Stay ahead of learning milestones! Enroll in a class over the summer!

G
Topic
First Poster
Last Poster
k a April Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Apr 2, 2025
Spring is in full swing and summer is right around the corner, what are your plans? At AoPS Online our schedule has new classes starting now through July, so be sure to keep your skills sharp and be prepared for the Fall school year! Check out the schedule of upcoming classes below.

WOOT early bird pricing is in effect, don’t miss out! If you took MathWOOT Level 2 last year, no worries, it is all new problems this year! Our Worldwide Online Olympiad Training program is for high school level competitors. AoPS designed these courses to help our top students get the deep focus they need to succeed in their specific competition goals. Check out the details at this link for all our WOOT programs in math, computer science, chemistry, and physics.

Looking for summer camps in math and language arts? Be sure to check out the video-based summer camps offered at the Virtual Campus that are 2- to 4-weeks in duration. There are middle and high school competition math camps as well as Math Beasts camps that review key topics coupled with fun explorations covering areas such as graph theory (Math Beasts Camp 6), cryptography (Math Beasts Camp 7-8), and topology (Math Beasts Camp 8-9)!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following events:
[list][*]April 3rd (Webinar), 4pm PT/7:00pm ET, Learning with AoPS: Perspectives from a Parent, Math Camp Instructor, and University Professor
[*]April 8th (Math Jam), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, 2025 MATHCOUNTS State Discussion
April 9th (Webinar), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Learn about Video-based Summer Camps at the Virtual Campus
[*]April 10th (Math Jam), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, 2025 MathILy and MathILy-Er Math Jam: Multibackwards Numbers
[*]April 22nd (Webinar), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Competitive Programming at AoPS (USACO).[/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
Sunday, Apr 13 - Aug 10
Tuesday, May 13 - Aug 26
Thursday, May 29 - Sep 11
Sunday, Jun 15 - Oct 12
Monday, Jun 30 - Oct 20
Wednesday, Jul 16 - Oct 29

Prealgebra 2 Self-Paced

Prealgebra 2
Sunday, Apr 13 - Aug 10
Wednesday, May 7 - Aug 20
Monday, Jun 2 - Sep 22
Sunday, Jun 29 - Oct 26
Friday, Jul 25 - Nov 21

Introduction to Algebra A Self-Paced

Introduction to Algebra A
Monday, Apr 7 - Jul 28
Sunday, May 11 - Sep 14 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Wednesday, May 14 - Aug 27
Friday, May 30 - Sep 26
Monday, Jun 2 - Sep 22
Sunday, Jun 15 - Oct 12
Thursday, Jun 26 - Oct 9
Tuesday, Jul 15 - Oct 28

Introduction to Counting & Probability Self-Paced

Introduction to Counting & Probability
Wednesday, Apr 16 - Jul 2
Thursday, May 15 - Jul 31
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Thursday, Jun 12 - Aug 28
Wednesday, Jul 9 - Sep 24
Sunday, Jul 27 - Oct 19

Introduction to Number Theory
Thursday, Apr 17 - Jul 3
Friday, May 9 - Aug 1
Wednesday, May 21 - Aug 6
Monday, Jun 9 - Aug 25
Sunday, Jun 15 - Sep 14
Tuesday, Jul 15 - Sep 30

Introduction to Algebra B Self-Paced

Introduction to Algebra B
Wednesday, Apr 16 - Jul 30
Tuesday, May 6 - Aug 19
Wednesday, Jun 4 - Sep 17
Sunday, Jun 22 - Oct 19
Friday, Jul 18 - Nov 14

Introduction to Geometry
Wednesday, Apr 23 - Oct 1
Sunday, May 11 - Nov 9
Tuesday, May 20 - Oct 28
Monday, Jun 16 - Dec 8
Friday, Jun 20 - Jan 9
Sunday, Jun 29 - Jan 11
Monday, Jul 14 - Jan 19

