School starts soon! Add problem solving to your schedule with our math, science, and/or contest classes!

G
Topic
First Poster
Last Poster
k a August Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jwelsh   0
Friday at 2:14 PM
CONGRATULATIONS to all the competitors at this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)! The US Team took second place with 5 gold medals and 1 silver - we are proud to say that each member of the 2025 IMO team has participated in an AoPS WOOT (Worldwide Online Olympiad Training) class!

"As a parent, I'm deeply grateful to AoPS. Tiger has taken very few math courses outside of AoPS, except for a local Math Circle that doesn't focus on Olympiad math. AoPS has been one of the most important resources in his journey. Without AoPS, Tiger wouldn't be where he is today — especially considering he's grown up in a family with no STEM background at all."
— Doreen Dai, parent of IMO US Team Member Tiger Zhang

Interested to learn more about our WOOT programs? Check out the course page here or join a Free Scheduled Info Session. Early bird pricing ends August 19th!:
CodeWOOT Code Jam - Monday, August 11th
ChemWOOT Chemistry Jam - Wednesday, August 13th
PhysicsWOOT Physics Jam - Thursday, August 14th
MathWOOT Math Jam - Friday, August 15th

There is still time to enroll in our last wave of summer camps that start in August at the Virtual Campus, our video-based platform, for math and language arts! From Math Beasts Camp 6 (Prealgebra Prep) to AMC 10/12 Prep, you can find an informative 2-week camp before school starts. Plus, our math camps don’t have homework and cover cool enrichment topics like graph theory. Our language arts courses will build the foundation for next year’s challenges, such as Language Arts Triathlon for levels 5-6 and Academic Essay Writing for high school students.

Lastly, Fall is right around the corner! You can plan your Fall schedule now with classes at either AoPS Online, AoPS Academy Virtual Campus, or one of our AoPS Academies around the US. We’ve opened new Academy locations in San Mateo, CA, Pasadena, CA, Saratoga, CA, Johns Creek, GA, Northbrook, IL, and Upper West Side (NYC), New York.

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, Aug 17 - Dec 14
Tuesday, Aug 26 - Dec 16
Friday, Sep 5 - Jan 16
Monday, Sep 8 - Jan 12
Tuesday, Sep 16 - Jan 20 (4:30 - 5:45 pm ET/1:30 - 2:45 pm PT)
Sunday, Sep 21 - Jan 25
Thursday, Sep 25 - Jan 29
Wednesday, Oct 22 - Feb 25
Tuesday, Nov 4 - Mar 10
Friday, Dec 12 - Apr 10

Prealgebra 2 Self-Paced

Prealgebra 2
Sunday, Aug 17 - Dec 14
Tuesday, Sep 9 - Jan 13
Thursday, Sep 25 - Jan 29
Sunday, Oct 19 - Feb 22
Monday, Oct 27 - Mar 2
Wednesday, Nov 12 - Mar 18

Introduction to Algebra A Self-Paced

Introduction to Algebra A
Sunday, Aug 17 - Dec 14
Wednesday, Aug 27 - Dec 17
Friday, Sep 5 - Jan 16
Thursday, Sep 11 - Jan 15
Sunday, Sep 28 - Feb 1
Monday, Oct 6 - Feb 9
Tuesday, Oct 21 - Feb 24
Sunday, Nov 9 - Mar 15
Friday, Dec 5 - Apr 3

Introduction to Counting & Probability Self-Paced

Introduction to Counting & Probability
Monday, Aug 11 - Nov 3
Wednesday, Sep 3 - Nov 19
Sunday, Sep 21 - Dec 14 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Friday, Oct 3 - Jan 16
Sunday, Oct 19 - Jan 25
Tuesday, Nov 4 - Feb 10
Sunday, Dec 7 - Mar 8

Introduction to Number Theory
Wednesday, Aug 13 - Oct 29
Friday, Sep 12 - Dec 12
Sunday, Oct 26 - Feb 1
Monday, Dec 1 - Mar 2

Introduction to Algebra B Self-Paced

Introduction to Algebra B
Thursday, Aug 7 - Nov 20
Monday, Aug 18 - Dec 15
Sunday, Sep 7 - Jan 11
Thursday, Sep 11 - Jan 15
Wednesday, Sep 24 - Jan 28
Sunday, Oct 26 - Mar 1
Tuesday, Nov 4 - Mar 10
Monday, Dec 1 - Mar 30

