Need some help with a proof (using the pigeon hole principle)

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around proving a statement related to convex polygons using the pigeonhole principle. The original poster is specifically focused on demonstrating that in any convex polygon with 2*n vertices, there exists at least one diagonal that is not parallel to any of the polygon's sides.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are exploring the relationship between the number of diagonals and the sides of the polygon, questioning how many diagonals can be parallel to the sides. There is also a mention of a formula for calculating the number of diagonals based on the number of vertices.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants seeking clarification on the problem's requirements and exploring various aspects of the proof. Some guidance has been offered regarding the number of diagonals and their potential parallels to the sides, but no consensus has been reached yet.

Contextual Notes

The original poster is required to use the pigeonhole principle exclusively, which may limit the approaches available for the proof. There is also some uncertainty regarding the classification of the problem within discrete mathematics.

allistair
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I got 6 problems that I needed to proove using the pigeon hole principle and I was able to solve 5 of them but this last one is giving me some problems.

In each convex polygon with 2*n vertices there is at least one diagonal that isn't parallel with either one of the sides of the polygon.

I would appreciate some help to point me in the right direction or maybe an example of a similar proof that uses the pigeon hole principle, thanks in advance
 
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isn't this a discrete Maths problem?
 
i'm obligated to use the pigeon hole principle, i can't use anything else (i'm not sure what you mean by 'discrete math', or did you mean that i posted this in the wrong forum?)
 
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How many diagonals are there? How many can be parallel to a side?
 
I'm trying to find a function that gives the number of diagonals in funtion of the number of vertices but i don't see a connection both of them

i looked it up and apparently there is a formula for it, for a polygon with 2n vertices the number of diagonals is 2n*(2n-3)/2, i hope i'll be able to use this
 
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