Each year, a special committee appointed by the Unione Matematica Italiana orga-

nizes the selection of students to form the Italian team to compete in the Interna-
tional Mathematical Olympiads: the “Progetto Olimpiadi della Matematica”.
The project is sponsored by the Italian Ministery for Education, University and
Research MIUR, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca,
and is actively supported by a very large number of mathematics teachers through-
out the country.
The selection of students is in three stages:
1. I giochi di Archimede are held in midNovember in each participating school:
they consist of a collection of some twenty, twenty-five multiple choice prob-
lems. They are designed to be suitable for a vast number of students of all
kinds of schools (nearly all Italian schools take part in this) so that the ques-
tions require mainly a quick intuition, but possibly few technical abilities.
Different problems are set for junior students in the first two levels at high
school, and for senior students.
2. Le gare di febbraio are held in midFebruary in each of the one hundred math-
ematical zones which cover Italy. Only students with best results in “I giochi
di Archimede” take part in this. Problems include multiple choice problems,
others with a numeric answer, and yet others which require a mathematical
proof.
3. Le Olimpiadi Italiane della Matematica is the final stage where the best stu-
dents from each zone test their mathematical abilities with problems which
require both calcutions and proofs. It is held in the second weekend of May
in Cesenatico, on the Adriatic coast, south of Venice.
The present pamphlet collects all the problems given during the selection process
in view of the 2005 I.M.O. in Mérida. A grid with the bare answers appear at the
end of the first two section, where the reader may also find some hints. There are
complete solutions for the problems of the final stage.

Pisa, 6 June 2005 Marco Forti

chairman of the committee
Progetto Olimpiadi della Matematica
I Giochi di Archimede
17 November 2004
Problems for junior students
1 According to a recent survey, every Italian eats on average 30 kg of pasta a year.
Knowing that the Italian population is of 57 millions, how many tons of pasta are
eaten in a year in Italy?
(A) less than 1000, (B) more than 1000, but less that 10 thousand,
(C) more than 10 thousand, but less than 100 thousand,
(D) more than 100 thousand, but less than 1 million, (E) more than 1 million.
2 Luigi is 4 years older than Silvio who is 3 year older than Carlo. If the sum of
their ages is 34, how old is the oldest?
(A) 12 (B) 15 (C) 17 (D) 18 (E) 20.
3 Tarzan wants to keep his lion in a circular glade with radius 12m, with a high
tree in the centre. To do so, he ties the lion at the tree with a leash, but he realizes
that the leash is 13m long instead of 12m. Having no secure way to shorten the
leash, he decides to fasten it high on the tree so that the lion cannot go outside the
glade. How high does Tarzan fasten the leash? (Only for this problem, consider
irrelevant the lion’s dimensions.)
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 4, (E) 5.
4 1200 competitors take part in a mathematical game. 40% of those gets a medal
(gold, silver or bronze). The number of bronze medals is three times that of gold
medals; the number of silver medals is twice that of gold medals. How many are
the silver medals?
(A) 120, (B) 144, (C) 160, (D) 180, (E) none of the others.
5 If a + 1 = b − 2 = c + 3 = d − 4, which is the smallest among the numbers a, b, c, d?
(A) a, (B) b, (C) c, (D) d, (E) it cannot be determined.
6 Three friends are talking. One says: “At least two of us are liars.” Another
replies: “It is not true!”. How many are the liars?
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) the data are inconsistent,
(E) it cannot be determined uniquely.
7 On the blackboard there is initially written the number 1. Then, each of ten
students, one after the other, erases the number he finds on the blackboard and
writes its double plus one. What number is on the blackboard at the end?
(A) 31, (B) 210 − 1, (C) 211 + 1, (D) 310 , (E) 2005.
8 For his work, Marco must visit once a year a distant country with a shattered
economy where prices double on a year’s period. The currency in that country loses
30% of its value with respect to the Euro currency. Therefore Marco’s expenses (in
Euro) for its visit in 2004 are
(A) lower than those in 2002, (B) equal to those in 2002,
2

(C) higher than those in 2002, but lower than double that,
(D) equal to the double of the expenses in 2002,
(E) equal to the quadruple of the expenses in 2002.
9 a, b e c are three natural numbers; a is divisible by 15, b is divisible by 12 and c
is divisible by 21. Which of the following assertions is true?
(A) 9 divides (a + b + c)2 , (B) 9 divides a + b + c, (C) 2 divides a + b + c,
(D) 18 divides a2 + b2 + c2 , (E) 15 divides a2 + b2 + c2 .
10 In un triangle ABC the bisectors from B and from C intersect the sides AC
and AB in D and in E respectively. Let I be the intersection of the bisectors, and
suppose that the quadrilateral IDAE can be inscribed in a circle. Then the angle
in A is:
(A) 30o , (B) 45o , (C) 60o , (D) 90o , (E) it cannot be determined uniquely.
11 How many are the ordered pairs of natural numbers (x, y) (x > 0, y > 0) such
that 5 < x + y ≤ 10?
(A) 20, (B) 25, (C) 30, (D) 35, (E) none of the others.

