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Let's say you have a binary string made up of $0$ and $1$ (e.g. $0011111$). Order does not matter so we can always put $0$s before $1$s. For ease of notation, we will write $0^n$ when we mean exaclty $n$ zeros. For example, $0^41^ 2 = 000011$.

Rule 1: You can replace a $1$ with $11$. This can be written as $1$ $→$ $11$.

Rule 2: You can replace $11$ with $0$. This can be written as, $11$ $→$ $0$.

Rule 3: $00$ can be erased. This can be written as $00$ $→$ $null$.

Rule 4: $1 → 000$.

Rule 5: $0 → 111$.

Rule 6: $11 → 00$.

How do you prove that $0^n$$1^ n$ → null is possible using only Rules 3–6?

So far I can prove that $0^n$$1^ n$ → null using Rules 1-3. Since any $1$ can be turned into $11$ and any $11$ can be turned into $0$, $1$ can be turned into $0$. Also since $1$ can be turned into $11$, you can add $1$ to any binary string. This means that with $0^n$$1^ n$ you can always get an odd number of $0$s meaning you can always get null.

6ix9ine
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  • Welcome to MSE. You'll get a lot more help if you show that you have made a real effort to solve the problem yourself, even if you haven't made much progress. What are your thoughts? What have you tried? How far could you get? Where are you stuck? This question will likely be closed if you don't add more context. Please respond by editing the question body. Clarifications don't belong in the comments – saulspatz Mar 11 '21 at 16:58
  • You should, for instance be able to handle many special cases immediately. Even some infinite families. Working these should give you a lot of insight into where the difficulty may lie. – lulu Mar 11 '21 at 17:03
  • Hint: split it into two cases, depending on whether $n$ is odd or even. – player3236 Mar 12 '21 at 07:47

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