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Contests & Programs AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
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Contests & Programs AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
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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.

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0 replies
jlacosta
Mar 2, 2025
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
Mathhhhh
mathbetter   10
N an hour ago by togrulhamidli2011
Three turtles are crawling along a straight road heading in the same
direction. "Two other turtles are behind me," says the first turtle. "One turtle is
behind me and one other is ahead," says the second. "Two turtles are ahead of me
and one other is behind," says the third turtle. How can this be possible?
10 replies
mathbetter
Thursday at 11:21 AM
togrulhamidli2011
an hour ago
SONG circle?
YaoAOPS   1
N 2 hours ago by bin_sherlo
Source: own?
Let triangle $ABC$ have incenter $I$ and intouch triangle $DEF$. Let the circumcircle of $ABC$ intersect $(AEF)$ at $S$ and have center $O$. Let $N$ be the midpoint of arc $BAC$ on the circumcircle. Suppose quadrilateral $SONG$ is cyclic such that $X = SN \cap OG$ lies on $BC$. Show that $\angle XGD = 90^\circ$.
1 reply
YaoAOPS
4 hours ago
bin_sherlo
2 hours ago
A touching question on perpendicular lines
Tintarn   1
N 2 hours ago by Mathzeus1024
Source: Bundeswettbewerb Mathematik 2025, Round 1 - Problem 3
Let $k$ be a semicircle with diameter $AB$ and midpoint $M$. Let $P$ be a point on $k$ different from $A$ and $B$.

The circle $k_A$ touches $k$ in a point $C$, the segment $MA$ in a point $D$, and additionally the segment $MP$. The circle $k_B$ touches $k$ in a point $E$ and additionally the segments $MB$ and $MP$.

Show that the lines $AE$ and $CD$ are perpendicular.
1 reply
Tintarn
Mar 17, 2025
Mathzeus1024
2 hours ago
Inequality with ordering
JustPostChinaTST   7
N 2 hours ago by AshAuktober
Source: 2021 China TST, Test 1, Day 1 P1
Given positive integers $m$ and $n$. Let $a_{i,j} ( 1 \le i \le m, 1 \le j \le n)$ be non-negative real numbers, such that
$$ a_{i,1} \ge a_{i,2} \ge \cdots \ge a_{i,n} \text{ and } a_{1,j} \ge a_{2,j} \ge \cdots \ge a_{m,j} $$holds for all $1 \le i \le m$ and $1 \le j \le n$. Denote
$$ X_{i,j}=a_{1,j}+\cdots+a_{i-1,j}+a_{i,j}+a_{i,j-1}+\cdots+a_{i,1},$$$$ Y_{i,j}=a_{m,j}+\cdots+a_{i+1,j}+a_{i,j}+a_{i,j+1}+\cdots+a_{i,n}.$$Prove that
$$ \prod_{i=1}^{m} \prod_{j=1}^{n} X_{i,j} \ge \prod_{i=1}^{m} \prod_{j=1}^{n} Y_{i,j}.$$
7 replies
JustPostChinaTST
Mar 17, 2021
AshAuktober
2 hours ago
D1010 : How it is possible ?
Dattier   13
N 2 hours ago by Dattier
Source: les dattes à Dattier
Is it true that$$\forall n \in \mathbb N^*, (24^n \times B \mod A) \mod 2 = 0 $$?

A=1728400904217815186787639216753921417860004366580219212750904
024377969478249664644267971025952530803647043121025959018172048
336953969062151534282052863307398281681465366665810775710867856
720572225880311472925624694183944650261079955759251769111321319
421445397848518597584590900951222557860592579005088853698315463
815905425095325508106272375728975