12 How long is the chord AB knowing that A C D B

AB = 2CD and that the radii of the two con- O

centric √
circles are 5m
√e 4m? √ √
(A) 2 2, (B) 2 3, (C) 3 3, (D) 4 3,
(E) it depends on the chord inclination.

13 Michele is about to take his last written essay in maths. He is easy about it
because he knows that, if he scores 10 (out of 10), then his average mark will be 9,
if he scores 5, the his average mark will be 8. How many essays has Michele already
taken in this school year?
(A) 2, (B) 3, (C) 4, (D) 5, (E) it cannot be determined.

14 A car driver must go from town A to town B

taking as short a time as possible. He can drive B
main road
directly from A to B on a main road or else take
conn. road
a motorway which goes from A in a direction at
a 30o angle from the main road and then take an
exit to a connecting road which goes to the main A motorway

road, at a right angle from the motorway. There are 4 exits, respectively at 10, 20,
30, and 40km from A. On the motorway, the speed limit is 130km/h, the speed
limit on the main road and on the connecting roads is 90km/h. Which is the fastest
route?
(A) drive on the main road,
(B) drive on the motorway to the first exit and then on the main road,
(C) drive on the motorway to the second exit and then on the main road,
 3

(D) drive on the motorway to the third exit and then on the main road,
(E) drive on the motorway to the fourth exit and then on the main road.
15 A wooden box with no lid was made out of a board 2cm thick. The outer
rectangular base is 38cm×44cm and the outer altitude is 47cm. How many cm3 is
the inner volume of the box?
(A) 61200 (B) 63920 (C) 68040 (D) 75240 (E) 78584.
16 Ten friends decide to play a football game, five against five. There are two triples
of brothers, and each wants to be with his two brothers. In how many different ways
can the friends team up?
(A) 3, (B) 6, (C) 15, (D) 24, (E) 30.
17 Twenty soft square cushions are piled one over the other. Each cushion weighs
500g, is 30cm thick, and reduces by 2cm for each kilo on it. How high is the pile of
cushions?
(A) 581cm, (B) 490cm, (C) 410cm, (D) 239cm,
(E) it cannot be determined.
D C

18 The right-angled trapezium ABCD contains a

circle of radius 1, tangent to all its sides. Knowing
that the oblique side BC is 7m long, find the area
of the trapezium.
(A) 8, (B) 9, (C) 10, (D) 11,
(E) it cannot be determined. A B

19 How many are the multiples of 5 among the positive integers with 4 digits among
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ? (The same digit may appear more than once)
(A) 180, (B) 216, (C) 360, (D) 396, (E) 1080.
20 Given a circle of radius 3 in the plane, consider the locus of those points P in
the plane such that the circle centred in P and with radius 2 intersects the given
circle in at least a point. That locus is
(A) the given circle, (B) a larger circle than the given one,
(C) the area bordered by the circle, (D) a circular crown,
(E) the join of two circles.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
E B E C C E D C C D D C B B A B A B C D
4

