PURPLE COMET!

MATH MEET April 2024

HIGH SCHOOL - SOLUTIONS

Copyright ©Titu Andreescu and Jonathan Kane

Problem 1
Joe ate one half of a fifth of a pizza. Gale ate one third of a quarter of that pizza. The difference in the
1
amounts that the two ate was n of the pizza, where n is a positive integer. Find n.

Answer: 60
1 1 1 1 1 1 6−5 1
The difference is 2 · 5 − 3 · 4 = 10 − 12 = 60 = 60 . The requested denominator is 60.

Problem 2
Consider triangles whose three angles have three different positive integers for their degree measures. Find
the greatest possible difference between the degree measures of two of the angles in such a triangle.

Answer: 176
The least possible degree measures for two different angles in a triangle are 1 and 2. In this case, the third
angle in the triangle is 180 − 1 − 2 = 177, which is the greatest possible measure for an angle in such a
triangle. Thus, the greatest possible difference is 177 − 1 = 176.

Problem 3
Five years ago Xing was twice as old as Ying, and six years from now, the sum of their ages will be 100.
Find the difference in their ages.

Answer: 26
Let x be Xing’s age and y be Ying’s age. Then the problem states that x − 5 = 2(y − 5) and
(x + 6) + (y + 6) = 100. These simplify to 2y − x = 5 and x + y = 88. Adding the two equations gives
3y = 93, so y = 31 and x = 88 − 31 = 57. The difference in their ages is 57 − 31 = 26.

Problem 4
Find the number of digits you would write if you wrote down all of the integers from 1 through 2024:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, . . . , 2022, 2023, 2024.

1
Answer: 6989
The number includes 9 one-digit numbers, 99 − 9 = 90 two-digit numbers, 999 − 99 = 900 three-digit
numbers, and 2024 − 999 = 1025 four-digit numbers. Therefore, there are
9 · 1 + 90 · 2 + 900 · 3 + 1025 · 4 = 6989 digits.

Alternatively, write down 4 digits for each of the integers 1 to 2024 and then remove the thousands digit
from 1 to 999, the hundreds digit from 1 to 99, and the tens digit from 1 to 9 for a total of
4 · 2024 − 999 − 99 − 9 = 6989 digits.

Problem 5
Rectangle ABCD has sides AB = 24 and BC = 16. Side AB is the diameter of a circle with center E. The
line through points D and E intersects the circle at point F outside of the rectangle, as shown. Find the
length DF .

B A
E
16

C 24 D

Answer: 32
1
Point E is the midpoint of segment AB, so AE = 2 · 24 = 12. Segment DE is the hypotenuse of right
triangle △ADE, so its length is given by the Pythagorean Theorem as
√ √
DE = AD2 + AE 2 = 162 + 122 = 20. Segment EF is a radius of the circle, so EF = AE = 12. Thus,
DF = DE + EF = 20 + 12 = 32.

Problem 6
Children numbered 1, 2, 3, . . . , 400 sit around a circle in that order. Starting with child numbered 148, you
tap the heads of children 148, 139, 130, . . . , tapping the heads of every ninth child as you walk around the
circle. Find the number of the 100th child whose head you will tap.

Answer: 57
To move from the first child to the last child, you must count the heads of 99 · 9 = 891 children. This
means you go around the circle of 400 children twice and then count another 91 heads to end up at the
child numbered 148 − 91 = 57.

Problem 7
Find the base-eight representation of the base-four number 3214 plus the base-six number 3216 .

2
Answer: 262
The required sum is (3 · 42 + 2 · 4 + 1) + (3 · 62 + 2 · 6 + 1) = 178 = 2628 .

Problem 8
Let a and b be nonzero real numbers such that

(a − b)3 + (12a − b)3 = (9a − b)3 + (10a − b)3 .

a m
The fraction b reduces to n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + 10n.

