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Problem #434: Let $k\leq n$. What choice of $A\subseteq \{1,\ldots,n\}$...

Let $k\leq n$. What choice of $A\subseteq \{1,\ldots,n\}$ (with $\mathrm{gcd}(A)=1$) of size $\lvert A\rvert=k$ maximises the number of integers not...

Problem Statement

Let $k\leq n$. What choice of $A\subseteq \{1,\ldots,n\}$ (with $\mathrm{gcd}(A)=1$) of size $\lvert A\rvert=k$ maximises the number of integers not representable as the sum of finitely many elements from $A$ (with repetitions allowed)? Is it $\{n,n-1,\ldots,n-k+1\}$?
Categories: Number Theory

Progress

Associated with problems of Frobenius (see also [433]).

The maximal choice is indeed $\{n,\ldots,n-k+1\}$, as proved by Kiss [Ki02].

Source: erdosproblems.com/434 | Last verified: January 15, 2026

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