MathLabs

Problem 3

Twenty-one girls and twenty-one boys took part in a mathematical contest. Each contestant solved at most six problems. For each girl and each boy, at least one problem was solved by both of them. Prove that there was a problem solved by at least three girls and at least three boys.
Step 3 of 5: Bound labels with few girls
In plain words

Each boy solves at most six problems.

NG≤21⋅10=210N_G\le21\cdot10=210
Detailed analysis

Fix a boy. At least one of his at most six problems is solved by at least three girls, since 6⋅2<216\cdot2<21. Thus at most five of his problems have at most two girl solvers, contributing at most 5⋅2=105\cdot2=10 cells. Hence NG≤210 N_G\le210.