MathDB
Operations on circular necklaces

Source: ICMC 7 Round 2 Problem 2

March 12, 2024
combinatorics

Problem Statement

Let n3n\geqslant 3 be a positive integer. A circular necklace is called fun if it has nn{} black beads and nn{} white beads. A move consists of cutting out a segment of consecutive beads and reattaching it in reverse. Prove that it is possible to change any fun necklace into any other fun necklace using at most (n1)(n-1) moves.
Note: Necklaces related by rotations or reflections are considered to be the same.
Proposed by Dylan Toh