United Kingdom Mathematics Trust
United Kingdom Mathematics Trust
British Mathematical Olympiad 2014/15 British Mathematical Olympiad
Round 1 : Friday, 28 November 2014
Round 1: Friday, 28 November 2014
Time allowed 3 12 hours.
1. Place the following numbers in increasing order of size, and justify
Instructions • Full written solutions – not just answers – are
required, with complete proofs of any assertions your reasoning:
4 3 4 3 4
you may make. Marks awarded will depend on the 33 , 34 , 34 , 43 and 43 .
clarity of your mathematical presentation. Work Note that ab means a(b ) .
c c
in rough first, and then write up your best attempt.
Do not hand in rough work.
• One complete solution will gain more credit than 2. Positive integers p, a and b satisfy the equation p2 + a2 = b2 . Prove
several unfinished attempts. It is more important that if p is a prime greater than 3, then a is a multiple of 12 and
to complete a small number of questions than to 2(p + a + 1) is a perfect square.
try all the problems.
• Each question carries 10 marks. However, earlier 3. A hotel has ten rooms along each side of a corridor. An olympiad
questions tend to be easier. In general you are team leader wishes to book seven rooms on the corridor so that no
advised to concentrate on these problems first. two reserved rooms on the same side of the corridor are adjacent. In
• The use of rulers, set squares and compasses how many ways can this be done?
is allowed, but calculators and protractors are
forbidden. 4. Let x be a real number such that t = x + x−1 is an integer greater
• Start each question on a fresh sheet of paper. Write than 2. Prove that tn = xn + x−n is an integer for all positive
on one side of the paper only. On each sheet of integers n. Determine the values of n for which t divides tn .
working write the number of the question in the
top left hand corner and your name, initials and
school in the top right hand corner. 5. Let ABCD be a cyclic quadrilateral. Let F be the midpoint of the arc
AB of its circumcircle which does not contain C or D. Let the lines
• Complete the cover sheet provided and attach it to
the front of your script, followed by your solutions DF and AC meet at P and the lines CF and BD meet at Q. Prove
in question number order. that the lines P Q and AB are parallel.
• Staple all the pages neatly together in the top left
hand corner. 6. Determine all functions f (n) from the positive integers to the positive
• To accommodate candidates sitting in other time integers which satisfy the following condition: whenever a, b and c are
zones, please do not discuss the paper on positive integers such that 1/a + 1/b = 1/c, then
the internet until 8am GMT on Saturday 29 1/f (a) + 1/f (b) = 1/f (c).
November.
Do not turn over until told to do so.
United Kingdom Mathematics Trust
United Kingdom Mathematics Trust
British Mathematical Olympiad 2014/15 British Mathematical Olympiad
Round 2 : Thursday, 29 January 2015 Round 2
Time allowed Three and a half hours. 1. The first term x1 of a sequence is 2014. Each subsequent term of
Each question is worth 10 marks. the sequence is defined in terms of the previous term. The iterative
Instructions • Full written solutions – not just answers – are formula is √
required, with complete proofs of any assertions ( 2 + 1)xn − 1
xn+1 = √ .
you may make. Marks awarded will depend on the ( 2 + 1) + xn
clarity of your mathematical presentation. Work
Find the 2015th term x2015 .
in rough first, and then draft your final version
carefully before writing up your best attempt.
Rough work should be handed in, but should be 2. In Oddesdon Primary School there are an odd number of classes. Each
clearly marked. class contains an odd number of pupils. One pupil from each class will
be chosen to form the school council. Prove that the following two
• One or two complete solutions will gain far more statements are logically equivalent.
credit than partial attempts at all four problems.
• The use of rulers and compasses is allowed, but a) There are more ways to form a school council which includes an
calculators and protractors are forbidden. odd number of boys than ways to form a school council which includes
• Staple all the pages neatly together in the top left an odd number of girls.
hand corner, with questions 1, 2, 3, 4 in order, and b) There are an odd number of classes which contain more boys than
the cover sheet at the front. girls.
• To accommodate candidates sitting in other time
zones, please do not discuss any aspect of the 3. Two circles touch one another internally at A. A variable chord P Q
paper on the internet until 8am GMT on Friday of the outer circle touches the inner circle. Prove that the locus of the
30 January. incentre of triangle AQP is another circle touching the given circles
at A. The incentre of a triangle is the centre of the unique circle
which is inside the triangle and touches all three sides. A locus is the
In early March, twenty students eligible to rep- collection of all points which satisfy a given condition.
resent the UK at the International Mathematical
Olympiad will be invited to attend the training
4. Given two points P and Q with integer coordinates, we say that P
session to be held at Trinity College, Cambridge
sees Q if the line segment P Q contains no other points with integer
(26-30 March 2015). At the training session,
coordinates. An n-loop is a sequence of n points P1 , P2 , . . . , Pn , each
students sit a pair of IMO-style papers and eight
with integer coordinates, such that the following conditions hold:
students will be selected for further training and
selection examinations. The UK Team of six for a) Pi sees Pi+1 for 1 ≤ i ≤ n − 1, and Pn sees P1 ;
this summer’s IMO (to be held in Chiang Mai, b) No Pi sees any Pj apart from those mentioned in (a);
Thailand, 8–16 July 2015) will then be chosen. c) No three of the points lie on the same straight line.
Does there exist a 100-loop?
Do not turn over until told to do so.
