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Combinatorics Difficulty 5.6 AIME, harder Prove it United States

Problem:

An infinite castle has rooms labeled 1,2,3,1, 2, 3, \ldots If room nn is on the same hall as rooms 2n+12n+1 and 3n+13n+1 for every nn, what is the maximum possible number of different halls on the castle?

Solution

Solution:

We claim that all rooms must be on the same hall. Suppose for contradiction there is a room other than room 11 that is the first room on its hall. We will show by induction that its room number must be congruent to 22k1(mod322k1)2^{2k-1} \pmod{3 \cdot 2^{2k-1}} for every positive integer kk, and therefore must be infinitely big.

First, note that room 2n2n is on the same hall as room 3n3n for every nn, since both are connected to room
32n+1=23n+1=6n+1. 3 \cdot 2n + 1 = 2 \cdot 3n + 1 = 6n + 1.
Thus, no room that is a multiple of 33 is first on its hall. Also, no room that is odd or that is 1(mod3)1 \pmod{3} besides room 11 is first on its hall, since if nn is odd room nn is on the same hall as room (n1)/2(n-1)/2, and if nn is 1(mod3)1 \pmod{3} room nn is on the same hall as room (n1)/3(n-1)/3.

Now, for the base case, we claim that a room other than room 11 that is first on its hall must be 2(mod6)2 \pmod{6}. To see this, note that the room number cannot be 1,31, 3, or 5(mod6)5 \pmod{6}, since then it would be odd; it cannot be 0(mod6)0 \pmod{6}, since then it would be a multiple of 33; and it cannot be 4(mod6)4 \pmod{6}, since then it would be 1(mod3)1 \pmod{3}. Thus, it must be 2(mod6)2 \pmod{6}.

For the inductive step, suppose our room number can be written as 322k1m+22k13 \cdot 2^{2k-1} \cdot m + 2^{2k-1} for nonnegative integers mm and kk. We claim first that mm is odd. Thus, suppose mm is even.

By repeatedly applying the rule that room 2n2n is on the same hall as room 3n3n, our room is on the same hall as room
(32)2k1(322k1m+22k1)=32km+32k1. \left(\frac{3}{2}\right)^{2k-1}\left(3 \cdot 2^{2k-1} \cdot m + 2^{2k-1}\right) = 3^{2k} \cdot m + 3^{2k-1}.
Since we are assuming mm is even, this room number is odd, so it is on the same hall as room
32km+32k112. \frac{3^{2k} \cdot m + 3^{2k-1} - 1}{2}.
This room number is 1(mod3)1 \pmod{3}, so it is on the same hall as room
32km+32k11213=32k1m+32k212. \frac{\frac{3^{2k} \cdot m + 3^{2k-1} - 1}{2} - 1}{3} = \frac{3^{2k-1} \cdot m + 3^{2k-2} - 1}{2}.
Repeatedly applying the rule that room nn is on the same hall as room (n1)/3(n-1)/3, we find that this room is on the same hall as room
3im+2i112 \frac{3^{i} \cdot m + 2^{i-1} - 1}{2}
for every positive integer ii. In particular, for i=1i=1, it is on the same hall as room 3m/23m/2. This is a smaller room number than the one we started with, contradicting the assumption that our room was the first on its hall. We conclude that mm must be odd.

Thus, we can write m=2j+1m = 2j + 1 for some jj, so our room number is now
322k1(2j+1)+22k1=322kj+22k+1. 3 \cdot 2^{2k-1}(2j+1) + 2^{2k-1} = 3 \cdot 2^{2k} \cdot j + 2^{2k+1}.
We now claim that jj is even, which will complete our induction.

Thus, suppose jj is odd. As before, we repeatedly apply the rule that rooms 2n2n and 3n3n are on the same hall to find that this room is on the same hall as room
(32)2k(322kj+22k+1)=32k+1j+233k. \left(\frac{3}{2}\right)^{2k}\left(3 \cdot 2^{2k} \cdot j + 2^{2k+1}\right) = 3^{2k+1} \cdot j + 2 \cdot 3^{3k}.
Since we are assuming jj is odd, this number is odd, so it is on the same hall as room
32k+1j+233k12. \frac{3^{2k+1} \cdot j + 2 \cdot 3^{3k} - 1}{2}.
This room number is 1(mod3)1 \pmod{3}, and similarly to before, we find by repeatedly applying the rule that rooms nn and (n1)/3(n-1)/3 are connected that our room is on the same hall as room
3ij+23i112 \frac{3^{i} \cdot j + 2 \cdot 3^{i-1} - 1}{2}
for each positive integer ii. In particular, it is on the same hall as room (3j+1)/2(3j+1)/2, which is smaller than our starting room number. This contradicts the assumption that jj was odd, so jj must be even. This completes our proof.

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