Answer: 61
Expanding each of the cubes gives

(a3 − 3a2 b + 3ab2 − b3 ) + (1728a3 − 432a2 b + 36ab2 − b3 )

= (729a3 − 243a2 b + 27ab2 − b3 ) + (1000a3 − 300a2 b + 30ab2 − b3 ),

a
which simplifies to 108a2 b = 18ab2 . Because a and b are nonzero, this reduces to 6a = b, so b = 61 . Indeed,
a = 1 and b = 6 satisfy the given equation. The value of the requested expression is 1 + 10 · 6 = 61.

Problem 9
Find the number of rectangles pictured in the rectangular grid below that contain one but not both of the
shaded squares.

3
Answer: 172
A rectangle containing the lower shaded square is determined by 1 of 2 vertical lines to the left of the
square, 1 of 5 vertical lines to the right of the square, 1 of 4 horizontal lines above the square, and 1 of 3
horizontal lines below the square accounting for 2 · 5 · 4 · 3 = 120 rectangles. Similarly, a rectangle
containing the upper shaded square is determined by 1 of 5 vertical lines to the left of the square, 1 of 2
vertical lines to the right of the square, 1 of 2 horizontal lines above the square, and 1 of 5 horizontal lines
below the square accounting for 2 · 5 · 5 · 2 = 100 rectangles. A rectangle containing both shaded squares is
determined by 1 of 2 vertical lines to the left, 1 of 2 vertical lines to the right, 1 of 2 horizontal lines above,
and 1 of 3 horizontal lines below accounting for 2 · 2 · 2 · 3 = 24 rectangles. The number of rectangles
containing at least 1 of the shaded squares is 120 + 100 − 24 = 196, so the number that contain 1 but not 2
of the shaded squares is 196 − 24 = 172.

Problem 10
The convex quadrilateral ABCD has area 441. Let E be the intersection of the diagonals AC and BD, and
√
suppose that AE = 12, BE = 16, CE = 30, and DE = 5. Then the perimeter of ABCD is m + n p,
where m and n are positive integers and p is prime. Find m + n + p.

Answer: 109
Let θ = ∠AEB = ∠CED = 180◦ − ∠BEC = 180◦ − ∠DEA. Then the area of ABCD is

sin θ
441 = · (AE · BE + BE · CE + CE · DE + DE · AE)
2
sin θ
= · (AE + CE)(BE + DE) = 441 sin θ,
2

so θ = 90◦ . It follows that the perimeter of ABCD is

p p p p
AE 2 + BE 2 + BE 2 + CE 2 + CE 2 + DE 2 + DE 2 + AE 2
p p p p √ √
= 122 + 162 + 162 + 302 + 302 + 52 + 52 + 122 = 20 + 34 + 5 37 + 13 = 67 + 5 37.

The requested sum is 67 + 5 + 37 = 109.

Problem 11
Find n such that
1 1 1 1 n5
+ + + ··· + = .
1! · 31! 3! · 29! 5! · 27! 15! · 17! 32!

4
Answer: 64
Multiplying both sides of the given equation by 32! yields
       
5 32 32 32 32
n = + + + ··· +
1 3 5 15
       
1 32 32 32 32
= + + + ··· +
2 1 3 5 31
       
1 32 32 32 32
= + + + ··· +
4 0 1 2 32
1 32
= · 2 = 230 .
4

It follows that n = 26 = 64.

Problem 12
Find the number of triples (a, b, c) of decimal digits a, b, and c with a ̸= 0 where the three-digit integer
a b c divided by the three-digit integer c b a equals 2 − ac .

Answer: 91
The problem statement says that
100a + 10b + c c
=2− .
100c + 10b + a a
Subtracting 1 from each side of this equation yields

100(a − c) + (c − a) a−c
= .
100c + 10b + a a

This is satisfied whenever a = c. In this case there are 9 possible values of the digit a and 10 possible
values for the digit b. This accounts for 9 · 10 = 90 triples (a, b, c). If a and c are different, the equation
reduces to 98a = 100c + 10b. Because the right side is an integer multiple of 10, and a is nonzero, a must
be 5. Then, dividing by 10 yields 49 = 10c + b, and it follows that c = 4 and b = 9. This gives the triple
(5, 9, 4) as 1 more triple. Therefore, there are 90 + 1 = 91 triples.

