Arrows Notes - Unofficial TC
Arrows Notes - Unofficial TC
Arrows Notes - Unofficial TC
Vedant Saini
Unofficial TC 2022
Problems
Problem 1.1. Find the number of functions f (x) : {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} → {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} that satisfy f (f (x)) =
f (f (f (x))) for all x ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
Problem 1.2. Let a and b be positive integers, and let A and B be finite sets of integers satisfying (i) A
and B are disjoint; (ii) if an integer i belongs to either to A or to B, then either i + a belongs to A or
i − b belongs to B. Prove that a |A| = b |B|. (Here |X| denotes the number of elements in the set X)
Problem 1.3. Determine all integers n ≥ 2 having the following property: for any integers a1 , a2 , . . . , an
whose sum is not divisible by n, there exists an index 1 ≤ i ≤ n such that none of the numbers
Problem 1.4. Consider a tree with n vertices, labeled with 1, . . . , n in a way that no label is used twice.
We change the labeling in the following way - each time we pick an edge that hasn’t been picked before
and swap the labels of its endpoints. After performing this action n − 1 times, we get another tree with
its labeling a permutation of the first graph’s labeling. Prove that this permutation contains exactly one
cycle.
Problem 1.5. In a table consisting of 2021 × 2021 unit squares, some unit squares are colored black in
such a way that if we place a mouse in the center of any square on the table it can walk in a straight line
(up, down, left or right along a column or row) and leave the table without walking on any black square
(other than the initial one if it is black). What is the maximum number of squares that can be colored
black?
Problem 1.6. Let f : N → N be a function, and let f m be f applied m times. Suppose that for every
n ∈ N there exists a k ∈ N such that f 2k (n) = n + k, and let kn be the smallest such k. Prove that the
sequence k1 , k2 , . . . is unbounded.
1
Vedant Saini (Unofficial TC 2022) Arrows
Problem 1.7. Let Z>0 denote the set of positive integers. Consider a function f : Z>0 → Z>0 . For any
m, n ∈ Z>0 we write f n (m) = f (f (. . . f (m) . . .)). Suppose that f has the following two properties:
| {z }
n
(i) if m, n ∈ Z>0 , then f n (m) − m is a multiple of n
(ii) There are only finitely many positive integers not in the image of f
Prove that the sequence f (1) − 1, f (2) − 2, f (3) − 3, . . . is periodic.
n
X
(aj − b) ≤ 10072
j=m+1
Find the minimum k such that for any such function f , there exist a subset B of X, where |B| = k, such
that B ∪ f (B) = X.
Problem 1.10. An anti-Pascal triangle is an equilateral triangular array of numbers such that, except
for the numbers in the bottom row, each number is the absolute value of the difference of the two numbers
immediately below it. For example, the following is an anti-Pascal triangle with four rows which contains
every integer from 1 to 10.
4
2 6
5 7 1
8 3 10 9
Does there exist an anti-Pascal triangle with 2018 rows which contains every integer from 1 to 1 + 2 + 3 +
· · · + 2018?