Past preRMO Algebra

December 13, 2021

1 Basic maths
1. (PreRMO 2012) Rama was asked by her teacher to subtract 3 from a cer-
tain number and then divide the result by 9 . Instead , she subtracted 9
and then divided the result by 3 . She got 43 as the answer. What would
have been her answer if she had solved the problem correctly?

2. (PreRMO 2012) A triangle with perimeter 7 has integer side lengths .

What is the maximum possible area of such a triangle?
3. (PreRMO 2012) For how many pairs of positive integers (x, y) is x + 3y =
100 ?
4. (PreRMO 2012) The letters R, M, O represents whole numbers . If RxM xO =
240, RxO + M = 46 and R + M xO = 64, what is the value of R + M + O?
5. (PreRMO 2012) Suppose that 4x1 = 5 , 5x2 = 6 , 6x3 = 7, · · ·, 126x123 =
127, 127x124 = 128 . What is the value of the product x1 x2 x3 · · · x124 ?
6. (PreRMO 2013) What is the smallest positive integer k such that k(33 +
43 + 53 ) = an for some positive integers a and n, with n > 1?
7. (PreRMO 2013) Let Akbar and Birbal together have n marbles, where
n > 0. Akbar says to Birbal, “ If I give you some marbles then you will
have twice as many marbles as I will have.” Birbal says to Akbar, “ If
I give you some marbles then you will have thrice as many marbles as I

1
 will have.” What is the minimum possible value of n for which the above
statements are true?
8. (PreRMO 2013) Let m be the smallest odd positive integer for which
1 + 2 + · · · + m is a square of an integer and let n be the smallest even
positive integer for which 1 + 2 + · · · + n is a square of an integer. What
is the value of m + n?
9. (PreRMO 2014)A natural number k is such that k 2 < 2014 < (k + 1)2 .
What is the largest prime factor of k?
10. (PreRMO 2014)The first term of a sequence is 2014. Each succeeding
term is the sum of the cubes of the digits of the previous term. What is
the 2014th term of the sequence?
11. (PreRMO 2014)S Let S be a set
S of real numbers with mean M . If the means
of the sets S {15} and S {15, 1} are M + 2 and M + 1, respectively,
then how many elements does S have?

12. (PreRMO 2015)A man walks a certain distance and rides back in 3 43 hours;
he could ride both ways in 2 12 hours. How many hours would it take him
to walk both ways?

13. (PreRMO 2015)Positive integers a and b are such that a + b = a/b + b/a.
What is the value of a2 + b2 ?
14. (PreRMO 2015)A 2×3 rectangle and a 3×4 rectangle are contained within
a square without overlapping at any interior point, and the sides of the
square are parallel to the sides of the two given rectangles. What is the
smallest possible area of the square?

15. (PreRMO 2017)A contractor has two teams of workers team A and team
B. Team A can complete a job in 12 days and team B can do the same
job in 36 days. Team A starts working on the job and team B joins team
A after four days. The team A withdraws after two more days. For how
many more days should team B work to complete the job?

16. (PreRMO 2017)A pen costs Rs. 11 and a notebook costs Rs. 13. Find
the number of ways in which a person can spend exactly Rs. 1000 to buy
pens and notebooks.
17. (PreRMO 2017) In a class, the total numbers of boys and girls are in the
ratio 4 : 3. On one day it was found that 8 boys and 14 girls were absent
from the class, and that the number of boys was the square of the number
of girls. What is the total number of students in the class?

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 18. (PreRMO 2018) A book is published in three volumes, the pages being
numbered from 1 onwards. The page numbers are continued from the first
volume to the second volume to the third. The number of pages in the
second volume is 50 more than that in the first volume, and the number
pages in the third volume is one and a half times that in the second. The
sum of the page numbers on the first pages of the three volumes is 1709.
If n is the last page number, what is the largest prime factor of n?
19. (PreRMO 2018) What is the value of
X X
(i + j) − (i + j)
1 ≤ i < j ≤ 10 1 ≤ i < j ≤ 10
i + j is odd i + j is even

20. Answers √
1) 15 2) 41 63 3) 33 4) 20 5) 7
2 6) 1 7) 12 8) 9 9)
11 10)37
11) 4 12) 5 13) 2 14) 25 15)16 16) 7 17) 42 18) 17
19) 55

2 Algebra
2.1 Equations
3
1. (PreRMO 2012) Let x1 , x2 , x3 be the roots
  equationx + 3x + 5 = 0
of the
1 1 1
. What is the value of the expression x1 + x1 x2 + x2 x3 + x3 ?

