus, the sequence {bi } has the following structure: there exists an integer s ∈ [0, 10],
b1 , · · · , bs ∈ {−1, 0, 1}, 3 ⩽ bs+1 ⩽ · · · ⩽ b10 and any adjacent pair b1 , · · · , bs is not 1 or -1.
Duo to a1 ⩾ 1, a10 ⩽ 4 and a4 ⩾ 6, it is known that b1 ̸= −1 and bs+1 , · · · , b10 ∈
{3, 7, 15}(0 ⩽ s ⩽ 3) .
Conversely, for each sequence {bi }, that meets the first two conditions, there exists a
corresponding sequence {ai }.
For a fixed s ∈ {0, 1, 2, 3}, the number of ways to choose , b1 , · · · , bs is 1, 2, 5 (because
(b1 , b2 ) ̸= (1, −1)) and 5 × 3 − 2 = 13 ( Because (b1 , b2 , b3 ) ̸= (0, 1, −1), (1, 1, −1)) .
Now let’s find the number of ways to choose bs+1 , · · · , b10 . Suppose there are x occurrence
of 3, y occurrence of 7, z occurrence of 15. Then the non-negative integer solutions to
x + y + z = 10 − s are C212−s . Therefore the number of sequences {ai } is 1C12 2
+ 2C112 2
+ 5C10 +
2
13C9 = 869.

Problem 140. A student walks through a hallway with a row of closed lockers numbered
from 1 to 1024. He starts by opening locker number 1, then proceeds forward, alternately
leaving untouched or opening one closed locker. When he reaches the end of the hallway,
he turns around and walks back, opening the first closed locker he encounters. The student
continues this back and forth journey until every locker is opened. The number of the last
locker he opens is .

Answer: 342
Reasoning: Assuming there are 2h closed lockers in a row, the number of the last locker
opened by the student is denoted as ak . When the student first reaches the end of the
hallway, 2k−1 lockers remain closed. These closed lockers are all even-numbered, arranged
in decreasing order from the student’s standing position towards the other end. Now, these
lockers are renumbered from 1 to 2k−1 . Note that the originally numbered locker n (where n
is even) becomes locker number 2k−1 − n2 + 1. According to the new numbering, the number
of the locker the student opens last should be ak−1 , while the originally numbered ak is now

59
numbered as ak−1 . Therefore

ak−1 = 2k−1 − a2k + 1

⇔ ak = 2k + 2 − 2ak−1

= 2k + 2 − 2 2k−1 + 2 − 2ak−2
= 4ak−2 − 2
⇒ ak − 32 = 4 ak−2 − 23

Given that a0 = 1, and a1 = 2, we have:

When k is even,  k 

k
ak − 23 = a0 − 32 4 2 ⇒ ak = 31 4 2 + 2 ;

k−1  k+1 
When k is odd,, ak − 32 = a1 − 23 4 2 ⇒ ak = 13 4 2 + 2 .
Here [x] represents
 k+1 the greatest
 integer not exceeding x.
Thus ak = 31 4[ 2 ] + 2 (k ∈ N). For this problem, when k = 10, a10 = 13 (45 + 2) = 342,
indicating that the last locker opened is numbered 342.
Problem 141. Let A = {−3, −2, · · · , 4}, a, b, c ∈ A be distinct elements of A. If the angle
of inclination of the line: ax + by + c = 0 is acute, then the number of such distinct lines is
.
Answer: 91
Reasoning: Because the angle of inclination of line ll is acute, ab¡0 . Counting is carried
out in the following two cases:
(1) If a, b, and c are all not equal to 4, then a, b, c ∈ {−3, −2, · · · , 3}. Without loss of
generality, assume a > 0 and b < 0. If c = 0, there are 7 lines; if c ̸= 0 , there 3 × 3 × 4 = 36
lines. In this case, there are a total of 43 distinct lines.
(2) If one of a, b, or c is 4. Let a = 4, then b < 0, there are 3 choices for b, and 6 choices
for c, resulting in 18 lines (with duplicates). Among them, 4x − 2y = 0, 4x − 2y + 2 = 0
are counted twice, so there are only 16 distinct lines. Similarly, when b = 4 or c = 4, there
are also 16 distinct lines for each case. In conclusion, there are 43 + 163 = 9143 + 163 = 91
distinct lines with acute angles of inclination.
Problem 142. In a sequence of length 15 consisting of a and b, if exactly five ”aa”s occur
and both ”ab” and ”ba” and ”bb” occur exactly three times, there are such sequences.
Answer: 980
Reasoning: Because there are three occurrences each of ”ab” and ”ba”, there are two
possible cases for such sequences:
(1).(a)(b)(a)(b)(a)(b)(a) ;
(2).(b)(a)(b)(a)(b)(a)(b) (here, (a) denotes a segment composed entirely of aa, and (b)
denotes a similar segment composed entirely of b).
For case (1), since there are five ”aa”s and three ”bb”s, the sequence contains a total of
9 aa’s and 6 bb’s. The 9 a’s can be partitioned into 4 segments, which equals the number of
4−1
positive integer solutions to the equation x1 + x2 + x3 + x4 = 9 which is C9−1 = C38 . Similarly,
3 2
the 6 b’s can be partitioned into 3 segments, which is C8 C5 .

60
 For case (2), there are 8 aa’s and 7 bb’s, resulting in C27 C36 possibilities.
Therefore, the total count is C38 C25 + C27 C36 = 980.

Problem 143. Among the five-digit numbers formed by the digits 1, 2, ..., 6, the number of
five-digit numbers satisfying the condition of having at least three different digits and 1 and
6 not being adjacent is .

Answer: 5880
Reasoning: Using a recursive approach, let Sn , denote the number of n-digit numbers
formed by the digits 1, 2, · · · , 6 such that 1 and 6 are not adjacent.
Clearly, S1 = 6 and S2 = 62 − 2 = 34. Now we establish the recursive formula for Sn .
We divide Sn into three categories:
Let an denote the number of nn-digit numbers with the first digit being 1, bn denote the
number of nn-digit numbers with the first digit being 2, 3, 4, or 5, and cn
It’s evident that Sn = an + bn + cn , and

an = an−1 + bn−1 ,
bn = 4 (an−1 + bn−1 + cn−1 ) ,
cn = bn−1 + cn−1 .

Then Sn = 5 (an−1 + bn−1 + cn−1 ) + bn−1

= 5Sn−1 + 4Sn−2 (n ⩾ 3).

From S1 = 6 and S2 = 34 and we get S3 = 194, S4 = 1106, S5 = 6306.

Subtracting the cases where there is exactly one digit or exactly two digits, and 1 and 6
are not adjacent, from S5 , there are (C26 − 1) (25 − 2) = 420.
Therefore, the number of five-digit numbers satisfying the condition is 6306-6-420=5880.

Problem 144. How many numbers can be selected at most from 1 to 100 to ensure that the
quotient of the least common multiple and greatest common divisor of any two numbers is
not a perfect square?

Answer: 61
Reasoning:
[a,b]
Let a = mx and b = my (x and y are coprime). Then we have (a,b) = xy. To ensure that
xy is not a perfect square, x and y cannot both be square numbers. In other words, the two
numbers cannot both be perfect squares after dividing them by their greatest common divi-
sor. Based on this principle, construct the following sets: (1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100), (2, 8, 18, 32, 50, 72
and there are 45 individual numbers. Selecting one number from each set, a maximum of
16 + 45 = 61 numbers can be chosen to meet the requirement.

Problem 145. From the natural numbers 1 to 100, choose any m numbers such that among
these m numbers, there exists one number that can divide the product of the remaining m − 1
numbers. The minimum value of m is .

61
Answer: 26
Reasoning: First, when selecting 25 prime numbers, none of them can divide the product
of the remaining 24 numbers. When m = 25, the condition cannot be satisfied, so m must
be greater than 25.
Next, we prove that by selecting any 26 numbers from 1 to 100, there will always be one
number that can divide the product of the remaining 25 numbers.
Let these 26 numbers be a, b, c, . . . , z. Since there are only 25 prime numbers from 1 to
100, we can express these 26 numbers in their prime factorization form:

a = 2a1 × 3a2 × 5a3 × · · · × 97a25

b = 2b1 × 3b2 × 5b3 × · · · × 97b25
z = 2z1 × 3z2 × 5z3 × · · · × 97z25
From these 26 numbers, first, remove the one with the highest exponent of 2 (if there are
ties, remove any one of them). Then, from the remaining 25 numbers, remove the one with
the highest exponent of 3, then remove the one with the highest exponent of 5, and so on.
After removing 25 numbers, the remaining number will have exponents for each prime
factor that do not exceed the maximum exponent among the 26 numbers. Therefore, this
remaining number will definitely divide the product of the remaining 25 numbers.

Problem 146. Several teams are participating in a friendly football match, where any two
teams play at most one match against each other. It is known that each team has played 4
matches, and there are no draws. A team is considered a ”weak team” if it loses at least 2
out of the 4 matches it plays. If there are only 3 ”weak teams” in this friendly match, then
at most how many teams could have participated in the matches?

Answer: 9
Reasoning: Assume in a tournament with n teams, there are 3 weak teams, meaning the
other n-3 teams are strong teams. There will be a total of 4n/2 = 2n games, resulting in
2n losses. Each weak team can lose up to 4 games, and each strong team can lose up to 1
game. Therefore, we have: 2n ≤ 34 + n − 3, from which we derive: n ≤ 9. Hence, there can
be at most 9 teams.
The construction is as follows: Teams 1, 2, 3, and 4 win against Team 7; Teams 3, 4, 5,
and 6 win against Team 8; Teams 5, 6, 1, and 2 win against Team 9; Team 1 beats Team 2,
Team 2 beats Team 3, Team 3 beats Team 4, Team 4 beats Team 5, Team 5 beats Team 6,
and Team 6 beats Team 1; Teams 1 through 6, each with 3 wins and 1 loss, are the strong
teams, while Teams 7, 8, and 9, each with 4 losses, are the weak teams.

Problem 147. In the equation, the same letter represents the same digit, and different
letters represent different digits. Then, the four-digit number abcd is given by:

(ab)c × acd = abcacd

Answer: 3125
Reasoning: The original expression can be transformed using the principle of place value
into:

62
 (ab)c × acd = abcacd
According to this equation, where the same letter represents the same digit, and different
letters represent different digits, let’s analyze the possibilities:
First, we consider the case where c = 3:
Since 203 × 200 = 1600000, exceeding six digits, we conclude that a = 1. Thus, the
equation becomes:

(1b)3 − 1 × 13d = 1b3 × 1000

 

However, since there are 3 factors of 5 on the right side of the equation, and 13d can only
provide at most 1 factor of 5, we infer that (1b)3 − 1 must be a multiple of 25. This implies
that the last two digits of (1)3 can be 01, 26, 51, or 76. By considering the units place, we
find that b = 1 or 6, but neither of these options satisfies the conditions.
Next, let’s explore the case where c = 2. This yields:

(ab)2 − 1 × a2d = ab2000

 

From this equation, we deduce that:

ab2
(ab)2 − 1 = 1000 ×
a2d
ab2
Because 0.5 < a2d < 2, we conclude that 500 < (ab)2 − 1 < 2000. Hence, a can be 2, 3, or
4. However, since a2d cannot be 125 or 625, it can provide at most 2 factors of 5. Therefore,
(ab)2 − 1 must be a multiple of 25, leading
 to the possible values b = 1, 9, 4, or 6.
Based on the equation (ab) − 1 × a2d = ab2000, we have:
(1) (ab + 1) × a2d = ab2000 div(ab − 1) > 1000
(2) (ab − 1) × a2d = ab2000 div(ab + 1) < 1000
Consequently, a can only be 3. Then, (ab − 1) × (ab + 1) cannot be a multiple of 25,
implying that a2d must be a multiple of 25. Thus, d = 5, and a2d = 325.
Now, (3b − 1) × (3b + 1) × 325 = 3b2000, where 3b2000 is a multiple of 16. This means
that either (3b − 1) or (3b + 1) must be a multiple of 8. Therefore, b can be 1 or 3. Since
a = 3, b can only be 1.
After verifying: 312 × 325 = 312325, so abcd = 3125.

Problem 148. Let n be represented as the difference of squares of two nonzero natural
numbers, then there are F (n) ways to do so.
For example, 15 = 82 − 72 = 42 − 12 , so F (15) = 2; whereas 2 cannot be represented,
hence F (2) = 0. Then, the calculation result of F (1) + F (2) + F (3) + · · · + F (100) is .

Answer: 116
Reasoning: For a nonzero natural number a, if it can be expressed as the difference of
squares of two nonzero natural numbers, let a = m2 − n2 (here m and n are both nonzero
natural numbers, and m > n). Since m2 − n2 = (m − n)(m + n), both m − n and m + n
are factors of the natural number a. Considering that the parity of m − n and m + n

63
is the same, thus for any pair of positive integers p and q with the same parity (p > q),
their product pq

can p−q
always

2 be expressed as the difference of squares of two nonzero natural
p+q 2
numbers, ? − ? is the corresponding representation. This indicates that as long
as we can find out how many pairs of positive integers (p, q) with the same parity exist
such that p > q and 1 ≤ pq ≤ 100, the number of such pairs exactly equals the value of
F (1) + F (2) + F (3) + · · · + F (100). Classification calculation:
When q = 1, p can take 3, 5, 7, 3, 99, there are 49 pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition;
When q = 2, p can take 4, 6, 8, . . . , 50, there are 24 pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition;
When q = 3, p can take 5, 7, 9, ...33, there are 15 pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition;
When q = 4, p can take 6, 8, 10, . . . , 24, there are 10 pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition;
When q = 5, p can take 7, 9, 11, . . . , 19, there are 7 pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition;
When q = 6, p can take 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, there are 5 pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition;
When q = 7, p can take 9, 11, 13, there are 3 pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition;
When q = 8, p can take 10, 12, there are 2 pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition;
When q = 9, p can only take 11, there is only 1 pair (p, q) satisfying the condition; When
q > 9, there are no pairs (p, q) satisfying the condition.
In conclusion, there are a total of 116 pairs satisfying the condition, which is the desired
result.
√
Problem 149. What is the simplified value of the expression, 8x3 − 3xy + p, if p = 121,
x = −2, and y = 32 ?
√
A) 84 B) 73 + 11
C) − 28 D) − 44

Answer: D
Reasoning: By plugging in the variables for x, y, and z, we arrive at the equation 8 ×
(−2)3 − 3 × (−2) × 32 + 121 which evaluates to −64 + 9 + 11, leading to the answer -44.

Problem 150. Which expression best represents “the product of twice a quantity x and the
difference of that quantity and 7”?

A) 2x(7 − x) B) 2x(x − 7)
C) 2x − (x − 7) D) 2(x − 7)

Answer: B
Reasoning: The phrase “the product of” refers to multiplying the next two groupings
mentioned. In this case, our next two groupings are “twice a quantity x” and “the difference
of that quantity and 7”. We can evaluate this first group as 2x and the second group as
(x − 7). Multiplying the two results in 2x(x − 7).

Problem 151. The formula for the area of a triangle is A = 21 bh. The area of a triangle is
62 square meters, and its height is 4 meters. What is the length of the base?

64
Options:
A) 15.5 m
B) 27 m
C) 31 m
D) 62 m
Answer: C
Reasoning: Given that the area is 62 square meters and the height is 4 meters, we can
arrive at the equation 62 = 12 b · 4. This can be simplified to 62 = 2b and further to b = 31.
Problem 152. Simplify: (−m2 n−3 )3 · (4m−1 n2 p3 )2

−16m4 p6 16m3 p5
A) B)
n5 n2
3 5
8m p −16m6 p9
C) D)
n2 n23

Answer: A
Reasoning: First simplify the expression by expanding the exponents through the equation:
(−m6 n−9 ) · (16m−2 n4 p6 ). Combining like terms results in −16 × m4 × n−5 × p6 .
Problem 153. If M = 24a−2 b−3 c5 and N = 18a−7 b6 c−4 , then N
M
=

4a5 c9 4a5 c
A) B)
3b9 3b3
3b9 3b3
C) 5 9 D) 5
4a c 4a c

Answer: C
Reasoning: Using law of exponents and combining like terms arrives at answer C.
Problem 154. The volume of a rectangular prism is 2x5 + 16x4 + 24x3 . If the height of the
rectangular prism is 2x3 , which of the following could represent one of the other dimensions
of the rectangular prism?

A) (x + 2) B) (x + 3)
C) (x + 4) D) (x + 12)

Answer: A
Reasoning: we can first divide the volume of the rectangular prism by 2x3 to get x2 +8x+12.
Factoring this expression results in (x + 6)(x + 2). Therefore, the answer is A
Problem 155. Which expression is equivalent to (3x − 1)(2x2 + 1)?
Options:
A) 6x3 − 2x2 − 3x + 1

65
B) 6x3 − 2x2 + 3x − 1
C) 5x3 − 2x2 + 3x − 1
D) 5x3 − x2 + 4x

Answer: B
Reasoning: Multiplying out the expression with FOIL (first outer inner last) nets 6x3 +
3x − 2x2 − 1.

Problem 156. Factor 64b2 − 16b + 1 completely.

Options:
A) (32b − 1)(32b + 1)
B) (b − 8)2
C) (8b − 1)2
D) (8b + 1)2

Answer: C
Reasoning: We first observe that this follows the pattern for a perfect square binomial.
This leads us to the answer (8b − 1)2 .
√ √ √
Problem 157. Simplify 6 3 64 − 12 · 2 27

A) 12 B) − 12
√ √
C) 24 − 12 3 D) 48 − 72 3

Answer: B √ √
Reasoning:√6 3 64 can be simplified into 24 by basic arithmetic rules. 12 · 2 27 can be
reduced to 2 324 which is equivalent to 36. Finally 24 − 36 = −12.
p
Problem 158. What is the simplified form of 80x5 y 2 z 3 ? Assume all variables are positive.
√ √
A) 16x2 yz 5xz B) 16xyz 5x3 z
√ p
C) 4x2 yz 5xz D) 4 5x5 y 2 z 3

Answer: C √
Reasoning:Take out any variable or constant that has a squared factor: 4x2 yz 5xz

Problem 159. Which of the following is NOT equivalent to −4?

