APMO 2011 Problem 4

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samiul_samin
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APMO 2011 Problem 4

Unread post by samiul_samin » Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:37 pm

Let $n$ be a fixed positive odd integer. Take $m+2$ distinct points $P_0,P_1,\ldots ,P_{m+1}$ (where $m$ is a non-negative integer) on the coordinate plane in such a way that the following three conditions are satisfied:
1) $P_0=(0,1),P_{m+1}=(n+1,n)$, and for each integer $i,1\le i\le m$, both $x$- and $y$- coordinates of $P_i$ are integers lying in between $1$ and $n$ ($1$ and $n$ inclusive).
2) For each integer $i,0\le i\le m$, $P_iP_{i+1}$ is parallel to the $x$-axis if $i$ is even, and is parallel to the $y$-axis if $i$ is odd.
3) For each pair $i,j$ with $0\le i<j\le m$, line segments $P_iP_{i+1}$ and $P_jP_{j+1}$ share at most $1$ point.
Determine the maximum possible value that $m$ can take.

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