• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 13:05
CEST 19:05
KST 02:05
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S Season 1 - RO12 Group A: Rogue, Percival, Solar, Zoun9[ASL21] Ro8 Preview Pt1: Inheritors16[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt2: All Star10Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists21[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Fresh Flow9
Community News
2026 GSL Season 1 Qualifiers25Maestros of the Game 2 announced92026 GSL Tour plans announced15Weekly Cups (April 6-12): herO doubles, "Villains" prevail1MaNa leaves Team Liquid25
StarCraft 2
General
Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists Code S Season 1 - RO12 Group A: Rogue, Percival, Solar, Zoun Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool MaNa leaves Team Liquid Maestros of the Game 2 announced
Tourneys
SC2 INu's Battles#15 <BO.9 2Matches> GSL Code S Season 1 (2026) WardiTV Spring Cup RSL Revival: Season 5 - Qualifiers and Main Event SEL Masters #6 - Solar vs Classic (SC: Evo)
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 523 Firewall Mutation # 522 Flip My Base Mutation # 521 Memorable Boss
Brood War
General
ASL21 General Discussion [TOOL] Starcraft Chat Translator JaeDong's ASL S21 Ro16 Post-Review Missed out on ASL tickets - what are my options? BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/
Tourneys
Small VOD Thread 2.0 [ASL21] Ro8 Day 2 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Korean KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Any training maps people recommend?
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Daigo vs Menard Best of 10 Nintendo Switch Thread Dawn of War IV Diablo IV
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread 3D technology/software discussion Canadian Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion McBoner: A hockey love story
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
streaming software Strange computer issues (software) [G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Sexual Health Of Gamers
TrAiDoS
lurker extra damage testi…
StaticNine
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 2828 users

Math Problem

Blogs > motbob
Post a Reply
Normal
motbob
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States12546 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-06 15:06:49
February 06 2009 13:49 GMT
#1
So I've got this set "S" of non-negative integers. I can add two numbers from this set "S" in order to get every integer 0-100 (I can add numbers to themselves, for example 9+9 to get 18). For example, my set "S" has both 99 and 1, so the number 100 is covered. So is the number 98 since my set has the numbers 89 and 9. My set has 19 elements in it. Is there a set that I can come up with that has fewer elements?

My set:
+ Show Spoiler +
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89, 99



*
ModeratorGood content always wins.
ninjafetus
Profile Joined December 2008
United States231 Posts
February 06 2009 14:15 GMT
#2
Hmmm... interesting question! That set seems minimal to me, but I'm note sure how to show it. I'll think about it.
minus_human
Profile Blog Joined November 2006
4784 Posts
February 06 2009 14:50 GMT
#3
I don't understand your problem
motbob
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States12546 Posts
February 06 2009 15:07 GMT
#4
On February 06 2009 23:50 minus_human wrote:
I don't understand your problem

OK, I tried to clarify it.
ModeratorGood content always wins.
o3.power91
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
Bahrain5288 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-06 15:27:01
February 06 2009 15:26 GMT
#5
hmm... interesting question.

edit: i just noticed i have the exact same comment as the first reply XD
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
February 06 2009 15:49 GMT
#6
no
my set:
S{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}
and 10n+a from n=1 to n=9 where a is an integer between -1 and 10
FaCE_1
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
Canada6184 Posts
February 06 2009 16:20 GMT
#7
^ I don't think this fallow the ops rules O_o
n_n
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
February 06 2009 16:28 GMT
#8
how so...
Divinek
Profile Blog Joined November 2006
Canada4045 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-06 16:35:27
February 06 2009 16:30 GMT
#9
On February 07 2009 01:28 Saracen wrote:
how so...


because his set has to be able to add every number to get 1-100, not multiply it afterwards to do so.

er right, you need 0 for 1, duh.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Oh goodness me, FOX tv where do you get your sight? Can't you keep track, the puck is black. That's why the ice is white.
huameng
Profile Blog Joined April 2007
United States1133 Posts
February 06 2009 16:34 GMT
#10
Yeah, he needs the 0 to be able to make 1, 19, 29, etc.

To the OP: I think you have the correct solution
skating
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
February 06 2009 16:35 GMT
#11
On February 07 2009 01:30 Divinek wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 07 2009 01:28 Saracen wrote:
how so...


because his set has to be able to add every number to get 1-100, not multiply it afterwards to do so.

also op why do you have 0 in your set, is that required?

which is what my set does
{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90}
or
{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,21,31,41,51,61,71,81,91}
or
{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,12,22,32,42,52,62,72,82,92}
...
and yes, 0 is required
LTT
Profile Blog Joined March 2003
Shakuras1095 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-06 16:42:23
February 06 2009 16:41 GMT
#12
There is more than 1 solution. You can also get it with

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 26, 35, 44, 53, 62, 71, 80, 89, 98
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89, 99
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 32, 43, 54, 65, 76, 87, 98
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 35, 47, 59, 71, 83, 95
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 25, 38, 51, 64, 77, 90

There are also variations of those. Take his example using 0-9 as his "base".
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

All of the above have 19 terms.

