MathDB
TOT 542 1997 Spring S A3 - 20 weights

Source:

September 11, 2024
combinatoricsweighings

Problem Statement

You are given 2020 weights such that any object of integer weight mm, 1m19971 \le m \le1997, can be balanced by placing it on one pan of a balance and a subset of the weights on the other pan. What is the minimal value of largest of the 2020 weights if the weights are (a) all integers; (b) not necessarily integers?
(M Rasin)