IMO 1994 Q1 #
Let m and n be two positive integers.
Let a₁, a₂, ..., aₘ be m different numbers from the set {1, 2, ..., n}
such that for any two indices i and j with 1 ≤ i ≤ j ≤ m and aᵢ + aⱼ ≤ n,
there exists an index k such that aᵢ + aⱼ = aₖ.
Show that (a₁+a₂+...+aₘ)/m ≥ (n+1)/2
Sketch of solution #
We can order the numbers so that a₁ ≤ a₂ ≤ ... ≤ aₘ.
The key idea is to pair the numbers in the sum and show that aᵢ + aₘ₊₁₋ᵢ ≥ n+1.
Indeed, if we had aᵢ + aₘ₊₁₋ᵢ ≤ n, then a₁ + aₘ₊₁₋ᵢ, a₂ + aₘ₊₁₋ᵢ, ..., aᵢ + aₘ₊₁₋ᵢ
would be m elements of the set of aᵢ's all larger than aₘ₊₁₋ᵢ, which is impossible.