The total possible summations for a set S(n) containing n elements is C(n,2) + n. From this we can gather tht the absolute minimum of terms to even get 100 summations is 14.

C(14,2) + 14 = 105

You will need at least 14 elements to even have a chance of covering 0-100. Whether any below 19 elements can actually cover...dunno.
blapsd
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
England121 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-06 16:54:13
February 06 2009 16:42 GMT
#13
Ok, look at how many numbers you get in your set:

First im going to split the set up into 2 subsets the 1st subset consists of the consecutive numbers 0 - 9 and the second subset consists of the rest.

We can change the number of integers in our first set and this directly affects how many integers we need in our second. I'm going to call the number we go up to in our first set x (in your case this is 9)

ok now lets count how many numbers we have

x + 1 in the first subset (the +1 is because of the 0)

Now we need to make 101 numbers in total (101 because of the 0 remember) and we now have 101 - x numbers left to make. Now we need a number in our second subset for every x+1th number from x to 100.....for example you needed a number every 9+1 times in your 2nd subset.

Now we add up the total number of integers we have:

x+1 (from the first subset) + (100 - x)/(x + 1) (from the second subset)

now form the equation :

y = x + 1 + (100-x)/(x+1) This is the equation for the number of integers in our set. we need to MINIMISE this

To do this we simply differentiate to get (TIP: USE THE QUOTIENT RULE)

dy/dx = 1 + (-101)/((x+1)^2)

put this equal to zero and you finally get x is around 9.05 rounded up a little.

This therefore means for the number of integers in your set to be minimum you need x = 9

NOTE: we are only working in integers and you are allowed to round down due to there being remainders when you divide 101-x by x+1. If you're not convinced just test it for x = 9 and x=10 because i've proved the answer lies between 9 and 10

so you were right x = 9 or putting it back into the equation for y, y = 19.1 (which we are allowed to round down to the nearest integer also) so the minimum number of integers is 19.

which means your set is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89, 99

also note theres other sets that allow 19 numbers but no sets that contain less than 19

Hope that wasnt too hard to follow.
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
February 06 2009 16:46 GMT
#14
On February 07 2009 01:41 LTT wrote:
There is more than 1 solution. You can also get it with

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 26, 35, 44, 53, 62, 71, 80, 89, 98
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89, 99
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 32, 43, 54, 65, 76, 87, 98
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 35, 47, 59, 71, 83, 95
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 25, 38, 51, 64, 77, 90

no you can't
unless you can repeat numbers, but then you wouldn't need 0
motbob
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States12546 Posts
February 06 2009 16:54 GMT
#15
Thanks everyone. I think if no one came up with a set of fewer elements then there probably isn't one. I knew about the other solutions using 19 elements, but I wasn't sure if there was some crazy outside-the-box way of doing it that I hadn't thought of.
ModeratorGood content always wins.
motbob
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States12546 Posts
February 06 2009 16:55 GMT
#16
On February 07 2009 01:46 Saracen wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 07 2009 01:41 LTT wrote:
There is more than 1 solution. You can also get it with

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 26, 35, 44, 53, 62, 71, 80, 89, 98
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89, 99
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 32, 43, 54, 65, 76, 87, 98
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 35, 47, 59, 71, 83, 95
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 25, 38, 51, 64, 77, 90

no you can't
unless you can repeat numbers, but then you wouldn't need 0

One, you can repeat numbers (it's in the OP) and two, you need zero for 1 (0+1).
ModeratorGood content always wins.
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-06 16:58:27
February 06 2009 16:55 GMT
#17
Cooler constraint: pick three numbers from the set to add up to any integer between 1 and 100
the numbers don't have to be non-negative

!

On February 07 2009 01:55 motbob wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 07 2009 01:46 Saracen wrote:
On February 07 2009 01:41 LTT wrote:
There is more than 1 solution. You can also get it with

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 26, 35, 44, 53, 62, 71, 80, 89, 98
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89, 99
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 32, 43, 54, 65, 76, 87, 98
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 35, 47, 59, 71, 83, 95
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 25, 38, 51, 64, 77, 90

no you can't
unless you can repeat numbers, but then you wouldn't need 0

One, you can repeat numbers (it's in the OP) and two, you need zero for 1 (0+1).


missed that sorry :\
StRyKeR
Profile Blog Joined January 2006
United States1739 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-06 17:01:50
February 06 2009 17:00 GMT
#18
On February 07 2009 01:42 blapsd wrote:
Ok, look at how many numbers you get in your set:

First im going to split the set up into 2 subsets the 1st subset consists of the consecutive numbers 0 - 9 and the second subset consists of the rest.

