USAMO 2007
Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 12:55 pm
An 'animal' with $n$ 'cells' is a connected figure consisting of $n$ equal-sized cells[1].
A dinosaur is an animal with at least $2007$ cells. It is said to be primitive it its cells cannot be partitioned into two or more dinosaurs. Find with proof the maximum number of cells in a primitive dinosaur.
[1]Animals are also called polyominoes. They can be defined inductively. Two cells are adjacent if they share a complete edge. A single cell is an animal, and given an animal with $n$ cells, one with $n+1$ cells is obtained by adjoining a new cell by making it adjacent to one or more existing cells.
A dinosaur is an animal with at least $2007$ cells. It is said to be primitive it its cells cannot be partitioned into two or more dinosaurs. Find with proof the maximum number of cells in a primitive dinosaur.
[1]Animals are also called polyominoes. They can be defined inductively. Two cells are adjacent if they share a complete edge. A single cell is an animal, and given an animal with $n$ cells, one with $n+1$ cells is obtained by adjoining a new cell by making it adjacent to one or more existing cells.