11-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Novi Sad, Yugoslavia May 10, 1994

1. An acute angle XAY and a point P inside it are given. Construct (by a
ruler and a compass) a line that passes through P and intersects the rays
AX and AY at B and C such that the area of the triangle ABC equals
AP 2 .
(Cyprus)
2. Let m be an integer. Prove that the polynomial
x4 1994x3 + (1993 + m)x2 11x + m
has at most one integer zero.

(Greece)

3. Let (a1 , a2 , . . . , an ) be a permutation of the numbers 1, 2, . . . , n, where

n 2. Determine the largest possible value of
n1
X
k=1

|ak+1 ak |.

(Romania)

4. Find the smallest number n > 4 for which there can exist a set of n
people, such that any two people who are acquainted have no common
acquaintances, and any two people who are not acquainted have exactly
two common acquaintances. (Acquaintance is a symmetric relation.)
(Bulgaria)

12-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Plovdiv, Bulgaria May 9, 1995
1. Define x y =

x+y
. Evaluate (. . . (((2 3) 4) 5) . . . ) 1995.
1 + xy
(FYR Macedonia)

2. Circles c1 (O1 , r1 ) and c2 (O2 , r2 ), r2 > r1 , intersect at A and B so that

O1 AO2 = 90 . The line O1 O2 meets c1 at C and D, and c2 at E and F
(in the order C E D F ). The line BE meets c1 at K and AC at M ,
and the line BD meets c2 at L and AF at N . Prove that
KE LN
r2

.
=
r1
KM LD

(Greece)

3. Let a and b be natural numbers with a > b and 2 | a + b. Prove that the
solutions of the equation
x2 (a2 a + 1)(x b2 1) (b2 + 1)2 = 0
are natural numbers, none of which is a perfect square.

(Albania)

4. Let n be a natural number and S be the set of points (x, y) with x, y

{1, 2, . . . , n}. Let T be the set of all squares with the verticesw in the set
S. We denote by ak (k 0) the number of (unordered) pairs of points for
which there are exactly k squares in T having these two points as vertices.
Show that a0 = a2 + 2a3 .
(Yugoslavia)

13-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Bacau, Romania April 30, 1996
1. Let O be the circumcenter and G be the centroid of a triangle ABC. If
R and r are the circumcenter and incenter of the triangle, respectively,
prove that
p
OG R(R 2r).
(Greece)
2. Let p > 5 be a prime. Consider X = {p n2 | n N}. Prove that there
are two distinct elements x, y X such that x 6= 1 and x | y. (Albania)
3. In a convex pentagon ABCDE, M, N, P, Q, R are the midpoints of the
sides AB, BC, CD, DE, EA, respectively. If the segments AP, BQ, CR,
DM pass through a single point, prove that EN contains that point as
well.
(Yugoslavia)
4. Show that there exists a subset A of the set {1, 2, . . . , 21996 1} with the
following properties:
(i) 1 A and 21996 1 A;
(ii) Every element of A \ {1} is the sum of two (possibly equal) elements
of A;
(iii) A contains at most 2012 elements.

(Romania)

14-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Kalabaka, Greece April 30, 1997
1. Suppose that O is a point inside a convex quadrilateral ABCD such that
OA2 + OB 2 + OC 2 + OD2 = 2SABCD ,
where SABCD denotes the area of ABCD. Prove that ABCD is a square
and O its center.
(Yugoslavia)
2. Let A = {A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak } be a collection of subsets of an n-element set
S. If for any two elements x, y S there is a subset Ai A containing
exactly one of the two elements x, y, prove that 2k n.
(Yugoslavia)
3. Circles C1 and C2 touch each other externally at D, and touch a circle
internally at B and C, respectively. Let A be an intersection point of
and the common tangent to C1 and C2 at D. Lines AB and AC meet C1
and C2 again at K and L, respectively, and the line BC meets C1 again at
M and C2 again at N . Show that the lines AD, KM, LN are concurrent.
(Greece)
4. Determine all functions f : R R that satisfy
f (xf (x) + f (y)) = f (x)2 + y

for all x, y.

