Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 6 of 400 #1006 of 2000

Problem 1006

National olympiad, first round
Number theory Difficulty 6.0 Prove it

1.87 Prove that for any m,nNm, n \in \mathbb{N},
Sm,n=1+k=1m(1)k(n+k+1)!n!(n+k) S_{m, n}=1+\sum_{k=1}^{m}(-1)^{k} \frac{(n+k+1)!}{n!(n+k)}

is divisible by m!m!, but for some natural numbers m,n,Sm,nm, n, S_{m, n} is not divisible by m!(n+1)m!(n+1).
(British Mathematical Olympiad, 1981)

This one wants a proof. Work it on paper, read the official solution, then mark yourself honestly — the ladder only means something if the record is true.

Official solution

[Proof] Prove by mathematical induction on mm
Sm,n=(1)m(n+m)!n! S_{m, n}=(-1)^{m} \frac{(n+m)!}{n!} \text {. }
(1) When m=1m=1,
S1,n=1(n+2)!n!(n+1)=1(n+2)=(n+1)!n!. \begin{aligned} S_{1, n} & =1-\frac{(n+2)!}{n!(n+1)} \\ & =1-(n+2) \\ & =-\frac{(n+1)!}{n!} . \end{aligned}

Thus, when m=1m=1, (1) holds.
(2) Assume (1) holds for mm, then for m+1m+1,
Sm+1,n=Sm,n+(1)m+1(n+m+2)!n!(n+m+1)=(1)m(n+m)!n!+(1)m+1(n+m)!(n+m+2)n!=(1)m+1(n+m)!n![(n+m+2)1]=(1)m+1(n+m+1)!n!, \begin{aligned} S_{m+1, n} & =S_{m, n}+(-1)^{m+1} \frac{(n+m+2)!}{n!(n+m+1)} \\ & =(-1)^{m} \frac{(n+m)!}{n!}+(-1)^{m+1} \frac{(n+m)!(n+m+2)}{n!} \\ & =(-1)^{m+1} \frac{(n+m)!}{n!}[(n+m+2)-1] \\ & =(-1)^{m+1} \frac{(n+m+1)!}{n!}, \end{aligned}

Thus, (1) holds for m+1m+1.
Therefore, (1) holds for all mNm \in \mathbb{N}.
Since Cn+mmC_{n+m}^{m} is a natural number, then
Sm,n=(1)m(n+m)!n!m!m!.=(1)mCn+mmm! \begin{aligned} S_{m, n} & =(-1)^{m} \frac{(n+m)!}{n!m!} \cdot m!. \\ & =(-1)^{m} C_{n+m}^{m} \cdot m! \end{aligned}

Thus, Sm,nS_{m, n} is divisible by m!m!.
When n=2,m=3n=2, m=3,
Sm,n=S3,2=60 S_{m, n}=S_{3,2}=-60

is divisible by m!=3!=6m!=3!=6, but not by m!(n+1)=3!(2+1)=18m!(n+1)=3!(2+1)=18.

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