Problem

Source: Indian Team Selection Test 2015 Day 4 Problem 2

Tags: algebra



Let $A$ be a finite set of pairs of real numbers such that for any pairs $(a,b)$ in $A$ we have $a>0$. Let $X_0=(x_0, y_0)$ be a pair of real numbers(not necessarily from $A$). We define $X_{j+1}=(x_{j+1}, y_{j+1})$ for all $j\ge 0$ as follows: for all $(a,b)\in A$, if $ax_j+by_j>0$ we let $X_{j+1}=X_j$; otherwise we choose a pair $(a,b)$ in $A$ for which $ax_j+by_j\le 0$ and set $X_{j+1}=(x_j+a, y_j+b)$. Show that there exists an integer $N\ge 0$ such that $X_{N+1}=X_N$.