Mathematical Association of America
Mathematical Association of America
Mathematical Association of America
Source: The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 117, No. 1 (January 2010), pp. 86-93
Published by: Mathematical Association of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.4169/000298910X475032 .
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PROBLEMS
11474. Proposed by Cezar Lupu, student, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Roma-
nia, and Valentin Vornicu, Aops-MathLinks forum, San Diego, CA. Show that when x,
y, and z are greater than 1,
2 +2yz 2 +2zx 2 +2x y
(x)x (y) y + (z)z ≥ ((x)(y)(z))x y+yz+zx .
11477. Proposed by Antonio González, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, and José
Heber Nieto, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela. Several boxes sit in a row,
numbered from 0 on the left to n on the right. A frog hops from box to box, starting
at time 0 in box 0. If at time t, the frog is in box k, it hops one box to the left with
probability k/n and one box to the right with probability 1 − k/n. Let pt (k) be the
probability that the frog launches its (t + 1)th hop from box k. Find limi→∞ p2i (k)
and limi→∞ p2i+1 (k).
doi:10.4169/000298910X475032
86
c THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA [Monthly 117
1 k
(C, c, P) = lim ωj.
k→∞ 2πk
j =1
(a) Show that (C, c, P) exists for all allowed choices of C, c, and P, and that it is
independent of P.
(b) Find a formula for (C, c, P) in terms of r , R, and the distance d between O
and o.
11480. Proposed by Omran Kouba, Higher Institute for Applied Sciences and Technol-
ogy, Damascus, Syria. Let a, b, and c be the lengths of the sides opposite vertices A,
B, and C, respectively, in a nonobtuse triangle. Let h a , h b , and h c be the corresponding
lengths of the altitudes. Show that
2 2 2
ha hb hc 9
+ + ≥ ,
a b c 4
and determine the cases of equality.
SOLUTIONS
Powerful Polynomials
11348 [2008, 262]. Proposed by Richard P. Stanley, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology, Cambridge, MA. A polynomial f over a field K is powerful if every irreducible
factor of f has multiplicity at least 2. When q is a prime or a power of a prime, let
Pq (n) denote the number of monic powerful polynomials of degree n over the finite
field Fq . Show that for n ≥ 2,
Pq (n) = q n/2
+ q n/2
−1 − q (n−1)/3
.
Solution by Richard Stong, Center for Communications Research, San Diego, CA. Let
Aq (n) and Sq (n) be the numbers of monic and monic square-free polynomials of de-
gree n over Fq , respectively. Introduce the ordinary generating functions:
∞
∞
∞
Aq (x) = Aq (n)x n , Pq (x) = Pq (n)x n , Sq (x) = Sq (n)x n .
n=0 n=0 n=0
Any powerful polynomial can be written uniquely as a square times the cube of a
square-free polynomial. As before, the number of cubes of square-free polynomials
having degree 3n equals the number of square-free polynomials of degree n. Thus
1 1 − qx 6 1 + x + x2 + x3 x + x2 + x3
Pq (x) = Aq (x 2 )Sq (x 3 ) = = − .
1 − qx 2 1 − qx 3 1 − qx 2 1 − qx 3
Expanding,
∞
Pq (x) = q m (x 2m + x 2m+1 + x 2m+2 + x 2m+3 − x 3m+1 − x 3m+2 − x 3m+3 ),
m=0
Solution by Elton Bojaxhiu, Albania, and Enkel Hysnelaj, Australia. Let a, b, and
c be the side lengths of triangle ABC. Recall that h a = 2S/a,
√ ra = S/( p − a), and
symmetrically for b and c, while S = pr = abc/(4R) = p( p − a)( p − b)( p − c).
Putting everything in terms of a, b, and c and simplifying verifies that
S(4R + r )
( p − a)( p − b) + ( p − b)( p − c) + ( p − c)( p − a) = .
p
Writing x = 1/( p − a), y = 1/( p − b), and z = 1/( p − c), we obtain
3p 3Sx yz 2S 2 x yz
= , h a ra = , ra rb = S 2 x y.
4R + r x +y+z y+z
Letting f (x) = 1/x ν and plugging these in, the desired inequality is equivalent to
x+y y+z z+x
2 f + f + f
2 2 2
x +y+z
≤ f (x) + f (y) + f (z) + 3 f .
3
88
c THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA [Monthly 117
k
1 n−k
E n,k = + ,
j =1
j k+1
Also solved by M. Andreoli, D. Beckwith, B. Bradie, R. Chapman (U. K.), P. Corn, C. Curtis, K. David &
P. Fricano, J. Ferdinands, J. Freeman, J. Guerreiro & J. Matias (Portugal), C. C. Heckman, S. J. Herschkorn,
G. Keselman, J. H. Lindsey II, O. P. Lossers (Netherlands), K. McInturff, R. Mosier, D. Nacin, J. H. Nieto
(Venezuela), D. Poore & B. Rice, R. Pratt, B. Schmuland (Canada), A. Stadler (Switzerland), M. Tetiva (Ro-
mania), L. Wenstrom, BSI Problems Group (Germany), CMC 328, GCHQ Problem Solving Group (U. K.),
and the proposers.
90
c THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA [Monthly 117
Since uv ≤ (u 2 + v 2 )/2,
2 u
R2 (u) − R2 (v) 1 1 2
≤ g 2
(t) dt ≤ max g (t) : t ∈ [v, u] .
(u − v)2 (u 2 + v 2 ) 2(u − v) v 2
This tends to 0 as (u, v) → (0, 0) since g is continuous at 0 and g(0) = 0.