Problem
√
13 √
1+ 5 r+s 5
Let a = 2 . There are relatively prime positive integers r, s, and t such that t is the reciprocal of
   
8 1 2 1 4 1
a − a+ a + 2 a + 4 .
a a a

Find r + s + t.

5
Answer: 70
Note that for positive real numbers x and y and positive integer n
 x2 n+1 n+1
 n n − y2
(x + y) x2 + y 2 x4 + y 4 x8 + y 8 · · · x2 + y 2 =




.
x−y

Set x = a and y = a1 and note that then x − y = a − 1

a = 1. This shows that the given expression is equal
to a8 − a8 − a18 = a18 . The required value is

√ !8 √ !4 √ !2 √
8 1+ 5 3+ 5 7+3 5 47 + 21 5
a = = = = .
2 2 2 2

The requested sum is 47 + 21 + 2 = 70.

Problem 14
Find the number of complex numbers z such that |z − 6| = 3 and z 60 is a real number.

Answer: 40
The complex numbers that satisfy |z − 6| = 3 form a circle in the complex plane centered at 6 with radius
3. A number z 60 is real if its argument is an integer multiple of 3◦ . The lines through 0 that are tangent to
the circle form a 30◦ angle with the real axis, as shown.

Thus, the values of z on the circle have arguments between −30◦ and 30◦ . The number of the values on the
circle with arguments that are integer multiples of 3◦ is
 
30 − (−30)
2+2· − 1 = 40.
3

Problem 15
The product
100  
Y 4(2k − 1)
1− 2
2k + 2k + 1
k=1
m
can be written as n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

6
Answer: 400000002
Note that
4(2k − 1) 2k 2 − 6k + 5 (k − 2)2 + (k − 1)2
1− 2
= 2 = ,
2k + 2k + 1 2k + 2k + 1 k 2 + (k + 1)2
so the product telescopes leaving

1 1 1 1
((−1)2 + 02 ) · (02 + 12 ) · · = · .
992 + 1002 1002 + 1012 1002 + (100 − 1)2 1002 + (100 + 1)2

The denominator of this fraction is

1002 + (100 − 1)2 1002 + (100 + 1)2 = 2 · 1002 + 1 − 200 2 · 1002 + 1 + 200

= (2 · 1002 + 1)2 − 2002 = 4 · 1004 + 1.

The requested sum is 1 + 4 · 1004 + 1 = 400,000,002.

Problem 16
Find the number of 7-letter sequences made up of the letters A, B, and C where each letter appears an odd
number of times in the sequence.

Answer: 546
Note that in any sequence with an odd number of As, Bs, and Cs either one of the three letters appears 1
time with the other two letters each appearing 3 times, or one of the three letters appears 5 times with the
other two letters each appearing once. Thus, the number of sequences is
 
7! 7!
3 + = 546.
3! · 3! 5!

Alternatively, the number of sequences can be calculated recursively. For an n-letter sequences of the
letters A, B, and C, let rn , sn , and tn be, respectively,

ˆ the number of sequences where A and B each appear an odd number of times,

ˆ exactly one of A or B appears an odd number of times, and

ˆ neither A nor B appears an odd number of times.

Note that r0 = 0, s0 = 0, and t0 = 1. By considering what happens when one more letter is added to the
end of a sequence, the follow recurrences follow:

rn = rn−1 + sn−1 ,

sn = 2rn−1 + 2tn−1 + sn−1 , and

tn = tn−1 + sn−1 .

7
From the first and third recurrence, it follows that tn = rn + 1, for all n. The second recurrence then
simplifies to sn = 2rn−1 + 2(rn−1 + 1) + sn−1 = 4rn−1 + 2 + (rn − rn−1 ) = rn + 3rn−1 + 2. Thus, the first
recurrence can be written as rn = rn−1 + sn−1 = rn−1 + (rn−1 + 3rn−2 + 2) = 2rn−1 + 3rn−2 + 2. Given
that r0 = r1 = 0, this recurrence can be iterated to get r2 = 2, r3 = 6, r4 = 20, r5 = 60, r6 = 182, and
r7 = 546. Therefore, the requested number is 546.

