CREATIVE PROOFS IN COMBINATIONS

arXiv:2112.08020v2 [math.CO] 18 Jun 2022

MOHAMMAD ARAB

Abstract. In this article, we present four issues and provide a creative and
concise proof for each of them.
 The four issues are:
2n
1 n
(1) Inequality √ < < √1
nπ+ π
2
22n nπ
(2) A special case of Jonathan Wilde’s problem
(3) Combination series
(4) A feature of powerful numbers.

1. Introduction
In the second section, by proving a theorem, we prove the following equation:
n
! k 
(f (k))2

X
2
Y 1
(1.1) + (2n + 1)(f (n)) = 1 , f (k) := 1−
2k − 1 i=1
2i
k=1

The special case of the Wallis integral that we use to prove equation(1.1) is as
follows[3]:
Z π2 k  
Y 1 π
cos2k (x) dx = 1− ×
0 i=1
2i 2
And then using the theorem, we infer the following inequality:
2n


1 n 1
(1.2) < 2n < √
nπ + π2
p
2 nπ
We use the inequality in Jonathan Wilde’s problem.
Jonathan Wilde’s problem.
Definition 1.1. a(n) is the number of ways to draw n circles in the affine plane.
Jonathan Wilde stated problem a(n) by setting conditions:
Two circles must be disjoint or meet in two distinct points (tangential contacts are
not permitted), and three circles may not meet at a point.
The sequence was proposed by Jonathan Wild, a professor of music at McGill
University, who found the values a(1) = 1, a(2) = 3, a(3) = 14, a(4) = 173, and,
jointly with Christopher Jones, a(5) = 16951[2].
It is sequence A250001 in the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS)[1].
We prove a special case of this problem in this article, which we express in the
following definition:

2020 Mathematics Subject Classification. 05A10, 05A15, 05A20, 11B57, 11P81.

Key words and phrases. Combinatorics, Binomial coefficients, Series,Sequences, Stirling num-
bers, Binomial inequality, Wallis integral, Stirling approximation, Partitions.
1
2 MOHAMMAD ARAB

Definition 1.2. B(n) is the number of ways to draw n circles in the affine plane,
so that no two circles are neither intersecting nor tangent to each other.
We express some of the values of B(n) in sequence:
B(0) = 1, B(1) = 1, B(2) = 2, B(3) = 4, B(4) = 9, B(5) = 20, ...
In the third section, we state two formulas for B(n).
In theorems 3.4 and 3.10, we count the number of arrangements of n circles on a
plane so that no two circles are neither intersecting nor tangent to each other. The
simplest solution we can use to prove the theorems is positive integer partitions.
In estimating B(n) in another way, we use inequality(1.2).

We consider three series from the book Principles And Techniques In Combina-
torics[5], which we prove in general in the fourth section and express them in this
section.
We present the two series in question as follows:
n  
X 1 n 1
2n+1 − 1


(1.3) =
r=0
r+1 r n+1
n
(−1)r n
 
X 1
(1.4) =
r=0
r+1 r n+1
Now we express the third series. Putnam proved the following series in 1962[5]:
n  
2 n
X
r = n(n + 1)2n−2
r=1
r
And two Chinese teachers, Wei Guozhen and Wang Kai, in 1988, showed that[5]:
n   X k
k n
X
(1.5) r = S(k, i).Pin .2n−i
r=1
r i=1
Where k ≤ n and S(k, i) are the Stirling numbers of the second kind.
We prove the generalization of the series(1.5) using derivative formulas.
There is a property of sequence (1n , 2n , 3n , ...) that we prove in the fifth section.
For each n belonging to natural numbers, if we continue the difference of the sen-
tences n steps, we will reach a fixed sequence of n!.
Example 1.3. Consider the sequence of power numbers for power 3:
Table 1. ak = k 3

a1 , a2 , a3 , a4 , a5 , a6 , ···
1 , 8 , 27 , 64 , 125 , 216 , ···
7 , 19 , 37 , 61 , 91 , 127 , · · ·
12 , 18 , 24 , 30 , 36 , ···
6 , 6 , 6 , 6 , 6 , ···
3! , 3! , 3! , 3! , 3! , ···
 CREATIVE PROOFS IN COMBINATIONS 3

After three steps of difference of sentences, we reached the fixed sequence 3!.

