Partition Problems and a Pattern of Vertical Sums

  • Eunice Krinsky California State University, Dominguez Hills
  • Serban Raianu California State University, Dominguez Hills
  • Alexander Wittmond California State University, Dominguez Hills
Keywords: congruence modulo an integer; partitions of sets; partitions of integers

Abstract

We give a possible explanation for the mystery of a missing number in the statement of a problem that asks for the non-negative integers to be partitioned into three subsets. Based on a pattern of sums of certain elements in the three sets, we find a more standard solution to the problem, using only congruence modulo five. We also show that the original statement plays a special role among all statements that satisfy the same pattern of the sums.

Published
2018-01-05
How to Cite
Krinsky, E., Raianu, S., & Wittmond, A. (2018). Partition Problems and a Pattern of Vertical Sums. The PUMP Journal of Undergraduate Research, 1, 30-47. https://doi.org/10.46787/pump.v1i0.149