Alternatively, for any sequence 7-letter sequence of the letters A, B, and C, let a, b, and c be the number of
As, Bs, and Cs in the sequences, respectively. Note that for any such sequence, 1 − (−1)a − (−1)b − (−1)c
is 4 if a, b, and c are all odd, and 0 if only one of a, b, or c is odd. Thus, the number of sequences where a,
b, and c are all odd is
1 X
1 − (−1)a − (−1)b − (−1)c .


·
4 sequences

Next note that of all the 7-letter sequences of the letters A, B, and C, the number with an even number of
As is 1 more than the number with an odd number of As. Indeed, consider the mapping that takes a
7-letter sequence, finds the first letter in the sequence that is not a B, and changes that letter from an A to
a C or a C to an A. This mapping is not defined for the sequence that is all Bs, but it is a one-to-one
mapping on all the other sequences. In addition, it maps all sequences with an even number of As to a
sequence with an odd number of As and all sequences with an odd number of As to a sequence with an even
number of As. This shows that of the sequences that are not all Bs, there are just as many with an even
number of As as with an odd number of As. Similarly, there is one more sequence with an even number of
Bs as sequences with an odd number of Bs, and the same is true for Cs. Thus, the required number is

1 X
1
2187 − 1 − 1 − 1
· 1 − (−1)a − (−1)b − (−1)c = · 37 − 1 − 1 − 1 = = 546.
4 sequences 4 4

Problem 17
Find the least possible value of a + b + c, where a, b, and c are positive integers, a, b − 8, c is an arithmetic
progression and a2 , b2 , c2 is also an arithmetic progression.

Answer: 71
Assume without loss of generality that a < c. Then a + c = 2(b − 8) and a2 + c2 = 2b2 , so
2(a2 + c2 ) = (2b)2 = (a + c + 16)2 . It follows that a2 + c2 − 2ac − 32a − 32c − 256 = 0, which is equivalent
to a2 − 2a(c + 16) + c2 − 32c − 256 = 0. This is a quadratic equation in a with discriminant

∆ = 4 (c + 16)2 − (c2 − 32c − 256) = 4 · 64(c + 8).

 

For a to be an integer, there must be an integer n ≥ 4 such that c + 8 = n2 , and the solution to the
equation with a < c is a = n2 − 8n + 8. The least n for which n2 − 8n + 8 = (n − 4)2 − 8 is positive is
a+c
n = 7, and this gives a = 1, c = 41, and b = 29. Note that a + b + c = (a + c) + 2 + 8 = 3n(n − 2) + 8,
which is increasing for n ≥ 7. Thus, the requested least possible value for the sum is 1 + 29 + 41 = 71.

8
Problem 18
The sum of the two solutions to the equation

√
log2 x−logx 2
x = 16

m
is equal to n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find 10m + n.

Answer: 658
Taking the logarithm base 2 of each side of the given equation yields

√
log2 ( x)log2 x−logx 2 = log2 16,

which implies that

√
(log2 x − logx 2) · log2 ( x) = 4.
 
Substituting log2 x = y, this equation becomes y − y1 12 · y = 4, which is equivalent to y 2 − 1 = 8.

Thus, y = 3 implying x = 8, or y = −3 implying x = 81 . Hence, m

n =8+ 1
8 = 65
8 . The requested expression
is 10 · 65 + 8 = 658.