Introduction to Geometry
Wednesday, Aug 13 - Feb 11
Tuesday, Aug 26 - Feb 24
Sunday, Sep 7 - Mar 8
Thursday, Sep 11 - Mar 12
Wednesday, Sep 24 - Mar 25
Sunday, Oct 26 - Apr 26
Monday, Nov 3 - May 4
Friday, Dec 5 - May 29

Paradoxes and Infinity
Sat & Sun, Sep 13 - Sep 14 (1:00 - 4:00 PM PT/4:00 - 7:00 PM ET)

Intermediate: Grades 8-12

Intermediate Algebra
Friday, Aug 8 - Feb 20
Tuesday, Aug 26 - Feb 24
Sunday, Sep 28 - Mar 29
Wednesday, Oct 8 - Mar 8
Sunday, Nov 16 - May 17
Thursday, Dec 11 - Jun 4

Intermediate Counting & Probability
Sunday, Sep 28 - Feb 15
Tuesday, Nov 4 - Mar 24

Intermediate Number Theory
Wednesday, Sep 24 - Dec 17

Precalculus
Wednesday, Aug 6 - Jan 21
Tuesday, Sep 9 - Feb 24
Sunday, Sep 21 - Mar 8
Monday, Oct 20 - Apr 6
Sunday, Dec 14 - May 31

Advanced: Grades 9-12

Calculus
Sunday, Sep 7 - Mar 15
Wednesday, Sep 24 - Apr 1
Friday, Nov 14 - May 22

Contest Preparation: Grades 6-12

MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics
Sunday, Aug 17 - Nov 9
Wednesday, Sep 3 - Nov 19
Tuesday, Sep 16 - Dec 9
Sunday, Sep 21 - Dec 14 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Monday, Oct 6 - Jan 12
Thursday, Oct 16 - Jan 22
Tues, Thurs & Sun, Dec 9 - Jan 18 (meets three times a week!)

MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced
Sunday, Aug 17 - Nov 9
Tuesday, Aug 26 - Nov 11
Thursday, Sep 4 - Nov 20
Friday, Sep 12 - Dec 12
Monday, Sep 15 - Dec 8
Sunday, Oct 5 - Jan 11
Tues, Thurs & Sun, Dec 2 - Jan 11 (meets three times a week!)
Mon, Wed & Fri, Dec 8 - Jan 16 (meets three times a week!)

AMC 10 Problem Series
Sunday, Aug 10 - Nov 2
Thursday, Aug 14 - Oct 30
Tuesday, Aug 19 - Nov 4
Mon & Wed, Sep 15 - Oct 22 (meets twice a week!)
Mon, Wed & Fri, Oct 6 - Nov 3 (meets three times a week!)
Tue, Thurs & Sun, Oct 7 - Nov 2 (meets three times a week!)

AMC 10 Final Fives
Friday, Aug 15 - Sep 12
Sunday, Sep 7 - Sep 28
Tuesday, Sep 9 - Sep 30
Monday, Sep 22 - Oct 13
Sunday, Sep 28 - Oct 19 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Wednesday, Oct 8 - Oct 29
Thursday, Oct 9 - Oct 30

AMC 12 Problem Series
Wednesday, Aug 6 - Oct 22
Sunday, Aug 10 - Nov 2
Monday, Aug 18 - Nov 10
Mon & Wed, Sep 15 - Oct 22 (meets twice a week!)
Tues, Thurs & Sun, Oct 7 - Nov 2 (meets three times a week!)

AMC 12 Final Fives
Thursday, Sep 4 - Sep 25
Sunday, Sep 28 - Oct 19
Tuesday, Oct 7 - Oct 28

AIME Problem Series A
Thursday, Oct 23 - Jan 29

AIME Problem Series B
Tuesday, Sep 2 - Nov 18

F=ma Problem Series
Tuesday, Sep 16 - Dec 9
Friday, Oct 17 - Jan 30

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, Aug 14 - Oct 30
Sunday, Sep 7 - Nov 23
Tuesday, Dec 2 - Mar 3

Intermediate Programming with Python
Friday, Oct 3 - Jan 16

USACO Bronze Problem Series
Wednesday, Sep 3 - Dec 3
Thursday, Oct 30 - Feb 5
Tuesday, Dec 2 - Mar 3

Physics

Introduction to Physics
Tuesday, Sep 2 - Nov 18
Sunday, Oct 5 - Jan 11
Wednesday, Dec 10 - Mar 11

Physics 1: Mechanics
Sunday, Sep 21 - Mar 22
Sunday, Oct 26 - Apr 26
0 replies
jwelsh
Friday at 2:14 PM
0 replies
k i Adding contests to the Contest Collections
dcouchman   1
N Apr 5, 2023 by v_Enhance
Want to help AoPS remain a valuable Olympiad resource? Help us add contests to AoPS's Contest Collections.

