Problem:
A convex 2019-gon is cut into smaller pieces along its 2019 diagonals of the form for , where , , and . What is the least possible number of resulting pieces?
, 2019
Solution
Solution:
Each time we draw in a diagonal, we create one new region, plus one new region for each intersection on that diagonal. So, the number of regions will be
where (number of intersections) counts an intersection of three diagonals twice. Since no four diagonals can pass through a point, the only nonconstant term in our expression is the last one. To minimize this term, we want to maximize the number of triples of diagonals passing through the same point. Consider the set of triples of diagonals that intersect at a single point. Each triple in must come from three consecutive diagonals, and two different triples can only have one diagonal in common, so has at triples. Hence the number of resulting pieces is at least
To show that 5049 is attainable, we use the following construction. Let be a regular 1010-gon, and let denote the external angle bisector of . Let , , , and for , define and . It follows that, for all , , , and intersect at .