(Bulgaria)

15-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Nicosia, Cyprus May 5, 1998
h 2 i
k
1. Consider the finite sequence 1998
, k = 1, 2, . . . , 1997. How many distinct
terms are there in this sequence?
(Greece)
2. Let n 2 be an integer, and let 0 < a1 < a2 < < a2n+1 be real
numbers. Prove the inequality
p

n
a1 n a2 + n a3 + a2n+1 < n a1 a2 + a3 + a2n+1 .
(Romania)
3. Let S denote the set of points inside or on the border of a triangle ABC,
without a fixed point T inside the triangle. Show that S can be partitioned
into disjoint closed segemnts.
(Yugoslavia)
4. Prove that the equation y 2 = x5 4 has no integer solutions. (Bulgaria)

16-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Ohrid, Macedonia May 8, 1999
1. Let D be the midpoint of the shorter arc BC of the circumcircle of an
acute-angled triangle ABC. The points symmetric to D with respect to
BC and the circumcenter are denoted by E and F , respectively. Let K
be the midpoint of EA.
(a) Prove that the circle passing through the midpoints of the sides of
4ABC also passes through K.
(b) The line through K and the midpoint of BC is perpendicular to AF .
2. Let p > 2 be a prime number with 3 | p 2. Consider the set
S = {y 2 x3 1 | x, y Z, 0 x, y p 1}.
Prove that at most p 1 elements of S are divisible by p.
3. Let M, N, P be the orthogonal projections of the centroid G of an acuteangled triangle ABC onto AB, BC, CA, respectively. Prove that
SM N P
1
4
<
.
27
SABC
4
4. Let 0 x0 x1 x2 be a sequence of nonnegative integers such
that for every k 0 the number of terms of the sequence which do not
exceed k is finite, say yk . Prove that for all positive integers m, n,
n
X
i=0

xi +

m
X
j=0

yj (n + 1)(m + 1).

17-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Chisinau, Moldova May 5, 2000
1. [BMO 1997#4] Determine all functions f : R R that satisfy
f (xf (x) + f (y)) = f (x)2 + y

for all x, y.

(Albania)

2. Let ABC be a scalene triangle and E be a point on the median AD. Point
F is the orthogonal projection of E onto BC. Let M be a point on the
segment EF , and N, P be the orthogonal projections of M onto AC and
AB respectively. Prove that the bisectors of the angles P M N and P EN
are parallel.

3. Find the maximal number of rectangles 1 10 2 that can be cut off from
a rectangle 50 90 by using cuts parallel to the edges of the big rectangle.
(Yugoslavia)
4. A positive integer is a power if it is of the form ts for some integers t, s 2.
Prove that for any natural number n there exists a set A of positive integers
with the following properties:
(i) A has n elements;
(ii) Every element of A is a power;
(iii) For any 2 k n and any r1 , . . . , rk A,

r1 + + rk
is a power.
k

18-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Belgrade, Yugoslavia May 5, 2001
1. Let n be a positive integer. Prove that if a, b are integers greater than 1
such that ab = 2n 1, then the number ab (a b) 1 is of the form
k 22m , where k is odd and m a positive integer.
2. Prove that a convex pentagon that satisfies the following two conditions
must be regular:
(i) All its interior angles are equal;
(ii) The lengths of all its sides are rational numbers.
3. Let a, b, c be positive real numbers such that a + b + c abc. Prove that

a2 + b2 + c2 abc 3.
4. A cube of edge 3 is divided into 27 unit cube cells. One of these cells is
empty, while in the other cells there are unit cubes which are arbitrarily
denoted by 1, 2, . . . , 26. An legal move consists of moving a unit cube into
a neighboring empty cell (two cells are neighboring if they share a face).
Does there exist a finite sequence of legal moves after which any two cubes
denoted by k and 27 k (k = 1, 2, . . . , 13) will exchange their positions?

