MathDB
Putnam 1957 A7

Source: Putnam 1957

July 1, 2022
Putnamcircletangency

Problem Statement

Each member of a set of circles in the xyxy-plane is tangent to the xx-axis and no two of the circles intersect. Show that (a) the points of tangency can include all rational points on the axis. (b) the points of tangency cannot include all the irrational points.