Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.4 AIME, harder Prove it Estonia

Let nn and kk be positive integers. On the board kk different positive integers not exceeding nn are written. Prove that the equation
x+y=z+w x + y = z + w
has at least k42n1\frac{k^4}{2n-1} solutions (x,y,z,w)(x, y, z, w), where x,y,z,wx, y, z, w are some (not necessarily different) numbers written on the board.

Solution

For positive integer ss denote by asa_s the number of pairs (x,y)(x, y), where x,yx, y are numbers on the board and x+y=sx + y = s. Since the sum of two numbers on the board cannot be less than 22 or greater than 2n2n, the number of solutions of equation x+y=z+wx + y = z + w is a22++a2n2a_2^2 + \dots + a_{2n}^2. Applying the AM-QM inequality to a2,,a2na_2, \dots, a_{2n} gives
a22++a2n2(a2++a2n)22n1. a_2^2 + \dots + a_{2n}^2 \ge \frac{(a_2 + \dots + a_{2n})^2}{2n - 1}.
Since each pair (x,y)(x, y), where x,yx, y are numbers on the board, is counted exactly once in the sum a2++a2na_2 + \dots + a_{2n}, the sum is equal to the number of pairs k2k^2. Hence
(a2++a2n)22n1=k42n1, \frac{(a_2 + \dots + a_{2n})^2}{2n - 1} = \frac{k^4}{2n - 1},
which proves the claim.

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