Selection of problems from

the 31th Colombian Mathematical Olympiad

for High School Students
Compiled by
Diego Cifuentes and Jairo Dı́az
2012

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2
Contents
1 Introduction 5

2 Intermediate Level 7
2.1 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 Higher Level 16
3.1 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2 Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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4
1 Introduction
The Colombian Mathematical Olympiad fon High School Students
is divided into three levels. The First level, for 6th and 7th graders,
Intermediate level, for 8th and 9th graders, and Higher level, for 10th
and 11th graders. The olympiad consists of three rounds for the first
level and four rounds for the other two. The first round is a mul-
tiple choice test (not made in Colombia) consisting of 25 questions
to be answered in no more than 75 minutes. The second round is a
numerical test consisting of 12 questions to be answered in no more
than 120 minutes. Once these filters have been applied, the semifinal
and final rounds are implemented. The semifinal test is a three hour
examination consisting of three problems which need complete argu-
mentation, and it is the Final round for the first level. To conclude
the national olympiad, just before Team Selection tests (TSTs) are
held, the students have the Final Round examination, which is a two
day event with two tests, each having three problems to be solved in
no more than three-and-a-half hours. At the begining, around 50.000
students participate in the olympiad and as the rounds go by there
are fewer contestants. The TST for the IMO is only presented by 15
people. Some of the problems presented in each test of each round are
created by the colombian group working at the olympiad organiza-
tion, and some are taken from past foreign olympiads, but the entire
final round has colombian proposers. We will expose the Intermedi-
ate and Higher level Final rounds in this booklet. The Olympiad is
not very hard but it is quite challenging. Every student who expects
a good performance at the IMO should tackle almost every problem
without a lot of effort.

Special thanks to the problem proposers.

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2 Intermediate Level
2.1 Problems
1. Diego’s office building has many rooms arranged as shown in
Figure. There are doors that connect all adjacent rooms. The
building entrance is on the leftmost room and Diego’s office is
in the rightmost room. Diego likes doing a different path every
day from the entrance to his office. However, the journey is long
so he only moves rightwards or upwards to not take longer. How
many days can pass without Diego repeating any path?

2. Luis has the equation −2x2 + bx + c = 0, and Felipe has the one
obtained by increasing its coefficients by 1, −x2 + (b + 1)x +
c + 1 = 0. Felipe noted that the solutions to his equation are
the squares of the solutions to Luis’ equation. Find all possible
values that b and c can take.

3. Let ABC be an acute triangle with circumcircle Γ. Let D be

the point on the extension of AB which does not contain B such
that DA = AB and let P be the intersection point of CD and
Γ. Let W and L be the points in arcs BC y AB respectively,
such that BW = LA = AP . LC and AW meet at Q. Show
that LQ = BQ.

4. There is a list of the first n natural numbers in some order.

The sum of the first k numbers in the list is divisible by the
sum of the last n − k numbers, or vice versa, for any k with
1 ≤ k ≤ n − 1.

(a) Is it possible to have 5 numbers in the list? (Justify)

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 (b) Is it possible to have 8 numbers in the list? (Justify)

5. Esteban draws the triangle ABC in a paper. Then, he draws

the median mA from vertex A and the height hB from vertex B.
He also draws the line r parallel to BC which passes through A.
Federico erases the entire triangle and leaves only the median,
the height and the line. Esteban needs to reconstruct the trian-
gle and he has only a compass and a ruler without graduations.
How can he reconstruct it?

6. In Cifusburgos there are several cities and there are some routes
connecting them. All routes can be made in both directions
and there are exactly three routes out of each city. Flights are
very well organized, so that any path that ends in the city of
departure must have an even number of flights. For financial
reasons, the company has to close all flights to and from some
city.

(a) Show that, regardless of the city they choose to remove

the flights, it will be possible to travel from any city to
any other.
(b) The company is planning to cancel the flights of another
city. Will it always be possible to travel between any pair
of cities, independent of the choice of the two cities?

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2.2 Solutions
1. Note first that Diego should always pass through the rooms
marked with the letter X.

X
X
X
X
X
X

Now, it is clear that Diego has 3 different ways of moving from

one of these marked rooms to the next marked room. Thus, the
answer is 35 because there are 5 marked rooms after the first
one.

