Difference between revisions of "1993 AIME Problems/Problem 8"

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== Solution ==
 
== Solution ==
{{solution}}
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Let's select the subsets <math>A</math> and <math>B</math> in that order such that <math>|A|\leq |B|</math>. Now there are 6 cases: <math>A</math> has no elements, <math>A</math> has <math>1</math> element, ... , and <math>A</math> has <math>6</math> elements.
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If <math>A</math> has no elements, then <math>B</math> must have all of the elements, and there is only <math>1</math> way to do that.
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If <math>A</math> has one element, then <math>B</math> must have the other 5 elements, and it can include <math>A</math>'s element or not. There are <math>2</math> ways to do that.
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If <math>A</math> has two elements, then <math>B</math> must have the other 4 elements, and it can include <math>A</math>'s elements or not. There are <math>4</math> ways to do that.
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If <math>A</math> has three elements, then <math>B</math> must have the other 3 elements, and it can include <math>A</math>'s elements or not. There are <math>8</math> ways to do that.
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If <math>A</math> has four elements, then <math>B</math> must have the other two elements, but we need two more elements. So we need to compute the number of ways to select at least two different numbers from letters (<math>a_1</math>, <math>a_2</math>, <math>a_3</math>, and <math>a_4</math>). There are <math>\binom{4}{2}+\binom{4}{3}+\binom{4}{4}=11</math>.
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If <math>A</math> has five elements, then <math>B</math> must have the only other element, but we need four more elements. So we need to compute the number of ways to select at least four different numbers from letters (<math>a_1</math>, <math>a_2</math>, <math>a_3</math>, <math>a_4</math>, or <math>a_5</math>). There are <math>\binom{5}{4}+\binom{5}{5}=6</math>.
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If <math>A</math> has all six elements, then <math>B</math> must have all 6 elements, and there is only <math>1</math> way to do that.
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<math>1+2+4+8+11+6+1=\boxed{033}</math>
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
 
{{AIME box|year=1993|num-b=7|num-a=9}}
 
{{AIME box|year=1993|num-b=7|num-a=9}}

Revision as of 09:50, 28 February 2008

Problem

Let $S\,$ be a set with six elements. In how many different ways can one select two not necessarily distinct subsets of $S\,$ so that the union of the two subsets is $S\,$? The order of selection does not matter; for example, the pair of subsets $\{a, c\}\,$, $\{b, c, d, e, f\}\,$ represents the same selection as the pair $\{b, c, d, e, f\}\,$, $\{a, c\}\,$.

Solution

Let's select the subsets $A$ and $B$ in that order such that $|A|\leq |B|$. Now there are 6 cases: $A$ has no elements, $A$ has $1$ element, ... , and $A$ has $6$ elements.

If $A$ has no elements, then $B$ must have all of the elements, and there is only $1$ way to do that.

If $A$ has one element, then $B$ must have the other 5 elements, and it can include $A$'s element or not. There are $2$ ways to do that.

If $A$ has two elements, then $B$ must have the other 4 elements, and it can include $A$'s elements or not. There are $4$ ways to do that.

If $A$ has three elements, then $B$ must have the other 3 elements, and it can include $A$'s elements or not. There are $8$ ways to do that.

If $A$ has four elements, then $B$ must have the other two elements, but we need two more elements. So we need to compute the number of ways to select at least two different numbers from letters ($a_1$, $a_2$, $a_3$, and $a_4$). There are $\binom{4}{2}+\binom{4}{3}+\binom{4}{4}=11$.

If $A$ has five elements, then $B$ must have the only other element, but we need four more elements. So we need to compute the number of ways to select at least four different numbers from letters ($a_1$, $a_2$, $a_3$, $a_4$, or $a_5$). There are $\binom{5}{4}+\binom{5}{5}=6$.

If $A$ has all six elements, then $B$ must have all 6 elements, and there is only $1$ way to do that.

$1+2+4+8+11+6+1=\boxed{033}$

See also

1993 AIME (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 7
Followed by
Problem 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
All AIME Problems and Solutions