B=2275643401548081847207782760491442295266487354750527085289354
965376765188468052271190172787064418854789322484305145310707614
546573398182642923893780527037224143380886260467760991228567577
953725945090125797351518670892779468968705801340068681556238850
340398780828104506916965606659768601942798676554332768254089685
307970609932846902
13 replies
Dattier
Mar 10, 2025
Dattier
2 hours ago
Find min
hunghd8   8
N 2 hours ago by imnotgoodatmathsorry
Let $a,b,c$ be nonnegative real numbers such that $ a+b+c\geq 2+abc $. Find min
$$P=a^2+b^2+c^2.$$
8 replies
hunghd8
Yesterday at 12:10 PM
imnotgoodatmathsorry
2 hours ago
Inequality and function
srnjbr   5
N 2 hours ago by pco
Find all f:R--R such that for all x,y, yf(x)+f(y)>=f(xy)
5 replies
srnjbr
Yesterday at 4:26 PM
pco
2 hours ago
Difficult factorization
Dakernew192   1
N 2 hours ago by Thursday
x^5-2x+6
1 reply
Dakernew192
Jan 8, 2024
Thursday
2 hours ago
every point is colored red or blue
Sayan   8
N 3 hours ago by Mathworld314
Source: ISI(BS) 2005 #9
Suppose that to every point of the plane a colour, either red or blue, is associated.

(a) Show that if there is no equilateral triangle with all vertices of the same colour then there must exist three points $A,B$ and $C$ of the same colour such that $B$ is the midpoint of $AC$.

(b) Show that there must be an equilateral triangle with all vertices of the same colour.
8 replies
Sayan
Jun 23, 2012
Mathworld314
3 hours ago
Isogonal conjugates
drmzjoseph   4
N 4 hours ago by Geometrylife
Source: Maybe own
Let $ABC$ a triangle with circumcircle $\Gamma$ and isogonal conjugates $P$ and $Q$. Take $X$ and $Y$ points on $AB$ and $BC$ respectively such that $\angle PXA=\angle CYQ$. If $\odot(PXA)$ cut $\Gamma$ again at $R$. Prove that $RY$ and $QA$ cut at $\Gamma$

If $P$ and $Q$ are external just read it by directed angles
Btw i found this using well-known lemma so it might not be mine
4 replies
drmzjoseph
Mar 10, 2025
Geometrylife
4 hours ago
funny title placeholder
pikapika007   46
N 6 hours ago by aliz
Source: USAJMO 2025/6
Let $S$ be a set of integers with the following properties:
[list]
[*] $\{ 1, 2, \dots, 2025 \} \subseteq S$.
[*] If $a, b \in S$ and $\gcd(a, b) = 1$, then $ab \in S$.
[*] If for some $s \in S$, $s + 1$ is composite, then all positive divisors of $s + 1$ are in $S$.
[/list]
Prove that $S$ contains all positive integers.
46 replies
pikapika007
Yesterday at 12:10 PM
aliz
6 hours ago
Scary Binomial Coefficient Sum
EpicBird08   31
N 6 hours ago by john0512
Source: USAMO 2025/5
Determine, with proof, all positive integers $k$ such that $$\frac{1}{n+1} \sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k$$is an integer for every positive integer $n.$
31 replies
EpicBird08
Yesterday at 11:59 AM
john0512
6 hours ago
Mathroots
Ruegerbyrd   0
Today at 4:33 AM
Has anyone gotten acceptances from MIT's Mathroots yet? Did they ever say they wouldn't send letters to anyone unless accepted?
0 replies
Ruegerbyrd
Today at 4:33 AM
0 replies
[TEST RELEASED] Mock Geometry Test for College Competitions
Bluesoul   16
N Today at 4:27 AM by lord_of_the_rook
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

Leaderboard
16 replies
Bluesoul
Feb 24, 2025
lord_of_the_rook
Today at 4:27 AM
conics ew
math31415926535   31
N Thursday at 10:05 PM by Magnetoninja
Source: 2022 AIME II Problem 12
Let $a, b, x,$ and $y$ be real numbers with $a>4$ and $b>1$ such that $$\frac{x^2}{a^2}+\frac{y^2}{a^2-16}=\frac{(x-20)^2}{b^2-1}+\frac{(y-11)^2}{b^2}=1.$$Find the least possible value of $a+b.$
31 replies
math31415926535
Feb 17, 2022
Magnetoninja
Thursday at 10:05 PM
conics ew
G H J
G H BBookmark kLocked kLocked NReply
Source: 2022 AIME II Problem 12
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math31415926535
5617 posts
#1 • 3 Y
Y by centslordm, son7, megarnie
Let $a, b, x,$ and $y$ be real numbers with $a>4$ and $b>1$ such that $$\frac{x^2}{a^2}+\frac{y^2}{a^2-16}=\frac{(x-20)^2}{b^2-1}+\frac{(y-11)^2}{b^2}=1.$$Find the least possible value of $a+b.$
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by math31415926535, Feb 17, 2022, 5:21 PM
Z K Y
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naman12
1358 posts
#2
Y by
Another personal favorite. I LOVE this one. Kudos to the author.