Problems for senior students

1 On Mars the fashion of mobile phones is quickly taking foot. On 17 November, 10
martians own a mobile, and in the following days the number of martians who own
a mobile doubles every day. At the end of which day will at least 10000 martians
own a mobile?
(A) 25 november, (B) 26 november, (C) 27 november,
(D) 28 november, (E) 29 november.
√
2 If a2 + 1 = b, then it holds that
(A) a ≥ 0, (B) b ≥ 0, (C) a2 + 1 ≥ b, (D) b ≥ a2 + 1, (E) a > 1.
3 Tarzan wants to keep his lion in a circular glade with radius 12m, with a high
tree in the centre. To do so, he ties the lion at the tree with a leash, but he realizes
that the leash is 13m long instead of 12m. Having no secure way to shorten the
leash, he decides to tie it high on the tree so that the lion cannot go outside the
glade. How high does Tarzan tie the leash? (Only for this problem, consider the
lion’s dimensions irrelevant.)
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 4, (E) 5.
4 Four friends are talking. One says: “At least two of us are liars.” Another replies:
“It is true!”. A third one adds in: “That’s not true!” How many are the liars?
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) the data are inconsistent,
(E) it cannot be determined.
5 How many are the multiples of 5 among the positive integers with 4 digits among
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ? (The same digit may appear more than once)
(A) 180, (B) 216, (C) 360, (D) 396, (E) 1080.
6 For his work, Marco must visit once a year a distant country with a shattered
economy where prices double on a year’s period. The currency in that country loses
30% of its value with respect to the Euro currency. Therefore Marco’s expenses (in
Euro) for its visit in 2004 are
(A) lower than those in 2002, (B) equal to those in 2002,
(C) higher than those in 2002, but lower than double that,
(D) equal to the double of the expenses in 2002,
(E) equal to the quadruple of the expenses in 2002.
7 How many are those positive intergers n such that n2 − 14n + 24 is prime? (A)
none, (B) 1, (C) 2, (D) 3, (E) none of the others.
C

8 ABC is an isosceles triangle, right-angled in A, with E F

catheti of length L. The length of AD and of AE is 34 L

and the area of the quadrilateral DEF G is 7m2 .
G
Then L is
(A) 1.5m, (B) 3m, (C) 1.3m, (D) 1.6m, (E) 4m. A D B
 5

9 A numeric sequence is built as follows: the first entry is 1, the second is 2, and
each other entry is the product of the two preceeding it. What is the thirteenth
entry?
(A) 212 , (B) 283 , (C) 2144 , (D) 22048 , (E) 24096 .
10 The least value of a ≥ 0 such that the equation

x2 + ax + a + 1 = 0

has at√least one real solution

√ is: √ √ √
(A) 2 2 + 2, (B) 2 2 − 2, (C) 3 3 + 3, (D) 3 2 − 3, (E) 2 2 + 3.
11 A wooden box with no lid was made out of a board 2cm thick. The outer
rectangular base is 38cm×44cm and the outer altitude is 47cm. How many cm3 is
the inner volume of the box?
(A) 61200 (B) 63920 (C) 68040 (D) 75240 (E) 78584.
12 a, b e c are three natural numbers; a is divisible by 15, b is divisible by 12 and
c is divisible by 21. Which of the following assertions is true?
(A) 9 divides (a + b + c)2 , (B) 9 divides a + b + c, (C) 2 divides a + b + c,
(D) 18 divides a2 + b2 + c2 , (E) 15 divides a2 + b2 + c2 .

13 A semicircle is inscribed in a right-angled triangle

whose catheti are 21cm and 28cm. What is the area of
the semicircle?
(A) 50π, (B) 441 8 π, (C) 98π, (D) 72π, (E) 2 π.
121

14 A colony of amoebae align in a pond. At the beginning there are one naked
amoeba and one shelled amoeba; then, every day for 2004 cosecutives days, a single
amoeba, randomly among those in the colony (each with the same probability of
being chosen, independently from its age) divides in two identical amoebas. what
is the probability that there is one shelled amoeba after the 2004th day?
(A) 1/22004 , (B) 1/2004, (C) 1/2005, (D) 1/(2004 · 2005), (E) 2004/2005.
15 Twenty soft square cushions are piled one over the other. Each cushion is 500g,
is 30cm thick and squeezes by 2cm for each kilo over it. How high is the pile of
cushions?
(A) 581cm, (B) 490cm, (C) 410cm, (D) 239cm,
(E) it cannot be determined.
16 How many are the integer solutions x of the equation (x2 − x − 1)x+2 = 1? (A)
1 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5 (E) infinitely many.
17 In the square ABCD with side 1, consider the diagonal BD and the segment
CM , where M is the midpoint of DA. Let P the intersection of BD and CM .
What is the area of the triangle DM P ?
(A) 1/8, (B) 1/10, (C) 1/12, (D) 1/16, (E) none of the others.
6

18 How many are the pairs (a, b) of integers, a > 0, b > 0, such that a2 − 4b2 = 45?
(A) none, (B) 1, (C) 2, (D) 3, (E) more than 3.
19 On a very long strip, there are all words of 4 letters from the Italian 21-letter
alphabet. They are written consecutively in alphabetical order (including words
with no meaning) starting with the word AAAA. Which is the 2004th letter written
C
on the strip?
(A) L, (B) M, (C) P, (D) T, (E) none of those.