Intermediate: Grades 8-12

Intermediate Algebra
Monday, Apr 21 - Oct 13
Sunday, Jun 1 - Nov 23
Tuesday, Jun 10 - Nov 18
Wednesday, Jun 25 - Dec 10
Sunday, Jul 13 - Jan 18
Thursday, Jul 24 - Jan 22

Intermediate Counting & Probability
Wednesday, May 21 - Sep 17
Sunday, Jun 22 - Nov 2

Intermediate Number Theory
Friday, Apr 11 - Jun 27
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Wednesday, Jun 18 - Sep 3

Precalculus
Wednesday, Apr 9 - Sep 3
Friday, May 16 - Oct 24
Sunday, Jun 1 - Nov 9
Monday, Jun 30 - Dec 8

Advanced: Grades 9-12

Olympiad Geometry
Tuesday, Jun 10 - Aug 26

Calculus
Tuesday, May 27 - Nov 11
Wednesday, Jun 25 - Dec 17

Group Theory
Thursday, Jun 12 - Sep 11

Contest Preparation: Grades 6-12

MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics
Wednesday, Apr 16 - Jul 2
Friday, May 23 - Aug 15
Monday, Jun 2 - Aug 18
Thursday, Jun 12 - Aug 28
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21
Tues & Thurs, Jul 8 - Aug 14 (meets twice a week!)

MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced
Friday, Apr 11 - Jun 27
Sunday, May 11 - Aug 10
Tuesday, May 27 - Aug 12
Wednesday, Jun 11 - Aug 27
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21
Tues & Thurs, Jul 8 - Aug 14 (meets twice a week!)

AMC 10 Problem Series
Friday, May 9 - Aug 1
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Thursday, Jun 12 - Aug 28
Tuesday, Jun 17 - Sep 2
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Monday, Jun 23 - Sep 15
Tues & Thurs, Jul 8 - Aug 14 (meets twice a week!)

AMC 10 Final Fives
Sunday, May 11 - Jun 8
Tuesday, May 27 - Jun 17
Monday, Jun 30 - Jul 21

AMC 12 Problem Series
Tuesday, May 27 - Aug 12
Thursday, Jun 12 - Aug 28
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21
Wednesday, Aug 6 - Oct 22

AMC 12 Final Fives
Sunday, May 18 - Jun 15

F=ma Problem Series
Wednesday, Jun 11 - Aug 27

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, May 22 - Aug 7
Sunday, Jun 15 - Sep 14 (1:00 - 2:30 pm ET/10:00 - 11:30 am PT)
Tuesday, Jun 17 - Sep 2
Monday, Jun 30 - Sep 22

Intermediate Programming with Python
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Monday, Jun 30 - Sep 22

USACO Bronze Problem Series
Tuesday, May 13 - Jul 29
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 1

Physics

Introduction to Physics
Wednesday, May 21 - Aug 6
Sunday, Jun 15 - Sep 14
Monday, Jun 23 - Sep 15

