Problem

Source: BdMO 2022 Secondary P4

Tags: combinatorics



Pratyya and Payel have a number each, $n$ and $m$ respectively, where $n>m.$ Everyday, Pratyya multiplies his number by $2$ and then subtracts $2$ from it, and Payel multiplies his number by $2$ and then add $2$ to it. In other words, on the first day their numbers will be $(2n-2)$ and $(2m+2)$ respectively. Find minimum integer $x$ with proof such that if $n-m\geq x,$ then Pratyya's number will be larger than Payel's number everyday.