20 How long is the radius of the circle inscribed in the

B
triangle ABC? (The unit of length is the side of a little
square.) √ √ √
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 2, (E) 5. A

21 Alberto says: “I am older than Bruno”; Bruno replies: “Carla is younger than
me” and Carla adds: “but I am older than Alberto”. A fourth person says: “The
sum of Carlo’s and Bruno’s ages is double Alberto’s.” Knowing that exactly one
statement is false, in which order are the three ages? (In the asnwers A, B, and C
are the ages of Alberto, Bruno, and Carla, respectively.)
(A) A < B < C , (B) B < A < C, (C) C < A < B, (D) C < B < A,
(E) it cannot be determined.
22 An integer is pariphile if the decimal expression of each of its multiples ends
with at least two even digits. Determine which of the following numbers is pariphile.
(A) 2004, (B) 2116, (C) 2122, (D) 2740, (E) 2942.
23 How many are the positive solutions of the equation 1+1/(1+1/(1+1/x))) = x?
(A) 0, (B) 1, (C) 2, (D) 3, (E) infinitely many.
24 Let A, B, and C be three points on a circle with centre O. Let D be a point
 = 72o , how
outside the circle on the line AB on the side of B. Knowing that CBD

wide is the angle AOC? (A) 135 , (B) 144 , (C) 153 , (D) 162o , (E) 171o.
o o o

25 Pierino has 10 apples, 4 have gone bad. He distributes them in two bags, each
with at least three apples, and asks a friend to choose one bag and then to draw an
apple from the chosen bag. How should Pierino distributes the apples so that the
probability that his friend picks a bad apple is the greatest?
(A) Distribution is irrelevant: the probability is 4/10 in every case,
(B) two bad apples and three ripe in each bag,
(C) three bad apples and two ripe in one bag, the remaining apples in the other,
(D) all four bad apples in one bag, the remaining six in the other,
(E) three bad apples in one bag, the remaining apples in the other.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
B C E D A E C C C A B B D D C C C D B D C B D C E
Gara di Febbraio
17 February 2005
1 Edoardo is on holiday in the town of Altanbulat. His outward flight left from
Milan at 13:00 and arrived in Altanbulat at 9:00 (local time) on the following day.
The return flight left from Altanbulat at 9:00 and landed in Milan at 15:00 on the
same day (all times are according to the local time zone). Assuming that the actual
durations of the flights were the same, what is the time zone difference between
Milan and Altanbulat? (A) Less than 3 hours
(B) more than 3 hours, but less than 6 (C) more than 6 hours, but less than 9
(D) more than 9 hours, (E) it cannot be determined.

2 a, b, c are real positive numbers such that a + b + c = 1. Which of the following

conditions is equivalent to require that a, b, c are the sides of a non-degenerate
triangle? (A) 0 < |b − a| < 1/2, 0 < |c − b| < 1/2, 0 < |c − a| < 1/2
(B) a < 12 , b < 12 , c < 12 (C) a + b < 12 , b + c < 12 , c + a < 12
1 1 1
(D) a ≤ 3 , b ≤ 3 , c ≤ 3 (E) none of the above.
3 Five friends say respectively: “Pick any one of us, the other 4 lie”. “Pick any
one of us, the other 4 tell the truth. “Pick any one of us, there is another who tells
the truth. “There is one us such that all others tell the truth”. “There is one of us
such that all others lie”.
Which of the following statements can be derived from those above?
(A) Exactly 1 tells the truth. (B) Exactly 2 tell the truth.
(C) Exactly 3 tell the truth. (D) Exactly 4 tell the truth.
(E) The number of those who tell the truth cannot be determined.
4 How many are the polynomials p(x) of the second degree with integer coefficients
and with 2 integer roots such that p(8) = 1? (A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3
(D) more than 3, but finitely many (E) infinitely many.
5 AB and CD are segments, each of length 4, with midpoint M in common and
such that B MD = 60◦ . Let X be the set of those points at a distance at most 1
√
from at least one of the two segments. What is the area of X? (A) 8 − 43 3
√ √ √
(B) 16 − 83 3 (C) 16 − 43 3 + π (D) 16 − 83 3 + 2π (E) 8 + 2π.
6 At a party, three girls and three boys sit at a round table. What is the probability
that no two persons of the same sex sit at adjecient places?
(A) 16 (B) 10 1
(C) 20 3
(D) 121
(E) 1136 .
7 As the real parameter a varies, what is the largest number of solutions of the
equation ||x − 1| − 4| + x = a?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) there may be infinitely many.
8 Alberto and Barbara play with a die. After a while they realize that the die is
loaded and number 1 appears more often than the other 5 numbers (which remain
8

with same probability). They decide that, when 1 comes, that throw is cancelled
and the die is thrown again. With this rule, what is the probability to get 8 with
3
two consecutive valid throws? (A) 25 (B) 16 (C) 15 (D) 25 6
(E) 14 .

