Problems

Age
Difficulty
Found: 1974

Cut a \(7\times 7\) square into \(9\) rectangles, out of which you can construct any rectangle whose sidelengths are less than \(7\). Show how to construct the rectangles.

There are six letters in the alphabet of the Bim-Bam tribe. A word is any sequence of six letters that has at least two identical letters. How many words are there in the language of the Bim-Bam tribe?

In how many ways can eight rooks be arranged on the chessboard in such a way that none of them can take any other. The color of the rooks does not matter, it’s everyone against everyone.

It is known that \(a + b + c = 5\) and \(ab + bc + ac = 5\). What are the possible values of \(a^2 + b^2 + c^2\)?

Is it possible to arrange the numbers \(1,\, 2,\, ...,\, 50\) at the vertices and middles of the sides of a regular \(25\)-gon so that the sum of the three numbers at the ends and in the middle of each side is the same for all sides?

Jason has \(20\) red balls and \(14\) bags to store them. Prove that there is a bag, which contains at least two balls.

One of the most useful tools for proving mathematical statements is the Pigeonhole principle. Here is one example: suppose that a flock of \(10\) pigeons flies into a set of \(9\) pigeonholes to roost. Prove that at least one of these \(9\) pigeonholes must have at least two pigeons in it.

Show the following: Pigeonhole principle strong form: Let \(q_1, \,q_2,\, . . . ,\, q_n\) be positive integers. If \(q_1+ q_2+ . . . + q_n - n + 1\) objects are put into \(n\) boxes, then either the \(1\)st box contains at least \(q_1\) objects, or the \(2\)nd box contains at least \(q_2\) objects, . . ., or the \(n\)th box contains at least \(q_n\) objects.
How can you deduce the usual Pigeonhole principle from this statement?

Let \(r\) be a rational number and \(x\) be an irrational number (i.e. not a rational one). Prove that the number \(r+x\) is irrational.
If \(r\) and \(s\) are both irrational, then must \(r+s\) be irrational as well?

Definition: We call a number \(x\) rational if there exist two integers \(p\) and \(q\) such that \(x=\frac{p}{q}\). We assume that \(p\) and \(q\) are coprime.
Prove that \(\sqrt{2}\) is not rational.