OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

OMMC 2024 Solutions

Oregon Math Circle

PDX Mathletes Team A – Shreyan Paliwal, Arjun Agarwal, Kai Yamashita, Anay Aggarwal

Problem 1: Lotad writes down five two-digit positive integers, no two of which share a
common digit. What is the least possible value of their range?

Solution.
It is clear that we should make the tens digits consecutive. We should make the units digit
of the smallest number as large as possible, and the units digit of the largest number as small
as possible. The choice of tens digits clearly doesn’t matter as long as 9 and 0 are unused,
so an optimal such set would be
19, 28, 37, 46, 50,
for example. This gives 50 − 19 = 31 . □

Problem 2: Distinct positive integers a, b have the property that a!+b! ends in three zeroes.
Find the smallest possible value of a + b.

Solution.
If either a or b are less than 5 they both are less than 5 by modulo 10. Since 4! + 4! < 100,
we hence have a, b ≥ 5. Note that 5! ≡ 6! ≡ 8! ≡ 20, and 7! ≡ 40, and 9! ≡ 80, modulo 100.
It is hence clear that if we want the sum to be divisible by 100, the best possible choice is
a = 5, b = 9, which gives 5 + 9 = 14 . □

Problem 3: Andy is playing a game in which he has 2024 turns and begins with 0 points.
Each turn, he flips a coin. If he gets heads, his score multiplies by -1. Otherwise, his score
increases by 1. What is Andy’s expected score?

Solution.
Suppose his score is currently x. The expected value of the score after the next turn is

−x + (x + 1) 1
= .
2 2

1
Thus, the answer is independent of number of turns or starting score: . □
2

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Problem 4: A regular hexagon and a regular dodecagon have side length 24 as shown. Find
the squared length of the dotted line.

Solution.

B
E
A
D

Note that ∠EDA = 30◦ and ∠DAB = 150◦ . Thus, ED ∥ AB. This along with that
ED = DA = AB implies that EDAB is a rhombus.
The√above implies
√ that ∠F EB =√360◦ − 120◦ − 150◦ = 90◦ and EF = EB, so F B =
EF 2 = 24 2. The answer is (24 2)2 = 1152 .
□

Problem 5: Find the number of ways a king and rook can be placed on an 8 × 8 chess
board such that neither piece attacks each other.

Solution.
The answer is
64 · 49}
| {z − | {z· 4}
49 = 2940 .
rook does not attack king king attacks rook

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Problem 6: The center triangle has side length 2, and squares are constructed using each
√
side of the triangle as the base as shown in the diagram. If the shaded area equals a − b
for positive integers a, b find a + b.

Solution.
There are three main sections:
• the darkest shaded portion: an equilateral triangle with side length 2. It has area
√
22 3 √
= 3.
4

• the second darkest shaded portion: three congruent disjoint shapes: through angle
chasing we can see it is the combination of two 30-60-90 triangles, each with longer leg
1. It has area
1 · √13
!
√
3· 2· = 3.
2

• the lightest shaded portion: three congruent disjoint shapes: a square with side length
2 minus the equilateral triangle and four of the 30-60-90 triangles mentioned above. It
has area
√ √
 
1
3· 4− 3−2· √ = 12 − 5 3.
3

Thus, the overall area is

√ √  √  √
3+ 3 + 12 − 5 3 = 12 − 27

making the answer 12 + 27 = 39 . □

Problem 7: Find the number of ordered pairs (a, b) of real numbers such that both a and
b are roots of the polynomial x2 + ax + b = 0.

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Solution.
Vieta’s gives
a + b = −a,
ab = b,
giving the solutions (a, b) = (0, 0) or (1, −2). However, one must check the case a = b and
just a is a root. In other words, a2 − a − a = 0, which has one nonzero solution. So the
answer is 3 □

Problem 8: Suppose quadrilateral BEAM has side lengths EA = 20, BM = 24, and
BE = AM . If ∠B = 50◦ and ∠M = 40◦ , what is the area of BEAM ?

Solution.
Consider the diagram:
P

a b

E 20 A
x x
B 24 M

Extend BE and MA to meet at point P . Note that because ∠B + ∠M = 90◦ , P is a right

angle. Pythag gives
a2 + b2 = 202 ,
(a + x)2 + (b + x)2 = 242 .
We want to find
1 1
(a + x)(b + x) − ab.
2 2
Note that subtracting the first equation from the second gives

2(ax + bx + x2 ) = 242 − 202 .

