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k a May Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
May 1, 2025
May is an exciting month! National MATHCOUNTS is the second week of May in Washington D.C. and our Founder, Richard Rusczyk will be presenting a seminar, Preparing Strong Math Students for College and Careers, on May 11th.

Are you interested in working towards MATHCOUNTS and don’t know where to start? We have you covered! If you have taken Prealgebra, then you are ready for MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics. Already aiming for State or National MATHCOUNTS and harder AMC 8 problems? Then our MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced course is for you.

Summer camps are starting next month at the Virtual Campus in math and language arts that are 2 - to 4 - weeks in duration. Spaces are still available - don’t miss your chance to have an enriching summer experience. 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 upcoming events:
[list][*]May 9th, 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, Casework 2: Overwhelming Evidence — A Text Adventure, a game where participants will work together to navigate the map, solve puzzles, and win! All are welcome.
[*]May 19th, 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, What's Next After Beast Academy?, designed for students finishing Beast Academy and ready for Prealgebra 1.
[*]May 20th, 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Mathcamp 2025 Qualifying Quiz Part 1 Math Jam, Problems 1 to 4, join the Canada/USA Mathcamp staff for this exciting Math Jam, where they discuss solutions to Problems 1 to 4 of the 2025 Mathcamp Qualifying Quiz!
[*]May 21st, 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Mathcamp 2025 Qualifying Quiz Part 2 Math Jam, Problems 5 and 6, Canada/USA Mathcamp staff will discuss solutions to Problems 5 and 6 of the 2025 Mathcamp Qualifying Quiz![/list]
Our full course list for upcoming classes is below:
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0 replies
jlacosta
May 1, 2025
0 replies
k i A Letter to MSM
Arr0w   23
N Sep 19, 2022 by scannose
Greetings.

I have seen many posts talking about commonly asked questions, such as finding the value of $0^0$, $\frac{1}{0}$,$\frac{0}{0}$, $\frac{\infty}{\infty}$, why $0.999...=1$ or even expressions of those terms combined as if that would make them defined. I have made this post to answer these questions once and for all, and I politely ask everyone to link this post to threads that are talking about this issue.
[list]
[*]Firstly, the case of $0^0$. It is usually regarded that $0^0=1$, not because this works numerically but because it is convenient to define it this way. You will see the convenience of defining other undefined things later on in this post.

[*]What about $\frac{\infty}{\infty}$? The issue here is that $\infty$ isn't even rigorously defined in this expression. What exactly do we mean by $\infty$? Unless the example in question is put in context in a formal manner, then we say that $\frac{\infty}{\infty}$ is meaningless.

[*]What about $\frac{1}{0}$? Suppose that $x=\frac{1}{0}$. Then we would have $x\cdot 0=0=1$, absurd. A more rigorous treatment of the idea is that $\lim_{x\to0}\frac{1}{x}$ does not exist in the first place, although you will see why in a calculus course. So the point is that $\frac{1}{0}$ is undefined.

[*]What about if $0.99999...=1$? An article from brilliant has a good explanation. Alternatively, you can just use a geometric series. Notice that
\begin{align*}
\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{9}{10^n}&=9\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{10^n}=9\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\biggr(\frac{1}{10}\biggr)^n=9\biggr(\frac{\frac{1}{10}}{1-\frac{1}{10}}\biggr)=9\biggr(\frac{\frac{1}{10}}{\frac{9}{10}}\biggr)=9\biggr(\frac{1}{9}\biggr)=\boxed{1}
\end{align*}
[*]What about $\frac{0}{0}$? Usually this is considered to be an indeterminate form, but I would also wager that this is also undefined.
[/list]
Hopefully all of these issues and their corollaries are finally put to rest. Cheers.

2nd EDIT (6/14/22): Since I originally posted this, it has since blown up so I will try to add additional information per the request of users in the thread below.

