Problem

Source: ELMO 2019 Problem 2, 2019 ELMO Shortlist A3

Tags: Elmo, construction



Let $m, n \ge 2$ be integers. Carl is given $n$ marked points in the plane and wishes to mark their centroid.* He has no standard compass or straightedge. Instead, he has a device which, given marked points $A$ and $B$, marks the $m-1$ points that divide segment $\overline{AB}$ into $m$ congruent parts (but does not draw the segment). For which pairs $(m,n)$ can Carl necessarily accomplish his task, regardless of which $n$ points he is given? *Here, the centroid of $n$ points with coordinates $(x_1, y_1), \dots, (x_n, y_n)$ is the point with coordinates $\left( \frac{x_1 + \dots + x_n}{n}, \frac{y_1 + \dots + y_n}{n}\right)$. Proposed by Holden Mui and Carl Schildkraut