Physics 1: Mechanics
Thursday, May 22 - Oct 30
Monday, Jun 23 - Dec 15

Relativity
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
Apr 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
Inspired by KHOMNYO2
sqing   2
N 5 minutes ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b>0 $ and $ a^2+b^2=\frac{5}{2}. $ Prove that $$ 2a + 2b + \frac{1}{a} + \frac{1}{b}  +\frac{ab}{\sqrt 2}\geq 5\sqrt 2$$$$ a +  b +\frac{2}{a} + \frac{2}{b}  + ab\geq \frac{5}{4} + \frac{13}{\sqrt 5} $$$$ a +  b +\frac{2}{a} + \frac{2}{b}  +  \frac{ab}{\sqrt 2}\geq \frac{5}{4\sqrt 2} + \frac{13}{\sqrt 5} $$
2 replies
1 viewing
sqing
Mar 28, 2025
sqing
5 minutes ago
USAMO 2003 Problem 4
MithsApprentice   71
N 11 minutes ago by LeYohan
Let $ABC$ be a triangle. A circle passing through $A$ and $B$ intersects segments $AC$ and $BC$ at $D$ and $E$, respectively. Lines $AB$ and $DE$ intersect at $F$, while lines $BD$ and $CF$ intersect at $M$. Prove that $MF = MC$ if and only if $MB\cdot MD = MC^2$.
71 replies
MithsApprentice
Sep 27, 2005
LeYohan
11 minutes ago
Inspired by giangtruong13
sqing   6
N 12 minutes ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b,c,d\geq 0 ,a-b+d=21 $ and $ a+3b+4c=101 $. Prove that
$$ 61\leq  a+b+2c+d\leq \frac{265}{3}$$$$- \frac{2121}{2}\leq   ab+bc-2cd+da\leq \frac{14045}{12}$$$$\frac{519506-7471\sqrt{7471}}{27}\leq   ab+bc-2cd+3da\leq 33620$$
6 replies
sqing
Friday at 2:57 AM
sqing
12 minutes ago
Inspired by Ruji2018252
sqing   4
N 12 minutes ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b,c $ be reals such that $ a^2+b^2+c^2-2a-4b-4c=7. $ Prove that
$$ -4\leq 2a+b+2c\leq 20$$$$5-4\sqrt 3\leq a+b+c\leq 5+4\sqrt 3$$$$ 11-4\sqrt {14}\leq a+2b+3c\leq 11+4\sqrt {14}$$
4 replies
sqing
Apr 10, 2025
sqing
12 minutes ago
Inspired by Abelkonkurransen 2025
sqing   0
26 minutes ago
Source: Own
Let $ a,b,c $ be real numbers such that $ \frac{a}{bc}+\frac{4b}{ca}+\frac{c}{ab}=24. $ Prove that
$$\frac{1}{a}+\frac{1}{2b}+\frac{1}{ c}\geq -6$$$$\frac{1}{a}+\frac{1}{2b}+\frac{1}{3c}\geq 1-\sqrt{73} $$$$\frac{1}{a}+\frac{1}{4b}+\frac{1}{ c}\geq \frac{3}{2}(1-\sqrt{33} )$$
0 replies
sqing
26 minutes ago
0 replies
Problem 16
Nguyenhuyen AG   37
N 35 minutes ago by flower417477
Let $a,b,c >0 $ such that $abc\ge1 $. Prove that
$\frac{1}{a^4+b^3+c^2}+\frac{1}{b^4+c^3+a^2}+\frac{1}{c^4+a^3+b^2}\le 1$
37 replies
Nguyenhuyen AG
May 3, 2010
flower417477
35 minutes ago
NEPAL TST 2025 DAY 2
Tony_stark0094   4
N 40 minutes ago by InterLoop
Consider an acute triangle $\Delta ABC$. Let $D$ and $E$ be the feet of the altitudes from $A$ to $BC$ and from $B$ to $AC$ respectively.

Define $D_1$ and $D_2$ as the reflections of $D$ across lines $AB$ and $AC$, respectively. Let $\Gamma$ be the circumcircle of $\Delta AD_1D_2$. Denote by $P$ the second intersection of line $D_1B$ with $\Gamma$, and by $Q$ the intersection of ray $EB$ with $\Gamma$.

If $O$ is the circumcenter of $\Delta ABC$, prove that $O$, $D$, and $Q$ are collinear if and only if quadrilateral $BCQP$ can be inscribed within a circle.

$\textbf{Proposed by Kritesh Dhakal, Nepal.}$
4 replies
Tony_stark0094
Yesterday at 8:40 AM
InterLoop
40 minutes ago
Sets With a Given Property
oVlad   3
N an hour ago by flower417477
Source: Romania TST 2025 Day 1 P4
Determine the sets $S{}$ of positive integers satisfying the following two conditions:
[list=a]
[*]For any positive integers $a, b, c{}$, if $ab + bc + ca{}$ is in $S$, then so are $a + b + c{}$ and $abc$; and
[*]The set $S{}$ contains an integer $N \geqslant 160$ such that $N-2$ is not divisible by $4$.
[/list]
Bogdan Blaga, United Kingdom
3 replies
oVlad
Apr 9, 2025
flower417477
an hour ago
Number Theory Chain!
JetFire008   39
N an hour ago by whwlqkd
I will post a question and someone has to answer it. Then they have to post a question and someone else will answer it and so on. We can only post questions related to Number Theory and each problem should be more difficult than the previous. Let's start!

