Stay ahead of learning milestones! Enroll in a class over the summer!

Contests & Programs AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
3 M G
BBookmark  VNew Topic kLocked
Contests & Programs AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
3 M G
BBookmark  VNew Topic kLocked
G
Topic
First Poster
Last Poster
k a April Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Apr 2, 2025
Spring is in full swing and summer is right around the corner, what are your plans? At AoPS Online our schedule has new classes starting now through July, so be sure to keep your skills sharp and be prepared for the Fall school year! Check out the schedule of upcoming classes below.

WOOT early bird pricing is in effect, don’t miss out! If you took MathWOOT Level 2 last year, no worries, it is all new problems this year! Our Worldwide Online Olympiad Training program is for high school level competitors. AoPS designed these courses to help our top students get the deep focus they need to succeed in their specific competition goals. Check out the details at this link for all our WOOT programs in math, computer science, chemistry, and physics.

Looking for summer camps in math and language arts? Be sure to check out the video-based summer camps offered at the Virtual Campus that are 2- to 4-weeks in duration. There are middle and high school competition math camps as well as Math Beasts camps that review key topics coupled with fun explorations covering areas such as graph theory (Math Beasts Camp 6), cryptography (Math Beasts Camp 7-8), and topology (Math Beasts Camp 8-9)!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following events:
[list][*]April 3rd (Webinar), 4pm PT/7:00pm ET, Learning with AoPS: Perspectives from a Parent, Math Camp Instructor, and University Professor
[*]April 8th (Math Jam), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, 2025 MATHCOUNTS State Discussion
April 9th (Webinar), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Learn about Video-based Summer Camps at the Virtual Campus
[*]April 10th (Math Jam), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, 2025 MathILy and MathILy-Er Math Jam: Multibackwards Numbers
[*]April 22nd (Webinar), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Competitive Programming at AoPS (USACO).[/list]
Our full course list for upcoming classes is below:
All classes run 7:30pm-8:45pm ET/4:30pm - 5:45pm PT unless otherwise noted.

Introductory: Grades 5-10

Prealgebra 1 Self-Paced

Prealgebra 1
Sunday, Apr 13 - Aug 10
Tuesday, May 13 - Aug 26
Thursday, May 29 - Sep 11
Sunday, Jun 15 - Oct 12
Monday, Jun 30 - Oct 20
Wednesday, Jul 16 - Oct 29

Prealgebra 2 Self-Paced

Prealgebra 2
Sunday, Apr 13 - Aug 10
Wednesday, May 7 - Aug 20
Monday, Jun 2 - Sep 22
Sunday, Jun 29 - Oct 26
Friday, Jul 25 - Nov 21

Introduction to Algebra A Self-Paced

Introduction to Algebra A
Monday, Apr 7 - Jul 28
Sunday, May 11 - Sep 14 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Wednesday, May 14 - Aug 27
Friday, May 30 - Sep 26
Monday, Jun 2 - Sep 22
Sunday, Jun 15 - Oct 12
Thursday, Jun 26 - Oct 9
Tuesday, Jul 15 - Oct 28

Introduction to Counting & Probability Self-Paced

Introduction to Counting & Probability
Wednesday, Apr 16 - Jul 2
Thursday, May 15 - Jul 31
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Thursday, Jun 12 - Aug 28
Wednesday, Jul 9 - Sep 24
Sunday, Jul 27 - Oct 19

Introduction to Number Theory
Thursday, Apr 17 - Jul 3
Friday, May 9 - Aug 1
Wednesday, May 21 - Aug 6
Monday, Jun 9 - Aug 25
Sunday, Jun 15 - Sep 14
Tuesday, Jul 15 - Sep 30

Introduction to Algebra B Self-Paced

Introduction to Algebra B
Wednesday, Apr 16 - Jul 30
Tuesday, May 6 - Aug 19
Wednesday, Jun 4 - Sep 17
Sunday, Jun 22 - Oct 19
Friday, Jul 18 - Nov 14

Introduction to Geometry
Wednesday, Apr 23 - Oct 1
Sunday, May 11 - Nov 9
Tuesday, May 20 - Oct 28
Monday, Jun 16 - Dec 8
Friday, Jun 20 - Jan 9
Sunday, Jun 29 - Jan 11
Monday, Jul 14 - Jan 19

