Problems

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We are given a polynomial \(P(x)\) and numbers \(a_1\), \(a_2\), \(a_3\), \(b_1\), \(b_2\), \(b_3\) such that \(a_1a_2a_3 \ne 0\). It turned out that \(P (a_1x + b_1) + P (a_2x + b_2) = P (a_3x + b_3)\) for any real \(x\). Prove that \(P (x)\) has at least one real root.

There is a group of 5 people: Alex, Beatrice, Victor, Gregory and Deborah. Each of them has one of the following codenames: V, W, X, Y, Z. We know that:

Alex is 1 year older than V,

Beatrice is 2 years older than W,

Victor is 3 years older than X,

Gregory is 4 years older than Y.

Who is older and by how much: Deborah or Z?

In the Far East, the only type of transport is a carpet-plane. From the capital there are 21 carpet-planes, from the city of Dalny there is one carpet-plane, and from all of the other cities there are 20. Prove that you can fly from the capital to Dalny (possibly with interchanges).

In a country coming out of each city there are 100 roads and from each city it is possible to reach any other. One road was closed for repairs. Prove that even now you can get from every city to any other.

The numbers 25 and 36 are written on a blackboard. Consider the game with two players where: in one turn, a player is allowed to write another natural number on the board. This number must be the difference between any two of the numbers already written, such that this number does not already appear on the blackboard. The loser is the player who cannot make a move.

Consider a chessboard of size (number of rows \(\times\) number of columns): a) \(9\times 10\); b) \(10\times 12\); c) \(9\times 11\). Two people are playing a game where: in one turn a player is allowed to cross out any row or column as long as there it contains at least one square that is not crossed out. The loser is the player who cannot make a move. Which player will win?

Two people take turns placing bishops on a chessboard such that the bishops cannot attack each other. Here, the colour of the bishops does not matter. (Note: bishops move and attack diagonally.) Which player wins the game, if the right strategy is used?

There are two piles of rocks, each with 7 rocks. Consider the game with two players where: in one turn you can take any amount of rocks, but only from one pile. The loser is the one who has no rocks left to take.