RMO

QUESTION BANK

INDEX
TOPIC Q.NO.

NUMBER THEORY – 01 - 51

ALGEBRA – 52 - 118

INEQUALITIES – 119 - 161

COMBINATORICS – 162 - 191

GEOMETRY – 192 - 250

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 RMO Question Bank
NUMBER THEORY
1. Prove that the ten’s digit of any power of 3 is even.
2. Determine the set of integers n for which n2 + 19n + 92 is a square.
3n  5
3. Find all integers n such that is also an integer..
n 1
4. Find the largest positive integer n with the property that n + 10 | n3 + 100. { Where |
stands for divide.}
5. Find the number of positive integers n less than 1991 for which 6|n2 + 3n + 2.
n3  3
6. Find all integers n  1 such that is an integer..
n2  7
7. Find the gcd of the set {n13 – n| n a natural number}.
8. Determine the six-digit perfect squares each having the property that if each
digit is increased by one, the resulting number is also a perfect square.
9. Let f(x) = a0 + a1x + ..... an–1xn–1 + anxn be a polynomial with integer coefficients.
If f(r/s) = 0 where r and s are integers prime to one another, show that r divides a0 and
s divides an. Hence find all the rational roots of 1 + x + x100 – x500 + x1000 = 0.

10. 
2000
Determine the largest 3-digit prime factor of 1000 
11. Find all integral solutions of x3 + 5y3 + 25z3 – 15xyz = 0.

1 1 1
12. Find all positive integers x, y satisfying   .
x y 20
13. Let a, b, c, d be four integers. Prove that the product of the six differences a– b,
a – c, a – d, b – c, b – d, c – d is divisible by 12.
14. Find a finite sequence of 16 numbers such that
(i) It reads the same from left to right as from right to left,
(ii) The sum of any 7 consecutive terms is –1 and
(iii) The sum of any 11 consecutive terms is + 1.
15. Prove that there do not exis t positive integers x, y, z s atisfying 2xz = y 2 and
x + z = 1994.
(2p –1 – 1)
16. Find all primes p for which the quotient is a square.
p
17. Find all the 6–digit decimal numbers a1a2a3a4a5a6 which can be formed by using
the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6 once each such that the number a1.........ak is divisible by k,
for 1  k  6.
18. Show that there is a positive integer n such that n! when written in decimal notation
ends with exactly 1993 zeros.
19. Determine all pairs of positive integers (m, n) for which 2m + 3n is a perfect square.
n
20. Determine the set of all positive integers n for which 3n+1 divides 23 + 1. Prove that
n
3n+2 does not divide 23 + 1 for any positive integer n.
21. Show that 1993 – 1399 is a positive integer divisible by 162.
22. A leaf is torn from a paperback novel. The sum of the numbers on the remaining pages
is 15,000. What are the page numbers on the torn leaf ?
23. Find all integral solutions of x4 + y4 + z4 – t4 = 1991.

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 RMO Question Bank
24. For n  N let s(n) denote the number of ordered pairs (x, y) of positive integers for
1 1 1
which   .
x y n
Determine the set of positive integers n for which s(n) = 5.
1 1 1
25. If   where a, b, c are positive integers with no common factors, prove that
a b c
(a + b) is a square.
26. If x, y are integers and 17 divides both the expressions x2 – 2xy + y2 – 5x +7y and
x2 – 3xy + 2y2 + x –y, then prove that 17 divides xy – 12x + 15y.
27. Prove that there are infinitely many positive integers n such that n(n + 1)
can be expressed as a sum of two positive squares in at least two different ways.
(Here a2 + b2 and b2 + a2 are considered as the same representation).
28. Find the least possible value of a + b, where a, b are positive integers such that 11
divides a + 13b and 13 divides a + 11b.
29. Let a, b, c be three natural numbers such that a < b < c and GCD(c – a, c – b) = 1.
Suppose there exists an integer d such that a + d, b + d, c + d form the sides of a right-
angled triangle. Prove that there exist integers  , m such that c + d =  2 + m2.
30. In a book with page numbers from 1 to 100, some pages are torn off. The sum of the
numbers on the remaining pages is 4949. How many pages are torn off ?
31. Show that there is no integer a such that a2 – 3a – 19 is divisible by 289.
32. Show that 32008 + 42009 can be written as product of two positive integers each of which
is larger than 2009182.
33. Find all positive integers n for which 2n–1 is divisible by 7.
34. Find one pair of positive integers a and b such that
(i) ab(a + b) is not divisible by 7.
(ii) (a + b)7 – a7 – b7 is divisible by 77. Justify your answer
35. If (1 + x + x2 + x3 + x4)496 = a0 + a1x + ....+ a1984x1984.
(i) Determine GCD of the coefficients a3, a8, a13 ..., a1983.
(ii) Show that 10347 > a992 > 10340
36. Let a, b, c, d be integers with a > b > c > d > 0. Suppose that ac + bd = (b + d + a – c)
(b + d – a + c). Prove that ab + cd is not prime.
37. Determine all pairs (a, b) of positive integers such that ab 2 + b + 7 divides,
a2b + a + b.
38. Prove that [5x] + [5y]  [3x + y] + [3y + x] where x, y  0 and [u] denotes the greatest
integer  u.
39. Find all 3 digit numbers equal to the sum of the factorials of their digits.
40. Prove that the expressions 2x + 3y and 9x + 5y are divisible by 17 for the same set of
integral values of x and y.
41. Prove that there are no positive integral numbers which increase twice when their
initial digits are carried to the end of the numbers.
42. Prove that there are infinitely many ordered triples of positive integers (a, b, c) such
that gcd (a, b, c) = 1 and a2 b2 + b2 c 2 + c 2 a2 is a perfect square.
43. Suppose (2 + 3 ) 2r–1 = 1 + m + n 3 where m, n, r are positive integers. Then
prove that m has an odd number of divisors.

