11th International Tournament of Young Mathematicians

QUIZ

2.5 hours

– Each team (high school students only) is gathered in a separate room and works to-
gether. Written material, electronics, litterature or other sources are forbidden during
the quiz, as well as any external help. Only brochures of the ITYM and paper language
dictionaries are allowed.

– A solution for each of the 10 problems should be written separately.

– Indicate the problem number and page numbers on every solution.

– Please do not mention your country, team or other names anywhere.

Good luck!
 1. A Divisibility Problem

1. Let m be a positive integer. Let ϕ denote Euler’s totient function, defined as ϕ(n) = #{k ∈
N, 1 ≤ k ≤ n, gcd(k, n) = 1}. Prove that if m > 1 then ϕ(m3 + 1) > 2. (2 points)
2. a) Let m and n be positive integers. Prove that if mn+3 − 1 is divisible by m3 + 1 then mn + 1
is divisible by m3 + 1. (2 points)
2. b) Let m > 1 be a fixed integer. Is there an integer c > 0 such that for all integers n ≥ 2
the number cn+2 + 1 is divisible by mn−1 + 1? (3 points)
3. Let a and b be two positive integers such that for all n ∈ N, the number an + n is a divisor
of bn + n. Prove that a = b. (3 points)
 2. Graph Coloring Game

1. Let T be the following tree. Compute B(T ). Which strategy should Bob chose to achieve
B(T )? (2 points)

Figure of T

2. Let Ca,b (a, b ≥ 3) be the graph consisting of two cycles Ca and Cb which a common edge.
Evaluate B(Ca,b ) (Bob’s guarantee in the game without the pawn) with regards to a and b. (4
points)

Figure of C5,4

3. Let D(n) be the set of strongly connected directed graphs with n vertices. A graph is
strongly connected if for any two vertices A and B, there is a path from A to B and a path
from B to A. Consider a variant of the game on connected graphs, where the players’ pawns
can only move in the direction indicated by the edges.
3. a) Evaluate max R0 (n). (2 points)
G∈D(n)

3. b) Evaluate max B 0 (n). (2 points)

G∈D(n)
 3. Derivative of a Rational number

1. For each of the following statements provide either a proof or a counterexample.

1. a) If the non-constant function f : Z+ +
0 → Z0 is such that f (ab) = f (a)b + af (b) for all
a, b ∈ Z+
0 , then f (p) = 1 for any prime p. (1 point)
(Here, Z+ +
0 is the set of all non-negative integers Z0 = {0, 1, 2, 3, . . .}.)

1. b) For all m, n ∈ Q: (m + n)0 = m0 + n0 . (0.5 points)

1. c) For all m ∈ Q there exist at least two distinct values n1 and n2 ∈ Q such that (m + n1 )0 =
m0 + n01 and (m + n2 )0 = m0 + n02 . (0.5 points)

2. a) Prove that there exist an integer c and an infinite set S of positive integers such that for
n0
all n ∈ S, √n+1 = c. (1 point)
(Hint: You may assume the Twin Prime Conjecture, which claims that there are infinitely
many primes p such that p + 2 is also a prime.)
2. b) Prove that there are infinitely many positive integers n such that limk→∞ n(k) = ∞. (1
point)
 (k)
1
2. c) Prove that there are infinitely many positive integers n such that the sequence n
is
periodic (in terms of k). (1 point)

3. Given a positive integer a, define:

∂a
= a xpii if pi is in the prime factorization a = ki=1 pxi i
Q
- the first-order partial derivative: ∂p i
and ∂a
∂q
= 0 if q is not a prime factor of a;
∂2a ∂(∂a/∂p) ∂ 2 a ∂2a
- the second-order partial derivative: ∂p∂q
= ∂q
, ∂p2 = ∂p∂p
for primes p, q.

3. a) Find all positive integers k such that the following equality holds for any positive primes
p and q. (1 point)

∂ 2 (2019k ) ∂ 2 (2019k )
= .
∂p∂q ∂q∂p

3. b) Les p and q be two distinct primes. Find all positive integers n which satisfy the following
equation. (4 points)
∂ 2n ∂ 2n
+ 2 = n.
∂p2 ∂q
 4. Inequalities with a Shift
In the next quesitons, x1 , x2 and x3 denote positive real numbers.
1. Prove or disprove the following inequality. (1 point)
x2 x 3 x1 x1 x2 x3
+ + ≥ + + .
x1 x 2 x3 x2 x3 x1
2. Find all permutations σ of the set {1, 2, 3} such that the following inequalities are hold. (4
points)
 3  3  3
x1 x2 x3 x1 x2 x3
+ + ≥ + + .
x2 x3 x1 xσ(1) xσ(2) xσ(3)
3. a) Prove or disprove the following inequality. (2 points)
2 2 2
2x1 2x2 2x3 x1 x2 x3
  