2. Binomial inequality
Theorem 2.1.
n
!
X (f (k))2 2
lim 1− = lim (2n + 1)(f (n))2 =
n→∞ 2k − 1 n→∞ π
k=1

We express f (k) as a function in the following form:

k  
Y 1
f (k) := 1− .
i=1
2i

Proof. The proof has two parts.

In the first part, we prove the following limit:

n
!
X (f (k))2 2
lim 1− =
n→∞ 2k − 1 π
k=1

And in the second part we prove:

n
X (f (k))2
1− = (2n + 1)(f (n))2 .
2k − 1
k=1

Proof of the first part.

The following integral is known as the Wallis integral:

Z π2 k  
Y 1 π
cos2k (x) dx = 1− ×
0 i=1
2i 2

We rewrite the Wallis integral using the limit definition:

Z π2
π
lim cos2k (x)dx = f (k) ×
b→0+ b 2
Now consider the following integral:
Z π2 p
(2.1) g(b) = 1 − cos2 (x) dx
b

A solution for calculating the limit of the above expression is as follows:

Z π2 q
π
(2.2) lim+ g(b) = lim+ sin2 (x) dx = lim+ [− cos(x)]b2 = 1
b→0 b→0 b b→0

We rewrite integral 2.1 and calculate its limit in the following form:
Z π2

1  π
lim+ g(b) = lim+ 1 − cos2 (x) 2 dx , 0<b≤x≤
b→0 b→0 b 2
According to the set limits we have:
| − cos2 (x)| < 1
4 MOHAMMAD ARAB

Using binomial expansion we can express:

Z π2 ∞ 1
!
X
2 2

k
lim g(b) = lim+ 1+ − cos (x) dx
b→0+ b→0 b k
k=1

We rewrite the limit in the following form:

∞ 1 Z π2 !!
π  X
2 k 2k
lim g(b) = lim −b + (−1) lim cos (x) dx
b→0+ b→0+ 2 k b→0+ b
k=1
1

We calculate the value of k2 separately below:
1
2 (−1)k−1 1 × 3 × · · · × (2k − 1) (−1)k−1
= × = f (k)
k 2k − 1 2 × 4 × · · · × (2k) 2k − 1
Now we place this value in the limit:
∞
!
π X (−1)2k−1  π
lim g(b) = + × f (k) × f (k) ×
b→0+ 2 2k − 1 2
k=1

According to 2.2 it can be stated that:

∞
!
π X (f (k))2
1= 1−
2 2k − 1
k=1

Therefore: !
∞
X (f (k))2 2
1− = .
2k − 1 π
k=1

Proof of the second part.

We prove this part using the method of mathematical induction, now consider
the two sequences as follows:
n
!
X (f (k))2
an = 1 − , bn = (2n + 1)(f (n))2
2k − 1
k=1

Using induction we will show that:

n
!
X (f (k))2
an = 1− = (2n + 1)(f (n))2 = bn .
2k − 1
k=1

Induction base:
3
a1 = b 1 = .
4
Induction assumption:
an = b n
And we try to get the correctness of induction by considering the assumption of
induction correctly:
an+1 = bn+1 .
By performing calculations it can be obtained that:
(f (n + 1))2
an+1 = an −
2n + 1
 CREATIVE PROOFS IN COMBINATIONS 5

According to the induction assumption we have:

(f (n + 1))2 (f (n + 1))2
an+1 = bn − = (2n + 1)(f (n))2 −
2n + 1 2n + 1
Instead of (f (n + 1))2 we put the following relation:
  2
2n + 1
(f (n + 1))2 = × f (n)
2(n + 1)
So we will have:
(2n + 1)(f (n))2
 
1
an+1 = (2n + 1)(f (n))2 − = (2n + 1)(f (n))2
1 −
(2n + 2)2 (2n + 2)2
Rewrite the phrase as follows:
   2
2 (2n + 1)(2n + 3) 2n + 1
an+1 = (2n + 1)(f (n)) = f (n) × (2n + 3)
(2n + 2)2 2n + 2
Therefore:
an+1 = (2n + 3)(f (n + 1))2 = (2(n + 1) + 1)(f (n + 1))2
The sentence of induction is imposed:
an+1 = bn+1 .
Based on the two parts of the proof, we will have:

2
lim an = lim bn = .
n→∞ n→∞ π

Remark 2.2. According to the stated theorem, the following equation will be ob-
tained: !
n
X (f (k))2
+ (2n + 1)(f (n))2 = 1.
2k − 1
k=1

Corollary 2.3.
∞ ∞
X f (k)(2k)!! X 1 π
= 2
=
(2k − 1)(2k + 1)!! 4k − 1 2
k=1 k=1
∞
X f (k)
=1
2k − 1
k=1

Corollary 2.4. The following inequality holds for every n belonging to natural
numbers:
2n


1 n 1
(2.3) p π
< 2n < √ .
nπ + 2 2 nπ
Proof. Consider the following sequence:
an = (2n + 1)(f (n))2
Sequence an is a descending sequence, so according to theorem 2.1 we can say:
2
an = (2n + 1)(f (n))2 >
π
6 MOHAMMAD ARAB

So we will have:
2
(f (n))2 > π
2n + 1
Inequality can be rewritten in another form:
1
f (n) > p .
nπ + π2
To prove the other part of the inequality, we consider the following sequence:
bn = (2n)(f (n))2
The limit of sequence can be obtained in the following way:
lim bn = lim an − lim (f (n))2
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞
We got the limit of the sequence an in theorem 2.1 now to get the limit of the
sequence (f (n))2 , we get (f (n))2 :
 2
1 × 3 × · · · × (2n − 1)
(f (n))2 =
2 × 4 × · · · × (2n)
 2
(1 × 3 × · · · × (2n − 1))(2 × 4 × · · · × (2n))
(f (n))2 =
22n (n!)2
 2 2n

!2
(2n)!
(f (n))2 = = n
22n (n!)2 22n
Therefore, using the Stirling approximation[4], the limit of (f (n))2 can be obtained
as follows:  2
1
lim (f (n))2 = lim √ =0
n→∞ n→∞ nπ22n
In this case, the limit of bn will be obtained:
2
lim an = lim bn =
n→∞ n→∞ π
So we will have:
2
bn = 2n(f (n))2 <
π
We rewrite this inequality in another form:
1
f (n) < √ .
nπ


3. No. of arrangements of n circles in the plane

Definition 3.1. A partition of a positive integer n is a set of positive integers
whose sum is n. Since the ordering is immaterial, we may regard a partition of n
as a finite nonincreasing sequence n1 ≥ n2 ≥ · · · ≥ nl of positive integers such that
Pl
i=1 ni = n. So If n = n1 + n2 + · · · + nl is a partition of n, we say that n is
partitioned into l parts of sizes n1 , n2 , ..., nl respectively[5].
We denote the number of partitions of n where n is a natural number by p(n).
Definition 3.2. p1 (n, k) is the number of partitions of n whose largest size is k.
 CREATIVE PROOFS IN COMBINATIONS 7

Definition 3.3. The function p2 (n, k) is a function of counting the number of

states n of the circle, so that the maximum k − 1 of the circle is inside at least one
circle.
It is clear from the definition of p2 (n, k) and p1 (n, k) that for any natural number
such as n:
p1 (n, 1) = p2 (n, 1) = 1
Notation 1. Since the question in question is equivalent to partitions of positive
integers , so we use the notation to match the circles on the partitions.
In a circle where there is no circle:

1≡ = B 1 (1 − 1) = B 1 (0)
In general, if there are n circles in a circle, there are B(n − 1) states for that circle.
To get the number of states that the circles are next to each other based on the
MP1 principle, we multiply them:

1+1≡ = B(0)B(0) = B 2 (0).