Edit: This claim is wrong. Will figure out later.

We can interpret the problem as following: an ellipse centered at the origin has semi-major axis $a$ and foci at $(\pm 4,0)$. Another ellipse is centered at $(20,11)$ with semi-major axis $b$ and foci $(20,11\pm 1)$. We claim that minimizing $a+b$ means that these ellipses are tangent - indeed, assume they are not. Then, we can reduce the major axis of the first extremely slightly, by some $\varepsilon>0$, such that the circles still intersect, but $a+b$ decreased, a contradiction.
[1\baselineskip]
We first have the following crucial claim about tangent ellipses. Assume that ellipses $\mathfrak E_1$ and $\mathfrak E_2$, with foci $E_1,E_2$ and $F_1,F_2$ are tangent at $T$.
Claim. $T$ is either $E_1F_2\cap E_2F_1$ or $E_1F_1\cap E_2F_2$.
[asy]
        import geometry;
        ellipse ellipse(point A, point B, point C) {
            return ellipse(A, B, (abs(A-C)+abs(B-C))/2);
        }
        size(9cm);
        point E1=(-4,0),E2=(4,0),F2=(10,12),F1=(10,5.6),T=(6,4);
        draw(ellipse(E1,E2,T));
        draw(ellipse(F1,F2,T));
        draw(E1--F1);
        draw(E2--F2);
        label("$E_1$",E1,S);
        label("$E_2$",E2,S);
        label("$F_1$",F1,E);
        label("$F_2$",F2,E);
        label("$T$",T,E);
        dot(E1);
        dot(E2);
        dot(F1);
        dot(F2);
        dot(T);
[/asy]
We can fix $E_1,E_2,F_1,F_2$, and we show that if $P=E_1F_1\cap E_2F_2$ (given that $P$ lies on both line segments; otherwise look at $E_1F_2\cap E_2F_1$), then the ellipses are tangent. Clearly, there is at most one ellipse with foci at $F_1$ and $F_2$ that is tangent to a given ellipse, so it suffices to prove that is the one.

We can assume there is another point $Q$ on both ellipses. This means that
\[E_1Q+E_2Q=E_1P+E_2P\]\[F_1Q+F_2Q=F_1P+F_2P\]or upon addition
\[E_1Q+E_2Q+F_1Q+F_2Q=E_1P+E_2P+E_1P+E_2Q\tag{1}\]However, by the triangle inequality in $\triangle E_1F_1Q$ and $\triangle E_2F_2Q$, we get
\[E_1Q+F_1Q\geq E_1F_1=E_1P+PF_1\]\[E_2Q+F_2Q\geq E_2F_2=E_2P+PF_2\]with both equalities impossible, as that means $Q=E_1F_1\cap E_2F_2=P$, impossible. Thus, we know that
\[E_1Q+E_2Q+F_1Q+F_2Q>E_1P+E_2P+E_1P+E_2Q\]a contradiction to (1).

Now, the rest of the problem is easy - we see the desired lines are the ones connecting $E_1=(4,0)$ with $F_1=(20,12)$, and $E_2=(-4,0)$ with $F_2=(20,10)$. We can compute this point to be $T=(14,7.5)$. Thus, the semi-major axis, $a$ and $b$, are just half of the sums of the distances from the foci. In particular,
\begin{align*}
a=\frac{E_1T+E_2T}2&=\frac{\sqrt{(4-14)^2+(0-7.5)^2}+\sqrt{(-4-14)^2+(0-7.5)^2}}{2}\\
&=\frac{12.5+19.5}{2}=16
\end{align*}\begin{align*}
b=\frac{F_1T+F_2T}2&=\frac{\sqrt{(20-14)^2+(12-7.5)^2}+\sqrt{(20-14)^2+(10-7.5)^2}}{2}\\
&=\frac{7.5+6.5}{2}=7
\end{align*}Thus, we get the minimum value of $a+b=\boxed{023}$.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by naman12, Feb 18, 2022, 12:02 AM
Z K Y
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Inconsistent
1455 posts
#3
Y by
CONICS oh yeah ;)

