Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Prove it Estonia

Find all positive integers nn such that a square can be cut into nn square pieces.

Solution

A partition of a square into 1 square is trivial. If n2n \ge 2 then a partition into 2n2n squares can be obtained by cutting nn squares of side length 1n\frac{1}{n} from one side of the square and n1n - 1 more squares of the same size from a neighbouring side. One square of side length n1n\frac{n-1}{n} of the side length of the big square is left (Fig. 14 depicts the situation in the case n=4n = 4 that provides a partition into 8 squares). For each n2n \ge 2, one can obtain a partition into 2n+32n + 3 squares by splitting one square in a partition into 2n2n squares into four. Thus there exist partitions into 1, 4 and every natural number starting from 6.

Figure 1
Fig. 14

It remains to show that there are no partitions of a square into 2, 3 and 5 squares. A square has 4 vertices and each vertex belongs to only one square in a partition. If two vertices belonged to the same square in the partition, this piece should be as large as the initial square, which is possible only in partition into 1. Hence the number of squares in a partition into a larger number of squares must be at least 4. In a hypothetical partition into 5 squares, at least three sides of the initial square should adjoin exactly 2 squares in the partition. Let the initial square be ABCDABCD and let the sides DA,ABDA, AB and BCBC adjoin exactly 2 squares in the partition. Let the squares adjoining the side ABAB have side lengths xx and yy in the order from vertex AA to vertex BB. The square of side length xx is adjoining also the side ADAD and the square of side length yy is adjoining the side BCBC, whence the other squares adjoining the sides ADAD and BCBC have side lengths yy and xx, respectively. If x>yx > y then the squares located by vertices AA and CC would overlap (Fig. 15). If x<yx < y then the squares located by vertices BB and DD would overlap. If x=yx = y, four squares in the partition would cover the whole initial square and the fifth square cannot exist.

Figure 2
Fig. 15

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