Thirteen People
Prove that among \(13\) people, two were born in the same month.
Months are boxes.
There are \(12\) months and \(13\) people. By the pigeonhole principle, some month contains at least two birthdays.
Practice
Prove that among \(13\) people, two were born in the same month.
Months are boxes.
There are \(12\) months and \(13\) people. By the pigeonhole principle, some month contains at least two birthdays.
Prove that among any \(11\) integers, two have the same last digit.
There are only \(10\) last digits.
The boxes are last digits \(0,1,\ldots,9\). There are \(11\) numbers, so two fall into the same box.
A drawer contains socks of two colors. Prove that among any \(5\) socks taken out, \(3\) have the same color.
If each color appears at most twice, there are at most four socks.
Assume no color appears three times. Then each color appears at most \(2\), so there are at most \(4\) socks, but we have \(5\). Contradiction.
Prove that among any \(n+1\) integers, two have a difference divisible by \(n\).
Two numbers with the same residue give the required difference.
There are \(n\) residues modulo \(n\). Among \(n+1\) numbers, two have the same residue. Their difference is divisible by \(n\).
From \(1,\ldots,10\), \(6\) numbers are chosen. Prove that two chosen numbers have sum \(11\).
Split the numbers into \(5\) pairs with sum \(11\).
Pairs: \((1,10),(2,9),(3,8),(4,7),(5,6)\). Six numbers are chosen and there are five pairs, so one pair is fully chosen. Its sum is \(11\).
Prove that among any \(17\) integers, three have the same residue modulo \(8\).
If each residue class contains at most two numbers, there are at most \(16\).
There are \(8\) residue classes. If each contains at most \(2\) numbers, the total is at most \(16\), but there are \(17\). Hence some class contains at least \(3\).
Prove that in any group of \(6\) people, two have the same number of acquaintances inside the group.
Possible numbers are \(0\) to \(5\), but \(0\) and \(5\) cannot both occur.
Each person has \(0\) to \(5\) acquaintances. If someone has \(0\), no one has \(5\); if someone has \(5\), no one has \(0\). Thus at most \(5\) values are possible for \(6\) people. By pigeonhole, two values coincide.
Prove that among any \(10\) numbers from \(1,\ldots,18\), two are such that one divides the other.
The box is the odd part of a number.
Each number has the form \(2^k m\), where \(m\) is odd. There are only \(9\) possible odd parts in \(1,\ldots,18\). Among \(10\) chosen numbers, two have the same odd part. Then they are \(2^a m\) and \(2^b m\), and the smaller divides the larger.
Prove that among any \(101\) integers, two have a difference divisible by \(100\).
Residues modulo \(100\).
There are \(100\) residues modulo \(100\). Among \(101\) integers, two have the same residue, so their difference is divisible by \(100\).
From \(1,\ldots,20\), \(11\) numbers are chosen. Prove that two chosen numbers have sum \(21\).
Split into pairs \((1,20),(2,19),\ldots,(10,11)\).
There are \(10\) pairs, each with sum \(21\). Since \(11\) numbers are chosen, one pair is fully chosen.
In a square of side \(2\), \(5\) points are chosen. Prove that two are at distance at most \(\sqrt{2}\).
Divide the square into \(4\) unit squares.
After dividing into \(4\) unit squares, \(5\) points force two points into one small square. The distance between any two points in a unit square is at most its diagonal \(\sqrt{2}\).
Prove that among any \(10\) integers, there is a nonempty consecutive block whose sum is divisible by \(10\).
Consider partial sums.
Let \(s_i\) be the sum of the first \(i\) numbers. If some \(s_i\) is divisible by \(10\), done. Otherwise the \(10\) partial sums have only \(9\) nonzero residues, so two have the same residue. Their difference is the sum of a consecutive block divisible by \(10\).
Prove that among any \(n\) integers, there is a nonempty consecutive block whose sum is divisible by \(n\).
Repeat the proof with \(n\) partial sums.
Consider \(s_1,\ldots,s_n\). If some \(s_i\equiv0\pmod n\), the first \(i\) numbers work. Otherwise all \(s_i\) have one of \(n-1\) nonzero residues. Two sums have the same residue; their difference is the sum of a nonempty consecutive block and is divisible by \(n\).
Prove that among any \(7\) integers, two have either sum or difference divisible by \(10\).
Group residues: \(0\), \(5\), \(\{1,9\}\), \(\{2,8\}\), \(\{3,7\}\), \(\{4,6\}\).
