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Topic
First Poster
Last Poster
a My Retirement & New Leadership at AoPS
rrusczyk   1345
N an hour ago by GoodGamer123
I write today to announce my retirement as CEO from Art of Problem Solving. When I founded AoPS 22 years ago, I never imagined that we would reach so many students and families, or that we would find so many channels through which we discover, inspire, and train the great problem solvers of the next generation. I am very proud of all we have accomplished and I’m thankful for the many supporters who provided inspiration and encouragement along the way. I'm particularly grateful to all of the wonderful members of the AoPS Community!

I’m delighted to introduce our new leaders - Ben Kornell and Andrew Sutherland. Ben has extensive experience in education and edtech prior to joining AoPS as my successor as CEO, including starting like I did as a classroom teacher. He has a deep understanding of the value of our work because he’s an AoPS parent! Meanwhile, Andrew and I have common roots as founders of education companies; he launched Quizlet at age 15! His journey from founder to MIT to technology and product leader as our Chief Product Officer traces a pathway many of our students will follow in the years to come.

Thank you again for your support for Art of Problem Solving and we look forward to working with millions more wonderful problem solvers in the years to come.

And special thanks to all of the amazing AoPS team members who have helped build AoPS. We’ve come a long way from here:IMAGE
1345 replies
rrusczyk
Monday at 6:37 PM
GoodGamer123
an hour ago
k a March Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Mar 2, 2025
March is the month for State MATHCOUNTS competitions! Kudos to everyone who participated in their local chapter competitions and best of luck to all going to State! Join us on March 11th for a Math Jam devoted to our favorite Chapter competition problems! Are you interested in training for MATHCOUNTS? Be sure to check out our AMC 8/MATHCOUNTS Basics and Advanced courses.

Are you ready to level up with Olympiad training? Registration is open with early bird pricing available for our WOOT programs: MathWOOT (Levels 1 and 2), CodeWOOT, PhysicsWOOT, and ChemWOOT. What is WOOT? WOOT stands for Worldwide Online Olympiad Training and is a 7-month high school math Olympiad preparation and testing program that brings together many of the best students from around the world to learn Olympiad problem solving skills. Classes begin in September!

Do you have plans this summer? There are so many options to fit your schedule and goals whether attending a summer camp or taking online classes, it can be a great break from the routine of the school year. Check out our summer courses at AoPS Online, or if you want a math or language arts class that doesn’t have homework, but is an enriching summer experience, our AoPS Virtual Campus summer camps may be just the ticket! We are expanding our locations for our AoPS Academies across the country with 15 locations so far and new campuses opening in Saratoga CA, Johns Creek GA, and the Upper West Side NY. Check out this page for summer camp information.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following events:
[list][*]March 5th (Wednesday), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, HCSSiM Math Jam 2025. Amber Verser, Assistant Director of the Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics, will host an information session about HCSSiM, a summer program for high school students.
[*]March 6th (Thursday), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Free Webinar on Math Competitions from elementary through high school. Join us for an enlightening session that demystifies the world of math competitions and helps you make informed decisions about your contest journey.
[*]March 11th (Tuesday), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, 2025 MATHCOUNTS Chapter Discussion MATH JAM. AoPS instructors will discuss some of their favorite problems from the MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition. All are welcome!
[*]March 13th (Thursday), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Free Webinar about Summer Camps at the Virtual Campus. Transform your summer into an unforgettable learning adventure! From elementary through high school, we offer dynamic summer camps featuring topics in mathematics, language arts, and competition preparation - all designed to fit your schedule and ignite your passion for learning.[/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
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Introduction to Algebra A Self-Paced

Introduction to Algebra A
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Wednesday, Mar 5 - May 21
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Calculus
Sunday, Mar 30 - Oct 5
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Group Theory
Thursday, Jun 12 - Sep 11

Contest Preparation: Grades 6-12

MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics
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WOOT Programs
Visit the pages linked for full schedule details for each of these programs!


MathWOOT Level 1
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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
Mar 2, 2025
0 replies
k i Peer-to-Peer Programs Forum
jwelsh   157
N Dec 11, 2023 by cw357
Many of our AoPS Community members share their knowledge with their peers in a variety of ways, ranging from creating mock contests to creating real contests to writing handouts to hosting sessions as part of our partnership with schoolhouse.world.

To facilitate students in these efforts, we have created a new Peer-to-Peer Programs forum. With the creation of this forum, we are starting a new process for those of you who want to advertise your efforts. These advertisements and ensuing discussions have been cluttering up some of the forums that were meant for other purposes, so we’re gathering these topics in one place. This also allows students to find new peer-to-peer learning opportunities without having to poke around all the other forums.

To announce your program, or to invite others to work with you on it, here’s what to do:

1) Post a new topic in the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum. This will be the discussion thread for your program.

2) Post a single brief post in this thread that links the discussion thread of your program in the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum.

Please note that we’ll move or delete any future advertisement posts that are outside the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum, as well as any posts in this topic that are not brief announcements of new opportunities. In particular, this topic should not be used to discuss specific programs; those discussions should occur in topics in the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum.