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 RMO Question Bank
44. A 10 digit natural number with no repeated digits and leading digit non zero is
called a magic number, if it is divisible by 99999. How many such magic numbers
are there ?
45. Find all pairs of natural number x and y for which x2 = 4y + 3. lcm (x, y) where
lcm (x, y) denotes the least common multiple of the numbers x and y.
46. Consider the number of positive even divisors for each of the first n positive
integers and from the sum of thes e numbers. From a s imilar sum of the
numbers of positive odd divisors of the first n positive integers. Prove that the
two sums differ by at most n.
47. How many even positive integers ‘n’ divide (3 12 – 1) exactly but do not divide
(3k – 1) exactly for any positive integer k < 12.
48. The numerator of a fraction is a positive integer. The denominator is one less
than the square of the numerator. W hen 2 is added to the numerator and
1
denominator of the fraction then it becomes greater than . W hen 3 is subtracted
3
from the numerator and denominator of the original fraction then it becomes a
1
positive fraction less than . Find the number of such fractions.
10
P 1 1 1
49. Let  1    .......  where (p, q) = 1. Prove that p is divisible by 257 2
q 2 3 256
(257 is a prime).
50. Find all the pairs (x, y) where x, y are integers satisfying (2x – 1) 3 + 16 = y4 .
51. Find all positive integers x, y, z such that 8 x + 15y =17z.

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 RMO Question Bank
ALGEBRA
52. If r and s are the roots of ax2 + bx + c = 0, find the equation whose roots are ar + b and
as + b.
53. If all the roots of x4 – 8x3 + 24x2 + bx + c = 0 are positive reals, find the value of b.
54. Find the real points (x, y) satisfying 3x2 + 3y2 – 4xy – 10x – 10y + 10 = 0.
55. Find all pairs (x, y) where (x, y) are integers such that x3 + 113 = y3 .
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
56. If    , prove that 3  3  3  3 .
a b c abc a b c a  b3  c 3
57. 4 2
Show that the equation x + x + 6 = 0 cannot have three equal roots.
58. Solve the system of equations : x2 – yz = a ; y2 – xz = b ; z2 – xy = c
59. Solve the system of equations : x2 + y2 + z2 = 84 ; x + y + z = 14 ; xz = y2
60. Solve the system of equations : x + y + z = 13 ; x2 + y2 + z2 = 65 ; xy = 10
61. Solve the system of equations : x(y + z – x) = a ; y(z + x – y) = b; z(x + y – z) = c
62. If the roots of the equation : 2x3 + x2 + x + 1 = 0 be . Find the equation
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
whose roots are  – ;  – ;  –
2  2 2 2  2 2 2 2  2
63. Solve for integers x, y, z ; x + y = 1 – z, x3 + y3 = 1 – z2 .
64. If x, y, z are positive reals such that x3 y2 z4 = 7,
1/9
 525 
show that 2x + 5y + 3z  9  7 
 2 
65. If 0  a < b and k > 0, show that a k – a  b k – b .
66. If x5 – x3 + x = a prove that x6  2a – 1.
1 1
67. Find the real roots of the equation x 2 + 2ax + = –a + a2  x – where
16 16
1
0<a< .
4
68. Solve for x : x  14 – 8 x – 2  x  23 – 10 x – 2 = 3.
69. Show that if n is congruent to 2 or 3 modulo 4, then it is not pos sible to get
a rearrangement (x1 , x2 ...., xn) of (1, 2, ......, n) such that |x1 – 1|, |x2 – 2|,
......... , |xn – n| are all distinct.
70. In base R 1 , two fractions F 1 and F 2 are expanded as 0.3737 ... and 0.7373
... respectively; in another base R 2 , they are 0.2525 ... and 0.5252 .... Find the
sum of R 1 and R 2 written in base 10.
71. If g(x) and h(x) are polynomials with real coefficients and f(x) = g(x3) + xh(x3) is divisible
by x2 + x + 1, show that g(x) and h(x) are both divisible by x – 1.
72. A balance has arms of unequal length and pans of unequal weight. A certain
article appears to weigh Q 1 or Q 2 according as it is put into one scale pan or the
other. Similarly another article appears to weigh R 1 or R 2 in that order. Show that
the true weight of the article which appears to weigh the same in whichever scale
Q1R2 – Q2R1
pan it is put is .
Q1 – Q 2 – R1  R2
73. If a, b are positive real numbers such that a2 + b2 = 1,
1
show that a + b +  2 2 .
ab

