Question 13
Let $n\gt 1$ be an integer. Suppose we are given $2 n$ points in a plane such that no three of them are collinear. The points are to be labelled $A_{1}, A_{2}, \ldots, A_{2 n}$ in some order. We then consider the $2 n$ angles $\angle A_{1} A_{2} A_{3}, \angle A_{2} A_{3} A_{4}, \ldots, \angle A_{2 n-2} A_{2 n-1} A_{2 n}, \angle A_{2 n-1} A_{2 n} A_{1}$, $\angle A_{2 n} A_{1} A_{2}$. We measure each angle in the way that gives the smallest positive value (i.e. between $0^{\circ}$ and $180^{\circ}$ ). Prove that there exists an ordering of the given points such that the resulting $2 n$ angles can be separated into two groups with the sum of one group of angles equal to the sum of the other group.
Comment. The first three solutions all use the same construction involving a line separating the points into groups of $n$ points each, but give different proofs that this construction works. Although Solution 1 is very short, the Problem Selection Committee does not believe any of the solutions is easy to find and thus rates this as a problem of medium difficulty.
Comment. The first three solutions all use the same construction involving a line separating the points into groups of $n$ points each, but give different proofs that this construction works. Although Solution 1 is very short, the Problem Selection Committee does not believe any of the solutions is easy to find and thus rates this as a problem of medium difficulty.