Thus, according to the partitions of integers, we can express:
(3.1) n = n1 + n2 + · · · + nl = B(n1 − 1)B(n2 − 1) · · · B(nl − 1).
Theorem 3.4. For each number belonging to natural numbers such as n, the func-
tion B(n) is equal to:
X
B k1 (0)B k2 (1) · · · B kn (n − 1) .


B(n) =
k1 +2k2 +···+nkn =n

Proof. Given 3.1 the sum of the states of the partitions is equal to B(n). Therefore,
using the equation k1 + 2k2 + · · · + nkn = n, we can express that:
X
B k1 (1 − 1)B k2 (2 − 1) · · · B kn (n − 1) .


B(n) =
k1 +2k2 +···+nkn =n


Now we try to express another formula for B(n) by obtaining p2 (n, k).
Theorem 3.5. p2 (n, k) for every n belongs to natural numbers and for every k
belongs to natural numbers where 1 < k ≤ n:
jnk
n=k +r , 0≤r ≤k−1
k
 
k ⌋−1
⌊ nX

k−1
p2 (n − ik, j) + B ⌊ k ⌋ (k − 1)B(r)
X n
p2 (n, k) = 
 B i (k − 1) 
i=1 j=1

Proof. According to the division algorithm, if we assume

lnm
≤k≤n
2
1The Multiplication Principle(MP)[5]
8 MOHAMMAD ARAB

It can be stated that:

n ≡ B(n − 1)B(0) = p2 (n, n)
1 + (n − 1) ≡ B(n − 2)B(1) = p2 (n, n − 1)
..
.
 l n m l n m  l n m  l n m
j n k
n− + B n− ≡B = p2 n,
2 2 2 2 2
Hence in the general case for this range n2 ≤ k ≤ n :
 

p2 (n, k) = B(n − k)B(k − 1).

And now suppose: jnk
2≤k≤
2
In this case, based on the number k , we will have:
k−1
X
(n − k) + k ≡ B 1 (k − 1) p2 (n − k, j)
j=1
k−1
X
(n − 2k) + k + k ≡ B 2 (k − 1) p2 (n − 2k, j)
j=1
..
.
 j n k   k−1  j n k  
− 1 k + k + · · · + k ≡ B ⌊ k ⌋−1 (k − 1)
n
X
n− p2 n − − 1 k, j
k j=1
k
 jnk 
k + k + k + · · · + k ≡ B ⌊ k ⌋ (k − 1)B(r).
n
n−
k


  3.6. According
Remark to theorem 3.5, it can be stated:
If nk = 1 or n2 ≤ k ≤ n then :
 

p2 (n, k) = B(n − k)B(k − 1)

n
And if k = 2 then:
p2 (n, k) = B(k − 1)(p2 (n − k, k − 1) + · · · + p2 (n − k, 1)) + B 2 (k − 1)B(r).
Remark 3.7. For k = 2 we will have:
 
2 ⌋−1
⌊ nX

2−1
p2 (n − 2i, j) + B ⌊ 2 ⌋ (2 − 1)B(r)
n
X
p2 (n, 2) = 
 B i (2 − 1) 
i=1 j=1

So we will have: jnk

p2 (n, 2) = .
2
Theorem 3.8. p1 (n, k) for every n belongs to natural numbers and for every k
belongs to natural numbers where 1 < k ≤ n:
jnk
n=k +r , 0≤r ≤k−1
k
 CREATIVE PROOFS IN COMBINATIONS 9

 
k ⌋−1
⌊ nX

k−1
X
p1 (n, k) =  p1 (n − ik, j) + p(r).
  
i=1 j=1

Proof. According to theorem 3.5, this theorem is clear. 