The LHS is 4 times the area we want to find, so the answer is

1
242 − 202 = 44 .


4
□

Problem 9: A point randomly selected inside some rectangle is closer to a side than any
19
diagonal with probability 49 . If the diagonals have length 6, find the area of the rectangle.

Solution.
As angle bisectors are the loci of points equidistant from two lines, in the following dia-
gram

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

y I2
I1

if we label the two shaded triangles with area T1 and T2 , then

19
2([T1 ] + [T2 ]) = xy.
49
yr1
Notice that [T1 ] = 2
, where r1 is the inradius of the larger triangle T that T1 is inside.
Note xy
[T ]
r1 = = 4 .
s 6+y
This gives us
x y 19
+ = ,
12 + 2x 12 + 2y 49
x2 + y 2 = 36.
So to solve these we can get the common denominator:

12x + 2xy + 12y + 2xy 3(x + y) + xy 19

= = .
(12 + 2x)(12 + 2y) (6 + x)(6 + y) 49

After multiplying through and simplifying, 10xy + 11(x + y) = 228. Setting u = xy and
v = x + y gievs 10u + 11v = 228 and v 2 − 2u = 36. One can write 2u = 228−11v5
, then
2 v 2 −36
5v + 11v − 228 = 180 and so v = 8. Then u = 2 = 14 = xy is the answer. □

Problem 10: The first 2024 positive integers are written in a random order on a circle.
Alice starts from 1 and traverses the circle clockwise in the order 1, 2, 3, . . . , 2024. What is
the expected number of times she passes 1 (not including her start there)?

Solution.
Note that for any pair (a, b) where a, b ̸= 1, Alice traverses 1 either on the clockwise path from
a to b or the clockwise path from b to a, where both outcomes have equal probability.
Alice will first move from 1 to 2, where she obviously does not pass 1. After that, each of
the remaining 2022 movements until she reaches 2024 has a 12 probability of passing 1, so
the expected number of times she passes 1 is
2022
= 1011 .
2
□

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

√
Problem 11: Find the sum of all positive integers n ≤ 100 such that n + ⌊ n⌋ is a perfect
square.

Solution.
√
Doing casework on ⌊ n⌋ gives us the following values:
√ √
⌊ n⌋ n n + ⌊ n⌋
1 3 4
2 7 9
3 13 16
4 21 25
5 31 36
6 43 49
7 57 64
8 73 81
9 91 100
Summing these gives

3 + 7 + 13 + 21 + 31 + 43 + 57 + 73 + 91 = 339 .

Problem 12: Let real numbers α, β, γ satisfy

tan α = 2 cos β,
tan β = 3 cos γ,
tan γ = 7 cos α.

Find | cos 2α|.

Solution.
Let x = cos2 α, y = cos2 β, z = cos2 γ. After squaring, the first equation can be rewritten
as
sin2 α = 4 cos2 β cos2 α
and after substitution, as
1 − x = 4xy.
We can similarly rewrite the other two equations to get the following system of equa-
tions

1 − x = 4xy,
1 − y = 9yz,
1 − z = 49xz.

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Solving this system of equations (given that x, y, z > 0) gives

 
2 5 1
(x, y, z) = , , .
7 8 15
Note that
| cos 2α| = |2 cos2 α − 1| = |2x − 1|.
Thus, the answer is
2 3
2· −1 = .
7 7
□

Problem 13: Construct a number starting with 0.9 and the next digit is randomly chosen
between 0 and the previous digit for all digits after 9. What is the expected value of this
number?

Solution.
One expects by linearity the (n + 1)th digit to be half of the nth digit, so the answer is
9 18
1 + 20−1 + 20−2 + · · · =


.
10 19
□

Problem 14: Given that a, b, c, d are positive reals satisfying ab + bc + cd + da = 25, find
the minimum possible value of 108a + 27b2 + 4c3 + d4 .

Solution.
We will use Lagrange Multipliers. We want to minimize
f (a, b, c, d) = 108a + 27b2 + 4c3 + d4
given
g(a, b, c, d) = ab + bc + cd + da − 25 = 0.
Setting up the Lagrange Multiplier equation, we get
L(a, b, c, d, λ) = 108a + 27b2 + 4c3 + d4 − λ(ab + bc + cd + da − 25).
Taking the partial derivatives, we get
∂L
= 108 − λ(b + d) = 0
∂a
∂L
= 54b − λ(a + c) = 0
∂b
∂L
= 12c2 − λ(b + d) = 0
∂c
∂L
= 4d3 − λ(a + c) = 0
∂d
∂L
= ab + bc + cd + da − 25 = 0.
∂λ

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

From the last equation, we get (which we already had)

(a + c)(b + d) = 25.