√ √3
√3
√
A) 2 9 − 5 8 B) 3 64 − 2 64
√ √3
√ √
3
C) 2 121 − 3 216 D) 4 25 − 8 27

Answer: C
Reasoning: A,B,D all equivalent to -4 except C leads to 3.

66
Problem 160. What are the solutions of the quadratic equation 15x2 = 2x + 8
4 3 4 2
A) {− , − } B) {− , }
3 2 5 3
3 4 2 4
C) {− , } D) {− , }
2 5 3 5
Answer: D
Reasoning: First move all terms to one side: 15x2 − 2x − 8 = 0. Then factor into (5x −
4)(3x + 2) = 0. Setting 5x − 4 to zero results in a solution of x = 45 and setting 3x + 2 to
zero results in a solution of x = − 23 .

Problem 161. Find the solution of 4(3y − 5) = 2(7y + 3)

A) − 13 B) − 4
11
C) D) 13
2
Answer: A
Reasoning: First distribute and expand to 12y − 20 = 14y + 6. Combine like terms to
arrive at 2y = −26. Thus, y = −13.

Problem 162. Solve the equation x2 − 7 + 2x = 0

√ √ √ √
A) {−1 − 2 2, −1 + 2 2} B) {1 − 2 2, 1 + 2 2}
√ √ √ √
−7 − 41 −7 + 41 7 − 41 7 + 41
C) { , } D) { , }
2 2 2 2
Answer: A √
−2± 22 +28
Reasoning: Utilize the quadratic formula with a = 1, b = 2, and c = −7. =
√ √ 2
−1 ± 8 = −1 ± 2 2.

Problem 163. At a movie theater, the adult ticket price is $8 and the child ticket price is
$6. For a certain movie, 210 tickets were sold and $1500 was collected. How many adult
tickets were sold?

A) 30 B) 90
C) 120 D) 150

Answer: C
Reasoning: We can create a system of equations 8x + 6y = 1500 and x + y = 210. By
rearranging the second equation to y = 210 − x and plugging 210 − x in for y in the first
equation, we get 8x+1260-6x = 1500 which evaluates to 2x = 240. Therefore x = 120 and
y = 90.

67
Problem 164. Solve for y : x − yz + 5 = 8
x−3 x − 13
A) y = B) y =
z z
3−x 13 − x
C) y = D) y =
z z

Answer: A
Reasoning: Attempt to isolate y by first isolating the yz term: yz = x − 3. Then divide
by z for y = x−3
z
.
Problem 165. Describe the type of solution for the linear system of equations defined by

2y − 3x = 20
− 32 x + y = 10
Options:
A) no solution
B) infinite solutions
C) one solution
D) two solutions
Answer: B
Reasoning: First, rearrange the second equation to y = 32 x + 10. Then plug this into the
first equation for 3x+20−3x = 20. This is obviously true so there must be infinite solutions.
Problem 166. Identify all of the following equations that have a solution of -2?

I) 3(x + 7) = 5(x + 5) II) x2 + x − 6 = 0

III) 2(x − 4) = x − 10 IV) x2 = 4

A) IandIII B) IIandIV
C) I, IIandIV D) I, IIIandIV

Answer: D
Reasoning: Plug in -2 for x in each equation and see if it works I: 3 × 5 = 5 × 3 works.
II: 4 − 2 − 6 = 0 does not work.
III:2 × −6 = −2 − 10 works.
IV: 4 = 4 works.
Problem 167. What is the solution of the system of linear equations?

7x − 2y = 5
−3x − 4y = 7

68
 3 32 3 32
A) ( ,− ) B) (− ,− )
17 17 17 17
3 32 3 32
C) ( , ) D) (− , )
17 17 17 17

Answer: A
Reasoning: We will use the elimination method to get rid of y by multiplying the first
equation by 2 and subtracting the two equations from each other. This results in 17x = 3
3
so x = 17 and y = − 32
17
.
Problem 168. What values of x make the inequality true? 4(x − 2) − 10x ≥ −3x + 13
A) {x : x ≥ 1} B) {x : x ≥ −7}
C) {x : x ≤ 1} D) {x : x ≤ −7}

Answer: D
Reasoning: Simplify the inequality into −6x−8 ≥ −3x+13. This is equivalent to −3x ≥ 21
so x ≤ −7.
Problem 169. What is the equation of the line that passes through the points (4, −4) and
(−5, 14)?
A) x + 2y = 2 B) 2x + 3y = 12
C) 2x + y = 4 D) 3x − 2y = −6

Answer: C
14+4
Reasoning: First find slope −5−4 = −2, then use point-slope form on one of the points.
y + 4 = −2(x − 4). This simplifies to y = −2x + 4. Convert to standard form.
Problem 170. The cost c per person to participate in a guided mountain biking tour depends
on the number of people n participating in the tour. This relationship can be described by
the function c = −3n + 60, where 0 < n < 12. What is the rate of change described by this
function?
A) 20 people per tour B) -3 people per tour
C) 20$ per person D) -3$ per person

Answer: D
Reasoning: c = −3n+60 can be interpreted as the cost per person = −3×number of people+
60. So as more people join the cost per person decreases by 3 dollars per person joining.
Problem 171. Find f (−3) if f (x) = 6x2 − x − 2.
A) 55 B) 53
C) − 53 D) − 59

69
Answer: A
Reasoning: Plug in −3 for x to arrive at 6 × (−3)2 + 3 − 2 = 55
Problem 172. When Darcy’s school bus travels at 30 miles per hour, it gets from her home
to school in 12 minutes. What is the speed of Darcy’s bus if it makes the same trip in 18
minutes?

A) 20 mph B) 28 mph
C) 36 mph D) 45 mph

Answer: A
Reasoning: If the bus travels for 12 minutes at 30 mph, the bus travels 30 × 12/60 miles
or 6 miles. If the bus does the same trip in 18 minutes, it would be at a speed of 6/(18/60)
or 20 miles per hour.
Problem 173. The price of a package varies directly with the number of stickers in the
package. If a package contains 650 stickers and sells for $26.00, what is the constant of
variation? How much will 800 stickers cost?
A) k = 0.04; $32.00 B) k = 0.40; $320.00
C) k = 6.24; $806.24 D) k = 25; $20, 000.00

Answer: A
Reasoning: Find the constant rate by taking 26/650 = 0.04. Then 800 × 0.04 results in
$32.
Problem 174. Which function does NOT have an x-intercept?
1 1
A) y = x − 7 B) y = − x − 5
2 3
C) y = −x2 + 2x + 5 2
D) y = x − 2x + 5

Answer: D
Reasoning: A and B are both linear equations with a non zero slope so they must have an
x intercept. Plug in y = 0for the other two equations and attempt to solve a solution. D
results in no solutions.
Problem 175. What is the x-intercept and Y-intercept of the graph of 5x–3y = −30?
A) The x-intercept is 6, and the y-intercept is -10
B) The x-intercept is -6, and the y-intercept is 10.
C) The x-intercept is 10, and the y-intercept is -6.
D) The x-intercept is -10, and the y-intercept is 6.

70
Answer: B
Reasoning: Plug in y = 0 to solve for x intercept: 5x − 3 × 0 = −30, x = −6. Plug in
x = 0 to solve for y intercept: 5 × 0 − 3y = −30, y = 10.

Problem 176. Is the point (1, −3) a solution to the equation f (x) = x2 + 4x–8?

A) Yes B) No

Answer: A
Reasoning: Plug in the point: −3 = 12 + 4 × 1 − 8. True.

Problem 177. If y varies inversely with x, and x = 18 when y = 4, find y when x = 12.

A) y = 3 B) y = 6
C) y = 9 D) y = 54

Answer: B
Reasoning: Inverse variation means that x × y = c. here 18 × 4 = 72 so we know our
c = 72. Now we can plug in x = 12 for 12 × y = 72. We get y = 6.

Problem 178. If 10 workers can build a house in 12 weeks, how long will it take 15 workers
to build the same house?

A) 6 B) 16
C) 8 D) 18

Answer: C
Reasoning: First calculate total weeks to build a house. With 10 workers and 12 weeks, we
have a total of 120 weeks. Taking 120 and dividing by 15 workers results in 8 weeks needed.

Problem 179. Write the equation of the line that has a y–intercept of –3 and is parallel to
the line y = −5x + 1.

Answer: y = −5x − 3
Reasoning: Parallel lines have the same slope but different y-intercepts.

Problem 180. A model house was built that states that 3 inches represents 10 ft. If the
width of the door on the model is 1.2 inches, what is the width of the actual door?

Answer: 4ft
Reasoning: Use proportional representation to set up 3in/10f t = 1.2in/Xf t, cross multi-
plication 3x = 12, x = 4f t.

Problem 181. The product of 4 more than a number and 6 is 30 more than 8 times the
number. What is the number?

71
Answer: -3
Reasoning: 6(x + 4) = 8x + 30 ⇒ 6x + 24 = 8x + 30 ⇒ 2x = −6 ⇒ x = −3

Problem 182. Solve 4(x + 4) = 24 + 3(2x − 2).

Answer: x = −1
Reasoning: Use distributive property to both sides of the equations, and then simplify to
2x = −2, then x = −1.

Problem 183. Three times as many robins as cardinals visited a bird feeder. If a total of 20
robins and cardinals visited the feeder, write a system of equations to represent the situation
and solve how many were robins?

Answer: 5 Robins.
Reasoning: Define x as the number of robins, and define y as the number of cardinals,
then set up system of equations. x + y = 20 , y = 3x Use substitution method to solve,
x + 3x = 20, x = 5.

Functions and Applications

Problem 184. Describe all the transformations of the function: f (x) = −|x − 3| + 1

A) Translated 3 units left, 1 unit up and reflected over the x-axis

B) Translated 1 unit right, 3 units down and reflected over the x-axis
C) Translated 3 units right and 1 unit up and reflected over the y-axis
D) Translated 3 units right and 1 unit up and reflected over the x-axis

Answer: D
Reasoning: With the parent function as the absolute value function, we can see that the
+1 causes a one unit translation up and the x-3 causes a 3 unit translation right. Because
there is a negative sign in front of the absolute value there is also a reflection over the x axis

Problem 185. If the value of the discriminant for the function f (x) = 2x2 − 5x + 6 is equal
to -23, which of the following correctly describes the graph of f (x)?

I) f (x) has real roots. II) f (x) has imaginary roots.

III) f (x) has two solutions. IV) f (x) has one solution.

A) I and III only B) I and IV only

C) II and III only D) IV only

72
Answer: C
Reasoning: Since our discriminant is negative there must be imaginary roots and two
solutions.
Problem 186. What is the axis of symmetry of the function y = −3(x + 1)2 + 4?

A) x = −3 B) x = −1
C) x = 1 D) x = 4

Answer: B
Reasoning: This function is a parabola and there is a shift of 1 to the left, this makes the
axis of symmetry at x = −1.
Problem 187. Which equation shows the function f (x) = 12x2 +36x+27 in intercept form?

A) f (x) = 3(2x − 3)2 B) f (x) = 3(2x + 3)2

C) f (x) = (6x − 9)(2x − 3) D) f (x) = 3(2x + 3)(2x − 3)

Answer: B
Reasoning: Factoring 3 out of the function results in f (x) = 3(4x2 + 12x + 9). This is a
perfect square of 2x + 3.
Problem 188. Which of the following represents the function in intercept form y = 64x2 −
49?

A) y = (64x + 1)(x − 49) B) y = (8x + 7)(8x − 7)

C) y = (8x + 7)(8x + 7) D) y = (8x − 7)(8x − 7)

Answer: B
Reasoning: Since the function is in the form S 2 − s2 , we can simplify to (S + s)(S − s).
Problem 189. Use factoring to find the solutions to the equation x2 + 24x = −144.

A) − 12 B) 12
C) − 12 and 12 D) 9 and 16

Answer: A
Reasoning: x2 + 24x + 144 = 0, then (x + 12)2 = 0.
Problem 190. Solve the equation −x2 − 11 = −2x2 + 5 for the variable x.

A) ± 2 B) ± 4
√ √
C) ± 2 D) ± 6

73
Answer: B
Reasoning:Rearrange equation to x2 − 16 = 0. solving results in x = ±4.
Problem 191. What must be added to the equation x2 + 20x = 0 to complete the square?
Options:
A) 10
B) 25
C) 40
D) 100
Answer: D
2
Reasoning: For x2 + 20x + c to be a complete square, c must be 20
2
= 100.
√
Problem 192. If f (x) = x2 + 4 and g(x) = 10 − x, what is the value of f (g(1))?
A) 1 B) 0
√
C) 5 D) 13

Answer: D
Reasoning: first plug 1 in as x for the g equation, g(1) = 3. Then plug 3 in for x in the f
function, f (3) = 13.
Problem 193. Find all the solutions to the function: 0 = (−4x + 9)(x − 1)(3x − 5)
7 7 9 5
A) x = − , x = 1, x = B) x = , x = 1, x =
4 3 4 3
5 9 1 5
C) x = 9, x = −1, x = − D) x = , x = , x =
3 8 2 6

Answer: B
Reasoning: By setting each part in parenthesis to zero and solving, we can find the three
solutions.
Problem 194. What are the solutions to the equation 0.5x2 − 0.45x − 0.3 = 0?
A) x = −1.35 and x = 0.45 B) x = 1.35 and x = −0.45
C) x = −1.35 and x = −0.45 D) x = 1.35 and x = 0.45

Answer: B
Reasoning: Plug into the quadratic formula.
Problem 195. Find the remainder when f (x) = 5x4 + 2x2 − 3x + 1 is divided by x − 2.
A) 95 B) 43
C) 83 D) − 25

74
Answer: C
Reasoning:
5x4 + 2x2 − 3x + 1 3 10x3 + 2x2 − 3x + 1
= 5x +
x−2 x−2
22x2 − 3x + 1
= 5x3 + 10x2 +
x−2
41x + 1
= 5x3 + 10x2 + 22x +
x−2
83
= 5x3 + 10x2 + 22x + 41 +
x−2
Problem 196. The path of an object falling to Earth is represented by the equation h(t) =
−16t2 + vt + s. What is the equation of an object that is shot up into the air from 150 feet
above the ground and has an initial velocity of 62 feet per second?
A) h(t) = −16t2 + 62t + 150 B) h(t) = −16t2 + 150t + 62
C) h(t) = −16t2 + 62t D) h(t) = −16t2 + 150t

Answer: A
Reasoning: Plug in 150 for s and 62 for v.
Problem 197. The graph above shows a portion of a system of equations where f (x) has
a > 0 and g(x) has a < 0. Which of the following satisfies the equation f (x) = g(x)?
A) {(0, −1); (−3, 2)} B) {(−1, 2); (−2, 3)}
C) {(1, 2); (2, 7)} D) {(−3.7, 0); (0.4, 0)}

Answer: A
Reasoning: Only the points of intersection satisfy the equation.
2√
Problem 198. Which of the following is the conjugate of the expression 3− 2
?
√ √
A) 3 − 2 B) 3 + 2
√ √
C) 2 D) − 2

Answer: B
Reasoning: The conjugate is changing the sign in the denominator.
2 3 7x−9
Problem 199. Solve the equation x+5
+ x−5
= x2 −25
for the variable x.
9
A) x = 5 B) x =
2
C) x = 2 D) x = 7

75
Answer: D
2(x−5)+3(x+5) 7x−9
Reasoning: x2 −25
= x2 −25
.5x + 5 = 7x − 9.x = 7

Problem 200. Choose all the following that have an end behavior as x → ∞, f (x) → ∞.
NOTE: You may choose more than one.

A) f (x) = −x4 + 3x2 − x − 7 B) f (x) = x3 + 5x + 1

C) f (x) = −3x5 + 2x3 + 9x − 4 D) f (x) = −2(x − 7)2 + 4
E) f (x) = −3x + 2 F) f (x) = (x − 8)2 + 2

Answer: B, F
Reasoning: Functions with the desired end behavior must either be positive even functions
or positive odd functions.

Problem 201. Which of the following is true about the function f (x) = x5 + 3x4 + 9x3 −
23x2 − 36?

I) f (x) has five real roots.

II) f (x) has three imaginary roots.

III) f (x) has a double root.

IV) As x → ∞, f (x) → ∞

Options:
A) I, II, IV
B) II and III
C) III and IV
D) II and IV

Answer: C
Reasoning: We know 4 is true based on the fact that this is a positive odd polynomial.
Using Descartes’ rule of signs we see that we can have maximum 1 positive real root and
4,2, or 0 negative real roots. By doing some factoring we find that we have a double root.
3x2 y2
Problem 202. Simplify the expression: 2x−1
· 6x2 y

xy 4x
A) B)
4 y
y 4
C) D)
4x xy

Answer: A
Reasoning: Cancel out like terms with exponent rules.

76
 3
Problem 203. Solve the equation −2(3x + 2) 2 = −54 for the variable x.
5
A) x = 9 B) x =
6
23 7
C) x = D) x =
6 3

Answer: D
Reasoning: (3x + 2)3/2 = 27, 3x + 2 = 9, 3x = 7, x = 7/3
x2 +x−6
Problem 204. Where is the hole in the graph of the function f (x) = x+3
?

A) (3, 1) B) (−3, 0)
C) (−3, −6) D) (−3, −5)

Answer: D
Reasoning: Hole at x = −3 because that value creates a division by zero. By dividing both
sides by x + 3 we are left with x − 2, so plugging -3 results in a y value of -5.
2x3 +2
Problem 205. What is the horizontal asymptote of the function f (x) = x2 −16
?