Editorial comment. The GCHQ Problem Solving Group provided a generalization. If
f is k times differentiable with continuous kth derivative, and Rk is the remainder term
in the Taylor approximation to f of order k at 0, then
Rk (u) − Rk (v)
lim = 0.
(u,v)→(0,0) (u − v)(u 2 + v 2 )(k−1)/2
u =v
Also solved by R. Bagby, R. Chapman (U. K.), P. P. Dályay (Hungary), P. J. Fitzsimmons, J.-P. Grivaux
(France), J. Guerreiro & J. Matias (Portugal), E. A. Herman, G. Keselman, J. H. Lindsey II, O. P. Lossers
(Netherlands), K. Schilling, B. Schmuland (Canada), A. Stadler (Switzerland), R. Stong, M. Tetiva (Romania),
GCHQ Problem Solving Group (U. K.), Microsoft Research Problems Group, and the proposer.
An Integral Inequality
11353 [2008, √ Bonn, Germany. For s > 0,
∞263]. Proposed by Ernst Schulte-Geers, BSI,
let f (s) = 0 (1 + x/s)s e−x d x and g(s) = f (s) − sπ/2. Show that g maps R+
onto (2/3, 1) and is strictly decreasing on its domain.
Solution by Richard Stong, Center for Communications Research, San Diego, CA. De-
fine k(t) = t − log(1 + t) for t ≥ 0. Note that k is increasing, differentiable, and
unbounded on [0, ∞). Let h be the function on [0, ∞) given by h(u) = k −1 (u 2 /2).
From the limiting properties of k, it follows that limu→∞ h(u) = ∞. Note also that
u 2 /2 = h(u) − log(1 + h(u)), so that h (u) = u/ h(u) + u, and thus h is positive
on [0, ∞). Moreover, h is analytic √ in a neighborhood of 0, as it is the inverse of
the function p given by p(t) = 2k(t), which is analytic in a disk about 0. From
the Lagrange inversion theorem, h has a Taylor’s series expansion, and we compute
h(u) = u + (1/3)u 2 + O(u 3 ), from which it follows that h(0) = 0, h (0) = 1, and
h (0) = 2/3. We claim that for u > 0, h(u)3 > u 3 (1 + h(u)). Indeed, from the defini-
tion of h this is equivalent to
h2
log(1 + h) − h + > 0.
2(1 + h)2/3
√
and this last is negative. Here we have written h for h(t/ s ) and have used h 3 >
t 3 (1 + h)/s 3/2 from the claim proved above. It follows that g is a decreasing function
of s and in fact that the integrand is decreasing. Hence the monotone convergence
theorem yields
∞
2 2
lim g(s) = e−t /2 th (0) dt = h (0) = .
s→∞ 0 3
From the original definition and monotone convergence, we conclude that
∞
lim g(s) = lim f (s) = e−x lim (1 + x/s)s d x = 1.
s→0+ s→0+ 0 s→0+
92
c THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA [Monthly 117
positive contributions: A = 2 m=1 n=1 (mt − ns). The inner sum, call it A m , eval-
uates to mt mt/s
− 2 s mt/s
( mt/s
+ 1).
1
When s and t are relatively prime, the remainders rm for 1 ≤ m ≤ s − 1 are distinct
and take on all nonzero values, so
s−1
s−1
1
rm (s − rm ) = m(s − m) = (s − 1)s(s + 1).
m=1 m=1
6
Solution II by Allen Stenger, Alamogordo, NM. Let s and t be relatively prime positive
integers. A nonnegative integer is called representable if it can expressed as a linear
combination of s and t with nonnegative integer coefficients; otherwise it is nonrepre-
sentable. T. C. Brown and P. J.-S. Shiue (A remark related to the Frobenius problem,
Fibonacci Quarterly 31 (1993) 32–36) showed that the sum of all nonrepresentable
positive integers is
1
(s − 1)(t − 1)(2st − s − t − 1). (1)
12
This was recently reproved by A. Tripathi (On sums of positive integers that are not of
the form ax + by, this M ONTHLY 115 (2008) 363–364).
We show that the positive values of mt − ns in our sum are the nonrepresentable
positive integers. As in solution I, the negative values of mt − ns are the negatives of
the positive values, so the desired sum is twice (1).
Fix a positive integer a. By the Chinese remainder theorem, the integer solutions
(m, n) to mt − ns = a are {(m 0 + ks, n 0 + kt) : k ∈ Z} for a fixed solution (m 0 , n 0 ).
The nonrepresentable a are those for which no solution has m ≥ 0 and n ≤ 0. There
is one solution with 0 ≤ m ≤ s − 1. If the corresponding n is nonpositive, then a is
representable. If it is positive, then a is nonrepresentable, since increasing m requires
increasing n.
Hence the positive values of mt − ns with 0 ≤ m ≤ s − 1 and n > 0 are the
nonrepresentable numbers. If m = 0, then mt − ns is negative, and if n ≥ t then
mt − ns ≤ (s − 1)t − st < 0. Thus the nonrepresentable numbers indeed are exactly
the positive values of mt − ns in our sum.
Also solved by R. Chapman (U. K.), P. Corn, P. P. Dályay (Hungary), A. Fok, J. R. Gorman, J. Guerreiro
and J. Matias (Portugal), S. J. Herschkorn, O. Kouba (Syria), J. H. Lindsey II, O. P. Lossers (Netherlands),
K. Schilling, R. A. Simón (Chile), J. Simpson (Australia), A. Stadler (Switzerland), R. Stong, R. Tauraso
(Italy), M. Tetiva (Romania), B. Ward (Canada), H. Widmer (Switzerland), J. B. Zacharias, GCHQ Problem
Solving Group (U. K.), Microsoft Research Problems Group, NSA Problems Group, and the proposer.