IMO 1983 · Problem 5

Is it possible to choose 1983 distinct positive integers, all less than or equal to \(10^5\), no three of which are consecutive terms of an arithmetic progression? Justify your answer.

Official text of the problem. Official problem paper (PDF)

Answer

Yes.

Solution

Consider the set \[ S=\left\{\sum_{i=0}^{10}\varepsilon_i3^i: \varepsilon_i\in\{0,1\},\ \text{not all }\varepsilon_i=0\right\}. \] Uniqueness of base-three representation shows that these are \[ 2^{11}-1=2047 \] distinct positive integers. Every member is at most \[ 1+3+\cdots+3^{10} =\frac{3^{11}-1}{2} =88573<10^5. \]

We prove that \(S\) contains no three distinct consecutive terms of an arithmetic progression. Suppose that \(x,y,z\in S\) satisfy \[ x+z=2y. \] Write their base-three expansions as \[ x=\sum_{i=0}^{10}a_i3^i,\qquad y=\sum_{i=0}^{10}b_i3^i,\qquad z=\sum_{i=0}^{10}c_i3^i, \] where every digit belongs to \(\{0,1\}\). Then \[ \sum_{i=0}^{10}(a_i+c_i)3^i =\sum_{i=0}^{10}2b_i3^i. \] All coefficients on both sides belong to \(\{0,1,2\}\), so neither expression involves any carrying. Uniqueness of base-three representation therefore gives \[ a_i+c_i=2b_i\qquad(0\le i\le10). \] If \(b_i=0\), this forces \(a_i=c_i=0\); if \(b_i=1\), it forces \(a_i=c_i=1\). Thus \(a_i=b_i=c_i\) for every \(i\), and consequently \(x=y=z\).

Hence no three distinct members of \(S\) form an arithmetic progression. Choosing any \(1983\) of its \(2047\) members gives the required integers.

The solution was checked against John Scholes' IMO solution archive (Kalva).