BMOS MENTORING SCHEME (Senior Level)

November 2013 (Sheet 2)

Questions
The Senior Level problem sheets are ideal for students who love solving dicult mathemat-
ical problems and particularly for those preparing for the British Mathematical Olympiad
competitions. The problems get harder throughout the year and build upon ideas in earlier
sheets, so please try to give every problem a go. A. Rzym c UKMT 2013.
1. Triangle ABC is right-angled at B, with a = BC and c = AB. Points B

, C

, A

lie on
AC, AB, CB (respectively) such that BA

is a rectangle. For suitable choice of B

,
what is the largest possible area of the rectangle (in terms of a and c)?
2. In how many ways can the letters of the word magri be arranged such that none of the
letters are in their original place (for example, we would count imagr but not miagr,
because in the latter case, the m is in its original place)?
3. Let ABC be an equilateral triangle inscribed in a circle , and let X be a point on BC.
Suppose that the line AX is extended to meet at Y . Show that 1/BY +1/CY = 1/XY .
4. A point, P, lies within triangle ABC. Lines AP, BP, CP meet BC, CA, AB at A

, B

, C

respectively. Let = APB

, = B

PC, = CA

P. Prove that
ABC =
( + )( + + )
( + + ) ( + )
.
5. Prove that, for any positive integer p and any real number x such that p x,
1 +
p
x

1 +
1
x

p
< 1 +
p
x
+
p
2
x
2
.
6. Do there exist integers p, q, r such that p
2
+ q
2
8r = 6?
7. (a) If w, x, y, z are positive reals, prove that
4

wxyz
4
1
w
+
1
x
+
1
y
+
1
z
.
(b) If x, y are non-negative reals, prove that x
2012
y + xy
2012
x
2013
+ y
2013
.
(c) If w, x, y, z are non-negative reals and 1 wxyz, prove that
16 (1 + w)(1 + x)(1 + y)(1 + z).
8. (a) Show that, given ve points inside a square of side 1, some two are at distance at
most
1

2
of each other.
(b) Show that, given nine points inside a square of side 1 with no three collinear, some
three form a triangle of area at most
1
8
.
9. g(w) is an integer-valued function, dened for integer w. Find g(w), given that
(a) g(g(w)) = w for all integer w
(b) g(g(w + 2) + 2) = w for all integer w
(c) g(0) = 1.
10. Does there exist a non-zero polynomial with integer coecients, f(x), such that
f

1 + 3
1/3
+ 5
1/5
+ 7
1/7

= 0 ?
Deadline for receipt of solutions: 05 December 2013
For more information about the mentoring schemes, and how to join, visit
http://www.mentoring.ukmt.org.uk/