Problem 19
A box contains eight balls, two of each color red, blue, green, and purple. Doug randomly selects two of the
balls without replacement, records the colors of the two balls, and then returns the balls to the box. Then
Becky also randomly selects two of the balls, records the colors, and returns the balls to the box. Finally,
Travis repeats what Doug and Becky have done. The probability that the six colors recorded by Doug,
m
Becky, and Travis include at least one of each of the colors red, blue, green, and purple is n, where m and
n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

Answer: 283
8 8 3



Each of Doug, Becky, and Travis have 2 ways to select two balls from the box, so there are 2 = 283
equally likely ways for the three of them to make their selections. Let R, B, G, and P be the set of ways
Doug, Becky, and Travis could have selected balls so that none of the balls are red, blue, green, or purple,

3
respectively. Note that each of these sets has size 62 , the intersection of any two of these sets has size
4 3 2 3



2 , and the intersection of any three of these sets has size 2 . Then by the Principle of

Inclusion/Exclusion the number of ways the three people could have avoided selecting at least one of the

3
3
3
colors is |R ∪ B ∪ G ∪ P | = 41 · 62 − 42 · 42 + 43 · 22 = 12,208. The required probability is, therefore,

12,208 87
1− 283 = 196 . The requested sum is 87 + 196 = 283.

Problem 20
√ √
Let a, b, and c be real numbers such that a + b + c = 3 3 and a3 + b3 + c3 = 11 3. Evaluate
√
9(ab + bc + ca) − abc 3.

9
Answer: 70


Apply the identity a3 + b3 + c3 − 3abc = (a + b + c) (a + b + c)2 − 3(ab + bc + ca) to obtain
√ √
√
11 3 − 3abc = (3 3) 27 − 3(ab + bc + ca) . Thus, 9(ab + bc + ca) − abc 3 = 3 · 27 − 11 = 70.

Problem 21
The real part of
    7
2π 2π
2 1 + cos + i sin
5 5
√
is equal to m + n 5 for some integers m and n. Find m2 + n2 .

Answer: 97
Using the double angle formulas sin(2x) = 2 sin x cos x and cos(2x) = 2 cos2 x − 1, the expression becomes
 π π  π  7 π  π  π  7
2 2 cos2 + 2i sin cos = 28 cos7 cos + i sin =
5 5 5 5 5 5
π   
7π
 
7π
28 cos7 cos + i sin ,
5 5 5

1+√5
1−√5
which has real part 28 cos7 π5 cos 7π π
and cos 7π



5 . Because cos 5 = 4 5 = 4 , the required real
part is
√ !7 √
√ 2 3 √ √ √
 
8 1+ 5 1− 5 1
2 · · = 8· 1+ 5 · (1 + 5)(1 − 5) = −9 − 4 5.
4 4 2

The value of the requested expression is (−9)2 + (−4)2 = 97.

√
A classic way to see that cos π5 = 1+4 5 is to consider the isosceles triangle with base angles equal to 2π


5
π
and vertex angle equal to 5 with with two sides of length 1 and base y. Bisecting one of the base angles of
π
the isosceles triangle divides the triangle into two isosceles triangles, one with vertex angle 5 and one with
3π
vertex angle 5 , as shown.

1
y
1−y

π 1 π


Then cos 5 = 2y .
By similar triangles, the ratios of the sides of the triangles with vertex angle 5 is
√
1+√5
y 1−y
1 = y from which y = 5−1
2 . This implies that cos 5 =
π
4 .

Problem 22
Find the remainder when 2888 + 5888 is divided by 2024.

10
Answer: 249
Let N = 2888 + 5888 . Because 2888 is a multiple of 8, and 52 ≡ 1 (mod 8), it follows that N ≡ 1 (mod 8).
By Fermat’s Little Theorem, 210 ≡ 510 ≡ 1 (mod 11), so N ≡ 28 + 58 ≡ 256 + 34 ≡ 337 ≡ 7 (mod 11).
Again, by Fermat’s Little Theorem 222 ≡ 522 ≡ 1 (mod 23), so N ≡ 28 + 58 ≡ 256 + 24 ≡ 272 ≡ 19
(mod 23). By the Chinese Remainder Theorem N ≡ 1 (mod 8), N ≡ 7 (mod 11), and N ≡ 19 (mod 23)
imply that N ≡ 249 (mod 8 · 11 · 23) ≡ 249 (mod 2024), which is the required remainder.

