MathDB
Choosing squares in an array that do not form a rectangle

Source: Czech-Polish-Slovak Match, 2010

August 8, 2011
geometryrectanglecalculuslinear algebramatrixanalytic geometrynumber theory

Problem Statement

Let pp be a prime number. Prove that from a p2×p2p^2\times p^2 array of squares, we can select p3p^3 of the squares such that the centers of any four of the selected squares are not the vertices of a rectangle with sides parallel to the edges of the array.