Department of Mathematics

MAL 180: Discrete Mathematical Structures

Problems on Combinatorics

1. Let n be a positive integer not divisible by 2 or 5. Prove that there is a multiple of n consisting
entirely of 1’s.

2. Prove that among any seven real numbers y1 , . . . , y7 there exist two such that
yi − yj 1
0≤ ≤√ .
1 + yi yj 3

3. The cells of a 7 × 7 square are coloured with two colours. Prove that there exist at least 21
rectangles with vertices of the same colour and with sides parallel to the sides of the square.

4. The set {1, . . . , 9} is split in any way into two subsets. Prove that in at least one subset there
are three numbers of which one is the arithmetic mean of the other two.

5. An infinite chessboard consists of 1 × 1 squares. A fly starts on a white square and makes
jumps by α to the right and β upwards, where α, β, α/β ∈ / Q. Prove that sooner or later the
fly will reach a black square.

6. A bakery sells seven kinds of donuts. How many ways are there to choose one dozen donuts if
no more than three donuts of any kind are used?

7. Find the number of nine-digit strings that contain each of the odd digits 1, 3, 5, 7, 9.

8. Determine the number of permutations of {0, 1, 2, . . . , 9}, written as a 10-digit string, that
contain at least of the substring 012, 34, 56, 789.

9. Let n be an odd positive integer.

(a) Determine the number of functions f defined on {1, . . . , n} for which f (k) 6= k whenever
k is odd.
(b) Determine the number of permutations π defined on {1, . . . , n} for which π(k) 6= k when-
ever k is odd.

10. Abhijit has eight friends who enjoy playing bridge. He wishes to invite a different subset of
three of them over to his home for a game every Saturday evening for five consecutive weeks.
In how many ways can this be done so that each friend receives at least one invitation?

11. Give combinatorial proofs for the following identities:

n
r
n
n−k

(a) r k = k r−k .
n
n+1

+ n+2 n+r
n+r+1



(b) 0 + 1 2 + ··· + r = r .

12. There are 2n objects of each of three kinds A, B, C. In how many ways can we distribute them
to two persons so that each person gets 3n objects?

13. Determine the number of subsets of {1, . . . , n} which have no two consecutive numbers.

14. Determine the number of ways of selecting pairs of disjoint subsets from an n-set.

15. Let 1 ≤ k ≤ n. Consider all finite sequences of positive integers with sum n. Suppose that the
term k occurs a total of T (n, k) times in all these sequences taken together. Find T (n, k).

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16. Consider all 2n − 1 non-empty subsets of the set {1, . . . , n}. For each subset, list the product
of the reciprocal of its elements: P(S)= n∈S n1 . Find the sum of all these products: S P (S).
Q P

17. Find a recurrence relation for the number of ways you can climb n stairs if each step covers
either 1 or 2 or 3 stairs.

18. Find a recurrence relation for the number of n-digit binary sequences with no pair of consecutive
1’s.

19. Find a recurrence relation for the number of ways to arrange n dominoes (1 × 2 pieces) to fill
a 2 × n checkerboard.

20. Find a recurrence relation for the number of regions created by n mutually intersecting circles
on a piece of paper if no three circles have a common intersection point.

21. Find a recurrence relation for the number of partitions of n into k parts.

22. (a) Use the method of inspection to solve the recurrence bn = bn−1 + 4n3 − 6n2 + 4n − 1 for
n ≥ 1, with b0 = 0.
(b) Use the method of telescoping sums to solve the recurrence nxn = (n − 2)xn−1 + 1, n ≥ 1,
where x0 = 0.
(c) Use telescoping sums to sum the infinite series
3 5 7 2n + 1
S= + + + ··· + + ··· .
1·2·3 2·3·4 3·4·5 n(n + 1)(n + 2)

(d) Use the method of iteration to solve the recurrence un = n1 un−1 + n!

1
, n ≥ 1, with u0 = 1.
√ √ √
(e) Use the method of substitution to solve the recurrence xn − 5 xn−1 + 6 xn−2 = 0,
n ≥ 2 if x0 = 4 and x1 = 25.
Pn k n .


23. Evaluate, by means of a generating function, the sum k=1 k3 k

24. Evaluate the sum

12 22 (n + 1)2
+ + ··· + + ···
0! 1! n!
by means of a generating function.

25. Use the method of generating functions to determine the number of integer solutions to a1 +
a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 = 28 with ak > k, k ∈ {1, . . . , 5}.

26. Using generating functions, prove that the number of partitions of n into unequal parts is equal
to the number of its partitions into odd parts.

27. Show that the number of k-permutations of an n-set, P (n, k) satisfies the recurrence relation

P (n, k) = P (n − 1, k) + kP (n − 1, k − 1) for n, k ≥ 1.

What is the exponential generating function for the sequence {P (n, k)}k≥0 ?

28. Find the exponential generating function for the sequence {dn } of derangements of an n-set.

29. Solve the third-order nonhomogeneous linear recurrence with constant coefficients

un − 3un−2 − 2un−3 = an + b · 2n

in terms of the initial conditions u0 , u1 and u2 using the generating function for {un }.

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30. (a) Show that the the exponential generating function Eexp (z; n) for the sequence {s(k, n)}∞
k=0
of Stirling numbers of the first kind satisfies the differential equation
d
(1 + z) Eexp (z; n) = Eexp (z; n − 1).
dz

(b) Show that the the exponential generating function Sexp (z; n) for the sequence {S(k, n)}∞
k=0
of Stirling numbers of the second kind satisfies the differential equation
d
Sexp (z; n) − n Sexp (z; n) = Sexp (z; n − 1).
dz

31. Show that z k − c1 z k−1 − c2 z k−2 − · · · − ck−1 z − ck = (z − α)m if and only if 1 − c1 z − c2 z 2 −

Q

· · · − ck z k = (1 − αz)m .
Q

32. If the recurrence un +c1 un−1 +c2 un−2 = an+b has a general solution un = A·2n +B ·5n +3n−5,
find a, b, c1 and c2 .

33. Solve the recurrence vn − 7vn−1 + 16vn−2 − 12vn−3 = 2n + 3n , with the initial terms v0 = 1,
v1 = 0, v2 = 1.