Intermediate: Grades 8-12

Intermediate Algebra
Monday, Apr 21 - Oct 13
Sunday, Jun 1 - Nov 23
Tuesday, Jun 10 - Nov 18
Wednesday, Jun 25 - Dec 10
Sunday, Jul 13 - Jan 18
Thursday, Jul 24 - Jan 22

Intermediate Counting & Probability
Wednesday, May 21 - Sep 17
Sunday, Jun 22 - Nov 2

Intermediate Number Theory
Friday, Apr 11 - Jun 27
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Wednesday, Jun 18 - Sep 3

Precalculus
Wednesday, Apr 9 - Sep 3
Friday, May 16 - Oct 24
Sunday, Jun 1 - Nov 9
Monday, Jun 30 - Dec 8

Advanced: Grades 9-12

Olympiad Geometry
Tuesday, Jun 10 - Aug 26

Calculus
Tuesday, May 27 - Nov 11
Wednesday, Jun 25 - Dec 17

Group Theory
Thursday, Jun 12 - Sep 11

Contest Preparation: Grades 6-12

MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics
Wednesday, Apr 16 - Jul 2
Friday, May 23 - Aug 15
Monday, Jun 2 - Aug 18
Thursday, Jun 12 - Aug 28
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21
Tues & Thurs, Jul 8 - Aug 14 (meets twice a week!)

MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced
Friday, Apr 11 - Jun 27
Sunday, May 11 - Aug 10
Tuesday, May 27 - Aug 12
Wednesday, Jun 11 - Aug 27
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21
Tues & Thurs, Jul 8 - Aug 14 (meets twice a week!)

AMC 10 Problem Series
Friday, May 9 - Aug 1
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Thursday, Jun 12 - Aug 28
Tuesday, Jun 17 - Sep 2
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Monday, Jun 23 - Sep 15
Tues & Thurs, Jul 8 - Aug 14 (meets twice a week!)

AMC 10 Final Fives
Sunday, May 11 - Jun 8
Tuesday, May 27 - Jun 17
Monday, Jun 30 - Jul 21

AMC 12 Problem Series
Tuesday, May 27 - Aug 12
Thursday, Jun 12 - Aug 28
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21
Wednesday, Aug 6 - Oct 22

AMC 12 Final Fives
Sunday, May 18 - Jun 15

F=ma Problem Series
Wednesday, Jun 11 - Aug 27

WOOT Programs
Visit the pages linked for full schedule details for each of these programs!


MathWOOT Level 1
MathWOOT Level 2
ChemWOOT
CodeWOOT
PhysicsWOOT

Programming

Introduction to Programming with Python
Thursday, May 22 - Aug 7
Sunday, Jun 15 - Sep 14 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Tuesday, Jun 17 - Sep 2
Monday, Jun 30 - Sep 22

Intermediate Programming with Python
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Monday, Jun 30 - Sep 22

USACO Bronze Problem Series
Tuesday, May 13 - Jul 29
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 1

Physics

Introduction to Physics
Wednesday, May 21 - Aug 6
Sunday, Jun 15 - Sep 14
Monday, Jun 23 - Sep 15

Physics 1: Mechanics
Thursday, May 22 - Oct 30
Monday, Jun 23 - Dec 15

Relativity
Sat & Sun, Apr 26 - Apr 27 (4:00 - 7:00 pm ET/1:00 - 4:00pm PT)
Mon, Tue, Wed & Thurs, Jun 23 - Jun 26 (meets every day of the week!)
0 replies
jlacosta
Apr 2, 2025
0 replies
SMT online indvidual tests
techb   1
N 18 minutes ago by rnatog337
I have a quick question, are you able to see both of the individual subject tests on your comp.mt for SMT? I can't see mine as I have registered for algebra and calculus, but I only see algebra. (See attachment)

Please respond fast.
1 reply
techb
31 minutes ago
rnatog337
18 minutes ago
Bashtastic
nosysnow   58
N 36 minutes ago by AshAuktober
Source: 2018 AIME 1 #11
Find the least positive integer $n$ such that when $3^n$ is written in base $143$, its two right-most digits in base $143$ are $01$.
58 replies
nosysnow
Mar 7, 2018
AshAuktober
36 minutes ago
PROM^2 for Girls 2025
mathisfun17   25
N 5 hours ago by Yiyj1
Hi everyone!

