There are scales and 100 coins, among which several (more than 0 but less than 99) are fake. All of the counterfeit coins weigh the same and all of the real ones also weigh the same, while the counterfeit coin is lighter than the real one. You can do weighings on the scales by paying with one of the coins (whether real or fake) before weighing. Prove that it is possible with a guarantee to find a real coin.
Author: I.S. Rubanov
On the table, there are 7 cards with numbers from 0 to 6. Two take turns in taking one card. The winner is the one is the first person who can, from his cards, make up a natural number that is divisible by 17. Who will win in a regular game the person who goes first or second?
In a group of six people, any five can sit down at a round table so that every two neighbours know each other.
Prove that the entire group can be seated at the round table so that every two neighbours will know each other.
At a round table, 2015 people are sitting down, each of them is either a knight or a liar. Knights always tell the truth, liars always lie. They were given one card each, and on each card a number is written; all the numbers on the cards are different. Looking at the cards of their neighbours, each of those sitting at the table said: “My number is greater than that of each of my two neighbors.” After that, \(k\) of the sitting people said: “My number is less than that of each of my two neighbors.” At what maximum \(k\) could this occur?
Author: I.I. Bogdanov
Peter wants to write down all of the possible sequences of 100 natural numbers, in each of which there is at least one 3, and any two neighbouring terms differ by no more than 1. How many sequences will he have to write out?
Author: I.I. Bogdanov
Peter wants to write down all of the possible sequences of 100 natural numbers, in each of which there is at least one 4 or 5, and any two neighbouring terms differ by no more than 2. How many sequences will he have to write out?
A carpet has a square shape with side 275 cm. A moth has eaten 4 holes through it. Will it always be possible to cut a square section of side 1 m out of the carpet, so that the section does not contain any holes? Treat the holes as points.
A pack of 36 cards was placed in front of a psychic face down. He calls the suit of the top card, after which the card is opened, shown to him and put aside. After this, the psychic calls out the suit of the next card, etc. The task of the psychic is to guess the suit as many times as possible. However, the card backs are in fact asymmetrical, and the psychic can see in which of the two positions the top card lies. The deck is prepared by a bribed employee. The clerk knows the order of the cards in the deck, and although he cannot change it, he can prompt the psychic by having the card backs arranged in a way according to a specific arrangement. Can the psychic, with the help of such a clue, ensure the guessing of the suit of
a) more than half of the cards;
b) no less than 20 cards?
Every day, James bakes a square cake size \(3\times3\). Jack immediately cuts out for himself four square pieces of size \(1\times1\) with sides parallel to the sides of the cake (not necessarily along the \(3\times3\) grid lines). After that, Sarah cuts out from the rest of the cake a square piece with sides, also parallel to the sides of the cake. What is the largest piece of cake that Sarah can count on, regardless of Jack’s actions?
A unit square is divided into \(n\) triangles. Prove that one of the triangles can be used to completely cover a square with side length \(\frac{1}{n}\).