INDETERMINATE VS UNDEFINED

What makes something indeterminate? As you can see above, there are many things that are indeterminate. While definitions might vary slightly, it is the consensus that the following definition holds: A mathematical expression is be said to be indeterminate if it is not definitively or precisely determined. So how does this make, say, something like $0/0$ indeterminate? In analysis (the theory behind calculus and beyond), limits involving an algebraic combination of functions in an independent variable may often be evaluated by replacing these functions by their limits. However, if the expression obtained after this substitution does not provide sufficient information to determine the original limit, then the expression is called an indeterminate form. For example, we could say that $0/0$ is an indeterminate form.

But we need to more specific, this is still ambiguous. An indeterminate form is a mathematical expression involving at most two of $0$, $1$ or $\infty$, obtained by applying the algebraic limit theorem (a theorem in analysis, look this up for details) in the process of attempting to determine a limit, which fails to restrict that limit to one specific value or infinity, and thus does not determine the limit being calculated. This is why it is called indeterminate. Some examples of indeterminate forms are
\[0/0, \infty/\infty, \infty-\infty, \infty \times 0\]etc etc. So what makes something undefined? In the broader scope, something being undefined refers to an expression which is not assigned an interpretation or a value. A function is said to be undefined for points outside its domain. For example, the function $f:\mathbb{R}^{+}\cup\{0\}\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ given by the mapping $x\mapsto \sqrt{x}$ is undefined for $x<0$. On the other hand, $1/0$ is undefined because dividing by $0$ is not defined in arithmetic by definition. In other words, something is undefined when it is not defined in some mathematical context.

WHEN THE WATERS GET MUDDIED

So with this notion of indeterminate and undefined, things get convoluted. First of all, just because something is indeterminate does not mean it is not undefined. For example $0/0$ is considered both indeterminate and undefined (but in the context of a limit then it is considered in indeterminate form). Additionally, this notion of something being undefined also means that we can define it in some way. To rephrase, this means that technically, we can make something that is undefined to something that is defined as long as we define it. I'll show you what I mean.

One example of making something undefined into something defined is the extended real number line, which we define as
\[\overline{\mathbb{R}}=\mathbb{R}\cup \{-\infty,+\infty\}.\]So instead of treating infinity as an idea, we define infinity (positively and negatively, mind you) as actual numbers in the reals. The advantage of doing this is for two reasons. The first is because we can turn this thing into a totally ordered set. Specifically, we can let $-\infty\le a\le \infty$ for each $a\in\overline{\mathbb{R}}$ which means that via this order topology each subset has an infimum and supremum and $\overline{\mathbb{R}}$ is therefore compact. While this is nice from an analytic standpoint, extending the reals in this way can allow for interesting arithmetic! In $\overline{\mathbb{R}}$ it is perfectly OK to say that,
\begin{align*}
a + \infty = \infty + a & = \infty, & a & \neq -\infty \\
a - \infty = -\infty + a & = -\infty, & a & \neq \infty \\
a \cdot (\pm\infty) = \pm\infty \cdot a & = \pm\infty, & a & \in (0, +\infty] \\
a \cdot (\pm\infty) = \pm\infty \cdot a & = \mp\infty, & a & \in [-\infty, 0) \\
\frac{a}{\pm\infty} & = 0, & a & \in \mathbb{R} \\
\frac{\pm\infty}{a} & = \pm\infty, & a & \in (0, +\infty) \\
\frac{\pm\infty}{a} & = \mp\infty, & a & \in (-\infty, 0).
\end{align*}So addition, multiplication, and division are all defined nicely. However, notice that we have some indeterminate forms here which are also undefined,
\[\infty-\infty,\frac{\pm\infty}{\pm\infty},\frac{\pm\infty}{0},0\cdot \pm\infty.\]So while we define certain things, we also left others undefined/indeterminate in the process! However, in the context of measure theory it is common to define $\infty \times 0=0$ as greenturtle3141 noted below. I encourage to reread what he wrote, it's great stuff! As you may notice, though, dividing by $0$ is undefined still! Is there a place where it isn't? Kind of. To do this, we can extend the complex numbers! More formally, we can define this extension as
\[\mathbb{C}^*=\mathbb{C}\cup\{\tilde{\infty}\}\]which we call the Riemann Sphere (it actually forms a sphere, pretty cool right?). As a note, $\tilde{\infty}$ means complex infinity, since we are in the complex plane now. Here's the catch: division by $0$ is allowed here! In fact, we have
\[\frac{z}{0}=\tilde{\infty},\frac{z}{\tilde{\infty}}=0.\]where $\tilde{\infty}/\tilde{\infty}$ and $0/0$ are left undefined. We also have
\begin{align*}
z+\tilde{\infty}=\tilde{\infty}, \forall z\ne -\infty\\
z\times \tilde{\infty}=\tilde{\infty}, \forall z\ne 0
\end{align*}Furthermore, we actually have some nice properties with multiplication that we didn't have before. In $\mathbb{C}^*$ it holds that
\[\tilde{\infty}\times \tilde{\infty}=\tilde{\infty}\]but $\tilde{\infty}-\tilde{\infty}$ and $0\times \tilde{\infty}$ are left as undefined (unless there is an explicit need to change that somehow). One could define the projectively extended reals as we did with $\mathbb{C}^*$, by defining them as
\[{\widehat {\mathbb {R} }}=\mathbb {R} \cup \{\infty \}.\]They behave in a similar way to the Riemann Sphere, with division by $0$ also being allowed with the same indeterminate forms (in addition to some other ones).
23 replies
Arr0w
Feb 11, 2022
scannose
Sep 19, 2022
k i Marathon Threads
LauraZed   0
Jul 2, 2019
Due to excessive spam and inappropriate posts, we have locked the Prealgebra and Beginning Algebra threads.