The Princeton International School of Math and Science (PRISMS) Math Team is delighted that $PROM^2$ for Girls, PRISMS Online Math Meet for Girls, is happening this spring! https://www.prismsus.org/events/prom/home/index

We warmly invite all middle school girls to join us! This is a fantastic opportunity for young girls to connect with others interested in math as well as prepare for future math contests.

This contest will take place online from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm EST on Saturday, April 26th, 2025.

The competition will include a team and individual round as well as activities like origami. You can see a detailed schedule here. https://prismsus.org/events/prom/experience/schedule.

Registration is FREE, there are cash prizes for participants who place in the top 10 and cool gifts for all participants.

1st place individual: $500 cash
2nd place individual: $300 cash
3rd place individual: $100 cash
4th-10th place individual: $50 cash each

Some FAQs:
Q: How difficult are the questions?
A: The problem difficulty is around AMC 8 or Mathcounts level.

Q: Are there any example problems?
A: You can find some archived here: https://www.prismsus.org/events/prom/achieve/achieve

Registration is open now. https://www.prismsus.org/events/prom/register/register. Email us at prom2@prismsus.org with any questions.

The PRISMS Peregrines Math Team welcomes you!
25 replies
mathisfun17
Feb 22, 2025
Yiyj1
5 hours ago
centslordm
centslordm   56
N Today at 4:51 AM by ab456
Source: AIME II #8
From an unlimited supply of 1-cent coins, 10-cent coins, and 25-cent coins, Silas wants to find a collection of coins that has a total value of $N$ cents, where $N$ is a positive integer. He uses the so-called greedy algorithm, successively choosing the coin of greatest value that does not cause the value of his collection to exceed $N.$ For example, to get 42 cents, Silas will choose a 25-cent coin, then a 10-cent coin, then 7 1-cent coins. However, this collection of 9 coins uses more coins than necessary to get a total of 42 cents; indeed, choosing 4 10-cent coins and 2 1-cent coins achieves the same total value with only 6 coins. In general, the greedy algorithm succeeds for a given $N$ if no other collection of 1-cent, 10-cent, and 25-cent coins gives a total value of $N$ cents using strictly fewer coins than the collection given by the greedy algorithm. Find the number of values of $N$ between $1$ and $1000$ inclusive for which the greedy algorithm succeeds.
56 replies
centslordm
Feb 13, 2025
ab456
Today at 4:51 AM
No more topics!
Moving P(o)in(t)s
bobthegod78   69
N Apr 2, 2025 by akliu
Source: USAJMO 2021/4
Carina has three pins, labeled $A, B$, and $C$, respectively, located at the origin of the coordinate plane. In a move, Carina may move a pin to an adjacent lattice point at distance $1$ away. What is the least number of moves that Carina can make in order for triangle $ABC$ to have area 2021?

(A lattice point is a point $(x, y)$ in the coordinate plane where $x$ and $y$ are both integers, not necessarily positive.)
69 replies
bobthegod78
Apr 15, 2021
akliu
Apr 2, 2025
Moving P(o)in(t)s
G H J
G H BBookmark kLocked kLocked NReply
Source: USAJMO 2021/4
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
IAmTheHazard
5001 posts
#59 • 1 Y
Y by channing421
exactly 2021 not at least 2021
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
channing421
1353 posts
#60
Y by
sketch
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
ihatemath123
3441 posts
#61
Y by
basic idea
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
huashiliao2020
1292 posts
#62
Y by
kind of a boring problem, construction is just weird

The answer is 128. First note that the area of a triangle is at most half of the area of the box around it (with sides parallel to the axes), because if you place three of the vertices on the corners of the box, moving any of them decreases the area. Now note that in n moves, by AM-GM this box has area at most $(\tfrac{n}{2})^2$. Indeed, this implies that for a triangle with 2021 area, you need a box of area at least 4042, so n is at least $2\sqrt{4042}$, or 128 moves. This intuition can be checked also because 63x64/2 is not enough, while 64x64/2 is more than 2021.

