CIS 160 - Spring 2016

(instructor Val Tannen)

Homework 5 [UPDATED]
Posted Thursday, February 18
Due Thursday February 25, 1:30PM, in Chem 102, (printed copy of pdf)
ALSO, the pdf file must be uploaded to Canvas by Thursday February 25, 1:30PM
Please read the homework collaboration and late homework policies posted on Canvas.
Your homeworks must be typeset in Latex and turned in as a PDF file. Handwritten homeworks, or
homeworks that are prepared with other tools (e.g., MS Word), will not be accepted. The front page of
your homework must contain: your name and your recitation number. We will help you get started
with Latex in the first recitation. We will also post on Canvas .tex files with the homework problems and
Latex commands you might need.
You must bring to class on the due date a STAPLED TOGETHER hardcopy. We will have
a setup at the back of the class for you to deposit your homework (there will be separate piles for each
recitation number). In addition to (and not instead of) the hardcopy submission, you must also upload to
Canvas the pdf file that you print out for your submission. Canvas assignments with file upload option will
be created for each homework. The deadline for file upload is the same as the homework turn-in deadline.
We will use these electronic versions together with the printed versions to check for cheating.
Problem 1 (15pts)
First, please study the following two examples. They employ a useful trick for evaluating certain
sums and products. The technique collapses them by cancelling intermediate terms. For this reasons,
they are sometimes called telescopic sums or products.
(Remember Captain Jack Sparrows telescope?
http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/aefallen/1085475/865366/865366_original.jpg)
n
X
k=1

k=1

k=2

k=2

X 1
X1 X 1
X1
X1
1
1
1
1
n
=
(
)=

= (1+
)(
+
) = 1
=
k(k + 1)
k k+1
k
k+1
k
k n+1
n+1
n+1
k=1

k=1

n
Y
k=1

Qn

Q
1 ( nk=2 k)
k
1
k=1 k
Q
Q
= n
=
=
n
k+1
(
n
+
1
(k
+
1)
k)

(n
+
1)
k=1
k=2

The following two questions must be solved using this telescopic trick. In particular, proofs by
induction will not be accepted for this problem.
(a) Evaluate
n
X
k=1

2
k(k + 1)(k + 2)

(b) Evaluate
n
Y

(1 +

k=1

1
)
k(k + 2)

Problem 2 (15pts)
The following identity is called the sum of a geometric progression. I recommend that you memorize
it.
w
X
q w+1 1
q R, q 6= 1, w N, w 1,
qj ( = 1 + q + + qw ) =
q1
j=0

Give a combinatorial proof of this identity for the case q = 2, that is, prove
w
X

2j = 2w+1 1

j=0

(Combinatorial proofs only, please. In particular, proofs by induction will not be accepted.)
Problem 3 (10pts)
We denote by |s| the length of a sequence s. For k N let Bk be the set of all sequences of bits
of length k. Note that this will always contain the empty sequence because its length is 0. For
arbitrary m, n 1 define a function h : Bm Bn [0..m + n] by h(s, t) = |s| + |t|. Prove that h is
surjective.
Problem 4 (15pts)
Let A, B, C be three finite sets.
(a) Prove that
|A| + |B| + |C| |A B| |B C| |C A| |A B C| |A| + |B| + |C|
(b) Prove also that if |A B C| = |A| + |B| + |C| then A, B, C are pairwise disjoint (note that
this is the converse of the sum rule).
Problem 5 (15pts)
There are 220 third-year students at Hogwarts. Each of them is enrolled in at least one of the
following three courses: Magic Math (MM), Spells (S), and Potion Marketing (PM). We know the
following enrollments: MM: 100, S: 150, PM: 120. Moreover we also know that 50 of the third-years
are in both MM and S, 60 of them are in both S and PM, and 10 of them are in all three courses.
(a) How many students take both Magic Math and Potion Marketing (and may or may not take
Spells)?
(b) How many students take only Spells?

Problem 6 (15pts)
Let k be a positive integer. Using the 26 letters of the alphabet, how many 2k-letter words can be
formed without using the same letter in k consecutive positions?
Problem 7 (15pts)
Let n be a positive integer. We have n envelopes containing money in such a way that:
Each envelope contains an amount of dollars between 1 and 2n (inclusive).
Any two different envelopes contain different amounts of money.
Prove that there exists an n such that we can always find a way to distribute the envelopes among
three bins such that two of the bins contain the same non-zero amount of money.
If you also find the smallest possible value for n that works (and if you also prove it is the smallest)
then you get 20pts extra credit for this homework.