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Lattice paths to (5,3) staying below the diagonal

Question

A path on the integer lattice begins at (0,0)(0,0) and ends at (5,3)(5,3), and each step moves one unit either rightward or upward. The path may touch the line y=xy=x but must never go above it. How many such paths exist?

Short answer

2828. Without restriction there are (83)=56\binom83=56 paths. A path that goes above y=xy=x touches y=x+1y=x+1; reflecting its start across that line maps it bijectively to a path from (−1,1)(-1,1) to (5,3)(5,3), of which there are (82)=28\binom82=28. So 56−28=2856-28=28 paths are valid.

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