For every nonempty subset $R$ of $S = \{1,2,...,10\}$, we define the alternating sum $A(R)$ as follows: If $r_1,r_2,...,r_k$ are the elements of $R$ in the increasing order, then $A(R) = r_k -r_{k-1} +r_{k-2}- ... +(-1)^{k-1}r_1$. (a) Is it possible to partition $S$ into two sets having the same alternating sum? (b) Determine the sum $\sum_{R} A(R)$, where $R$ runs over all nonempty subsets of $S$.
Problem
Source: Norwegian Mathematical Olympiad 1999 - Abel Competition p4
Tags: Sum, Subsets, algebra, combinatorics