Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /38 of 56

Combinatorics Difficulty 5.9 AIME, harder Prove it Singapore

Let A, B, C, D be the 4 squares in the centre of a 4×44 \times 4 grid of squares. These 4 squares form the centre of the grid. A frog can jump from one of the 4 squares in the centre to any square in the grid which shares a side. If the frog jumps out of the centre from a particular square for the first time, that square is called an exit square. Find the number of ways in which the frog can start from A with A being the exit square in nn jumps. Give your answer in terms of nn.

Solution

Let A,B,C,DA, B, C, D be labeled in the clockwise manner. Let an,bn,cn,dna_n, b_n, c_n, d_n be respectively the number of ways to start A,B,C,DA, B, C, D and exit from AA in nn jumps. Then bn=dnb_n = d_n. Since from AA, the frog can return to AA in an even number of jumps, an=0a_n = 0 when nn is even.

From AA, in 1 jump, the frog can exit from 2 sides or jump to BB or DD, Thus a1=2,a3=4a_1 = 2, a_3 = 4. Therefore for n3,an=2bn1n \ge 3, a_n = 2b_{n-1}.

From BB, the frog can jump to AA or CC. So bn=an1+cn1b_n = a_{n-1} + c_{n-1}.

From CC, the frog can jump to BB or DD. So cn=2bn1c_n = 2b_{n-1}.

Therefore
an=4an2. a_n = 4a_{n-2}.
Consequently, a2m+1=4m1a3=4ma_{2m+1} = 4^{m-1}a_3 = 4^m for m1m \ge 1.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

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