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 RMO Question Bank
74. Let p(x) = x2 + ax + b be a quadratic polynomial in which a and b are integers.
Given any integer n, show that there is an integer m such that p(n)p(n + 1) = p(m).
75. The roots x1 , x2 , x3 of the equation x3 + ax + a = 0 where a is a non-zero real,
x12 x 22 x 23
satisfy   = –8. Find x1 , x2 , x3 .
x 2 x 3 x1
76. If x, y, z are three real numbers such that x + y + z = 4 and x2 + y2 + z2 = 6, then
show that each of x, y, z lies in the closed interval [2/3, 2]. Can x attain the extreme
values 2/3 and 2 ?
77. Find all real x, y satisfying x3 + y3 = 7 and x2 + y2 + x + y + xy = 4?
78. Find all the real numbers x, y satisfying x8 + y8 = 8xy – 6.
79. Let a1 , a2 , a3 , ...., an be real numbers greater than 1 such that |ak – ak + 1 | < 1 for
a1 a2 a3 an–1 an
1  k  n – 1. Show that a  a  a  ....  a  a < 2n – 1.
2 3 4 n 1

80. a, b, c are pos itive integers s atisfying the equations 5a + 5b + 2ab = 92,
5b + 5c + 2bc = 136, 5c + 5a + 2ca = 244. Find 7a + 8b + 9c.
81. In a village 1998 persons volunteered to clean up for a fair, a rectangular field
with integer sides and perimeter equal to 3996 feet. For the purpose, the field
was divided into 1988 equal parts. If each part had an integer area (measured in
square feet), find the length and breadth of the field.
82. Show that there do not exist polynomials p(x) and q(x), each having integer
coefficients and of degree greater than or equal to 1 such that p(x)q(x) = x5 + 2x + 1.
83. Given any four positive distinct real numbers, show that, one can choose 3
numbers A, B, C from among them such that, all the three quadratic equations
have only real roots or all the three equations have only imaginary roots, where the
equations are Bx2 + x + C = 0, Cx2 + x + A = 0, Ax2 + x + B = 0.
84. For which positive integer values of n, the set {1, 2, 3, 4, ....... 4n} can be split into n
b c  d
distinct 4 elements subsets {a, b, c, d} such that a = .
3
85. Prove that, there are infinitely many triplets (x, y, z) of positive integers such that
x3 + y5 = z7 .
86. If p, q, r are the roots of the cubic equation x3 – 3px2 + 3q2 x – r 3 = 0,
prove that p = q = r
4mn
87. Find all solutions in integers m, n of the equation (m – n) 2 = .
mn–1
bx  (1– x)c cx  (1 – x)a
88. If a, b, c, x are real numbers such that abc  0 and =
a b
ax  (1– x)b
= then, prove that, a + b + c = 0 or a = b = c.
c
89. Consider the sequence of natural numbers 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, ....... r, r, ( r + 1),
(r + 1) ... f(n) is the sum to n terms of this sequence. If K is an odd number, find f(k2).
90. Prove that, if a, b(a > b) are prime numbers, each containing at least 2 digits,
then a4 – b4 is divisible by 240. Also prove that, 240 is the greatest common
divisor of all numbers which arise in this way.
16 x 1 2 1999
91. Let f(x) = , Evaluate the sum   .....  .
16 x  4 2000 2000 2000

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92. Find all integer solutions of the equation x2 + y2 + z2 = 2xyz.
93. Consider the following sequences of natural numbers.
S 0 : 1, 1
S 1 : 1, 2, 1
S 2 : 1, 3, 2, 3, 1
S 3 : 1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 5, 3, 4, 1 and so on. S n is formed out of S n–1 as follows: Between
any two terms a and b in Sn–1 , insert the sum a + b. The new terms together with
those of s n constitute Sn . Consider S100 . How many terms are there in S 100 ? How
many times the term 20 occurs in S 100 ?
94. Prove that , if n is a non-negative integer, then, it can be uniquely represented in
(x  y)2  3x  y
the form n = , where x, y are non-negative integers.
2
95. The set S consists of 5 integers. If pairs of distinct elements of S are added, the
following 10 sums are obtained. 1967, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1984,
1989, 1991. Find the elements of S.
96. Find all integers m, n such that 2mn – 5m + n = 55.
x   x 
97. Find the number of positive integer x which satisfy the condition     .
 99   101
98. Prove that the product of the first 1000 positive even integers differs from the
product of the first 1000 positive odd integers by a multiple of 2001.
99. Determine the least positive value taken by the expression a3 + b3 + c 3 – 3abc as
abc vary over all positive integers. Find also all triples (a, b, c) for which this least
value is attained.
100. Do there exist three distinct positive numbers a, b, c such that a, b, c, b + c – a,
c + a – b, a + b – c and a + b + c form a seven term in arithmetic progression in
some order ?
101. The polynomial ax3 + bx2 + cx + d has integral coefficients a, b, c, d. If ad is odd
and bc is even, show that at least one root of the polynomial is irrational.
102. Let a1 , a2 , a3 ...... am be a sequence of real numbers. The sum of K- successive
terms is called a K - sum. For example, ar + ar + 1 + ar + 2 + ...... + ar + k – 1 is a K - sum.
In a finite sequence of real numbers, every 7-sum is negative and every 11-sum
is positive. Find the largest number of terms in such a sequence. Try to construct
such a sequence also.
103. Numbers with two digits or more in which the digits reading from left to right
occur in strictly increasing order, are called as ‘sorted Numbers’. For example
125,14,239 are sorted numbers while 255, 74, 198 are not. Suppose that a
complete list of sorted numbers is prepared and written in increasing order, find
the 100th number on this list.
104. Let 1 < a1 < a2 ..... < a51 < a142 . Prove that among the 50 consecutive difference
(ai – ai – 1 ), i = 2, 3, 4 .... 51, some value must occur at least 12 times.
105. Prove that in any perfect square, the three digits immediately to the left of the
unit digit cannot be 101. (For example ..... 101x cannot be a perfect square).
 20   21   22   99 
106. S = n    n  100   n  100  + .... n  100  = 1606, where ‘n’ is a real
 100       
number and [x] denotes the greatest integer not exceeding x. Find [100n].

