Counting the number of "hollow" square laminae that can form one, two, three, ... distinct arrangements
Problem 174Published on Saturday, 22nd December 2007, 01:00 pm; Solved by 3742
We shall define a square lamina to be a square outline with a square "hole" so that the shape possesses vertical and horizontal symmetry.
Given eight tiles it is possible to form a lamina in only one way: 3x3 square with a 1x1 hole in the middle. However, using thirty-two tiles it is possible to form two distinct laminae.
If t represents the number of tiles used, we shall say that t = 8 is type L(1) and t = 32 is type L(2).
Let N(n) be the number of t ≤ 1000000 such that t is type L(n); for example, N(15) = 832.
What is ∑ N(n) for 1 ≤ n ≤ 10?