NZ Math Olympiad Training Programme 2004

Assignment 2: Combinatorics
Problems & Solutions
1. In a rectangular m n table the number of columns n is at least the
number of rows m. This table is lled with zeros and ones in such a
way that no two rows are equal. Prove that it is possible to cross out
one of the columns so that no two rows will be equal again.
Solution: Let us denote the table as T . We will prove the statement
by induction on m. For m = 2, the statement is obvious because there
is a column in T where the two rows dier and there is at least one
other column, which can be removed. Suppose m > 2. Remove the rst
column of T to obtain T1 . If all rows of T1 are still dierent, there is
nothing to prove. If not, remove those rows of T , which repeat, leaving
in a new table T2 the rows of T1 without repetitions. The table T2 has
k m1 rows and at least m1 columns. We use induction hypothesis
to nd a column that can be removed leaving all rows dierent. This
column can be also removed from the original table T .
2. 22 points are chosen from the 77 grid of points (i, j), where 1 i 7
and 1 j 7. Prove that four of the chosen points are the vertices
of a rectahgle with horizontal and vertical sides. Show that this might
not be the case, if 21 vertices are chosen.
Solution: Let ni be the number of points chosen from row i. Then
7  
7
22 22




( 1)
ni
ni (ni 1)
4
=
7 7 7
= 23
2
2
2
7
i=1
i=1
by Jensens inequality.
7 (The function f (x) = x(x 1)/2 is convex.)
4
Since 23 7 > 21 = 2 , the desired rectangle exists.
The following set of 21 points do not satisfy the property:
(1, 1) (1, 2) (1, 3) (2, 3) (2, 4) (2, 5) (3, 1)
(3, 5) (3, 6) (4, 1) (4, 4) (4, 7) (5, 2) (5, 5)
(5, 7) (6, 3) (6, 6) (6, 7) (7, 2) (7, 4) (7, 6).
3. Prove that for n 5, every graph with n vertices and n2 /4 + 2
edges contains a bowtie (i.e., two triangles with exactly one vertex in
common).
1

Solution: It is easy to check directly that any graph with 5 vertices

and 8 edges has a bowtie. This gives us a basis for the induction.
Given a graph with n > 5 vertices, we delete any vertex of smallest
degree together with all edges connecting this deleted vertex with other
vertices.
Let us assume rst that n = 2k. We note that k > 2 Then n2 /4 =
k 2 + 2. The minimal degree dmin then will be at most

  2

2(k 2 + 2)
k +2
dmin
=
= k.
2k
k
Therefore there will be at least k 2 +2k edges left. But (n 1)2 /4+
2 = k 2 k+2 and the statement is true due to the induction hypothesis.
Now let n = 2k+1. Then n2 /4 = k 2 +k+2 and (n 1)2 /4 = k 2 +2.
The minimal degree dmin then will be in this case at most




2(k 2 + k + 2)
k+4
dmin
=k+
= k.
2k + 1
2k + 1
For k > 3 we obtain dmin k and the induction goes smoothly as in
the rst case. The case k = 3, i.e. n = 7 is a special case. In this
special case every vertex must have degree 4. My proof of this case is
highly inelegant. I had hoped that some of you will come up with a
nicer proof but this does not seem to have happened. I will think a bit
more then.
4. A regular hexagon is partitioned into 24 regular triangles as shown

At each of the 19 vertices of this grid a number is written so that no

two numbers are equal. In some of these triangles the number at the
vertices increase anticlockwise if we start from a particular vertex, in
some these numbers decrease. Prove that, no matter how the numbers
were chosen, there will be always at least seven triangles of each type.
Solution: If in a certain triangle the numbers at the vertices increase
anticlockwise (starting from a particular vertex), we will call such a
triangle right triangle, otherwise we will call it left.
2

For each edge with the numbers a, b written at its vertices we draw an
arrow directed to the left of the segment if we travel it from the smaller
number to the larger one (see the picture)
b

a<b
a

Among 12 arrows drawn to the sides of the hexagon, at least one is

directed inside, otherwise for numbers a1 , . . . , a12 , written at vertices
of the hexagon, we will have a1 < a2 . . . < a12 < a1 . 30 more arrows
drawn to the internal segments will be also inside the hexagon so we
get at least 31 arrow inside. If the triangle is right, we have two arrows
inside it and one if it is left. Let n be the number of right triangles
and m be the number of left triangles. Then, counting triangles, we
get n + m = 24 and, counting arrows, we get 2n + m = 31. Subtracting
we get n 7. Similarly m 7.
5. Two people play a game on a n n board. A counter is placed in
the bottom left hand square, and players take turns to move it into a
square with which it shares a side. Players cannot move the counter
into a square it has previously occupied, and the loosing player is the
one who cannot move. Who has the winning strategy?
Answer: The rst player, if n is even and the second, if n is odd.
Solution: It is easy to show that in the even case the whole board can
be covered with dominoes, and in the even case we can cover the whole
board without initial square. In the even case the winning strategy of
the rst player is to make a move inside the domino that covers the
initial square. The second player will move to another domino and the
rst player should move inside that domino too. The second player will
always start a new domino and the rst player will always have a move
inside that new domino, so he never looses. In the odd case the rst
player starts a certain domino and now the second player can make a
move inside it. It is now the rst player who will always start a new
domino and eventually loose.

6. The sequence (an ) is given recursively by a0 = 1 and

n

ak ank = 1,

n 1.

(1)

k=0

Find the formula for an .

Solution: Let G(x) = a0 + a1 x + . . . + an xn + . . . be the generating
function for this sequence. Then (??) tells us that
G(x)2 = 1 + x + x2 + . . . =

1
,
1x

hence G(x) = (1 x)1/2 . Now

 1
1 ( 1 1) . . . ( 12 n + 1)
n
1/2
n 2
= (1)n 2 2
= (1)
an = [x ](1 x)
n
n!
 
