Can All 6-Term Polyomino Progressions Extend to Fill a 6x6 Square?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the conjecture regarding the extension of 6-term polyomino progressions to fill a 6x6 square. Participants explore the implications of this conjecture, particularly focusing on the conditions under which such extensions can be achieved.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant defines a progression of polyominoes with n terms as a sequence starting with a monomino, proposing that every 6-term progression can be extended to an 8-term progression that fills a 6x6 square.
  • Another participant questions how a linear arrangement of 6 squares could be extended to fit within a 6x6 square, noting that some shapes may exceed the linear dimension of 6.
  • A subsequent reply clarifies that the conjecture does not imply all shapes from the 6-term forms would fit, but rather that an extension can be found that does fit within the constraints of the 6x6 square.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing interpretations of the conjecture, with some uncertainty about the fitting of shapes derived from the 6-term progressions into the 6x6 square. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of the extension process.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations regarding the assumptions about the shapes that can be generated from the 6-term progressions and their dimensions, which may affect their ability to fit within the 6x6 square.

FaustoMorales
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Let us define a progression of polyominoes with n terms as a sequence of n polyominoes, starting with the single square (the monomino), such that every shape is obtained by adding a square to the previous polyomino in the sequence.

Conjecture: Every progression of polyominoes with 6 terms can be extended to a progression of polyominoes with 8 terms so that the set of shapes thus obtained can fill a 6x6 square.

Please post any particularly nasty-looking cases and perhaps someone will be able to help. Good luck!
 
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I'm not sure I'm understanding this. How would you extend a linear coupling of 6 squares into a 6 x 1 rectangle to fit into a 6 x 6 square? At least some of the obtainable shapes would have a linear dimension greater than 6, so they wouldn't fit inside that square.
 
loseyourname said:
some of the obtainable shapes would have a linear dimension greater than 6, so they wouldn't fit inside that square.

And we would not try to use those extensions containing polyominoes that don´t fit in a 6x6. The conjecture is that given any progression with 6 terms, we can find SOME extension thereof with 8 terms that can fit in a 6x6.
 
Okay, I get it. I thought you were saying all obtainable shapes from the 6-term forms would fit.
 

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