Question 1
39 replies
1 viewing
JetFire008
Apr 7, 2025
whwlqkd
an hour ago
A cyclic problem
KhuongTrang   2
N an hour ago by KhuongTrang
Source: own
Problem. Given non-negative real numbers $a,b,c: ab+bc+ca>0$ then$$\frac{1}{a+kb}+\frac{1}{b+kc}+\frac{1}{c+ka}\le f(k)\cdot\frac{a+b+c}{ab+bc+ca}$$where $$f(k)=\frac{(k^2-k+1)\left(2k^2+\sqrt{k^2-k+1}+2\sqrt{k^4-k^3+k^2}\right)}{\left(k^2+\sqrt{k^4-k^3+k^2}\right)\left(k^2-k+1+\sqrt{k^4-k^3+k^2}\right)}.$$Also, $k\ge k_{0}\approx 1.874799...$ and $k_{0}$ is largest real root of the equation$$k^8 - 3 k^7 + 10 k^6 - 25 k^5 + 30 k^4 - 25 k^3 + 10 k^2 - 3 k + 1=0.$$k=2
2 replies
KhuongTrang
Sep 5, 2024
KhuongTrang
an hour ago
2025 Caucasus MO Seniors P2
BR1F1SZ   2
N 2 hours ago by MathLuis
Source: Caucasus MO
Let $ABC$ be a triangle, and let $B_1$ and $B_2$ be points on segment $AC$ symmetric with respect to the midpoint of $AC$. Let $\gamma_A$ denote the circle passing through $B_1$ and tangent to line $AB$ at $A$. Similarly, let $\gamma_C$ denote the circle passing through $B_1$ and tangent to line $BC$ at $C$. Let the circles $\gamma_A$ and $\gamma_C$ intersect again at point $B'$ ($B' \neq B_1$). Prove that $\angle ABB' = \angle CBB_2$.
2 replies
BR1F1SZ
Mar 26, 2025
MathLuis
2 hours ago
2025 Caucasus MO Seniors P1
BR1F1SZ   5
N 2 hours ago by MathLuis
Source: Caucasus MO
For given positive integers $a$ and $b$, let us consider the equation$$a + \gcd(b, x) = b + \gcd(a, x).$$[list=a]
[*]For $a = 20$ and $b = 25$, find the least positive integer $x$ satisfying this equation.
[*]Prove that for any positive integers $a$ and $b$, there exist infinitely many positive integers $x$ satisfying this equation.
[/list]
(Here, $\gcd(m, n)$ denotes the greatest common divisor of positive integers $m$ and $n$.)
5 replies
BR1F1SZ
Mar 26, 2025
MathLuis
2 hours ago
Weighted Activity Selection Algorithm
Maximilian113   0
2 hours ago
An interesting problem:

There are $n$ events $E_1, E_2, \cdots, E_n$ that are each continuous and last on a certain time interval. Each event has a weight $w_i.$ However, one can only choose to attend activities that do not overlap with each other. The goal is to maximize the sum of weights of all activities attended. Prove or disprove that the following algorithm allows for an optimal selection:

For each $E_i$ consider $x_i,$ the sum of $w_j$ over all $j$ such that $E_j$ and $E_i$ are not compatible.
1. At each step, delete the event that has the maximal $x_i.$ If there are multiple such events, delete the event with the minimal weight.
2. Update all $x_i$
3. Repeat until all $x_i$ are $0.$
0 replies
Maximilian113
2 hours ago
0 replies
$2$ spheres of radius $1$ and $2$
khanh20   0
2 hours ago
Given $2$ spheres centered at $O$, with radius of $1$ and $2$, which is remarked as $S_1$ and $S_2$, respectively. Given $2024$ points $M_1,M_2,...,M_{2024}$ outside of $S_2$ (not including the surface of $S_2$).
Remark $T$ as the number of sets $\{M_i,M_j\}$ such that the midpoint of $M_iM_j$ lies entirely inside of $S_1$.
Find the maximum value of $T$
0 replies
khanh20
2 hours ago
0 replies
Generalizing the Schur property of polynomials
Assassino9931   2
N Feb 1, 2025 by Assassino9931
Source: Bulgaria Winter Mathematical Competition 2025 11.4
Let $A$ be a set of $2025$ non-negative integers and $f: \mathbb{Z}_{>0} \to \mathbb{Z}_{>0}$ be a function with the following two properties:

1) For every two distinct positive integers $x,y$ there exists $a\in A$, such that $x-y$ divides $f(x+a) - f(y+a)$.

2) For every positive integer $N$ there exists a positive integer $t$ such that $f(x) \neq f(y)$ whenever $x,y \in [t, t+N]$ are distinct.

Prove that there are infinitely many primes $p$ such that $p$ divides $f(x)$ for some positive integer $x$.

2 replies
Assassino9931
Jan 27, 2025
Assassino9931
Feb 1, 2025
Generalizing the Schur property of polynomials
G H J
Source: Bulgaria Winter Mathematical Competition 2025 11.4
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Assassino9931
1239 posts
#1
Y by
Let $A$ be a set of $2025$ non-negative integers and $f: \mathbb{Z}_{>0} \to \mathbb{Z}_{>0}$ be a function with the following two properties:

1) For every two distinct positive integers $x,y$ there exists $a\in A$, such that $x-y$ divides $f(x+a) - f(y+a)$.

2) For every positive integer $N$ there exists a positive integer $t$ such that $f(x) \neq f(y)$ whenever $x,y \in [t, t+N]$ are distinct.

Prove that there are infinitely many primes $p$ such that $p$ divides $f(x)$ for some positive integer $x$.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
internationalnick123456
123 posts
#2
Y by
Let \( S \) be the set of all primes dividing \( f(x) \) for \( x \in \mathbb{Z}^+ \). Assume that \( S \) is finite.
Now, choose a number \( D \) such that
\[
v_p(D) > v_p(x + 1), \quad \forall x \in A.
\]By hypothesis, for every positive integer \( x > 1 \), there exists \( a \in A \) such that
\[
x - 1 \mid f(x + a) - f(1 + a).
\]If \( D \mid (x-1) \), then we have
\[
v_p(f(x + a)) = v_p(f(1 + a)),\forall p\in S.
\]Since \( f(x + a) \) has no prime divisor outside \( S \), it follows that
\[
f(x + a) = f(1 + a).
\]Thus, for all \( x \in \mathbb{Z}^+ \) satisfying \( D \mid (x-1) \), there exists \( a \in A \) such that
\[
f(x + a) = f(1 + a).
\]Now, pick some sufficiently large \( N \) such that in every interval \( [t, t + N - \max A] \), there exist at least 2026 numbers congruent to \( 1 \mod D \), denoted as \( x_1, x_2, \dots, x_{2026} \). Then, there exist \( a_1, a_2, \dots, a_{2026} \in A \) such that
\[
f(x_i + a_i) = f(1 + a_i), \quad \forall i.
\]By the pigeonhole principle, there exist indices \( i \neq j \) such that \( a_i = a_j \), leading to
\[
f(x_i + a_i) = f(x_j + a_i).
\]This is absurd since \( x_i + a_i \) and \( x_j + a_i \) are distinct elements in \( [t, t + N] \).
Hence, we conclude that \( f(x) \) is divisible by infinitely many primes, contradicting our initial assumption that \( S \) is finite.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Assassino9931
1239 posts
#3
Y by
Turned out to be a nice refinement of IMO Shortlist 2009 N3, with some more pigeonhole in disguise.
Z K Y
N Quick Reply
G
H
=
a