PURPLE COMET!

MATH MEET April 2020

HIGH SCHOOL - PROBLEMS

Copyright c Titu Andreescu and Jonathan Kane

Problem 1
Find A so that the ratio of 3 23 to 22 is the same as the ratio of 7 56 to A.

Problem 2
An ant starts at vertex A in equilateral triangle 4ABC and walks around the perimeter of the triangle
from A to B to C and back to A. When the ant is 42 percent of its way around the triangle, it stops for a
rest. Find the percent of the way from B to C the ant is at that point.

Problem 3
Find the number of perfect squares that divide 2020 .

Problem 4
Find the number of integers n for which r
(2020 − n)2
2020 − n2
is a real number.

Problem 5
The diagram below shows square ABCD which has side length 12 and has the same center as square
EF GH which has side length 6. Find the area of quadrilateral ABF E.
B A

H
F

G
C D

Problem 6
A given infinite geometric series with first term a 6= 0 and common ratio 2r sums to a value that is 6 times
m
the sum of an infinite geometric series with first term 2a and common ratio r. Then r = n, where m and n
are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

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Problem 7
The diagram below shows 4ABC with area 64, where D, E, and F are the midpoints of BC, CA, and
AB, respectively. Point G is the intersection of DF and BE. Find the area of quadrilateral AF GE.

F E

G
B D C

Problem 8
Camilla drove 20 miles in the city at a constant speed and 40 miles in the country at a constant speed that
was 20 miles per hour greater than her speed in the city. Her entire trip took one hour. Find the number of
minutes that Camilla drove in the country rounded to the nearest minute.

Problem 9
Let a, b, and c be real numbers such that

3a = 125,

5b = 49, and

7c = 81.

Find the product abc.

Problem 10
There is a complex number K such that the quadratic polynomial 7x2 + Kx + 12 − 5i has exactly one root,
√
where i = −1. Find |K|2 .

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Problem 11
Two circles have radius 9, and one circle has radius 7. Each circle is externally tangent to the other two
circles, and each circle is internally tangent to two sides of an isosceles triangle, as shown. The sine of the
m
base angle of the triangle is n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

Problem 12
There are two distinct pairs of positive integers a1 < b1 and a2 < b2 such that both (a1 + ib1 )(b1 − ia1 )
√
and (a2 + ib2 )(b2 − ia2 ) equal 2020, where i = −1. Find a1 + b1 + a2 + b2 .

Problem 13 100  
X n 1 s
There are relatively prime positive integers s and t such that − = . Find s + t.
n=2
n2 − 1 n t

Problem 14
Let x be a real number such that 3 sin4 x − 2 cos6 x = − 25
17
. Then 3 cos4 x − 2 sin6 x = m
n, where m and n
are relatively prime positive integers. Find 10m + n.

Problem 15
Find the sum of all values of x such that the set {107, 122, 127, 137, 152, x} has a mean that is equal to its
median.

Problem 16
Find the maximum possible value of
2
a3 b3 c3

+ + ,
b2 c c2 a a2 b
where a, b, and c are nonzero real numbers satisfying
r r r
3
a 3 b c
a +b + c 3 = 0.
b c a

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Problem 17
The following diagram shows four vertices connected by six edges. Suppose that each of the edges is
randomly painted either red, white, or blue. The probability that the three edges adjacent to at least one
m
vertex are colored with all three colors is n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers.
Find m + n.

Problem 18
In isosceles 4ABC, AB = AC, ∠BAC is obtuse, and points E and F lie on sides AB and AC,
respectively, so that AE = 10, AF = 15. The area of 4AEF is 60, and the area of quadrilateral BEF C
is 102. Find BC.

Problem 19
Find the least prime number greater than 1000 that divides 21010 · 232020 + 1.

Problem 20
Find the maximum possible value of
√ √ √
9 x + 8 y + 5 z,

where x, y, and z are positive real numbers satisfying 9x + 4y + z = 128.

Problem 21
Two congruent equilateral triangles 4ABC and 4DEF lie on the same side of line BC so that B, C, E,
and F are collinear as shown. A line intersects AB, AC, DE, and EF at W , X, Y , and Z, respectively,
AW
such that BW = 29 , AX
CX = 56 , and DY
EY = 29 . The ratio EZ
FZ can then be written as m
n, where m and n are
relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

A D
W
X
Y
Z
B C E F

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Problem 22
Find the number of permutations of the letters AAAABBBCC where no letter is next to another letter of
the same type. For example, count ABCABCABA and ABABCABCA but not ABCCBABAA.

Problem 23
π
There is a real number x between 0 and 2 such that

sin3 x + cos3 x 12
5 5
=
sin x + cos x 11
√
m
and sin x + cos x = n , where m and n are positive integers, and m is not divisible by the square of any
prime. Find m + n.

Problem 24
√
Points E and F lie on diagonal AC of square ABCD with side length 24, such that AE = CF = 3 2. An
ellipse with foci at E and F is tangent to the sides of the square. Find the sum of the distances from any
point on the ellipse to the two foci.

Problem 25
A deck of eight cards has cards numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, in that order, and a deck of five cards has
cards numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, in that order. The two decks are riffle-shuffled together to form a deck with 13
cards with the cards from each deck in the same order as they were originally. Thus, numbers on the cards
might end up in the order 1122334455678 or 1234512345678 but not 1223144553678. Find the number of
possible sequences of the 13 numbers.

Problem 26
In 4ABC, ∠A = 52◦ and ∠B = 57◦ . One circle passes through the points B, C, and the incenter of
4ABC, and a second circle passes through the points A, C, and the circumcenter of 4ABC. Find the
degree measure of the acute angle at which the two circles intersect.

Problem 27
Three doctors, four nurses, and three patients stand in a line in random order. The probability that there
m
is at least one doctor and at least one nurse between each pair of patients is n, where m and n are
relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

Problem 28
Let p, q, and r be prime numbers such that 2pqr + p + q + r = 2020. Find pq + qr + rp.

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Problem 29
Find the number of distinguishable 2 × 2 × 2 cubes that can be formed by gluing together two blue, two
green, two red, and two yellow 1 × 1 × 1 cubes. Two cubes are indistinguishable if one can be rotated so
that the two cubes have identical coloring patterns.

Problem 30
Four small spheres each with radius 6 are each internally tangent to a large sphere with radius 17. The
four small spheres form a ring with each of the four spheres externally tangent to its two neighboring small
spheres. A sixth intermediately sized sphere is internally tangent to the large sphere and externally tangent
m
to each of the four small spheres. Its radius is n, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers.
Find m + n.