Write down the positive integers in an increscent order. Then if a number can be expressed in an formula, where , and are distinct non-negativ integers, then color the number to red! Find the red number (from the left).
Hint: Use base 2.
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Without loss of generosity, suppose x > y > z . We are essentially sorting the tuple ( x , y , z ) and find the 100-th number.
When x < 9 there are only ( 3 9 ) = 8 4 < 1 0 0 combinations of ( x , y , z ) while x ≤ 9 has ( 3 1 0 ) = 1 2 0 > 1 0 0 combinations. Hence, x = 9 .
Next, we want to find the 1 0 0 − 8 4 = 1 6 -th tuple ( y , z ) . When y < 6 , there are only ( 2 6 ) = 1 5 < 1 6 combinations of ( y , z ) while y ≤ 6 has ( 2 7 ) = 2 1 > 1 6 combinations. Hence, y = 6 .
Finally, z is the 1 6 − 1 5 = 1 -st number, which is simply 0. So the answer is 2 9 + 2 6 + 2 0 = 5 7 7 .
I can write the generalised solution, but there are too many interesting problems from @Áron Bán-Szabó that are waiting for me to solve!