Let n be a positive integer. What proportion of the non-empty subsets of {1,2,…,2n} has a smallest element that is odd? (Birgit Vera Schmidt)
Solution
The number of subsets of {1,2,…,2n} that have k as smallest element is 22n−k for 1≤k≤2n since each element bigger than k is either contained in the subset or not. The number O of subsets with an odd smallest element is therefore equal to O=22n−1+22n−3+⋯+23+21=2⋅(4n−1+4n−2+⋯+41+40). The number E of subsets with an even smallest element is equal to E=22n−2+22n−4+⋯+22+20=4n−1+4n−2+⋯+41+40. This implies O=2E and consequently the desired proportion is 2/3. (Birgit Vera Schmidt) □
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