Your post in this thread should have what you're sharing (class, session, tutoring, handout, math or coding game/other program) and a link to the thread in the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum, which should have more information (like where to find what you're sharing).
157 replies
jwelsh
Mar 15, 2021
cw357
Dec 11, 2023
k i C&P posting recs by mods
v_Enhance   0
Jun 12, 2020
The purpose of this post is to lay out a few suggestions about what kind of posts work well for the C&P forum. Except in a few cases these are mostly meant to be "suggestions based on historical trends" rather than firm hard rules; we may eventually replace this with an actual list of firm rules but that requires admin approval :) That said, if you post something in the "discouraged" category, you should not be totally surprised if it gets locked; they are discouraged exactly because past experience shows they tend to go badly.
-----------------------------
1. Program discussion: Allowed
If you have questions about specific camps or programs (e.g. which classes are good at X camp?), these questions fit well here. Many camps/programs have specific sub-forums too but we understand a lot of them are not active.
-----------------------------
2. Results discussion: Allowed
You can make threads about e.g. how you did on contests (including AMC), though on AMC day when there is a lot of discussion. Moderators and administrators may do a lot of thread-merging / forum-wrangling to keep things in one place.
-----------------------------
3. Reposting solutions or questions to past AMC/AIME/USAMO problems: Allowed
This forum contains a post for nearly every problem from AMC8, AMC10, AMC12, AIME, USAJMO, USAMO (and these links give you an index of all these posts). It is always permitted to post a full solution to any problem in its own thread (linked above), regardless of how old the problem is, and even if this solution is similar to one that has already been posted. We encourage this type of posting because it is helpful for the user to explain their solution in full to an audience, and for future users who want to see multiple approaches to a problem or even just the frequency distribution of common approaches. We do ask for some explanation; if you just post "the answer is (B); ez" then you are not adding anything useful.

You are also encouraged to post questions about a specific problem in the specific thread for that problem, or about previous user's solutions. It's almost always better to use the existing thread than to start a new one, to keep all the discussion in one place easily searchable for future visitors.
-----------------------------
4. Advice posts: Allowed, but read below first
You can use this forum to ask for advice about how to prepare for math competitions in general. But you should be aware that this question has been asked many many times. Before making a post, you are encouraged to look at the following:
[list]
[*] Stop looking for the right training: A generic post about advice that keeps getting stickied :)
[*] There is an enormous list of links on the Wiki of books / problems / etc for all levels.
[/list]
When you do post, we really encourage you to be as specific as possible in your question. Tell us about your background, what you've tried already, etc.

Actually, the absolute best way to get a helpful response is to take a few examples of problems that you tried to solve but couldn't, and explain what you tried on them / why you couldn't solve them. Here is a great example of a specific question.
-----------------------------
5. Publicity: use P2P forum instead
See https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2489297_peertopeer_programs_forum.
Some exceptions have been allowed in the past, but these require approval from administrators. (I am not totally sure what the criteria is. I am not an administrator.)
-----------------------------
6. Mock contests: use Mock Contests forum instead
Mock contests should be posted in the dedicated forum instead:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c594864_aops_mock_contests
-----------------------------
7. AMC procedural questions: suggest to contact the AMC HQ instead
If you have a question like "how do I submit a change of venue form for the AIME" or "why is my name not on the qualifiers list even though I have a 300 index", you would be better off calling or emailing the AMC program to ask, they are the ones who can help you :)
-----------------------------
8. Discussion of random math problems: suggest to use MSM/HSM/HSO instead
If you are discussing a specific math problem that isn't from the AMC/AIME/USAMO, it's better to post these in Middle School Math, High School Math, High School Olympiads instead.
-----------------------------
9. Politics: suggest to use Round Table instead
There are important conversations to be had about things like gender diversity in math contests, etc., for sure. However, from experience we think that C&P is historically not a good place to have these conversations, as they go off the rails very quickly. We encourage you to use the Round Table instead, where it is much more clear that all posts need to be serious.
-----------------------------
10. MAA complaints: discouraged
We don't want to pretend that the MAA is perfect or that we agree with everything they do. However, we chose to discourage this sort of behavior because in practice most of the comments we see are not useful and some are frankly offensive.
[list] [*] If you just want to blow off steam, do it on your blog instead.
[*] When you have criticism, it should be reasoned, well-thought and constructive. What we mean by this is, for example, when the AOIME was announced, there was great outrage about potential cheating. Well, do you really think that this is something the organizers didn't think about too? Simply posting that "people will cheat and steal my USAMOO qualification, the MAA are idiots!" is not helpful as it is not bringing any new information to the table.
[*] Even if you do have reasoned, well-thought, constructive criticism, we think it is actually better to email it the MAA instead, rather than post it here. Experience shows that even polite, well-meaning suggestions posted in C&P are often derailed by less mature users who insist on complaining about everything.
[/list]
-----------------------------
11. Memes and joke posts: discouraged
It's fine to make jokes or lighthearted posts every so often. But it should be done with discretion. Ideally, jokes should be done within a longer post that has other content. For example, in my response to one user's question about olympiad combinatorics, I used a silly picture of Sogiita Gunha, but it was done within a context of a much longer post where it was meant to actually make a point.

