2011 AIME II Problems/Problem 6
Problem 6
Define an ordered quadruple as interesting if
, and
. How many ordered quadruples are there?
Solution
Rearranging the inequality we get . Let
, then
is a partition of 11 into 5 positive integers or equivalently:
is a partition of 6 into 5 non-negative integers. The number of ways to partition 6 into 5 non-negative parts is (bals and urns)
. The interesting quadruples correspond to partitions where the second number is less than the fourth. By symmetry there as many partitions where the fourth is less than the second. So, if
is the number of partitions where the second element is equal to the fourth, our answer is
.
We find as a sum of 4 cases:
- two parts equal to zero,
ways,
- two parts equal to one,
ways,
- two parts equal to two,
ways,
- two parts equal to three,
way.
Therefore, and our answer is