Question 9

Consider the grid of points $$X = \{(m, n) : 0 < m, n \le 4\}$$. We say a pair of points $$(a, b), (c, d)$$ in $$X$$ is a knight-move pair if $$(c = a \pm 2 \text{ and } d = b \pm 1)$$ or $$(c = a \pm 1 \text{ and } d = b \pm 2)$$. The number of knight-move pairs in $$X$$ is:


Correct Answer: 48

All points lie on the $$4 \times 4$$ integer grid
$$X=\{(m,n)\mid 1\le m\le 4,\;1\le n\le 4\}$$
so there are $$16$$ points in total.

A knight step changes one co-ordinate by $$\pm 2$$ and the other by $$\pm 1$$.
For every point in the grid, count how many such steps keep the knight inside the grid. The number depends only on the β€œtype’’ of square, i.e. on its distance from the edges.

CaseΒ 1: corner squares
Corners are $$(1,1),(1,4),(4,1),(4,4)$$. From a corner the legal moves are
$$\bigl(+2,+1\bigr)\quad\text{and}\quad\bigl(+1,+2\bigr)$$ (or their symmetric versions),
so each corner has $$2$$ moves.
Total contributions: $$4\times 2 = 8$$ ordered pairs.

CaseΒ 2: edge but not corner
Eight such squares exist (for example $$(1,2),(1,3),(2,1),(3,1)$$ and the symmetric ones). From any of these squares the knight can move in $$3$$ legal ways. Total contributions: $$8\times 3 = 24$$ ordered pairs.

CaseΒ 3: interior squares
The four central squares are $$(2,2),(2,3),(3,2),(3,3)$$. A knight located here has $$4$$ legal moves. Total contributions: $$4\times 4 = 16$$ ordered pairs.

Add all the contributions:
$$8+24+16 = 48$$

In this count every ordered pair $$\bigl((a,b),(c,d)\bigr)$$ that satisfies the knight-move condition appears exactly once, which is what the problem asks for. Hence,

Number of knight-move pairs $$= 48$$.

Was this solution helpful?

Get AI Help

Book Free CAT Mentorship

Get personalized CAT strategy from a 99%iler

500+ students mentored
CAT mentor
banner

banner

50,000+ JEE Students Trusted Our Score Calculator

Predict your JEE Main percentile, rank & performance in seconds

Ask AI