Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 5.0 AIME Prove it Brazil

A finite collection of squares has total area 44. Show that they can be arranged to cover a square of side 11.

Solution

Let the sides of the squares be equal to aia_i for i=1,2,,Ni = 1, 2, \ldots, N (NN is the number of squares).

If some ak>1a_k > 1 then the kkth square will cover the unit square. Now let's assume the case when ai<1a_i < 1 for all ii.

Every number aia_i must satisfy 2kiai<2ki+12^{-k_i} \le a_i < 2^{-k_i+1} for some integer kik_i. Now let's decrease every iith square to the square with side 2ki2^{-k_i}. Then its area would decrease by at most 44 times. Therefore the area of all squares will be greater than 11.

Now let's prove we can tile the unit square fully with the new squares. Let's divide the unit square into 44 squares of side 12\frac{1}{2}. First place the squares with side 12\frac{1}{2}, if they exist. Then on the non-tiled squares with side 12\frac{1}{2}, if they exist, place the squares with side 14\frac{1}{4}, if they exist, dividing each non-tiled square with side 12\frac{1}{2} into 44 equal squares. We will continue this procedure for k=3,4,k = 3, 4, \ldots by placing squares with side 12k\frac{1}{2^k} on the non-tiled squares with side 12k1\frac{1}{2^{k-1}}, in turn dividing them into 44 equal squares.

Finally, because the sum of areas of squares is greater than 11, then on some step, we will cover the square. Then increasing the iith square to the square with side aia_i, we will get the tiling of the unit square with the given squares.

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