olymmath

ISL 2023 C3

Let nn be a positive integer. We arrange 1+2+⋯+n1+2+\cdots+n circles in a triangle with nn rows, such that the ith i^{\text {th }} row contains exactly ii circles. The following figure shows the case n=6n=6. In this triangle, a ninja-path is a sequence of circles obtained by repeatedly going from a circle to one of the two circles directly below it. In terms of nn, find the largest value of kk such that if one circle from every row is coloured red, we can always find a ninja-path in which at least kk of the circles are red. (Netherlands)

Official text Transcription from NuminaMath olympiads, checked word for word against the official paper. Quoted with source.

Official text: IMO 2023 Shortlist booklet, page 7.

Solutions

Official solution Solution 1 by the IMO Problem Selection Committee

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