Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-analysis-and-differential-equations-1-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2011/3/c/solution

Let count everyone present, including the host. The grouping, seating and departure conditions give the modular congruences
The first two imply , and oddness forces even. By the Chinese remainder theorem, the complete solution is
Because not every invitee attended, at most guests came, so . For , the only positive possibility is 39 people. It is feasible: seven groups of five and one of four; three tables of ten and one of nine; nineteen departing pairs and the host.
For , both 39 and 129 people are possible. The latter uses twenty-five groups of five and one of four, three tables of ten and eleven of nine, and sixty-four departing pairs. Thus the larger invitation count destroys uniqueness; it does not force a different attendance.

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