2. (PreRMO 2014) If real numbers a, b, c, d, e satisfy a + 1 = b + 2 = c + 3 =

d+4 = e+5 = a+b+c+d+e+3, what is the value of a2 +b2 +c2 +d2 +e2 ?
3. (PreRMO 2014) What is the smallest possible natural number n for which
the equation x2 − nx + 2014 = 0 has integer roots?
4. (PreRMO 2014) Natural numbers k, l, p and q are such that if a and b
are roots of x2 − kx + l = 0 then a + 1b and b + a1 are the roots of
x2 − px + q = 0.What is the sum of all possible values of q?

5. (PreRMO 2015)If 3x + 2y = 985 and 3x − 2y = 473, what is the value of

xy?
6. (PreRMO 2015)The equations x2 − 4x + k = 0 and x2 + kx − 4 = 0,where
k is a real number, have exactly one common root. What is the value of
k?

7. (PreRMO 2015)Let a, b, and c be real numbers such that a − 7b + 8c = 4

and 8a + 4b − c = 7. What is the value of a2 − b2 + c2 ?

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 8. (PreRMO 2013) It is given that the equation x2 + ax + 20 = 0 has integer
roots. What is the sum of all possible values of a?
9. (PreRMO 2013) Let f (x) = x3 − 3x + b and g(x) = x2 + bx − 3, where b
is a real number. What is the sum of all possible values of b for which the
equations f (x) = 0 and g(x) = 0 have a common root?
√
10. (PreRMO
√ 2017)Suppose
√ √a, b are positive real numbers such that a a +
b b = 183 and a b + b a = 182 find 95 (a + b) .
11. (PreRMO 2017) Let
a, b be integers

such that all the roots of the equa-
tion x2 + ax + 20 x2 + 17x + b = 0 are negative integers. What is the
smallest possible value of a + b?

12. (PreRMO 2017) Suppose 1, 2, 3 are the roots of the equationx4 +ax2 +bx =
c . Find the value of c.
13. (PreRMO 2018)Integers a, b, c satisfy a+b–c = 1 and a2 +b2 –c2 = –1.What
is the sum of all possible values of a2 + b2 + c2 ?

14. (PreRMO 2018)Suppose a, b are integers and a+b is a root of x2 +ax+b =

0.What is the maximum possible values of b2 ?
15. (PreRMO
2019 P1) Let f (x) = x2 + ax + b. If for all nonzero real x,
1 1
f x + x = f (x) + f ( x ) and the roots of f (x) = 0 are integers, what is
the value of a2 + b2 ?

16. (PreRMO 2019 P1)On a clock, there are two instants between 12 noon
and 1 PM, when the hour hand and the minute hand are at right angles.
The difference in minutes between these two instants is written as a + cb ,
where a, b, c are positive integers, with b < c and b/c in the reduced form.
What is the value of a + b + c?
√ √ √
17. (PreRMO 2019 P2) If x = 2+ 3+ 6 is a root of x4 +ax3 +bx2 +cx+d =
0 where a, b, c, d are integers, what is the value of |a + b + c + d|?
18. (PreRMO 2019 P2) Find the number of positive integers less than 101
that can not be written as the difference of two squares of integers.

19. (PreRMO 2019 P2)One day I went for a walk in the morning at x minutes
past 50 O clock, where x is a 2 digit number. When I returned, it was
y minutes past 60 O clock, and I noticed that (i) I walked for exactly x
minutes and (ii) y was a 2 digit number obtained by reversing the digits
of x. How many minutes did I walk?

20. (PreRMO 2019 P2) Find the largest value of ab such that the positive
integers a, b > 1 satisfy

ab ba + ab + ba = 5329

4
 (PreRMO 2021 /11) Let X = {−5, −4, −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and S =
21. 
(a, b) ∈ X × X : x2 + ax + b and x3 + bx + a have at least a common real
zero }. How many elements are there in S ?

