Olympiad problems

2017 IMO Shortlist, C1

A rectangle $\mathcal{R}$ with odd integer side lengths is divided into small rectangles with integer side lengths. Prove that there is at least one among the small rectangles whose distances from the four sides of $\mathcal{R}$ are either all odd or all even. [i]Proposed by Jeck Lim, Singapore[/i]

1978 Dutch Mathematical Olympiad, 2

Tags: combinatorics , combinatorial geometry , tiles , tiling

One tiles a floor of $a \times b$ dm$^2$ with square tiles, $a,b \in N$. Tiles do not overlap, and sides of floor and tiles are parallel. Using tiles of $2\times 2$ dm$^2$ leaves the same amount of floor uncovered as using tiles of $4\times 4$ dm$^2$. Using $3\times 3$ dm$^2$ tiles leaves $29$ dm$^2$ floor uncovered. Determine $a$ and $b$.

2003 Germany Team Selection Test, 3

Tags: combinatorics , tiling , dissection

For $n$ an odd positive integer, the unit squares of an $n\times n$ chessboard are coloured alternately black and white, with the four corners coloured black. A it tromino is an $L$-shape formed by three connected unit squares. For which values of $n$ is it possible to cover all the black squares with non-overlapping trominos? When it is possible, what is the minimum number of trominos needed?

2009 Switzerland - Final Round, 8

Tags: combinatorics , tiles , tiling , coloring

Given is a floor plan composed of $n$ unit squares. Albert and Berta want to cover this floor with tiles, with all tiles having the shape of a $1\times 2$ domino or a $T$-tetromino. Albert only has tiles from one color, while Berta has two-color dominoes and tetrominoes available in four colors. Albert can use this floor plan in $a$ ways to cover tiles, Berta in $ b$ ways. Assuming that $a \ne 0$, determine the ratio $b/a$.

2018 Belarusian National Olympiad, 11.4

Tags: tiling , combinatorics , geometry , trapezoid

A checkered polygon $A$ is drawn on the checkered plane. We call a cell of $A$ [i]internal[/i] if all $8$ of its adjacent cells belong to $A$. All other (non-internal) cells of $A$ we call [i]boundary[/i]. It is known that $1)$ each boundary cell has exactly two common sides with no boundary cells; and 2) the union of all boundary cells can be divided into isosceles trapezoid of area $2$ with vertices at the grid nodes (and acute angles of the trapezoids are equal $45^\circ$). Prove that the area of the polygon $A$ is congruent to $1$ modulo $4$.

2006 Bosnia and Herzegovina Team Selection Test, 1

Tags: combinatorics , tiling , tetrislike

Let $Z$ shape be a shape such that it covers $(i,j)$, $(i,j+1)$, $(i+1,j+1)$, $(i+2,j+1)$ and $(i+2,j+2)$ where $(i,j)$ stands for cell in $i$-th row and $j$-th column on an arbitrary table. At least how many $Z$ shapes is necessary to cover one $8 \times 8$ table if every cell of a $Z$ shape is either cell of a table or it is outside the table (two $Z$ shapes can overlap and $Z$ shapes can rotate)?

2019 Tournament Of Towns, 3

Tags: bicentric quadrilateral , tiling , combinatorics , combinatorial geometry , cut

Prove that any triangle can be cut into $2019$ quadrilaterals such that each quadrilateral is both inscribed and circumscribed. (Nairi Sedrakyan)

1987 Polish MO Finals, 6

Tags: tiling , combinatorics , combinatorial geometry , hexagon

A plane is tiled with regular hexagons of side $1$. $A$ is a fixed hexagon vertex. Find the number of paths $P$ such that: (1) one endpoint of $P$ is $A$, (2) the other endpoint of $P$ is a hexagon vertex, (3) $P$ lies along hexagon edges, (4) $P$ has length $60$, and (5) there is no shorter path along hexagon edges from $A$ to the other endpoint of $P$.

2010 Belarus Team Selection Test, 6.3

Tags: tiling , combinatorial geometry , combinatorics , tiles

A $50 \times 50$ square board is tiled by the tetrominoes of the following three types: [img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/2/9/62c0bce6356ea3edd8a2ebfe0269559b7527f1.png[/img] Find the greatest and the smallest possible number of $L$ -shaped tetrominoes In the tiling. (Folklore)

2000 Chile National Olympiad, 6

Tags: rectangle , tiling , tiles , combinatorial geometry , combinatorics , geometry

With $76$ tiles, of which some are white, other blue and the remaining red, they form a rectangle of $4 \times 19$. Show that there is a rectangle, inside the largest, that has its vertices of the same color.

1998 Finnish National High School Mathematics Competition, 5

Tags: combinatorics , tiling

$15\times 36$-checkerboard is covered with square tiles. There are two kinds of tiles, with side $7$ or $5.$ Tiles are supposed to cover whole squares of the board and be non-overlapping. What is the maximum number of squares to be covered?

2020 March Advanced Contest, 3

Tags: geometry , combinatorics , tiling , parallelogram

A [i]simple polygon[/i] is a polygon whose perimeter does not self-intersect. Suppose a simple polygon $\mathcal P$ can be tiled with a finite number of parallelograms. Prove that regardless of the tiling, the sum of the areas of all rectangles in the tiling is fixed.\\ [i]Note:[/i] Points will be awarded depending on the generality of the polygons for which the result is proven.

