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Thread: Near the end of a party, everyone shakes hands...

  1. January 25th 2007, 01:13 PM #1
    ceasar_19134
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    Near the end of a party, everyone shakes hands...

    Near the end of a party, everyone shakes hands with everbody else. A straggler arrives and shakes hands with only those he people whom the straggler knows. Altogether, sixty-eight handshakes occured. How many people at the party did the straggler know?
    Last edited by ceasar_19134; January 31st 2007 at 12:55 PM. Reason: Spelling Errors
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  2. January 25th 2007, 03:19 PM #2
    Plato
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    If everyone shakes hands with each other person we essentially have a complete graph. If there are 12 original guests, then there are {{12} \choose 2} = 66 handshakes. So what about the late comer?
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