Questions tagged [combinatorics]
For challenges involving combinatorics.
242
questions
28
votes
21answers
3k views
Brute-force the switchboard
The other day, our team went to an escape room. One of the puzzles involved a board of six mechanical switches where you had to find the correct combination of on and off in order to unlock a box, ...
8
votes
1answer
168 views
Compute my Sacred Geometry [closed]
In the tabletop RPG named Pathfinder, there is a feat that characters can take called Sacred Geometry, which allows a character who has it to buff their spells in exchange for doing some math: to use ...
-1
votes
3answers
203 views
Find all a, b, c, d, e, such that a + b + c + d + e = 1000 with no more than 3 loops [closed]
The rule is:
a, b, c, d, e is an integer from 0 to 1000, no relation between ...
3
votes
1answer
201 views
Multiplication in the Steenrod Algebra
Here's yet another Steenrod algebra question. Summary of the algorithm: I have a procedure that replaces a list of positive integers with a list of lists of positive integers. You need to repeatedly ...
16
votes
11answers
1k views
Generate basis elements of the Steenrod algebra
The Steenrod algebra is an important algebra that comes up in algebraic topology. The Steenrod algebra is generated by operators called "Steenrod squares," one exists for each positive integer i. ...
1
vote
0answers
86 views
Finding row wise sum of transpose of hv-convex binary matrix [closed]
I'm stuck on a problem involving the Gale-Ryser Theorem. The problem's input gives me the row-wise sum of an hv-convex binary matrix(n*m).
...
35
votes
21answers
4k views
Amount of permutations on an NxNxN Rubik's Cube
Introduction:
A 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube has \$43,252,003,274,489,856,000\$ possible permutations, which is approximately 43 quintillion. You may have heard about this number before, but how is it actually ...
13
votes
3answers
363 views
Counting the number of restricted forests on the Möbius ladder of length n
OEIS sequence A020872 counts the number of restricted forests on the Möbius ladder Mn.
The Challenge
The challenge is to write a program that takes an integer as an input ...
20
votes
8answers
809 views
Cycles on the torus
Challenge
This challenge will have you write a program that takes in two integers n and m and outputs the number non-...
6
votes
2answers
290 views
Buy the most appropriate items
A store is having a big sale.
If your price reaches $199 or more, you can reduce it by $100.
You can buy each product only once.
Here's an example list of products: (in order to simplify, the names of ...
6
votes
2answers
417 views
Check if all vowels exist in pairs of strings [closed]
Your program should find the number of string pairs (pairs of 2) that contain all vowels (a e i o u), when given an integer N and ...
13
votes
6answers
307 views
Unique Brick Tilings Within A Rectangle
I was browsing Stackoverflow and saw this question about tiling an MxN rectangle, and I thought it would be great for golfing. Here is the task.
Given the dimension M and N, write a program that ...
6
votes
5answers
295 views
Generate the k-ary necklaces of length n
The set of necklaces is the set of strings, where two strings are considered to be the same necklace if you can rotate one into the other. Your program will take nonnegative integers ...
17
votes
1answer
282 views
Partition a square grid into parts of equal area
This challenge is based on the following puzzle: You are given an n by n grid with n cells ...
16
votes
4answers
689 views
Number of \$n\$-carbon alkanes
Given a positive number \$n\$, find the number of alkanes with \$n\$ carbon atoms, ignoring stereoisomers; or equivalently, the number of unlabeled trees with \$n\$ nodes, such that every node has ...
18
votes
9answers
2k views
Partitioning the grid into triangles
Goal
The goal of this challenge is to produce a function of n which computes the number of ways to partition the n X 1 grid ...
10
votes
3answers
430 views
Arbitrary Randomness (Speed edition)
Given integer n, calculate a set of n random unique integers in range 1..n^2 (inclusive) ...
26
votes
24answers
3k views
Arbitrary Randomness
Randomness is fun. Challenges with no point are fun.
Write a function that, given integer input n, will output a set (unordered, unique) of exactly ...
4
votes
2answers
283 views
Find arrays with distinct subarray sums
Consider an array A of length n. The array contains only integers in the range 1 to ...
8
votes
1answer
809 views
Count arrays that are really unique
This is a follow up to Count arrays that make unique sets . The significant difference is the definition of uniqueness.
Consider an array A of length ...
0
votes
4answers
444 views
Fastest algorithm to output array containing all integers in range excluding duplicate digits
Input is a single integer in ascending digit order.
The only valid inputs are:
12
123
1234
...
6
votes
4answers
157 views
Seeking Substantial Subcollections
(thanks to @JonathanFrech for the title)
Challenge
Write a program or function that, given a collection of positive integers \$S\$ and a positive integer \$n\$, finds as many non-overlapping ...
11
votes
3answers
470 views
Count arrays that make unique sets
This question has a similar set up to Find an array that fits a set of sums although is quite different in its goals.
Consider an array A of length ...
9
votes
12answers
1k views
Different combinations possible
Problem
Given a value n, imagine a mountain landscape inscribed in a reference (0, 0) to (2n, 0).
There musn't be white spaces between slopes and also the mountain musn't descend below the x axis.
...
12
votes
2answers
280 views
Removing points from a triangular array without losing triangles
I have a combinatorics problem that I'd like to put on the OEIS—the problem is that I don't have enough terms. This code challenge is to help me compute more terms, and the winner will be the user ...