22. Answers
1) − 29


5 2) 10 3) 91 4) 4 5) 48 6) 3 7) 1 8) 0 9)0 10)
73 11) 25 12) 36 13)18 14) 81 15)13 16) 51 17)93 18)25
19)42 20)81 21)24

2.2 Completing the square , differnce between two squares

1. (PreRMO 2012) How many integer pairs (x, y) satisfy x2 + 4y 2 − 2xy −
2x − 4y − 8 = 0?
2. (PreRMO 2012) Let Sn = n2 + 20n + 12 , n ∈ N . What is the sum of all
possible values of n for which Sn is the perfect square?

3. (PreRMO 2013) Three real numbers x, y, z are such that x2 + 6y =

−17, y 2 + 4z = 1 and z 2 + 2x = 2. What is the value of x2 + y 2 + z 2 ?
4. (PreRMO 2017) If the real numbers x, y, z are such that x2 + 4y 2 + 16z 2 =
48 and xy + 4yz + 2zx = 24 , then , what is the value of x2 + y 2 + z 2 ?

5. (PreRMO 2019 P1)Each of the P numbers x1 , x2 , . . . , x101 is ±1. What is

the smallest positive value of 1≤i<j≤101 xi xj ?
6. Answers
1)6 2)16 3) 14 4) 21 5) 10

2.3 Polynomials
1. (PreRMO 2015)Let P (x) be a non-zero polynomial with integer coeffi-
cients. If P (n) is divisible by n for each positive integer n, what is the
value of P (0)?
2. (PreRMO 2018)P (x) = a0 + a1 x + · · · + an xn be a polynomial in which
ai is non-negative integer for each i ∈ {0, 1, 2, 3, ...., n} . If P (1) = 4 and
P (5) = 136, what is the value of P (3)?
3. Answers
1) 0 2) 34

2.4 Algebraic expression

a2
1. (PreRMO 2015)Let a, b and c be such that a + b + c = 0 and P = 2a2 +bc +
b2 c2
2b2 +ca + 2c2 +ab is defined. What is the value of P ?

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 2. (PreRMO 2014) Let x1 , x2 , ···, x2014 be real numbers different from 1, such
that x1 + x2 + · · · + x2014 = 1 and
x1 x2 x2014
+ +···+ =1
1 − x1 1 − x2 1 − x2014
What is the value of
x21 x22 x22014
+ +···+ ?
1 − x1 1 − x2 1 − x2014

3. (PreRMO 2019 P2)Let Fk (a, b) = (a+b)k –ak –bk and let S = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
For how many ordered pairs (a, b) with a, b ∈ S For how many ordered
F5 (a,b)
pairs (a, b) with a, b ∈ S and a ≤ b is F 3 (a,b)
an integer?

4. Answers
1) 1 2)0 3)22

2.5 Inequalities
1. (PreRMO 2018) What is the largest positive integer n such that

a2 b2 c2
b c
+ c a + a b
≥ n(a + b + c)
29 + 31 29 + 31 29 + 31

holds for all positive real numbers a, b, c.

Answers
1) 14

2.6 Functional equation

1. (PreRMO 2012) Let N be the set natural numbers. Suppose f : N → N
is a function satisfying the following conditions.
a) f (mn) = f (m)f (n)
b) f (m) < f (n) if m < n
c) f (2) = 2
20
P
What is the value of f (k)?
k=1

2. (PreRMO 2014)Let f be a one-to-one function from the set of natural

numbers to itself such that f (mn) = f (m)f (n) for all natural numbers m
and n. What is the least possible value of f (999)?

Answers
1)210 2)24

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3 Extra problems
3.1 Extra problem on vieta’s relation
1. If p, q, r are the roots of the cubic equation x3 − 3px2 + 3q 2 x − r3 = 0,
show that p = q = r. (RMO 1999)
2. Find the zeros of the polynomial P (x) = x4 − 6x3 + 18x2 − 30x + 25
knowing that the sum of two of them is 4.
3. Suppose a and b are real numbers such that the roots of the cubic equation
ax3 − x2 + bx − 1 = 0√are all positive real numbers . Prove that: a)
0 < 3ab ≤ 1 and b) b ≥ 3(RMO 2008)
4. Let P1 (x) = ax2 − bx − c, P2 (x) = bx2 − cx − a, P3 (x) = cx2 − ax − b
be three quadratic polynomials where a, b, c are non-zero real numbers.
Suppose there exists a real number α such that P1 (α) = P2 (α) = P3 (α).
Prove that a = b = c.(RMO 2010)
5. Find all real numbers r for which there is at least one triple (x, y, z) of
nonzero real numbers such that x2 y + y 2 z + z 2 x = xy 2 + yz 2 + zx2 = rxyz.
6. For five integers a, b, c, d, e we know that the sums a + b + c + d + e and
a2 + b2 + c2 + d2 + e2 are divisible by an odd number n. Prove that the
expression a5 + b5 + c5 + d5 + e5 − 5abcde is also divisible by n.
7. Find all polynomials whose coefficients are equal either to 1 or−1 and
whose zeros are all real.
8. Let P (z) = az 4 +bz 3 +cz 2 +dz +e = a(z −r1 )(z −r2 )(z −r3 )(z −r4 ),where
a, b, c, d, e are integers, .a 6= 0 Show that if r1 + r2 is a rational number,
and if r1 + r2 6= r3 + r4 , then r1 r2 is a rational number