On the other hand, there are many threads which consist largely of posts whose only content is an attached meme with the word "MAA" in it. When done in excess like this, the jokes reflect poorly on the community, so we explicitly discourage them.
-----------------------------
12. Questions that no one can answer: discouraged
Examples of this: "will MIT ask for AOIME scores?", "what will the AIME 2021 cutoffs be (asked in 2020)", etc. Basically, if you ask a question on this forum, it's better if the question is something that a user can plausibly answer :)
-----------------------------
13. Blind speculation: discouraged
Along these lines, if you do see a question that you don't have an answer to, we discourage "blindly guessing" as it leads to spreading of baseless rumors. For example, if you see some user posting "why are there fewer qualifiers than usual this year?", you should not reply "the MAA must have been worried about online cheating so they took fewer people!!". Was sich überhaupt sagen lässt, lässt sich klar sagen; und wovon man nicht reden kann, darüber muss man schweigen.
-----------------------------
14. Discussion of cheating: strongly discouraged
If you have evidence or reasonable suspicion of cheating, please report this to your Competition Manager or to the AMC HQ; these forums cannot help you.
Otherwise, please avoid public discussion of cheating. That is: no discussion of methods of cheating, no speculation about how cheating affects cutoffs, and so on --- it is not helpful to anyone, and it creates a sour atmosphere. A longer explanation is given in Seriously, please stop discussing how to cheat.
-----------------------------
15. Cutoff jokes: never allowed
Whenever the cutoffs for any major contest are released, it is very obvious when they are official. In the past, this has been achieved by the numbers being posted on the official AMC website (here) or through a post from the AMCDirector account.

You must never post fake cutoffs, even as a joke. You should also refrain from posting cutoffs that you've heard of via email, etc., because it is better to wait for the obvious official announcement. A longer explanation is given in A Treatise on Cutoff Trolling.
-----------------------------
16. Meanness: never allowed
Being mean is worse than being immature and unproductive. If another user does something which you think is inappropriate, use the Report button to bring the post to moderator attention, or if you really must reply, do so in a way that is tactful and constructive rather than inflammatory.
-----------------------------

Finally, we remind you all to sit back and enjoy the problems. :D

-----------------------------
(EDIT 2024-09-13: AoPS has asked to me to add the following item.)

Advertising paid program or service: never allowed

Per the AoPS Terms of Service (rule 5h), general advertisements are not allowed.

While we do allow advertisements of official contests (at the MAA and MATHCOUNTS level) and those run by college students with at least one successful year, any and all advertisements of a paid service or program is not allowed and will be deleted.
0 replies
v_Enhance
Jun 12, 2020
0 replies
k i Stop looking for the "right" training
v_Enhance   50
N Oct 16, 2017 by blawho12
Source: Contest advice
EDIT 2019-02-01: https://blog.evanchen.cc/2019/01/31/math-contest-platitudes-v3/ is the updated version of this.

EDIT 2021-06-09: see also https://web.evanchen.cc/faq-contest.html.

Original 2013 post
50 replies
v_Enhance
Feb 15, 2013
blawho12
Oct 16, 2017
integral points
jhz   1
N a minute ago by gaussiemann144
Source: 2025 CTST P17
Prove: there exist integer $x_1,x_2,\cdots x_{10},y_1,y_2,\cdots y_{10}$ satisfying the following conditions:
$(1)$ $|x_i|,|y_i|\le 10^{10} $ for all $1\le i \le 10$
$(2)$ Define the set \[S = \left\{ \left( \sum_{i=1}^{10} a_i x_i, \sum_{i=1}^{10} a_i y_i \right) : a_1, a_2, \cdots, a_{10} \in \{0, 1\} \right\},\]then \(|S| = 1024\)and any rectangular strip of width 1 covers at most two points of S.
1 reply
jhz
5 hours ago
gaussiemann144
a minute ago
Probability-hard
Noname23   2
N 2 minutes ago by Noname23
problem
2 replies
Noname23
an hour ago
Noname23
2 minutes ago
7 triangles in a square
gghx   2
N 39 minutes ago by lightsynth123
Source: SMO junior 2024 Q3
Seven triangles of area $7$ lie in a square of area $27$. Prove that among the $7$ triangles there are $2$ that intersect in a region of area not less than $1$.
2 replies
gghx
Oct 12, 2024
lightsynth123
39 minutes ago
Find the value
sqing   0
an hour ago
Source: Hunan changsha 2025
Let $ a,b,c $ be real numbers such that $  abc\neq 0,2a-b+c= 0 $ and $ a-2b-c=0. $ Find the value of $\frac{a^2+b^2+c^2}{ab+bc+ca}.$
Let $ a,b,c $ be real numbers such that $  abc\neq 0,a+2b+3c= 0 $ and $ 2a+3b+4c=0. $ Find the value of $\frac{ab+bc+ca}{a^2+b^2+c^2}.$
0 replies
1 viewing
sqing
an hour ago
0 replies
Good AIME/Olympiad Level Number Theory Books
MathRook7817   2
N 2 hours ago by MathRook7817
Hey guys, do you guys have any good AIME/USAJMO Level Number Theory book suggestions?
I'm trying to get 10+ on next year's AIME and hopefully qual for USAJMO.
2 replies
MathRook7817
3 hours ago
MathRook7817
2 hours ago
[TEST RELEASED] Mock Geometry Test for College Competitions
Bluesoul   22
N 3 hours ago by QuestionSourcer
Hi AOPSers,

I have finished writing a mock geometry test for fun and practice for the real college competitions like HMMT/PUMaC/CMIMC... There would be 10 questions and you should finish the test in 60 minutes, the test would be close to the actual test (hopefully). You could sign up under this thread, PM me your answers!. The submission would close on March 31st at 11:59PM PST.

I would create a private discussion forum so everyone could discuss after finishing the test. This is the first mock I've written, please sign up and enjoy geometry!!