Use the definition of foci and then the lemma that the point minimizing AP+BP+CP+DP is the intersection of the diagonals of quadrilateral ABCD.
Z K Y
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Gogobao
1039 posts
#4 • 3 Y
Y by centslordm, rayfish, metricpaper
My favorite problem on the test
Solution
Z K Y
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Inconsistent
1455 posts
#5 • 4 Y
Y by CANBANKAN, samrocksnature, vaporwave, EpicBird08
My only problem with this problem:

$\sqrt{20^2+11^2} \approx 22.82 \approx \boxed{23}$

LOL just assume ellipses are circle!
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Inconsistent, Feb 17, 2022, 5:23 PM
Reason: edit
Z K Y
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CANBANKAN
1301 posts
#6
Y by
Lmao after proving a+b>=21 I random guessed 25
Z K Y
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TheCollatzConjecture
153 posts
#7
Y by
Even I random guessed 025!! off just just by a 2 :(
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juliankuang
1717 posts
#8
Y by
I guessed 025 as well!! what
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IAmTheHazard
5000 posts
#9 • 1 Y
Y by centslordm
Tangent ellipses = dj problem?
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pog
4917 posts
#10
Y by
IAmTheHazard wrote:
Tangent ellipses = dj problem?
Probably he would've said it was his problem
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naman12
1358 posts
#11
Y by
IAmTheHazard wrote:
Tangent ellipses = dj problem?

I was told this was not a djmathman problem but the proposer is just as creative with his iconic geometry problems.
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HrishiP
1346 posts
#12
Y by
The title of this thread disgusts me.

@2below not what I meant >:(
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by HrishiP, Feb 17, 2022, 7:41 PM
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FaThEr-SqUiRrEl
4721 posts
#13 • 1 Y
Y by inoxb198
naman12 wrote:
kudos to the author

thanks :yup:
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pog
4917 posts
#14
Y by
HrishiP wrote:
The title of this thread disgusts me.

I know, conics disgust me too. :surf:
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by pog, Feb 17, 2022, 7:07 PM
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adityabb
15 posts
#15
Y by
I just saw the centers were sqrt(521) away from each other, so I thought the sum had to be less than 22.5 instead of greater than, I guessed 22 :( :(
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asdf334
7586 posts
#16 • 1 Y
Y by hurdler
ngl i dont like conics but this one is op

basically you are given the foci so if you let an intersection point be (m, n) then to minimize a+b you want to minimize the sum of the four distances which happens when that intersection point is at the intersection of line segments

then a+b is half the sum of the four line segments or 0.5(26 + 20) = 23
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asdf334
7586 posts
#17 • 1 Y
Y by hurdler
blah full solution

The first ellipse has foci $E_1=(4, 0)$ and $E_2=(-4, 0)$ and the second ellipse has foci $F_1=(20, 12)$ and $F_2=(20, 10)$. Now consider the point $T=(x, y)$. We have that $a+b=\frac{E_1T+E_2T+F_1T+F_2T}{2}$ and since $E_1T+F_1T\geq E_1F_1$ and $E_2T+F_2T\geq E_2F_2$, we have that $a+b\geq \frac{E_1F_1+E_2F_2}{2}$, where equality occurs when $T$ is the intersection of $E_1F_1$ and $E_2F_2$. Then $E_1F_1=20,E_2F_2=26$, and the answer is $\frac{26+20}{2}=\boxed{023}$.
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someonenumber011
16 posts
#19 • 2 Y
Y by IAmTheHazard, math31415926535
People at my school agreed to guess 23 for any questions we didn’t know and here we are :)
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aqua2026
766 posts
#20 • 1 Y
Y by FaThEr-SqUiRrEl
why are there zeroes in front of every answer
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megarnie
5538 posts
#21
Y by
aqua2026 wrote:
why are there zeroes in front of every answer