The first equation gives

108
b+d=
λ
and the third equation gives
12c2
b+d= .
λ
Combining these two, we get

108 12c2 √
= =⇒ c = 9 = 3.
λ λ
Substituting this into the fifth equation gives
25
a+3= .
b+d
Substituting this into the fourth equation gives
 
3 25
4d − λ = 0.
b+d

Also, from the second and fourth equations, combining as we did the first and third, we
get
2d3
b= .
27
Substituting this into the first equation and the previous equation gives
 3 
2d
108 − λ + d = 0.
27

and !
25
4d3 − λ 2d3
= 0.
27
+d
Now we simply need to solve for d and λ. We can solve for λ from the second equation
as
4d3 27
 
λ= +d
25 2d3
and plug that into the first equation to get
2
4d3 27

+ d = 108
25 2d3

giving d = 3, by inspection. From here, the rest of the variables quickly fall into place,
giving
(a, b, c, d) = (2, 2, 3, 3)

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

108
(and λ = 5
, although that does not matter). Substituting this into the original function
gives
108(2) + 27(2)2 + 4(3)3 + 34 = 513 .
Remark: Another more elementary way of doing this problem is setting x = b + d so that
a + c = 25x
. This effectively gets rid of the condition. Hence we can eliminate a and b from
the function f we’re minimizing. Note that f , when treated as a function of c, is a constant
plus 4c3 − 108c. Clearly c = 3, and now we’ve eliminated c. The goal is to now minimize a
function of two variables. One can think of this as a function in one variable, and do some
elementary calculus. The resulting equation is the one mentioned above, and we may solve
for d, x, and hence solve the problem. □

Problem 15: In △ABC, suppose segments BP and CQ bisect sides AC and AB, respec-
tively, such that ∠AP B = ∠AQC = 90◦ . Let BP and CQ meet at G.
A

Q
P

B C

If BG = 354, CG = 492, and QG = 433, find P G.

Solution.
Conveniently, G is the centroid of △ABC. Because the centroid splits medians into 2 : 1
ratios, we can hence find the B and C-medians given BG and CG. The B-median is
3
2
· 354 = 531, and likewise the C-median has length 738. Hence we have that
2a2 + 2c2 − b2 = (2 · 531)2
2a2 + 2b2 − c2 = (2 · 738)2 ,
492
by the median length formula. Let X be the midpoint of AB. Then XG = 2
= 246, so
QX = 433 − 246 = 187. Then note that
c2
QA2 = AX 2 − 1872 = − 1872
4
QA2 = AG2 − 4332 ,
so that
c2 2
AG = + 4332 − 1872 .
4
Let Y = AC ∩ BP be the midpoint of AC. Then
b2
P Y 2 + AP 2 =
4
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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

(P Y + Y G)2 + AP 2 = (P Y + 177)2 + AP 2 = P Y 2 + AP 2 + 354 · P Y + 1772 = AG2 .

Subtracting,
b2 c 2 b2
354 · P Y = AG2 − 1772 − = − + 4332 − 1872 − 1772 .
4 4 4
Subtracting the very first two equations we had gives 3c2 − 3b2 = (2 · 531)2 − (2 · 738)2 .
Therefore,
 
1 1 2 2 2 2 2
PY = ((2 · 531) − (2 · 738) ) + 433 − 187 − 177 = 95,
354 12

and the answer is P G = Y G + P Y = 177 + 95 = 272 . □

Problem 16: A frog is initially situated at the point (0, 0). Every day, one of the four
points (1, 1), (−1, 1), (−1, −1), (1, −1) is chosen at random, then the frog’s current position
is rotated 90 degrees clockwise around the chosen point. The probability that the frog’s
position after 10 days is on one of the coordinate axes is 4m10 for a positive integer m. Find
m (mod 100).

