Compute the number of ways to tile a rectangle with one tile, one tile, one tile, one tile, and one tile. (The tiles can be rotated, and tilings that differ by rotation or reflection are considered distinct.)
Solution
Our strategy is to first place the and the tiles since their size restricts their location. We have three cases: - Case 1: first row. There are 4 ways to place the tile. There is an empty cell next to the tile, which can either be occupied by the tile or the tile (see diagram). In both cases, there are 2 ways to place the remaining two tiles, so this gives ways. - Case 2: middle row. There are 4 ways to place the tile, and the tile must go next to it. There are 2 ways to place the remaining two tiles, so this gives ways. - Case 3: bottom row. This is the same as Case 1 up to rotation, so there are also 16 ways to place the tiles here. In total, we have ways to place the tiles.
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