+ + ≥ + + .
x 2 + x3 x3 + x1 x1 + x2 x3 x1 x2
3. b) Prove or disprove the following inequality. (3 points)
−2  −2  −2
x1 x2 x3 x1 x2 x3

+ + ≥ + + + 9.
x2 + x3 x3 + x1 x1 + x2 x3 x1 x2
 5. Dense Sets of Fractions
n o
Let E ⊆ ]0, +∞[ be a non-empty set (not necessarily countable) and θE = xy , x ∈ E, y ∈ E .
For any reals a, b such that 0 < a < b, we say that E is fractionally dense in the interval ]a, b[
if θE is dense in ]a, b[. This means that θE ∩ ]α, β[ 6= ∅ for any α, β such that a < α < β < b.
If θE is dense in ]0, +∞[, we will say that E is fractionally dense.
1. Let E be a subset of ]0, +∞[. Give the definition of “E is bounded from above”? (1 point)
2. a) Let E = {xn } be a strictly increasing sequence of positive real numbers, bounded from
above. Can E be fractionally dense? Can E be fractionally dense in some (non-empty) interval
]a, b[ but not on ]0, +∞[ ? (2 points)
2. b) Same question for E = {xn } a strictly decreasing sequence of positive real numbers. (2
points)
3. Let C be the Cantor ternary set, without zero, defined as follows. Let C0 = [0, 1] and for
  +∞
Cn−1 Cn−1
\
2
n ≥ 1, Cn = 3
∪ 3
+ 3
,C= Cn \ {0}.
n=0

3. a) Is C fractionally dense? (2 points)

3. b) Answer the same question for C 0 = {3x − 1 | x ∈ C}. (3 points)
 6. Operation Tables

1. a) Let q ∈ Z>2 . We define a function ∧ : Z × Z → Z by ∧(a, b) = ab . Is ∧q a q-operation?

Recall that 00 = 1 by definition. (1 point)
1. b) In this question and this question only, q = 7. Check that the subset D = {0, 3, 4, 5, 6} is
+q -complete and ×q -complete. Is it minimal for +q ? And for ×q (1 point)

2. A subset X ⊂ J0, q − 1K is said ?q -generating if

  !
∀y ∈ J0, q − 1K, ∃n ∈ Z>2 , ∃x1 , . . . , xn ∈ X, y = . . . (x1 ?q x2 ) · · · ?q xn−1 ?q xn .

For instance, if q = 3, the subset {0, 1} is +q -generating because:

• 0 ≡ (0 + 0) mod 3;
• 1 ≡ (1 + 0) mod 3;
• 2 ≡ (1 + 1) mod 3.
  
Note that the writing is not unique in general: for instance 0 ≡ (1 + 0) + 1 + 1 mod 3.
For any q-operation ?, we denote by γq (?) the minimal cardinality of a ?-generating subset.
2. a) Compute γ(−q ) as a function of q. What is the number of −q -generating subsets of
J0, q − 1K with γ(−q ) elements? (1 point)
2. b) Let D ⊂ J0, q − 1K be a −q -generating set such that for any strict subset E ( D, the
subset E is not −q -generating. Is D necessarily of cardinality γ(−q )? Prove it or provide a
counter-example. (2 points)

3. From now on, q = pα for some positive integer α ∈ N and p an odd prime number p.
k
3. a) Show that for any k ∈ Z>0 , we have that (1 + p)p ≡ 1 + pk+1 mod pk+2 . (1 point)
3. b) Prove that γq (×q ) = 2. (2 points)
Hint: one can firstly consider the case where q is a prime number.
3. c) Determine the number of ×q -generating subsets of J0, q − 1K with 2 elements when q is an
odd prime power. (2 points)
 7. Graphs of Finite Groups

