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Number theory Difficulty 6.3 National olympiad Prove it Czech Republic

An online vote is being held between options AA and BB. Before Paul voted, the percentage of votes for option AA was a positive integer. Paul's vote increased this number by exactly one. Prove that Paul's vote was the nineteenth vote for option AA. (Josef Tkadlec)

Solution

Let the total number of votes before Paul voted be nn, and the number of votes for AA before Paul voted be kk. The percentage of votes for AA before Paul voted is 100kn\frac{100k}{n}, which is a positive integer. After Paul votes for AA, the number of votes for AA becomes k+1k+1, and the total number of votes becomes n+1n+1. The new percentage is 100(k+1)n+1\frac{100(k+1)}{n+1}. We are told that this new percentage is exactly one more than the previous percentage:

100(k+1)n+1=100kn+1 \frac{100(k+1)}{n+1} = \frac{100k}{n} + 1

Let p=100knp = \frac{100k}{n}, so k=pn100k = \frac{pn}{100}.

Substitute kk into the equation:

100(pn100+1)n+1=p+1 \frac{100\left(\frac{pn}{100} + 1\right)}{n+1} = p + 1

Multiply both sides by n+1n+1:

100(pn100+1)=(p+1)(n+1) 100\left(\frac{pn}{100} + 1\right) = (p + 1)(n + 1)

pn+100=pn+p+n+1 pn + 100 = pn + p + n + 1

100=p+n+1 100 = p + n + 1

p+n=99 p + n = 99

Recall that k=pn100k = \frac{pn}{100} must be an integer, and pp and nn are positive integers with p+n=99p + n = 99.

Let n=99pn = 99 - p.

Then:

k=p(99p)100 k = \frac{p(99 - p)}{100}

We need kk to be an integer, so p(99p)p(99 - p) is divisible by 100100.

Let us try all pp from 11 to 9898 (since pp and nn are positive integers):

We seek pp such that p(99p)p(99 - p) is divisible by 100100.

Let us try p=19p = 19:

19(9919)=19×80=152019(99 - 19) = 19 \times 80 = 1520, and 1520/100=15.21520/100 = 15.2 (not integer).

Try p=80p = 80:

80(9980)=80×19=152080(99 - 80) = 80 \times 19 = 1520, 1520/100=15.21520/100 = 15.2 (not integer).

Try p=20p = 20:

20×79=158020 \times 79 = 1580, 1580/100=15.81580/100 = 15.8 (not integer).

Try p=25p = 25:

25×74=185025 \times 74 = 1850, 1850/100=18.51850/100 = 18.5 (not integer).

Try p=50p = 50:

50×49=245050 \times 49 = 2450, 2450/100=24.52450/100 = 24.5 (not integer).

Try p=4p = 4:

4×95=3804 \times 95 = 380, 380/100=3.8380/100 = 3.8 (not integer).

Try p=75p = 75:

75×24=180075 \times 24 = 1800, 1800/100=181800/100 = 18 (integer!).

So p=75p = 75, n=24n = 24, k=18k = 18.

Check: Before Paul voted, n=24n = 24, k=18k = 18, so percentage is 100×1824=75\frac{100 \times 18}{24} = 75.

After Paul votes for AA, k=19k = 19, n=25n = 25, percentage is 100×1925=76\frac{100 \times 19}{25} = 76.

So the percentage increases by exactly 11.

Therefore, Paul's vote was the nineteenth vote for option AA.

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