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 RMO Question Bank
q(a2 – 1)(c 2 – 1)
107. Find all integer solutions (a, c) of a4 + 6a3 + 11a2 + 6a + 1 = =
a2  c 2
where q is the product of arbitrary non-negative powers of alternate primes
b
i.e. q = 2b1  5b2  11 3 ......, where bi  0.
108. Let a, b, c be real numbers with a 0. Suppose a and 4a + 3b + 2c have the
same sign show that the equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 cannot have both roots in the
interval (1, 2).
 20   21   22   23   22008 
109. Find the sum of the following             ..........    W here
3  3 3 3  3 
[x] stands for the greatest integer function of x.
110. Final all integer solutions to the system of equations given below
ac + bc – 2 = c 3 – c
ba + c a – 2 = a3 – a
c b + ab – 2 = b3 – b
111. If –2 is a root of x4 –(2a + 3)x2 – 2(a – 1)x + 12 = 0. Prove that it is a repeated
root. Find its multiplicity. Solve the equation.
112. The sum of two roots of x4 – 8x3 + 19x2 + 4x + 2 = 0, is equal to the sum of the
other two roots, find . Solve the equation.
113. Find the condition that the roots of the equation x 4 + px3 + qx2 + rx + s = 0,
be connected by the relation  +  = 0.
114. If  are the roots of z3 + 3Hz + G = 0, find the equation whose roots are
 1  1  1
, ,
  – – – 
115. Find the value of 5 + 5 +  5 , where  are the roots of x3 + 3x + 3 = 0.
116. Show that (a – b) 2 + (a – c) 2 = (b – c) 2 is not solvable, when a, b, c are all distinct.
117. Find all pairs of integers x, y such that (xy – 1) 2 = (x + 1) 2 + (y + 1) 2 .
118. Find all the solutions of the system of equations y = 4x3 – 3x; z = 4y3 – 3y and
x = 4z3 – 3z.

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INEQUALITIES
119. If x > a, then prove that x3 + 13a2 x > 5ax2 + 9a3 .

a4 b4 b4 c 4 c 4 a4
120. Prove  4  4  (abc)(a  b  c) without using AM-GM.
c4 a b
121. If m > 1 and n  N. Prove that 1m + 3m + 5m + ...... + (2n – 1) m > nm + 1 .
2 2 2
 1  1 1 4
122. If x + y = a, then without AM-GM, show that  x     y     a   .
 x  y 2 a
3
a3  b3  a  b 
123. Prove that   , a > 0, b > 0.
2  2 
1 1 1
124. Prove that   ...   1.
n 1 n  2 3n  1
bc ca ab 1
125. If a, b, c are unequal and +ve. Prove that    (a + b + c).
bc ca ab 2
126. Let a, b be real numbers such that 0  a  b  1. Prove that
b–a a b 1
(i) 0  1 (ii) 0   1 (iii) 0  ab2 – ba2 
1– ab 1 b 1 a 4
m m  2n
127. Prove that if n, m are positive integers, then  2 if and only if 2  .
n mn
128. 2 2 2 2
Let f (a, b, c, d) = (a – b) + (b – c) + (c – d ) + (d – a) . For a < b < c < d,
prove that f (a, c, b, d) > f (a, b, c, d) > f (a, b, d, c).
4x 2
129. For which real values of x the following inequality holds :  2x  9 ?
(1– 1  2x )2
130. Prove that for any positive integer n, the fractional part of 4n2  n is smaller
1
than
4
131. Let a, b, c be positive real numbers such that abc = 1.
ab bc ca
Prove that a5  b5  ab  b5  c 5  bc  c 5  a5  ca  1
132. Suppose the polynomial ax2 + bx + c satisfies the following : a > 0, a + b + c  0,
a – b + c  0 a – c 0 and b2 – 4ac  0. Prove that the roots are real and that
they belong to the interval –1  x  1.
133. If a, b, c are pos itive numbers, prove that it is not possible for the
1 1 1
inequalities a(1 – b) > , b(1 –c) > , c(1 – a) > to hold at the same time.
4 4 4
 n 1 n–1 
134. If a > 1, then an – 1 > n  a 2 – a 2  .
 
