MathLabs

Problem 2

Suppose 997 points are given in the plane. Every segment joining two points has its midpoint coloured red. Prove that there are at least 1991 red points. Find a special case with exactly 1991 red points.
Step 2 of 4: Select two families of midpoints
mi=yi+yi+12(1≤i≤996),ni=yi+yi+22(1≤i≤995).m_i=\frac{y_i+y_{i+1}}2\quad(1\le i\le996),\qquad n_i=\frac{y_i+y_{i+2}}2\quad(1\le i\le995).
Detailed analysis

The numbers m_i and n_i are y-coordinates of midpoints of actual segments, so distinct values correspond to distinct red points.