HANOI letters in a 2x5 rectangle (HOMC 2019 JI-15)
Source:
November 7, 2020
combinatorics
Problem Statement
Given a rectangle is divided into unit squares as figure below.
https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/6/a/9432bbf40f6d89ee1cbb507e1a3f65326c6a13.png
How many ways are there to write the letters into all of the unit squares, such that two neighbor squares (the squares with a common side) do not contain the same letters? (Each unit square is filled by only one letter and each letter may be used several times or not used as well.)