Problem 23
Let u and v be real numbers such that the point u + vi in the complex plane is the circumcenter of the
triangle with vertices at 2 + 9i, 7 + 8i, and 11 + 6i. Find 10u − v.

Answer: 19
Because u + vi is equidistant from each of the vertices of the triangle,

(u − 2)2 + (v − 9)2 = (u − 7)2 + (v − 8)2 = (u − 11)2 + (v − 6)2 .

This implies that (14 − 4)u + (16 − 18)v = 72 + 82 − 22 − 92 and

(22 − 14)u + (12 − 16)v = 112 + 62 − 72 − 82 . It follows that 10u − 2v = 28 and 8u − 4v = 44, which have
solutions u = 1 and v = −9. The requested expression is 10u − v = 19.

Problem 24
One hundred people will visit a monument. Each will arrive at the monument at a time chosen randomly
and independently during a five-hour period, and each will remain at the monument for 20 minutes. If two
people are at the monument at the same time, those two people will shake hands once. Find the expected
number of handshakes.

Answer: 638
Two visitors will shake hands if they arrive at the monument within 20 minutes of each other. That is, two
people arriving at times x and y during the 5-hour period will shake hands if |x − y| < 31 . This is equivalent
to the point (x, y) in the coordinate plane being chosen randomly in the square with vertices (0, 0), (5, 0),
1
(5, 5), and (0, 5) and falling between the lines y − x = 3 and y − x = − 31 , as shown.

11
The probability that any two visitors will shake hands is, therefore,

5 · 5 − 2 · 21 · 14
3 · 14
3 29
= .
5·5 225
100


Because there are 2 = 50 · 99 pairs of visitors, the expected number of handshakes is
29
225 · 50 · 99 = 29 · 2 · 11 = 638.

Problem 25
Points A, B, and C lie on a line in that order such that AB = 7 and BC = 4. Points D and E lie on the
same side of line AC such that △ABD and △BCE are both equilateral. The line passing through the
centroids of △ABD and △BCE also intersects sides BE and CE at points F and G, respectively. The
m
ratio of the area of △EF G to the area of △BCE is n, where m and n are relatively prime positive
integers. Find m + n.

F
G
A B C

Answer: 391
Because △ABD and △BCE are similar, lines AC, DE, and F G are concurrent, intersecting at H. Let
BD BH 7 x+4 16
x = CH. Then CE = CH , meaning 4 = x , which implies that x = 3 . Let K and L lie on BC such that
BK = KL = LC = 43 , and let M be the centroid of △BCE. Then △KLM is an equilateral triangle with
side length 43 , and F , M , G, and H are collinear.

F M
G

A B K L C x H

12
 BF KM KM
The similarity of △BHF and △KHM implies that BH = KH = KC+CH , so
4  
3 16 14
BF = 8 16 · 4+ = .
3 + 3
3 9
CG LM LM
The similarity of △CHG and △LHM implies that CH = LH = LC+CH , so
4
3 16 16
CG = 4 16 · = .
3 + 3
3 15
22 44
Thus, EF = EB − BF = 9 and EG = CE − CG = 15 . Then
1 22 44
Area(△EF G) 2 · EF · EG · sin(∠BEC) · 121
= 1 = 9 15 = .
Area(△BCE) 2 · EB · EC · sin(∠BEC) 4·4 270

The requested sum is 121 + 270 = 391.

The values of EF and EG in the first solution can also be determined by using mass point arguments.
Define the points M and H as in the first solution, and let N be the midpoint of BC. Then M lies on EN .