Remark 3.9. For k = 2 we will have:
jnk
.p1 (n, 2) =
2
Theorem 3.10. For each number belonging to natural numbers such as n, the
function B(n) is equal to:
n
X
B(n) = p2 (n, k).
k=1

Proof. According to theorem 3.5, it is clear that B(n) is equal to the sum of all
states p2 (n, k). 
For each k > n, p2 (n, k) = p1 (n, k) = 0.

Table 2. p2 (n, k)

kn 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 1 1 2 2 3 3
3 2 2 4 8 10
4 4 4 8 16
5 9 9 18
6 20 20
7 49

Table 3. p1 (n, k)

kn 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 1 1 2 2 3 3
3 1 1 2 3 4
4 1 1 2 3
5 1 1 2
6 1 1
7 1
10 MOHAMMAD ARAB

(1)
p1 (n, 1) = p2 (n, 1) = 1
(2) jnk
p1 (n, 2) = p2 (n, 2) =
2
(3)
p1 (n, n − 1) = 1 , p2 (n, n − 1) = p2 (n − 1, n − 1)
(4)
n−1
X
p1 (n, n) = 1 , p2 (n, n) = B(n − 1) = p2 (n − 1, k)
k=1
(5) [7]
p1 (n, k) = p1 (n − 1, k − 1) + p1 (n − k, k)
(6)
n
X n
X
p(n) = p1 (n, k) , B(n) = p2 (n, k)3.10
k=1 k=1
1
(7) 0 < x < 4
n n
!
X Y 1
lim B(k)xk = lim
n→∞ n→∞ 1 − B(k − 1)xk
k=0 k=1

A simple bonuded of this question is obtained using the generating function (1, S, S 2 , ...),
where S is the sum of all possible states of the question. This is the bonuded of
the Catalan numbers:
2n


n
(3.2) B(n) < .
n+1
Suppose x is a real number and 0 < x < 14 , in this case according to(3.2):
2n


n n 1
B(n)x < 2n ×
2 n+1
Given the inequality of(2.3):
1 1
B(n)xn < √ × 1+ 1
π n 2
Therefore:
∞ ∞  
X X 1 1
B(n)xn < 1 + √ × 1 .
n=0 n=1
π n1+ 2
Series n=1 13 is a Riemann series that according to the Riemann test is a con-
P∞
n2
vergent series, so there is a real number like w that:
∞
X
B(n)xn < w , w ∈ R
n=0
By mathematical induction it will be easy to obtain that:
∀n ∈ N , 2n−1 ≤ B(n)
Therefore, it can be stated that:
√
( 2)2n 22n
≤ B(n) < √
2 (n + 1) nπ
 CREATIVE PROOFS IN COMBINATIONS 11

√
In which case B(n) = (c(n))2(n−1) and 2 ≤ c(n) < 2.

4. Series
Theorem 4.1. The generalization of the two series (1.4) and (1.3) is as follows:
∀x ∈ R − {0} , ∀n ∈ N
(1)
n   r  r !
X r n X Pi 1
(−1)i xr+i = − xr−i (1 − x)n+i + n+r
Pin+i


i=0
r+i i i=1 r

(2)
n r !
Pir (−1)r
  
X r n r+i X
x = (−1)i−1 xr−i (1 + x)n+i + n+r
Pin+i


i=0
r+i i i=1 r

Proof of the first series.