As for the construction, WLOG A=(0,0); noticing that 2048 maximal area is not far from 2021, we still want our vertices close to 64,0 and 0,64 to see if it's possible, which can easily be guessed and checked by Shoelace to find B and C have coordinates 10,63 and 64,-1.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Jndd
1417 posts
#63
Y by
First, to get from the origin to some point, say $(x,y)$, the minimum number of moves to get to there is $|x|+|y|$. One possible construction is $A=(-1, 54)$, $B=(63,0)$, $C=(0,-10)$, and we can verify the area is $2021$ using the Shoelace Theorem, and the number of moves is \[\lvert-1\rvert+|54|+|63|+|0|+|0|+\lvert-10\rvert=128.\]We claim that $128$ is in fact the minimum possible number of moves, and we'll prove it. First, create a rectangle $R$ with sides parallel to the axes such that it's the smallest rectangle that contains all of the points $A, B, C$, and clearly, one of $A$, $B$, and $C$ must be a vertex of $R$. WLOG, let $C$ be a vertex of $R$, $A$ be on a line parallel to the x-axis, and $B$ be on a line parallel to the y-axis. Then, draw a line $\ell_1$ parallel to the y-axis from $A$, draw a line $\ell_2$ parallel to the x-axis from $B$, and call their intersection $P$.

Now, we show it's optimal for us to start at $P$. Let $O$ be our starting point, so that it's a distance $d_1$ from $\ell_1$ and a distance $d_2$ from $\ell_2$. Notice that shifting $O$ onto line $\ell_1$ will decrease the number of moves to get from $O$ to the points $A$ and $B$ by $d_1$, while increasing the number of moves to get from $O$ to $C$ by $d_1$, if $O$ is to the right of $\ell_1$. Otherwise, if $O$ is to the left of $\ell_1$, it will decrease the number of moves to get from $O$ to the points $A$ and $C$ by $d_1$, while increasing the number of moves to get from $O$ to $B$ by $d_1$. Either way, the total decrease of the number of moves is $d_1+d_1-d_1=d_1$, which is good. Similarly, shifting $O$ onto $\ell_2$ decreases the number of total moves needed by $d_2$. So, once we shift $O$ onto both $\ell_1$ and $\ell_2$, we have $O=P$.

Then, we see that the total number of moves starting from $P$ is $w+\ell$ where $w$ is the width of $R$, and $\ell$ is the length (or height) of $R$. Now, we show that the maximum area of $ABC$ is half the area of $R$. Let $\ell_1$ intersect the bottom edge of $R$ at $P_1$ and let $\ell_2$ intersect the left edge of $R$ at $P_2$. Then, it's not hard to show that $[AP_1CB]=[ABP_2C]=[R]/2$, so since $[AP_1CB] = [ABC]+[AP_1C]$ and $[ABP_2C]=[ABC]+[BP_2C]$, meaning $[ABC]\leq [R]/2$, as desired.

Now, in the case of $A=(-1, 54)$, $B=(63,0)$, $C=(0,-10)$, we have $w=\ell=64$, which gives $[ABC]\leq 64^2/2 = 2048$, which has a possible construction since $2021<2048$. However, if we had $w+\ell < 128$, then the maximum possible value of $[R]/2$ would be $w\ell/2 = 63\cdot 64/2 = 2016 < 2021$, which implies there is no possible construction if $w+\ell < 128$, so we're done.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
peace09
5417 posts
#64 • 1 Y
Y by OronSH
Silly Bound
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
asdf334
7586 posts
#65
Y by
oh no i have ptsd1
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
joshualiu315
2513 posts
#66
Y by
Define the $\textit{bounding box}$ of $ABC$ to be the smallest axis-parallel rectangle that contains $ABC$.


Lemma: The area of $ABC$ is at most half the area of the bounding box.

Proof: Suppose the bounding box is $AXYZ$. If we fix $C$ and only vary $B$ around the perimeter of the rectangle, the maximal area must be achieved when $B$ coincides with one of the corners of the rectangles.

