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Problem 17 Generating Functions

The document provides a solution to finding the number of subsets of the numbers 1 to 2000 whose elements sum to a multiple of 5. It uses generating functions and properties of the fifth roots of unity to show that the desired sum is equal to (22000 + 2402)/5, which is the number of such subsets. It explains that by evaluating the generating function at the fifth roots of unity, terms not divisible by 5 sum to 0, while terms divisible by 5 sum to a non-zero value. This allows isolating the desired coefficients.

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140 views

Problem 17 Generating Functions

The document provides a solution to finding the number of subsets of the numbers 1 to 2000 whose elements sum to a multiple of 5. It uses generating functions and properties of the fifth roots of unity to show that the desired sum is equal to (22000 + 2402)/5, which is the number of such subsets. It explains that by evaluating the generating function at the fifth roots of unity, terms not divisible by 5 sum to 0, while terms divisible by 5 sum to a non-zero value. This allows isolating the desired coefficients.

Uploaded by

seansoni
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Problem 17: Generating Functions China HSM 1994

Problem: Find the number of subsets of 1, ..., 2000, the sum of whose elements is divisible
by 5.

Solution: We can create a generating function f (x) = (1 + x)(1 + x2 )...(1 + x2000 ). Now we
must find the sum of all coefficients of x5k in f (x), where k is a positive integer.

But first, let’s look at the properties of the fifth roots of unity:

ω5 = 1

1 + ω + ω2 + ω3 + ω4 = 0

1n + ω n + ω 2n + ω 3n + ω 4n = 0 iff k 6≡ 0 (mod 5) (*)

Consider the polynomial we get when we completely expand f (x). Now consider the sum
S = f (1) + f (ω) + f (ω 2 ) + f (ω 3 ) + f (ω 4 ), where ω is a fifth root of unity. Consider some axn
in S, where n is not divisible by 5, and a is the coefficient of xn As an example, consider ax12 .
Evaluating, we get ax12 = a(112 + ω 12 + ω 2(12) + ω 3(12) + ω 4(12) ) = a(1 + ω 2 + ω 4 + ω 1 + ω 3 ) =
a(0) = 0.

This works for x12 , and upon further examination, we can use a modular argument to see
that it works for all xn when n is not divisible by 5(by * from above). However, let’s look at
what happens when n IS divisible by 5. Let n = 5k for some positive integer k, and we get:
ax5k = a(15k + ω 5k + ω 2(5k) + ω 3(5k) + ω 4(5k) ) = 5a.

So we see that S = f (1) + f (ω) + f (ω 2 ) + f (ω 3 ) + f (ω 4 ) will give us 5 times the sum of the
coefficients of all terms of the form x5k in f (x), where k is a positive integer. So the sum we
S
are looking for is .
5

S 22000 + 2402
Evaluating, we get S = 22000 + 2402 , so =
5 5

Note: The technique used here is sometimes called roots of unity filtering. This same
technique is used in Problem 18, so be sure to attempt it using this method before looking
at the solution.

Solution was written by Sean Soni and compiled from Art of Problem Solving Forums.

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