1  ab 1  bc 1  ac
135. If a, b, c > 0 satisfy that abc = 1, prove that
  3.
1 a 1 b 1 c
1 1 1  1 1 1  9
136. If a, b, c > 0, prove that    2     
a b c a b bc c a abc
1 1
137. Let a, b, c be positive number, prove that + +
a3  b3  abc b3  c 3  abc
1 1
 .
c 3  a3  abc abc

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138. Let a, b, c be positive numbers with a + b + c = 1,

 1  1  1 
prove that   1  1  1  64.
 a  b  c 
139. Let a, b, c be positive numbers that satisfy abc = 1, prove that
a b c 3
  
(a  1)(b  1) (b  1)(c  1) (c  1)(a  1) 4 .
140. For all non-negative real numbers x, y, z,

(x  y  z)2
prove that  x yz  y zx  z xy .
3
141. Prove that any three positive real numbers a, b and c, with abc = 1,
satisfy a3 + b3 + c 3 + (ab) 3 + (bc) 3 + (ca) 3  2(a2 b + b2 c + c 2 a).
142. Prove that any three positive real numbers a, b and c satisfy
1 1 1 a b c
  
a2 b2 c 2 abc .
143. If a, b and c are the lengths of the s ides of a triangle, prove that
a b c
  3
b c – a c a –b ab –c .
144. For positive real numbers a, b, c such that a + b + c = 1,
1
prove that ab + bc + ca  .
3
145. Let a, b, c, d  +
R with ab + bc + cd + da = 1,
a3 b3 c3 d3 1
prove that    
b c  d a c d a b d ab c 3
3 3 3 3 16
146. Show that     .
b c  d c  da da b ab c a bc  d
147. If a, b, c, d are +ve real numbers,

bcd cda dab abc

prove that  2  2  2 > a + b + c + d.
a2 b c d
148. Prove that (a + b)(b + c)(a + c)  8 abc (a, b, c > 0).
149. Find the maximum value of (8 – x) 3 (x + 6) 4 , if x lies between –6 and 8.
(5  x)(2  x)
150. Find minimum value of .
1 x
151. If x, y, z are the sides of a triangle, then prove that |x2 (y – z) + y2 (z – x) +
z2 (x – y)| < xyz.
152. Find all integers a, b, c, d satisfying the following relations.
(i) 1  a  b  c  d ; (ii) ab + cd = a + b + c + d + 3.
1 1 2 3
153. For any natural number n > 1, prove the inequality   
2 n2  1 n2  2 n2  3
n 1 1
+ ... +   .
n2  n 2 2n
154. Let a, b, c be three positive real numbers such that a + b + c = 1. Prove that
among the three numbers a – ab, b – bc, c – ca there is one which is at most
1/4 and there is one which is at least 2/9.

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 RMO Question Bank
155. Let x and y be positive real numbers such that y3 + y  x – x3 . Prove that
(i) y < x < 1; (ii) x2 + y2 < 1.
156. Let a, b, c be three positive real numbers such that a + b + c = 1.
Let  = min {a3 + a2 bc, b3 + ab2 c, c 3 + abc 2 }.
Prove that the roots of the equation x2 + x + 4 = 0 are real.
a2  1 b2  1 c 2  1
157. If a, b, c are three positive real numbers, prove that    3.
bc c a ab
158. Prove that
(i) 5 < 53545; (ii) 8  8  3 8  4 8 ;
(iii) n  n  3 n  4 n for all integers n  9.
159. Prove that there exist two infinite sequences an  n1 and bn  n 1 of positive
integers such that the following conditions hold simultaneously
(i) 1 < a1 < a2 < a3 < ....; (ii) an < bn < an2 , for all n  1;

(iii) an – 1 divides bn – 1, for all n  1; (iv) a2n – 1 divides bn2 – 1, for all n  1.

a4  b4  3 21
160. Prove the inequality  for all real number a and b.
a 4  b 4  2 10
161. For positive real numbers a, b, c with a + b + c = 1

1 a 1 b 1 c b c a
prove    2    .
1– a 1– b 1– c a b c

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 RMO Question Bank
COMBINATORICS
162. I have six friends and during a certain vacation I met them during several dinners.
I found that I dined with all the six exactly on one day; with every five of them on
2 days; with every four on 3 days; with every three on 4 days; with every two on
5 days. Further every friend was present at 7 dinners and every friend was absent
at 7 dinners. How many dinners did I have alone ?
163. A sergeant appoints arbitrarily chosen 9 or 10 soldiers every night, out of a 33 member
guard team, for duty. Determine the least number of days within which all guards
can be on duty the same number of times. How can the guard duty be arranged to
achieve this ?
164. Show that the number of ways of distributing 100 identical books into 10
indistinguishable bags so that no two bags contain the same number of books
and no bag is empty, is the same as the number of ways of distributing 55 identical
books into 10 bags so that no bag is empty.
165. Show that there exists a convex hexagon in the plane such that all its interior
angles are equal and its sides are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in some order.
166. In an examination 70% students of a class failed in Tamil, 75% in English, 80%
in Mathematics and 85% in Science. W hat is the least percentage of the students
who failed in all four subjects ?
167. Prove that , if given a set of any 7 distinct integers, there must exist 2 integers in
this set, whose sum or difference is a multiple of 10.
168. Given any 5 distinct real numbers. Prove that there are two of them say x and y
such that 0 < (x –y)/ (1 + xy).
169. Show that given 12 integers, there exists two of them whose difference is
divisible by 11.
170. Let P 1 , P2 , ....., P n be distinct 2 element of the set of elements {a1 , a2 ,......., an}
such that if P i  P j , then {ai, aj} is one of the P’s. Prove that each of a’ss
appear in exactly two of the P’s.
171. (i) Suppose that each square of a 4 × 7 chessboard is coloured either black or
white. Prove that, with any such colouring, the, board must contain a rectangle,
whose 4 distinct unit corner squares are all of same colour.
(ii) Exhibit a black white colouring of a 4 × 6 board in which 4 corner squares of
every rectangle are not all of same colour.