Find instructions and a list of contests to add here: https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c40244h1064480_contests_to_add
1 reply
dcouchman
Sep 9, 2019
v_Enhance
Apr 5, 2023
k i Zero tolerance
ZetaX   49
N May 4, 2019 by NoDealsHere
Source: Use your common sense! (enough is enough)
Some users don't want to learn, some other simply ignore advises.
But please follow the following guideline:


To make it short: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!
If you don't have common sense, don't post.


More specifically:

For new threads:


a) Good, meaningful title:
The title has to say what the problem is about in best way possible.
If that title occured already, it's definitely bad. And contest names aren't good either.
That's in fact a requirement for being able to search old problems.

Examples:
Bad titles:
- "Hard"/"Medium"/"Easy" (if you find it so cool how hard/easy it is, tell it in the post and use a title that tells us the problem)
- "Number Theory" (hey guy, guess why this forum's named that way¿ and is it the only such problem on earth¿)
- "Fibonacci" (there are millions of Fibonacci problems out there, all posted and named the same...)
- "Chinese TST 2003" (does this say anything about the problem¿)
Good titles:
- "On divisors of a³+2b³+4c³-6abc"
- "Number of solutions to x²+y²=6z²"
- "Fibonacci numbers are never squares"


b) Use search function:
Before posting a "new" problem spend at least two, better five, minutes to look if this problem was posted before. If it was, don't repost it. If you have anything important to say on topic, post it in one of the older threads.
If the thread is locked cause of this, use search function.

Update (by Amir Hossein). The best way to search for two keywords in AoPS is to input
[code]+"first keyword" +"second keyword"[/code]
so that any post containing both strings "first word" and "second form".


c) Good problem statement:
Some recent really bad post was:
[quote]$lim_{n\to 1}^{+\infty}\frac{1}{n}-lnn$[/quote]
It contains no question and no answer.
If you do this, too, you are on the best way to get your thread deleted. Write everything clearly, define where your variables come from (and define the "natural" numbers if used). Additionally read your post at least twice before submitting. After you sent it, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.


For answers to already existing threads:


d) Of any interest and with content:
Don't post things that are more trivial than completely obvious. For example, if the question is to solve $x^{3}+y^{3}=z^{3}$, do not answer with "$x=y=z=0$ is a solution" only. Either you post any kind of proof or at least something unexpected (like "$x=1337, y=481, z=42$ is the smallest solution). Someone that does not see that $x=y=z=0$ is a solution of the above without your post is completely wrong here, this is an IMO-level forum.
Similar, posting "I have solved this problem" but not posting anything else is not welcome; it even looks that you just want to show off what a genius you are.

e) Well written and checked answers:
Like c) for new threads, check your solutions at least twice for mistakes. And after sending, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.



To repeat it: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!


Everything definitely out of range of common sense will be locked or deleted (exept for new users having less than about 42 posts, they are newbies and need/get some time to learn).

The above rules will be applied from next monday (5. march of 2007).
Feel free to discuss on this here.
49 replies
ZetaX
Feb 27, 2007
NoDealsHere
May 4, 2019
Theorems that really helped
SwordAxe   21
N 16 minutes ago by NamelyOrange
What are some theorems that really helped you in competitions (specifically AMC 8/10/12, AIME, Mathcounts)?

