Given any set of 99 irrational numbers, what is the maximum number of them that we can pick, so that the sum of any 2 of these picked numbers is still irrational?
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We represent the numbers like a vertices of a graph. We link to vertices, if the sum of them is rational.
Suppose there is an odd circle in the graph. Then if the numbers in this circle are a 1 , a 2 , … a 2 n + 1 , then a 1 + a 2 + ⋯ + a 2 n + 1 = S is rational, because ( a 1 + a 2 ) + ( a 2 + a 3 ) + ⋯ + ( a 2 n + 1 + a 1 ) = 2 S is rational. We can get S in an other way: we add the circle's every second edge and the 2 n + 1 . vertex (So S = ( a 1 + a 2 ) + ( a 3 + a 4 ) + ⋯ + ( a 2 n − 1 + a 2 n ) + a 2 n + 1 ). However ( a 1 + a 2 ) , ( a 3 + a 4 ) , … , ( a 2 n − 1 + a 2 n ) are all rational, so a 2 n + 1 have to be rational too, but it is impossible.
So we get an even graph. In one group of vertices there are not less than 2 9 9 points. So choosing these numbers the sum of in each pair is irrational.
So 5 0 is the minimum? Yes, there is an example:
Let's have the k + 2 , l − 2 numbers, where k and l are positive integers. If k = l + 1 or k = l − 1 , then at this puzzle the maximum is 50.