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k a May Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
May 1, 2025
May is an exciting month! National MATHCOUNTS is the second week of May in Washington D.C. and our Founder, Richard Rusczyk will be presenting a seminar, Preparing Strong Math Students for College and Careers, on May 11th.

Are you interested in working towards MATHCOUNTS and don’t know where to start? We have you covered! If you have taken Prealgebra, then you are ready for MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics. Already aiming for State or National MATHCOUNTS and harder AMC 8 problems? Then our MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced course is for you.

Summer camps are starting next month at the Virtual Campus in math and language arts that are 2 - to 4 - weeks in duration. Spaces are still available - don’t miss your chance to have an enriching summer experience. 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 upcoming events:
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[*]May 19th, 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, What's Next After Beast Academy?, designed for students finishing Beast Academy and ready for Prealgebra 1.
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[*]May 21st, 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Mathcamp 2025 Qualifying Quiz Part 2 Math Jam, Problems 5 and 6, Canada/USA Mathcamp staff will discuss solutions to Problems 5 and 6 of the 2025 Mathcamp Qualifying Quiz![/list]
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0 replies
jlacosta
May 1, 2025
0 replies
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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
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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
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Problem 10
SlovEcience   1
N 11 minutes ago by lbh_qys
Let \( x, y, z \) be positive real numbers satisfying
\[ xy + yz + zx = 3xyz. \]Prove that
\[ \sqrt{\frac{x}{3y^2z^2 + xyz}} + \sqrt{\frac{y}{3x^2z^2 + xyz}} + \sqrt{\frac{z}{3x^2y^2 + xyz}} \le \frac{3}{2}. \]
1 reply
+1 w
SlovEcience
35 minutes ago
lbh_qys
11 minutes ago
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Cup of Combinatorics
M11100111001Y1R   8
N 17 minutes ago by sansgankrsngupta
Source: Iran TST 2025 Test 4 Problem 2
There are \( n \) cups labeled \( 1, 2, \dots, n \), where the \( i \)-th cup has capacity \( i \) liters. In total, there are \( n \) liters of water distributed among these cups such that each cup contains an integer amount of water. In each step, we may transfer water from one cup to another. The process continues until either the source cup becomes empty or the destination cup becomes full.

$a)$ 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 \( \frac{4n}{3} \) steps.

$b)$ Prove that in at most \( \frac{5n}{3} \) steps, one can go from any configuration with integer water amounts to any other configuration with the same property.
8 replies
M11100111001Y1R
May 27, 2025
sansgankrsngupta
17 minutes ago
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2-var inequality
sqing   2
N 34 minutes ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b> 0 , ab(a+b+1) =3.$ Prove that$$\frac{1}{a^2}+\frac{1}{b^2}+\frac{24}{(a+b)^2} \geq 8$$$$ \frac{a}{b^2}+\frac{b}{a^2}+\frac{49}{(a+ b)^2} \geq \frac{57}{4}$$Let $ a,b> 0 , (a+b)(ab+1) =4.$ Prove that$$\frac{1}{a^2}+\frac{1}{b^2}+\frac{40}{(a+b)^2} \geq 12$$$$\frac{a}{b^2}+\frac{b}{a^2}+\frac{76}{(a+ b)^2} \geq 21$$
2 replies
+1 w
sqing
May 25, 2025
sqing
34 minutes ago
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2-var inequality
sqing   10
N 43 minutes ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b>0 , a^2+b^2-ab\leq 1 . $ Prove that
$$a^3+b^3 -\frac{a^4}{b+1} -\frac{b^4}{a+1} \leq 1 $$
10 replies
sqing
May 27, 2025
sqing
43 minutes ago
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Complex number
ronitdeb   1
N 2 hours ago by alexheinis
Let $z_1, ... ,z_5$ be vertices of regular pentagon inscribed in a circle whose radius is $2$ and center is at $6+i8$. Find all possible values of $z_1^2+z_2^2+...+z_5^2$
1 reply
ronitdeb
Yesterday at 6:13 PM
alexheinis
2 hours ago
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Set of Integers
billzhao   41
N 2 hours ago by endless_abyss
Source: USAMO 2004, problem 2
Suppose $a_1, \dots, a_n$ are integers whose greatest common divisor is 1. Let $S$ be a set of integers with the following properties:

(a) For $i=1, \dots, n$, $a_i \in S$.
(b) For $i,j = 1, \dots, n$ (not necessarily distinct), $a_i - a_j \in S$.
(c) For any integers $x,y \in S$, if $x+y \in S$, then $x-y \in S$.