19-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Antalya, Turkey April 27, 2002
1. Points A1 , A2 , . . . , An (n 4), no three of which are collinear, are given
on the plane. Some pairs of distinct points among them are connected by
segments such that every point is connected to at least three other points.
Prove that there exist an integer k > 1 and distinct points X1 , X2 , . . . , X2k
from the set {A1 , . . . , An } such that Xi is connected to Xi+1 for i =
1, 2, . . . , 2k, where X2k+1 X1 .
2. The sequence (an ) is defined by a1 = 20, a2 = 30 and an+2 = 3an+1 an
for every n 1. Find all positive integers n for which 1 + 5an an+1 is a
perfect square.
3. Two circles with different radii intersect at A and B. Their common
tangents M N and ST touch the first circle at M and S and the second
circle at N and T . Show that the orthocenters of triangles AM N , AST ,
BM N , and BST are the vertices of a rectangle.
4. Determine all functions f : N N such that for all positive integers n
2n + 2001 f (f (n)) + f (n) 2n + 2002.

20-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Tirana, Albania May 4, 2003
1. Does there exist a set B of 4004 distinct natural numbers, such that for
any subset A of B containing 2003 elements, the sum of the elements of
A is not divisible by 2003?
(FYR Macedonia)
2. Let ABC be a triangle with AB 6= AC. The tangent at A to the circumcircle of the triangle ABC meets the line BC at D. Let E and F
be the points on the perpendicular bisectors of the segments AB and AC
respectively, such that BE and CF are both perpendicular to BC. Prove
that the points D, E, and F are collinear.
(Romania)
3. Find all functions f : Q R which satisfy the following conditions:
(i) f (x + y) yf (x) xf (y) = f (x)f (y) x y + xy for all x, y Q;
(ii) f (x) = 2f (x + 1) + 2 + X for all x Q;
(iii) f (1) + 1 > 0.

(Cyprus)

4. Let m and n be coprime odd positive integers. A rectangle ABCD with

AB = m and AD = n is divided into mn unit squares. Let A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak
be the consecutive points of intersection of the diagonal AC with the sides
of the unit squares (where A1 = A and Ak = C). Prove that
k1
X
j=1

j+1

(1)

Aj Aj+1 =

m2 + n 2
.
mn

(Bulgaria)

21-st Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Pleven, Bulgaria May 7, 2004
1. A sequence of real numbers a0 , a2 , a2 , . . . satisfies the condition
am+n + amn m + n 1 =

a2m + a2n
2

for all m, n N with m n. If a1 = 3, determine a2004 .

(Cyprus)

2. Find all solutions in the set of prime numbers of the equation

xy y x = xy 2 19.

(Albania)

3. Let O be an interior point of an acute-angled triangle ABC. The circles

centered at the midpoints of the sides of the triangle ABC and passing
through point O, meet in points K, L, M different from O. Prove that O
is the incenter of the triangle KLM if and only if O is the circumcenter
of the triangle ABC.
(Romania)
4. A plane is divided into regions by a finite number of lines, no three of
which are concurrent. We call two regions neighboring if their common
boundary is either a segment, a ray, or a line. One should write an integer
in each of the regions so as to fulfil the following two conditions:
(a) The product of the numbers from two neighboring regions is less than
their sum;
(b) The sum of all the numbers in the halfplane determined by any of
the lines is equal to zero.
Prove that this can be done if and only if not all the lines are parallel.
(Serbia and Montenegro)

22-nd Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Iasi, Romania May 6, 2005
1. The incircle of an acute-angled triangle ABC touches AB at D and AC
at E. Let the bisectors of the angles ACB and ABC intersect the line
DE at X and Y respectively, and let Z be the midpoint of BC. Prove
that the triangle XY Z is equilateral if and only if A = 60 . (Bulgaria)
2. Find all primes p such that p2 p + 1 is a perfect cube.

(Albania)

3. If a, b, c are positive real numbers, prove the inequality

a2
b2
c2
4(a b)2
+
+
a+b+c+
.
b
c
a
a+b+c
When does equality occur?