A) y = 4 and y = 4 B) y = 2
C) y = 0 D) no horizontal asymptotes

Answer: D
Reasoning: Because the exponent in the numerator is larger than the one in the denomi-
nator there is no asymptote.
x2 −9
Problem 206. Determine any domain restriction(s) given the expression x2 −3x−18
.

A) x = 3 and x = −3 B) x = 6 and x = −3
1
C) x = 6 D) x =
2

Answer: B
(x+3)(x−3)
Reasoning: (x−6)(x+3)
, x cannot be -3 due to a hole and 6 due to an asymptote.
n2 +2n−24
Problem 207. Simplify the rational expression n2 −11n+28

n+6 n+6
A) B)
n−7 n−4
n+6 n−4
C) D)
n+7 n−7

77
Answer: A
(n+6)(n−4) n+6
Reasoning: (n−7)(n−4)
= n−7

Problem 208. Simplify the rational expression.

x+8
x2 −64
(x + 8)(x − 8)
Options:
A) x + 2
B) (x4(x+8)
2 −64)2

C) x+84
D) 14

Answer: C
1
Reasoning: the numerator can first be simplified into x−8 . This allows the whole fraction
to be simplified into x+8
4
.
√ √ √
Problem 209. Simplify the expression: 5 2 − 3 8 + 2 18.
Options:
√
A) 5 √2 √
B) −√ 2 + 6 √3 √
C) 5 √2 − 12 2 + 6 2
D) − 2

Answer: A √ √ √ √
Reasoning: 5 2 − 6 2 + 6 2 = 5 2
√ √
Problem 210. Which expression is the simplest form of 4 3 32 − 3 32 ?
√3
√3
A) 3 4 B) 6 4
√3
√3
C) 3 32 D) 16 2 − 4

Answer: B √ √ √ √
Reasoning: 3 32 = 2 3 4, 3 × 2 3 4 = 6 3 4
p
Problem 211. What is the simplified form of the expression 98x3 y 5 z ?
p p
A) 2xyz 7xyz B) 7x2 y 2 2yz
p p
C) 7xy 2 2xyz D) 49xy 2 2xyz

Answer: C
Reasoning: Take out all square factors.
1
Problem 212. Evaluate each of the following expressions. a) log4 64
=? b) log5 625 =?

78
Answer: a. 3, b. 4
Reasoning: a. 4x = 1/64, x = 3, b. 5x = 625, x = 4
Problem 213. Jasmine invests $2, 658 in a retirement account with a fixed annual interest
rate of 9% compounded continuously. What will the account balance be after 15 years?
Answer:$ 9681.72
Reasoning:Using the compound interest formula we have 2658 × (1.09)15 = 9681.72
Problem 214. Remy invests $8, 589 in a retirement account with a fixed annual interest
rate of 7% compounded continuously. How long will it take for the account balance to reach
$21, 337.85 ?
Answer: 13.45 years
Reasoning: Using the compound interest formula we have 8589 × (1.07)x = 21337.85, x =
13.45
√ √
Problem 215. Solve x2 + 2x − 6 = x2 − 14
Answer: -4
Reasoning: Square both sides then rearrange to 2x = −8, x = −4.
Problem 216. In △ABC, AB = 10 cm, ∠B = 90◦ , and ∠C = 60◦ . Determine the length of
BC.
√
A) 10 cm B) 10 3 cm
√
10 3
C) cm D) 20 cm
3

Answer: C
Reasoning: This is a special 30 − 60 − 90 triangle where AB is the longer leg and√ BC is
the shorter leg. To go from the longer leg to the shorter one we should multiply by 33
√
Problem 217. If the length of the shorter leg of a 30◦ − 60◦ − 90◦ triangle is 5 3, then the
length of the longer leg is
√
A) 10 B) 10 3
√
C) 10 6 D) 15

Answer: D
Reasoning:√To find the longer leg of a 30-60-90 triangle from the shorter leg, we must
multiply by 3. This means our longer leg has a length of 15
Problem 218. If the sides of a triangle are 6,7 , and 9 ; then the triangle is
A) a 45◦ − 45◦ − 90◦ triangle B) an acute triangle
C) an obtuse triangle D) a right triangle

79
Answer: B
Reasoning: We can eliminate A because there are not two equal sides. Now compare 62 +72
and 92 . Since 62 + 72 is larger, this is an acute triangle.

Problem 219. The ratio compares the length of the adjacent leg to the length of the
hypotenuse

A) sine B) cosine
C) tangent D) none of the above

Answer: B
Reasoning: Cosine compares adjacent and hypotenuse.

Problem 220. Which of the following forms a right triangle?

√ √ √
A) 4, 9, 25 B) 1, 2, 3
C) 5, 11, 13 D) 3, 4, 5

Answer: D
Reasoning: D is a 3-4-5 triangle which is a known right triangle. This problem can also be
done by using the pythagorean theorem.

Problem 221. Find the length of the diagonal of a square whose perimeter measures 28 cm.
√
A) 7 cm B) 7 2 cm
√ √
C) 7 3 cm D) 28 2 cm

Answer: B
Reasoning: A square has 4 equal sides so each side must √ be 7 cm. The length of the
diagonal is found by a 45-45-90 triangle so the diagonal is 7 2 cm.

Problem 222. Which of the following transformations creates a figure that is similar (but
not congruent) to the original figure?

A) Dilation B) Rotation
C) T ranslation D) Ref lection

Answer: A
Reasoning: B and C don’t change the shape of the object and D results in a nonsimilar
object. Dilation keeps similarity while changing size.

80
Problem 223. What is the image of the point (4, –2) after a dilation of 3?
A) (12, −6) B) (7, 1)
4 2
C) (1, −5) D) ( , − )
3 3

Answer: A
Reasoning: A dilation of 3 means we should multiply each coordinate by 3.
Problem 224. What is the center of the circle whose equation is (x − 1)2 + (y + 3)2 = 25?
A) (−1, 3) B) (3, −1)
C) (1, −3) D) (−3, 1)

Answer: C
Reasoning: The center is (h, k) with circle equation of (x − h)2 + (y − k)2 = r2
Problem 225. A is a quadrilateral with two pairs of congruent adjacent sides and no
congruent opposite sides.
A) Rectangle B) Rhombus
C) Kite D) T rapezoid

Answer: A
Reasoning: Rectangles and Rhombus both have congruent opposite sides and a Trapezoid
does not have two pairs of congruent adjacent sides. The Kite is the only thing that fits the
description.
Problem 226. Find the number of sides of a convex polygon if the measures of its interior
angles have a sum of 2340◦ .

A) 13 B) 11
C) 15 D) 7

Answer: C
Reasoning: A convex polygon has interior angles summing to 180(n − 2) where n is the
number of sides. Solving for n results in 15 sides.
Problem 227. The base of a square pyramid has sides of 10 and the slant height is 15. Find
the surface area of the pyramid.

A) 85 B) 220
C) 310 D) 400

81
Answer: D
Reasoning: If the slant of the pyramid is 15 and the sides are 10, each side triangle has an
area of 75 and the base has an area of 100. This comes to a sum of 400.

Problem 228. Find the volume of a cone, to the nearest cubic inch, whose radius is 12
inches and whose height is 15 inches.

A) 2827 B) 2262
C) 565 D) 188

Answer: B
Reasoning: The area of a cone is 31 bh, since radius is 12 the base is 144π.

Problem 229. Find the volume of a hemisphere (half a sphere) whose radius is 10 feet.
Round the answer to the nearest cubic foot.

A) 419 B) 1047
C) 2094 D) 4189

Answer: C
Reasoning: The formula for the volume of a sphere is 34 πr3 .

Problem 230. The ratio of the volumes of two similar spheres is 8 : 27. If the larger
sphere’s volume is 135 cm3 , what is the volume of the smaller solid?

A) 90 cm3 B) 40 cm3
C) 80 cm3 D) 50 cm3

Answer: B
Reasoning: Since the larger sphere has a volume of 135, applying the ratio we can calculate
the volume of a smaller solid by dividing by 27 and multiplying by 8.

Problem 231. Two circles have areas of 49π in.2 and 144π in.2 . What is the ratio of their
radii?

A) 49 : 144 B) 49π : 144π

C) 7 : 12 D) 343 : 1728

Answer: C
Reasoning: We can determine the radius of each circle by dividing by pi then square-rooting
the result. The smaller circle has radius of 7 and the larger one has radius of 12.

82
Problem 232. Evaluate: log5 125 =

A) 25 B) 2
C) 3 D) 1

Answer: C
Reasoning: 53 = 125
1
Problem 233. Express the logarithmic equation as an exponential equation and solve: log4 64
=
x
Options:
1
A) x4 = 64 ; x = −3
x 1
B) 4 = 64 ; x = −3
1
C) 64x = 4
; x = −3
1 x
D) − 4 = 64; x = − 31

Answer: B.
Reasoning: Definition of log.

Problem 234. Use the fact that 255◦ = 210◦ + 45◦ to determine the exact value of sin255◦ .
√ √ √ √
6− 2 − 2− 6
A) B)
4 4
1 1
C) − D)
2 2

Answer: B
Reasoning: From sin(a + b) = sin(a)cos(b) + cos(a)sin(b), we have

sin(255) = sin(210)cos(45) + cos(210)sin(45)

√ √ √
1 2 3 2
=− × − ×
2 2 2 2
12 3π
Problem 235. Find the exact value for sin2θ given that sinθ = − 13 and π ≤ θ ≤ 2
.

119 119
A) B) −
169 169
120 120
C) D) −
169 169

83
Answer: C
Reasoning:

sin(2x) = 2sin(x)cos(x)
120
= 2 × (−12/13) × (−5/13) =
169
Problem 236. Solve 7sinx + 15 = 6sinx + 14 where 0 ≤ x ≤ 2π.
π
A) 0 B)
2
3π
C) π D)
2

Answer: D
3π
Reasoning: sinx = −1, so x = 2

Problem 237. Solve cos2 θ − 3 cos θ − 4 = 0 where 0 ≤ θ < 2π.

Options:
A) 0
B) π2
C) π
D) 3π2

Answer: C
Reasoning: (cos(θ) − 4)(cos(θ) + 1) = 0. Only second part can produce a solution so θ = π.

Problem 238. Which of the following is not a type of discontinuity?

A) jump B) hole
C) horizontal asymptote D) vertical asymptote

Answer: C
Reasoning: Horizontal asymptote does not interrupt the function.
x(x−5)
Problem 239. Determine any points of discontinuity for f (x) = (x−3)(x−5)

A) 0 B) 3
C) 3, 5 D) 0, 3, 5

Answer: C
Reasoning: x = 5 is a hole, x = 3 is an infinite discontinuity.

84
Problem 240. The synthetic division problem below proves which fact about f (x) = x4 −
3x3 + 7x2 − 60x − 130?

15 1 −3 7 −60 −130
5 10 85 125
1 2 17 25 −5

A) 5 is a root of f(x) B) x-5 is a factor of f(x)

C) f (5) = −5 D) x3 + 2x2 + 17x + 25 is a factor of f (x)

Answer: C
Reasoning: Seeing as there is a remainder of -5 when the function is divided by x − 5,
plugging in 5 as x must result in a y of -5.

Problem 241. Find the domain of f (x) = log(x − 5)

A) x > 0 B) x < 5
C) x > 5 D) all real numbers

Answer: C
Reasoning:Log cannot be taken of negative numbers or zero.
−1
Problem 242. Identify the x and y –intercepts, if any, of the equation y = x+1
+4

A) x-int: − 1, y-int: None B) x-int: None, y-int: 3

3
C) x-int: − , y-int: 3 D) x-int:-1, y-int: 4
4

Answer: C
Reasoning: Plug in zero for x to find y intercept and do opposite for x intercept.

Problem 243. Find the first term and the common difference of the arithmetic sequence
described: 8th term = 8 ; 20th term = 44

A) a1 = −13; d = 3 B) a1 = −10, d = 3
C) a1 = −13, d = −3 D) a1 = −16, d = −3

Answer: A
Reasoning: With a 12 term difference there is a 44 − 8 = 36 unit jump, this means the
common difference is 3. Subtracting 7 × 3 = 21 from 8 results in a first term of -13.

85
Problem 244. Which of the following is the equation of the horizontal asymptote of the
2
graph of the function f (x) = x4x
3 −5 ?

Options:
A) x = 52
B) x = 5
C) y = 0
D) y = 4
Answer: C
Reasoning: Since the power in the denominator is greater than the numerator the asymp-
tote will be 0.
Problem 245. Simplify: log3 2 + log3 4 − 3 log3 5
Options:
A) log3 (−119)
8


B) log3 25
C) log3 52

D) non-real answer
Answer: B
8


Reasoning: log3 2 + log3 4 − log3 53 = log3 8 − log3 125 = log3 125

Problem 246. Find: tan−1 tan 2π −1 2π


 

3
tan tan 3

2π π
A) B) −
3 3
π
C) D) undefined
3

Answer: B
Reasoning: Since the range of tangent is only from -pi/2 to pi/2, subtract pi from 2pi/3
Problem 247. Find: sin sin−1 (−2)
 

A) 2 B) − 2
1
C) − D) undefined
2

Answer: D
Reasoning: No inverse sin of -2.
Problem 248. sin2 x − 1 =

A) cos2 x B) − cos2 x
C) csc2 x D) − csc2 x

86
Answer: B
Reasoning: cos∧ 2 + sin∧ 2 = 1
Problem 249. cos−1 12 =

π π
A) B)
6 4
π π
C) D)
3 2

Answer: A
Reasoning: Unit circle.
√
Problem 250. Over the interval [0, 2π), solve: 2 sin x − 3=0
π π 11π
A) B) ,
6 6 6
π π 11π
C) D) ,
3 3 3

Answer: B √
3
Reasoning: sin x = ,
use unit circle
2

Problem 251. tan−1 tan 5π



4
=

5π π
A) B)
4 4
C) 1 D) − 1

Answer: B
Reasoning: Subtract pi to get within inverse tangent range.
Problem 252. What is the exact value of cos 22.5◦ ?
p √ p √
2+ 2 2+ 2
A) B) −
p 2 √ p 2 √
2− 2 2− 2
C) D) −
2 2

Answer: A q q
Reasoning: cos 2θ = 1+cos
2
θ
, cos 22.5 = 1+cos 45
2
change sin2 x to 1 − cos2 x then factor for (cos x − 2)(cos x − 1) = 0, only right part can
be solved for.

87
 √
Problem 253. Which one is a solution to the equation: 3 tan x + 1 = 0
−π π
A) B)
3 6
5π 2π
C) D)
6 3

Answer: C
Reasoning: tan x = − √13

Problem 254. Calculate the coefficient of x2 in the expansion of (x − 3)5

A) 270 B) 90
C) − 17 D) − 270

Answer: D
Reasoning: Each factor with a coefficient of x2 will be multiplied by -3 3 times. This means
each factor has a coefficient of -27. There will be 10 such factors.

Problem 255. What is the expansion of the polynomial (x − 2)4 ?

A) x4 + 16 B) x4 − 8x3 + 24x2 − 32x + 16

C) x4 − 16x3 + 32x2 − 32x + 16 D) x4 + 4x3 + 6x2 + 4x + 1

Answer: B
Reasoning: Use polynomial expansion formula.
P10
Problem 256. Find the sum. n=1 4n − 5
Options:
A) 235
B) 35
C) 36
D) 170

Answer: D
Reasoning: Since this is an arithmetic sequence we can sum the first and last term then
multiply by the amount of terms and divide by 2 for the sum. (−1 + 35) × 10
2

2 k−1
P∞

Problem 257. Find the sum. k=1 6 − 3
Options:
A) 0.6
B) −0.6
C) 3.6
D) −3.6

88
Answer: C
a 6 18
Reasoning: Since this is an infinite geometric sequence: 1−r
= 1+ 23
= 5
= 3.6

Problem 258. Given △ABC, where ∠A = 41◦ , ∠B = 58◦ , and c = 19.7 cm, determine the
measure of side b.

A) not possible B) 16.91 cm

C) 0.89 cm D) 12.94 cm

Answer: B
Reasoning: Using law of sines sinx58 = sin 81
19.7

Problem 259. Given △ABC, where a = 9, b = 12, and c = 16, determine the measure of
angle B. Round to the nearest tenth.

A) not possible B) 132.1◦

C) 47.9◦ D) 1◦

Answer: C
Reasoning: Use law of cosines
Problem 260. In △ABC, A = 47◦ , B = 56◦ , and c = 14, find b.

A) 77 B) 7.9
C) 10.5 D) 11.9

Answer: D
Reasoning: Use law of sines
Problem 261. Evaluate tan(α−β) given: tan α = − 34 , π2 < α < π and cos β = 12 , 0 < β < π2 .
Options:
√
A) 25 39
3+48
√
B) − 25 √39
3+48

C) 16+7
47 √
3

D) − 16+747
3

Answer: A √
tan α−tan β − 43 − 3
Reasoning: tan(α − β) = 1+tan α tan β
= √
1− 43 3

Problem 262. Evaluate p(x) = x3 + x2 − 11x + 12 for x = 2.

Answer: 2
Reasoning: Plug in 2.

89
 3
x2 (y 2 −z )
Problem 263. Write ln √
y+1
as the sum and/or difference of logarithms. Express powers
as factors.
Answer: 2 ln x + 3 ln (y 2 − z) − 21 ln(y + 1)
Reasoning:Split using log rules 2 ln x + 3 ln (y 2 − z) − 12 ln(y + 1).
Problem 264. Rewrite the following as the log of a single expression and simplify.
1
log 125 + 2 log(x − 1) − 3 log(x + 4)
3
Answer: log (5 × (x − 7)2 /(x + 4)3 )
Reasoning: first move all powers then combine: log 1251/3 + log(x − 1)2 − log(x + 4)3

log 5 ∗ (x − 7)2 /(x + 4)3

Problem 265. Solve 273x = 81 for x.