3.2 Extra problems Quadratic discriminant

1. (RMO 1991)Find all integer values of a such that the quadratic expression
(x + a)(x + 1991) + 1 can be factored as a product (x + b)(x + c), where b
and c are integers.

3.3 Extra problems Quadratic Transformation

1. (preRMO 2012) Let x1 , x2 , x3 be the roots
 of the equation
 x3 +
 3x + 5 =0
1 1
. Then find the value of the expression x1 + x1 x2 + x2 x3 + x13

x


2. (AMC 10; 2000 ) Let f be a function for which f 3 = x2 + x + 1. Find
the sum of all values of z for which f (3z) = 7.

7
 3. (Mandelbrot; 1998) If w = e2πi/1997 be 1997th root of unity, then evaluate
1 1 1 1
+ 2
+ 3
+ ··· +
1+w 1+w 1+w 1 + w1997
4. (HMMT; 2008) Let f (x) = x3 + x + 1. Suppose g is a cubic polynomial
such that g(0) = −1, and the roots of g are the squares of the roots of f .
Find g(9).
5. (ARML) Let f be the function defined by f (x) = x3 − 49x2 + 623x − 2015,
and let g(x) = f (x + 5). Compute the sum of the roots of g.
1
6. (HMMT) Let a, b, and c be the 3 roots of x3 − x + 1 = 0. Find a+1 +
1 1
b+1 + c+1 .

7. ( PUMaC ) Let f (x) = 3x3 − 5x2 + 2x − 6. If the roots of f are given by

α, β, and γ, find
 2  2  2
1 1 1
+ + .
α−2 β−2 γ−2

8. (HMMT) Complex number ω satisfies ω 5 = 2. Find the sum of all possible

values of
ω 4 + ω 3 + ω 2 + ω + 1.
9. (Canada; 1996) If α, β, and γ are the roots of x3 − x − 1 = 0, compute
1+α 1+β 1+γ
+ +
1−α 1−β 1−γ

10. (CMIMC; 2016) Let r1 , r2 , . . . , r20 be the roots of the polynomial x20 −
7x3 + 1. If
1 1 1
+ + ··· + 2
r12 + 1 r22 + 1 r20 + 1
can be written in the form m n where m and n are positive coprime integers,
find m + n.
11. (CRMO 2012 P1)Let a and b be real numbers such that a 6= 0 . Prove
that not all the roots of ax4 + bx3 + x2 + x + 1 = 0 can be real.

12. (Mumbai region RMO 2013) Let f (x) = x3 + ax2 + bx + c and g(x) =
x3 + bx2 + cx + a, where a, b, c are integers with c 6= 0. Suppose that the
following conditions hold: f (1) = 0, the roots of g(x) = 0 are the squares
of the roots of f (x) = 0. Find the value of a2013 + b2013 + c2013 .
13. (RMO 2013)Let P (x) = x3 +ax2 +b and Q(x) = x3 +bx+a, where a, b are
non-zero real numbers. Suppose that the roots of the equation P (x) = 0
are the reciprocals of the roots of the equation Q(x) = 0. Prove that a
and b are integers. Find the greatest common divisor of P (2013! + 1) and
Q(2013! + 1).

8
3.4 Extra problem on treating the equation as a Q in other
variable
1. (RMO2000)Find all real values of a for which the equation x4 − 2ax2 +
x + a2 − a = 0 has all its roots real.
.

