Problems

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Given a board (divided into squares) of the size: a) \(10\times 12\), b) \(9\times 10\), c) \(9\times 11\), consider the game with two players where: in one turn a player is allowed to cross out any row or any column if there is at least one square not crossed out. The loser is the one who cannot make a move. Is there a winning strategy for one of the players?

Prove that the equation \[a_1 \sin x + b_1 \cos x + a_2 \sin 2x + b_2 \cos 2x + \dots + a_n \sin nx + b_n \cos nx = 0\] has at least one root for any values of \(a_1 , b_1, a_2, b_2, \dots, a_n, b_n\).

Let \(f (x)\) be a polynomial about which it is known that the equation \(f (x) = x\) has no roots. Prove that then the equation \(f (f (x)) = x\) does not have any roots.

Prove that in any group of friends there will be two people who have the same number of friends.

Upon the installation of a keypad lock, each of the 26 letters located on the lock’s keypad is assigned an arbitrary natural number known only to the owner of the lock. Different letters do not necessarily have different numbers assigned to them. After a combination of different letters, where each letter is typed once at most, is entered into the lock a summation is carried out of the corresponding numbers to the letters typed in. The lock opens only if the result of the summation is divisible by 26. Prove that for any set of numbers assigned to the 26 letters, there exists a combination that will open the lock.

In an \(n\) by \(n\) grid, \(2n\) of the squares are marked. Prove that there will always be a parallelogram whose vertices are the centres of four of the squares somewhere in the grid.

A hostess bakes a cake for some guests. Either 10 or 11 people can come to her house. What is the smallest number of pieces she needs to cut the cake into (in advance) so that it can be divided equally between 10 and 11 guests?

Two players play the following game. They take turns. One names two numbers that are at the ends of a line segment. The next then names two other numbers, which are at the ends of a segment nested in the previous one. The game goes on indefinitely. The first aims to have at least one rational number within the intersection of all of these segments, and the second aims to prevent such occurring. Who wins in this game?

The positive irrational numbers \(a\) and \(b\) are such that \(1/a + 1/b = 1\). Prove that among the numbers \(\lfloor ma\rfloor , \lfloor nb\rfloor\) each natural number occurs exactly once.