Answer: 4/9
4
Reasoning: 27 3 = 81, 3x = 34 , x = 4
9

Problem 266. Use long division to divide f (x) = 6x3 − x2 − 5x + 2 by 3x − 2.

Answer: 2x2 + x − 1
3 2 −5x+2 3x2 −5x+2
Reasoning: 6x −x
3x−2
= 2x2 + 3x−2
= 2x2 + x + −3x+2
3x−2
= 2x2 + x − 1
Problem 267. A culture of bacteria obeys the law of uninhibited growth. If 500 bacteria are
present initially and there are 800 after 1 hour, how many will be present after 5 hours?
Answer: 5242.88
85
Reasoning: The rate of growth is 800/500 per hour so 500 × 5
= 5242.88
Problem 268. If f (x) is the function given by f (x) = e3x + 1, at what value of x is the
slope of the tangent line to f (x) equal to 2?
Options:
A) −0.173
B) 0
C) −0.135
D) −0.366
E) 0.231
Answer: C
Reasoning: f ′ (x) = 3e3x = 2. ln(2) = 3x, x = −0.135
Problem 269. Which of the following is an equation for a line tangent to the graph of
f (x) = e3x when f ′ (x) = 9?
Options:
A) y = 3x + 2.633
B) y = 9x − 0.366
C) y = 9x − 0.295
D) y = 3x − 0.295
E) None of these

90
Answer: C
Reasoning: f ′ (x) = 3e3x = 9, x = 0.336, y − 3 = 9(x − 0.336)

Problem 270. If f ′ (x) = ln x − x + 2, at which of the following values of x does f have a

relative maximum value?

A) 3.146 B) 0.159
C) 1.000 D) 4.505
E) None of these

Answer: A
Reasoning: Check when function crosses x axis by graphing
R 4x
Problem 271. 16+x 4 dx =

Options:
2
A) 41 sec−1 x4 + C
2
B) 12 tan−1 x4 + C
2
C) 18 sec−1 x4 + C
2
D) 2 tan−1 x4 + C
E) None of these

Answer: B
Reasoning: Use inverse tangent derivatives

Problem 272. If f (x) = 3x2 − x, and g(x) = f −1 (x) over the domain [0, ∞), then g ′ (10)
could be which of the following?
1
A) 59 B)
59
1
C) D) 11
10
1
E)
11
Answer: E
Reasoning: 10 = 3x2 − x, (3x + 5)(x − 2) = 0, x = 2, f ′ (2) = 11, g ′ (10) = 1
11

Problem 273. Find the distance traveled in the first four seconds for a particle whose
2
velocity is given by v(t) = 7e−t , where t stands for time.

A) 0.976 B) 6.204
C) 6.359 D) 12.720
E) 7.000

Answer: B
Reasoning: Take the integral of velocity for distance.

91
Problem 274. Find limx→0 − sin(5x)
sin(4x)

A) 0 B) 1
C) − 5/4 D) 5/4
E) None of these
Answer: C
Reasoning: Use lhopitals rule to take derivative of numerator and denominator of limit.
√
Problem 275. Find the area R bounded by the graphs of y = x and y = x2
A) 0.333 B) − 0.333
C) 1.000 D) − 1.000
E) None of these
Answer: A R
1√
Reasoning: 0 χ − x2 dx = 0.333
Problem 276. Z 3x
d
cos(t) dt =
dx 0
Options:
A) sin 3x
B) − sin 3x
C) cos 3x
D) 3 sin 3x
E) 3 cos 3x
Answer: E
Reasoning: Integrate to sin then chain rule out a 3.
Problem 277. The average value of the function f (x) = (x − 1)2 on the interval [1,5] is:
16 16
A) − B)
3 3
64 66
C) D)
5 3
256
E)
3
Answer: B R5
(x−7)2 dx 16
Reasoning: 7
4
= 3
Problem 278. Write the following expression as a logarithm of a single quantity: ln x −
12 ln (x2 − 1)
   
x x
A) ln B) ln
(x2 − 1)−12 12 (x2 − 1)
 
2


x
C) ln x − 12 x − 1 D) ln
(x2 − 1)12
E) None of these

92
Answer: D
Reasoning: Use log rules to turn 12 into an exponent and change the subtraction into one
log division

Problem 279. Find an equation of the tangent line to the graph of y = ln (x2 ) at the point
(1, 0).

A) y = x − 2 B) y = 2(x + 1)
C) y = 2(x − 1) D) y = x − 1
E) None of these

Answer: C
Reasoning: y ′ = 2x
x2
= x2 , y ′ (7) = 2

Problem 280. Find the area R bounded by the graphs of y = x and y = x2

1 1
A) B)
6 2
−1 −1
C) D)
6 2
E) None of these

Answer: A R
1
Reasoning: 0 x − x2 dx
x
R
Problem 281. Find the indefinite integral: −2x2 +3
dx

1
A) +C B) ln −2x2 + 3 + C
−4x
−1 ln |−2x2 + 3|
C) ln −2x2 + 3 + C D) +C
4 −2x2 + 3
E) None of these

Answer: C
Reasoning: u substitution with u = −2x2 + 3
R
Problem 282. Find the indefinite integral: x ln(x)dx

(ln x)2 x2 ln(x) x2

A) +C B) − +C
x 2 4
C) x ln(x) + C D) ln(x) + 1 + C
E) None of these

Answer: B
Reasoning: Integration by parts.

93
 R2√
Problem 283. Using the substitution u = 2x + 1, 0
2x + 1dx is equivalent to which of
the following?
1
Z
√
Z 2 √
1 2 1
A) u B) udu
2 − 21 2 0

√
Z 5 Z 2 √
1
C) udu D) udu
2 1 0
E) None of these

Answer: C
Reasoning: Find new limits by plugging in 0 and 2 to the equation to get 1 and 5.

Problem 284. Region R is the area bounded by the graphs of y = x and y = x3 . Find the
volume of the solid generated when R is revolved about the x-axis.
π 21π
A) B)
3 4
4π
C) D) 3π
21
E) None of these

Answer: C R
1
Reasoning: 0 Π (x2 − x6 ) dx
R
Problem 285. Find the indefinite integral: xe2x dx

e2x x ln(x)
A) + 2x + C B) +C
x e e
x xe2x e2x
C) 2x + C D) − +C
e 2x 4
E) None of these

Answer: E
Reasoning: Integration by parts
R √
Problem 286. x x + 3dx =
3
2 3 1 2(x + 3) 2
A) x 2 + 6x 2 + C B) +C
3 3
3 3
3(x + 3) 2 4x2 (x + 3) 2
C) +C D) +C
2 3
2 5 3
E) (x + 3) 2 − 2(x + 3) 2 + C
5
Answer: E
Reasoning: Integration by parts.

94
 dy y−1
Problem 287. Consider the differential equation dx
= x3
, where x ̸= 0. Find the general
solution y = f (x) to the differential equation.
1
Answer:y = ce− x + 1.
1
1
Reasoning: y−1 dy = x12 dx, ln(y − 1) = −x−1 + c, y = ce− x + 1.

Problem 288. Compute the determinant of the matrix

 
3 0 2
B = 2 0 −2 .
0 1 1

Answer: 10.
Solution: Using the definition of the determinant,

det(B) = 3(0 · 1 − (−2) · 1) − 0 + 2(2 · 1 − 0 · (−2)) = 10.

Problem 289. Let  

a 0 c b
1 0 1 3
A= .
2 1 −1 4
0 1 1 5
and Aij be the algebraic cofactors of A. Compute A11 + A12 + A13 + A14 .

Answer: 21.
Solution:

1 1 1 1
1 0 1 3
A11 + A12 + A13 + A14 = = 21.
2 1 −1 4
0 1 1 5

Problem 290. Find the solution [x1 , x2 , x3 ] to the following equations


 x1 + 3x2 + 3x3 = 16,
3x1 + x2 + 3x3 = 14,
3x1 + 3x2 + x3 = 12.


Answer: [1,2,3].
Solution: The second equation subtracts the first one, leading to

x1 − x2 = −1.

The third equation subtracts the second one, leading to

x2 − x3 = −1.

95
Thus
x2 = x1 + 1, x3 = x1 + 2.
Inserting x2 , x3 into the first one, we deduce that

7x1 + 9 = 16.

Then x1 = 1, x2 = 2, x3 = 3 is the solution.

Problem 291. Find the positively definite matrix A ∈ R3×3 such that
 
11 7 7
A2 =  7 11 7 .
7 7 11

In your answer, present the matrix in the form of [a11 , a12 , a13 ; a21 , a22 , a23 ; a31 , a32 , a33 ]
Answer: [3, 1, 1; 1, 3, 1; 1, 1, 3]
Solution: Let  
11 7 7
B =  7 11 7  .
7 7 11
The characteristic polynomial of B is
λ − 11 −7 −7
−7 λ − 11 −7 = (λ − 25)(λ − 4)2 .
−7 −7 λ − 11
   
1 1
Thus, the eigenvalues of A are 25, 4, 4. The corresponding eigenvectors are  1  ,  −2  ,
  1 1
1
 0  . Set
−1  
√1 √1 √1
 √13 −2
√
6
0
2
U=  3 6 ,
√1 √1 −1
√
3 6 2

then  
25 0 0
B = U  0 4 0 U −1 .
0 0 4
Thus    
5 0 0 3 1 1
A = U 0 2 0 U −1 = 1 3 1 .
0 0 2 1 1 3
Problem 292. Compute the volume of the triangular pyramid generated by four points
(1, 1, 1), (2, 5, 5), (5, 2, 5), and (5, 5, 2) in R3 .

96
Answer: 13.5

Solution: Using the geometry meaning of the determinant, we know the volume of the
triangular pyramid can be represented as

1 4 4
1 27
4 1 4 = .
6 2
4 4 1
⊤
Problem
 293.
 Find the values of [a, b] such that (1, 2, 1) is an eigenvector of the matrix
1 2 1
 3 a b . Present the answer as [a, b].
a 0 b
Answer: [3,3]
Solution: Let λ be the eigenvalue corresponding to eigenvector (1, 2, 1)⊤ , then
    
1 2 1 1 1
 3 a b  2  = λ 2 .
a 0 b 1 1

From this, we deduce that

6 = λ, 3 + 2a + b = 2λ, a + b = λ.

Solving the equation, we have a = b = 3.

Problem 294.
 Find
 thematrix
 A whose eigenvalues are 2,3,6 and corresponding eigenvec-
1 1 1
tors are  0  , 1 , −2 respectively.
−1 1 1
In your answer, present the matrix in the form of [a11 , a12 , a13 ; a21 , a22 , a23 ; a31 , a32 , a33 ].

Answer: [3, -1, 1; -1, 5, -1; 1, -1, 3].

Solution: Let  
√1 √1 √1
2 3 6
√1 −2
U = 0 √
 
3 6 
−1
√ √1 √1
2 3 6

then  
2 0 0
AU = U  0 3 0  .
0 0 6
Note that U is an orthogonal matrix, then U −1 = U ⊤ . Thus
   
2 0 0 3 −1 1
A=U 0 3 0  U ⊤ =  −1 5 −1  .
0 0 6 1 −1 3

97
Problem 295. Compute the rank of the matrix
 
1 1 1
 2 0 3 
3 1 4

Answer: 2
Solution: By elementary transformation of matrix, we have
       
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
 2 0 3  →  0 −1 1  →  0 −2 1  →  0 −2 1  .
3 1 4 3 1 4 0 −2 1 0 0 0

It implies that the rank is 2.

Problem 296 (Rank of a matrix). Compute the dimension of the linear subspace generated
by the following vectors
       
1 1 0 2
 1   2   −1   2 
 , ,
 1   1   3 , 5 .
  

1 0 4 5

Answer: 3.
Solution: Let  
1 1 0 2
 1 2 −1 2 
A=
 1

1 3 5 
1 0 4 5
Then the dimension of the linear subspace generated by the column vectors of matrix A is
rank(A). By elementary transformation of matrix, we have
     
1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2
 0 1 −1 0 
 →  0 1 −1 0  →  0 1 −1 0  .
   
A→  0 0 3 3   0 0 3 3   0 0 3 3 
0 −1 4 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0

It shows that the rank of A is 3. Thus, the dimension is 3.

 
2 −2 1
Problem 297. Let the matrix A =  4 −4 2 . Compute the product matrix A2024 .
6 −6 3
In your answer, present the matrix in the form of [a11 , a12 , a13 ; a21 , a22 , a23 ; a31 , a32 , a33 ].
Answer: [2, -2, 1; 4, -4, 2; 6, -6, 3].
 
2 −2 1
Solution: Note that A2 = A, so A2024 = A =  4 −4 2  .
6 −6 3

98
  
1 1 2
Problem 298. Compute |A−1 | for A =  0 1 3  .
0 0 1
Answer: 1.
Solution: Since AA−1 = I3 and |AA−1 | = |A||A−1 |, we then obtain
1
|A−1 | =
= 1.
|A|
 
0 1 1
Problem 299. Compute |A∗ | for A =  1 0 1 , where A∗ is the adjoint matrix of A.
1 1 0
Answer: 4.
Solution: Since AA∗ = |A|I3 and |A| = 2, we then obtain
|A∗ | = |A|2 = 4.
Problem 300. Suppose that A ∈ R3×3 is a matrix with |A| = 1, compute |A∗ − 2A−1 |, where
A∗ is the adjoint matrix of A.
Answer: −1.
Solution: Note the identity AA∗ = |A|I3 and |A| = 1, we know that
A∗ = A−1 .
Thus
1
|A∗ − 2A−1 | = | − A−1 | = (−1)3 |A−1 | = −1 · = 1.
|A|
 
1 2 3
Problem 301. Let A∗ denote the adjoint matrix of matrix A. Suppose that A∗ =  0 1 4 ,
0 0 1
and the determinant is |A| = 1, Find A.
In your answer, present the matrix in the form of [a11 , a12 , a13 ; a21 , a22 , a23 ; a31 , a32 , a33 ].
Answer: [1, -2, 5; 0, 1, -4; 0, 0, 1].

Solution: It follows from the equation AA∗ = |A|I3 that

A = |A|(A∗ )−1 .
By the assumption |A| = 1, we have A = (A∗ )−1 . By the formula
1
(A∗ )−1 = (A∗ )∗ .
|A∗ |
By the definition of adjoint matrixes, we have
 
1 −2 5
(A∗ )∗ =  0 1 −4  .
0 0 1

99
  
1 −2 5
We have |A∗ | = 1 by a direct computation. Consequently, A =  0 1 −4  .
0 0 1
       
1 1 0 0
Problem 302. Suppose that the vectors  1  ,  2  , 1  and vectors  a  ,
  1 0 −1 −1
b
 3  generated the same linear subspace. Compute a and b. Present the answer as [a, b].
1
Answer: [1,2]
Solution: The two sets of vectors can be linearly represented by each other. By elementary
transformation, we have
     
1 1 0 0 b 1 1 0 0 b 1 1 0 0 b
 1 2 1 a 3 → 0 1 1 a 3−b → 0 1 1 a 3−b 
1 0 −1 −1 1 0 −1 −1 −1 1 − b 0 0 0 a − 1 4 − 2b

Thus a − 1 = 4 − 2b = 0. It implies that a = 1, b = 2.

   
1 2 0 0
Problem 303. Suppose that A = and B = are similar matrixes, find
2 a 0 b
a and b. Present the answer in the form of [a, b].
Answer: [4,5]

Solution: Since A and B are similar matrixes, then

|A| = |B|, tr(A) = tr(B).

It shows that
a − 4 = 0, 1 + a = 0 + b.
Thus a = 4, b = 5.
Problem 304. Suppose there are two matrixes A ∈ R3×4 , B ∈ R4×3 satisfying that
 
  −14 2a − 5 2 6
−9 2 2  0 1 0 0 
AB =  −20 5 4  , BA =   −15 3a − 3 3
.
6 
−35 7 8
−32 6a − 7 4 14

Compute a.
Answer: -2

Solution: By the identity

3 − rank(I3 − AB) = 4 − rank(I4 − BA),

100
and note that
rank(I3 − AB) = 1,
It implies that
rank(I4 − BA) = 2.
Since  
15 5 − 2a −2 −6
 0 0 0 0 
I4 − BA = 
 15 3 − 3a −2 −6  .


32 7 − 6a −4 −13
It indicates that
5 − 2a −2 −6
3 − 3a −2 −6 = 0.
7 − 6a −4 −13
Thus a = −2.
Problem 305. Suppose that A ∈ R3×2 , B ∈ R2×3 satisfy
 
8 2 −2
AB =  2 5 4  ,
−2 4 5
Compute BA. Present the matrix in the form of [a11 , a12 ; a21 , a22 ].
Answer: [9,0; 0, 9]
Solution: By the identity
3 − rank(9I3 − AB) = 2 − rank(9I2 − BA),
and note that  
1 −2 2
rank(9I3 − AB) = rank  −2 4 −4  = 1,
2 −4 4
it implies that rank(9I2 − BA) = 0. Thus
 
9 0
BA = .
0 9
Problem 306. Compute a, b, c such that the linear equations

 −2x1 + x2 + ax3 − 5x4 = 1,
x1 + x2 − x3 + bx4 = 4,
3x1 + x2 + x3 + 2x4 = c


and the linear equations 

 x1 + x4 = 1,
x2 − 2x4 = 2,
x3 + x4 = −1.


have the same set of solutions. Present the answer as [a, b, c].

101
Answer: [-1,-2,4]
Solution: The general solutio to the equation

 x1 + x4 = 1,
x2 − 2x4 = 2,
x3 + x4 = −1.


can be written as

x1 = 1 − x4 , x2 = 2 + 2x4 , x3 = −1 − x4 , x4 ∈ R.