n  
X r n r+i
S(x, r) = (−1)i x
i=0
r+i i
We obtain the derivative of the series:
n  
′ X n r+i−1
S (x, r) = r(−1)i x
i=0
i
We rewrite the phrase in another form:
n   n  
′
r−1
X n i i r−1
X n
S (x, r) = rx (−1) x = rx (−x)i
i=0
i i=0
i
Using a two-sentence series theorem, the phrase is expressed as follows:
′
S (x, r) = rxr−1 (1 − x)n
Therefore: Z x
S(x, r) = ry r−1 (1 − y)n dy.
0
Thus, by solving the obtained integral, the correctness of the series can be obtained.
To solve this integral, we use the by parts method repeatedly. Thus it will be
obtained:
" r−1  r   r  #x
X
r−i n+i Pi Pr n+r
S(x, r) = − y (1 − y) − (1 − y)
i=1
Pin+i Prn+r
0
Now we place the limits of the integral:
r−1 !
Pir (1 − x)n+r

X
r−i n+i 1
S(x, r) = − x (1 − x) − n+r

+ n+r
Pin+i


i=1 r r

Therefore:
r !
Pir

X
r−i n+i 1
S(x, r) = − x (1 − x) + n+r

.
i=1
Pin+i r

12 MOHAMMAD ARAB

Proof of the second series:

n  
X r n r+i
M (x, r) = x
i=0
r+i i
We will do the same here as we did to prove the first series.
We obtain the derivative of the series:
n  
′ X n r+i−1
M (x, r) = r x
i=0
i
We rewrite the phrase in another form:
n  
′
r−1
X n i
M (x, r) = rx x = rxr−1 (1 + x)n
i=0
i
Now we express the series using integral:
Z x
M (x, r) = ry r−1 (1 + y)n dy
0
Therefore the result of the integral will be obtained:
" r−1  r ! #x
X
i−1 r−i n+i Pi (−1)r−1 (1 + y)n+r
M (x, r) = (−1) y (1 + y) + n+r
Pin+i


i=1 r 0
We place the limits of the integral:
r !
Pir Prr
X   
i−1 r−i n+i
M (x, r) = (−1) x (1 + x) − (−1)r−1
i=1
Pin+i Prn+r
Therefore:
r !
Pir (−1)r
X 
i−1 r−i n+i
M (x, r) = (−1) x (1 + x) + n+r .
Pin+i


i=1 r

Remark 4.2. The special case of two series in theorem 4.1:
n
(−1)i r n
 
X 1
S(1, r) = = n+r

i=0
r+i i r

(1 − x)n+1 1
S(x, 1) = − +
n+1 n+1
n r  r !
(−1)r
 
X r n X
i−1 n+i Pi
M (1, r) = = (−1) 2 n+i + n+r
.
i=0
r+i i i=1
Pi r

Remark 4.3. Consider the following series:

∀m, n ∈ N
∞
X 1 1
Qn = n+m−1

.
r=m i=0 (r + i) nn! m−1
The proof of this series is obvious according to the following relation:
n 1 1
n+r = n+r−1
− n+r .



r r r−1 r
 CREATIVE PROOFS IN COMBINATIONS 13

Theorem 4.4.
∀m ∈ R+, ∀n ∈ N , ∀k ∈ N
n   k
X n n−r k X
a r (bm)r = S(k, i)Pin (a + bm)n−i (bm)i .
r=0
r i=1

Proof. We define the f (x) function:

∀x ∈ R , f (x) := (a + bex )n
The f (x) function can be rewritten in another form:
n  
X n n−r x r
f (x) = a (be )
r=0
r
We get the k-th derivative of the function f (x) :
n  
(k)
X n n−r k x r
f (x) = a r (be )
r=0
r
Now we get the k-th derivative of the function f (x) using the general Leibniz rule[6]:
 
(k)
X k
f (x) = (a + bex )(r1 ) · · · (a + bex )(rn )
r1 , r2 , ..., rn
r1 +r2 +···+rn =k

Now if we consider, we have rl 6= 0 for u states, so we have rl = 0 for the remaining

