Problems

Age
Difficulty
Found: 2573

Valentina added a number (not equal to 0) taken to the power of four and the same number to the power two and reported the result to Peter. Can Peter determine the unique number that Valentina chose?

In a row there are 20 different natural numbers. The product of every two of them standing next to one another is the square of a natural number. The first number is 42. Prove that at least one of the numbers is greater than 16,000.

The numbers \(1, 2, 3,\dots , 10\) are written around a circle in a particular order. Peter calculated the sum of each of the 10 possible groups of three adjacent numbers around the circle and wrote down the smallest value he had calculated. What is the largest possible value he could have written down?

In a group of six people, any five can sit down at a round table so that every two neighbours know each other.

Prove that the entire group can be seated at the round table so that every two neighbours will know each other.

A carpet has a square shape with side 275 cm. A moth has eaten 4 holes through it. Will it always be possible to cut a square section of side 1 m out of the carpet, so that the section does not contain any holes? Treat the holes as points.

A pack of 36 cards was placed in front of a psychic face down. He calls the suit of the top card, after which the card is opened, shown to him and put aside. After this, the psychic calls out the suit of the next card, etc. The task of the psychic is to guess the suit as many times as possible. However, the card backs are in fact asymmetrical, and the psychic can see in which of the two positions the top card lies. The deck is prepared by a bribed employee. The clerk knows the order of the cards in the deck, and although he cannot change it, he can prompt the psychic by having the card backs arranged in a way according to a specific arrangement. Can the psychic, with the help of such a clue, ensure the guessing of the suit of

a) more than half of the cards;

b) no less than 20 cards?

Every day, James bakes a square cake size \(3\times3\). Jack immediately cuts out for himself four square pieces of size \(1\times1\) with sides parallel to the sides of the cake (not necessarily along the \(3\times3\) grid lines). After that, Sarah cuts out from the rest of the cake a square piece with sides, also parallel to the sides of the cake. What is the largest piece of cake that Sarah can count on, regardless of Jack’s actions?

Carry out the following experiment 10 times: first, toss a coin 10 times in a row and record the number of heads, then toss the coin 9 times in a row and again, record the number of heads. We call the experiment successful, if, in the first case, the number of heads is greater than in the second case. After conducting a series of 10 such experiments, record the number of successful and unsuccessful experiments. Collect the statistics in the form of a table.

a) Anton throws a coin 3 times, and Tina throws it two times. What is the probability that Anton gets more heads than Tina?

b) Anton throws a coin \(n + 1\) times, and Tanya throws it \(n\) times. What is the probability that Anton gets more heads than Tina?

In a school football tournament, 8 teams participate, each of which plays equally well in football. Each game ends with the victory of one of the teams. A randomly chosen by a draw number determines the position of the teams in the table:

What is the probability that teams \(A\) and \(B\):

a) will meet in the semifinals;

b) will meet in the finals.