Solution.
First, note that there are 410 possibilities, so m is simply the number of ways the frog can
end up on the coordinate axes.
Rotating (a, b) around point (A, B) clockwise by 90◦ gives
(A + B − b, B − A + a).
Thus, after a turn, a frog’s coordinate (a, b) will become one of
(2 − b, a), (−b, 2 + a), (−2 − b, a), (−b, −2 + a).
By symmetry of signs, we can ignore the parity of positive and negative. The number of
ways a single axis will be 0 is
5   
X 10 10 − k
k1 = · 210−2k .
k=0
k k

The number of ways both axes will be 0 is

5    
X 10 10 − k 10 − 2k
k2 = .
k=0
k k 5−k

The number we want to find is

m = 2k1 − k2 (mod 100).
Using a calculator, we can bash out the values of k1 and k2 to find
m = 306008 ≡ 8 (mod 100).
□

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Problem 17: Let p = 20242 + 32752 be a prime. Find the smallest positive integer n where
p | n2 + 1.

Solution.
Suppose that n is such an integer.
Claim 17.1: There exist integers a, b such that (2024 + 3275i)(a + bi) = (n + i).
Proof. Clearly a, b are rationals. Suppose they have a common denominator d, and suppose
q is a prime dividing d. Then νq (|a + bi|) < 0, so |a + bi| is a non-integer. However, since
the norm is multiplicative, this is a contradiction. □
Using the Euclidean algorithm on 2024b + 3275a = 1, we have that a ≡ 741 (mod 2024) and
b ≡ 1199 (mod 3275). This implies that the smallest possible value of n is
2024 · 741 + 3275 · 1199 = 5426509 .
□

Problem 18: In an acute triangle ABC, let H denote the orthocenter. Let D be the
midpoint of minor arc BC and suppose ray AH meets the circumcircle again at X. Given
AH = 2HX = HD = 2, compute (AB + AC)2 .

Solution.
Observe that AODH is a parallelogram. This is because AH ⊥ BC ⊥ OD =⇒ AH ∥ OD.
Now one can argue by degrees of freedom that in fact AODH is a rhombus (three sides are
fixed and two are parallel, so the final side is fixed). We hence have that R = AO = DH = 2.
Because
√ AH = 2R cos A = 2, we have that A = 60◦ . By the extended LoS, a = 2R sin A =
2 3. By LoC at A, b2 + c2 − bc = 12. By simple right triangle work, one can deduce that
HX = 4R cos B cos C, so that cos B cos C = 18 . Now note by LoC
a2 + c 2 − b 2 12 + c2 − b2
cos B = = √
2ac 4 3ac
a2 + b 2 − c 2 12 + b2 − c2
cos C = = √ .
2ab 4 3ab
Therefore,
(12 + c2 − b2 )(12 + b2 − c2 ) 1
= =⇒ (12 + c2 − b2 )(12 + b2 − c2 ) = 6bc.
48bc 8
By the difference of squares, we hence wish to solve for (b + c)2 in
144 = 6bc + (b2 − c2 )2 = 6bc + (b + c)2 (b − c)2
bc = b2 + c2 − 12.
Note (b + c)2 = 12 + 3bc, so 144 − 6bc = (12 + 3bc)(b − c)2 . Note that (b − c)2 = b2 + c2 − 2bc =
12 − bc. Hence with bc = u we have 144 − 6u = (12 + 3u)(12 − u). Solving, u = 10. One can
then conclude (b + c)2 = 12 + 3u = 12 + 30 = 42 . □

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Problem 19: Let f (x) be the unique polynomial of minimal degree for which f (k) = 0 for
1 ≤ k ≤ 30 and f (k) = k − 30 for 31 ≤ k ≤ 611. Find f (62) (mod 67).

Solution.
By the Lagrange Interpolation Formula,
61 61 61
X Y 62 − t X 61!
f (62) = (k − 30) = (k − 30) (−1)k+1 .
k=31 t=1,t̸=k
k − t k=31
(k − 1)!(62 − k)!

This can be written as

60  
X 61
f (62) = (k − 29) (−1)k+1
k=30
k
We wish to compute this quantity modulo 67. We may use the following identities (which
aren’t hard to derive):
2n   2n+1


2n + 1 nn
X
k+1 n
(−1) = −1 − (−1)
k=n
k 2n + 1

2n
(−1)n+1
   
X 2n + 1 k+1 2n + 1
k (−1) = (n − 1) − 2n − 1
k=n
k 2 n
In particular, with n = 30, we get
    
30 61 29 61
f (62) = 29 1 + − − 61.
61 30 2 30

Taking this modulo 67 and bashing, we get 30 . □

Problem 20: Define circles ω1 , ω2 , ω3 , ω4 so ωi is externally tangent to ωi+1 for all 1 ≤ i ≤ 4

(ω5 = ω1 ). Also, ω1 and ω3 are externally tangent at X. A common external tangent to ω2
and ω4 at U and V intersects ω1 at P, Q. √ so U, P, Q, V lie in that order. If P Q = 9, U V =
18, P X = 4, XQ = 8, then U P = a − b for positive integers a, b. Find a + b.

