Maths Olympiad Prep

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Combinatorics Difficulty 5.0 AIME Find the answer

What is the earliest row in which the number 2004 may appear?

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

By the previous problem, it cannot appear before row 12. By starting off the table as shown above, we see that row 12 is possible, so this is the answer.

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