MathDB
Intersection of all these sets is empty

Source: IMO Longlist 1989, Problem 60

September 18, 2008
combinatorics unsolvedcombinatorics

Problem Statement

A family of sets A1,A2,,An A_1, A_2, \ldots ,A_n has the following properties: (i) Each Ai A_i contains 30 elements. (ii) AiAj A_i \cap A_j contains exactly one element for all i,j,1i<jn. i, j, 1 \leq i < j \leq n. Determine the largest possible n n if the intersection of all these sets is empty.