(Serbia and Montenegro)

4. Let n 2 be an integer, and let S be a subset of {1, 2, . . . , n} such that S

neither contains two coprime elements, nor does it contain two elements,
one of which divides the other. What is the maximum possible number of
elements of S?
(Romania)

23-rd Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Agros, Cyprus April 29, 2006
1. If a, b, c are positive numbers, prove the inequality
1
1
1
3
+
+

.
a(1 + b) b(1 + c) c(1 + a)
1 + abc
2. A line m intersects the sides AB, AC and the extension of BC beyond
C of the triangle ABC at points D, F, E, respectively. The lines through
points A, B, C which are parallel to m meet the circumcircle of triangle
ABC again at points A1 , B1 , C1 , respectively. Show that the lines A1 E,
B1 F , C1 D are concurrent.
3. Determine all triples (m, n, p) of positive rational numbers such that the
numbers
1
1
1
m+
, n+
, p+
np
pm
mn
are integers.
4. Given a positive integer m, consider the sequence (an ) of positive integers
defined by the initial term a0 = a and the recurrent relation
( a
n
if an is even,
an+1 =
2
an + m if an is odd.
Find all values of a for which this sequence is periodic (i.e. there exists
d > 0 such that an+d = an for all n).

24-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Rhodes, Greece April 28, 2007
1. In a convex quadrilateral ABCD with AB = BC = CD, the diagonals
AC and BD are of different length and intersect at point E. Prove that
AE = DE if and only if BAD + ADC = 120 .
(Albania)
2. Find all functions f : R R such that for all real x, y,
f (f (x) + y) = f (f (x) y) + 4f (x)y.

(Bulgaria)

3. Determine all natural numbers n for which there exists a permutation

of numbers 1, 2, . . . , n such that the number
s
r
q
p
(1) + (2) + + (n)
is rational.

(Serbia)

4. Let n 3 be an integer. Let C1 , C2 , C3 be the circumferences of three

convex n-gons in a plane such that the intersection of any two of them
is a finite set of points. Find the maximum possible number of points in
C1 C2 C3 .
(Turkey)

25-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Ohrid, FYR Macedonia May 6, 2008

1.

An acute-angled scalene triangle ABC with AC > BC is given. Let O be its

circumcenter, H its orthocenter, and F the foot of the altitude from C. Let
P be the point (other than A) on the line AB such that AF = P F , and M
be the midpoint of AC. We denote the intersection of P H and BC by X, the
intersection of OM and F X by Y , and the intersection of OF and AC by Z.
Prove that the points F, M, Y and Z are concyclic.

2.

Does there exist a sequence a1 , a2 , . . . of positive numbers satisfying both of the

following conditions:
Pn
2
(i)
i=1 ai n for every positive integer n;
Pn 1
(ii)
i=1 ai 2008 for every positive integer n?

3.

Let n be a positive integer. The rectangle ABCD with side lengths 90n + 1
and 90n + 5 is partitioned into unit squares with sides parallel to the sides of
ABCD. Let S be the set of all points which are vertices of these unit squares.
Prove that the number of lines which pass through at least two points from S
is divisible by 4.

4.

Let c be a positive integer. The sequence a1 , a2 , . . . is defined by a1 = c and

an+1 = a2n + an + c3 for every positive integer n. Find all values of c for which
there exist some integers k 1 and m 2 such that a2k + c3 is the m-th power
of some positive integer.

Time allowed: 4.5 hours.

Each problem is worth 10 points.

26-th Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Kragujevac, Serbia April 30, 2009

1. Find all integer solutions of the equation

3x 5y = z 2 .

(Greece)

2. In a triangle ABC, points M and N on the sides AB and AC respectively are

such that M N k BC. Let BN and CM intersect at point P . The circumcircles
of triangles BM P and CN P intersect at two distinct points P and Q. Prove
that BAQ = CAP .
(Moldova)

3. A 912 rectangle is divided into unit squares. The centers of all the unit squares,
except the four corner squares and the eight squares adjacent (by side) to them,
are colored red. Is it possible to numerate the red centers by C1 , C2 , . . . , C96 so
that the following two conditions are fulfilled:

1 All segments C1 C2 , C2 C3 , . . . C95 C96 , C96 C1 have the length 13;

2 The polygonal line C1 C2 . . . C96 C1 is centrally symmetric?

4. Determine all functions f : N N satisfying

f f (m)2 + 2f (n)2 = m2 + 2n2

for all m, n N.

Each problem is worth 10 points.

Time allowed: 4 21 hours.

(Bulgaria)

(Bulgaria)