172. In a list of 200 number, everyone (except the end ones) is equal to the sum of the
two adjacent number in the list. The sum of all the numbers is equal to the sum of
the first 100 of them. Find that sum if the 35 th number in the list in 6.
173. 29th Feb of year 2000 will fall on a Tuesday show that after this date 29th Feb will
fall on Tuesdays thrice in the whole next century. W hat are the 3 years when this
will happen ?
174. The number 3 can be written as a sum of positive integers in 4 ways viz., 3,2 + 1, 1,
1 + 2,1 + 1 + 1. Show that any positive integer n can be so expressed in 2n–1 ways.

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 RMO Question Bank
175. In an election for 3 seats there are 6 candidates. A voter can not vote for more
than 3 candidates. In how many ways can he vote ?
176. A bag contain 5 red, 4 green and 3 blue balls of the same are supposed to be
distinct (not alike). In how many ways.
(i) Some balls can be drawn from the bag ?
(ii) Some balls containing at least one red and one green ball can be drawn ?
177. Find the number of selection of at least one red ball from 4 red and 3 green balls,
if the balls of the same are different.
178. All the 7-digit numbers containing each of the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 exactly
once and not divisible by 5, are arranged in the increasing order. Find the 2000th
number in this list.
x   x 
179. Find the number of positive integers x which satisfy the condition     
 99   101
7 
(Here, [z] denotes, for any real z, the largest integer not exceeding z; e.g.,   = 1.)
4
n  n 
180. In n is an integer greater than 7, prove that   –   is divisible by 7.
7  7 
n
[Here,   denotes the number of ways of choosing 7 objects from among n objects;
7
also, for any real number x, [x] denotes the greatest integer not exceeding x.]
181. Find the number of ordered triples (x, y, z) of non-negative integers satisfying the
conditions : (i) x  y  z ; (ii) x + y + z  100.
182. Prove that the number of triples (A, B, C) where, A, B, C are subsets of {1, 2, ....., n}
such that A  B  C = , A  B  , B  C  0 is 7n – 2  6n + 5n.
183. Determine all triples (a, b, c) of positive integers such that a  b  c and
a + b + c + ab + bc + ca = abc + 1.
184. Find the number of all 5-digit numbers (in base 10) each of which contains the
block 15 and is divisible by 15. (e.g., 31545, 34155 are two such numbers).
185. How many 6-digit numbers are there such that :
(i) the digits of each number are all from the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
(ii) any digit that appears in the number appears at least twice ?
(e.g., 225252 is an admissible number, while 222133 is not.)
186. Find the number of all integer-sided isosceles obtuse angled triangles with
perimeter 2008.
187. Find the number of all 6-digit natural numbers such that the sum of their digits is
10 and each of the digits 0, 1, 2, 3 occurs at least once in them.
188. Find the sum of all 3-digit natural numbers which contain at least one odd digit and at
least one even digit.
189. Find the number of 4-digit numbers (in base 10) having non-zero digits and which
are divisible by 4 but not by 8.
1 1 1 1 1 2a
190. The sum     can be written in the form , where a
1!9! 3!7! 5!5! 7!3! 9!1! b!
and b are positive integers. Find the ordered pair (a, b). (Note The ! marks are
“factorial” symbol.)
191. There are 1994 employees in the office. Each of them knows 1600 others of
them. Prove that we can find 6 employees, each of them knowing all 5 others.

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GEOMETRY
192. In ABC, A = 70°, D is one the side AC, and the angle bisector of A intersects
BD at H such that AH : HE = 3 : 1 and BH : HD = 5 : 3. Then C in degrees is.
193. In ABC, AC = BC, C = 20°, M is on the side AC and N is on the side BC, such
that BAN = 50°, ABM = 60°. Find NMB in degrees.
194. In the graph, triangles ABD and BEC are both equilateral with A, B, C being
collinear, M and N are midpoints of AE and CD respectively, AE intersects BD at
G and CD intersects BE at H. Prove that (i) MBN is equilateral, (ii) GH || AC.

195. Given that the segment BD is on a line  . On one side of  take a point C and
construct two squares ABCK and CDEF respectively outside the CBD. Let M
be the midpoint of the segment AE, prove that the position of M is independent of
the choice of the position of C.
196. In RtABC, C = 90°, CD  AB at D, AF bisects A, intersects CD and CB at E
and F respectively. If EG is parallel to AB, intersecting CB at G, prove that CF = GB.
197. In ABC, ABC = ACB = 80°. The point P is on AB such that BPC = 30°.
Prove that AP = BC.
198. In given convex quadrilateral ABCD, O is an inner point of ABCD such that
AOB = COD = 120°, AO = OB, CO = OD. Given that K, L, M are the midpoints
of the segments AB, BC, CD respectively, prove that KLM is equilateral.
199. ABC is a given triangle. If the sides AB and AC are taken as hypotenuses of two
right triangles ABD and ACE outs ide the ABC, respectively, suc h that
ABD = ACE. Prove that DM = EM, where M is the midpoint of BC.
200. In a quadrilateral ABCD, AD > BC, E and F are the midpoints of AB and CD
respectively. Suppose that the lines AD and BC intersect FE produced at H and
G respectively. Prove that AHE < BGE.
201. In the given diagram, PQR and P’Q’R’ are two congruent equilateral triangles.
Denote the lengths of the sides of hexagon ABCDEF by AB = a1, BC = b1, CD = a2 ,

DE = b2 , EF = a3 , FA = b3 . Prove that a12  a22  a32  b12  b22  b32 .

