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Slovenian Mathematical Olympiad, 2008

Number theory Difficulty 5.0 AIME Prove it Slovenia

Let a1,a2,…,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n be positive integers. Assume that for some positive integer kk, k<nk < n, the following is true: if we choose any kk of the given nn numbers their sum is divisible by nn. Prove that a1+a2+⋯+ana_1 + a_2 + \dots + a_n is also divisible by nn.

Solution

If k=1k = 1, each of the numbers a1,a2,…,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n is divisible by nn, so nn also divides their sum.

Now, let 1<k<n1 < k < n and let i≠ji \neq j. Since the set {a1,a2,…,an}∖{ai,aj}\{a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n\} \setminus \{a_i, a_j\} has n−2≥k−1n-2 \ge k-1 elements, one can choose an arbitrary subset SS with k−1k-1 elements. Then S∪{ai}S \cup \{a_i\} and S∪{aj}S \cup \{a_j\} are two kk-tuples of numbers and their sums are divisible by nn, so the difference of the two sums must also be divisible by nn. This difference is equal to ai−aja_i - a_j, so nn divides ai−aja_i - a_j. Here ii and jj were chosen arbitrarily, so a1,a2,…,ana_1, a_2, \dots, a_n give the same remainder when divided by nn, and there are nn of them, so their sum must be divisible by nn.

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