We will either unlock these threads once we've cleaned them up or start new ones, but for now, do not start new marathon threads for these subjects. Any new marathon threads started while this announcement is up will be immediately deleted.
0 replies
LauraZed
Jul 2, 2019
0 replies
k i Basic Forum Rules and Info (Read before posting)
jellymoop   368
N May 16, 2018 by harry1234
f (Reminder: Do not post Alcumus or class homework questions on this forum. Instructions below.) f
Welcome to the Middle School Math Forum! Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the rules.

Overview:
[list]
[*] When you're posting a new topic with a math problem, give the topic a detailed title that includes the subject of the problem (not just "easy problem" or "nice problem")
[*] Stay on topic and be courteous.
[*] Hide solutions!
[*] If you see an inappropriate post in this forum, simply report the post and a moderator will deal with it. Don't make your own post telling people they're not following the rules - that usually just makes the issue worse.
[*] When you post a question that you need help solving, post what you've attempted so far and not just the question. We are here to learn from each other, not to do your homework. :P
[*] Avoid making posts just to thank someone - you can use the upvote function instead
[*] Don't make a new reply just to repeat yourself or comment on the quality of others' posts; instead, post when you have a new insight or question. You can also edit your post if it's the most recent and you want to add more information.
[*] Avoid bumping old posts.
[*] Use GameBot to post alcumus questions.
[*] If you need general MATHCOUNTS/math competition advice, check out the threads below.
[*] Don't post other users' real names.
[*] Advertisements are not allowed. You can advertise your forum on your profile with a link, on your blog, and on user-created forums that permit forum advertisements.
[/list]

Here are links to more detailed versions of the rules. These are from the older forums, so you can overlook "Classroom math/Competition math only" instructions.
Posting Guidelines
Update on Basic Forum Rules
What belongs on this forum?
How do I write a thorough solution?
How do I get a problem on the contest page?
How do I study for mathcounts?
Mathcounts FAQ and resources
Mathcounts and how to learn

As always, if you have any questions, you can PM me or any of the other Middle School Moderators. Once again, if you see spam, it would help a lot if you filed a report instead of responding :)

Marathons!
Relays might be a better way to describe it, but these threads definitely go the distance! One person starts off by posting a problem, and the next person comes up with a solution and a new problem for another user to solve. Here's some of the frequently active marathons running in this forum:
[list][*]Algebra
[*]Prealgebra
[*]Proofs
[*]Factoring
[*]Geometry
[*]Counting & Probability
[*]Number Theory[/list]
Some of these haven't received attention in a while, but these are the main ones for their respective subjects. Rather than starting a new marathon, please give the existing ones a shot first.