202. Let AD, BE, CF be the three angle bisectors of the triangle ABC, prove that the
2abc
ratio of area of DEF to area of ABC is equal to ,
(a  b)(b  c)(c  a)
where a = BC, b = CA and c = AB.
203. Let P be an interior point of triangle ABC and extend lines from the vertices through
P to the opposite sides. Let a, b, c, and d denote the lengths of the segments
indicated in the figure below. Find the product abc if a + b + c = 43 and d = 3.
C

c
D F
d d

d P
a b
A B
E

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 RMO Question Bank
204. In the isosceles right triangle ABC, AB = 1, A = 90°, E is the midpoint of the leg
AC. The point F is on the base BC such that EF  BE. Find the area of CEF.
205. In triangle ABC, A’, B’, and C’ are on the sides BC, CA, and AB, respectively.
Given that AA’, BB’, and CC’ are c onc urrent at the point O, and that

AO BO CO AO BO CO
  = 92, find . . .
OA ' OB' OC' OA ' OB' OC'
206. Point P is inside ABC. Line segments APD, BPE, and CPF are drawn with
D on BC, E on CA, and F on AB (see the figure below). Given that AP = 6, BP = 9,
PD = 6, PE = 3, and CF = 20, find the area of ABC.
C

D
E
P

A B
F
207. Let ABCD be a square and M, N points on sides AB, BC respectively, such that
MDN = 45°. If R is the mid point of MN, show that RP = RQ where P, Q are the
points of intersection of AC with the lines MD, ND.
208. Prove that the inradius of a right-angled triangle with integer sides is an integer.
209. The cyclic octagon ABCDEFGH has sides, a,a,a,a,b,b,b,b respectively. Find the
radius of the circle that circumscribes ABCDEFGH.
210. ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral with AC BD and AC meets BD at E. Prove that
EA 2 + EB2 + EC 2 + ED 2 = 4R 2 where R is the radius of the circumscribed circle.
211. In a ABC, D is a point on BC such that AD is the internal bisector of A suppose
B = 2C and CD = AB then prove that A = 72°.
212. Let BE and CF be the altitudes of an acute ABC, with E on AC and F on AB. Let
O be the point of intersection of BE and CF. Take any line KL, through O with K
on AB and L on AC. Suppose M and N are located on BE and CF respectively,
such that KM is perpendicular to BE and LN is perpendicular to CF. Prove that
FM is parallel to EN.
213. In an acute ABC, points D, E, F are located on the sides BC, CA, AB respectively such

CD CA AE AB BF BC
that  ,  ,  , Prove that AD, BE, CF are the altitudes of ABC.
CE CB AF AC BD BA
214. In ABC, let D be the mid point of BC. If ADB = 45° and ACD = 30°, Determine
BAD.
215. Let ABCD be a convex quadrilateral; P, Q, R, S be the mid points of AB, BC, CD,
DA respectively such that AQR and CSP are equilateral. Prove that ABCD is
a rhombus. Determine its angles.
216. Let ABC be a triangle in which AB = AC and let I be its incenter. Suppose
BC = AB + AI. Find BAC.

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 RMO Question Bank
217. Let ABC be a triangle in which A = 60° let BE and CF be the bisectors of the
angles B and C with E on AC and F on AB. Let M be the reflection of A in the
line EF. Prove that M lies on BC.
218. A circle passes through the vertex C of a rectangle ABCD and touches its sides
AB and AD at M and N respectively. If the distance from C to the line segment
MN is equal to 5 units find the area of the rectangle ABCD.
219. In an acute-angled ABC, A = 30°, H is the orthocentre, and M is the mid point
of BC. On the line HM, take a point 7 such that HM = MT. Show that AT = 2BC.
220. Two externally tangent circles of radii R 1 and R 2 are internally tangent to a
semicircle of radius 1, as in the figure.

Prove that R 1 + R 2  2  
2 – 1 with equality holds if and only if R 1 = R 2 .
221. The incircle of ABC touches the sides BC, CA and AB in K, L and M respectively.
The line through A and parallel to LK meets MK in P and the line through A and
parallel to Mk meets LK in Q. Show that the line PQ bisects the sides AB and
AC of ABC.

222. In a convex quadrilateral PQRS, PQ = RS,  

3  1 QR = SP and
RSP – SPQ = 30°. Prove that PQR – QRS = 90°
223. Let ABC be a triangle and D be the mid point of side BC. Suppose DAB
= BCA and DAC = 15°. Show that ADC is obtuse. Further, if O is the
circumcentre of ADC, prove that AOD is equilateral.
224. Let M be the mid point of side BC of a ABC. Let the median AM intersect the
incircle of ABC at K and L, K being nearer to A than L. If AK = KL = LM, prove that
the sides of ABC are in the ratio 5 : 10 : 13 in some order.
225. Let ABC be a triangle and let P be interior point such that BPC = 90°, BAP =
BCP. Let M, N be the mid points of AC, BC respectively. Suppose, BP = 2PM.
Prove that A, P, N are collinear.
226. Let ABC be a triangle with circumcircle  . Let M be a point in the interior of
ABC which is also on the bisector of A. Let AM, BM, CM meet  in A 1 , B1 , C 1
respectively. Suppose P is the point of intersection of A 1 C 1 with AB; and Q is the
point of intersection of A 1 B 1 with AC. Prove that PQ is parallel to BC.
227. Show that among all the triangles having the same perimeter, equilateral triangle has
the maximum area.
228. PQRS is a quadrilateral in which PQR = QRS. Prove that RSP is greater
than , equal to, or less than SPQ according as PQ is greater than, equal to or
less than RS.
229. E is the mid-point of segment AD, which is drawn through A to meet the side BC
of the equilateral triangle ABC at any point D. Show that AE < CE.