2016 Latvia Baltic Way TST, 10

Tags: combinatorics , tiles , tiling

On an infinite sheet of tiles, an infinite number of $1 \times 2$ tile rectangles are placed, their edges follow the lines of the tiles, and they do not touch each other, not even the corners. Is it true that the remaining checkered sheet can be completely covered with $1 \times 2$ checkered rectangles? [hide=original wording]Uz bezgalīgas rūtiņu lapas ir novietoti bezgaglīgi daudzi 1 x 2 rūtiņu taisnstūri, to malas iet pa rūtiņu līnijām, un tie nesaskaras cits ar citu pat ne ar stūriem. Vai tiesa, ka atlikušo rūtiņu lapu var pilnībā noklāt ar 1 x 2 rūtiņu tainstūriem? [/hide]

1993 Italy TST, 4

Tags: domino , tiling , graph theory , combinatorics

An $m \times n$ chessboard with $m,n \ge 2$ is given. Some dominoes are placed on the chessboard so that the following conditions are satisfied: (i) Each domino occupies two adjacent squares of the chessboard, (ii) It is not possible to put another domino onto the chessboard without overlapping, (iii) It is not possible to slide a domino horizontally or vertically without overlapping. Prove that the number of squares that are not covered by a domino is less than $\frac15 mn$.

2022 Federal Competition For Advanced Students, P2, 6

Tags: combinatorics , tiles , tiling

(a) Prove that a square with sides $1000$ divided into $31$ squares tiles, at least one of which has a side length less than $1$. (b) Show that a corresponding decomposition into $30$ squares is also possible. [i](Walther Janous)[/i]

2020 New Zealand MO, 3

Tags: combinatorial geometry , combinatorics , tiling , tiles

You have an unlimited supply of square tiles with side length $ 1$ and equilateral triangle tiles with side length $ 1$. For which n can you use these tiles to create a convex $n$-sided polygon? The tiles must fit together without gaps and may not overlap.

2020 Tournament Of Towns, 5

Tags: geometry , 3d geometry , sphere , combinatorial geometry , tiling , covering , combinatorics

A triangle is given on a sphere of radius $1$, the sides of which are arcs of three different circles of radius $1$ centered in the center of a sphere having less than $\pi$ in length and an area equal to a quarter of the area of the sphere. Prove that four copies of such a triangle can cover the entire sphere. A. Zaslavsky

2011 IFYM, Sozopol, 5

Tags: combinatorics , coloring , tiling

Let $n\geq 2$ be a natural number. A unit square is removed from a square $n$ x $n$ and the remaining figure is cut into squares 2 x 2 and 3 x 3. Determine all possible values of $n$.

2016 Baltic Way, 12

Tags: tiling , combinatorics

Does there exist a hexagon (not necessarily convex) with side lengths $1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6$ (not necessarily in this order) that can be tiled with a) $31$ b) $32$ equilateral triangles with side length $1?$

2021 Iranian Combinatorics Olympiad, P2

Tags: combinatorics , tiling

We assume a truck as a $1 \times (k + 1)$ tile. Our parking is a $(2k + 1) \times (2k + 1)$ table and there are $t$ trucks parked in it. Some trucks are parked horizontally and some trucks are parked vertically in the parking. The vertical trucks can only move vertically (in their column) and the horizontal trucks can only move horizontally (in their row). Another truck is willing to enter the parking lot (it can only enter from somewhere on the boundary). For $3k + 1 < t < 4k$, prove that we can move other trucks forward or backward in such a way that the new truck would be able to enter the lot. Prove that the statement is not necessarily true for $t = 3k + 1$.

2019 Canada National Olympiad, 3

Tags: combinatorics , grid , tiling , checkerboard , induction , bijection

You have a $2m$ by $2n$ grid of squares coloured in the same way as a standard checkerboard. Find the total number of ways to place $mn$ counters on white squares so that each square contains at most one counter and no two counters are in diagonally adjacent white squares.

2000 ITAMO, 5

Tags: grid , minimum , combinatorics , tiling , combinatorial geometry

A man disposes of sufficiently many metal bars of length $2$ and wants to construct a grill of the shape of an $n \times n$ unit net. He is allowed to fold up two bars at an endpoint or to cut a bar into two equal pieces, but two bars may not overlap or intersect. What is the minimum number of pieces he must use?

2004 Denmark MO - Mohr Contest, 5

Tags: combinatorics , combinatorial geometry , tiles , tiling

Determine for which natural numbers $n$ you can cover a $2n \times 2n$ chessboard with non-overlapping $L$ pieces. An $L$ piece covers four spaces and has appearance like the letter $L$. The piece may be rotated and mirrored at will.

2006 IMO Shortlist, 6

Tags: tiling , rhombus , combinatorics , hall s marriage theorem

A holey triangle is an upward equilateral triangle of side length $n$ with $n$ upward unit triangular holes cut out. A diamond is a $60^\circ-120^\circ$ unit rhombus. Prove that a holey triangle $T$ can be tiled with diamonds if and only if the following condition holds: Every upward equilateral triangle of side length $k$ in $T$ contains at most $k$ holes, for $1\leq k\leq n$. [i]Proposed by Federico Ardila, Colombia [/i]

1998 Tournament Of Towns, 2

Tags: combinatorics , coloring , combinatorial geometry , tiling

John and Mary each have a white $8 \times 8$ square divided into $1 \times 1$ cells. They have painted an equal number of cells on their respective squares in blue. Prove that one can cut up each of the two squares into $2 \times 1 $ dominoes so that it is possible to reassemble John's dominoes into a new square and Mary's dominoes into another square with the same pattern of blue cells. (A Shapovalov)