Problem

Source: JOM 2025 Mock 2 P2

Tags: combinatorics



Fix $n$. Given $n$ points on Cartesian plane such that no pair of points forms a segment that is parallel to either axes, a pair of points is said to be good if their segment gradient is positive. For which $k$ can there exist a set of $n$ points with exactly $k$ good pairs? (Proposed by Ivan Chan Kai Chin)