2. First solution:
Let r1 and r2 be the roots of the quadratic −2x2 + bx + c.
We must have that r12 and r22 are the roots of the quadratic
−x2 +(b+1)x+c+1. Using Vieta’s formulas for the independent
coefficient in both equations leads to

−2r1 r2 = c

−r12 r22 = c + 1
From the first formula we get r1 r2 = −c2 . Replacing in the
c2
second formula, − 4 = c + 1. Reorganizing it we get

c2 + 4c + 4 = (c + 2)2 = 0.

Then c = −2 and r1 r2 = 1.
Using Vieta’s formulas for the second coefficient in both equa-
tions leads to
2(r1 + r2 ) = b
r12 + r22 = b + 1

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Squaring the first one, replacing it with r1 r2 = 1 and reorga-
nizing we obtain

4(r12 + 2r1 r2 + r22 ) = b2

4(r12 + 2 + r22 ) = b2
b2
r12 + r22 =
− 2.
4
Replacing the last result in the second relation, it is found that
b2
4 − 2 = b + 1. Reorganizing, we obtain the following equation

b2 − 4b + 12 = (b − 6)(b + 2) = 0.

Then b = 6 or b = −2.
Second solution:
Applying the quadratic formula we obtain that the roots of the
first equation are √
−b ± b2 + 8c
−4
and the roots of the second equation are
p
−(b + 1) ± (b + 1)2 + 4(c + 1)
.
−2
As the roots of the second one are the roots of the first one
squared, we must have
√ !2 p
−b ± b2 + 8c −(b + 1) ± (b + 1)2 + 4(c + 1)
= .
−4 −2

Then
√ !2 p
b± b2 + 8c (b + 1) ± (b + 1)2 + 4(c + 1)
= .
4 2

We get the following two equations.

 2 √ !  p !
b b2 + 8c (b + 1)2 + 4(c + 1)
 
2b + 8c b+1
+ = +
16 8 2 2

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 √ !  p !
2b2 + 8c b b2 + 8c (b + 1)2 + 4(c + 1)
  
b+1
− = −
16 8 2 2
Adding both equations and subtracting both equations leads to
the following relations.
2b2 + 8c
=b+1
8
√
b b2 + 8c p
= (b + 1)2 + 4(c + 1)
4
2
Solving c from the first equation we get c = −b4 + b + 1. Re-
placing in the second equation:
q
2
b b2 + 8( −b4 + b + 1)
s  2 
−b
= (b + 1)2 + 4 +b+2
4 4
Squaring and reorganizing it:
b2 (−b2 + 8b + 8)
= 6b + 9
16
−b4 + 8b3 + 8b2 = 96b + 144
The equation above can be easily factored as
b4 − 8b3 − 8b2 + 96b + 144 = (b − 6)2 (b + 2)2 = 0.
This means that b = 6 or b = −2. Replacing in the first equa-
tions it is found that c = 2.

3.

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 As AL = BW , ALBW is an isosceles trapezium with LB k
AW . Note that if LQ = BQ, then Q is on the bisector of
LB and therefore it passes through the midpoint of AW . This
means that the problem is equivalent to demonstrate that Q is
the midpoint of AW . Note that ∠P CA = ∠ACL = ∠BCW ,
so ∠P CB = ∠P CA + ∠ACB = ∠BCW + ∠ACB = ∠ACW .
In addition, ∠ABC = ∠AW C as they are on the same arc. We
conclude that DBC ∼ AW C. Now, as ∠DCA = ∠ACQ then
the point Q in triangle AW C corresponds to the point A in
triangle DBC. Therefore, as A es the midpoint of DB, Q is
the midpoint of AW , finishing the proof.

4. (a) The list 1, 4, 5, 2, 3 meets the requirements.

(b) We will show that it is not possible. Note that if a | b
then a | a + b, this means that the sum of the first k
numbers or the last n − k numbers divides the sum of
all the numbers, i.e 1 + 2 + 3 + · · · 8 = 36. The proper
divisors of 36 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18. Divide the list in
half, so that there are four numbers in each side. Among
the divisors, the only ones that can be achieved with 4
numbers are 12 and 18. If any of the two sums is 12, then
the only chance to get it is 1 + 2 + 3 + 6. Then, if the list
is a1 , a2 , · · · a8 , assume that a1 , a2 , a3 , a4 is a permutation
of 1, 2, 3, 6. Then a5 ∈ {4, 5, 7, 8} and it is easy to see
that neither a1 + . . . + a5 nor a6 + a7 + a8 divides 36.
Now, if a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 = 18 then a1 + a2 + a3 must
divide 36 as a4 + . . . + a8 > 18. As a4 ≤ 8 we must have
that a4 = 6 to satisfy the divisibility condition. However,
a5 + a6 + a7 + a8 = 36 − 18 = 18 so we can analogously
obtain that a6 = 6 and there would be repeated elements.
This concludes the proof.