~Bluesoul

Discussion forum: Discussion forum

Leaderboard
22 replies
Bluesoul
Feb 24, 2025
QuestionSourcer
3 hours ago
what the yap
KevinYang2.71   25
N 3 hours ago by Mathandski
Source: USAMO 2025/3
Alice the architect and Bob the builder play a game. First, Alice chooses two points $P$ and $Q$ in the plane and a subset $\mathcal{S}$ of the plane, which are announced to Bob. Next, Bob marks infinitely many points in the plane, designating each a city. He may not place two cities within distance at most one unit of each other, and no three cities he places may be collinear. Finally, roads are constructed between the cities as follows: for each pair $A,\,B$ of cities, they are connected with a road along the line segment $AB$ if and only if the following condition holds:
[center]For every city $C$ distinct from $A$ and $B$, there exists $R\in\mathcal{S}$ such[/center]
[center]that $\triangle PQR$ is directly similar to either $\triangle ABC$ or $\triangle BAC$.[/center]
Alice wins the game if (i) the resulting roads allow for travel between any pair of cities via a finite sequence of roads and (ii) no two roads cross. Otherwise, Bob wins. Determine, with proof, which player has a winning strategy.

Note: $\triangle UVW$ is directly similar to $\triangle XYZ$ if there exists a sequence of rotations, translations, and dilations sending $U$ to $X$, $V$ to $Y$, and $W$ to $Z$.
25 replies
KevinYang2.71
Mar 20, 2025
Mathandski
3 hours ago
9 MOP Cutoff Via USAJMO
imagien_bad   15
N 3 hours ago by nsking_1209
Vote here
15 replies
imagien_bad
Monday at 10:43 PM
nsking_1209
3 hours ago
USACO US Open
neeyakkid23   20
N 3 hours ago by aidan0626
Howd you all do?

Also will a 766 make bronze -> silver?
20 replies
neeyakkid23
Yesterday at 12:00 PM
aidan0626
3 hours ago
[TEST RELEASED] OMMC Year 4
DottedCaculator   162
N 4 hours ago by Ruegerbyrd
FINAL LEADERBOARD: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/12RamVH-gQIPN4wibYZVqkx1F2JQuy5Li_8IJ8TqVEyg/htmlview#gid=409219165

Hello to all creative problem solvers,

Do you want to work on a fun, untimed team math competition with amazing questions by MOPpers and IMO & EGMO medalists? $\phantom{You lost the game.}$
Do you want to have a chance to win thousands in cash and raffle prizes (no matter your skill level)?

Check out the fourth annual iteration of the

Online Monmouth Math Competition!

Online Monmouth Math Competition, or OMMC, is a 501c3 accredited nonprofit organization managed by adults, college students, and high schoolers which aims to give talented high school and middle school students an exciting way to develop their skills in mathematics.

Our website: https://www.ommcofficial.org/
Our Discord (5000+ members): https://tinyurl.com/joinommc
Test portal: https://ommc-test-portal.vercel.app/

This is not a local competition; any student 18 or younger anywhere in the world can attend. We have changed some elements of our contest format, so read carefully and thoroughly. Join our Discord or monitor this thread for updates and test releases.

How hard is it?

We plan to raffle out a TON of prizes over all competitors regardless of performance. So just submit: a few minutes of your time will give you a great chance to win amazing prizes!

How are the problems?

You can check out our past problems and sample problems here:
https://www.ommcofficial.org/sample
https://www.ommcofficial.org/2022-documents
https://www.ommcofficial.org/2023-documents
https://www.ommcofficial.org/ommc-amc

How will the test be held?/How do I sign up?

Solo teams?

Test Policy

Timeline:

Main Round: May 19th - May 26th
Test Portal Released. The Main Round of the contest is held. The Main Round consists of 25 questions that each have a numerical answer. Teams will have the entire time interval to work on the questions. They can submit any time during the interval. Teams are free to edit their submissions before the period ends, even after they submit.

Final Round: May 28th - May 30th
The top placing teams will qualify for this invitational round (7 questions). The final round consists of 7 proof questions. Teams again will have the entire time interval to work on these questions and can submit their proofs any time during this interval. Teams are free to edit their submissions before the period ends, even after they submit.

Conclusion of Competition: Early June
Solutions will be released, winners announced, and prizes sent out to winners.

Scoring:

Prizes:

I have more questions. Whom do I ask?

We hope for your participation, and good luck!

OMMC staff


OMMC’S 2024 EVENTS ARE SPONSORED BY:

[list]
[*]Nontrivial Fellowship
[*]Citadel
[*]SPARC
[*]Jane Street
[*]And counting!
[/list]
162 replies
DottedCaculator
Apr 23, 2024
Ruegerbyrd
4 hours ago
USA Canada math camp
Bread10   33
N 4 hours ago by mathnerd_101
How difficult is it to get into USA Canada math camp? What should be expected from an accepted applicant in terms of the qualifying quiz, essays and other awards or math context?
33 replies
Bread10
Mar 2, 2025
mathnerd_101
4 hours ago
2024 AMC 10B Discussion Thread
LauraZed   382
N 4 hours ago by Cheerfulfrog
Discuss the 2024 AMC 10 B here!

Links to individual discussion threads.

If you want to start a thread to discuss a particular problem, first check the list above to see if it already exists. Please add the tag "2024 AMC 10B" on individual problem threads and include the problem number in the source to make it easier for people to find the thread in the future through tags or searching.

