Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /82 of 82

Combinatorics Difficulty 7.8 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it Croatia

There are 20142014 coins each of which is black on one side and white on the other side. A 2014×12014 \times 1 board is given. One coin is placed on each square. In each move we can remove one coin with black side up and, at the same time, flip the coins on the neighbouring squares (if they were not already removed).
Determine all starting arrangements of coins such that there is a finite sequence of moves which removes all the coins. (New Zealand)

Solution

We will prove the following claim by mathematical induction on the number of coins: We can remove all the coins from some starting arrangement if and only if there is an odd number of coins with black side up.

If there is only one coin on the board, we can remove it if and only if it is turned black side up.

For positive integer N>1N > 1, assume that the claim holds for all arrangements consisting of less than NN coins and consider an arbitrary starting arrangement of NN coins. Let KK be the number of coins with black side up in that arrangement.

Observe that, by removing some coin, board is divided in two parts and that the moves performed on one of these sides do not affect the coins on the other part.

If KK is odd, we will prove that it is possible to remove all coins. Let YY be the first coin on the board that is turned with black side up. Assume that YY is neither on the first, nor on the last square of the board, and denote by XX the coin on a square left to YY, and by ZZ the coin on a square right of YY. In the first move, remove both YY and its square (and turn XX and ZZ). This way, we obtain two smaller boards. We will show that we can remove all coins from both of them. On the first board there are coins being left of YY, and on the second one there are those who are right of YY.

On the first board all coins are turned with white side up, except XX which was just turned so that it is black side up. Hence, on the first board there is exactly one coin with black side up, so, by induction hypothesis, there is a sequence of moves removing all the coins from that board.

If ZZ is white side up, then, after the move, the number of coins on the other board with black side up will be equal to KK. If ZZ is black side up, then, after the move, the number of coins on the other board with black side up will be equal to K2K - 2. In both cases the number is odd. By induction hypothesis, we can remove all the coins from the second board as well.

If YY is on the first square, then consider just the second board and coin ZZ, and if YY is on the last square, consider just the first board and coin XX.

Assume that KK is even and that, for a considered starting arrangement, there is a sequence of moves removing all the coins.

Let YY be the coin that is removed first. Beside YY, there was an odd number of coins on the board with black side up. The total number of coins turned with black side up on both parts of the board will still, after the move, be an odd number. Hence there is an even number of coins turned with black side up on one part of the board. By induction hypothesis, coins on that part cannot be removed, contradiction. We have shown that if it is possible to remove all the coins, then the number of those with black side up cannot be an even number.

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 and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.