6. (NET 4) rectangular box can be filled completely with unit cubes. If one places cubes with volume 2 in the box such that their edges are parallel to the edges of the box, one can fill exactly of the box. Determine all possible (interior) sizes of the box.
Solution
6. Suppose are the dimensions of the box. If we set , the condition of the problem is equivalent to . We list some values of and :
| | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| | 2 | 1.5 | 1.33 | 1.67 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.33 | 1.29 | 1.43 |
We note that if , then , and if , then . If , then , a contradiction. Hence . If also , then , which is impossible. Also, if , then , again a contradiction. We thus have the following cases:
(i) , then , which holds only if ;
(ii) , then , which is impossible;
(iii) , then , which holds only if .
The only possible sizes of the box are therefore and .
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