(We're using this "official discussion thread" strategy as a way to keep things more organized. You can create additional threads about the exam if they're for a distinct enough purpose – for example, if they include a poll – but questions/comments about your impressions of the test overall can be discussed in this thread.)
382 replies
LauraZed
Nov 13, 2024
Cheerfulfrog
4 hours ago
AMC 10.........
BAM10   21
N 4 hours ago by doongus
I'm in 8th grade and have never taken the AMC 10. I am currently in alg2. I have scored 20 on AMC 8 this year and 34 on the chapter math counts last year. Can I qualify for AIME. Also what should I practice AMC 10 next year?
21 replies
BAM10
Mar 2, 2025
doongus
4 hours ago
Westford Academy to host Middle School Math Competition
cyou   2
N 4 hours ago by crazylizard
Hi AOPS community,

We are excited to announce that Westford Academy (located in Westford, MA) will be hosting its first ever math competition for middle school students (grades 5-8).

Based in Massachusetts, this tournament hosts ambitious and mathematically skilled students in grades 5–8 to compete against other middle school math teams while fostering their problem-solving skills and preparing them to continue enriching their STEM skills in high school and in the future.

This competition will be held on April 12, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM and will feature 3 rounds (team, speed, and accuracy). The problems will be of similar difficulty for AMC 8-10 and were written by USA(J)MO and AIME qualifiers.

If you are in the Massachusetts area and are curious about Mathematics, we cordially invite you to sign up by scanning the QR code on the attached flyer. Please note that teams consist of 4-6 competitors, but if you prefer to register as an individual competitor, you will be randomly placed on a team of other individual competitors. Feel free to refer the attached flyer and website as needed.


https://sites.google.com/westfordk12.us/wamt/home?authuser=2
2 replies
cyou
Yesterday at 9:43 PM
crazylizard
4 hours ago
IMO ShortList 2002, geometry problem 7
orl   108
N Monday at 11:08 AM by ihategeo_1969
Source: IMO ShortList 2002, geometry problem 7
The incircle $ \Omega$ of the acute-angled triangle $ ABC$ is tangent to its side $ BC$ at a point $ K$. Let $ AD$ be an altitude of triangle $ ABC$, and let $ M$ be the midpoint of the segment $ AD$. If $ N$ is the common point of the circle $ \Omega$ and the line $ KM$ (distinct from $ K$), then prove that the incircle $ \Omega$ and the circumcircle of triangle $ BCN$ are tangent to each other at the point $ N$.
108 replies
orl
Sep 28, 2004
ihategeo_1969
Monday at 11:08 AM
IMO ShortList 2002, geometry problem 7
G H J
Source: IMO ShortList 2002, geometry problem 7
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OronSH
1727 posts
#111 • 2 Y
Y by bjump, Zhaom
By a well known lemma $KM$ passes through the $A$-excenter $J.$ If $P$ is the midpoint of $KN$ then $\angle IPJ=90^\circ$ where $I$ is the incenter so $B,I,C,J,P$ are concyclic by fact 5. Thus $BK\cdot CK=PK\cdot JK=NK\cdot XK$ where $X$ is the midpoint of $JK$ so $B,N,C,X$ are concyclic. But then $X$ is the bottommost point on this circle since $K$ and the foot from $J$ to $BC$ are equidistant from the midpoint of $BC.$ Thus the homothety at $N$ sending $K$ to $X$ must send the incircle to circle $(BNCX),$ done.
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Zhaom
5123 posts
#112 • 1 Y
Y by OronSH
It is well known that $\overline{KM}$ passes through $I_A$ the $A$-excenter. Now, consider the circle $\omega$ through $B$ and $C$ orthogonal to $\Omega$. This contains $B'$ and $C'$ the inverses of $B$ and $C$ with respect to $\Omega$. Then, the center of $\omega$ is the intersection of $\ell_1$ the perpendicular bisector of $\overline{BC}$ and $\ell_2$ the perpendicular bisector of $\overline{B'C'}$. Homothety at $K$ with factor $2$ sends $\ell_1$ to the perpendicular from $I_A$ to $\overline{BC}$ and $\ell_2$ to $\overline{AI}$, which intersect at $I_A$, so the center of $\omega$ is the midpoint of $\overline{KI_A}$. Therefore, inversion around $\omega$ swaps $(BKC)$ and $(BNC)$ fixing $\Omega$. Since $(BKC)$ is tangent to $\Omega$, we see that $(BNC)$ is tangent to $\Omega$.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Zhaom, Apr 30, 2024, 8:18 PM
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Pyramix
419 posts
#113
Y by
Let $S$ be the antipode of $K$ in $\Omega$ and $T=EF\cap BC$ where $E,F$ are the $B-,C-$ touchpoints of $\Omega$.

Claim. $S,T,N$ are collinear.
Proof. Projecting $(A,D;M,\infty_{AD})=-1$ from $K$ onto $\Omega$ gives $(AK\cap\Omega,K;N,S)=-1$. Let $L=AK\cap\Omega$. So, $LNKS$ is harmonic quadrilateral. So, tangents at $L,K$ meet on line $SN$. But since tangents to $E,F$ meet on line $LK$, it means $LEKF$ is harmonic quadrilateral. Hence, $T=EF\cap BC$ is the meeting point of tangents at $L,K$. So, $T\in SN$, as claimed. $\blacksquare$

Since $KN\perp NS$, it means $N$ is the foot from $K$ to $ST$. Extend $NK$ to meet $(BCN)$ again at $P$. Note that $(T,K;B,C)=-1$ which means $(BCN)$ is the Apollonius circle for $KT$ as $\angle TNK=90^\circ$. Hence, $\frac{BN}{NC}=\frac{BK}{KC}$, which means $NK$ is the angle-bisector of $\angle BNC$. So, $NK$ extended to meet the circle $(BNC)$ is the midpoint of arc $BC$ not containing $N$. Since $\Omega$ is tangent to $BC$, $\Omega$ is tangent to $(BNC)$ by Shooting Lemma.
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fearsum_fyz
48 posts
#114 • 1 Y
Y by GeoKing
We can remove $AD$ by replacing $KM$ with $KI_A$, where $I_A$ is the $A$-excenter.