F
G
M

B N C H

16 1
As in the first solution, CH = 3 . Also N C = 2 · BC = 2. Hence, for the center of BH to lie at C, the
ratio of masses at B and H should be 8 : 3. Because M is the center of △BCE, for the center of EN to lie
at M , the ratio of masses at N and E should be 2 : 1. Therefore, it is appropriate to assign a mass of 8 to
N , a mass of 3 to H, and a mass of 4 to E. Then the mass at C is 8 + 3 = 11, the mass at M is 4 + 8 = 12,
CG 15−11 4
and the mass at G is 4 + 11 = 12 + 3 = 15. It then follows that EG = 15−4 = 11 , from which

EC 4 44
EG = CG
= 4 = 15 ,
1 + EG 1 + 11

as above.
22
Then consider △EBH with center of mass M . Because BN = 2 and N H = 3 , it is appropriate to assign
a mass of 11 to B and a mass of 3 to H, so the mass at N is 11 + 3 = 14. As above, the mass at E should
be half the mass at N , so assign a mass of 7 to E making the mass at M equal to 7 + 14 = 21. The mass at
BF 18−11 7
F is then 21 − 3 = 18. It follows that EF = 18−7 = 11 , from which

EB 4 22
EF = BF
= 7 = 9 ,
1 + EF 1 + 11

as above.

13
Problem 26
Let S be the set of integers greater than 1 that are not divisible by any prime numbers greater than 5.
That is, S = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, . . . }. There are relatively prime positive integers m and n
such that
m X 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
= = 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + ··· .
n k2 2 3 4 5 6 8
k∈S

Find m + n.

Answer: 25
The integers in S are products of powers of 2, 3, and 5. Thus, for each term in the given sum is a power of
1 1
22 times a power of times a power of 512 . Therefore, the sum is
32
   
X 1 ∞ ∞ ∞
X 1  X 1  X 1  4 9 25 9
= −1= · · −1= .
k2 j=0
22j
j=0
3 2j
j=0
52j 3 8 24 16
k∈S

The requested sum is 9 + 16 = 25.

Problem 27
Circle ω with diameter 4 is internally tangent to circle γ with diameter 7. Five circles λ1 , λ2 , λ3 , λ4 , and
λ5 are each internally tangent to γ and externally tangent to ω, and λi is externally tangent to λi+1 , for
m
i = 1, 2, 3, 4, as shown. Assuming that λ1 has diameter 3, λ5 has radius n, where m and n are relatively
prime positive integers. Find m + n.

14
Answer: 107
Let A be the point where ω and γ are tangent. Perform an inversion of the plane through a circle centered
√
at A with radius 28. Then ω and γ get mapped to two parallel lines at distances 28 28
4 = 7 and 7 = 4 from

A, respectively, and the circles λ1 , λ2 , λ3 , λ4 , and λ5 get mapped to five congruent circles with diameter
7 − 4 = 3. Let B be the center of the circle that is the image of λ1 , and C be the center of the circle that is
the image of λ5 .

B C

√ q
11 2

1
√
Then △ABC is a right triangle with right angle at B, so AC = AB 2 + BC 2 = 2 + 122 = 2 697.
1
√ 3
The line through A and C intersects the image of λ5 at two points that distances 697 − and 2 2
1
√ 3
2 697 + 2 from A. Thus, when the same inversion is applied, those two points become endpoints of a

diameter of λ5 , and the distance between them is

28 28 21
1
√ 3
− 1√ 3
= .
2 697 − 2 2 697 + 2
43

21
The required radius is 86 . The requested sum is 21 + 86 = 107.

Problem 28
The complex number z has real part equal to 15 and positive imaginary part. The complex number w
13
equals 5 · z. The complex numbers z, w, and w are three of the vertices of a right triangle in the complex
plane. Find the length of the hypotenuse of this triangle. Here w refers to the complex conjugate of w.

Answer: 52
Because the side of the triangle from w to w is vertical, and the sides of the triangle between z and w and
between z and w cannot be horizontal, the triangle does not have a right angle at w or at w. Therefore, in
order for the points to be three vertices of a right triangle, the triangle must have a right angle at z. Thus,
z−w
the complex numbers z and z − w must be at right angles. In other words, the real part of z must be 0.
Then
13
z− ·z
     
z−w 5 13 z
0 = Re = Re = Re 1 − · .
z z 5 z
z 5 152 −b2 5


Suppose z has imaginary part b. It follows that Re z = 13 , so 152 +b2 = 13 , implying b = 10. Hence,
z = 15 + 10i, w = 39 + 26i, and w = 39 − 26i. The hypotenuse of the triangle has length
|w − w| = 2 · Im(w) = 2 · 26 = 52.

