Problems

The sum $$\sum_{k=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{k^3 + 6k^2 + 8k}$$ can be expressed as $\frac{a}{b}$ , where $a$ and $b$ are relatively prime positive integers. What is $a + b$ ?

A frog hops along the number line according to the following rules. $\qquad\bullet$ It starts at $0$ . $\qquad\bullet$ If it is at $0$ , then it moves to $1$ with probability $\tfrac{1}{2}$ and it disappears with probability $\tfrac{1}{2}$ . $\qquad\bullet$ For $n = 1, 2,$ or $3,$ if it is at $n,$ then it moves to …

The sum $$\frac{1}{2!}+\frac{2}{3!}+\frac{3}{4!}+\cdots+\frac{2021}{2022!}$$ can be expressed as $a-\frac{1}{b!}$ , where $a$ and $b$ are positive integers. What is $a+b$ ?

Which of the following is equivalent to $$(2+3)(2^2+3^2)(2^4+3^4)(2^8+3^8)(2^{16}+3^{16})(2^{32}+3^{32})(2^{64}+3^{64})?$$

A function $f$ is defined recursively by $f(1)=f(2)=1$ and $$f(n)=f(n-1)-f(n-2)+n$$ for all integers $n \geq 3$ . What is $f(2018)$ ?

In a small pond there are eleven lily pads in a row labeled $0$ through $10$ . A frog is sitting on pad $1$ . When the frog is on pad $N$ , $0<N<10$ , it will jump to pad $N-1$ with probability $\frac{N}{10}$ and to pad $N+1$ with probability $1-\frac{N}{10}$ . Each jump is independent of the previous jumps. If the …

Let $X$ and $Y$ be the following sums of arithmetic sequences: \begin{eqnarray} X &=& 10 + 12 + 14 + \cdots + 100, \\ Y &=& 12 + 14 + 16 + \cdots + 102. \end{eqnarray} What is the value of $Y - X$ ?

Each of 2010 boxes in a line contains a single red marble, and for $1 \le k \le 2010$ , the box in the $k\text{th}$ position also contains $k$ white marbles. Isabella begins at the first box and successively draws a single marble at random from each box, in order. She stops when she first draws a red marble. Let $P(n)$ …

Which of the following is equal to the product $$\frac{8}{4}\cdot\frac{12}{8}\cdot\frac{16}{12}\cdot\cdots\cdot\frac{4n+4}{4n}\cdot\cdots\cdot\frac{2008}{2004}?$$

Suppose that $4^a = 5$ , $5^b = 6$ , $6^c = 7$ , and $7^d = 8$ . What is $a \cdot b\cdot c \cdot d$ ?

Let $f$ be a function with the following properties: (i) $f(1) = 1$ , and (ii) $f(2n) = n \cdot f(n)$ for any positive integer $n$ . What is the value of $f(2^{100})$ ?