Solution.
We begin with a wonderful claim, due to Kai:

Lemma: XP and XQ are isogonal in △XU V .

Proof : Take a force-overlaid inversion at X. Denote inverted points with primes. The images
of ω2 and ω4 have equal radii, so the arc U ′ P ′ equals the arc Q′ V ′ . Since XU U ′ and XP P ′
are collinear (by the definition of inversion), it follows that ∠P XU = ∠QXV , as desired.

By a famous lemma involving isogonal lines,

 2
UP UQ XU
· = .
P V QV XV

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

One can compute

UX UP
= ,
sin ∠U P X sin ∠U XP
XV QV
= ,
sin ∠XQV sin ∠QXV
by the law of sines. Also, compute
8 4 sin ∠XQV 1
= =⇒ = .
sin ∠XP Q sin ∠XQP sin ∠XP U 2
This implies from our earlier equations that
XU 2U P
= .
XV QV
Therefore by the famous lemma,

UP · UQ 4U P 2 UQ 4U P
= =⇒ = .
P V · QV QV 2 PV QV
The extraction is now easy. Set x = U P . Then
9+x 4x
= .
18 − x 9−x
√
Solving, x = 12 − 117. Hence the answer is 12 + 117 = 129 . □

Problem 21: Find the smallest real number r where for any 99 real numbers −1 ≤
a1 , a2 , . . . , a9 9 ≤ 1 that sum to 0, there exists a permutation b1 , b2 , . . . , b9 9 of those numbers
where for any integers 1 ≤ i ≤ j ≤ 99 we have |bi + · · · + bj | ≤ r.

Solution.
Claim 21.1: We can smooth the positives and negatives together, i.e. all 99 integers will
be drawn from the set {0, a, −b} for a, b > 0.
Proof. There is significant evidence that this is true, but we were unable to prove it. □
Assuming the claim, the answer is
49
.
25
This has been proved using two different methods. Trivially the positives will be evenly
spread out amongst the gaps between negatives, after which we formulate the maximum
sum of a sub-array. The maximum over all possibilities comes when there are 49 negatives
49
equal to −1 and 50 positives equal to 50 , when by Pigeonhole either two are together or
we simply take the sub-array from the second element to the second last (excluding two
positives on the ends). □

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Problem 22: Rohan has a set of 2024 identical bags each with 2023 marbles; each marble
is either red or white and no two bags contain the same number of marbles of each color. He
chooses a random subset S of {1, 2, . . . , 2023}, and for each i ∈ S, he does the following:
(a) he chooses a random bag of the 2024 bags he has,
(b) he draws i marbles at random from the bag, recording the number of red marbles
(c) and then puts all the marbles back into the bag.
m
The probability that the total number of red marbles he drew is even can be written as n
,
where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find ν2 (n).

Solution.
Definitions:
• N is the total marbles per bag (2023)
• n refers to the number of red marbles in some specified bag
• K is the number of marbles being chosen
• k is the number of red marbles that are chosen
Lemma 22.1: For a fixed N and K, each k has an equal probability of being chosen when
averaged across all values of n from 0 to N
Proof. Since each value of n has equal probability, this is equivalent to showing that the
number of ways to first choose n (i.e. number of red marbles in the bag) and then choose K
marbles such that k of them are red is independent of k itself. That is, the following
N   
X n N −n
n=0
k K −k

can be written as a function of N and K. We will use a combinatorial argument to show

that the above expression is equivalent to
 
N +1
,
K +1
which is independent of k.
Let the following represent N marbles in a bag, with n of them being red:
N
•| ·{z
· · •} ◦ · · · ◦
z }| {
n

Suppose we select K marbles (highlighted in green) such that the number of marbles selected
in the red section is k. For example:
N
••• · · · • ◦◦◦◦ · · · ◦
z }| {
| {z }
n