Inserting them into the first equation, we obtain that


 (−1 − a)x4 = 1 + a,
(2 + b)x4 = 0,
c = 4.


Since x4 is an arbitrary constant, we deduce that a = −1, b = −2, c = 4.

Problem 307. Suppose that ϕ : R3×3 → R is a mapping which satisfies the following
properties
1. ϕ(AB) = ϕ(A)ϕ(B) for any A, B ∈ RN . and

2. ϕ(A) = |A| for any diagonal matrix A.

Compute ϕ(A) for  
2 1 1
A= 1 2 1 
1 1 2
Answer: 4
Solution: Note that A is symmetric, so there exists an invertible matrix P such that

A = P diag(λ1 , λ2 , λ3 )P −1 .

By the first property of ϕ, we have

ϕ(A) = ϕ(P )ϕ(diag(λ1 , λ2 , λ3 ))ϕ(P −1 ).

Also we know
ϕ(P )ϕ(P −1 ) = ϕ(P P −1 ) = ϕ(I3 ) = |I3 | = 1
due to the second property. Thus

ϕ(A) = ϕ(diag(λ1 , λ2 , λ3 )) = λ1 λ2 λ3 = |A| = 4.

Problem 308. Suppose that ψ : R3×3 → R is a mapping which satisfies the following
properties
1. ψ(AB) = ψ(BA) for any A, B ∈ RN . and

102
 2. ψ(A) = tr(A) for any diagonal matrix A.

Compute ψ(A) for  

1 2 2
A =  2 1 2 .
2 2 1
Answer: 3
Solution: Note that A is symmetric, so there exists an invertible matrix P such that

A = P diag(λ1 , λ2 , λ3 )P −1 .

By the first property of ψ, we have

ψ(A) = ψ(diag(λ1 , λ2 , λ3 )P −1 P ) = ψ(diag(λ1 , λ2 , λ3 )).

Also we know
ψ(diag(λ1 , λ2 , λ3 )) = λ1 + λ2 + λ3 .
due to the second property. Thus

ψ(A) = λ1 + λ2 + λ3 = tr(A) = 3.
yn
Problem 309. Compute the limit lim , where the two sequence {xn }, {yn } are defined
n→∞ xn
by    
xn n 1
=A
yn 1
 
0 1
with A = .
1 1
Answer: 1.62

Solution: The characteristic polynomial of A is

λ −1
= λ2 − λ − 1.
−1 λ − 1
√ √  
1+ 5 1− 5 1
Thus the eigenvalues are λ1 = , λ2 = . Their eigenvectors are and
  2 2 λ1
1
respectively. Set
λ2  
1 1
P = ,
λ1 λ2
then  
λ1 0
A=P P −1 .
0 λ2

103
Thus  
λn1 0
A =Pn
P −1 .
0 λn2
Since  
−1 −1 λ2 −1
P =√
5 −λ1 1
we have
λn+1 − λn+1
   
n 1 1 1 2
A =√ .
1 5 λn+2
1 − λn+2
2
1 1
Therefore xn = √ λn+1 − λn+1 and yn = √ λn+2 − λn+2



1 2 1 2 .
5 5
Then, we obtain that √
yn 1+ 5
lim = λ1 = .
n→∞ xn 2
Problem 310. Find the integer a such that x2 − x + a is a factor of x13 + x + 90.
Answer: 2
Solution: Let x13 +x+90 = (x2 −x+a)q(x), where q(x) ∈ Z[x] is a polynomial with integral
coefficients. Inserting x = 0, 1 into x13 +x+90 = (x2 −x+a)q(x) leads to a|90, a|92. Namely a
is a factor of 90 and 92. Thus a|2. Then a = 1, −1, 2 or −2. Note that x13 + x + 90 = 0 has no
positive root, therefore a = 1 or 2. Again inserting x = −1 into x13 +x+90 = (x2 −x+a)q(x),
we obtain (a + 2)|88. Then a = 2. Indeed,
x13 + x + 90x2 − x + 2

Problem
√ 311. Find the integer coefficient polynomial with the smallest degree that has a
√
root 2 + 3.
Answer: x4 − 10x 2
√ + 1.√ √ √
Solution: Since 2 + 3 is a root, its conjugates ± 2 ± 3 are also possible roots since
the coefficients are integers. Let
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
f (x) = (x − 2 − 3)(x − 2 + 3)(x + 2 − 3)(x + 2 + 3),

that is, f (x) = x4 − 10x2 + 1. Suppose that g(x) is the desired polynomial. Then g(x)|f (x).
Therefore, there exists an integer coefficient polynomial h(x) such that

f (x) = g(x)h(x).
√ √
On the one hand, the degree of g(x) is not 1 because x − 2 − 3 does not have integer
coefficients. On the other hand, the degrees of g(x) cannot √ be two
√ because otherwise, the
coefficient of x is not an integer when the roots are two of ± 2 ± 3. Similarly, the degree
of g cannot be three. Consequently, g(x) = f (x) = x4 − 10x2 + 1 is the desired polynomial.
 
3 2 2
Problem 312. Let A =  2 3 2  and v = (2, 1, 0)⊤ , find the polynomial f (x) with the
2 2 3
least degree such that f (A)v = 0.

104
Answer: x2 − 8x + 7.
Solution: By a direct calculation, we obtain the characteristic polynomial of A is

(λ − 7)(λ − 1)2 .

So f (x) must be one of the five factors x−1, x−7, (x−1)2 , (x−1)(x−7) and (x−1)2 (x−7).
Note that  
8
Av =  7 
6
thus f (x) is neither x − 1 nor x − 7. Since

6
(A − I3 )v =  6 
6

and    
1 0
(A − 7I3 ) 1
  =  0 
1 0
therefore
(A − 7I3 )(A − I3 )v = 0.
Then we deduce that f (x) = (x − 7)(x − 1) = x2 − 8x + 7.

105
Problem 313. Evaluate the following limit:
√ √ 
lim 2 2
n + 2n − 1 − n + 3 .
n→∞

Answer: 1.
Solution:
√ √  √  √n2 + 2n − 1 + √n2 + 3
√
lim n2 + 2n − 1 − n2 + 3 = lim n2 + 2n − 1 − n2 + 3 · √ √
n→∞ n→∞ n2 + 2n − 1 + n2 + 3
(n2 + 2n − 1) − (n2 + 3)
= lim √ √
n→∞ n2 + 2n − 1 + n2 + 3
2n − 4
= lim √ √
n→∞ n + 2n − 1 + n2 + 3
2
1
n
(2n − 4)
= lim 1 √ √

n→∞
n
n2 + 2n − 1 + n2 + 3
4
2− n
= lim q q
n→∞ 2 1 3
1+ n
− n2
+ 1+ n
2−0
=√ √
1+0−0+ 1+0
= 1.

Problem 314. Find the limit

f (2x2 + x − 3) − f (0)
lim
x→1 x−1
given f ′ (1) = 2 and f ′ (0) = −1.

Answer: −5.
Solution: Let g(x) = 2x2 + x − 3. Noticing that g(1) = 0, the desired limit equals
lim f (g(x))−f
x−1
(g(1))
. By the definition of the derivative and the chain rule and noting that
x→1
′
g (1) = 5, we have

f (g(x)) − f (g(1))
lim = f ′ (g(1))g ′ (1) = f ′ (0)g ′ (1) = (−1)(5) = −5.
x→1 x−1

Problem 315. Evaluate lim √x−4 .

x→4 x−2

106
Answer: 4
Solution:
√
x−4 x−4 x+2
lim √ = lim √ ·√
x→4 x − 2 x→4 x − 2 x+2
√
(x − 4)( x + 2)
= lim √ √
x→4 ( x − 2)( x + 2)
√
(x − 4)( x + 2) √
= lim = lim ( x + 2) = 4.
x→4 x−4 x→4

Problem 316. Find the values of a such that the function f (x) is continuous on R, where
f (x) is defined as (
2x − 1, if x ≤ 0,
f (x) = 2
a(x − 1) − 3, otherwise.

Answer: 2.
Solution: By the definition of f (x), we have

f (0) = −1;
lim− f (x) = lim− (2x − 1) = 2(0) − 1 = −1;
x→0 x→0
lim f (x) = lim+ (a(x − 1)2 − 3) = a(0 − 1)2 − 3 = a − 3.
x→0+ x→0

To obtain the continuity of f (x) at x = 0, we need −1 = a − 3, that is, a = 2.

So, the function f (x) is continuous at x = 0 when a = 2.

x2 −1
Problem 317. Evaluate lim .
x→1 x+1

Answer: 0
Solution: Use direct substitution to obtain the result:
x2 − 1 12 − 1 0
lim = = = 0.
x→1 x + 1 1+1 2

Z e
Problem 318. Evaluate the integral ln x dx.
1

Answer: 1
Solution: Use integration by parts:
Z Z
u dv = uv − v du.

107
 Choose u = ln x and dv = dx, then du = x1 dx, v = x. Apply the integration by parts
formula: Z e Z e  
e 1
ln x dx = x ln x − x dx = (e − 0) − (e − 1) = 1.
1 1 1 x

 ′
f
Problem 319. Let f (3) = −1, f ′ (3) = 0, g(3) = 2 and g ′ (3) = 5. Evaluate g
(3).

Answer: 1.25

Solution: Use the quotient rule. The quotient rule gives

 ′
f f ′g − f g′
= .
g g2

Now, using that f (3) = −1, f ′ (3) = 0, g(3) = 2, and g ′ (3) = 5, we have
 ′
f f ′ (3)g(3) − f (3)g ′ (3) 0 · 2 − (−1) · 5 5
(3) = 2
= 2
= .
g g(3) 2 4

Problem 320. Find all value(s) of x at which the tangent line(s) to the graph of y =
−x2 + 2x − 3 are perpendicular to the line y = 21 x − 4.

Answer: 2

Solution: The slope of the tangent line at the point (x, y) on the curve is m = f ′ (x) =
−2x + 2.
If the tangent line is perpendicular to the line y = 21 x − 4, we need the slope of the
tangent line to be m = − 11 = −2.
2
Set up the equation: −2x + 2 = −2. Then, solve this equation to obtain x = 2.
Therefore, the tangent line of the graph of y = −x2 + 2x − 3 is perpendicular to the line
y = 12 x − 4 at the point where x = 2.

Problem 321. Let n ∈ N be fixed. Suppose that f (k) (0) = 1 and g (k) (0) = 2k for k =
dn
0, 1, 2, . . . , n. Find dx n (f (x)g(x)) x=0 when n = 5.

Answer: 35
Solution: We can use the Leibniz formula:
n  
dn X n (k) (n−k)
n
(uv) = u v ,
dx k=0
k

where u(k) denotes the k-th derivative of u and v (n−k) denotes the (n − k)-th derivative of v.

108
 In this case, u = f (x) and v = g(x). We are given that f (k) (0) = 1 and g (k) (0) = 2k for
k = 0, 1, 2, . . . , n. Substituting these values into the general formula, we get:
n  
dn X n
(f (x)g(x)) = · 1 · 2n−k .
dxn x=0 k=0
k

Notice that this sum corresponds to the expansion of (1 + 2)n according to the binomial
theorem. Therefore, we have

dn
(f (x)g(x)) = (1 + 2)n = 3n .
dxn x=0

Problem 322. The function f (x) is defined by

(
|x|α sin( x1 ), x ̸= 0,
f (x) =
0, x = 0,

where α is a constant. Find the value of a such that for all α > a, the function f (x) is
continuous at x = 0.

Answer: 0
Solution: Noting that f (0) = 0, in order to obtain the continuity of f (x) at x = 0 we need

lim f (x) = 0,
x→

that is,
1
lim |x|α sin
= 0.
x→0 x
Noting that |x|α sin x1 ≤ |x|α , if α > 0, then we have lim |x|α = 0 which implies lim |x|α sin x1 =
x→0 x→0
0.
If α = 0, lim |x|α sin x1 = lim sin x1 does not exist.
x→0 x→0
1
If α < 0, we can choose the sequence xn = π
+2nπ
→ 0 as n → ∞ but
2

π 
lim f (xn ) = lim |xn |α sin + 2nπ = lim |xn |α = +∞.
n→∞ n→∞ 2 n→∞

Therefore, when α > 0 the function f (x) is continuous at x = 0.

Z 4 √
Problem 323. Evaluate (2x − 16 − x2 )dx.
0

Answer: 3.43

109
Solution: Z 4 √ Z 4 Z 4 √
(2x − 16 − x2 )dx = 2x dx − 16 − x2 dx.
0 0 0
For the first integral, we have
Z 4 4
2x dx = x2 = 42 − 02 = 16.
0 0

For the second integral, by a change of variables x = 4 sin θ we get

Z 4√ Z πp
2
2
16 − x dx = 16 − 16 sin2 θ 4 cos θ dθ
0 0
Z π√
2
= 16 cos2 θ 4 cos θ dθ
0
Z π
2
= 16 cos2 θ dθ
0
Z π
2 1 + cos(2θ)
= 16 dθ
0 2
Z π
2
=8 (1 + cos(2θ)) dθ
0
  π2
1
= 8 θ + sin(2θ)
2
 0 
π 1
=8 + sin π − (0 + 0)
2 2
= 4π.
Z 4 √
So, (2x − 16 − x2 ) dx = 16 − 4π.
0
∞
1
P
Problem 324. Evaluate the series (n+1)(n+3)
.
n=1

Answer: 0.42

1
Solution: First, express the general term (n+1)(n+3)
in partial fraction form:
1 A B
= + .
(n + 1)(n + 3) n+1 n+3
Multiplying both sides by the common denominator (n + 1)(n + 3) we obtain
1 = A(n + 3) + B(n + 1) ⇔ 1 = (A + B)n + (3A + B).
Thus,
(
A+B = 0,
3A + B = 1.

110
 1
Solving this system of equations, we find that A = 2
and B = − 12 .
Now, we have
 
1 1/2 1/2 1 1 1
= − = −
(n + 1)(n + 3) n+1 n+3 2 n+1 n+3

Now, using the telescoping nature of the series:

∞ ∞  
X 1 1X 1 1
= −
n=1
(n + 1)(n + 3) 2 n=1 n + 1 n + 3
      
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
= − + − + − + ···
2 2 4 3 5 4 6
 
1 1 1 5
= + = .
2 2 3 12

1
(1+x) x −e
Problem 325. Evaluate the limit lim x
.
x→0

Answer: − 2e .
Solution: We can use L’Hôpital’s Rule to obtain
1
ln(1 + x)
lim = lim 1+x = 1.
x→0 x x→0 1

Then,
1 1 ln(1+x)
lim (1 + x) x = lim eln (1+x) x = lim e x = e1 = e.
x→0 x→0 x→0
1
Let f (x)(1 + x) x , then lim f (x) = e and the given limit can be written as:
x→0

1
(1 + x) x − e f (x) − e
lim = lim .
x→0 x x→0 x
Now, find the derivative of f (x) by using the chain rule and the quotient rule:

d 1 d ln (1+x) x1 d ln(1+x)
f ′ (x) = (1 + x) x = e = e x
dx dx dx
ln(1+x) d ln(1 + x)
=e x
dx x
x
1 − ln(1 + x)
= (1 + x) x · 1+x .
x2

111
Using L’Hôpital’s Rule again to get
x
f (x) − e f ′ (x) 1 1+x
− ln(1 + x)
lim = lim = lim (1 + x) x · lim
x→0 x x→0 1 x→0 x→0 x2
(1+x)−x 1
(1+x)2
− 1+x
= e · lim
x→0 2x
−1
= e · lim
x→0 2(1 + x)2
e
=− .
2
Therefore,
1
(1 + x) x − e e
lim =− .
x→0 x 2

∞
1 1 2n+1
P

Problem 326. Evaluate the series 2n+1 2
.
n=0
√
Answer: ln 3.
Solution: For x ∈ (−1, 1), we have
∞
1 X
= x2n .
1 − x2 n=0

The series on the right-hand side converges uniformly on any interval [−x, x] for any x ∈
(0, 1). Taking the integrals on both sides yields
Z x Z ∞
xX ∞ Z x ∞
1 2n
X
2n
X 1
dt = t dt = t dt = x2n+1 .
0 1 − t2 0 n=0 n=0 0 n=0
2n + 1

1 1 1 1


Noting that by partial fraction of 1−t2
= 2 1+t
+ 1−t
, we have, for x ∈ (0, 1),
Z x Z x    
1 1 1 1 1 1+x
2
dt = + dt = ln .
0 1−t 2 0 1+t 1−t 2 1−x

So,
  ∞
1 1+x X 1
ln = x2n+1 .
2 1−x n=0
2n + 1
1
Taking x = 2
leads to
∞  2n+1
X 1 1 1 √
= ln 3 = ln 3.
n=0
2n + 1 2 2

112
 n−1
√ 1
P
Problem 327. Evaluate the limit lim n2 −k2
.
n→∞ k=0

Answer: π2 .
Solution: To evaluate this limit, we can interpret this sum as a Riemann sum and convert
it into an integral.
1
Let f (x) = √1−x 2 on the interval [0, 1). Notice that f (x) is integrable on the interval

[0, 1).
The given sum can be expressed as:
n−1 n−1 n−1  
X 1 X 1 1 1X k
lim √ = lim q = lim f .
n→∞
k=0
n2 − k 2 n→∞ k=0 n 1 − k 2

n→∞ n
k=0
n
n

By the definition of definite integral, we have

n−1   Z 1 Z 1
1X k 1
lim f = f (x) dx = √ dx.
n→∞ n n 0 0 1 − x2
k=0

By a substitution of x = sin(θ), we have

Z 1 Z π
1 2 1
√ dx = p cos(θ) dθ
0 1 − x2 0 1 − sin2 (θ)
Z π
2 1
= cos(θ) dθ
0 cos(θ)
Z π
2 π
= dθ =
0 2

Therefore, we obtain limn→∞ n−1 √ 1 π

P
k=0 n2 −k2 = 2 .
Z 1
1
An alternative method to evaluate √ dx:
0 1 − x2
Z 1
1 1 π π
√ dx = arcsin x 0 = arcsin(1) − arcsin(0) = − 0 = .
0 1−x 2 2 2

Z x
1 2t
Problem 328. Let α and β be positive constant. If lim p dt = 1, de-
x→0 α − cos x 0 β + t2
termine the values of α and β.
Answer: α = 1 and β = 4. Z
x
2t
Solution: Noting that lim p dt = 0, if the given limit exists and equals 1, we
x→0 0 β + t2
must have
lim (α − cos x) = 0.
x→0

113
Then, we get α = 1.
Using L’Hôpital’s rule and the fundamental theorem of calculus, we have
 
R x 2t
Z x d
dx 0
√ dt
1 2t β+t2
lim p dt = lim d
x→0 1 − cos x 0 β + t2 x→0 (1 − cos x)
dx
√ 2x  
β+x2 x 1 1 2
= lim = 2 lim · lim p = 2(1) √ =√ .
x→0 sin x x→0 sin x x→0 β+x 2 β β

Since this limit equals 1, we must have β = 4.

