MathDB
Process combo again

Source: Iberoamerican 2022, Day 2, P1

September 29, 2022
combinatorics

Problem Statement

Let n>2n> 2 be a positive integer. Given is a horizontal row of nn cells where each cell is painted blue or red. We say that a block is a sequence of consecutive boxes of the same color. Arepito the crab is initially standing at the leftmost cell. On each turn, he counts the number mm of cells belonging to the largest block containing the square he is on, and does one of the following:
If the square he is on is blue and there are at least mm squares to the right of him, Arepito moves mm squares to the right;
If the square he is in is red and there are at least mm squares to the left of him, Arepito moves mm cells to the left;
In any other case, he stays on the same square and does not move any further.
For each nn, determine the smallest integer kk for which there is an initial coloring of the row with kk blue cells, for which Arepito will reach the rightmost cell.