In each unit squares on chess board whose size is ,
there lies one coin each square such that their "heads" face upward.
Consider the process that flips four consecutive coins on the same row, or flips four consecutive coins on the same column.
Doing this process finite times, we want to make the "tails" of all of coins face upward, except one that lies in the th row and th column.
Show that this is possible if and only if both of and are divisible by .
Solution
1. Initial Setup and Definitions:
- Consider a chessboard where each unit square contains a coin with heads facing upward.
- We can flip four consecutive coins in the same row or column.
- We aim to make all coins show tails except for one coin at position .
2. Analyzing the Parity of Rows and Columns:
- Let be the number of heads in rows that are , , , and respectively.
- Initially, since all coins are heads up.
3. Effect of Flips on Parity:
- Each flip of four consecutive coins in a row or column changes the number of heads in that row or column by .
- This means the parity (odd or even nature) of the number of heads in each row or column is preserved modulo 2.
4. Parity Constraints:
- After any sequence of flips, the parities of must remain equal modulo 2.
- Therefore, it is impossible to have a lone head in a row or column that is or because it would violate the parity condition.
5. Constructing the Desired Configuration:
- To show the converse, we need to demonstrate that it is possible to achieve the configuration with a lone head at where both and are divisible by 4.
- Start by making all coins tails except for the coin at :
- Flip all rows from 4 to 2007 using vertical flips.
- For the first three rows, flip all columns from 4 to 2007 using horizontal flips.
- This leaves a square of heads in the upper left corner.
- Use four vertical flips to leave three heads at , , and .
- One horizontal flip will leave a single head at .
6. Generalizing the Position of the Lone Head:
- From the position , we can move the lone head a distance of four using two adjacent flips.
- This allows us to move the lone head to any where and .