Solve the equation with natural numbers \(1 + x + x^2 + x^3 = 2y\).
If a salary is first increased by 20%, and then reduced by 20%, will the salary paid increase or decrease as a result?
In a room there are some chairs with 4 legs and some stools with 3 legs. When each chair and stool has one person sitting on it, then in the room there are a total of 39 legs. How many chairs and stools are there in the room?
Arrange in a row the numbers from 1 to 100 so that any two neighbouring ones differ by at least 50.
An \(8 \times 8\) square is painted in two colours. You can repaint any \(1 \times 3\) rectangle in its predominant colour. Prove that such operations can make the whole square monochrome.
Some person \(A\) thought of a number from 1 to 15. Some person \(B\) asks some questions to which you can answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Can \(B\) guess the number by asking a) 4 questions; b) 3 questions.
a) In a group of 4 people, who speak different languages, any three of them can communicate with one another; perhaps by one translating for two others. Prove that it is always possible to split them into pairs so that the two members of every pair have a common language.
b) The same, but for a group of 100 people.
c) The same, but for a group of 102 people.
12 teams played a volleyball tournament in one round. Two teams scored exactly 7 wins.
Prove that there are teams \(A\), \(B\), \(C\) where \(A\) won against \(B\), \(B\) won against \(C\), and \(C\) won against \(A\).
The numbers from 1 to 9999 are written out in a row. How can I remove 100 digits from this row so that the remaining number is a) maximal b) minimal?
There are two identical gears with 14 teeth on a common shaft. They are aligned and four pairs of teeth are removed.
Prove that the gears can be rotated so that they form a complete gear (one containing no gaps).