5. It is clear that the intersection between r and ma is A. A

perpendicular to hb through A is drawn. This line is AC as hb
is the height from B.

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Now, a point E is chosen on either side of the line AC. A
parallel to r is drawn through E (it is clear that this new line
would be parallel to BC). Let F be the point of intersection of
this parallel with ma . The point E 0 is marked on the parallel
such that F is the midpoint of EE 0 . Note that the triangle
AE 0 E ∼ ABC so ma is also the median of AE 0 E.

Line AE 0 is drawn and where the line meets hB is B. Finally

a parallel to r through B is drawn and where it meets the line
AC is C. In this way we reconstructed the triangle.

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6. (a) The cities and routes can be represented as a connected
graph with even cycles and with every vertex of degree
3. We want to prove that graph remains connected if we
delete any vertex. It is well known that a graph with even
cycles is bipartite, i.e. we can color the vertices with white
and black so that each edge connects a white vertex with
a black one. Suppose by contradiction that for some black
vertex the graph obtained after removing consists of two
disconnected parts, as shown in the following figure.

As the vertex removed had three edges, then an edge was

connected with one of the subgraphs and the other two

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 with the other. Consider the subgraph represented by the
vertices inside the oval in the figure above, and call it A.
Clearly, this graph is still bipartite. Therefore, both the
sum of the degrees of the white vertices and the sum of the
degrees of the black vertices count the number of edges in
A. Let b and w be the number of black and white vertices
in A. The sum of the degrees of the white vertices in
A is 3w (since for every white vertex there are 3 edges).
On the other hand, the sum of the degrees of the black
vertices in A is 3(b − 1) + 1 which is not a multiple of 3, a
contradiction. Thus any vertex can be eliminated and the
graph will remain connected.
(b) It is not true. Consider the graph below. If we delete both
white vertices, the graph is no longer connected.

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3 Higher Level
3.1 Problems
1. Jairo writes 2012 numbers in a board. The first number he
writes is 2. For the rest of the numbers, he writes the sum of
the previous number and its largest divisor different to itself.
For example, if Jairo writes the number 123 at some point, the
next number would be 123+41 = 164 as 41 is the largest proper
divisor of 123. Which is the last number Jairo writes?

2. A contest has a certain number of contestants and a certain

number of judges. Each of the judges makes a full classification
of the contestants. The judges get together and produce the
official ranking of the contestants. For each pair of contestants
A and B, if A was ranked higher than B in the official classifi-
cation, then the number of judges who agree with it is strictly
larger than the number of judges who disagree. It is known that
all the judges’ rankings are different and they are all different to
the official ranking. Determine the maximum possible number
of judges if

(a) there are 4 contestants.

(b) there are n contestants.

3. Let ABC be a triangle with circumcenter O. Let D and T

be points on the line BC such that AD and AT are the angle
bisector and the height respectively. Let X be the foot of the
perpendicular from C to AD and let Y be the intersection point
of OD and the parallel to OB through T . Show that XY is
perpendicular to BC.

4. Let ABC be a triangle and let D be the intersection of the angle

bisector of A with the circumcircle. Let P be an arbitrary point
on the circumcircle. Let X1 , X2 be the intersection points of the
lines P B and P C with the line AD respectively and let Y1 , Y2
be the intersection points of the lines AC y BC with the line
P D respectively. Show that X1 Y1 is parallel to X2 , Y2 .

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5. There are 3000 lamps numbered from 0 to 2999 on a circumfer-
ence, and each of them has three possible states: off, medium
light and full light. If a lamp in off state is activated, it changes
to medium light. If it is in medium light it changes to full light
and if it is in full light it turns off. In front of each lamp there
is a switch which activates twice the corresponding lamp and
activates once the two adjacent lamps. Assuming that all lamps
are off at the beginning, determine if it is possible to get to the
following arrangements of the lamps:

(a) The lamp 0 is in full light and the rest of them are off.
(b) The lamps of the form 6k and 6k + 1 are in full light and
the rest of them are off.