By shooting lemma, it would suffice to show that $TK \cdot TN = TB^2 = TC^2$ where $T$ is the midpoint of arc $\widehat{BC}$ of $(BCN)$. We will show this using phantom points.

Let $T'$ be the intersection of the perpendicular bisector of $BC$ and line $KI_A$. Let $A'$ be the midpoint of $BC$ and $X$ be the $A$-extouch point. Since $T'A'$ and $IK$ are both perpendicular to $BC$, they are parallel, and hence $\angle{NKI} = \angle{KT'A'} = \angle{T'I_AX} = x$ (say).
By the converse of midpoint theorem in $\Delta{KI_AX}$, $T'$ is the midpoint of $KI_A$. This yields:

$KT' \cdot KN = \frac{1}{2} KI_A \cdot KN =  \frac{1}{2} \cdot KI_A \cdot \frac{\sin{(180^{\circ} - 2x)}}{\sin{x}} \cdot r = KI_A \cdot \cos{x} \cdot r = r_a \cdot r = (s - b) \cdot (s - c) = KB \cdot KC$

implying that $N, B, C, T'$ are concyclic as desired.
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bjump
989 posts
#115 • 1 Y
Y by OronSH
Xoink phone write ups
Let $MK$ meet the perpendicular bisector of $BC$ at $E$ note that by the shooting lemma $E \in (BCN)$. Let $O$ be the circumcenter of $(BCN)$. Then note that since $ON=OE$ and $IK=IN$ and $\angle NKI = \angle NEO$. Since $\triangle KNI \sim \triangle ENO$ and $N$, $K$, and $E$ are collinear. This implies $O$, $I$, $N$ collinear, and we are finished.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by bjump, Jul 3, 2024, 10:43 PM
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MELSSATIMOV40
29 posts
#116
Y by
#attachments[url][/url]
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MELSSATIMOV40
29 posts
#117
Y by
MELSSATIMOV40 wrote:
#attachments[url][/url]
2 nd page
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Eka01
204 posts
#118 • 2 Y
Y by Sammy27, SuperBarsh
By the midpoints of altitudes lemma, $KN$ passes through the $A$ excenter $I_A$ so now we remove the extraneous altitude. Now we take the tangent to the incircle at $N$ and show it is tangent to $(BCN)$ as well. Let the tangent intersect $BC$ at $T$ and let $IT \cap KN=X$. Since $IT$ is the perpendicular bisector of $KN$, X is the midpoint of $KN$ and it lies on the circle with diameter $II_A$ which is $(BIC)$.
Since $\Delta IKT$ is right angled at $T$ and $X$ is foot of altitude from $K$ to the hypotenuse, it follows by similarity that $TK^2=TX.TI$.
Now by Power of Point,
$$TN^2=TK^2=TX.TI=TB.TC$$So $TN$ is indeed tangent to the circle $(BCN)$.
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mcmp
50 posts
#119
Y by
Someone PLEASE stop me from becoming too reliant on projective stuff :noo:

Relabel several of the points to match with the diagram.
Funny diagram
Let $A’=(DEF)\cap\overline{AD}\neq D$, $T’$ the pole of $\overline{A’D}$ and $T$ the midpoint of $AD$. I claim that $\overline{KT}$ tangent to $(DEF)$, and $KT^2=TB\cdot TC$ which will finish. First notice that $\overline{KD’}$ passes through $T$, since $(A’D;KD’)\stackrel{D}{=}(AX;M\infty_{AX})=-1$, however since $A$ is the pole of $\overline{EF}$, the polar of $A$ which is just $\overline{EF}$ also passes through $T’$, the pole of $\overline{A’D}$. Hence by the midpoints of harmonic bundles lemma $TD^2=TD\cdot TT’=TB\cdot TC$. So it suffices to show $KT=TD$.

Now $\measuredangle D’KD=90^{\circ}$, so $\triangle T’KD$ has circumcentre $T$. Hence we indeed have $KT=DT$. Since $K\in(DEF)$, we must also have that $KT$ tangent to $(DEF)$ and $(BKC)$ as desired. :yoda:
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Aiden-1089
277 posts
#120
Y by
Let $I$ be the incentre, $\Delta KPQ$ be the intouch triangle, and let $R=PQ \cap BC$.
Let $K'$ be the antipode of $K$ in $\Omega$.
Let $\Omega_A$ be the $A$-excircle with centre $I_A$, $L$ be the $A$-extouch point, $L'$ be the antipode of $L$ in $\Omega_A$.
Recall that $A-K-L'$ and $A-K'-L$. Since $I_A$ is the midpoint of $LL'$, there exists negative homothety centred at $K$ takes $D$ to $L$, $A$ to $L'$, and so $M$ to $I_A$. Thus $M-K-I_A$.

