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Diagonals of Tiles
Diagonals of Tiles
Diagonals of Tiles
Solution: These arent big numbers, so we can draw it out. We see from
the diagram below that the answer is 4 .
Solution: Using our information from earlier, we can see that the answer
will be n + m 1 .
Solution: We know that 8 and 11 are relatively prime, because their Great-
est Common Divisor is 1. So we apply the formula, and get 8+111 = 18 .
Draw a diagram on graph paper if you need convincing.
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Diagonals of Tiles by Sean Soni
Practice Problems
5. Through the interiors (not just vertices) of how many lattice squares
does the segment connecting (0,0) and (119,153) pass? (A lattice
square has sides of length 1 and vertices with integer coordinates.)
(Mandelbrot 1991, Round 3, Problem 7)
Challenge Problem:
A) Convice yourself that the formula m + n 1 is true, by rereading
the above paragraph. Draw out a few simple diagrams on graph paper.
B) Once again using graph paper, prove that we can divide out the
Greatest Common Divisor (GCD), apply the formula, and multiply
our answer by the GCD again.
Final Thoughts
This is a useful technique. I know I have seen a few MathCounts
problems like this on old tests. Also, Mandelbrot tests have 8 prob-
lems in order of increasing difficulty. Since Problem 5 was #7 on the
Mandelbrot, they considered it very hard.
Email any corrections to: seansoni@gmail.com.