We can change the number of integers in our first set and this directly affects how many integers we need in our second. I'm going to call the number we go up to in our first set x (in your case this is 9)

ok now lets count how many numbers we have

x + 1 in the first subset (the +1 is because of the 0)

Now we need to make 101 numbers in total (101 because of the 0 remember) and we now have 101 - x numbers left to make.


This isn't true because the (x+1) numbers in the first subset account for more than x+1 numbers from 0 to 101. For example, having {0, 1, 4, 6} hits the set {0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12}, since you are allowed to double numbers and also take pairs of numbers. In this case, while you have 4 elements from 0 to 9, you actually need to cover only 101 - 10 = 91 numbers now.

There are issues with the rest of your argument because of this fact -- a set of numbers can generate more than its own size.
Ars longa, vita brevis, principia aeturna.
StRyKeR
Profile Blog Joined January 2006
United States1739 Posts
February 06 2009 17:03 GMT
#19
You can show that you need at least 14, but it's still up in the air as to whether 19 is minimal.
Ars longa, vita brevis, principia aeturna.
blapsd
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
England121 Posts
February 06 2009 17:08 GMT
#20
+ Show Spoiler +
This isn't true because the (x+1) numbers in the first subset account for more than x+1 numbers from 0 to 101. For example, having {0, 1, 4, 6} hits the set {0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12}, since you are allowed to double numbers and also take pairs of numbers.

Now we need a number in our second subset for every x+1th number from x to 100.....for example you needed a number every 9+1 times in your 2nd subset.

There are other issues with the rest of the argument because of this fact -- a set of numbers can generate more than its own size.


yes but remember you are only allowed to make one addition. If you doubled 6 to get 12 for example, you could never add 12 to any other numbers since we've used our 1 addition already. The first subset needs to be a list of numbers you can still add to the others in the 2nd subset, and hence cant be made by doubling or adding.

minus_human
Profile Blog Joined November 2006
4784 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-02-06 21:31:49
February 06 2009 21:31 GMT
#21
On February 07 2009 00:07 motbob wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 06 2009 23:50 minus_human wrote:
I don't understand your problem

OK, I tried to clarify it.


Thanks, I get it now

but I think it's covered by now, darn you TL math nerds
ninjafetus
Profile Joined December 2008
United States231 Posts
February 07 2009 00:17 GMT
#22
I'm 99% sure 19 is minimal. I was writing a big diagonal set argument, but I realized that it's not completely general and didn't want to bother it it wasn't completely correct. I'm pretty sure you're good with 19.
Normal
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 15h 55m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
LamboSC2 255
TKL 155
UpATreeSC 90
BRAT_OK 56
MindelVK 17
StarCraft: Brood War
GuemChi 5331
Sea 2663
Larva 458
HiyA 447
Hyuk 220
actioN 219
Backho 135
Rush 125
Zeus 107
firebathero 103
[ Show more ]
Sexy 86
ToSsGirL 71
Movie 67
yabsab 59
Pusan 46
Bale 45
Sacsri 24
Shine 23
Rock 23
soO 22
IntoTheRainbow 10
Counter-Strike
fl0m4317
byalli331
adren_tv77
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu30
Other Games
FrodaN998
B2W.Neo918
crisheroes174
KnowMe96
ceh980
QueenE74
Fuzer 55
Trikslyr53
C9.Mang043
mouzStarbuck6
Organizations
Other Games
BasetradeTV237
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream92
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 18 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• musti20045 130
• Kozan
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Migwel
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
StarCraft: Brood War
• HerbMon 27
• blackmanpl 23
• Michael_bg 8
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
League of Legends
• Nemesis1742
• TFBlade1022
Counter-Strike
• Shiphtur177
Other Games
• imaqtpie34
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
15h 55m
Escore
16h 55m
INu's Battles
17h 55m
Classic vs ByuN
SHIN vs ByuN
OSC
19h 55m
Big Brain Bouts
22h 55m
Replay Cast
1d 6h
Replay Cast
1d 15h
RSL Revival
1d 16h
Classic vs GgMaChine
Rogue vs Maru
WardiTV Invitational
1d 17h
IPSL
1d 22h
Ret vs Art_Of_Turtle
Radley vs TBD
[ Show More ]
BSL
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
herO vs TriGGeR
NightMare vs Solar
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
2 days
BSL
3 days
IPSL
3 days
eOnzErG vs TBD
G5 vs Nesh
Patches Events
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
Wardi Open
3 days
Afreeca Starleague
3 days
Jaedong vs Light
Monday Night Weeklies
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
Afreeca Starleague
4 days
Snow vs Flash
WardiTV Invitational
4 days
GSL
5 days
Classic vs Cure
Maru vs Rogue
GSL
6 days
SHIN vs Zoun
ByuN vs herO
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-04-29
WardiTV TLMC #16
Nations Cup 2026

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
2026 GSL S1
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W5
KK 2v2 League Season 1
Acropolis #4
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Maestros of the Game 2
2026 GSL S2
RSL Revival: Season 5
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.