Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 7 of 400 #1007 of 2000

Problem 1007

National olympiad, first round
Combinatorics Difficulty 6.0 Prove it

9.79 On an infinitely large grid paper, there are nn cells that have been colored black. Try to prove that it is possible to cut out a finite number of squares from this grid paper, such that they satisfy the following two conditions:
(1) All black cells are within the squares that have been cut out;
(2) In any of the squares that have been cut out, the area of the black cells is not less than 15\frac{1}{5} of the area of the square and not more than 45\frac{4}{5} of the area of the square.

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] First, draw a large square K0K_{0} of size 2n×2n2^{n} \times 2^{n} on the grid paper, such that it contains all nn black cells and the total number of white cells is at least 4 times the number of black cells. It is clear that the total area of the black cells is no more than 15\frac{1}{5} of the area of K0K_{0}. Then divide K0K_{0} into 4 squares K1K_{1}, each containing 2n1×2n12^{n-1} \times 2^{n-1} cells. In each K1K_{1}, the total area of the black cells does not exceed 45\frac{4}{5} of the area of K1K_{1}. If any of these 4 K1K_{1} squares satisfy condition (2), select them; if a K1K_{1} contains no black cells, remove it. For the K1K_{1} squares that do not fall into these two cases, repeat the above process, i.e., divide each of them into 4, ..., until no more squares can be divided or until 2×22 \times 2 squares are obtained. At this point, remove those with no black cells, and select the small squares with 1, 2, or 3 black cells.

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