[/quote]
,
be the prime numbers listed in increasing order, and let 
be a real number between 0 and 1. For positive integer 
,![\[ x_k = \begin{cases} 0 & \mbox{if} \; x_{k-1} = 0, \\[.1in] {\displaystyle \left\{ \frac{p_k}{x_{k-1}} \right\}} & \mbox{if} \; x_{k-1} \neq 0, \end{cases} \]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/e/1/7/e17b3fc5962fba938dee877dac266c3cd024a6e3.png)
denotes the fractional part of 
.
where 
is the greatest integer less than or equal to 
for which the sequence 
eventually becomes 0.
of positive integers, Ali proceed the following algorythm: In the i-th step he markes all rational numbers in the interval ![$[0,1]$](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/e/8/6/e861e10e1c19918756b9c8b7717684593c63aeb8.png)
which have denominator equal to 
.
equal to the length of the smallest interval in 
and such that for all 
we have
be an acute triangle 
)
.
is chosen on arc 
,
,
intersect 
,
.
and 
lie on lines 
and 
respectively, such that 
is a parallelogram. Point 
is chosen on arc 
,
.
intersects 
at 
,
intersects 
at 
.
intersects 
at points 
,
and 
respectively.
.
such that for all 
we have:
and 
be prime numbers. Prove that if 
is a perfect square, then 
is also a perfect square.
-
in which each term is either 0 or 1 is called a binary sequence of length 
be the number of binary sequences of length 
be the number of binary sequences of length 
for all positive integers 
points are given on a circle. On a player's turn, that player must draw a triangle using three unused points as vertices, without creating any crossing edges. The first player who cannot move loses. If Elmo's clone goes first and players alternate turns, who wins? (Your answer may be in terms of 
cups labeled 
,
-
Prove that from any configuration where each cup contains an integer amount of water, it is possible to reach a configuration in which each cup contains exactly 1 liter of water in at most 
steps.
Prove that in at most 
steps, one can go from any configuration with integer water amounts to any other configuration with the same property.
,
and 
.
satisfy 
.
When does the equality occur?
be an integer. Find all positive real solutions to the following system of 
equations:
Y by LostInBali, Pengu14, aidan0626, Alex-131, Aaron_Q, pi-ay
I'm a rising ninth grader who wasn't in the school math league this year, and basically put aside comp math for a year. Unfortunately, that means that now that I'm in high school and having the epiphany about how important comp math actually is, and how much it would help my chances of getting involved in other math-related programs. In addition, I do enjoy math in general, and suspect that things like the AMCs are probably going to be some of the best practice I can get. What this all means is that I'm trying to go from mediocre to orz, 2 years after I probably should have started if I wanted to be any good.
So my question is: how do I get good at comp math?
This year, my scores on AMC 10 (and these are the highest I've ever gotten) were a 73.5 and an 82.5 (AMC 8 was 21/25, but that doesn't matter much). This is not good enough to qualify for AIME, and I probably need to raise my performance on each by at least 10 points. I've been decently good in the past at Number Theory, but I need to work on Geo and Combinatorics, and I'm trying to find the best resources to do that. My biggest flaw is probably not knowing many algorithms like Stars and Bars, and the path is clear here (learn them) but I'm still not sure which ones I need to know.
I'm aware that some of this advice is going to be something like "Practice 5 hours a day and start hardgrinding" or something along those lines. Unfortunately, I have other extracurriculars I need to balance, and for me, time is a limiting resource. My parents are somewhat frowning upon me doing a lot of comp math, which limits my time as well. I have neither the time nor motivation to do more than an hour a day, and in practice, I don't think I can be doing that consistently. As such, I would need to make that time count.
I know this is a very general question, and that aops is chock-full of detailed advice for math competitions. However, I'd appreciate it if anyone here could help me out, or show me the best resources I should use to get started. What mocks are any good, or what textbooks should I use? Where do I get the best practice with the shortest time? Is there some place I can find a list of useful formulas that have appeared in math comps before?
All advice is welcome!
So my question is: how do I get good at comp math?
This year, my scores on AMC 10 (and these are the highest I've ever gotten) were a 73.5 and an 82.5 (AMC 8 was 21/25, but that doesn't matter much). This is not good enough to qualify for AIME, and I probably need to raise my performance on each by at least 10 points. I've been decently good in the past at Number Theory, but I need to work on Geo and Combinatorics, and I'm trying to find the best resources to do that. My biggest flaw is probably not knowing many algorithms like Stars and Bars, and the path is clear here (learn them) but I'm still not sure which ones I need to know.
I'm aware that some of this advice is going to be something like "Practice 5 hours a day and start hardgrinding" or something along those lines. Unfortunately, I have other extracurriculars I need to balance, and for me, time is a limiting resource. My parents are somewhat frowning upon me doing a lot of comp math, which limits my time as well. I have neither the time nor motivation to do more than an hour a day, and in practice, I don't think I can be doing that consistently. As such, I would need to make that time count.
I know this is a very general question, and that aops is chock-full of detailed advice for math competitions. However, I'd appreciate it if anyone here could help me out, or show me the best resources I should use to get started. What mocks are any good, or what textbooks should I use? Where do I get the best practice with the shortest time? Is there some place I can find a list of useful formulas that have appeared in math comps before?
All advice is welcome!