1. a) Let H be the group composed of the elements {1, −1, i, −i, j, −j, k, −k} with the relations
i2 = j 2 = k 2 = ijk = −1. Draw Γ(H). (1 point)
1. b) List all the permutations which are adjacent to the cycle (1, 2, 3) in Γ(S6 ). (The cycle
(1, 2, 3) means 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 1, 4 → 4, 5 → 5, 6 → 6.) (1 point)
2. Let Zkn = {(x1 , x2 , . . . , xk )|x1 , x2 , . . . , xk ∈ Zn } and define the addition over Zkn as the
addition coordinate by coordinate.
2. a) Describe Γ(Zkp ) for p prime. (2 points)
2. b) Describe Γ(Zkn ) for n ∈ N. (2 points)
3. A multigraph is a graph where two vertices may be connected by more than one edge. For
any finite group G define the undirected multigraph Λ(G) as follows. Set V (Λ(G)) = G \ {1}
and the number of edges that connect two different vertices x and y is equal to e(x, y), where
e(x, y) = #{c ∈ G \ {1}, ∃n, m ∈ N, xn = y m = c}.
3. a) Characterize the prime numbers p such that the graph Λ(Zp ) has an Eulerian circuit. (1
point)
3. b) Characterize the integers n such that the graph Λ(Zn ) has an Eulerian circuit. (3
points)
 8. Embeddings of Connected Graphs

1. a) Let Qn denote the graph that consists of the vertices and edges of an n-dimensional
hypercube. For which positive integers n is the graph Qn planar? (1 point)
(You may use without proof any standard results about planar graphs.)
1. b) What is the minimal number (≥ 1) of points one must remove from the unit circle
x2 + y 2 = 1 so that the resulting set is not homeomorphic to the unit interval [0, 1]? (1 point)
(Your reasoning is allowed to be informal, but should be convincing.)

2. Let G be a perfect binary tree of height h. Let n be the number of vertices of G, that is
n = 2h+1 − 1. Prove the following inequality. (4 points)
√
dn
2
−1
Dd (G) ≥ .
2h

3. Fix p ∈]1, 2] and d ∈ N. Given a vector x = (x1 , . . . , xd ) of length d, define

d
!1
p
p
X
||x||p = |xi | .
i=1
For any vectors a, b, x, y, z, w of length d, establish the following inequalities.
3. a) ||a + b||2p + (p − 1)||a − b||2p ≤ 2(||a||2p + ||b||2p ). (2 points)

3. b) ||y − z||2p + (p − 1)||x − w||2p ≤ ||x − y||2p + ||y − w||2p + ||w − z||2p + ||z − x||2p . (2 points)
(You may use without proof the inequality ||x + y||p ≤ ||x||p + ||y||p .)
 9. Maximal Orders of Residues

1. a) Give the definition of a cyclic group. (1 point)

 
×
1. b) Let Z×
n denote the set of elements of Zn that are invertible modulo n. Prove that Z2019 , ×
is a group. (1 point)
 
1. c) Is Z×
2019 , × a cyclic group? (1 point)
 
2. Let Z× 2019 [i], × be the group of primitive residue classes a, a ∈ Z[i], modulo 2019 (i.e. a
and 2019 are coprime in Z[i]). Compute the order of the group Z× 2019 [i]. (3 points).
√ √
3. a) Let p be a positive
√ integer, Zp [ 2] be the ring of residue classes a, a ∈ Z[ √2], modulo
p. Is the ring Z11 [ 2] a field? Does there exist an odd prime p ∈ N such that Zp [ 2] is not a
field? (3 points).
√ √
3. b) Investigate the same questions replacing 2 by 3 2 (1 point).
 10. Optical illusion

1. a) Are N and {k 2 , k ∈ N} visually equivalent? (1 point)

1. b) Are {(x, y) ∈ R2 , max(|x|, |y|) ≤ 1} and {(x, y) ∈ R2 , x2 + y 2 = 1} visually equivalent?
(1 point)
1. c) Consider a subset A 6= M of a metric space M . Prove that if diam(A) is finite, then M
is visually equivalent to M \A. (1 point)

2. a) Prove or disprove that for any K, C, R > 0 there exists T > 0 such that for any X ⊆ Z2 and
for any visual equivalence f : N −→ X with constants K, C, R there exists a ray γ : N −→ Z2
that satisfies the following property. (2 points)

sup inf d(f (n), γ(m)) ≤ T.

n∈N m∈N

2. b) Let Γ = (V, E) be a graph. Assume there is a vertex v ∈ V such that there is only one
ray starting at v. Prove or disprove that Γ is visually equivalent to (N, d). (2 points)

3. Consider the following “self similar” infinite graph Γ = (V, E).

The number of vertices vn at each vertical level n satisfies vn+1 = 2vn − 1. Prove or disprove
that Γ is visually equivalent to (N, d), where d(n, m) = |n − m|. (3 points)