You can also view marathons via the Marathon tag.

Think this list is incomplete or needs changes? Let the mods know and we'll take a look.
368 replies
jellymoop
May 8, 2015
harry1234
May 16, 2018
Ducks can play games now apparently
MortemEtInteritum   34
N 24 minutes ago by HamstPan38825
Source: USA TST(ST) 2020 #1
Let $a$, $b$, $c$ be fixed positive integers. There are $a+b+c$ ducks sitting in a
circle, one behind the other. Each duck picks either rock, paper, or scissors, with $a$ ducks
picking rock, $b$ ducks picking paper, and $c$ ducks picking scissors.
A move consists of an operation of one of the following three forms:

[list]
[*] If a duck picking rock sits behind a duck picking scissors, they switch places.
[*] If a duck picking paper sits behind a duck picking rock, they switch places.
[*] If a duck picking scissors sits behind a duck picking paper, they switch places.
[/list]
Determine, in terms of $a$, $b$, and $c$, the maximum number of moves which could take
place, over all possible initial configurations.
34 replies
+2 w
MortemEtInteritum
Nov 16, 2020
HamstPan38825
24 minutes ago
Floor sequence
va2010   87
N 31 minutes ago by Mathgloggers
Source: 2015 ISL N1
Determine all positive integers $M$ such that the sequence $a_0, a_1, a_2, \cdots$ defined by \[ a_0 = M + \frac{1}{2}   \qquad  \textrm{and} \qquad    a_{k+1} = a_k\lfloor a_k \rfloor   \quad \textrm{for} \, k = 0, 1, 2, \cdots \]contains at least one integer term.
87 replies
va2010
Jul 7, 2016
Mathgloggers
31 minutes ago
INMO 2019 P3
div5252   45
N 32 minutes ago by anudeep
Let $m,n$ be distinct positive integers. Prove that
$$gcd(m,n) + gcd(m+1,n+1) + gcd(m+2,n+2) \le 2|m-n| + 1. $$Further, determine when equality holds.
45 replies
1 viewing
div5252
Jan 20, 2019
anudeep
32 minutes ago
My unsolved problem
ZeltaQN2008   1
N 37 minutes ago by Adywastaken
Source: Belarus 2017
Find all funcition $f:(0,\infty)\rightarrow (0,\infty)$ such that for all any $x,y\in (0,\infty)$ :
$f(x+f(xy))=xf(1+f(y))$
1 reply
ZeltaQN2008
2 hours ago
Adywastaken
37 minutes ago
9 What is the most important topic in maths competition?
AVIKRIS   70
N 3 hours ago by ZMB038
I think arithmetic is the most the most important topic in math competitions.
70 replies
AVIKRIS
Apr 19, 2025
ZMB038
3 hours ago
9 AMC 10 Prep
bluedino24   17
N 3 hours ago by bluedino24
I'm in 7th grade and thought it would be good to start preparing for the AMC 10. I'm not extremely good at math though.

What are some important topics I should study? Please comment below. Thanks! :D
17 replies
bluedino24
Friday at 9:42 PM
bluedino24
3 hours ago
Facts About 2025!
Existing_Human1   258
N 3 hours ago by ZMB038
Hello AOPS,

As we enter the New Year, the most exciting part is figuring out the mathematical connections to the number we have now temporally entered

Here are some facts about 2025:
$$2025 = 45^2 = (20+25)(20+25)$$$$2025 = 1^3 + 2^3 +3^3 + 4^3 +5^3 +6^3 + 7^3 +8^3 +9^3 = (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9)^2 = {10 \choose 2}^2$$
If anyone has any more facts about 2025, enlighted the world with a new appreciation for the year