9 Given a cube with unit side (see figure), consider the plane C D
where the sides AB and CD lie e the plane where the sides AE
E
e F D lie. These planes cut the cube in four parts. What is the
largest volume of those√ parts? F
(A) 14 (B) 13 (C) 42 (D) 38 (E) 12 .
A B
10 Let a and b be positive, relatively prime integers. What is the largest possible
value of the greatest common divisor of (a + b)4 e a − b?
(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 16 (D) 32 (E) it may arbitrarily large.
11 How many are the integers between 1 and 2005 (included) which have an odd
number of even digits?
12 ABC is a triangle with AC = BC and ACB  < 60◦ . Let A and B  be points
on the sides BC and AC respectively, such that AA = BB  = AB. Let C  be the
intersection of AA and BB  . Knowing that AC  = AB  and BC  = BA , how wide
 in degrees?
is the angle ACB
13 On a 75 × 75 board, rows and columns are numbered from 1 to 75. Chiara
wants to put a pawn in exactly the squares with an even coordinate and the other
a multiple of 3. How many pawns will she put on the chessboard?
14 Two circles C1 and C2 centred in A and B are tangent externally at T . Let
BD be a segment tangent to C1 at D and let T C be the tangent segment to both
circles at T with C ∈ BD. If the length of AT is 80 and that of BT is 90, what is
the length of CD?
15 How many are the ordered pairs (x, y) of positive integers x and y such that
xy + 5(x + y) = 2005?
16 Let ABC be a triangle right-angled in A with AB > AC; let AH be the altitude
relative to the hypothenuse. On the line BC take D such that H is the midpoint of
BD; let E be the foot of the perpendicular from C to AD. Prove that EH = AH.
3m +3
17 Determine all pairs (m, n) of positive integers such that 2n +2n−1 is an integer.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
C B A C D B E C B C 1002 36 1706 48 10

Sketch of proof of 16: ABD is isosceles, to 2k |3h + 1. It is obvious for k = 0, 1. Then

b P
thus AH bisects AD. As E and H lie on the 3h + 1 = 4 · h−1 i i 2 h
i=0 (−1) 3 , h odd, gives 2 |3 + 1
b is inscribed in
circle γ with diameter AC, D AH at least for h odd. But no other k
b is subtended P Ph−1 i do, as
would
γ and subtended by arc EH, B AH 3h + 1 = 2 + 2 · h−1 i=0 3i and
i=0 3 is even
by arc AH. exactly when h is even.
Sketch of proof of 17: Reduce the question
XXI Olimpiadi Italiane della Matematica
Cesenatico, 6 May 2005
1 Let ABC be a right-angled triangle, with hypotenuse AC, and let H be the foot
of the altitude from B to AC. Knowing that the lengths AB, BC, and BH are those
of the sides of another right-angled triangle, find the possible values of AH/CH.
2 Prove that, however ones chooses 18 positive integers in succession less than or
equal to 2005, trere is at least one divisible by the sum of its digits.
3 In each box of a squared table 4 × 4 there is a digit 1 or 2. One knows that the
sum of the 9 digits in each of the 4 squares 3 × 3 in the table is divisible by 4, while
the sum of all the 16 digits is not divisible by 4.
Find the greatest possible value and the least possible value of the sum of the 16
digits.
4 Find for which n ≥ 3 there are n positive successive integers a1 , . . . , an such that
each two have a common divisor greater than 1, but each three are relatively prime.
With the further condition that all integers ai are less than 5000, find the greatest
possible value for n.
5 Let h be a positive integer and let an be the sequence defined by recursion as
follows:

a0 = 1
 an
if an is even
an+1 = 2
an + h otherwise

(For instance, if h = 27 one has: a1 = 28, a2 = 14, a3 = 7, a4 = 34, a5 = 17, a6 = 44,. . . )

