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UMUMC36

The document outlines the instructions and problems for the Thirty-Sixth University of Michigan Undergraduate Mathematics Competition held on April 13, 2019. It includes ten mathematical problems covering various topics such as series evaluation, inequalities, geometry, combinatorics, and game theory. Participants are required to prove their answers for full credit, and no calculators are allowed.

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11 views2 pages

UMUMC36

The document outlines the instructions and problems for the Thirty-Sixth University of Michigan Undergraduate Mathematics Competition held on April 13, 2019. It includes ten mathematical problems covering various topics such as series evaluation, inequalities, geometry, combinatorics, and game theory. Participants are required to prove their answers for full credit, and no calculators are allowed.

Uploaded by

TiltTheTilt
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Thirty-Sixth

University of Michigan
Undergraduate Mathematics Competition
April 13, 2019

Instructions. Write on the front of your blue book your student ID number. Do not write
your name anywhere on your blue book. Each question is worth 10 points. For full credit,
you must prove that your answers are correct even when the question doesn’t say “prove”.
There are lots of problems of widely varying difficulty. It is not expected that anyone will
solve them all; look for ones that seem easy and fun. No calculators are allowed.

Problem 1. Evaluate the series


1 1 1
√ √ + √ √ + √ √ + ···
2 3+3 2 3 4+4 3 4 5+5 4

Problem 2. Show that 3n , with n ≥ 3 an integer, cannot have only odd digits in its decimal
representation.

Problem 3. Suppose that a, b, c are positive real numbers with


a b c
+ + ≤ 5.
b c a
What is the largest possible value of ab ?

Problem 4. In a magical isosceles triangle 4ABC we have |AC| = |BC|. Let D be the
midpoint between A and B. The inscribed circle of ABC intersects the line segment CD
in a point E that is in the interior of the triangle. Suppose that |AB| = 15 and |CE| = 8.
Determine |AC|.

Problem 5. We have a set D of N Associate Deans, and we form m different committees


whose members are in D, with the cardinalities of the committees being k1 , k2 , . . . , km , and
no committee is a subcommittee of any other. Show that
m
X
ki !(N − ki )! ≤ N ! .
i=1
(UM)2 C36 April 13

Problem 6. Suppose that a1 , a2 , . . . , a2n+1 are real numbers such that when any one of the
is removed, the remaining 2n of them can be partitioned into two collections of n terms with
equal sums. Show that the ai must all be equal.

Problem 7. For a given positive real number r and real x, y let Nr (x, y) be the number of
pairs of integers (m, n) satisfying (x − m)2 + (y − n)2 ≤ r2 . Evaluate
Z 1Z 1
Nr (x, y) dx dy
0 0
as a function of r.

Problem 8. Let a and b be relatively prime positive integers, and let S be the set of those
nonnegative integers n that can be written n = ua + vb where u and v are nonnegative
integers. Show that
X 1 − z ab
zn =
n∈S
(1 − z a )(1 − z b )
for |z| < 1.

Problem 9. Let f be a continuously differentiable map from the unit interval I = [0, 1] to
the unit square J = [0, 1] × [0, 1], and suppose that the boundary ∂J is in the image of f .
Prove that there exist 0 ≤ s < t ≤ 1 such that f (s) = f (t), and the arc length of f |[s,t] is
greater or equal to 2.

Problem 10. Two prisoners must play the following game to save their lives. They learn
the rule of the game, can work on strategy, but once the game starts, they are unable to
communicate. The first prisoner is taken into a room, which contains a chessboard. Each of
the 64 fields of the chessboard has a coin, showing either heads or tails. The warden points
to one of the coins. The first prisoner turns over exactly one coin (which may or may not be
the one that the warden pointed to). The first prisoner is taken to his/her solitary cell. The
second prisoner is led in. Upon examining the coins on the board, the second prisoner must
identify the coin that the warden pointed to. Describe a strategy by which this can be done.

Contributors: Sasha Barvinok, Harm Derksen, Mel Hochster, Igor Kriz, Hugh Montgomery

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