Maths Olympiad Prep

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Combinatorics Difficulty 7.3 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it Canada

Problem:

Let nn be a positive integer. A set of nn distinct lines divides the plane into various (possibly unbounded) regions. The set of lines is called "nice" if no three lines intersect at a single point. A "colouring" is an assignment of two colours to each region such that the first colour is from the set {A1,A2}\{A_{1}, A_{2}\}, and the second colour is from the set {B1,B2,B3}\{B_{1}, B_{2}, B_{3}\}. Given a nice set of lines, we call it "colourable" if there exists a colouring such that
1. no colour is assigned to two regions that share an edge;
2. for each i{1,2}i \in \{1,2\} and j{1,2,3}j \in \{1,2,3\} there is at least one region that is assigned with both AiA_{i} and BjB_{j}.
Determine all nn such that every nice configuration of nn lines is colourable.

Solution

Solution:

The answer is n5n \geq 5. If n4n \leq 4, consider nn parallel lines. There are 6 total colour combinations required, and only n+15n+1 \leq 5 total regions, hence the colouring is not possible.

Now, assume n5n \geq 5. Rotate the picture so that no line is horizontal, and orient each line so that the "forward" direction increases the yy-value. In this way, each line divides the plane into a right and left hand side (with respect to this forward direction). Every region of the plane is on the right hand side of kk lines and on the left hand side of nkn-k lines for some 0kn0 \leq k \leq n. Furthermore, there is a region for every kk: let ww be large enough so that ww is greater than the yy-value of any intersection point of two lines. Consider the horizontal line y=wy=w: a point very far on the left of this line is left of every single line, and as we cross over all lines in the problem, we hit all values of kk.

Finally, take a region that is on the right hand side of kk lines. Colour it A1A_{1} if kk is odd, and A2A_{2} if it is even. Similarly, colour it BiB_{i} if ki(mod3)k \equiv i \pmod{3}. By the previous paragraph, there are regions for at least k=0,1,,5k=0,1, \ldots, 5, whence there is a region coloured AiA_{i} and BjB_{j} for all (i,j)(i, j). Furthermore, two regions that share an edge will be on the right hand side of kk and k+1k+1 lines for some kk. By construction, the AiA_{i} and BiB_{i} colours of the regions must differ, hence we have proven that the set of lines is colourable.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.