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CGMO, 2022

Algebra Difficulty 7.3 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it China

Consider all sequences of real numbers x0,x1,x2,…,x100x_0, x_1, x_2, \dots, x_{100} satisfying the following conditions:
(1) x0=0x_0 = 0;
(2) For any integer ii, 1≤i≤1001 \le i \le 100, 1≤xi−xi−1≤21 \le x_i - x_{i-1} \le 2 holds.
Find the largest positive integer k≤100k \le 100, such that
xk+xk+1+⋯+x100≥x0+x1+⋯+xk−1 x_k + x_{k+1} + \dots + x_{100} \ge x_0 + x_1 + \dots + x_{k-1}
holds for every such sequence x0,x1,x2,…,x100x_0, x_1, x_2, \dots, x_{100}.

Solution

The answer is 6767.

On one hand, if xi=2ix_i = 2i, 1≤i≤341 \le i \le 34, x34+j=x34+j=68+jx_{34+j} = x_{34} + j = 68 + j, 1≤j≤661 \le j \le 66, then the sequence satisfies the conditions of the problem. We have
∑j=68100xj−∑i=067xi=∑j=133(x67+j−x34+j)−∑i=134xi=332−34×35<0. \sum_{j=68}^{100} x_j - \sum_{i=0}^{67} x_i = \sum_{j=1}^{33} (x_{67+j} - x_{34+j}) - \sum_{i=1}^{34} x_i = 33^2 - 34 \times 35 < 0.
This example shows that when k≥68k \ge 68, it does not satisfy the requirements.

On the other hand, for any sequence x1,x2,…,x100x_1, x_2, \dots, x_{100} that satisfies the conditions of the problem, it is easy to know that xi≤2ix_i \le 2i, 1≤i≤1001 \le i \le 100. For 0≤s<t≤1000 \le s < t \le 100, there is the inequality xt−xs≥t−sx_t - x_s \ge t - s. Therefore,
∑j=67100xj−∑i=066xi=∑j=134(x66+j−x32+j)−∑i=132xi≥342−∑i=1322i=342−32×33>0. \begin{aligned} \sum_{j=67}^{100} x_j - \sum_{i=0}^{66} x_i &= \sum_{j=1}^{34} (x_{66+j} - x_{32+j}) - \sum_{i=1}^{32} x_i \\ &\ge 34^2 - \sum_{i=1}^{32} 2i \\ &= 34^2 - 32 \times 33 > 0. \end{aligned}
In conclusion, the largest kk we seek is 6767. □

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