6. Let x, y, z be positive reals. Show that

yz xy zx 1
+ 2 + 2 ≤ .
z2 2 2 2 2 2
+ zx + x + 6y y + yz + z + 6x x + xy + y + 6z 2 3

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3.2 Solutions
1. We show by induction on k that the numbers in positions 3k +
1, 3k + 2 and 3k + 3 are respectively 2 × 3k , 3k+1 and 4 × 3k .
Thus, the number in position 2012 is 3671 .
For k = 0, it is immediate to check that the first numbers are
2, 3, 4.
Assume the hypothesis is true for k, so the number in the posi-
tion 3k + 3 is 4 × 3k . As this number is even, the next number is
4 × 3k + 2 × 3k = 2 × 3k+1 . This number is also even, so the next
number is 2 × 3k+1 + 3k+1 = 3k+2 . This number is odd and is
a multiple of 3, so the next number is 3k+2 + 3k+1 = 4 × 3k+1 ,.
This completes the proof.

2. We show that it is impossible for n < 4 and for n ≥ 4 the

maximum is n! − 5.
We identify each of the contestants with the numbers 1, 2, . . . , n.
A ranking is a permutation of these numbers. Assume WLOG
that the official ranking is 123 . . . n. Let J be the set of permu-
tations of all the judges and let Sn be the set of all permutations.
For each pair of contestants i < j the majority of permutations
in J should rank i below j. Notice that in Sn there are as many
permutations with i below j as permutations with i above j.
Therefore, in K = Sn \J there are strictly more permutations
with i above j. Therefore, it we made an official ranking with
the permutations in K, such ranking would be n . . . 21.
Therefore, the problem is dual to: find the minimum number
of judges such that the official ranking is n . . . 21, even though
one of the judges ranks the contestants as 12 . . . n.
For n = 2 and n = 3 it is easy to see that this is impossible.
For n ≥ 4 it is easy to check that it cannot be done with four

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 judges, but it is possible with five:
12345 . . . n
n . . . 54321
n . . . 53421
n . . . 54231
n . . . 54312

3. Let Z be the intersection of AD and the circumcircle. As OZ is

perpendicular to BC, it is enough to show that XY is parallel to
OZ. Notice that BZ is parallel to T X as AT XC is concyclic
(as ∠AT C = ∠AXC = 90) as well as ABZC, so ∠XT C =
∠XAC = ∠ZBC. As we also have T Y k BO, then
DY DT DX
= = ,
DO DB DZ
so XY k ZO, completing the proof.
4. The quadrilateral AY1 P X1 is concyclic as ∠X1 P Y1 = ∠X1 P D =
∠BAD = ∠X1 AY1 . Then, ∠ACB = ∠AP B = ∠AY1 X1 , so
X1 Y1 k BC.
The quadrilateral AX2 P Y2 is also concyclic as ∠X2 P D = ∠CP D =
∠CAD = ∠X2 AY2 . Then, ∠Y2 X2 P = ∠Y2 AP = ∠BAP =
∠BCP , so X2 Y2 k BC. Therefore, X1 Y1 k X2 Y2 .
5. None of the arrangements is possible.

(a) Identify with 0 the off state, with 1 medium light and
with 2 full light, and let ai be the state of the i-th lamp.
Then activating a lamps increases the corresponding ai in
1 modulo 3. Consider the following sum modulo 3.
2009
X
(−1)i ai
i=0

Notice that this sum is invariant when we perform any

movement. In the initial state the sum is 0 and the final
state is 2, so it is impossible to get to it.

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 (b) Consider the following sum modulo 3.
334
X
a6i+1 + a6i+2 − a6i+4 − a6i+5
i=0

This sum is also invariant under any movement. The ini-

tial value is 0 and the final value is
499
X
2 = 1000 ≡ 1(mod 3)
i=0

so it is also impossible.

6. Note that a2 + ab + b2 ≥ 0 for any a y b. Then, (z − x)2 + (z −

x)(z − y) + (z − y)2 ≥ 0, so 3z 2 + x2 + y 2 + xy ≥ 3z(x + y). This
implies

6z 2 + x2 + y 2 + xy ≥ 3z(x + y + z)
1 x xz
≥ 2 . (1)
3x+y+z x + xy + y 2 + 6z 2
Analogously,
1 y yx
≥ 2 (2)
3x+y+z y + yz + z 2 + 6x2
1 z zy
≥ 2 (3)
3x+y+z z + zx + x2 + 6y 2

Adding (1), (2) and (3), we obtain the desired inequality.

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