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Tartar 7

1) The document discusses 6 problems related to mathematics. For problem 1, the document provides a 3 step solution for finding the minimum time for a dog to reach safety while being rowed in a boat in a circular pattern. 2) For problem 2, it is shown that if log10 2 = ab, then 2b = 10a is impossible modulo 5. 3) For problem 3, it is proven that the sum of row and column products of a matrix A will always be congruent to 2 modulo 4, regardless of the values in A.

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54 views2 pages

Tartar 7

1) The document discusses 6 problems related to mathematics. For problem 1, the document provides a 3 step solution for finding the minimum time for a dog to reach safety while being rowed in a boat in a circular pattern. 2) For problem 2, it is shown that if log10 2 = ab, then 2b = 10a is impossible modulo 5. 3) For problem 3, it is proven that the sum of row and column products of a matrix A will always be congruent to 2 modulo 4, regardless of the values in A.

Uploaded by

TrungNguyễnChí
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Luc TARTAR to John MACKEY, October 8

Your problem set 7 of October 6.


Your problem 1: 1st step. One rows away from the initial position of the dog until distance r0 from the
center, with 1 − π4 < r0 < 41 ; this takes time r0 , and the dog is at least at π − 4r0 from the nearest point
ashore.
2nd step. One rows circularly at distance r0 away from the dog: the nearest point ashore moves at speed
1 4r0 4r02
r0 > 4, so that after a time which is at most 1 −4 = 1−4r0 , the nearest point ashore is diametrically opposed
r0
to the dog.
3rd step. One rows directly to the shore, in time 1 − r0 , and during that time the dog runs 4(1 − r0 ) < π,
and one is safe.
4r02
This scenario takes the time 1 + 1−4r 0

Your problem 2: If log10 2 = ab , one has 2b = 10a , which is impossible modulo 5.


Your problem 3: Let ri be the product
P Pof the entries in row #i, and cj be the product of the entries in
column #j. The claim is that i ri + j cj = 2 (mod 4), so that the sum cannot be 0. If one starts
with all Ai,j equal to 1, all the ri and cj are +1, and the sum if 50, so that the claim is true. If for any
configuration of A, one changes the sign of Ai,j from +1 to −1 it changes both the signs of ri and the sign
of cj : if ai and cj had different sign the sum does not change, while if ri and cj had the same sign the sum
changes of ±4, proving the claim.
Your problem 4: One puts just one red marble in the first box, and the 99 others in the second box: with
probability 12 the probability of finding a red marble is 1, and with probability 12 the probability of finding
a red marble is 49 1 49 148
99 , so that the probability of finding a red marble is 2 + 198 = 198 (i.e. about 74%).
If one puts a red marbles and b blue marbles in the first box, and 50 − a red marbles and 50 − b blue
marbles in the second box, the cases a = b = 0 or a = b = 50 gives probability 50%, so one assumes
1 ≤ c = a + b ≤ 99, and the probability to find a red marble is 12 ac + 12 100−c
50−a
= a(100−c)+c(50−a)
2c (100−c) . For c given,
one must maximize a(100 − c) + c(50 − a) = a (100 − 2c) + 50c, for a taking values between 0 and min{c, 50},
so that if 1 ≤ c < 50 one takes a = c, for c = 50 it does not matter what a is and one may as well take
a = c, and for 50 < c < 100, one may just exchange the two boxes and consider that it is the same than for
150−2c
100 − c; the maximum of a (100 − 2c) + 50c is c (150 − c), and the probability is 2(100−c) , which is decreasing
in c on [0, 100), so that the maximum is the smallest value of c, i.e. c = 1.
Your problem 5 (Putnam 2000-A3): The octagon P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 is inscribed in a circle, with the
vertices around the circumference in the given order. Given that the polygon P1 P3 P5 P7 is a square of area
5 and the polygon P2 P4 P6 P8 is a rectangle of area 4, find the maximum possible area of the octagon.
√ q
Hint: If R is the radius of the circle, then the square has size R 2, so that 2R2 = 5, and R = 52 . If one
chooses the center of the square as origin and one orients the axes so that the vertices of the rectangle have
coordinates (R cos θ, R sin θ) with θ = −α, +α, π − α, π + α with 0 < α < π4 , then the short side of the
rectangle is 2R sin α and the long side of the rectangle is 2R cos α, then one has 4 = 4R2 sin α cos α, so that
sin α cos α = 52 ; one deduces that (sin α + cos α)2 = 95 and (sin α − cos α)2 = 51 , giving sin α + cos α = √35
and cos α − sin α = √15 , so that sin α = √15 and cos α = √25 . The vertices of the square have coordinates
(R cos θ, R sin θ) with θ = β, β + π2 , β + π, β + 3π
2 with −α < β < α. The area of the octagon is obtained
by adding the area of the rectangle, the equal areas of two smaller triangles with base the short side of the
rectangle and altitude R cos β − R cos α, and the equal areas of two larger triangles with base the long side
of the rectangle and altitude R cos β − R sin α, i.e. 4 + 2R √ sin α (R cos β − R cos α) + 2R cos α (R cos β −
R sin α) = 4 − 4R2 sin α cos α + 2R2 (sin α + cos √α) cos β = 3 5 cos β, which is maximum for β = 0, and the
maximum possible area of the octagon is then 3 5.
Your problem 6 (Putnam 1989-B5): Label the vertices of a trapezoid T (quadrilateral with two parallel sides)
inscribed in the unit circle as A, B, C, D so that AB is parallel to CD and A, B, C, D are in counterclockwise
order. Let s1 , s2 and d denote the lengths of the line segments AB, CD, and OE, where E is the point of
intersection of the diagonals of T , and O is the center of the circle. Determine the least upper bound of
(s1 − s2 )/d over all such T for which d 6= 0, and describe all cases, if any, in which it is attained.

