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Combinatorics Difficulty 6.9 National Olympiad Prove it Bulgaria

Problem:
Let a1,a2,,ama_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{m} be arbitrary positive integers. Prove that there exist distinct positive integers b1,b2,,bnb_{1}, b_{2}, \ldots, b_{n}, nmn \leq m, such that the following two conditions are satisfied:
(1) all subsets of {b1,b2,,bn}\{b_{1}, b_{2}, \ldots, b_{n}\} have distinct sums of elements;
(2) every number a1,a2,,ama_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{m} is the sum of the elements of some subset of {b1,b2,,bn}\{b_{1}, b_{2}, \ldots, b_{n}\}.

Solution

Solution:
We shall prove the assertion by induction on N=a1+a2++amN = a_{1} + a_{2} + \cdots + a_{m}. For N=1N = 1 we have m=1m = 1, a1=1a_{1} = 1 and b1=1b_{1} = 1 is the required number.

Let us assume that the assertion is true for every collection with sum less than NN and let a1,a2,,ama_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{m} be such that a1+a2++am=Na_{1} + a_{2} + \cdots + a_{m} = N.

If all numbers a1,a2,,ama_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{m} are even then the numbers a12,a22,,am2\frac{a_{1}}{2}, \frac{a_{2}}{2}, \ldots, \frac{a_{m}}{2} have sum N2\frac{N}{2} and by the induction hypothesis there exists a collection b1,b2,,bnb_{1}, b_{2}, \ldots, b_{n} which satisfies the condition. Then the required numbers for a1,a2,,ama_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{m} are 2b1,2b2,,2bn2 b_{1}, 2 b_{2}, \ldots, 2 b_{n}.

Suppose now that at least one of the numbers a1,a2,,ama_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{m} is odd. Without loss of generality we can assume that ama_{m} is the smallest odd number in the collection. Let us consider the numbers a1,a2,,am1a_{1}', a_{2}', \ldots, a_{m-1}' defined by
ai={ai2, if ai is even aiam2, if ai is odd  a_{i}' = \begin{cases} \frac{a_{i}}{2} & , \text{ if } a_{i} \text{ is even } \\ \frac{a_{i} - a_{m}}{2} & , \text{ if } a_{i} \text{ is odd } \end{cases}
The sum of the new numbers aia_{i}' is less than NN and the induction hypothesis implies the existence of numbers b1,b2,,bkb_{1}', b_{2}', \ldots, b_{k}' which satisfy the conditions. We shall prove that the numbers 2b1,2b2,,2bk,am2 b_{1}', 2 b_{2}', \ldots, 2 b_{k}', a_{m} are the required numbers for the collection a1,a2,,ama_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{m}.

If two nonintersecting subsets of {2b1,2b2,,2bk,am}\{2 b_{1}', 2 b_{2}', \ldots, 2 b_{k}', a_{m}\} have equal sums then ama_{m} (as the only odd number) does not belong to these sets. Dividing by 22 we obtain two nonintersecting subsets of {b1,b2,,bk}\{b_{1}', b_{2}', \ldots, b_{k}'\} with equal sums which is a contradiction. Also, it is easy to see that every aia_{i}, i=1,2,,mi = 1, 2, \ldots, m can be represented as a sum of some of the numbers 2b1,2b2,,2bk,am2 b_{1}', 2 b_{2}', \ldots, 2 b_{k}', a_{m} which completes the induction step.

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