Therefore, we obtain α = 1 and β = 4.

Problem 329. Find the length of the curve of the entire cardioid r = 1 + cos θ, where the
curve is given in polar coordinates.

Answer: 8.
Solution: We’ll use the arc length formula for polar curves:
s  2
Z 2π
2
dr
L= r + dθ.
0 dθ
dr dr
For the cardioid r = 1 + cos θ, we have dθ = − sin θ. Now, substitute r and dθ
into the arc
length formula and use a change of variables:
Z 2π p
L= (1 + cos θ)2 + (− sin θ)2 dθ
Z0 2π p
= 1 + 2 cos θ + cos2 θ + sin2 θ dθ
Z0 2π √ Z 2π  
θ
= 2 + 2 cos θ dθ = 2 cos dθ
0 0 2
Z π Z π
2 π
= 4 |cos (α)| dα = 8 cos (α) dα = 8 sin α 02 = 8.
0 0

So, the length of the curve for the entire cardioid r = 1 + cos θ is 8.

Z 1
1
Problem 330. Find the value of the integral dx.
0 (1 + x2 )2
π
Answer: 8
+ 14 .

114
Solution: Let x = tan θ, then dx = sec2 θ dθ. Substitute these into the integral to obtain
Z 1 Z π
1 4 1
2 2
dx = 2 2
sec2 θ dθ
0 (1 + x ) 0 (1 + tan θ)
Z π
4 1
= 2 θ)2
sec2 θ dθ
0 (sec
Z π
4 1
= 2
dθ
0 sec θ
Z π
4
= cos2 θ dθ
0
Z π   π
1 4 1 1 4 π 1
= (1 + cos(2θ)) dθ = θ + sin(2θ) = + .
2 0 2 2 0 8 4

Z ∞
1
Problem 331. Evaluate the improper integral dx.
0 x2 + 2x + 2
Answer: π4 .
Solution: We can write
Z ∞ Z ∞
1 1
dx = dx.
0 x2 + 2x + 2 0 (x + 1)2 + 1
Now, making the substitution u = x + 1, so dx = du, we have
Z ∞ Z ∞
1 1
2
dx = dx
0 x + 2x + 2 0 (x + 1)2 + 1
Z ∞
1
= 2
du
1 u +1
Z a
1
= lim du
a→∞ 1 u2 + 1
a
= lim arctan(u) 1
a→∞
π π π
= lim [arctan(a) − arctan(1)] = − = .
a→∞ 2 4 4

Problem 332. Find the area of the region outside the circle r = 2 and inside the cardioid
r = 2 + 2 cos θ, where the curves are given in polar coordinates.
Answer: 8 + π.
Solution: The region is bounded by the two curves, so the area A is given by:
Z β
1
(2 + 2 cos θ)2 − 22 dθ.


A=
α 2

115
 The bounds α and β correspond to the angles at which the two curves intersect. To find
these intersection points, set
2 = 2 + cos θ.
Then, cos θ = 0. For the given two curves, we can take θ = − π2 and θ = π2 .
Then, we have α = − π2 and β = π2 . Thus,
Z π
2 1
(2 + 2 cos θ)2 − 22 dθ


A=
− π2 2
Z π
2 1
= (4 + 8 cos θ + 4 cos2 θ − 4) dθ
− π2 2
Z π
2
= (4 cos θ + 2 cos2 θ) dθ
−π
2
Z π
2
= (4 cos θ + 1 + cos(2θ)) dθ
− π2
  π2
1
= 4 sin θ + θ + sin (2θ)
2 − π2
 π  π 1    π π 1 
= 4 sin + + sin (π) − 4 sin − − + sin (−π)
2 2 2 2 2 2
h πi h πi
= 4+ − −4 −
2 2
= 8 + π.

So, the area of the region outside the circle r = 2 and inside the cardioid r = 2+2 cos θ is 8+π.

Z ∞
1
Problem 333. Evaluate dx.
0 1 + x4
√
2π π
Answer: 4
or √
2 2
.
Z ∞
1
Solution: The improper integral dx converges. We denote
0 1 + x4
Z ∞
1
I= dx.
0 1 + x4
1
By changing of variables x = y
we obtain
∞ ∞ ∞
y2 x2
Z Z Z
1
I= dx = dy = dx.
0 1 + x4 0 1 + y4 0 1 + x4
Then,
∞ ∞ ∞
x2 1 + x2
Z Z Z
1
2I = dx + dx = dx.
0 1 + x4 0 1 + x4 0 1 + x4

116
Hence,
∞
1 + x2 1 ∞ 1 + x2
Z Z
1
I= dx = dx
2 0 1 + x4 2 0 (1 + 2x2 + x4 ) − 2x2
1 ∞ 1 + x2
Z
= dx
2 0 (1 + x2 )2 − 2x2
1 ∞
Z  
1 1
= √ + √ dx.
4 0 (1 + x2 ) + 2x (1 + x2 ) − 2x

R∞ 1 √
For 0 (1+x2 )+ 2x
dx, we have
Z ∞ Z ∞
1 1
√ dx = √ 2 dx
(1 + x2 ) + 2x

0 0 1 2
2
+ x+ 2
Z ∞
1
=2 √
2 dx
0 1+ 2x + 1
√ Z 1 ∞
= 2 du
1 1 + u2
√ Z a
1
= 2 lim du
a→∞ 1 1 + u2
√ a
= 2 lim arctan (u) 1
a→∞
√
= 2 lim (arctan (a) − arctan (1))
a→∞
√
√ π π  2π
= 2 − = .
2 4 4
Similarly, we can obtain
Z ∞ Z ∞
1 1
√ dx = 2 √
2 dx
2
(1 + x ) − 2x
0 0 1+ 2x − 1
√ Z ∞ 1
= 2 2
du
−1 1 + u
√
√  π  π  3 2π
= 2 − − = .
2 4 4
√ √  √
Therefor, I = 14 42π + 3 42π = 42π .

Z 1 Z 1
2
Problem 334. Evaluate the iterated integral dy (e−x + ex )dx.
0 y

Answer: 23 − 21 e−1 .
Solution: Noting that the region of the integration is
D = {(x, y) : 0 ≤ y ≤ 1, y ≤ x ≤ 1} = {(x, y) : 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, 0 ≤ y ≤ x}

117
 2
and the function f (x, y) = e−x + ex is continuous on D, we have
Z 1 Z 1 ZZ
−x2 2
dy (e x
+ e )dx = (e−x + ex )dx
0 y D
Z 1 Z x
2
= dx (e−x + ex )dy
Z0 1 0

−x2 x
= (e + ex )y 0 dx
Z0 1
2
= (e−x + ex )xdx
Z0 1 Z 1
−x2
= xe dx + xex dx.
0 0
2
By substitution t = x , we obtain
Z 1
1 1 −t
Z
−x2 1 1 1 1
xe dx = e dt = − e−t 0 = − e−1 .
0 2 0 2 2 2
By integration by parts, we have
Z 1 Z 1 Z 1
x x x 1 1
xe dx = xd(e ) = xe 0 − ex dx = e − ex 0 = e − (e − 1) = 1.
0 0 0
Combining all the steps, we can obtain
Z 1 Z 1  
−x2 1 1 −1 3 1
dy (e x
+ e )dx = − e + 1 = − e−1 .
0 y 2 2 2 2

∞
X
Problem 335. Assume that an > 0 for all n ∈ N and the series an converges to 4. Let
n=1
∞ ∞
X X an
Rn = ak for all n = 1, 2, . . . . Evaluate √ √ .
k=n n=1
Rn + Rn+1
Answer: 2.
Solution: Noting that Rn − Rn+1 = an for all n and
√ √ √ √
an an Rn − Rn+1 an ( Rn − Rn+1 ) p p
√ √ =√ √ ·√ √ = = Rn − Rn+1 .
Rn + Rn+1 Rn + Rn+ Rn − Rn+1 Rn − Rn+1
P∞
To evaluate the series n=1 √ an √ , we’ll use a telescoping series:
Rn+1 + Rn
∞ ∞ p
X an X p
√ √ = ( Rn − Rn+1 )
n=1
Rn + Rn+1 n=1
p p p p p p
= [ R1 − R2 ] + [ R2 − R3 ] + [ R3 − R4 ] + · · ·
v
u∞
p uX √
= R1 = t an = 4 = 2.
n=1

118
 ∞
X an
Therefore, the series √ √ converges to 2.
n=1
Rn + Rn+1

Problem 336. For any a > 0 and b ∈ R, use Sterling’s formula

Γ(x + 1)
lim √ =1
x→∞ xx e−x 2πx
to evaluate the limit
Γ(an + b)
lim 1 1 a 1 a ,
n→∞ (n!)a aan+b− 2 nb− 2 − 2 (2π) 2 − 2
R∞
where Γ(α) = 0
tα−1 e−t dt is the gamma function defined for any α > 0.

Answer: 1.
Solution: Since a > 0, we know that an + b = (an + b − 1) + 1 → ∞ as n → ∞. By
Sterling’s formula, we have

Γ(an + b)
lim p = 1.
n→∞ (an + b − 1)an+b−1 e−(an+b−1) 2π(an + b − 1)

Noting that Γ(n + 1) = n!, we get

n!
lim √ = 1.
n→∞ nn e−n 2πn
Thus,
(n!)a
lim a = 1.
n→∞ nan e−an (2πn) 2

119
Then,

Γ(an + b)
lim an+b− 21 1 a 1 a
n→∞ (n!)a a nb− 2 − 2 (2π) 2 − 2
p
Γ(an + b) (an + b − 1)an+b−1 e−(an+b−1)
2π(an + b − 1)
= lim p · an+b− 1
b− 1
− a 1
− a2
n→∞ (an + b − 1)an+b−1 e−(an+b−1)2π(an + b − 1) a
(n!) a 2n 2 2 (2π) 2
p
(an + b − 1)an+b−1 e−(an+b−1) 2π(an + b − 1)
= lim 1 1 a 1 a
n→∞ (n!)a aan+b− 2 nb− 2 − 2 (2π) 2 − 2
p a
(an + b − 1)an+b−1 e−(an+b−1) 2π(an + b − 1) nan e−an (2πn) 2
= lim 1 1 a 1 a a ·
n→∞ aan+b− 2 nb− 2 − 2 (2π) 2 − 2 · nan e−an (2πn) 2 (n!)a
p
(an + b − 1)an+b−1 e−(an+b−1) 2π(an + b − 1)
= lim 1 1 a 1 a a
n→∞ aan+b− 2 nb− 2 − 2 (2π) 2 − 2 · nan e−an (2πn) 2
1
(an + b − 1)an+b− 2 e−(b−1)
= lim 1 1
n→∞ aan+b− 2 nb− 2 nan
1
(an + b − 1)an (an + b − 1)b− 2 e−(b−1)
= lim 1 1
n→∞ (an)an nb− 2 ab− 2
 an  b− 12 −(b−1)
an + b − 1 an + b − 1 e
= lim 1
n→∞ an n ab− 2
!an  b− 12 −(b−1)
b−1
b − 1 e
= lim 1 + a a+ 1 .
n→∞ n n ab− 2

Noticing that  x n
lim 1+ = ex , ∀x ∈ R,
n→∞ n
we obtain !an " !n # a
b−1 b−1 h b−1 ia
lim 1+ a
= lim 1+ a
= e a = eb−1 .
n→∞ n n→∞ n

b− 12 1
Notice also that lim a + b−1
n
= ab− 2 .
n→∞
Therefore, by putting everything together, we can obtain the limit

Γ(an + b)
lim 1 1 a 1 a = 1.
n→∞ (n!)a aan+b− 2 nb− 2 − 2 (2π) 2 − 2

120
 dy
√
Problem 337. Consider the differential equation dx
= xy. Find the value of y( 2) given
that y(0) = 2.

Answer: 2e
1 2
Solution: First, we solve the differential equation to get y(x) = 2e 2 x .
Z Z
dy 1 1
= xy ⇔ dy = xdx ⇔ dy = xdx
dx y y
1 1 2
⇒ ln |y| = x2 + C ⇒ y = ±e 2 x +C .
2
1 2
x
√ solution is y = 2e 2 .
With y(0) = 2, we have that C = ln 2 and the
Next, we evaluate the function to get y( 2) = 2e.

Problem 338. Solve the following first-order differential equation:

dy
+ 2y = e−x , y(0) = 1.
dx
Answer: y = e−x . R
Solution: To solve it, we use an integrating factor, µ(x) = e 2dx = e2x . Multiplying the
entire equation by µ(x) gives:
dy d 2x
e2x + 2e2x y = (e y) = e2x e−x = ex .
dx dx
Hence, e2x y = ex dx = ex + C, which implies y = e−x + Ce−2x .
R

Using the initial condition y(0) = 1, we obtain 1 = y(0) = 1 = e0 + Ce−0 = 1 + C, so

C = 0. Therefore, the solution is y = e−x .

Problem 339. Given three vectors y1 = (1, 0, 0)⊤ , y2 = (x, 0, 0)⊤ and y3 = (x2 , 0, 0)⊤ . Does
there exist a system of three linear homogeneous ODEs such that all of y1 , y2 , y3 are the
solution to this homogeneous ODE system?

Answer: No.
Solution: Suppose there is such a system. Then, [y1 , y2 , y3 ] gives a fundamental matrix of
the solution, and det[y1 , y2 , y3 ] ̸= 0. Consider the linear system C1 y1 + C2 y2 + C3 y3 = ⃗0,
which implies C1 + C2 x + C3 x2 = 0. This quadratic equation cannot hold for all x ∈ R
unless C1 = C2 = C3 = 0, that is, y1 , y2 , y3 are linearly independent. It implies that the
determinant det[y1 , y2 , y3 ] = 0, which leads to a contradiction.

Problem 340. Does the ODE x2 y ′′ + (3x − 1)y ′ + y = 0 have a nonzero power series solution
near x = 0?

Answer: No.
Solution: Assume there exists a power series solution y = n≥0 cn xn . Plugging it into the
P
we can get the recursive formula cn+1 = (n + 1)cn for n ≥ 0. Then, cn = c0 n!. But
equation, P
we know n≥0 n!xn must be divergent as long as x ̸= 0.

121
 √
Problem 341. Is y = 0 a singular solution to y ′ = y ln(ln(1 + y))?
Answer: Yes.
Solution: First, y = 0 is a singular Rsolution to the ODE. In fact, this is a separable ODE,
y dt
and the solution is given by x(y) = 0 √t ln ln(1+t) when y ̸= 0. On the other hand, y = 0 is
indeed a solution. So y = 0 is a singular solution.
Problem 342. For the ODE system x′ (t) = y + x(x2 + y 2 ) and y ′ (t) = −x + y(x2 + y 2 ), is
the equilibrium (x, y) = (0, 0) stable?
Answer: No

Solution: The equilibrium (x, y) = (0, 0) for the linear counterpart is a center, as the
coefficientpmatrix has eigenvalues ±i, purely imaginary. Even if the nonlinearity is locally
linear (o( x2 + y 2 ) size near (0, 0)), we cannot tell the type of the equilibrium (x, y) = (0, 0)
2 2
for the nonlinear system. Instead, we can introduce the Lyapunov function V (x, y) = x +y 2
.
Along the trajectory, we compute that
dV
= xx′ (t) + yy ′ (t) = xy + 2(x2 + y 2 )2 − xy > 0 ∀(x, y) ̸= (0, 0).
dt
That is to say, V (x, y) is increasing as t grows. So, any trajectory starting near the origin
will penetrate the circles (the trajectories for the linearized system) and leave away from the
equilibrium (x, y) = (0, 0). Thus, the equilibrium (x, y) = (0, 0) for the nonlinear system is
unstable.
Problem 343. Assume x ∈ R and the function g(x) is continuous and xg(x) > 0 whenever
x ̸= 0. For the autonomous ODE x′′ (t) + g(x(t)) = 0, is the equilibrium x(t) = 0 stable?
Answer: Yes

Solution: Let y = x′ and we get a ODER system: x′ = y, y ′ = −g(x). We construct

x
the Lyapunov function V (x, y) := 0.5y 2 + 0 g(t)dt which is positive near (0, 0) thanks to
xg(x) > 0. Then we compute ∂t V along the trajectory, which is always equal to zero. That
is, ∂t V is non-positive but not negative, so the equilibrium is stable but not asymptotically
stable.
Problem 344. What is the number of limit cycles for the ODE system x′ (t) = −2x+y−2xy 2
and y ′ (t) = y + x3 − x2 y?
Answer: 0
Solution: Let X, Y be the functions on the right side of the two ODEs. Then, we compute
that
∂x X + ∂y Y = 1 − x2 − 2y 2 < 0.
Then the limit cycle doesn’t exist according to the following lemma: Given a domain G ⊂ R2 ,
if there exists a simply-connected domain D ⊂ G such that ∂x X + ∂y Y does not change sign
in D and is always nonzero, then there is no periodic solution in D and thus there is no limit
cycle. The proof is by contradiction and the usage of Gauss-Green formula.