Prove that $S$ must be equal to the set of all integers.
41 replies
billzhao
Apr 29, 2004
endless_abyss
2 hours ago
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ai+aj is the multiple of n
Jackson0423   1
N 2 hours ago by alexheinis

Consider an increasing sequence of integers \( a_n \).
For every positive integer \( n \), there exist indices \( 1 \leq i < j \leq n \) such that \( a_i + a_j \) is divisible by \( n \).
Given that \( a_1 \geq 1 \), find the minimum possible value of \( a_{100} \).
1 reply
Jackson0423
Today at 12:41 AM
alexheinis
2 hours ago
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Circumscribed Quadrilateral
billzhao   17
N 3 hours ago by endless_abyss
Source: USAMO 2004, problem 1
Let $ABCD$ be a quadrilateral circumscribed about a circle, whose interior and exterior angles are at least 60 degrees. Prove that
\[ \frac{1}{3}|AB^3 - AD^3| \le |BC^3 - CD^3| \le 3|AB^3 - AD^3|. \]
When does equality hold?
17 replies
billzhao
Apr 29, 2004
endless_abyss
3 hours ago
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Own made functional equation
Primeniyazidayi   2
N 3 hours ago by JARP091
Source: own(probably)
Find all functions $f:R \rightarrow R$ such that $xf(x^2+2f(y)-yf(x))=f(x)^3-f(y)(f(x^2)-2f(x))$ for all $x,y \in \mathbb{R}$
2 replies
Primeniyazidayi
May 26, 2025
JARP091
3 hours ago
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IMO Shortlist 2008, Geometry problem 2
April   43
N 3 hours ago by ezpotd
Source: IMO Shortlist 2008, Geometry problem 2, German TST 2, P1, 2009
Given trapezoid $ ABCD$ with parallel sides $ AB$ and $ CD$, assume that there exist points $ E$ on line $ BC$ outside segment $ BC$, and $ F$ inside segment $ AD$ such that $ \angle DAE = \angle CBF$. Denote by $ I$ the point of intersection of $ CD$ and $ EF$, and by $ J$ the point of intersection of $ AB$ and $ EF$. Let $ K$ be the midpoint of segment $ EF$, assume it does not lie on line $ AB$. Prove that $ I$ belongs to the circumcircle of $ ABK$ if and only if $ K$ belongs to the circumcircle of $ CDJ$.

Proposed by Charles Leytem, Luxembourg
43 replies
April
Jul 9, 2009
ezpotd
3 hours ago
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In Cyclic Quadrilateral ABCD, find AB^2+BC^2-CD^2-AD^2
Darealzolt   0
4 hours ago
Source: KTOM April 2025 P8
Given Cyclic Quadrilateral \(ABCD\) with an area of \(2025\), with \(\angle ABC = 45^{\circ}\). If \( 2AC^2 = AB^2+BC^2+CD^2+DA^2\), Hence find the value of \(AB^2+BC^2-CD^2-DA^2\).
0 replies
Darealzolt
4 hours ago
0 replies
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Plz give me the solution
Madunglecha   1
N 4 hours ago by top1vien
For given M
h(n) is defined as the number of which is relatively prime with M, and 1 or more and n or less.
As B is h(M)/M, prove that there are at least M/3 or more N such that satisfying the below inequality
|h(N)-BN| is under 1+sqrt(B×2^((the number of prime factor of M)-3))
1 reply
Madunglecha
Today at 1:32 AM
top1vien
4 hours ago
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King's Constrained Walk
Hellowings   1
N 5 hours ago by Hellowings
Source: Own
Given an n x n chessboard, with a king starting at any square, the king's task is to visit each square in the board exactly once (essentially an open path); this king moves how a king in chess would.
However, we are allowed to place k numbers on the board of any value such that for each number A we placed on the board, the king must be in the position of that number A on its Ath square in its journey, with the starting square as its 1st square.
Suppose after we placed k numbers, there is one and only one way to complete the king's task (this includes placing the king in a starting square), find the minimum value of k set by n.

Didn't know I could post it here xd; I'm unsure how hard this question could be.
1 reply
Hellowings
Today at 1:35 AM
Hellowings
5 hours ago
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Inspired by qrxz17
sqing   9
N 6 hours ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $a, b,c>0 ,(a^2+b^2+c^2)^2 - 2(a^4+b^4+c^4) = 27 $. Prove that $$a+b+c\geq 3\sqrt {3}$$
9 replies
sqing
Yesterday at 8:50 AM
sqing
6 hours ago
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Jiho placing tulips
hanulyeongsam   0
Apr 19, 2025
Source: own
Jiho will choose 46 holes in a 9X9 holebox. Jiho will then place tulips on the holes. Prove that for every 2X2, there is one that has more than 2 tulips inside.
0 replies
hanulyeongsam
Apr 19, 2025
0 replies
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Jiho placing tulips
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hanulyeongsam
170 posts
hanulyeongsam
#1 h  Apr 19, 2025, 3:00 PM
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Jiho will choose 46 holes in a 9X9 holebox. Jiho will then place tulips on the holes. Prove that for every 2X2, there is one that has more than 2 tulips inside.
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