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230. In ABC, straight lines are drawn from the vertices B, C to intersect at a point O
within the triangle. Prove that
(i) AB + AC > OB + OC. (ii) BOC > BAC.
(iii) AB + AC – [OB + OC] < 2OA.
231. In triangles ABC and DEF, AB = DE, AC = DF and BAC > EDF. Prove that BC > EF.
[Conversely, if AB = DE, AC = DF and BC > EF, then BAC > EDF.]
232. Suppose ABCD is a rectangle and P, Q, R, S are points on the sides AB, BC, CD,
DA respectively. Show that PQ + QR + RS + SP > 2  AC .
233. In ABC, let AD be the internal bisector of A. Show that, AD2 = AB  AC – BD DC.
234. A hexagon inscribed in a circle has three consecutive sides of length a and three
consecutive sides of lengths b. Determine the radius of the circle.
235. If a quadrilateral ABCD circumscribes a circle, show that AB + CD = BC + DA.
Conversely, show that if a convex quadrilateral ABCD is such that AB + CD =
BC + DA, then a c irc le can be ins cribed in the quadrilateral.
236. A quadrilateral inscribes a circle and it also circumscribes another circle. If the sides
of the quadrilateral are a, b, c, d, show that the area of the quadrilateral is abcd .

237. ABCD is a square. E is a point inside the square such the m  EBC  m ECB = 15°.
Show that AED is equilateral.
238. Let ABCD be a parallelogram and P be a point inside the parallelogram such that
APB + CPD = 180°. Then prove that APCP + BPDP = ABBC.
239. Two circles of radii a and b touch each other externally and they also touch a line.
A circle of radius c is inscribed in the region in between the circles and the line to
1 1 1
touch both the circles and the line. Show that   .
c a b
240. Two circles C 1 , C 2 of radii a and b touch each other externally and they both
touch a unit circle C internally. A circle C 3 of radius r is inscribed to touch the
ab
circles C 1 , C 2 externally and the circle C internally. Show that r  .
1 – ab
241. ABC is an equilateral triangle of side 1 unit. A line  is drawn through A out side
the triangle ABC. Circle C 1 (O 1 , r 1 ) touches the lines  , BC and AB and the circle
C 2 (O 2 , r 2 ) touches the line  , BC and AC. For different positions of the line  ,
prove that (r 1 + r 2 ) is a constant.
242. A point is chosen on each side of a unit square. The four points from the sides of
a quadrilateral with sides of lengths a, b, c, d.
Show that : 2  a2 + b2 + c 2 + d2  4 , 2 2  a + b + c + d  4
243. In the adjoining figure, OB is the perpendicular bisector of DE. A is a point on
OB; AF is perpendicular to OB and EF intersects OB at C. Show that OC is the
2.OA.OB
harmonic mean between OA and OB. i.e.,OC =
OA  OB

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 RMO Question Bank
244. ABC is a triangle with AB  AC. P is taken on the opposite side of AB to C such
that PA = PB. Q is taken on the opposite side of AC to B such that QA = QC and
AQC = APB. R is taken on the same side of BC as A such that RB = RC and
BRC = APB. Show that APRQ is a parallelogram.
D
=

O B
A C
=

E
245. Given triangle ABC where AB = AC and A = 80°, a point M is taken inside the
triangle such that MBC = 30° and MCB = 10°. If the angle bisector of BAC
meets BM extended in N, then
(i) Prove that BNC is isosceles and (ii) Find ANC
246. There are exactly 100 lattice points on the circumference of a circle with centre
origin. Show that the radius r of the circle will be either an integer or 2 times an
integer.
247. A Pythagorean triangle is a right triangle in which all the three sides are of integer
lengths. Let a, b be the legs of a Pythagorean triangle, and h be altitude to the
1 1 1
hypotenuse. Determine all such a triangles for which    1.
a b h
248. Let G be the centroid of the  ABC in which the angle at C is obtuse and let AD
and CF be medians from A and C respectively onto the sides BC and AB. If the
AC
four points B, D, G and F are concyclic. Show that  2 . If, further, P is a
BC
point on the line BG extended such that AGCP is a parallelogram, show that the
 ABC and  GAP are similar.
249. The incircle of ABC touches BC, CA and AB at D, E and F respectively. X is a
point inside ABC such that the incircle of XBC touches BC at D also and
touches CX and XB at Y and Z respectively. Prove that EFZY is a cyclic
quadrilateral.
250. In ABC, AB = AC and BAC = 30°, A’, B’, C’ are reflections of A, B, C respectively
on BC, CA, AB, show that A’ B’ C’ is equilateral.

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