Herons really helped me once
21 replies
SwordAxe
Jul 29, 2025
NamelyOrange
16 minutes ago
About Cauchy Inequality
lgx57   4
N 22 minutes ago by sqing
How does $\dfrac{x}{y+z}+\dfrac{4x}{2x+y+z} \ge \dfrac{9x}{2(x+y+z)}$ prove by Cauchy Inequality?
4 replies
lgx57
Jun 1, 2025
sqing
22 minutes ago
Number Theory
JetFire008   0
33 minutes ago
Source: Elementary Number Theory by David M. Burton
Modify Euclid's proof that there are infinitely many primes by assuming the existence of a largest prime $p$ and using the integer $N=p!+1$ to arrive at a contradiction.
0 replies
JetFire008
33 minutes ago
0 replies
INMO 2019 P3
div5252   47
N 33 minutes ago by Golden_Verse
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.
47 replies
div5252
Jan 20, 2019
Golden_Verse
33 minutes ago
Tilted Students Thoroughly Splash Turtle
DottedCaculator   24
N 37 minutes ago by ray66
Source: 2022 USA TSTST #1
Let $n$ be a positive integer. Find the smallest positive integer $k$ such that for any set $S$ of $n$ points in the interior of the unit square, there exists a set of $k$ rectangles such that the following hold:
[list=disc]
[*]The sides of each rectangle are parallel to the sides of the unit square.
[*]Each point in $S$ is not in the interior of any rectangle.
[*]Each point in the interior of the unit square but not in $S$ is in the interior of at least one of the $k$ rectangles
[/list]
(The interior of a polygon does not contain its boundary.)

Holden Mui
24 replies
DottedCaculator
Jun 27, 2022
ray66
37 minutes ago
Find all functions
aktyw19   1
N 43 minutes ago by Mathzeus1024
Find all functions $ f: \mathbb R_{+} \to \mathbb R_{+}$ such that for all $ x>0$ and $ 0<y<1$ then $ (1-y)f(x)=f(f(yx)\frac{1-y}{y})$
1 reply
aktyw19
Mar 8, 2014
Mathzeus1024
43 minutes ago
Interesting inequality
sqing   3
N 44 minutes ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b> 0 ,a^2-ab+b^2=1 . $ Prove that
$$ \frac{a}{a^2+b+1}+\frac{b}{b^2+a+1}  \leq \frac{2}{3}$$$$   \frac{a}{b^2+a+1}+\frac{b}{a^2+b+1}  < \frac{7}{10}$$Let $ a,b> 0 ,a^2-ab+b^2=\frac{1}{2}. $ Prove that
$$    \frac{a}{b^2+a+1}+\frac{b}{a^2+b+1}   \leq  \frac{2(3 \sqrt{2}-2)}{7} $$Let $ a,b> 0 ,a^2-ab+b^2=\frac{1}{4}. $ Prove that
$$   \frac{a}{b^2+a+1}+\frac{b}{a^2+b+1}    \leq \frac{4}{7}$$Let $ a,b> 0 ,a^2-ab+b^2=\frac{1}{9}. $ Prove that
$$   \frac{a}{b^2+a+1}+\frac{b}{a^2+b+1}  \leq \frac{6}{13}$$
3 replies
sqing
Today at 1:56 AM
sqing
44 minutes ago
Interesting inequality
sqing   6
N an hour ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b,c>0,(a+b+1)\left(\frac{1}{a} + \frac{1}{b} +1\right)= 10. $ Prove that
$$ \frac{4\sqrt{2}}{5} \geq\frac{ \sqrt{a} + \sqrt{b} }{a+b+ab}\geq \frac{1 }{2\sqrt{2}}$$$$ \frac{4(1+\sqrt{2})}{5} \geq \frac{ \sqrt{a} + \sqrt{b} +1}{a+b+ab}\geq \frac{1+2\sqrt{2} }{8}$$
6 replies
sqing
Jul 29, 2025
sqing
an hour ago
Inequality
lgx57   2
N an hour ago by MathsII-enjoy
$a,b,c \in(0,1),ab+bc+ca=1$,Prove that:

$$\dfrac{8\sqrt{3}}{9}\le (a+b)(b+c)(c+a) < 2$$
(Not use trigonometric commutator)
2 replies
lgx57
6 hours ago
MathsII-enjoy
an hour ago
Inequalities
sqing   16
N an hour ago by sqing
Let $ a,b \geq 0,a +b =1 . $ Prove that
$$ \sqrt{a^4 + \frac{3}{4}ab} + \sqrt{b^4 + \frac{3}{4}ab} \geq 1$$Let $ a,b \geq 0,a +b =4 . $ Prove that
$$ \sqrt{a^4 + 12ab} + \sqrt{b^4 + 12ab} \geq 16$$Let $ a,b,c \geq 0,a +b +c=1 . $ Prove that
$$  a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + \frac{1}{2}\sqrt{3abc}  \geq \frac{1}{2}$$Let $ a,b,c \geq 0,a +b +c=3 . $ Prove that
$$  a^2 + b^2 + c^2 +\frac{3}{2} \sqrt{abc}  \geq \frac{9}{2}$$
16 replies
1 viewing
sqing
Friday at 12:19 PM
sqing
an hour ago
Parallelogram
m4thbl3nd3r   6
N an hour ago by Royal_mhyasd
Let $AD$ be the $A-$altitude of the triangle $ABC$ and $T,S$ be foots of perpendicular lines through $D$ on $AB,AC$, respectively. Construct the parallelogram $DTKS$ and altitudes $BE,CF$ of the triangle $ABC$. Prove that $K$ lies on $EF$
6 replies
m4thbl3nd3r
Today at 3:08 AM
Royal_mhyasd
an hour ago
Game of Queens
anantmudgal09   6
N an hour ago by NTguy
Source: India-Iran-Singapore-Taiwan Friendly Contest 2025 Problem 1
Alice and Bob are playing a game on an $n \times n$ ($n \geqslant 2$) chessboard. Initially, Alice’s queen is placed at the bottom-left corner, and Bob’s queen is at the bottom-right corner. All the other squares on the board are covered by neutral pieces.

