Problem

Source: 2021 Peru Cono Sur TST P4

Tags: combinatorics



Let $n\ge 5$ be an integer. Consider $2n-1$ subsets $A_1, A_2, A_3, \ldots , A_{2n-1}$ of the set $\{ 1, 2, 3,\ldots , n \}$, these subsets have the property that each of them has $2$ elements (that is that is, for $1 \le i \le 2n-1$ it is true that $A_i$ has $2$ elements). Show that it is always possible to select $n$ of these subsets in such a way that the union of these $n$ subsets has at most $\frac{2}{3}n + 1$ elements in total.