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Combinatorics Difficulty 7.1 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it

Let o(n)o(n) be the number of 2n2 n-tuples (a1,a2,,an,b1,b2,,bn)\left(a_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{n}, b_{1}, b_{2}, \ldots, b_{n}\right) such that each ai,bj=0a_{i}, b_{j}=0 or 1 and a1b1+a2b2++anbna_{1} b_{1}+a_{2} b_{2}+\ldots+a_{n} b_{n} is odd. Similarly, let e(n) be the number for which the sum is even. Show that o(n)/e(n)=(2n1)/(2n+1)o(n) / e(n)=\left(2^{n}-1\right) /\left(2^{n}+1\right).

Solution

We prove by induction that o(n)=22n12n1 o(n) = 2^{2n-1} - 2^{n-1} . For n=1 n = 1 , this reads o(1)=2120=1 o(1) = 2^1 - 2^0 = 1 , which is obviously true - the only such 2-tuple is (1,1)(1,1). Suppose it is true for n n .

If (a1,a2,,an,b1,b2,,bn)(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n, b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_n) gives an odd sum, then we can take (an+1,bn+1)(a_{n+1}, b_{n+1}) to be any of (0,0),(0,1),(1,0)(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 0) and still get an odd sum for (a1,a2,,an+1,b1,b2,,bn+1)(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_{n+1}, b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_{n+1}). On the other hand, if (a1,a2,,an,b1,b2,,bn)(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n, b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_n) is even, then we must have an+1=bn+1=1a_{n+1} = b_{n+1} = 1 to get an odd sum. Thus o(n+1)=3o(n)+e(n) o(n+1) = 3o(n) + e(n) . But o(n)=22n12n1 o(n) = 2^{2n-1} - 2^{n-1} and e(n)=(o(n)+e(n))o(n)=22n22n1+2n1=22n1+2n1 e(n) = (o(n) + e(n)) - o(n) = 2^{2n} - 2^{2n-1} + 2^{n-1} = 2^{2n-1} + 2^{n-1} . So o(n+1)=422n122n1=22(n+1)12(n+1)1 o(n+1) = 4 \cdot 2^{2n-1} - 2 \cdot 2^{n-1} = 2^{2(n+1)-1} - 2^{(n+1)-1} , which establishes the result for n+1 n+1 and hence for all n n .

Hence e(n)=22no(n)=22n1+2n1 e(n) = 2^{2n} - o(n) = 2^{2n-1} + 2^{n-1} and o(n)e(n)=2n12n+1 \frac{o(n)}{e(n)} = \frac{2^n - 1}{2^n + 1} .

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.