Difference between revisions of "1985 IMO Problems/Problem 2"
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== Problem == | == Problem == | ||
| − | Let <math>n</math> and <math>k</math> be given relatively prime natural numbers, <math>n | + | Let <math>n</math> and <math>k</math> be given relatively prime natural numbers, <math>k < n</math>. Each number in the set <math>M = \{ 1,2, \ldots , n-1 \} </math> is colored either blue or white. It is given that |
(i) for each <math> i \in M </math>, both <math>i </math> and <math>n-i </math> have the same color; | (i) for each <math> i \in M </math>, both <math>i </math> and <math>n-i </math> have the same color; | ||
Latest revision as of 00:11, 12 July 2020
Problem
Let 
and 
be given relatively prime natural numbers, 
. Each number in the set 
is colored either blue or white. It is given that
(i) for each 
, both 
and 
have the same color;
(ii) for each 
, both and 
have the same color.
Prove that all the numbers in 
have the same color.
Solution
We may consider the elements of as residues mod . To these we may add the residue 0, since (i) may only imply that 0 has the same color as itself, and (ii) may only imply that 0 has the same color as , which put no restrictions on the colors of the other residues.
We note that (i) is equivalent to saying that has the same color as 
, and given this, (ii) implies that and 
have the same color. But this means that 
, and 
have the same color, which is to say that all residues of the form 
have the same color. But these are all the residues mod , since and are relatively prime. Q.E.D.
Alternate solutions are always welcome. If you have a different, elegant solution to this problem, please add it to this page.
| 1985 IMO (Problems) • Resources | ||
| Preceded by Problem 1 |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 | Followed by Problem 3 |
| All IMO Problems and Solutions | ||