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Now, consider mapping the above selection to a selection of K + 1 marbles from N + 1

indistinguishable marbles by inserting another marble at the border of the red and white
sections, and making the red and white marbles the same. For example, the above would
turn into:
N
◦•◦ · · · ◦ • ◦◦•◦ · · · ◦
z }| {
| {z }
n
with the inserted marble sohwn in blue. Note that for a fixed k, this forms a one-to-one
correspondence between the number of ways to choose the number of red marbles in the bag
and then K marbles from the bag such that k of them are red, and the number of ways to
choose K + 1 marbles from N + 1 marbles. Thus, the probability of choosing k red marbles
for a fixed N and K, averaged across all values of n, is the same for all k. □
By the Lemma, the probability for some k averaged across n is
N +1


K+1 1
N

= .
(N + 1) · K K +1
That is, if we let d = ⌈ K+1
2
⌉, then the probability that the total number of red marbles being
drawn is even, is
d
,
K +1
i.e. (
1
2
if K is odd
d
K+1
if K is even.
Now, the subset of Ks that will be chosen is a subset of {1, 2, . . . , 2023}. From above, we
know the individual probabilities for each K producing an even number of red marbles.
If any K is odd, then the entire probability collapses to 12 : this is because regardless of
whether the rest of the subset’s Ks sum to even or odd, the odd K will make the parity even
or odd with equal probability.
If all Ks are even, then the probability will have an odd denominator (because all the
individual probabilities for the Ks producing an even k have odd denominators, so a factor
of 2 will never be introduced). This comes from the formula
P (Ki ∪ K) = P (Ki ) · P (K) + (1 − P (Ki )) · (1 − P (K))
where P (S) is the probability that the subset S produces an even number of red mar-
bles.
Therefore, the the probability that the total number of red marbles being drawn is even
is
22023 − 21011 1 21011 x
· + 2023 ·
22023 2 2 y
where y is odd and gcd(x, y) = 1. This simplifies as
1 y(21012 − 1) + 2x
· .
21013 y
The numerator is the sum of an even and odd number, and thus is odd. The denominator
is also odd. Thus, the fraction will not contribute to ν2 (denominator). Thus, the answer is
1013 . □

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Problem 23: Find the sum of the two positive integers n where 2023n2 − n3 + 1 is a perfect
square.

Solution.
Answer: 2023 + 88 = 2111 .
Motivation: 2023 can be seen through inspection. The motivation for 88 is to realize
that
2023n2 − n3 = n2 (2023 − n)
should be very, very close to a square, so 2023 − n should be very close to a square as well.
The largest square less than 2023 is 442 , and 2023 − (442 − 1) indeed works. Upon closer
examination, this is obviously a fluke, but lucky! □

Problem√ 24: Find the

√ squared √
volume of tetrahedron
√ ABCD with AB = 7, AC = 8,
AD = 3 5, CD = 2 5, BD = 5, BC = 2 6.

Solution.
Using Cayley-Menger determinant, the squared volume is
√ 2
0 72 82 3 5 1
√ 2 √ 2
72 0 2 6 5 1
2 1 √ 2 √ 2
V = · det 82
2 6 0 2 5 1
288 √ 2 √ 2 √ 2
3 5 5 2 5 0 1
1 1 1 1 0
Calculating gives
5977
V2 = .
48
□

Problem 25: There are 4913 cells in a 17 × 289 grid, of which k are randomly marked.
Alice scans each row left to right, going from top to bottom. Bob scans each column top to
bottom, going from left to right. They start at the same time and both check one cell per
second. For how many 1 ≤ k ≤ 4913 is the chance of Alice finding a marked cell first equal
to the chance of Bob finding a marked cell first?

Solution.
Replace 17 with n. Then, we want to solve the problem for 1 ≤ k ≤ n2 on a n×n2 grid.
For each cell, one of three things can happen: Alice scans it first, Bob scans it first, or they
scan it at the same time. Let a be the sequence cells Alice scans before Bob or at the same
time as Bob, ordered from least to greatest by the minute when she scans it (assume they
start at minute 1). Let b be defined similarly for Bob. Naturally, ak and bk refer minute
when Alice and Bob scan the kth cell they scan first, resp.

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OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

Consider the following diagram (n = 6 for illustration purposes) where the cells Alice scans
first are in the lightest shade, the cells Bob scans first are in the darkest shade, and the cells
they scan at the same time are in the middle shade.

