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Belarusian Mathematical Olympiad

Combinatorics Difficulty 6.2 National Olympiad Prove it Belarus

The sum of several (not necessary different) positive integers not exceeding 1010 is equal to SS.
Find all possible values of SS such that these numbers can always be partitioned into two groups with the sum of the numbers in each group not exceeding 7070.

Solution

Answer: S≤133S \le 133.

Clearly S≤140S \le 140. Suppose that S≥134S \ge 134 and let S=134+mS = 134 + m, where 0≤m≤60 \le m \le 6. Consider the next collection of numbers: one number equals 88, mm numbers equal 1010 and 14−m14-m numbers equal 99 (the total sum equals 134+m134+m). At least eight of these 1515 numbers will be in the same group. But the sum of the smallest eight numbers is not less than 1⋅8+m⋅9+(7−m)⋅10=78−m≥721 \cdot 8 + m \cdot 9 + (7-m) \cdot 10 = 78 - m \ge 72 — a contradiction.

It remains to show that any collection of positive integers not exceeding 1010 with the sum S≤133S \le 133 can be partitioned into two groups as required. We will successive put numbers to the first group (in an arbitrary order), and at some moment the sum of all numbers of this group will satisfy the next two conditions: 1) 60<A≤7060 < A \le 70; and 2) A+a>70A + a > 70 for any remaining number aa. If A≥63A \ge 63, then S−A≤70S - A \le 70 and we can form the second group from all remaining numbers.

Now consider the case A≤62A \le 62. Then A=62−xA = 62 - x, where xx equals 00 or 11. For any remaining number aa the inequality A+a>70A + a > 70 takes the form a>8+xa > 8 + x, which is equivalent to a≥9+xa \ge 9 + x. If there are not more than seven numbers left, their sum does not exceed 7070 and we can form the second group from them. Otherwise the sum S−AS - A of the remaining numbers is not less than 8⋅(9+x)=72+8x8 \cdot (9 + x) = 72 + 8x, therefore
S=(S−A)+A≥72+8x+(62−x)=134+7x>133, S = (S - A) + A \ge 72 + 8x + (62 - x) = 134 + 7x > 133,
which contradicts to S≤133S \le 133. Thus, the required partition is constructed in all cases.

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