For which values of h there exists n > 0 such that an = 1?
6 Let γ1 and γ2 be two circles in the plane, centred in A and B respectively, and
let C and D their two intersections. Suppose that the circle through A, B and C
intersects γ1 in E and γ2 in F , and that the arc EF which does not contain C lies
outside the two circles bordered by γ1 and γ2 . Prove that the arc EF which does
not contain C is bisected by the line CD.
√
Solution to 1: 5±1 2 .
Because since the triangles ABH and BCH are right-angled, one has BH < AB
and BH < HC. Hence the hypotenuse is AB or BC, depending on their relative
length. Suppose first BC > AB. Then AB 2 +BH 2 = BC 2 and CH 2 +BH 2 = BC 2 .
Hence AB = CH. By similitude of the triangles AHB and ABC one has that
AB : AH = (AH + CH) : AB, thus CH : AH = (AH + CH) : CH. Letting x be
the requested √ratio, it satisfies the condition 1/x = x+ 1 which has only one positive
√
solution x = 5−1 2 . When AB > BC, a similar argument shows that 1/x = 5−1 2 ,
√
or x = 5+12 .
10

Solution to 2: Among the 18 integers there are two divisible by 9. The sum of
their digits is divisible by 9. Since the greatest sum of the digits of an integer less
than or equal to 2005 is 28, there are various cases:
If the sum of the digits of one of those two numbers is 9, then that number is
divisible by the sum of its digits.
If the sum of the digits of one of those two numbers is 27, then that number is either
999 or 1998, hence divisible by 27.
If the sum of both those numbers is 18, then one is even; hence divisible by 18.
Solution to 3: The greatest value and the least value are 30 and 19 respectively,
obtained e.g. by the following tables:

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
2 2 1 2 1 2 2 1
2 1 2 2 1 2 1 1
2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1

Because there are only two possibilities to obtain a sum of the 9 digits in a square
3 × 3 divisible by 4: digit 1 appears 6 times (sum 12), or digit 1 appears 2 times
(sum 16).
Hence in the table 4 × 4 digit 1 appears at least twice. Writing these two digits
1 anywhere in the central square 2 × 2 of the table—so that they appear in all 4
squares 3 × 3—one obtains the greatest sum.
Similarly, in the table 4 × 4 digit 2 appears at least thrice, no others are needed if
the three digits 2 are anywhere in the central square 2 × 2 in the table, giving the
least sum.
Solution to 4: It can be done for each integer n ≥ 3.
Because for each pair of integers i and j with 1 ≤ i < j ≤ n fix prime number pij
such that pij = pi j  when < i, j >=< i , j  >. Then the integers
 
ai = pji · pij , 1≤i≤n
j<i i<j

satisfy the required conditions.

As to the second question, for n = 4 one can take a1 = 2 · 3 · 5, a2 = 2 · 7 · 11,
a3 = 3 · 7 · 13, a4 = 5 · 11 · 13.
For n = 5 or greater, there are no possible choices.
Because if a1 , . . . , a5 satisy the given conditions, then for each pair of numbers ai
aj , say with i < j, there is a prime pij which divides ai and aj , and all these primes
are distinct. Hence each number ai is divisible by four different primes, and each
prime pij divides at most two of the ai ’s. Hence at least one ai is not divisible by 2
or by 3, hence greater than or equal to 5 · 7 · 11 · 13 = 5005.
Solution to 5: Each odd number h.
 11

Because if h is even, then an = 1 + nh for each n. If h is odd, then a1 = 1 + h is

even, a2 ≤ h+1
2 ≤ h. So each odd an is less than or equal to h, and the sequence is
bounded. Let r be the least index such that ar = as for some s = r. Suppose r > 0:
if ar ≤ h, then both ar and as are obtained by dividing the preceeding number in
the sequence by 2, contrary to the condition that r is least. If ar > h (hence even),
then ar and as are obtained by adding h to the preceeding number in the sequence,
again contrary to condition that r is least. Hence r = 0 and as = a0 = 1.
Solution to 6: CAD  = 2CED. Since CAB  = DAB, one has  
CAB = CED.
   
Moreover, CAB = CEB, hence CED = CEB. It follows that E, D, and B are on
 = BEF
the same line. Since the arcs CB and BF are equal, it is CEB , hence D
. Similarly, one shows that D is on the bisector of CF
is on the bisector of CEF  E.

Thus D is the incentre. Therefore the line CD bisects ECF , and the arc EF .