3.5 Extra problems on the identity a3 + b3 + c3 − 3abc

1. Factor a3 + b3 + c3 − 3abc.
3 3 3
2. Factorize (5x + 2y + 2z) + (2x + 8y − 11z) + (−7x − 10y + 9z)
p
3
√ p3
√
3. Prove that 2 + 5 + 2 − 5 is a rational number.
4. Let x, y, z be integers such that (x − y)2 + (y − z)2 + (z − x)2 = xyz. Prove
that x3 + y 3 + z 3 is divisible by x + y + z + 6.
√ √
5. Let a, b, c be rational numbers such that a + b 3 2 + c 3 4 = 0. Prove that
a=b=c=0
6. Let a, b, c be distinct real numbers. Prove that the following equality
cannot hold: √ √ √
3 3
a−b+ b−c+ 3c−a=0
p3
√ p3
√
7. Prove that the number 45 + 29 2 + 45 − 29 2is a rational number.
√ 1
8. Let r be a real number such that 3 r + √ 3 r = 3 Determine the value of

r3 + r13 modulo 15 .

9. Find the locus of points (x, y) for which x3 + y 3 + 3xy = 1.

n n
n
10. Let n be a positive integer. Prove that the number 33 33 + 1 +33 +1 −1
is not a prime.
11. Let S be the set of integers x such that x = a3 + b3 + c3 − 3abc, for some
integers a, b, c. Prove that if x, y ∈ S, then xy ∈ S.
12. Find all pairs (x,y) of integers such that

x3 + y 3
xy + = 2007
3

13. Find all integers that can be represented as a3 + b3 + c3 − 3abc for some
positive integers a, b,and c.

9
3.6 Extra problems on the identities
1. (Crux Math., April 1979) Determine the triples of integers (x, y, z) satis-
fying the equation

x3 + y 3 + z 3 = (x + y + z)3 .

3.7 Extra problem on Creating polynomials

1. Show that for all real numbers x, y, z such that x + y + z = 0 and xy +
yz + zx = −3, the expression x3 y + y 3 z + z 3 x is a constant. (RMO 2012)
2. Let a, b, c be real numbers. Show that a ≥ 0, b ≥ 0, and c ≥ 0 if and only
if a + b + c ≥ 0, ab + bc + ca ≥ 0, and abc ≥ 0.

3. Solve the system x + y + z = 1, xyz = 1, knowing that x, y, z are complex

numbers of absolute value equal to 1.
4. Prove that the product of the first 200 positive even integers differs from
the product of the first 200 positive odd integers by a multiple of 401.
(RMO 2001)

5. (Soviet Math Olympiad) Given 2n distinct numbers a1 , a2 , · · ·, an , b1 , b2 , · ·

·, bn an nxn table is filled as follows into the cell in the ith row and j th
column is written the number ai + bj Prove that if the product of each
column is the same then also the product of each row is the same .
6. Let f (x) be a monic polynomial of degree 4 such that f (1) = 10, f (2) =
20, f (3) = 30. Find the value of f (12) + f (−8). (TST 1984)
7. Find the monic cubic polynomial such that p(1) = 2 ,p(2) = 4 , p(3) = 8 .

8. (HMMT; 1999) If f (x) is a monic quartic polynomial such that f (−1) =

−1, f (2) = −4, f (−3) = −9, and f (4) = −16, find f (1).

9. (PUMaC; 2008) What is the polynomial of smallest degree that passes

through (−2, 2), (−1, 1), (0, 2), (1, −1), and (2, 10)?

10. What is the polynomial p(x) of smallest degree such that p(1) = −2,p(−1) =
2,p(0) = 0,p(3) = 6,p(2) = 4
11. Let P (x) and Q(x) be finite polynomials with real coefficients such that
P (x) = Q(x) for all x primes . Prove that P (x) = Q(x) for all real values
of x.

1
12. If p(k) = k for k = 1, 2, 3, · · ·, n find p(n + 1) .

