Year: 1995
Paper: 2
Question Number: 2
Course: LFM Pure
Section: Proof by induction
No solution available for this problem.
Difficulty Rating: 1600.0
Difficulty Comparisons: 0
Banger Rating: 1516.0
Banger Comparisons: 1
I have $n$ fence posts placed in a line and, as part of my spouse's
birthday celebrations, I wish to paint them using three different
colours red, white and blue in such a way that no adjacent fence posts
have the same colours. (This allows the possibility of using fewer
than three colours as well as exactly three.) Let $r_{n}$ be the
number of ways (possibly zero) that I can paint them if I paint the
first and the last post red and let $s_{n}$ be the number of ways
that I can paint them if I paint the first post red but the last post
either of the other two colours. Explain why $r_{n+1}=s_{n}$ and
find $r_{n}+s_{n}.$ Hence find the value of $r_{n+1}+r_{n}$ for
all $n\geqslant1.$
Prove, by induction, that
\[
r_{n}=\frac{2^{n-1}+2(-1)^{n-1}}{3}.
\]
Find the number of ways of painting $n$ fence posts (where $n\geqslant3$)
placed in a circle using three different colours in such a way that
no adjacent fence posts have the same colours.