(I got some of the facts from this video)
258 replies
Existing_Human1
Jan 1, 2025
ZMB038
3 hours ago
9 What is the best way to learn math???
lovematch13   88
N 4 hours ago by ZMB038
On the contrary, I'm also gonna try to send this to school admins. PLEASE DO NOT TROLL!!!!
88 replies
lovematch13
May 22, 2023
ZMB038
4 hours ago
Interesting Diophantine equation
Ro.Is.Te.   1
N 6 hours ago by iwastedmyusername
Find x, y, z that are positive integers which satisfy this equation $$\frac{1}{x+1} + \frac{1}{y+2} + \frac{1}{z+3} = \frac{11}{12}$$
1 reply
Ro.Is.Te.
6 hours ago
iwastedmyusername
6 hours ago
BmMT Online 2025: Problem of the Week 1
BerkeleyMathTournament   2
N Today at 5:27 AM by aidan0626
BmMT Online 2025 is in 5 weeks, register here! https://berkeley.mt/events/bmmt-2025-online/.

We'll highlight some problems for practice as the contest gets sooner -

How would you solve Relay #1, Relay #2 from last year's test?
2 replies
BerkeleyMathTournament
Today at 4:29 AM
aidan0626
Today at 5:27 AM
9 What competitions do you do
VivaanKam   13
N Today at 3:49 AM by valisaxieamc

I know I missed a lot of other competitions so if you didi one of the just choose "Other".
13 replies
VivaanKam
Apr 30, 2025
valisaxieamc
Today at 3:49 AM
2023 EMCC Individual Speed Test - Exeter Math Club Competition
parmenides51   18
N Today at 3:39 AM by giratina3
20 problems for 25 minutes.


p1. Evaluate the following expression, giving your answer as a decimal: $\frac{20\times 2\times 3}{
20+2+3}$ .


p2. Given real numbers $x$ and $y$, we have that $2x + 3y = 20$ and $3x + 4y = 12$. Find the value of $x + y$.


p3. Alan, Daria, and Max want to sit in a row of three airplane seats. If Alan cannot sit in the middle, in how many ways can they sit down?


p4. Jack thinks of two distinct positive integers $a$ and $b$. He notices that neither $a$ nor $b$ is a perfect square, but $ab$ is a perfect square. What is the smallest possible value of $a + b$?


p5. What is the smallest integer greater than $2023$ whose digits sum to $4$?


p6. Triangle $ABC$ has $AB = AC$ and $\angle B = 60^o$. The altitude drawn from $C$ intersects $AB$ at $X$, where $BX = 4$. What is the area of $ABC$?


p7. Archyuta writes a program to create words with at least one letter. The probability of having $n$ letters in the word for each positive integer $n$ is $\frac{1}{2^n}$ . Each letter of the word is chosen randomly and independently from the uppercase English alphabet. The probability of Archyuta’s program outputting “EMCC” can be written as $\frac{1}{k}$ for some positive integer $k$. What is the greatest nonnegative integer $a$ such that $2^a$ divides $k$?


p8. What is the greatest whole number less than $1000$ that can be expressed as the sum of seven consecutive whole numbers, as the sum of five consecutive whole numbers, and as the sum of three consecutive whole numbers?


p9. Given a square $ABCD$ with side length $7$, square $EFGH$ is inscribed in $ABCD$ such that $E$ is on side $AB$ and $G$ is on side $CD$ such that $EA = 3$ and $GD = 4$. If square PQRS inscribed in $EFGH$ such that $PQ \parallel AB$, find the side length of $PQRS$.
IMAGE

p10. Michael wants to do some exercise by going up and down a moving escalator. He first runs up the escalator, taking $30$ seconds to reach the top. Tired, he then walks at one-third of his running speed back down the escalator, taking 30 seconds to reach the bottom. Assuming his running speed and the escalator’s speed are constant, what is the ratio of his running speed to the escalator’s speed?


p11. Bob the architect has $4$ bricks shaped like rectangular prisms each of dimension $1$ foot by $1$ foot by $2$ feet which he stores inside a $2$ feet by $2$ feet by $2$ feet hollow box. In how many ways can he fit his bricks into the box? (Rotations and reflections of a configuration are considered distinct.)


