Problem

Source: XIII International Festival of Young Mathematicians Sozopol 2024, Theme for 10-12 grade

Tags: combinatorics



Let $n \geq 2$ be a positive integer. In a mathematics competition, there are $n+1$ students, with one of them being a hacker. The competition is conducted as follows: each receives the same problem with an open-ended answer, has 5 minutes to give their own answer, after which all answers are submitted simultaneously, the correct answer is announced, then they receive a new problem, and so on. The hacker cheats by using spy cameras to see the answers of the other participants. A correct answer gives 1 point, while a wrong answer gives -1 point to everyone except the hacker; for him, it's 0 points because he managed to hack the scoring system. Prove that regardless of the total number of problems, if at some point the hacker is ahead of the second-place contestant by at least $2^{n-2} + 1$ points, then he has a strategy to ensure he will be the sole winner by the end of the competition.