Manually checking each case, we find that the area of $ABC$ is at most half the area of $AXYZ$. $\square$


We proceed by making a claim.


Claim: After $n$ moves, the bounding box has area at most $\frac{n^2}{4}$.

Proof: The sum of the width and height of the bounding box increases by at most $1$ each move. Hence, letting the length equal $l$ and the width $w$, we obtain $l+w=n$, at which point the result follows by AM-GM. $\square$


The claim implies a bounding box of area $A$ requires at least $\lceil 2 \sqrt{A} \rceil$ moves, implying that $n \ge 128$.

Now, we must find a construction for $n=128$. The following construction works:

\begin{align*}
    A &= (-3,-18) \\
    B&= (61,0) \\
    C &= (0,46)
\end{align*}
so the answer is $n=128$. $\square$
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
shendrew7
793 posts
#67
Y by
The following two results can be easily proven with some unfortunately bashy case analysis:
  • The area of a triangle is at most half of the area its "bounding rectangle", or the smallest rectangle with axes-parallel sides containing the triangle.
  • The sum of the taxicab distances from a point to the three vertices of a triangle is at least the sum of the dimensions of its "bounding rectangle". We can set this optimal point to be our origin.

Note our the area of our bounding rectangle is at least $2 \cdot 2021 = 4042$, from which AM-GM gives us a bound of $\lceil 2\sqrt{2024} \rceil = \boxed{128}$. A construction of this case uses the points $(0,55)$, $(58,0)$, and $(-6,-9)$ with bounding rectangle of dimensions $64 \times 64$. $\blacksquare$
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by shendrew7, Dec 20, 2023, 11:28 PM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
EpicBird08
1743 posts
#68
Y by
When mocking this JMO I thought the maximum area was $133$ :noo: This time around I had to look at hints from ARCH :skull:

The answer is $128.$

First, define the surrounding rectangle of a triangle as the smallest rectangle with sides parallel to the axes that contains a triangle. It is pretty easy to see (e.g. by an area bash) that the area of the surrounding rectangle is at least twice as large as the area of the triangle. Every move, the sidelength of exactly one side increases by $1$. Thus the area of the surrounding rectangle after every move is at most equal to $\frac{n^2}{2},$ so the area of the triangle is at most equal to $\frac{n^2}{4}.$ This must be greater than or equal to $2021,$ so $n \ge 128.$

A construction for $n = 128$ is $(-2,-27), (0, 62), (37, 0).$
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Markas
105 posts
#70
Y by
Denote the surrounding rectangle of a triangle as the smallest rectangle with sides parallel to the axes that contains the triangle. The area of the triangle is at most half of the area of the surrounding rectangle, because if you place three of the vertices on the corners of the rectangle, moving any of them decreases the area. The sidelength of exactly one side increases by 1 $\Rightarrow$ the area of the surrounding rectangle after all n moves is at most $(\frac{n}{2})^2 = \frac{n^2}{4}$ $\Rightarrow$ the area of the triangle is at most $\frac{n^2}{8}$. But $\frac{n^2}{8} \geq 2021$, so $n \ge 128$.

A construction for n = 128 is A = (0,0); B = (1,64); C = (64,54).
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Siddharthmaybe
106 posts
#71
Y by
coolmath2017 wrote:
It's not 133 :(

lol I was so excited to see the answer and this the first thing that pops up :(
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
happypi31415
742 posts
#72 • 1 Y
Y by peace09
We claim that the answer is $\boxed{128}$. This can be achieved by taking the points $(-9,-6), (0.58),$ and $(55,0)$. (This construction can be found by just assuming that two points are always on the axes and playing around until the construction is found.)

For the bound, it is easy to see that if we let two points, starting from the origin, move $n$ units in total, then the rectangle whose diagonal is formed by these two points will be at least twice the triangles area, which implies that the triangle has area at most $2n^2$ by say, AM-GM. The minimum positive integer $n$ that satisfies this is $n=128$ so we're done.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
gladIasked
632 posts
#73
Y by
The answer is $\boxed{128}$ moves, achieved with $(0, 58)$, $(-55, 0)$, and $(9, -6)$.

