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    The Green Book of Mathematical Problems
    The Green Book of Mathematical Problems
    The Green Book of Mathematical Problems
    Ebook209 pages1 hour

    The Green Book of Mathematical Problems

    By Kenneth Hardy and Kenneth S. Williams

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    About this ebook

    Rich selection of 100 practice problems — with hints and solutions — for students preparing for the William Lowell Putnam and other undergraduate-level mathematical competitions. Features real numbers, differential equations, integrals, polynomials, sets, other topics. Hours of stimulating challenge for math buffs at varying degrees of proficiency. References.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateNov 26, 2013
    ISBN9780486169453
    The Green Book of Mathematical Problems

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      Book preview

      The Green Book of Mathematical Problems - Kenneth Hardy

      THE

      Green Book

      OF

      Mathematical

      Problems

      Kenneth Hardy and

      Kenneth S. Williams

      Dover Publications, Inc.

      Mineola, New York

      Copyright

      Copyright © 1985 by Kenneth Hardy and Kenneth S. Williams.

      All rights reserved

      Bibliographical Note

      This Dover edition, first published in 1997 and reissued in 2013, is an unabridged and slightly corrected republication of the work first published by Integer Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1985, under the title The Green Book: 100 Practice Problems for Undergraduate Mathematics Competitions.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Hardy, Kenneth.

      [Green book]

      The green book of mathematical problems / Kenneth Hardy and Kenneth S. Williams.

              p. cm.

      Originally published: The green book. Ottawa, Ont., Canada: Integer Press, 1985.

      Includes bibliographical references.

      eISBN-13: 978-0-486-16945-3

      1. Mathematics—Problems, exercises, etc. I. Williams, Kenneth S. II. Title.

      QA43.H268 1997

      Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation

      69573504

      www.doverpublications.com

      PREFACE

      There is a famous set of fairy tale books, each volume of which is designated by the colour of its cover: The Red Book. The Blue Book, The Yellow Book, etc. We are not presenting you with The Green Book of fairy stories, but rather a book of mathematical problems. However, the conceptual idea of all fairy stories, that of mystery, search, and discovery is also found in our Green Book. It got its title simply because in its infancy it was contained and grew between two ordinary green file covers.

      The book contains 100 problems for undergraduate students training for mathematics competitions, particularly the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Along with the problems come useful hints, and in the end (just like in the fairy tales) the solutions to the problems. Although the book is written especially for students training for competitions, it will also be useful to anyone interested in the posing and solving of challenging mathematical problems at the undergraduate level.

      Many of the problems were suggested by ideas originating in articles and problems in mathematical journals such as Crux Mathematicorum, Mathematics Magazine, and the American Mathematical Monthly, as well as problems from the Putnam competition itself. Where possible, acknowledgement to known sources is given at the end of the book.

      We would, of course, be interested in your reaction to The Green Book, and invite comments, alternate solutions, and even corrections. We make no claims that our solutions are the best possible solutions, but we trust you will find them elegant enough, and that The Green Book will be a practical tool in the training of young competitors.

      We wish to thank our publisher. Integer Press; our literary adviser; and our typist, David Conibear, for their invaluable assistance in this project.

      Kenneth Hardy and Kenneth S. Williams

      Ottawa, Canada

      May, 1985

      Dedicated to the contestants of the

      William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition

      To Carole with love

      KSW

      CONTENTS

      Notation

      The Problems

      The Hints

      The Solutions

      Abbreviations

      References

      NOTATION

      THE PROBLEMS

      Problems, problems,

      problems all day long.

      Will my problems work out right or wrong?

      The Everly Brothers

      1.   If {bn: n = 0,1,2, . . . } is a sequence of non-negative real numbers, prove that the series

      converges for every positive real number a.

      2.   Let a,b,c,d be positive real numbers, and let

      .

      3.   Prove the following inequality:

      4.   Do there exist non-constant polynomials p(z) in the complex variable z such that |p(z)| < Rn on |z| = R, where R > 0 and p(z) is monic and of degree n ?

      5.   Let f(x) be a continuous function on [0,a], where a > 0, such that f(x) + f(a–x) does not vanish on [0,a]. Evaluate the integral

      6.   For ε > 0 evaluate the limit

      7.   Prove that the equation

      has no solution in integers x,y,z.

      8.   Let a and k be positive numbers such that a² > 2k. Set x0 = a and define xn recursively by

      Prove that

      exists and determine its value.

      9.   Let x0 denote a fixed non-negative number, and let a and b be positive numbers satisfying

      Define xn recursively by

      exists and determine its value.

      10.   Let a,b,c be real numbers satisfying

      Evaluate

      11. Evaluate the sum

      for n a positive integer.

      12.   Prove that for m = 0,1,2, . . .

      is a polynomial in n(n+1).

      13.   Let a,b,c be positive integers such that

      Show that ℓ = 2abc − (bc+ca+ab) is the largest integer such that

      is insolvable in non-negative integers x,y,z.

      14.   Determine a function f(n) such that the nth term of the sequence

      is given by [f(n)].

      15.   Let a1, a2, . . . , an be given real numbers, which are not all zero. Determine the least value of

      where x1, . . . , xn are real numbers satisfying

      16.   Evaluate the infinite series

      and give an example of such a function F(x).

      18.   (a) Let r,s,t,u be the roots of the quartic equation

      Prove that if rs = tu then A²D = C².

      (b) Let a,b,c,d be the roots of the quartic equation

      Use (a) to determine the cubic equation (in terms of p,q,r) whose roots are

      19.   Let p(x) be a monic polynomial of degree m ≥ 1, and set

      denotes differentiation with respect to x.

      Prove that fn(x) is a polynomial in x

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