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Mongolian Mathematical Olympiad

Mongolia number theory

Problem

Let be a set of positive integers with elements. The set is called good if, for any two distinct subsets and of (i.e., ), the difference is not divisible by . Here, denotes the sum of the elements in the subset , and by definition. Determine the number of good sets such that all elements in are less than . (Bayarmagnai Gombodorj)
Solution
Answer: . Let and if and only if and , for a positive integer . Let for the set . Claim: A set is good if and only if . First we show that sets of the form are good. For , this is trivial. For , assume is good: and This implies Hence, is good. Assume that is good, and . Since and we have Note . Therefore, for any , there exists such that . Thus , and , implying . Since where , . Therefore, , and , where is odd. Thus, , and . Thus, the number of good sets such that all elements are less than is:
Final answer
2^{n(n-1)/2}

Techniques

Factorization techniquesMultiplicative order