Note that $AK$ is the polar of $R$ wrt $\Omega$, so $AK \perp IR$. It follows that $\Delta IKR \sim \Delta KLL'$.
Let $T$ be the midpoint of $KR$, then we have $\Delta IKT \sim \Delta KLI_A$, so $IT \perp KI_A$, and this implies that $KI_A$ is the polar of $T$ wrt $\Omega$.
Now $N$ lies on $KI_A$, so $TN$ is tangent to $\Omega$ at $N$. Then since $(B,C;K,R)=-1$, we have $TB \cdot TC = TK^2 = TN^2$.
Thus $TN$ is also tangent to $(BCN)$, so we are done. $\square$
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Thelink_20
64 posts
#121
Y by
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Lemma 1: If $P'$ is the midpoint of the arc $\overarc{BC}$ in $(BNC)$, then $(BNC)$ is tangent to $\Omega\iff N-K-P'$.
Proof: Inverting by $P'$ fixing $B$ and $C$ sends $BC\longleftrightarrow (BNC)$ and $\Omega$ is tangent to $(BNC)\iff\Omega\longleftrightarrow\Omega\iff K\longleftrightarrow N\iff N-K-P' \ $ $_{\blacksquare}$

Lemma 2: $M-K-I_A$.
Proof: If $K''$ is the antipode of $K'$ on the excircle, then the homothety from $A$ sending the incircle to th excircle yields $A-K-K''$ thus the homothety from $K$ mapping $AD\mapsto K'K''$ maps $M\mapsto I_A\Rightarrow M-K-I_A \ $ $_{\blacksquare}$

Lemma 3: If $P=(BNC)\cap MK$, then $KP=I_AP$ .
Proof: Let $Q=(BIC)\cap MK$. $\angle IQK=\angle IQI_A=\angle IBI_A=90^{\circ}\implies NQ=KQ$. But $NK\cdot KP=BK\cdot CK=KQ\cdot KI_A=\frac{NK}{2} \cdot KI_A\implies KP=\frac{KI_A}{2}=I_AP \ $ $_{\blacksquare}$

Now notice that $P$ lies on the perp. bissector of $KK'$ because $K'I_A\perp BC$, thus it lies on the perp. bissector of $BC\implies \boxed{P=P'}$, but that means we are done because clearly $N-K-P' \ $ $_{\blacksquare}$.
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by Thelink_20, Nov 19, 2024, 5:52 PM
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Scilyse
386 posts
#122
Y by
If $AB = AC$ then the conclusion is obvious since $N$ lies on the perpendicular bisector of $\overline{BC}$; thus without loss of generality assume that $AB < AC$. Let $I_A$ be the $A$-excentre, which is known to lie on line $MK$, let $I$ be the incentre, and let the tangent to $\Omega$ at $N$ intersect line $BC$ at $T$. Further let $M_A$ be the midpoint of arc $BC$ of $(ABC)$ not containing $A$, let $\ell$ be the tangent to $(ABC)$ at $M_A$, let $K'$ be the foot from $I_A$ to $BC$ and let $L$ be the midpoint of $\overline{AC}$. As $T$ is the pole of line $NK$ in $\Omega$, we have $TI \perp KI_A$.

Orient $BC$ parallel to the $x$-axis; now $\operatorname{slope}(TI) = \frac{IK}{TK} = \frac{r}{TK}$ and \[\operatorname{slope}(KI_A) = \frac{I_A K}{-KK'} = \frac{\operatorname{dist}(I_A, \ell) + M_A L}{-KK'} = -\frac{\operatorname{dist}(I, \ell) + M_A L}{2KL} = -\frac{IK + 2M_A L}{2(BL - BK)} = -\frac{r + 2BL \tan \angle M_ABC}{2(\frac a2 - (s - b))} = -\frac{r + a \tan(\frac{\alpha}{2})}{b - c}.\]Since $\operatorname{slope}(TI) \cdot \operatorname{slope}(KI_A) = -1$, we have \[-\frac{r}{TK} \cdot \frac{r + a \tan(\frac{\alpha}{2})}{b - c} = -1 \implies TK = \frac{r(r + a \tan(\frac{\alpha}{2}))}{b - c}.\]Let $E$ be the foot from $I$ to $AC$; now $\tan\left(\frac{\alpha}{2}\right) = \tan(\angle IAE) = \frac{IE}{AE} = \frac{r}{s - a}$. As such,
\begin{align*}
TK &= \frac{r(r + a \tan(\frac{\alpha}{2}))}{b - c} \\
&= \frac{r^2(1 + \frac{a}{s - a})}{b - c} \\
&= \frac{(\frac{A}{s})^2(\frac{s}{s - a})}{b - c} \\
&= \frac{\frac{s(s - a)(s - b)(s - c)}{s^2} \cdot \frac{s}{s - a}}{b - c} \\
&= \frac{(s - b)(s - c)}{b - c}.
\end{align*}Now we can calculate
\begin{align*}
TK &= \frac{(s - b)(s - c)}{b - c} \\
TK((s - c) - (s - b)) &= (s - b)(s - c) \\
TK^2 &= TK^2 + TK((s - c) - (s - b)) - (s - b)(s - c) \\
TK^2 &= (TK - (s - b))(TK + (s - c)) \\
TK^2 &= (TK - BK)(TK + CK) \\
TK^2 &= TB \cdot TC.
\end{align*}But $TN = TK$, so $TN^2 = TB \cdot TC$, and therefore $TN$ is tangent to $(NBC)$. Since $TN$ is by definition also tangent to $\Omega$, we're done.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Scilyse, Dec 22, 2024, 9:54 AM
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Captainscrubz
43 posts
#123 • 1 Y
Y by MrdiuryPeter
hehe nice problem :-D
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cursed_tangent1434
557 posts
#124 • 1 Y
Y by ihategeo_1969
Extremely dissatisfying solution but it's the best I've got. We denote by $I_a$ the $A-$Excenter and by $D$ , $E$ and $F$ the intouch points of $\triangle ABC$ (this overrides a point definition in the problem). It is well known by the Midpoint of the Altitude Lemma that the midpoint of the $A-$altitude , $D$ and $I_a$ are collinear. Thus, it suffices to show that points $D$ , $N$ and $I_a$ lie on the same line which we shall now do.