19
votes
12answers
2k views
Socket - Plug compatibility
Traveling with electronics is always fun, especially when you need an adapter to charge them. Your challenge is to make planning a trip a little easier by checking if a given plug will be compatible ...
28
votes
4answers
771 views
Smallest region of the plane that contains all free n-ominoes
On Math Stack Exchange, I asked a question about the smallest region that can contain all free n-ominos.
I'd like to add this sequence to the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences once I have ...
13
votes
12answers
1k views
Fun with strings and numbers
Here's a programming puzzle for you:
Given a list of pairs of strings and corresponding numbers, for example, [[A,37],[B,27],[C,21],[D,11],[E,10],[F,9],[G,3],[H,2]]...
16
votes
27answers
3k views
The Unique Padlock PIN List!
Introduction
In a private chat, a friend of mine apparently recently stumbled across a security system which has the following two restrictions on its valid pins:
Each digit must be unique (that is "...
10
votes
22answers
2k views
Cartesian product of a list with itself n times
When given a a list of values and a positive integer n, your code should output the cartesian product of the list with itself n ...
24
votes
34answers
2k views
Sign-Swapping Sums
Given a nonempty list of positive integers \$(x, y, z, \dots)\$, your job is to determine the number of unique values of \$\pm x \pm y \pm z \pm \dots\$
For example, consider the list \$(1, 2, 2)\$. ...
9
votes
4answers
509 views
Count the number of ways of putting balls into bins
In this task you are given an odd number of white balls and the same number of black balls. The task is to count all the ways of putting the balls into bins so that in each bin there is an odd number ...
16
votes
1answer
317 views
Permutations such that no k+2 points fall on any polynomial of degree k
Description
Let a permutation of the integers {1, 2, ..., n} be called minimally interpolable if no set of k+2 points (together ...
3
votes
2answers
75 views
Count stacking sequences [duplicate]
Given a list of stack heights, calculate the number of ways those heights could have been arrived at by stacking blocks one at a time. Shortest code wins.
Test cases:
...
16
votes
1answer
294 views
Counting polystrips
Polystrips are a subset of polyominoes conforming to the following rules:
each piece consist of 1 or more cells
no cell can have more than two neighbours
the cells should not enclose a hole
Free ...
8
votes
17answers
822 views
Sum of combinations with repetition
Write the shortest code you can solving the following problem:
Input:
An integer X with 2 <= X and X <= 100
Output:
...
17
votes
8answers
811 views
Conjugate permutations
A permutation of size n is a reordering of the first n positive integers. (meaning each integer appears once and exactly once). Permutations can be treated like functions that change the order of a ...
14
votes
8answers
444 views
Deranged Rearrangements
Your task is to write a computer program such that when it is cut up into lines (split on the newline character) every arrangement of the lines will output a different number between 1 and n! (where n ...
7
votes
6answers
425 views
Alice's Tea Party
There are n places set around a circular table. Alice is sat on one of them. At each place, there's a cake. Alice eats her cake, but it doesn't taste very nice. Then the Mad Hatter comes in. He gives ...
23
votes
26answers
2k views
Find The Rank Of A Word
Definition
The rank of a word is defined as the position of the word when all the possible permutations (or arrangements) of its letters are arranged alphabetically, like in a dictionary, no matter ...
12
votes
4answers
229 views
Compute number of matrices with appropriate sums
When multiplying monomials in the Milnor basis for the Steenrod algebra, part of the algorithm involves enumerating certain "allowable matrices".
Given two lists of nonnegative integers r1, ... ,rm ...
14
votes
16answers
872 views
Mod 2 Multinomial coefficients
quintopia has posted here a challenge to compute multinomial coefficients (some of the text here is copied from there). There is a fun algorithm to compute multinomial coefficients mod 2.
Given a ...
13
votes
5answers
318 views
Integer triangles with perimeter less than n
Definition
An "integer triangle" is one with integer coordinates. For example the following triangle is an integer triangle:
...
22
votes
3answers
807 views
Loop It
Note: The title of this question should be "Loop It", but because title needs to be at least 15 characters, there are some invisible spaces. This note is such that the challenge can be searched for.
...
19
votes
14answers
2k views
Is it a shuffle?
Yesterday I asked this question about riffle shuffles. It seems that yesterdays question was a bit too hard so this question is a related but much easier task.
Today you are asked to determine if a ...
19
votes
23answers
2k views
Single swaps of an array
Inspired by Taken from a question at Stack Overflow.
The challenge
Given an integer n>1, output all arrays that can be obtained by swapping exactly two entries ...
18
votes
2answers
462 views
How many shuffles
A riffle shuffle is a type of shuffle where the deck is split into two partitions and the partitions are then spliced back together to create a new shuffled deck.
The cards are spliced together in ...
8
votes
4answers
201 views
Prefixless Palindromes
Write a program or function that takes N, and S and outputs the number of palindromes of length S you can build using an alphabet of size N such that any prefix of size between 2 and S-1 is not a ...
9
votes
4answers
265 views
Now we're thinking in n dimensions!
The question: Given an a number n ≥ 2, how many distinct pairs of points on an n-dimensional ...
16
votes
9answers
694 views
XKCD Calendar Facts
Inspiration. Posted with permission.
Print one of the possible XKCD calendar "facts":
You can get the raw text and structure from my APL reference implementation or from Explain XKCD's transcript (...