because that's the answer you're supposed to put on the AIME. the zeroes are not required though
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asdf334
7586 posts
#22
Y by
because there are three bubbles on your answer sheet so you bubble a zero for smaller answers
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john0512
4171 posts
#23
Y by
someonenumber011 wrote:
People at my school agreed to guess 23 for any questions we didn’t know and here we are :)

orz i guess 029
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aqua2026
766 posts
#24
Y by
ahh i see thanks @2above and @3above. see, i'e never taken the aime so i didnt know how it worked. i didn't even know that it happened on paper
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Pleaseletmewin
1574 posts
#25
Y by
Never thought I'd enjoy a conics problem.

The foci of the first ellipse are $(\pm 4,0)$ and the foci of the second ellipse are $(20,10),(20,12)$. By the definition of an ellipse, we have:
\begin{align*}
\sqrt{(x-4)^2+y^2}+\sqrt{(x+4)^2+y^2}&=2a \\
\sqrt{(x-20)^2+(y-12)^2}+\sqrt{(x-20)^2+(y-10)^2}&=2b.
\end{align*}So
\begin{align*}
a+b&=\frac{\left(\sqrt{(x+4)^2+y^2}+\sqrt{(x-20)^2+(y-10)^2}\right)+\left(\sqrt{(x-4)^2+y^2}+\sqrt{(x-20)^2+(y-12)^2}\right)}{2} \\
&\geq\frac{\text{dist}((-4,0),(20,10)+\text{dist}((4,0),(20,12))}{2}=\frac{20+26}{2}=23.
\end{align*}Equality can occur, just draw a picture or solve for the intersection of the lines if you aren't convinced yet.
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KA01JK1A
281 posts
#26
Y by
:love: The lines between foci intersect at (14,15/2) and so that is the minimum => 16+7 = 23
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Awesome3.14
1733 posts
#28
Y by
I was very slow 15 minute solve
AIME II problems this year are so easy
find the foci and write out the alternative form of the equation for an ellipse
then 2a+2b is just the sum of the distances from (x,y) to (-4,0), (4,0), (20,10), (20,12)
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Awesome3.14, Jun 17, 2022, 2:11 AM
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Geometry285
902 posts
#34 • 1 Y
Y by Mango247
This problem is so satisfying, managed to finish all the bash and then whoosh, an integer answer! :P

We reference 1985 AIME #11 to find that if $E_1$ and $E_2$ are the foci of the first ellipse and $F_1$ and $F_2$ are the foci of the second ellipse, then the lines $E_1F_2$ and $E_2F_1$ intersect at the tangency point. This can be proven intuitively since AM-GM equality gives that $a \approx b$ minimizes any sum in general. Therefore we want them to be as small as possible while not too large, giving the assertion.

We now find the foci of the first ellipse to be $(\pm 4,0)$ and $(20,11 \pm 1)$ which gives the tangency point $T = \left(14, \frac{15}{2} \right)$ by basic ellipse properties and coordinates. We then plug this point back into each equation to solve for $a$ and $b$ respectively using the substitution $a^2=m$ and $b^2=n$. Miraculously, solving each quadratic gives $m = 256$ and $n=49$, or $a=16$ and $b=7$, which means $$a+b=16+7=\boxed{023}$$
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daijobu
523 posts
#38
Y by
Video Solution
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Hayabusa1
478 posts
#39
Y by
Construct the two conics: $\beta_1. \beta_2$. $\beta_1$ is centered at the origin with a major axis of $2a$ and minor axis $2\sqrt{a^2-16}$, while $\beta_2$ is centered at $(20, 11)$ with a major axis of $2b$ and minor axis of $2\sqrt{b^2-1}$. Now, let $F_1, F_2$ denote the foci of $\beta_1$ and $F_3, F_4$ denote the foci of $\beta_2$, respectively. Let $D$ be the intersection of $\beta_1$ and $\beta_2$. Spamming the definition of an ellipse gives that $a=\frac{1}{2}(DF_1+DF_2), b=\frac{1}{2}(DF_3+DF_4)$. This problem is boiled down to finding the minimum value of $DF_1+DF_2+DF_3+DF_4$.