p12. $P$ is a point lying inside rectangle $ABCD$. If $\angle PAB = 40^o$, $\angle PBC = 50^o$ and $\angle PCD = 60^o$, find $\angle PDA$ in degrees.


p13. Let $N$ be a positive integer. If $4$ of $N$s divisors are prime and $346$ of $N$s divisors are composite, how many of $N$s divisors are perfect squares?


p14. Two positive integers have a product of $2^{23}$. Let $S$ be the sum of all distinct possible values of their absolute difference. Find the remainder when $S$ is divided by $1000$.


p15. A rectangle has area $216$. The internal angle bisectors of each of its four vertices are drawn, bounding a square region with area $18$. Find the perimeter of the rectangle.


p16. Let $\vartriangle ABC$ be a right triangle, with a right angle at $B$. The perpendicular bisector of hypotenuse $\overline{AC}$ splits the triangle into a smaller triangle and a quadrilateral. If the triangle has an area of $5$ and the quadrilateral has an area of $13$, find the length of $\overline{AC}$.


p17. Let $N$ be the sum of the $2023$ smallest positive perfect squares minus the sum of the $2023$ smallest positive odd numbers. What is the largest prime factor of $N$?


p18. Anna designs a logo, shown below, consisting of a large square with side length $12$ and two congruent equilateral triangles placed inside the square, one in each corner and with one overlapping side. What is the distance between the marked vertices?
IMAGE

p19. How many ways are there to place an isosceles right triangle with legs of length $1$ in each unit square of a two-by-two grid, such that no two isosceles triangles share an edge? One valid construction is shown on the left, followed by an invalid construction on the right.
IMAGE

p20. Mr. Ibbotson and Dr. Drescher are playing a game where they write numbers on the blackboard. On the first turn, Mr. Ibbotson begins by writing $1$, followed by Dr. Drescher writing another $1$ on the second turn. Each turn afterwards, they take the two newest numbers on the board and concatenate them, writing the resulting number of the board. For instance, the first few numbers on the board are $1$, $1$, $11$, $111$, $11111$, $...$ How many turns does it take for them to write a number which is divisible by $63$?


PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected here.
18 replies
parmenides51
Oct 20, 2023
giratina3
Today at 3:39 AM
9 Am I going insane?
PenguFish   13
N Today at 3:23 AM by giratina3
I feel stupid honestly, and fyi, I did go over every question. Focus is counting with symmetry
13 replies
PenguFish
Mar 26, 2025
giratina3
Today at 3:23 AM
9 Have you participated in the MATHCOUNTS competition?
aadimathgenius9   33
N Today at 3:22 AM by giratina3
Have you participated in the MATHCOUNTS competition before?
33 replies
aadimathgenius9
Jan 1, 2025
giratina3
Today at 3:22 AM
Concurrency with 10 lines
oVlad   1
N Apr 21, 2025 by kokcio
Source: Romania EGMO TST 2017 Day 1 P1
Consider five points on a circle. For every three of them, we draw the perpendicular from the centroid of the triangle they determine to the line through the remaining two points. Prove that the ten lines thus formed are concurrent.
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oVlad
Apr 21, 2025
kokcio
Apr 21, 2025
Concurrency with 10 lines
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Source: Romania EGMO TST 2017 Day 1 P1
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oVlad
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Consider five points on a circle. For every three of them, we draw the perpendicular from the centroid of the triangle they determine to the line through the remaining two points. Prove that the ten lines thus formed are concurrent.
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kokcio
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Let $M$ be center of mass of this $5$ points. Let $X$ be centroid of some triangle and $Y$ be midpoint of chord with two other points. Then if line $OM$ intersects line drawn through $X$ at point $P$, then $\frac{OM}{MP}=\frac{MY}{MX}=\frac{3}{2}$, so position of $P$ is uniquely determined by the position of points $O,M$. (if $M=O$, then $P=O$).
Generalization of this problem is in plane geometry by V. Prasolov (problem 14.13): on a circle, $n$ points are given. Through the center of mass of $n-2$ points a straight line is drawn perpendicularly to the chord that connects the two remaining points. Prove that all such straight lines intersect at one point.
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