Alice starts first, and the two players take turns. In each turn, a player must move their queen to capture a piece. A queen can capture a piece if and only if the piece lies in the same row, column, or diagonal as the queen, and there are no other pieces between them. A player loses if their queen is captured or if there are no remaining pieces they
can capture. For which values of $n$ does Alice have a winning strategy?
6 replies
anantmudgal09
Yesterday at 7:14 AM
NTguy
an hour ago
Number Theory
crocodilepradita   1
N an hour ago by NO_SQUARES
Determine all natural numbers $k$ such that there exist a positive even number $n$ such that
$(n-1)(n^2-1)(n^3-1)\dots(n^k-1)$
is a perfect square.
1 reply
crocodilepradita
2 hours ago
NO_SQUARES
an hour ago
Number Theory
thdwlgh1229   2
N an hour ago by MathsII-enjoy
Source: own
Find all the integer pairs $(m,n)$ such that $$3^{m}=2*11^{n}+1$$
2 replies
thdwlgh1229
5 hours ago
MathsII-enjoy
an hour ago
Convex function trouble
Sedro   2
N Jun 17, 2024 by Sedro
Suppose a function $f$ satisfies $f(x)+f(y) \ge 2f(\tfrac{x+y}{2})$ for all real $x,y$. Then, we have \begin{align*} f(x)+f(y) &\ge 2f(\tfrac{x+y}{2}) \\ f(x)+f(-y) &\ge 2f(\tfrac{x-y}{2}). \end{align*}We also have \[f(\tfrac{x+y}{2}) + f(\tfrac{x-y}{2}) \ge 2f(x).\]Adding the first two inequalities and using the third, we have \[2f(x) + f(y)+f(-y) \ge 2(f(\tfrac{x+y}{2}) + f(\tfrac{x-y}{2})) \ge 4f(x),\]which implies $f(y)+f(-y) \ge 2f(x)$. But this means $f$ is bounded above which is absurd -- take the identity function. I feel I am making some blithely stupid mistake, but I can't see what. Any help is appreciated :)
2 replies
Sedro
Jun 17, 2024
Sedro
Jun 17, 2024
Convex function trouble
G H J
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Sedro
5939 posts
#1
Y by
Suppose a function $f$ satisfies $f(x)+f(y) \ge 2f(\tfrac{x+y}{2})$ for all real $x,y$. Then, we have \begin{align*} f(x)+f(y) &\ge 2f(\tfrac{x+y}{2}) \\ f(x)+f(-y) &\ge 2f(\tfrac{x-y}{2}). \end{align*}We also have \[f(\tfrac{x+y}{2}) + f(\tfrac{x-y}{2}) \ge 2f(x).\]Adding the first two inequalities and using the third, we have \[2f(x) + f(y)+f(-y) \ge 2(f(\tfrac{x+y}{2}) + f(\tfrac{x-y}{2})) \ge 4f(x),\]which implies $f(y)+f(-y) \ge 2f(x)$. But this means $f$ is bounded above which is absurd -- take the identity function. I feel I am making some blithely stupid mistake, but I can't see what. Any help is appreciated :)
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by Sedro, Jun 17, 2024, 3:57 PM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
natmath
8219 posts
#2 • 1 Y
Y by Sedro
Your third inequality should be $2f(x/2)$ on the RHS.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Sedro
5939 posts
#3
Y by
natmath wrote:
Your third inequality should be $2f(x/2)$ on the RHS.

:wallbash_red: Thanks.
Z K Y
N Quick Reply
G
H
=
a