122
Problem 345. Assume y = y(x, η) to be the solution to the initial-value problem y ′ (x) =
∂y
sin(xy) with initial data y(0) = η. Can we assert that ∂η (x, η) is always positive?

Answer: Yes Rx
Solution: According to the ODE, we have y(x, η) = η + 0 sin(sy(s, η))ds. Take ∂η and
∂y
Rx
we get ∂η = 1 + 0 cos(sy(s, η))s∂η yds. Denote the right side by u and take ∂x , we get
u′ = x cos(xy)u, that is du
u
= x cos(xy)dx with u(0) = 1. Taking integration, we get
Z x Z x
ln u = x cos(xy)dx ⇒ u = ∂η y = exp( s cos(sy)ds) > 0.
0 0

Problem 346. Does there exists any nonzero function f (x) ∈ L2 (Rn ) such that f is har-
monic in Rn ?

Answer: No.
Solution: If there exists such a function u, then taking Fourier transform, we get −|ξ|2 fˆ(ξ) =
0. fˆ ∈ L2 (Rn ) and thus it is supported in {ξ = 0}. So, fˆ = 0 in L2 and by Plancherel theorem
f = 0 in L2 . Since harmonic function is smooth, the function f must be identically zero.

Problem 347. Let u be a harmonic function in Rn satisfying |u(x)| ≤ 100(100 + ln(100 +

|x|100 )) for any x ∈ Rn . Can we assert u is a constant?

Answer: Yes.
Solution: By the gradient estimate for harmonic functions, we have
n 100n
|∇u(x)| ≤ max |u(x)| ≤ (100 + ln(100 + R100 )).
R B(x,R) R

Let R → ∞ and we get ∇u ≡ 0. So u must be a constant.

Problem 348. Assume u(t, x, y) solves the wave equation utt −uxx −uyy = 0 for t > 0, x, y ∈
R with initial data u(0, x, y) = 0 and ut (0, x, y) = g(x, y) where g(x, y) is a compactly
supported smooth function. Find the limit lim t1/4 |u(t, x, y)| if it exists.
t→+∞

Answer: 0 √
Solution: 2D free wave equation has decay rate O(1/ t).

Problem 349. Consider the transport equation ut + 2ux = 0 for t > 0, x > 0 with initial
data u(0, x) = e−x for x > 0 and boundary condition u(t, 0) = A + Bt for t > 0, where
A, B are two constants. Find the values of A, B such that there is a solution u(t, x) is C 1 in
{t ≥ 0, x ≤ 0} to the equation. Present the answer in the form of [A,B].

Answer: [1,2]

Solution: The general solution to the transport equation is u(t, x) = F (x − 2t). Since
u0 (x) := e−x is defined in {x > 0}, the function u0 (x − 2t) only determines the solution
in {x > 2t}. To determine the solution in {0 < x < 2t}, we need the boundary data
u(t, 0) = g(t) := A + Bt. Let x = 0 in the general solution, we get g(t) = F (−t/2) for any

123
t > 0. Hence, the solution in {0 < x < 2t} is given by g(t − x2 ) = A + B(t − x2 ). To ensure the
continuity, we must have limt→0 g(t) = limx→0 u0 (x), which givens A = e0 = 1. To ensure
the C 1 differentiability, we must have lim(t,x)→0 ut + 2ux = 0, which gives g ′ (0) + 2u′0 (0) = 0;
that is B = 2. The solution is
(
e−x+2t x ≥ 2t,
u(t, x) =
1 + 2t − x 0 ≤ x ≤ 2t.

124
Problem 350. In how many ways can you arrange the letters in the word “INTELLI-
GENCE”?
Answer: 9979200.
12 12!


Solution: It is given by the multinomial coefficient 2,2,1,3,2,1,1
= 2!2!1!3!2!1!1!
= 9, 979, 200.

Problem 351. Suppose that A, B, and C are mutually independent events and that P (A) =
0.2, P (B) = 0.5, and P (C) = 0.8. Find the probability that exactly two of the three events
occur.
Answer: 0.42.
Solution: P (A ∩ B ∩ C) = (0.2)(0.5)(0.8) = 0.08, P (A ∩ B) = 0.10, P (A ∩ C) = 0.16,
P (B∩C) = 0.40. P (A∩B∩C ′ ) = P (A∩B)−P (A∩B∩C) = 0.02. Similarly, P (A∩B ′ ∩C) =
0.16 − 0.08 = 0.08, and P (A′ ∩ B ∩ C) = 0.40 − 0.08 = 0.32.
Thus, P (A ∩ B ∩ C ′ ) + P (A ∩ B ′ ∩ C) + P (A′ ∩ B ∩ C) = 0.42.

Problem 352. A club with 30 members wants to have a 3-person governing board (president,
treature, secretary). In how many ways can this board be chosen if Alex and Jerry don’t want
to serve together?
Answer: 24192
Solution: 21 28 28




2
(3!) + 3
(3!) = 24, 192.

Problem 353. There are seven pairs of socks in a drawer. Each pair has a different color.
You randomly draw one sock at a time until you obtain a matching pair. Let the random
variable N be the number of draws. Find the value of n such that P (N = n) is the maximum.
Answer: 5.
Solution: You absolutely get a matching pair when n = 8. For n = 8, the first draw can be
any sock. The second draw must be one of the 12 that are different, the third draw must be
one of the 10 that are different from the first two, ..., the seventh draw must be one of the
2. Thus P (N = 8) = (12/13)(10/12)(8/11)(6/10)(4/9)(2/8) = 16/429. Repeat the similar
process for n = 7, 6, . . . , 2 to get

P (N = 7) = 48/429, P (N = 6) = 80/429, P (N = 5) = 32/143,

P (N = 4) = 30/143, P (N = 3) = 2/13, P (N = 2) = 1/13.

Therefore, n = 5 yields the maximum value of P (N = n).

Problem 354. A pharmacy receives 2/5 of its flu vaccine shipments from Vendor A and
the remainder of its shipments from Vendor B. Each shipment contains a very large number
of vaccine vials. For Vendor A’s shipments, 3% of the vials are ineffective. For Vendor B,
8% of the vials are ineffective. The hospital tests 25 randomly selected vials from a shipment
and finds that two vials are ineffective. What is the probability that this shipment came from
Vendor A?

125
Answer: 0.24

Solution: If the shipment is from Vendor A, the probability that two vials are ineffective is
 
25
(3%)2 (97%)23 = 0.134003.
2
If the shipment is from Vendor B, the probability that two vials are ineffective is
 
25
(8%)2 (92%)23 = 0.282112.
2
Applying Bayes Theorem, we can obtain the probability that the shipment came from Vendor
A give that there are two vials are ineffective in a selected shipment:
(2/5)(0.134003)
= 0.24051.
(2/5)(0.134003) + (3/5)(0.282112)

Problem 355. Let Xk be the time elapsed between the (k−1)th accident and the k th accident.
Suppose X1 , X2 , . . . are independent of each other. You use the exponential distribution with
probability density function f (t) = 0.4e−0.4t , t > 0 measured in minutes to model Xk . What
is the probability of at least two accidents happening in a five-minute period?
Answer: 0.59
Solution: The number of accidents in one minute is a Poisson process with mean 0.4. Using
the property of the Poisson process, the number of accidents in a five-minute period, denoted
by the random variable N , must follow the Poisson distribution with mean λ = (0.4)(5) = 2.

P (N ≥ 2) = 1 − P (N = 0) − P (N = 1) = 1 − e−2 − 2e−2 = 1 − 3e−2 .

Problem 356. In modeling the number of claims filed by an individual under an insurance
policy during a two-year period, an assumption is made that for all integers n ≥ 0, p(n+1) =
0.1p(n) where p(n) denotes the probability that there are n claims during the period. Calculate
the expected number of claims during the period.
Answer: 0.11.
Solution:
P∞ From the given recursive formula,
P∞ p(n) = 0.1n p(0) can be derived. Taking into ac-
count n=0 p(n) = 1, we obtain p(0) n=0 0.1n = 1. Solving this equation yields p(0) = 0.9.
Thus p(n) = (0.9)(0.1n ). This indicates the number of claims follows Geometric distribution,
so the expected number of claims is (1 − 0.9)/0.9 = 0.11.

Problem 357. An ant starts at (1, 1) and moves in one-unit independent steps with equal
probabilities of 1/4 in each direction: east, south, west, and north. Let W denote
√
the east-
W 2 +S 2
west position and S denote the north-south position after n steps. Find E[e ] for
n = 3.

126
Answer: 12.08

Solution: We make a shift to assume the ant starts at (0, 0), X = W − 1, Y = S − 1. We

can find the joint probability function for (X, Y ): The four points (±1, 0), (0, ±1) each have
probability 9/64, the eight points (±2, ±1), (±1, ±2) each have probability 3/64, the four
points (±3, 0), (0, ±3) each have probability 1/64. These results√can be obtained by counting
√
2 2 2 2
the paths to the corresponding points. Then E[e W +S ] = E[e (X+1) +(Y +1) ] = 12.083.

Problem 358. Let the two random variables X and Y have the joint probability density
function f (x, y) = cx(1 − y) for 0 < y < 1 and 0 < x < 1 − y, where c > 0 is a constant.
Compute P (Y < X|X = 0.25).

Answer: 0.47

Solution: For the joint density function f (x, y), it should satisfy
Z 1 Z 1−y
f (x, y)dxdy = 1,
0 0

so the value of the constant c must be 8. The marginal probability density function for X is
Z 1−x
fX (x) = f (x, y)dy = 4x(1 − x2 ), 0 < x < 1.
0

0.25 0.25 0.25

2(1 − y)
Z Z Z
f (0.25, y)
P (Y < X|X = 0.25) = f (y|x = 0.25)dy = dy = dy = 0.46667.
0 0 fX (0.25) 0 0.9375

Problem 359. Three random variables X, Y, Z are independent, and their moment gener-
ating functions are:

MX (t) = (1 − 3t)−2.5 , MY (t) = (1 − 3t)−4 , MZ (t) = (1 − 3t)−3.5 .

Let T = X + Y + Z. Calculate E[T 4 ].

Answer: 1389960
Solution: The moment generating function for the random variable T is

MT (t) = MX (t)MY (t)MZ (t) = (1 − 3t)−10 .

Applying the property of moment generating function, we obtain

(4)
E[T 4 ] = MT (0) = 10 × 11 × 12 × 13 × 34 × (1 − 0)−14 = 1389960.

127
Problem 360. The distribution of the random variable N is Poisson with mean Λ. The
parameter Λ follows a prior distribution with the probability density function
1
fΛ (λ) = λ2 e−λ , λ > 0.
2
Given that we have obtained two realizations of N as N1 = 1, N2 = 0, compute the probability
that the next realization is greater than 1. (Assume the realizations are independent of each
other.)
Answer: 0.37

Solution: We are asked to compute P (N ≥ 1|N1 = 1, N2 = 0). Taking into account

Z ∞
P (N > 1|N1 = 1, N2 = 0) = P (N > 1|Λ = λ)f (λ|N1 = 1, N2 = 0)dλ,
0

we will derive the posterior distribution of λ first.

P (N1 = 1, N2 = 0|Λ = λ)fΛ (λ) 27
f (λ|N1 = 1, N2 = 0) = R ∞ = λ3 e−3λ .
0
P (N1 = 1, N2 = 0|Λ = λ)fΛ (λ)dλ 2
Thus, Z ∞
27 3 −3λ 47
P (N > 1|N1 = 1, N2 = 0) = (1 − e−λ − λe−λ ) λ e dλ = .
0 2 128

Problem 361. The minimum force required to break a type of brick is normally distributed
with mean 195 and variance 16. A random sample of 300 bricks is selected. Estimate the
probability that at most 30 of the selected bricks break under a force of 190.
Answer: 0.70

Solution: The probability that a brick will not be broken under a force of 190 is P (Z >
190−195
4
) = 0.8944. The number of bricks not breaking under a force of 190 follows a Binomial
distribution. The probability that at most 30 bricks break is
300  
X 300
0.8944n 0.1056300−n .
n=270
n

This quantity can be approximated by Normal distribution with continuity correction: P (N >
265.5) = P (Z > √ 265.5−(300)(0.8944) ). The final answer is 0.7019.
(300)(0.8944)(1−0.8944)

Problem 362. Find the variance of the random variable X if the cumulative distribution
function of X is (
0, if x < 1,
F (x) = −x
1 − 2e , if x ≥ 1.

128
Answer: 0.93

Solution: The random variable X has a point mass at x = 1. P (X = 1) = 1 − 2e−1 .

Z ∞ Z ∞
−1
E[X] = (1)P (X = 1) + xf (x)dx = (1 − 2e ) + 2xe−x dx = 1 + 2e−1
1 1
Z ∞ Z ∞
E[X 2 ] = (12 )P (X = 1) + x2 f (x)dx = (1 − 2e−1 ) + 2x2 e−x dx = 1 + 8e−1 .
1 1

Var[X] = E[X ] − (E[X]) = 4e (1 − e−1 ).

2 2 −1

Problem 363. The hazard rate function for a continuous random variable X is defined
f (x)
as h(x) = 1−F (x)
, where f (·) and F (·) are the probability density function and cumulative
distribution function of X respectively. Now you are given h(x) = 2ex + 1, x > 0. Find
P (X > 1).

Answer: 0.01
F ′ (x)
Solution: Note h(x) = 1−F (x)
. This implies that
Rx Rx
2et +1dt x −x+2
F (x) = 1 − e− 0 h(t)dt
= 1 − e− 0 = 1 − e−2e .

Thus, P (X > 1) = 1 − F (1) = e−2e+1 = 0.0118365.

Problem 364. Suppose the random variable X has an exponential distribution with mean
1. Find minx∈R E|X − x|.

Answer: 1.69

Solution: Note minx∈R E|X − x| = E|X − π0.5 |, where π0.5 = ln 2 is the median of the
exponential distribution.
Z ln 2 Z ∞
−x
E|X − ln 2| = (ln 2 − x)e dx + (x − ln 2)e−x dx = 1 + ln 2.
0 ln 2

Problem 365. The joint probability density function for the random variables X and Y is

f (x, y) = 6e−(2x+3y) , x > 0, y > 0.

Calculate the variance of X given that X > 1 and Y > 2.

129
Answer: 0.25.
Solution: The marginal density functions can be found as follows.
Z ∞
fX (x) = f (x, y)dy = 2e−2x , x > 0,
0
Z ∞
fY (y) = f (x, y)dx = 3e−3y , y > 0.
0
Clearly, f (x, y) = fX (x)fY (y) and this implies that the random variables are independent.
Thus, Var[X|X > 1, Y > 2] = Var[X|X > 1]. Taking into account P (X > 1) = e−2 , we
have Z ∞
1
E[X|X > 1] = 2xe−2x · −2 dx = 1.5,
1 e
Z ∞
1
E[X 2 |X > 1] = 2x2 e−2x · −2 dx = 2.5.
1 e
Thus,
Var[X|X > 1, Y > 2] = Var[X|X > 1] = 2.5 − 1.52 = 0.25.

Problem 366. Consider the Markov chain Xn with state space Z = {0, 1, 2, 3, . . .}. The
transition probabilities are
1 1
p(x, x + 2) = , p(x, x − 1) = , x > 0,
2 2
and p(0, 2) = 12 , p(0, 0) = 21 . Find the probability of ever reaching state 0 starting at x = 1.
Answer: 0.62

Solution: Let α(x) = P (Xn = 0 for some n ≥ 0|X0 = x), then α(x) must satisfy

α(x) = p(x, x + 2)α(x + 2) + p(x, x − 1)α(x − 1), x > 0.

To solve the equation

α(x) = 0.5α(x + 2) + 0.5α(x − 1), x > 0

with α(0) = 1, we set α(x) = ax and obtain

0.5a3 − a + 0.5 = 0.

This cubic equation has three roots

1 √ 1 √
a1 = 1, a2 = ( 5 − 1), a3 = − ( 5 + 1).
2 2
x x
Thus, α(x) admits the  expression
x of c1 + c2 a2 + c3 a3 . By setting c1 = 0, c3 = 0, c2 = 1, we
√
5−1
can check that α(x) = 2
satisfies the properties of a transient Markov chain. Thus,
 √ x
5−1
the chain is transit and the probability of ever reaching state 0 starting at x is 2
.

130
Problem 367. The two random variables X and Y are independent and each is uniformly
distributed on [0, a], where a > 0 is a constant. Calculate the covariance of X and Y given
that X + Y < 0.5a when a2 = 2.88.
Answer: -0.02
Solution: The conditional distribution of X and Y given X + Y < 0.5a must be uniform
over the triangular region with vertices (0, 0), (0, 0.5a), (0.5a, 0). Thus,

fX,Y |X+Y <0.5a (x, y) = 8a−2 , 0 < x, y < 0.5a, x + y < 0.5a.
Z 0.5a Z 0.5a−x
1
E[X|X + Y < 0.5a] = 8a−2 xdydx = a,
0 0 6
Z 0.5a Z 0.5a−y
1
E[Y |X + Y < 0.5a] = 8a−2 ydydx = a,
0 0 6
Z 0.5a Z 0.5a−x
1
E[XY |X + Y < 0.5a] = 8a−2 xydxdy = a2 ,
0 0 48
1 1 1 2
Cov[X, Y |X + Y < 0.5a] = a2 − ( a)2 = − a.
48 6 144
When a2 = 2.88, we get Cov[X, Y |X + Y < 0.5a] = 0.02.