Define the bounding box of $\triangle ABC$ as the smallest rectangle with sides parallel to the axes containing all three vertices. I claim that a triangle's area is at most twice the area of its bounding box. We have two cases; the case where one of the sides of the triangle coincides with a side of the bounding box is trivial to see. The other case is not much harder:
[asy]
     /* Geogebra to Asymptote conversion, documentation at artofproblemsolving.com/Wiki go to User:Azjps/geogebra */
import graph; size(5cm); 
real labelscalefactor = 0.5; /* changes label-to-point distance */
pen dps = linewidth(0.7) + fontsize(10); defaultpen(dps); /* default pen style */ 
pen dotstyle = black; /* point style */ 
real xmin = -5.320243582333011, xmax = 13.300111666175955, ymin = -2.57973075125075, ymax = 6.877837547794034;  /* image dimensions */
pen zzttqq = rgb(0.6,0.2,0); 

draw((0,0)--(0,3)--(4,3)--(4,0)--cycle, linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
draw((4,0)--(0.9561426524876215,3.02725616889723)--(0,1.2831331838785818)--cycle, linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
 /* draw figures */
draw((0,0)--(0,3), linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
draw((0,3)--(4,3), linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
draw((4,3)--(4,0), linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
draw((4,0)--(0,0), linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
draw((4,0)--(0.9561426524876215,3.02725616889723), linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
draw((0.9561426524876215,3.02725616889723)--(0,1.2831331838785818), linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
draw((0,1.2831331838785818)--(4,0), linewidth(1) + zzttqq); 
 /* dots and labels */
dot((0,0),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$F$", (0.047233491280721025,0.09786650743985113), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((0,3),dotstyle); 
label("$E$", (0.047233491280721025,3.1193753406411715), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((4,3),dotstyle); 
label("$D$", (4.0513468230841,3.1193753406411715), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((4,0),dotstyle); 
label("$A$", (4.0513468230841,0.12243161990490252), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((0.9561426524876215,3.02725616889723),dotstyle); 
label("$B$", (1.0052728774177258,3.1562230093387487), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((0,1.2831331838785818),dotstyle); 
label("$C$", (-0.2,1.15), W * labelscalefactor); 
clip((xmin,ymin)--(xmin,ymax)--(xmax,ymax)--(xmax,ymin)--cycle); 
 /* end of picture */
[/asy]
Let $DE=b$, $AD=a$, $BE=x$, and $CE=y$. We have $[ABC]=ab-\left(\frac{xy+a(b-x)+b(a-y)}{2}\right)=\frac{ax+by-xy}{2}=\frac{ab}2-\frac{(a-y)(b-x)}{2}<\frac{ab}2$, as desired.

Note that a move increases one of the dimensions of the bounding box by exactly $1$ unit. Therefore, we have a lower bound of $\boxed{128}$ moves, which can produce a bouncing box with dimensions $64\times 64$ (less moves will produce a smaller bounding box).
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
akliu
1780 posts
#74
Y by
Consider the rectangular "bounding box" with perimeter $P$ of triangle $ABC$ bounded by lines $y = y_{min}$, $y = y_{max}$, $x = x_{min}$, and $x = x_{max}$, where $x_{min}, x_{max}$ are the smallest and largest $x$ coordinates out of pins $A$, $B$, and $C$, and $y_{min}$ and $y_{max}$ are defined similarly with respect to $y$ coordinates.

It can be proven by Shoelace that $[ABC] \leq \frac{1}{2} R$, where $R$ is the area of the rectangular bounding box. Since the rectangular bounding box's area is at most $\frac{P^2}{16}$, we have a bound of $[ABC] \leq \frac{P^2}{32}$. Since $[ABC] = 2021$, this gives us $P \geq 256$, since $P$ must be even.

Every move that Carina makes can increase the value of $P$ by at most $2$, meaning that we have a minimum of $128$ moves. A configuration that works would be $A = (5, 1), B = (-52, 0), C = (0, -70)$.
Z K Y
N Quick Reply
G
H
=
a