Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 4.8 AIME Find the answer

Find the number of ways in which the nine numbers 1,12,123,1234,,1234567891,12,123,1234, \ldots, 123456789 can be arranged in a row so that adjacent numbers are relatively prime.

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

The six numbers 12,123,12345,123456,1234567812,123,12345,123456,12345678, and 123456789 are divisible by 3 , so they cannot be adjacent. However, arranging six numbers in a row with no two adjacent requires at least 11 numbers, which is impossible.

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Source: Omni-MATH, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.