Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 295 of 300 #1695 of 2000

Problem 1695

National olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Combinatorics Difficulty 7.9 Prove it

Given is a group in which everyone has exactly dd friends and every two strangers have exactly one common friend. Prove that there are at most d2+1d^2 + 1 people in this group.

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

1. Define the problem and variables:
Let n n be the total number of people in the group. Each person has exactly d d friends, and every two strangers have exactly one common friend.

2. **Define the set S S :**
Let S S be the set of ordered triples of distinct people (A,B,C)(A, B, C) such that A A knows B B , B B knows C C , but C C does not know A A .

3. **Count the size of S S in two ways:

- First way (based on A A ):**
For each person A A , there are nd1 n - d - 1 possibilities for C C (since A A has d d friends and there are n1 n - 1 other people, so nd1 n - d - 1 are strangers to A A ). Each such C C has exactly one common friend B B with A A (by the problem's condition). Therefore, the number of such triples for each A A is nd1 n - d - 1 . Since there are n n people, we have:
S=n(nd1) |S| = n(n - d - 1)

- **Second way (based on B B ):**
For each person B B , we choose A A and C C out of the d d friends of B B . There are d d choices for A A and d1 d - 1 remaining choices for C C (since AC A \neq C ). Therefore, the number of such triples for each B B is d(d1) d(d - 1) . Since there are n n people, we have:
Snd(d1) |S| \leq nd(d - 1)

4. Combine the two counts:
Equating the two expressions for S |S| , we get:
n(nd1)nd(d1) n(n - d - 1) \leq nd(d - 1)

5. Simplify the inequality:
n(nd1)nd(d1) n(n - d - 1) \leq nd(d - 1)
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
n2n(d+1)nd2nd n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
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n^2 - n(d + 1) \leq nd^2 - nd
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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic, difficulty and ordering added by this site.