Problem 368. There are N balls in two boxes in total. We pick one of the N balls at random
and move it to the other box. Repeat this procedure. Calculate the long-run probability that
there is one ball in the left box.
Answer: N 2−N
Solution: Let Xn be the number of balls in the left box after nth draw. Clearly, Xn is a
Markov chain because Xn+1 just depends on Xn . The transition matrix is
 
0 1 0 0 ... 0 0 0
 1 0 N −1 0 ... 0 0 0
N N 
0 2 N −2
0 . . . 0 0 0 
P =  .. N.. N
.. ..  .
 
.. .. .. ..
. . . . . . . .
−1
0 . . . N 0 N1 
N
 
0 0 0
0 0 0 0 ... 0 1 0

Let π̄ = (π0 , π1 , . . . , πN ) be the stationary distribution. We have π̄ = π̄P that gives the
system of equations: 

 π0 = N1 π1
π1 = π0 + N2 π2





π = N −1 π + 3 π

2 N 1 N 3


 ...
πN −1 = N2 πN −2 + πN





πN = N1 πN −1 .


131
 N
In general, πK = N −K+1 K+1


N
π K−1 + N
π K+1 . We can derive that π K = K
π0 . Taking into
PN N
account i=0 πi = 1, we can obtain π0 = 2−N , and πK = K 2−N for K = 0, 1, . . . , N .

When K = 1, we get π1 = N 2−N .

Problem 369. Let Wt be a standard Brownian motion. Find the probability that Wt = 0
for some t ∈ [1, 3].

Answer: 0.61

Solution: By the reflection principle,

P (Wt = 0 for some t with 1 ≤ t ≤ 3)

Z ∞
= p1 (0, x)P (Ws = 0 for some s with 1 ≤ s ≤ 3|W1 = x)dx
−∞
Z ∞  Z ∞ 
1 − x2 1 − t2
= 2 √ e 2 2 √ e 4 dt dx
0 2π x 4π
2 √
= arctan 2.
π
Problem 370. Consider a random walk on the integers with probability 1/3 of moving to the
right and probability 2/3 of moving to the left. Let Xn be the number at time n and assume
X0 = K > 0. Let T be the first time that the random walk reaches either 0 or 2K. Compute
the probability P (XT = 0) when K = 2.

Answer: 0.80

Solution: Let Mn = 2Xn and the filtration Fn = σ(X0 , X1 , . . . , Xn ). We can show that Mn
is a martingale with respect to Fn . One can also show that T is finite almost surely and
E(|Mn |1{T >n} ) → 0 as n → ∞. By optional sampling theorem, E(MT ) = E(M0 ). Thus,

20 P (XT = 0) + 22K P (XT = 2K) = 2K ,

and
P (XT = 0) + P (XT = 2K) = 1.
4K −2K
Thus, P (XT = 0) = 4K −1
.

132
Problem 371. Given the data set {3, 7, 7, 2, 5}, calculate the sample mean µ and the sample
standard deviation σ. Present the answer as [µ, σ].
Answer: [4.8, 2.28] Pn
1
Solution: The sample mean x̄ is given by x̄ = n i=1 xi . For our data set,
3+7+7+2+5 24
x̄ = = = 4.8.
5 5
q Pn
1 2
The sample standard deviation s is calculated as s = n−1 i=1 (xi − x̄) ,

r
(3 − 4.8)2 + (7 − 4.8)2 + (7 − 4.8)2 + (2 − 4.8)2 + (5 − 4.8)2
s= ≈ 2.28.
4
Problem 372. A sample of 30 observations yields a sample mean of 50. Assume the popu-
lation standard deviation is known to be 10. When testing the hypothesis that the population
mean is 45 at the 5% significance level, should we accept the hypothesis?
Answer: No

Solution: We use a Z-test for the hypothesis. The null hypothesis H0 : µ = 45. The test
statistic is
x̄ − µ0 50 − 45
Z= √ = √ ≈ 3.27.
σ/ n 10/ 30
At the 5% significance level, the critical value Z0.05 ≈ 1.96. Since 3.27 > 1.96, we reject H0 .
Problem 373. Given points (1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 5), what is the slope of the least squares re-
gression line?
Answer: 1.5

Solution: The least squares regression line is y = ax + b where

P P P P P
n xy − x y y−a x
a= P P , b= .
n x2 − ( x)2 n
For the given points,
3(1 · 2 + 2 · 3 + 3 · 5) − (1 + 2 + 3)(2 + 3 + 5) 9 3
a= 2 2 2 2
= = ,
3(1 + 2 + 3 ) − (1 + 2 + 3) 6 2

2 + 3 + 5 − 32 (1 + 2 + 3) 1
b= = .
3 3
3 1
So, the regression line is y = 2 x + 3 .
Problem 374. A random sample of 150 recent donations at a certain blood bank reveals
that 76 were type A blood. Does this suggest that the actual percentage of type A donation
differs from 40%, the percentage of the population having type A blood, at a significance level
of 0.01?

133
Answer: Yes
Solution: We want to test the following hypotheses
H0 : p = 0.4 vs. H1 : p ̸= 0.4.
The test statistic is
76/150 − 0.4
z=p = 2.67.
0.4 · 0.6/150
The p-value is
2P (Z ≥ 2.67) = 0.0076
which is smaller than 0.01. So, the data does suggest that the actual percentage of type A
donations differs from 40%.
Problem 375. The accompanying data on cube compressive strength (MPa) of concrete
specimens are listed as follows:
112.3 97.0 92.7 86.0 102.0 99.2 95.8 103.5 89.0 86.7.
Assume that the compressive strength for this type of concrete is normally distributed. Sup-
pose the concrete will be used for a particular application unless there is strong evidence that
the true average strength is less than 100 MPa. Should the concrete be used under significance
level 0.05?
Answer: Yes.
Solution: We want to test the following hypotheses
H0 : µ = 100 vs. H1 : µ < 100.
The test statistic is
x̄ − µ0 96.42 − 100
t= √ = √ ≈ −1.37.
s/ n 8.26/ 10
The p-value is
P (t9 ≤ −1.37) ≈ 0.102
which is greater than 0.05. So, we do not reject H0 and so the concrete should be used.
Problem 376. Suppose we have a sample from normal population as follows.
107.1 109.5 107.4 106.8 108.1
Find the sample mean and sample standard deviation, and construct a 95% confidence in-
terval for the population mean.
Answer: (106.44, 109.12).
Solution: The sample mean is
107.1 + 109.5 + 107.4 + 106.8 + 108.1
x̄ = = 107.78
5
and the sample standard deviation is s = 1.076. The corresponding 95% confidence interval
is √ √
x̄ ± t0.025,4 s/ n = 107.78 ± 2.776 · 1.076/ 5 = (106.44, 109.12).

134
Problem 377. In a survey of 2000 American adults, 25% said they believed in astrology.
Calculate a 99% confidence interval for the proportion of American adults believing in as-
trology.
Answer: (0.225, 0.275).
Solution: We have that n = 2000 and p̂ = 0.25. Hence the 99% confidence interval is given
by
r r
p̂(1 − p̂) 0.25 · 0.75
p̂ ± zα/2 = 0.25 ± 2.576 = 0.25 ± 0.025 = (0.225, 0.275).
n 2000
Problem 378. Two new drugs were given to patients with hypertension. The first drug
lowered the blood pressure of 16 patients by an average of 11 points, with a standard deviation
of 6 points. The second drug lowered the blood pressure of 20 other patients by an average
of 12 points, with a standard deviation of 8 points. Determine a 95% confidence interval for
the difference in the mean reductions in blood pressure, assuming that the measurements are
normally distributed with equal variances.
Answer: (−5.9, 3.9).
Solution: Note that, for the first sample, we have that n1 = 16, x̄1 = 11 and s1 = 6; and
for the second sample, we have that n2 = 20, x̄2 = 12 and s2 = 8. So, the pooled sample
variance is
(n1 − 1)s21 + (n2 − 1)s22 15 · 62 + 19 · 82
s2p = = ≈ 51.647.
n1 + n2 − 2 34
With t0.05/2,n1 +n2 −2 = t0.025,34 ≈ 2.03, the 95% confidence interval for µ1 − µ2 is given by
r
1 1
11 − 12 ± 2.03 51.647 · ( + ) ≈ −1 ± 4.9 ⇒ (−5.9, 3.9).
16 20
Problem 379. The ages of a random sample of five university professors are 39, 54, 61, 72,
and 59. Using this information, find a 99% confidence interval for the population variance
of the ages of all professors at the university, assuming that the ages of university professors
are normally distributed.
Answer: (38.90, 2792.41).
Solution: We have that n = 5 and the sample variance s2 = 144.5. Meanwhile, the critical
values for chi-square distribution with degree of freedom 4 are given by χ20.995,4 = 0.20699
and χ20.005,4 = 14.8602. Thus, the 99% confidence interval for the variance is given by

(n − 1)s2 (n − 1)s2
   
4 · 144.5 4 · 144.5
, 2 = , = (38.90, 2792.41).
χ20.005,4 χ0.995,4 14.8602 0.20699
Problem 380. Suppose we have two groups of data as follows
Group 1: 32 37 35 28 41 44 35 31 34
Group 2: 35 31 29 25 34 40 27 32 31
Is there sufficient evidence to indicate a difference in the true means of the two groups at
level α = 0.05?

135
Answer: No

Solution: We want to test

H0 : µ1 − µ2 = 0 vs. H1 : µ1 − µ2 ̸= 0.
Note that, for the first sample, we have that n1 = 9, x̄1 = 35.22 and s21 = 24.445; and for
the second sample, we have that n2 = 9, x̄2 = 31.56 and s22 = 20.027. So, the pooled sample
variance is
(n1 − 1)s21 + (n2 − 1)s22 8 · 24.445 + 8 · 20.027
s2p = = = 22.236,
n1 + n2 − 2 16
implying the pooled sample standard deviation sp = 4.716.
The test statistic is
x̄1 − x̄2 35.22 − 31.56
t= q = q = 1.65.
1 1 1 1
sp n1 + n2 4.716 9 + 9

The p-value is given by 2P (t16 > 1.65) = 0.1184 > 0.05, where t16 is a t-distribution with
degree of freedom 16. Thus, we do not reject H0 and claim that there is not sufficient
evidence to indicate a difference in true mean of two groups.
Problem 381. Let X be one observation from the pdf
 |x|
θ
f (x|θ) = (1 − θ)1−|x| , x = −1, 0, 1; 0 ≤ θ ≤ 1.
2
Is X a complete statistic?
Answer: No
Solution: Note that
θ θ
E(X) = · 1 + (1 − θ) · 0 + · (−1) = 0, ∀0 ≤ θ ≤ 1.
2 2
But X is not equal to 0. By the definition of completeness, X is not a complete statistic.
Problem 382. Let X1 , . . . , Xn be an i.i.d. random sample with probability density function
(pdf )
x2
(
√2 e− θ , x > 0,
f (x|θ) = πθ
0, otherwise;
where θ > 0. What is the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound for estimating θ?
Answer: 2θ2 /n.
Solution: The likelihood function and log likelihood function are given respectively by
2n −n/2 − Pni=1 Xi2 /θ
L(θ) = θ e ,
π n/2
n
√ n X
ℓ(θ) = n log(2/ π) − log θ − Xi2 /θ.
2 i=1

136
Taking the derivatives in θ, we obtain
Pn Pn
′ n X2 ′′ n 2 Xi2
ℓ (θ) = − + i=12 i , ℓ (θ) = 2 − i=1
.
2θ θ 2θ θ3
Note that E(X 2 ) = θ/2, we have the Fisher information

n 2nE(X 2 ) n
In (θ) = −E(ℓ′′ (θ)) = − 2
+ 3
= 2.
2θ θ 2θ
Therefore, the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound is given by 1/In (θ) = 2θ2 /n.

Problem 383. Let X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn be an i.i.d. random sample from the population density
(i.e., Exp( 1θ ))
(
θe−θx , x > 0;
f (x|θ) = where θ > 0.
0, otherwise.

Let θ̂n be the maximal likelihood estimator √ of θ. What is the variance of the asymptotic
distribution of the limiting distribution of n(θ̂n − θ)?

Answer: θ2
1
Solution: Note that E(Xi ) = θ
and Var(Xi ) = θ12 . By the Central Limit Theorem,

√
   
1 d 1
n X̄n − →
− N 0, 2 .
θ θ

Note that the likelihood function and log-likelihood function are given respectively by
n
Pn X
L(θ) = θn e−θ i=1 xi
, ℓ(θ) = n log θ − θ xi .
i=1

Taking the derivative

n
n X
ℓ′ (θ) = −θ xi = 0
θ i=1

gives that the MLE is

n 1
θ̂n = Pn = .
i=1 Xi X̄n
Let g(t) = 1
t
with g ′ (t) = − t12 . By the Delta method, we have

√ √ (g ′ ( 1θ ))2
 
1 d
n(θ̂n − θ) = n(g(X̄n ) − g( )) →
− N 0, = N (0, θ2 ).
θ θ2

Problem 384. Let U1 , U2 , . . ., be i.i.d. Uniform(0, 1) random variables

√
and let Xn =
Qn −1/n n(Xn −e)
( k=1 Uk ) . What is the variance of the asymptotic distribution of e
as n → ∞?

137
Answer: 1

Solution: Let Yn = log Xn = n1 nk=1 (− log Uk ). Note that − log Uk are i.i.d. with Expo-
P
nential distribution with parameter 1, having mean µ = 1 and variance σ 2 = 1. By the
central limit theorem, √
n(Yn − µ) √ d
= n(Yn − 1) →− N (0, 1).
σ
Applying the Delta method with g(y) = ey such that g(1) = e and g ′ (1) = e > 0, we obtain
√ d
− N (0, [g ′ (1)]2 ),
n(g(Yn ) − g(1)) →
√ d
which is equivalent to − N (0, e2 ), yielding
n(Xn − e) →
√
n(Xn − e) d
→
− N (0, 1).
e
Problem 385. Let X be a single observation from Unifrom(0, θ) with density f (x|θ) =
1/θI(0 < x < θ), where θ > 0. Does there exist Cramer-Rao Lower Bound for estimating θ?

Answer: No
Solution: Let h be a nonzero function. The existence of Cramer-Rao Lower Bound requires
that Z θ
d d
Eθ (h(X)) = (h(x)f (x|θ))dx.
dθ 0 dθ
However, we have that
Z θ  Z θ
d d 1 h(θ) 1
Eθ (h(X)) = h(x) dx = − 2 h(x)dx
dθ dθ 0 θ θ θ 0

and Z θ Z θ
d 1
(h(x)f (x|θ))dx = − 2 h(x)dx,
0 dθ θ 0
which are not equal when h is a nonzero function. Thus, the condition for the existence of
Cramer-Rao Lower Bound is not satisfied.
In fact, if the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound exists, then it would be given by
1 2

d

2  = θ .
E dθ
log f (X|θ)

However, 2X is an unbiased estimator of θ with variance θ2 /3 which is smaller than θ2 ,

making a contradiction.

Problem 386. Let X1 , . . . , Xn be i.i.d. sample from Gamma(α, β) with density function
1 α−1 −x/β
f (x|α, β) = Γ(α)β αx e , x > 0, α, β > 0, where α is known and β is unknown. What
is the value of the uniform minimum variance unbiased estimator (UMVUE) for 1/β when
nα = 1?

138
Answer: 0

Solution: As an exponential family, we have that T = ni=1 Xi is a complete and sufficient

P
estimator for β. On the other hand, note that T has a Gamma distribution Gamma(nα, β),
implying that
  Z ∞
1 1 nα−2 −t/β Γ(nα − 1)β nα−1 1
E = nα
t e dt = nα
= .
T 0 Γ(nα)β Γ(nα)β (nα − 1)β

This shows that Pnα−1

n is an unbiased estimator for 1/β. Finally, since Pnα−1
n is an estimator
i=1 Xi Pn i=1 Xi
based on the complete and sufficient statistic i=1 Xi , by the Lehmann-Scheffé Theorem,
Pnα−1
n is the UMVUE for 1/β.
Xi
i=1

Problem 387. Let X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn be i.i.d. sample from the population density

2 2
f (x|θ) = xe−x /θ I(x > 0), θ > 0.
θ
Consider using appropriate chi-square distribution to find the size α uniformly most powerful
(UMP) test for H0 : θ ≤ θ0 vs. H1 : θ > θ0 . Let χ22n,α is the value such that P (χ22n > χ22n,α ) =
α and χ22n isPthe chi-squared distribution with degree of freedom 2n. Should the UMP test
reject H0 if ni=1 Xi2 > θ20 χ22n,α ?

Answer: Yes
Solution: For θ2 > θ1 ,
Pn
22
( ni=1 xi ) e− i=1 xi /θ2
Q 2  n P
f (x1 , . . . , xn |θ2 ) θ2n θ1 − n 2 1 1
i=1 xi ( θ2 − θ1 )
= 22
Qn Pn 2 = e ,
f (x1 , . . . , xn |θ1 ) θ1n
( i=1 xi ) e− i=1 xi /θ1 θ2

is increasing in ni=1 x2i . By the Karlin-Rubin theorem,

P
whichP P the size-α UMP test reject
H0 if ni=1 Xi2 > c where c is some constant such that Pθ0 ( ni=1 Xi2P > c) = α.
2
Note that Xi has the exponential P distribution Exp(θ), implying ni=1 Xi2 has the gamma
distribution Gamma(n, θ). Thus, 2 ni=1 Xi2 /θ has the gamma distribution Gamma(n, 2)
which is the same as χ22n , the chi-squared distribution with degree of freedom 2n. Therefore,
we have n
X
α = Pθ 0 ( Xi2 > c) = P (χ22n > 2c/θ0 ),
i=1
θ0 2
implying that 2c/θ0 = χ22n,α and hence c = χ .
2 2n,α

139