10
3.8 Extra problem on number theoretic way of solving
polynomials
1. (RMO 2013 p3) A polynomial is called a Fermat polynomial if it can
be written as the sum of the squares of two polynomials with integer
coefficients. Suppose that f (x) is a Fermat polynomial such that f (0) =
1000. Prove thatf (x) + 2x is not a Fermat polynomial.
2. (RMO 2013)Let P (x) = x3 +ax2 +b and Q(x) = x3 +bx+a, where a, b are
non-zero real numbers. Suppose that the roots of the equation P (x) = 0
are the reciprocals of the roots of the equation Q(x) = 0. Prove that a
and b are integers. Find the greatest common divisor of P (2013! + 1) and
Q(2013! + 1).
3. (CRMO 2015 P1)Let P1 (x) = x2 + a1 x + b1 and P2 (x) = x2 + a2 x + b2
be two quadratic polynomials with integer coefficients. Suppose a1 6= a2
and there exist integers m 6= n such that P1 (m) = P2 (n), P2 (m) = P1 (n).
Prove that a1 − a2 is even.

4. (RMO2015, Mumbai region) The length of each side of a convex quadri-

lateral ABCD is a positive integer. If the sum of the lengths of any three
sides is divisible by the length of the remaining side then prove that some
two sides of the quadrilateral have the same length.

5. (CRMO2016 P4)The present ages in years of two brothers A and B, and

their father C are three distinct positive integers a, b, and c respectively.
b−1 b+1
Suppose a−1 and a+1 are two consecutive integers, and c−1 c+1
b−1 and b+1 are
two consecutive integers. If a + b + c ≤ 150 determine a, b and c.

3.9 Extra problem on a − b | p(a) − p(b)

1. Prove that there is no polynomial with integral coefficients P (x) with the
property such that P (7) = 5 and P (15) = 9.
2. Let p(x) be a polynomial over integers. If there exists three different
integers a, b, c, such that p(a) = p(b) = p(c) = −1, then p(x) has no
integral zeros.
3. Let f (x) be a polynomial over integers. If there exists four different inte-
gers a, b, c, d such that f (a) = f (b) = f (c) = f (d) = 5, then there is no
integer r such that f (r) = 8.

4. The polynomial ax3 + bx2 + cx + d has integral coefficients a, b, c, d with ad

odd and bc even. Show that at least one root of polynomial is irrational.
5. (RMO 2015 Mumbai)Let P (x) be a non-constant polynomial whose co-
efficients are positive integers. If P (n) divides P (P (n) − 2015) for every
natural number n, prove that P (−2015) = 0.

11
 6. (PUMaC; 2010) Let p be a polynomial with integer coefficients such that
p(15) = 6, p(22) = 1196, and p(35) = 26. Find an integer n such that
p(n) = n + 82.

3.10 Extra problem on w, w2

1. Factorize the polynomial x5 + x4 + 1 into two polynomials with integral
coefficient and degree less than 5. (RMO1999)
2. Find the number of nonnegative integers n for which the expression
n+1 n
55 + 55 + 1

is a prime



x5 + x4 + 1 = x3 − x + 1 x2 + x + 1



x5 + x + 1 = x3 − x2 + 1 x2 + x + 1
5100 −1
3. Prove that 520 −1 is not a prime .
5125 −1
4. Prove that 525 −1 is not a prime .

5. For which n ∈ N is x2 + x + 1 | x2n + xn + 1 . Hence or otherwise , for

which n is 37 | 10 · · · 010 · · · 01 with n zeros each time?
6. (HMMT; 2010) What is the remainder when (1 + x)2010 is divided by
1 + x + x2 ?

3.11 Extra problem on rational root theorem

1. If a, b, c are odd integers. Prove that roots of ax2 + bx + c = 0 can not be
rational numbers.
.
2. p(x) is a polynomial with integral coefficients. The leading coefficient, the
constant term, and p(1) are all odd. Show that p(x) has no rational roots.

3. (PUMaC; 2010) Let p be a polynomial with integer coefficients such that

p(15) = 6, p(22) = 1196, and p(35) = 26. Find an integer n such that
p(n) = n + 82.

4. (CRMO 2015 P4)Let P (x) = x2 + ax + b be a quadratic polynomial where

a is real and b 6= 2 is rational. Suppose P (0)2 , P (1)2 , P (2)2 are integers.
Prove that a and b are integers.

12
3.12 Extra problem on Estimate method setting limits
1. (RMO2010)Find three distinct positive integers with the least possible
sum such that the sum of the reciprocals of any two integers among them
is an integral multiple of the reciprocal of the third integer.
2. Find all triples (a, b, c) of positive integers such that (1+ a1 )(1+ 1b )(1+ 1c ) =
3. (RMO 1996)

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