Problems
How about infinitely many very long buses with seats numbered \(1,2,3...\), each carrying infinitely many guests, all arriving at the hotel. Assume for now that the hotel is empty. But that seems like a lot of guests to accommodate. What should you do?
The whole idea of problems with Hilbert’s Hotel is about assigning numbers to elements of an infinite set. We say that a set of items is countable if and only if we can give all the items of the set as gifts to the guests at the Hilbert’s hotel, and each guest gets at most one gift. In other words, it means that we can assign a natural number to every item of the set. Evidently, the set of all the natural numbers is countable: we gift the number \(n\) to the guest in room \(n\).
The set of all integers, \(\mathbb{Z}\), is also countable. We gift the number \(n\) to the guest in room \(n\). Then we ask everyone to take their gift and move to the room double their original number. Rooms with odd numbers are now free (\(1, 3, 5, 7, \dots\)). We fill these rooms with guests from an infinite bus and gift the number \(-k\) to the guest in room \(2k+1\). Yes, that’s right: the person in the first room will be gifted the number \(0\).
Prove now that the set of all positive rational numbers, \(\mathbb{Q}^+\), is also countable. Recall that a rational number can be represented as a fraction \(\frac{p}{q}\) where the numbers \(p\) and \(q\) are coprime.
Today we will solve some geometric problems using the triangle inequality. This is an inequality between the lengths of the sides of any triangle, or between the distances of any three points.
The shortest path between any two points \(A\) and \(B\) is a straight segment - every other path is longer. In particular, a path through another point, \(C\), is equal or longer. \[AC + BC \ge AB\] The triangle inequality says that the sum of lengths of any two sides of a triangle is always larger than the length of the third side. The inequality only becomes an equality if \(ABC\) is not actually a triangle and the point \(C\) lies on the segment from \(A\) to \(B\).
Even though it is a simple idea, it can be a really helpful tool in problem solving.
How many subsets of \(\{1, 2, . . . , n\}\) are there of even size?
In how many ways can \(\{1, . . . , n\}\) be written as the union of two sets? Here, for example, \(\{1, 2, 3, 4\}\cup\{4, 5\}\) and \(\{4, 5\}\cup\{1, 2, 3, 4\}\) count as the same way of writing \(\{1, 2, 3, 4, 5\}\) as a union.
Prove for any natural number \(n\) that \((n + 1)(n + 2). . .(2n)\) is divisible by \(2^n\).
Between two mirrors \(AB\) and \(AC\), forming a sharp angle two points \(D\) and \(E\) are located. In what direction should one shine a ray of light from the point \(D\) in such a way that it would reflect off both mirrors and hit the point \(E\)?
If a ray of light comes towards a surface under a certain angle, it is reflected with the same angle as on the picture.
A circle is inscribed into the triangle \(ABC\) with sides \(BC=6, AC=10\) and \(AB= 12\). A line tangent to the circle intersects two longer sides of the triangle \(AB\) and \(AC\) at the points \(F\) and \(G\) respectively. Find the perimeter of the triangle \(AFG\).
Liam saw an unusual clock in the museum: the clock had no digits, and it’s not clear how the clock should be rotated. That is, we know that \(1\) is the next digit clockwise from \(12\), \(2\) is the next digit clockwise from \(1\), and so on. Moreover all the arrows (hour, minute, and second) have the same length, so it’s not clear which is which. What time does the clock show?
Two circles are tangent to each other and the smaller circle with the center \(A\) is located inside the larger circle with the center \(C\). The radii \(CD\) and \(CE\) are tangent to the smaller circle and the angle \(\angle DCE = 60^{\circ}\). Find the ratio of the radii of the circles.