There are \(6\) boxes of residues: \(0\), \(5\), and opposite residue pairs. Seven numbers put two in the same box. If their residues are equal, the difference is divisible by \(10\). If opposite, the sum is divisible by \(10\).
Five points with integer coordinates are chosen in the plane. Prove that the midpoint of some segment between two chosen points also has integer coordinates.
There are \(4\) parity classes of coordinates.
Each point has parity type \((x\bmod2,y\bmod2)\), only \(4\) types. Among \(5\) points, two have the same type. Then the sums of their \(x\)-coordinates and \(y\)-coordinates are even, so the midpoint has integer coordinates.
Prove that among any \(6\) people, there are either three mutual acquaintances or three mutual strangers.
Take one person and split the others into acquaintances and strangers of that person.
Choose a person \(A\). Among the other \(5\), either \(3\) are acquainted with \(A\), or \(3\) are not. In the first case, if among those three there is an acquainted pair, together with \(A\) they form three mutual acquaintances; if not, those three are mutual strangers. The second case is analogous: if among three strangers to \(A\) there is a stranger pair, together with \(A\) they form three mutual strangers; otherwise those three are mutual acquaintances.
In an equilateral triangle of side \(2\), \(5\) points are chosen. Prove that two are at distance at most \(1\).
Divide the triangle into \(4\) equilateral triangles of side \(1\).
Join the midpoints of the sides to obtain \(4\) small equilateral triangles of side \(1\). Five points force two into one small triangle. The distance between any two points in such a triangle is at most \(1\).
From \(1,\ldots,100\), \(51\) numbers are chosen. Prove that two chosen numbers are consecutive.
Split the numbers into pairs \((1,2),(3,4),\ldots,(99,100)\).
There are \(50\) pairs of consecutive numbers. Since \(51\) numbers are chosen, one pair is fully chosen. These two numbers are consecutive.
Prove that among any \(6\) integers, two have a difference divisible by \(5\).
Residues modulo \(5\).
There are \(5\) residues modulo \(5\). Among \(6\) integers, two have the same residue, so their difference is divisible by \(5\).
Prove that among \(10\) positive integers not exceeding \(100\), one can choose two different nonempty groups with the same sum.
Compare the number of nonempty subsets with the number of possible sums.
There are \(2^{10}-1=1023\) nonempty subsets. Any subset sum lies between \(1\) and \(1000\), so there are at most \(1000\) possible sums. By pigeonhole, two different nonempty groups have the same sum.
Prove that among any \(10\) positive integers not exceeding \(99\), one can choose two nonempty disjoint groups with the same sum.
First find two different groups with equal sum, then remove common elements.
There are \(1023\) nonempty subsets. Their sums lie from \(1\) to \(990\), at most \(990\) possible sums. Thus two different nonempty subsets have equal sum. Remove their common elements. The remaining parts still have equal sums; they are not both empty, otherwise the original subsets were equal. Hence we get two nonempty disjoint groups with equal sum.
In a group of \(10\) people, prove that there is a person who has either \(5\) acquaintances or \(5\) strangers.
Take any person and look at the other \(9\).
Choose any person \(A\). Among the other \(9\), each is either acquainted with \(A\) or not. There are two boxes: acquaintances and strangers. By the strengthened pigeonhole principle, one contains at least \(\lceil9/2 ceil=5\) people. Thus \(A\) has \(5\) acquaintances or \(5\) strangers.
Prove that among any \(n\) integers, there is a nonempty subset whose sum is divisible by \(n\).
It is enough to find a consecutive block after listing the numbers in any order.
List the numbers in any order and apply the partial-sum lemma to this sequence of length \(n\). We get a nonempty consecutive block whose sum is divisible by \(n\). This block is a subset of the chosen numbers.
Prove that among any \(10\) distinct real numbers, there is an increasing subsequence of length \(4\) or a decreasing subsequence of length \(4\).
For each position, record two lengths: best increasing and best decreasing subsequence starting there.
For each number \(a_i\), write \((u_i,d_i)\), where \(u_i\) is the maximum length of an increasing subsequence starting at \(a_i\), and \(d_i\) the maximum length of a decreasing one. If there is no monotone subsequence of length \(4\), then \(u_i,d_i\in\{1,2,3\}\), only \(9\) pairs. Among \(10\) numbers, two pairs coincide; let \(i