Solving for the smallest upper bound b on V
We need to find the smallest possible upper bound b for a true number V based on the medians observed over five days (670, 650, 671, 684, 686). The bounds should satisfy a≤V≤b, and our goal is to determine the maximal possible V. I'll find the smallest b ensuring this.
Finding smallest possible upper bound b
I need to determine the smallest possible upper bound b, ensuring it satisfies the given conditions. There are even numbers of students, and their sparrow counts can overlap between students but can't exceed V. There are also rules about the range of differences between counts. I'll find the maximum possible V while considering all constraints.
Determining the maximum possible V
We know the counts must have a minimum difference of 6 and a maximum difference of 25, defining the possible range. The number of students n is even, and the medians are integers, implying that the two middle counts from each day sum to an even number. We need to find the maximum V possible across all days while adhering to these constraints.
Determining possible student counts
I need to determine a valid multiset of student counts such that the difference between any two counts is at least 6 and at most 25. This implies the range from the smallest to largest count should be between 6 and 25, and adjacent counts should differ by at least 6. Given all these constraints, the number of students n can be 2 or 4, but not 0.
Checking n=2 and n=4 configurations across all days
I need to check if solutions for n=2 or n=4 can satisfy conditions for all days simultaneously. For n=2, the two counts must sum to an even number, constrained by the median, with the difference of 6 to 25. For n=4, the four counts have spacing restrictions but must maintain consistent differences. The goal is to maximize V, ensuring it works across all days.
Maximizing V while maintaining consistency across days
To maximize V, the top count on any day should stay consistent and not exceed V, even if one day achieves the full count. We need to compute the possible maximum on each day, deducing the largest V that works across days given the constraints. We'll set V as the largest possible top count on any day.
Maximizing V within constraints of medians and counts
To maximize V, I need to determine the highest possible top count xn for each day's median while respecting the range and difference constraints. The maximum xn depends on the median, and for each day, the largest possible V must work across all days. I'll compute this systematically.
Verifying count constraints for consistent V across days
The maximal possible V with n=2 is 698, which fits with median 686 and d=24, yielding counts that align with constraints. The differences must remain between 6 and 25, while ensuring counts on other days stay ≤698. As long as V is fixed and conditions are met, the solution remains feasible.
Exploring constraints and maximizing V with n=4
So with n=2, V can be 698, but I’m considering if n=4 could allow a larger V. The median, which is the average of x2 and x3, influences the potential max count. Given the constraints on pair differences, the max could be close to the median plus 25, maybe higher than with n=2. Let me compute this properly for n=4.
Maximizing x4 with m as constraint
I need to maximize x4 under given constraints. To do this, I want x1 as large as possible, so I set x1 = x2 - 6 (the minimum gap), and then calculate x4’s max as x2 + 19. From here, I compute x3 based on the median and calculate the possible range for x3 and x2. Finally, I maximize x4.
Verifying maximum V and constraints
To maximize V, I chose the median (m) of 686, which leads to a max V of 702. I checked the constraints, ensuring that differences between values meet the requirements of being at least 6 but not exceeding 25. After checking and verifying for all days and medians, 702 seems to be the largest feasible V with n=4.
Verifying maximum possible V
I've ensured that the maximum possible value for V is 702, which works for the given constraints. While I tried testing for V=703, I found contradictions that showed it's impossible. The configuration with V=702 satisfies all constraints, and no other configurations seem to allow a higher value. So 702 is confirmed as the maximum.
Thought for 4m 10s