Related papers: Features of a high school olympiad problem

Problem 2 at the 56th International Mathematical Olympiad (2015) asks for all triples (a,b,c) of positive integers for which ab-c, bc-a, and ca-b are all powers of 2. We show that this problem requires only a primitive form of arithmetic,…

This article introduces a pedagogical method for {\it solving combinatorial problems} that frequently involve structures that are unfamiliar or less familiar. Indeed, an indirect method has been proposed in order to evade any possible…

We survey the recent developments in the area that grew out of attempts to extend an analog of Hilbert's Tenth Problem to the field of rational numbers and rings of integers of number fields. The paper is based on a plenary talk the author…

We show how to extract a monotonic learning algorithm from a classical proof of a geometric statement by interpreting the proof by means of interactive realizability, a realizability sematics for classical logic. The statement is about the…

For positive integers $n$ and $k$ such that $k$ is at most $n$, we find an explicit one-to-one correspondence between the following two sets: the set of words consisting of $k$ $R$s, $k$ $U$s, and $n - k$ $D$s, where the first letter of the…

Refining an estimate of Croot, Dobbs, Friedlander, Hetzel and Pappalardi, we show that for all $k \geq 2$, the number of integers $1 \leq a \leq n$ such that the equation $a/n = 1/m_1 + \dotsc + 1/m_k$ has a solution in positive integers…

In 1960, Sierpi\'nski proved that there exist infinitely many odd positive integers $k$ such that $k\cdot 2^n+1$ is composite for all positive integers $n$. In this paper, we prove some generalizations of Sierpi\'nski's theorem with $2^n$…

Hilbert's first problem is of importance in relation to work being done in computational systems. It is the question of equipollence of natural and real numbers. By construction equipollence is established for real numbers in open interval…

For two odd primes $p$ and $q$ such that $p<q$, let $A(p,q):=(a_k)_{k=1}^{\infty}$ be the arithmetic progression whose $k$th term is given by $a_k=(k-1)(q-p)+p$ (i.e., with $a_1=p$ and $a_2=q$). Here we conjecture that for every positive…

This short article is aimed at educators and teachers of mathematics.Its goal is simple and direct:to explore some of the basic/elementary properties of proper rational numbers.A proper rational number is a rational which is not an integer.…

We numerically estimate the critical exponents of certain enumeration sequences that naturally generalize the famous Catalan and super-Catalan sequences, and raise deep and original questions about their exact values, and whether they are…

We define an extension of parity from the integers to the rational numbers. Three parity classes are found -- even, odd and `none'. Using the 2-adic valuation, we partition the rationals into subgroups with a rich algebraic structure. The…

In 2008 or earlier, Michel Mend\`es France asked for an instance of a real number $x$ such that both $x$ and $1/x$ are simply normal to a given integer base $b$. We give a positive answer to this question by constructing a number $x$ such…

The $\lambda$-superposition calculus is a successful approach to proving higher-order formulas. However, some parts of the calculus are extremely explosive, notably due to the higher-order unifier enumeration and the functional…

This paper is devoted to systematic studies of some extensions of first-order G\"odel logic. The first extension is the first-order rational G\"odel logic which is an extension of first-order G\"odel logic, enriched by countably many…

By using a jump transformation associated to the Romik map, we define a new continued fraction algorithm called odd-odd continued fraction, whose principal convergents are rational numbers of odd denominators and odd numerators. Among…

We construct a countable family of multi-dimensional continued fraction algorithms, built out of five specific multidimensional continued fractions, and find a wide class of cubic irrational real numbers a so that either (a, a^2) or (a,…

We show the existence of a constant $c > 0$ such that, for all positive integers $n$, there exist integers $1 \leq a_1 < \ldots < a_k \leq n$ such that there are at least $cn^2$ distinct integers of the form $\sum_{i=u}^{v}a_i$ with $1 \leq…

The 6th problem of the 50th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), held in Germany, 2009, was the following. Let $a_1,a_2,...,a_n$ be distinct positive integers and let $M$ be a set of $n-1$ positive integers not containing…

Many theorems of mathematics have the form that for a certain problem, e.g. a differential equation or polynomial (in)equality, there exists a solution. The sequential version then states that for a sequence of problems, there is a sequence…