Problem S olving,

Mathem atical
Investigation and
Modelling

MATH MJR
MATH MJR
321 6
Learning Objectives:
Identify what serves as
pigeons and what serves
as pigeonholes, and

apply the Pigeonhole

Principle in proving
statements and problems.
Peter Gustave Lejeune Dirichlet

 In mathematics, there is a concept inspired

by such pigeonholes, known as pigeonhole
principle which was introduced in 1834 by a
German mathematician Peter Gustave
Lejeune Dirichlet. On his name this principle
is also termed as Dirichlet Principle.
Peter Gustave Lejeune Dirichlet
Born
-13 February 1805
Died
-5 May 1859 (aged 54)

Known for
-his Dirichlet Principle
Fields
-Mathematics
Pigeonhole
 The word “pigeonhole” literally
referes to the shelves in the form of
square boxes or holes that were
utilizes to place pigeons.
Pigeonhole Principle
 T he Pigeonhole Principle
states that if p items
(pigeons) are put into h
pigeonholes with p> h,
then at least one
pigeonhole must contain
more than one item.
Pigeonhole Principle
Pigeonhole Principle
Pigeonhole Principle
 p h
Pigeonhole
Principle
 If k is a positive integer and k
+ 1 objects are placed into k b
oxes, then at least one box co
ntains two or more objects
k+1 k
 Ex am ple
Pigeonhole Principle
 Ex am ple
Pigeonhole Principle  To use pigeonhole principle, first
identify the pigeon and pigeonhole
Let : p = number of students
h = number of soda

p = k+1
p = 6+1 7 students k+1
p=7
Pigeonhole Principle
 If you have p pigeons and h
holes, then at least one holes
contains at least p/h pigeons.

 If p>h, then p/h is at least 2.

 p
 h 
 Ex am ple
Pigeonhole Principle
 If 19 balls are to be put back into 9 tubes,
then at least one tube will have more than
2 balls.
Let : p = number of balls  p  19 
      2. 11  3
h = number of tubes  h   9 
 by PHP, there must be at least one
tube that contains three balls.
 Ex am ple
Pigeonhole Principle
 There are 25 students in the class. Each student received
50, 49 and 48 scores in their math test. Show that there are
at least nine students who receieved the same score on the
test.
Let : p = number of students  p   25 
      8.33  9
h = number of scores  h   3 
 by PHP, there must be nine students with the same
score.
 Ex am ple
Pigeonhole Principle
 Show that among any group of 367 people, there must
be at least two with the same birthday.
Let : p = 367 people
h = 366 days
 p   367 

 h   366   1.002   2

 by PHP, there must be at least two people with the

same birthday.
 Ex am ple
Pigeonhole Principle
 Show that in any group of 27 English words, there must
be at least two that begin with the same letter.
Let : p = English words
h = number of letters in English Alphabet
 p   27 

 h   26   1.04   2

 by PHP, there must be at least two words that begin

with the same letter.
 Ex am ple
Pigeonhole Principle
 How many students in a class must be there to be sure that
3 students get the same grade (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5)?
Let : p = number of students
h = number of grades
 p  11

 h   5   2 . 2   3

 by PHP, there must be at least 11 students to be

sure that 3 of them get the same grade.
Pigeonhole
Principle
 “Become free like a
bird and let God lead
you to the right
direction”
-Nancy Ibrahim -
Practice
 Pigeonhole Principle

Directions: Identify what serves as pigeons and what

serves as pigeonholes and apply the Pigeonhole
Principle in proving the following statements/problems.
 Pigeonhole Principle
1) Let us suppose that there are 8 balls and 7 holes. If balls are to be put in different
holes, then at least one hole must have more than one ball.
2) Show among 100 people there are at least 9 who were born in the same month.
3) What is the minimum number of students in a class such that 3 students have
the same birth month?
4) 15 tourists tried to climb the Mt Apo. The oldest of them is 33, while the youngest
one is 20. At least how many of them are in the same age?
5) How many students must be in a class to guarantee that at least two students
receive the same score on the final exam, if the exam is graded on a scale from 0
to 100 points?
Prepared by:
Jonel B. Rule
 Answers:
Pigeonhole Principle
1) Let us suppose that there are 8 balls and 7 holes. If balls are to
be put in different holes, then at least one hole must have more
than one ball.
Let : p = number of balls  p  8

 h   7   1.14   2
h = number of holes

 by PHP, there must be at least one hole that

contains two balls.
 Answers:
Pigeonhole Principle
2) Show among 100 people there are at least 9 who were born in
the same month.

Let : p = number of people  p  100 

      8. 33  2
h = number of months  h   12 

 by PHP, there must be at least 9 people with the

same birth month.
 Answers:
Pigeonhole Principle
3) What is the minimum number of students in a class such that 3
students have the same birth month?
Let : p = number of students  p   25 
    
h = number of months in year  h   12 
 2.08  3

 by PHP, there will be one hole/day that has two or

more classes.
 Answers:
Pigeonhole Principle
4) 15 tourists tried to climb the Mt Apo. The oldest of them is 33,
while the youngest one is 20. At least how many of them are in
the same age?
Let : p = number of tourists  p  15 
h = number of ages

 h  14   1 . 07   2

 by PHP, there are at least two tourist with the same

no. of age.
 Answers:
Pigeonhole Principle
5) How many students must be in a class to guarantee that at
least two students receive the same score on the final exam, if the
exam is graded on a scale from 0 to 100 points?
Let : p = number of students  p  102 
      1 .009   2
h = number of points  h   101 

 by PHP, the number of students must be 102.

I. Directions: Identify what serves as pigeons and what serves as pigeonholes and
apply the Pigeonhole Principle in proving the following statements/problems.
1) A bowl contains 10 red and 10 yellow balls. How many balls must be selected to
ensure 3 balls of the same color?
2) What is the minimum number of students, each of whom comes from one of the
50 states must enroll in a university to guarantee that there are at least 100 who
come from the same state?
3) There are 38 different time periods during which classes at a university can be
scheduled. If there are 677 different classes, how many different rooms will be
needed?
4) A computer network consists of six computers. Each computer is directly
connected to one or more of the other computers. Show that there are at least two
computers that are directly connected to the same number of other computers.
5) If a theatre holds 1300 people, how many seats need to be filled to ensure that at
least two people have the same first and last initials?
Prepared by:
Jonel B. Rule