15
Problem 29
Erica and Alan each flip a fair coin 5 times. Suppose that Erica has flipped more heads than Alan after
each has flipped the coin 2 times. The probability that Erica has flipped more heads than Alan after each
m
has flipped the coin 5 times is n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

Answer: 109
When flipping a fair coin twice, the probabilities of getting 0, 1, and 2 heads are 41 , 24 , and 14 , respectively.
Thus, the probabilities that a particular person gets 0, 1, and 2 more heads than the other person after
each has flipped a fair coin twice are

12 + 22 + 12 3 1·2+2·1 1 1
= , = , and , respectively.
16 8 16 4 16

When flipping a fair coin three times, the probabilities of getting 0, 1, 2, and 3 heads are 18 , 38 , 38 , and 18 ,
respectively. Thus, the probabilities that a particular person gets 0, 1, 2, and 3 more heads than the other
person after each has flipped a fair coin three times are

12 + 32 + 32 + 12 5 3·1+3·3+1·3 15 3·1+1·3 3 1·1 1

= , = , = , and = , respectively.
8·8 16 8·8 64 8·8 32 8·8 64

Erica can get more heads than Alan after 2 flips and after 5 flips if she is ahead by 1 head after 2 flips and
gets at least as many heads as Alan in the next 3 flips, or if she is ahead by 2 heads after 2 flips and is gets
no fewer than 1 head less than Alan does in the next 3 flips. Therefore, the probability that Erica gets
more heads than Alan both after 2 flips and after 5 flips is
   
1 5 15 3 1 1 3 1 225
· + + + + · 1− − = .
4 16 64 32 64 16 32 64 1024

The required conditional probability is

225
1024 45
1 1 = .
4 + 16 64
The requested sum is 45 + 64 = 109.

16
Problem 30
Sphere S has radius 5, center C, and diameter AB. Let N be the spherical disk consisting of the points in
S a distance less than or equal to 6 from A. Let P be the cone-like solid consisting of all the points on line
segments with one endpoint in N and the other endpoint at C. Let Q be the cone-like solid consisting of
all the points on line segments with one endpoint in N and the other endpoint at B. Then the ratio of the
m
volume of Q to the volume of P can be written as n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers.
Find m + n.

Answer: 66
The arithmetic is simpler if the radius of S is set at 25, and N is defined to be the points of S a distance
less than or equal to 30 from A. Let D be a point on S that is a distance 30 from A, and let E be a point
on AB so that DE ⊥ AB. Then △ABD has a right angle at D, and the Pythagorean Theorem gives
√
BD = AB 2 − AD2 = 40. Because △ADB is similar to △AED,

AD
AE = AD · = 18,
AB
4
and CE = 25 − AE = 7. Similarly, DE = 3 · AE = 24.

A B
E C

17
The surface area of sphere S is 4π · 252 = 2500π, and because the surface area of a sphere between two
parallel planes that intersect the sphere is proportional to the distance between the planes, the area of
18 1
region N is 2500π · 50 = 900π. Thus, the volume of P is 3 · 900π · 25 = 7500π. Divide the region P into two
parts separated by the plane perpendicular to AB at E. Thus, P is made up of a cone with height CE
whose base is a circle with center E and radius DE and a spherical cap consisting of the points in P not in
that cone. The cone has volume 31 CE · DE 2 π = 56 · 24π, and the spherical cap has volume
(7500 − 56 · 24)π. The region Q can also be divided into two parts separated by the same plane. Thus, Q is
made up of a cone with height BE = CE + 25 = 32 together with the same spherical cap that is part of P .
Therefore, the volume of Q is

1
(7500 − 56 · 24)π + BE · DE 2 π = (7500 − 56 · 24)π + 256 · 24π = (7500 + 4800)π = 12,300π.
3
12,300 41
The required ratio of the volume of Q to the volume of P is 7500 = 25 . The requested sum is 41 + 25 = 66.

18