Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /29 of 40

Combinatorics Difficulty 6.5 National olympiad Prove it China

Let set M={1,2,3,...,50}M = \{1, 2, 3, ..., 50\}. Find all positive integer nn, such that there are at least two different elements aa and bb in any subset with 35 elements of MM, such that a+b=na + b = n or ab=na - b = n. (posed by Li Shenghong)

Solution

Take A={1,2,3,...,35}A = \{1, 2, 3, ..., 35\}, then for any a,bAa, b \in A,
ab34, a+b34+35=69. a - b \le 34,\ a + b \le 34 + 35 = 69.
In the following, we show that 1n691 \le n \le 69. Let A={a1,a2,,a35}A = \{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_{35}\}, without loss of generality, suppose that a1<a2<<a35a_1 < a_2 < \dots < a_{35}.

i.
If 1n191 \le n \le 19, by
1a1<a2<<a3550, 1 \le a_1 < a_2 < \dots < a_{35} \le 50,
2a1+n<a2+n<<a35+n50+19=69, 2 \le a_1 + n < a_2 + n < \dots < a_{35} + n \le 50 + 19 = 69,
and by Dirichlet's Drawer Theorem, there exist 1i,j351 \le i, j \le 35 (iji \ne j) such that ai+n=aja_i + n = a_j, that is, aiaj=na_i - a_j = n.

ii.
If 51n6951 \le n \le 69, by
1a1<a2<<a3550, 1 \le a_1 < a_2 < \dots < a_{35} \le 50,
1na35<na34<<na168, 1 \le n - a_{35} < n - a_{34} < \dots < n - a_1 \le 68,
and by Dirichlet's Drawer Theorem, there exist at least 1i,j351 \le i, j \le 35 (iji \ne j) such that nai=ajn - a_i = a_j, that is, ai+aj=na_i + a_j = n.

iii.
If 20n2420 \le n \le 24, since
50(2n+1)+1=502n5040=10, 50 - (2n + 1) + 1 = 50 - 2n \le 50 - 40 = 10,
we see that there are at least 25 elements in a1,a2,,a35a_1, a_2, \dots, a_{35} that belong to [1,2n][1, 2n].
There are at most 24 elements in {1,n+1},{2,n+2},,{n,2n}\{1, n+1\}, \{2, n+2\}, \dots, \{n, 2n\} such that {ai,aj}={i,n+i}\{a_i, a_j\} = \{i, n+i\}. Hence, ajai=na_j - a_i = n.

iv. If 25n3425 \le n \le 34, since {1,n+1},{2,n+2},,{n,2n}\{1, n+1\}, \{2, n+2\}, \dots, \{n, 2n\} have at most 34 elements, by Dirichlet Drawer Theorem, there exist 1i,j351 \le i, j \le 35 (iji \ne j) such that ai=i,aj=n+ia_i = i, a_j = n+i, that is ajai=na_j - a_i = n.

v. If n=35n = 35, there are 33 elements {1,34},{2,33},,{17,18},{35},{36},,{50}\{1, 34\}, \{2, 33\}, \dots, \{17, 18\}, \{35\}, \{36\}, \dots, \{50\}. Hence, there exist 1i,j351 \le i, j \le 35 (iji \ne j) such that ai+aj=35a_i + a_j = 35.

vi.
If 36n5036 \le n \le 50,
if n=2k+1,{1,2k},{2,2k1},,{k,k+1},{2k+1},,{50}n = 2k + 1, \{1, 2k\}, \{2, 2k-1\}, \dots, \{k, k+1\}, \{2k+1\}, \dots, \{50\};
if 18k20,50(2k+1)+1=502k5036=1418 \le k \le 20, 50 - (2k + 1) + 1 = 50 - 2k \le 50 - 36 = 14;
if 21k2421 \le k \le 24, 50(2k+1)+1=502k5042=850 - (2k + 1) + 1 = 50 - 2k \le 50 - 42 = 8,
there exist 1i,j351 \le i, j \le 35 (iji \neq j) such that ai+aj=2k+1=na_i + a_j = 2k + 1 = n.
If n=2kn = 2k, {1,2k1}\{1, 2k-1\}, {2,2k2}\{2, 2k-2\}, ..., {k1,k+1}\{k-1, k+1\}, {k}\{k\}, {2k}\{2k\}, {2k+1}\{2k+1\}, ..., {50}\{50\};
if 18k1918 \le k \le 19, 50(2k+1)+316k1191=1850 - (2k + 1) + 3 \le 16k - 1 \le 19 - 1 = 18;
if 20k2320 \le k \le 23, 50(2k+1)+3502k+212k150 - (2k + 1) + 3 \le 50 - 2k + 2 \le 12k - 1
231=22\le 23 - 1 = 22;
if 24k2524 \le k \le 25, 50(2k+1)+3502k+24k150 - (2k + 1) + 3 \le 50 - 2k + 2 \le 4k - 1 \le
251=2425 - 1 = 24,
there exist 1i,j351 \le i, j \le 35 (iji \neq j) such that ai+aj=2ka_i + a_j = 2k.
\square

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.