Let $P$ and $Q$ be the reflections of $D$ across points $B$ and $C$ respectively. We start off with the following key claim.

Claim : Quadrilaterals $BFQI_a$ and $CEPI_a$ are cyclic.

Proof : We only provide the proof for one since the other is entirely similar. Let $X= PD \cap AI$. Note,
\[\measuredangle I_aXP = \measuredangle CPF + \measuredangle (BC,AI) = 90 + \measuredangle IBA + \measuredangle  ACB + \measuredangle IAC = 90 + \measuredangle ICB = \measuredangle PCI_a\]which implies that points $P$ , $X$ , $C$ and $I_a$ are concyclic. Further note that since $PF \perp FD \perp BI$ lines $PF$ and $BI$ are parallel. Thus, $\triangle AFX \sim \triangle ABI$. This then gives us,
\[AX \cdot AI_a = \frac{AX\cdot AC \cdot AB}{AI} = AC \cdot AF = AC \cdot AE\]which implies that points $X$ , $E$ , $C$ and $I_a$ are also concyclic, which in conjunction with the previous observation will imply the claim.

Now, let $N = (I_aBF) \cap (I_aCE) \ne I_a$. We first note that,
\[\measuredangle ENF = \measuredangle I_aNF+ \measuredangle ENI_a = \measuredangle NI_aB + \measuredangle EI_aN = \measuredangle EI_aF = \measuredangle EDF\]which implies that $N$ lies on the incircle of $\triangle ABC$. Further,
\[\text{Pow}_{(CEI_a)}(D)=DP \cdot DC = 2DB \cdot DC = DQ \cdot DB = \text{Pow}_{(BFI_a)}(D)\]which indicates that $D$ lies on the radical axis of circles $(BFI_a)$ and $(CEI_a)$ and hence points $N$ , $D$ and $I_a$ are collinear. We now simply show that this point $N$ is the desired point of tangency.

Claim : Circle $(BNC)$ is tangent to the incircle at $N$.

Proof : Let $M$ denote the midpoint of segment $DI_a$ (overrides a point definition in the problem). It is clear that $M$ lies on the perpendicular bisector of segment $BC$ since it is well known that the midpoint of $BC$ is the midpoint of the segment joining the $A-$intouch and $A-$extouch points. Further,
\[DB \cdot DC = \frac{DP \cdot DC}{2} = \frac{DN\cdot DI_a}{2}= DM \cdot DN\]which implies that $M$ lies on $(NBC)$. Thus, $M$ must be the minor $BC-$arc midpoint in $(NBC)$. By Shooting Lemma it now suffices to show that $MD \cdot MN = MB^2$ which is exactly what we shall do next.

We now define the function, $f(\bullet)=\text{Pow}_{(I_aBF)}(\bullet)-\text{Pow}_{(B)}(\bullet)$ which by the Linearity of Power of Point, we know is linear. Let $X_a$ denote the $A-$extouch point and $M_a$ the midpoint of segment $BC$ in $\triangle ABC$. Thus,
\begin{align*}
f(M)&= \frac{f(D)+f(I_a)}{2}\\
&= \frac{-2DB\cdot DC - DB^2 + 0 - I_aB^2}{2}\\
&= \frac{-2DB \cdot DC-DB^2 - I_aX_a^2 - BX_a^2}{2}\\
&= \frac{-2DB\cdot DC - DB^2 - 4MM_a^2-BX_a^2}{2}\\
&= \frac{-2(s-b)(s-c)-(s-b)^2 - 4MM_a^2 - (s-c)^2}{2}\\
&= \frac{-((s-b)+(s-c))^2-4MM_a^2}{2}\\
&= \frac{-a^2 - 4MM_a^2}{2}\\
&= \frac{-4(BM_a^2+MM_a^2)}{2}\\
&= \frac{-4BM^2}{2}\\
&= -2BM^2
\end{align*}Thus,
\[-MN \cdot MI_a-MB^2=-2MB^2\]so
\[MB^2 = MN\cdot MI_a = MN \cdot MD\]as desired.
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ihategeo_1969
168 posts
#125 • 1 Y
Y by cursed_tangent1434
Why don't most solutions do this?

Let $I_A$ be the $A$-Excenter and by Midpoint of Altitude lemma, we have $N=\overline{KI_A} \cap$ incircle.

Now invert about the incircle and so we solve this instead
Quote:
Let $\triangle ABC$ be a triangle with circumcenter $O$ and $\triangle MNP$ as medial triangle. If $T=\overline{MO} \cap \overline{NP}$ then if $Y=(ATO) \cap (ABC)$ then prove that $(PNY)$ is tangent to $(ABC)$.
We will prove $Y$ is $A$-Why point. Now we will phantom point this and use two well known facts about $Y_A$ (the Why point).
  • $Y_A=\overline{DGA'} \cap (ABC)$ where $G$ is centroid.
  • $(Y_APN)$ is tangent to $(ABC)$.
So we just need to prove $Y_A \in (ATO)$. Firstly by $-\frac 12$ homothety at $G$ we get $T \in \overline{DGA'}$ and so \[\measuredangle AY_AT=\measuredangle AY_AA'=\measuredangle ODA=\measuredangle AOM=\measuredangle AOT\]And done.
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