.
Simplifying the RHS we obtain an = 4n 2n
n
7. Each cell of a hexagonal grid is a hexagon with the sidelength 1.

A beetle moves along the lines of the grid between two vertices A and B
travelling a distance of 100. It is known that it is the shortest possible
way for him to get from A to B. Prove that half of his way he moved
in one of the possible six directions.
Solution: Let us choose two opposite directions and call them horizontal.

Let a and b be two neighboring horizontal segments, i.e. such segments

of the path between which the beetle crawls in four other directions.
Then the beetle cannot crawl a and b in the opposite directions, otherwise his path can be shortened as shown by dashed lines.
Hence, after crawling a horizontal segment a from left to right, the next
horizontal segment will be crawled from left to right as well. This will
be one of the segments b1 , b2 , . . . , bn , . . . shown in the following picture.
b1
b2
b3
a
b4
b5

We note that there will be an odd number of segments between a

and bi , hence the numbers of all horizontal segments have the same
parity. We will also have two other groups of segments all having the
same direction: those which make angle 60 with horizontal segments
and those making 120 . Therefore either all even segments or all odd
segments have the same direction and there are exactly 50 of them.
8. Given k 1, let an be the number of 0-1 strings of length n that do
not have k consequtive zeros, and let bn be the number of 0-1 strings of
length n that have neither k + 1 consequtive zeros nor k + 1 consequtive
ones. Prove that bn+1 = 2an .
5

9. Map (x1 , . . . , xn ) to (0, y1 , . . . , yn ) by setting yi = yi1 if xi = 0 (we

consider that y0 = 0) and yi = yi1 if xi = 1. This mapping is a bijection from the set of all 0-1 strings of length n with no k consecutive
zeros onto the set of all 0-1 strings of length n + 1 with no k + 1 consecutive zeros and no k + 1 consecutive ones. Thus there are an of these
strings. There are another an such strings of the type (1, y1 , . . . , yn ),
and the result follows.
10. (Shortlist, 2003) Every point with integer coordinates in the plane is
the centre of a disc with radius 1/1000.
(a) Prove that there exists an equilateral triangle whose vertices lie
in dierent discs;
(b) Prove that every equilateral triangle with vertices in dierent discs
has sidelength greater than 96.
Solution: (a) Wewill look for an equilateral triangle with vertices
(0, 0), (2a, 0), (a, a 3), where a is an integer. The rst two vertices
have integer coordinates for any a, the rst coordinate of the third
vertex isalso an integer. Let us show that it is possible to choose such
a that a 3) is within distance 0.001 from an integer. For this, let us
consider the function {x} = x x called the fractional part of x.
Splitting the interval [0, 1] into 1000 intevals of equal lehgth, by the
pigeonhole
principle
we can nd two integers 0 n1 < n2 1000 such
that |{n2 3}

n
1 3| < 0.001. Then for a = n2 n1 and some integer
m we get |a 3 m| < 0.001. This is the integer a sought for.
(b) Let P  Q R be a triangle such that P  Q = Q R = R P  =
96
and P  , Q , R lie in discs with centres P, Q, R, respectively. Then

0.002 P Q, QR, RP
+ 0.002.
Since P QR is not an equilateral triangle, we may assume that P Q =
QR. At the same time
|P Q2 QR2 | = (P Q + QR)|P Q QR|
2(
+ 0.002) 0.004 2 96.002 0.04 < 1.
However, P Q2 QR2 is an integer. This contradiction proves the
statement.
11. (Shortlist, 2003) Let f (k) be the number of integers n that satisfy the
following conditions:
6

(a) 0 n < 10k , so n has exactly k decimal digits (leading zeros

allowed);
(b) The digits of n can be permuted in such a way that this operation
yields an integer divisible by 11.
Prove that f (2m) = 10f (2m 1) for every positive integer m.
Solution: We use the notation ak1 ak2 . . . a0 to denote the number
with digits ak1 , ak2 , . . . , a0 , i.e.
ak1 ak2 . . . a0 = ak1 10k1 + ak2 10k2 + . . . + a0 .
Let us x a positive integer m and denote the sets Ai and Bi as follows.
Ai is the set of all integers n with the following properties:
(a) 0 n < 102m , i.e. n has 2m digits;
(b) The rightmost 2m 1 digits of n can be permuted so that the
resulting integer is congruent to i modulo 11.
Bi is the set of all integers n with the following properties:
(a) 0 n < 102m1 , i.e. n has 2m 1 digits;
(b) The digits of n can be permuted so that the resulting integer
is congruent to i modulo 11.
9 0
It is clear that f (2m) = |A0 | and f (2m 1) = |B0 |. Since 99


2m

(mod 11), we have

n Ai 99

9 n Ai .
2m

Hence
|Ai | = |Ai |.

(2)

Since 99
9 9 (mod 11), we have


2m1

9 n B9i .
n Bi 99

2m1

Thus
|Bi | = |B9i |.
7

(3)

For any 2m-digit integer n = ja2m2 . . . a0 , we have

n Ai a2m2 . . . a0 Bij .
Hence |Ai | = |Bi |+|Bi1 |+. . .+|Bi9 |. Since Bi = Bi+11 , this can be written
as
|Ai | =

10

|Bk | |Bi+1 |,

(4)

k=0

hence
|Ai | = |Aj | |Bi+1 | = |Bj+1 |,

(5)

From (??), (??), and (??), we obtain |Ai | = |A0 | and |Bi | = |B0 |. Substituting this into (??), yields |A0 | = 10|B0 |, and f (2m) = 10f (2m 1).