Problem

Source: North Macedonian Mathematical Olympiad 1995 p4

Tags: combinatorics, combinatorial geometry, Tiling



On a 30×30 square board or placed figures of shape 1 (of 5 squares) (in all four possible positions) and shaped figures of shape 2 (of 4 squares) . The figures do not overlap, they do not pass through the edges of the board and the squares of which they are drawn lie exactly through the squares of the board. a) Prove that the board can be fully covered using 100 figures of both shapes. b) Prove that if there are already 50 shaped figures on the board of shape 1, then at least one more figure can be placed on the board. c) Prove that if there are already 28 figures of both shapes on the board then at least one more figure of both shapes can be placed on the board.