AlgebraDifficulty 5.1AIME, harderProve itUnited States
Problem: Let a1,a2,a3,a4,a5 be real numbers whose sum is 20. Determine with proof the smallest possible value of 1≤i<j≤5∑⌊ai+aj⌋.
Solution
Solution: Answer: 72
We claim that the minimum is 72. This can be achieved by taking a1=a2=a3=a4=0.4 and a5=18.4.
To prove that this is optimal, note that 1≤i<j≤5∑⌊ai+aj⌋=1≤i<j≤5∑(ai+aj)−{ai+aj}=80−1≤i<j≤5∑{ai+aj}, so it suffices to maximize 1≤i<j≤5∑{ai+aj}=i=1∑5{ai+ai+2}+i=1∑5{ai+ai+1} where a6=a1 and a7=a2. Taking each sum modulo 1, it is clear that both are integers. Thus, the above sum is at most 2⋅4=8, and our original expression is at least 80−8=72, completing the proof.
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Source: MathNet,
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