By triangle inequality, the minimum occurs when $F_1, F_3$ and $D$ are collinear, and $F_2, F_4, D$ are collinear. The rest is just simple computation:

$$\min(a+b)=\frac{1}{2}\left( \sqrt{(20-4)^2+(12)^2}+\sqrt{(20+4)^2+(10)^2}\right)=\boxed{023}$$
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gladIasked
620 posts
#40
Y by
woah since when were conic problems this nice

The equation $$\frac{x^2}{a^2} + \frac{y^2}{a^2-16} =1$$is that of an ellipse centered at $(0, 0)$ with foci at $(4, 0)$ and $(-4, 0)$. Similarly, the equation $$\frac{(x-20)^2}{b^2-1}+\frac{(y-11)^2}{b^2}=1$$is that of an ellipse centered at $(20, 11)$ with foci at $(20, 10)$ and $(20, 12)$. Note that from the definition of an ellipse $2a$ is the sum the distances from any point on the ellipse to the two foci ($2c$ is defined similarly). We know that $(x, y)$ lies on the two ellipses. Thus, we want to minimize the sum of the distances from $(x, y)$ to the two pairs of foci, which have coordinates $(4, 0)$, $(-4, 0)$, $(20, 10)$, $(10, 12)$. In other words, we want to minimize the sum of the distances from $(x, y)$ to those four points.

This occurs when $(x, y)$ is the intersection of the segments connecting $(4, 0)$ and $(20, 12)$, $(-4, 0)$ and $(20, 10)$ (provable using triangle inequality). We can easily solve for $(x, y) = (14, 15/2)$, so $2a+2b = 46 \implies a+b=23$ (I skipped over some distance formula computation).
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eg4334
614 posts
#41
Y by
Least contrived conic problem.
Definition of conics gives us that $2a+2b$ is the sum of $P = (x, y)$ from the four foci. The four foci are literally just $A = (4, 0), B = (-4, 0), C = (20, 10), D = (20, 12)$. But minimizing $PA+PB+PC+PD$ is minimizing $PA+PD$ and $PB+PC$ and in fact these minima can happen at the same time at $P = BC \cap AD$. Basic system of equations extracts $\boxed{23}$
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Magnetoninja
273 posts
#42
Y by
One of the coolest problems on AIME ever:

When graphing it, the foci for the first ellipse are $(-4,0)$ and $(4,0)$, and the foci for the second ellipse are $(20,10)$ and $(20,12)$. For a pair $(x,y)$ to exist, the graphs must intersect. Let them intersect at $P(r,s)$. Then $\sqrt{(r-20)^2+(s-10)^2}+\sqrt{(r-20)^2+(s-12)^2}=2b$ and $\sqrt{(r-4)^2+s^2}+\sqrt{(r+4)^2+s^2}=2a$. $2(a+b)=\sqrt{(r-20)^2+(s-10)^2}+\sqrt{(r-20)^2+(s-12)^2}+\sqrt{(r-4)^2+s^2}+\sqrt{(r+4)^2+s^2}$. To minimize this expression, we must have circles with centers at the 4 foci points intersect at the point $P(r,s)$. We must minimize the sum of all the radii of these four circles. Consider the circles $\omega_1$ and $\omega_2$ at centers $(-4,0)$ and $(20,10)$ respectively. Clearly $r_1+r_2\geq{\sqrt{24^2+10^2}=26}$. Now consider circles $\omega_3$ and $\omega_4$ at centers $(4,0)$ and $(20,12)$ respectively. Similarly, $r_3+r_4\geq{\sqrt{12^2+16^2}=20}$. Both of these inequalities are equal when the two circles are tangent, and the pairs of circles are tangent at the same point, giving $r_1+r_2+r_3+r_4=\geq{20+26} \Longrightarrow 2(a+b)\geq{46} \Longrightarrow (a+b)\geq{23}$.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Magnetoninja, Thursday at 10:05 PM
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