To start, observe the symmetry of the diagram. Importantly, note that |a| = |b|. That is,
both Alice and Bob scan the same number of cells first.
Next, we make the following claims:
Claim 25.1: ∀i, ai ≤ bi
Proof. Let the cells where Alice and Bob scan at the same time be meet cells. It can be
seen through inspection that between two meet cells, Alice and Bob scan the same number
of cells first. However, through inspection it can be seen that Alice will immediately scan
the new cells, then scan the cells Bob has already scanned, while Bob will alternate between
groups of cells he scans first and cells Alice has already scanned. Thus, Alice will always
have scanned the ith cell she scans first before Bob scans the ith cell he scans first.
A quick corollary of this is that ai < bj for all i, j such that i < j. □
Let us define the conjugate of a cell: if a cell is the kth cell in the sequence a, then its
conjugate is the kth cell in the sequence b. Note that meet cells are conjugates of themselves.
The conjugate of a selection of marked cells is the selection of the conjugates of the marked
cells.
If a selection of cells is its own conjugate, it is made up of only meet cells and pairs of
conjugate cells. However, by Claim 25.1, Alice will scan both these types of cells no later
than Bob does, so we can ignore these selections. Thus, for the purposes of this proof, assume
all selections of marked cells are part of a conjugate pair of distinct selections.
Claim 25.2: For each conjugate pair of selections, either there is at least one selection in
the pair where Alice scans her first marked cell before Bob scans his first marked cell, or
Alice and Bob scan their first marked cells at the same time.
Proof. These selections will have cells from the sequences a and/or b. In each selection, there
will be a cell ai and/or a cell bj such that they are the first marked cells in the selections
from a and b, resp.
If both ai and bj do not exist, then in one selection of the pair, Alice will scan a marked cell
first, and in the other, Bob will scan a marked cell first.
If both exist, then there are two cases: if i = j, then the first cells reached by Bob and Alice
will be the same, resp., in both selections. However, by Claim 25.1, Alice will scan her first
marked cell no later than Bob scans his first marked cell in both selections.
If i ̸= j, then in at least one of the selections in the pair, i < j, and by the corollary of Claim
25.1, Alice will scan her first marked cell before Bob scans his first marked cell. □
Now, we claim that Alice and Bob will have an equal probability of finding a marked cell

17
OMC – PDX Mathletes (May 27, 2024) OMMC 2024 Solutions

first if and only if

k ∈ {1} ∪ [n3 − 2n + 2, n3 ].
First, 1 trivially works (follows from |a| = |b|).
Next, consider k ∈ [n3 − 2n + 2, n3 ]. Define the union of the first n cells Alice scans first and
the first n cells Bob scans first as the symmetric region. This region has 2n − 1 cells there
is one cell of overlap (the very first cell they both scan). By the Pigeonhole Principle, when
k ≥ n3 − 2n + 2, there will be at least one marked cell in the symmetric region. True to its
name, the symmetric region is symmetric for Alice and Bob (by inspection, you can see that
ai = bi for 1 ≤ i ≤ n). Thus, the probability of Alice and Bob finding a marked cell first is
equal.
Finally, consider k ∈/ [n3 − 2n + 2, n3 ]. Let a pair of selections be balanced if they scan their
first marked cell at the same time in both, or if Alice scans a marked cell first in one selection
and Bob scans a marked cell first in the other. Let the pair be called unbalanced in favor of
either Alice or Bob if they scan a marked cell before the other person in more selections of
the two than the other person.
By Claim 25.2, we know that a pair of selections cannot be unbalanced in favor of Bob. Thus,
it follows that if we show a single pair of selections that is unbalanced in favor of Alice, then
the probability of Alice finding a marked cell first will be greater than the probability of Bob
finding a marked cell first.
Simply consider the selection with two cells being the (n + 1)th cell Alice scans first and the
(n + 1)th cell Bob scans first. The remaining cells can be chosen arbitrary. We know k ≥ 2
so this is possible. By inspection, it takes Bob more time to scan his (n + 1)th that he scans
first than Alice, so in this selection and its conjugate (if it exists), Alice will scan a marked
cell first, creating an unbalance. Thus, the probabilities will not be equal.
Thus, the number of k for which the probabilities are equal is

n3 − ((n3 − 2n + 2) + 1) + 1 = 2n.

Since n = 17 in the original problem, the answer is

34 .

18