(n − u) states, which can be expressed as: l, u ∈ Nn
k    !
(k)
X X k x n−u x u n
f (x) = (a + be ) (be )
r1 , r2 , ..., rn n−u
u=1 r1 +r2 +···+rn =k

Using the Stirling numbers of the second kind, it can be stated that:
   
n n
f (k) (x) = S(k, 1)1! (a + bex )n−1 bex + · · · + S(k, k)k! (a + bex )n−k bk ekx
1 k
Therefore:
k
X
f (k) (x) = S(k, i)Pin (a + bex )n−i (bex )i
i=1
In this case we will have:
n   k
(k)
X n n−r k x r X
(4.1) f (x) = a r (be ) = S(k, i)Pin (a + bex )n−i (bex )i
r=0
r i=1

By limiting the function domain to ln(m) that m ∈ R+ , we have:

n   k
X n n−r k X
f (k) (ln(m)) = a r (bm)r = S(k, i)Pin (a + bm)n−i (bm)i .
r=0
r i=1

Corollary 4.5. Series(1.5) is actually the value of ln(1) in the k-th derivative of
the function f (x).
n   k
(k)
X n k X
f (ln(1)) = r = S(k, i)Pin 2n−i .
r=1
r i=1
14 MOHAMMAD ARAB

5. Powerful numbers
Theorem 5.1. In the following sequence, after n steps of the difference between
the sentences of the sequence, we arrive at a fixed sequence of the form n!.

1n , 2n , 3n , ...

Proof. This theorem is equivalent to the number of surjective mappings from Nn

to Nn .
The function of the number of surjective mappings from Nn to Nm is expressed in
[5].
m  
X m
F (n, m) = (−1)k (m − k)n
k
k=0

Since after n steps we get the answer n!, so we use the number nn and the numbers
before it. For this reason, we rewrite the sequence in the following form:

1n , 2n , ..., (n − 2)n , (n − 1)n , nn , ...

Sentences difference in the first stpe:

. . . , nn − (n − 1)n , (n − 1)n − (n − 2)n , ..., 2n − 1n

The first step can be shown as follows:

A(n, 1) = nn − (n − 1)n

The second step can be expressed:

A(n, 2) = A(n, 1) − A(n − 1, 1) = nn − 2(n − 1)n − (n − 2)n

For the third step:

A(n, 3) = A(n, 2) − A(n − 1, 2) = nn − 3(n − 1)n − 3(n − 2)n − (n − 3)n

And the same process can be used for the general case:

A(n, n) = A(n, n − 1) − A(n − 1, n − 1)

n  
X n
A(n, n) = (−1)k (n − k)n
k
k=0

It can be clearly seen that A(n, n) is the same as F (n, m), if n = m. On the other
hand:
F (n, m) = m!S(n, m)
S(n, m) is Stirling numbers of the second kind and S(n, n) = 1.
Therefore:
A(n, n) = F (n, n) = n!S(n, n) = n!.

 CREATIVE PROOFS IN COMBINATIONS 15

References
1. J. Wild. Number of arrangements of n circles in the affine plane . The Online
Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, 2014.
https://oeis.org.
2. N. J. A. Sloane, The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, Math.Co,
2018.
https://arxiv.org/abs/1805.10343
3. J. F. Scott, Mathematical Works of John Wallis, Chelsea Publishing Co., New
York, 1981.
4. H. Bateman, Higher Transcendental Functions, vol. I, McGraw-Hill, New York,
1953, p.47.
5. C. C. Chen and K. M. Koh, Principles And Techniques In Combinatorics,
World Scientific Publishing company , 1992.
https://books.google.com/books?id=jBrtCgAAQBAJ
6. P. J. Olver, Applications of Lie Groups to Differential Equations, Springer, 2000,
pp. 318–319.
7. R. Stanley, Enumerative Combinatorics, volume 1, second edition. Cambridge
University Press, 2012. Chapter 1, section 1.7.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511609589
Department of Mathematics,Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran
Email address: arab.mohammad20000@gmail.com