1
I had not written a solution before: One may rename the points so that s1 ≥ s2 , use O as origin and rotate
the trapezoid so that the parallel sides are vertical, and one has A = (cos α, sin α), B = (cos α, − sin α),
C = (cos β, − sin β), and D = (cos β, sin β), with π > α > β > 0, so that s1 = 2 sin α, s2 = 2 sin β, and one
has assumed sin α ≥ sin β, which means that in the case π2 ≤ α < π one only considers 0 < β ≤ π−α. A (non-
vertical) line going through A has equation y − sin α = λ (x − cos α) for some λ ∈ R, and it goes through C if
λ = −cos
sin β−sin α sin α
β−cos α , and it intersects the x axis at x = cos α− λ = cos α+
sin α (cos β−cos α)
sin α+sin β
sin(α+β)
= sin α+sin β , so that
2 2
sin(α+β) s1 −s2
d = sin α+sin β , and d 6= 0 means α+β < π. One wants to find the maximum of d = sinsin(α+β)
α−sin β
, and if one
π
approaches the forbidden case β = π − α (with α ≥ 2 ), one has an indeterminate quotient, whose limit is the
same as that of −2cos(α+β)
sin β cos β
by de l’Hôpital’s rule (proven by Johann BERNOULLI, working under contract for
DE L’HÔPITAL), which is −2 sin α cos α, and for this limiting family of rectangles, the maximum of − sin 2α
is +1, obtained for α = 3π 4 (so that this limiting rectangle is a square). The boundary of the domain has two
other parts, 0 < β = α < π2 , where the ratio is 0, and β = 0 with 0 < α < π, where the ratio is sin α. Assume
2 2
then that F (α, β) = sinsin(α+β)
α−sin β
attains its minimum at an interior point of the domain, so that ∂F ∂α = 0
∂F 2 2
and ∂β = 0, so that, since sin(α + β) 6= 0 one has 2 sin α cos α sin(α + β) − cos(α + β) (sin α − sin β) = 0,
and −2 sin β cos β sin(α + β) − cos(α + β) (sin2 α − sin2 β) = 0; one deduces that sin α cos α = −  sin β cos β,
π π π
which implies 2α = 2β + π, i.e. 0 < β < 4 and α = β + 2 ; since one finds that F β + 2 , β = 1 for all
β ∈ 0, π4 , one has found the family of all trapezoids for which the ratio is maximum.


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