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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.

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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
J
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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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Hard combi
EeEApO   8
N 12 minutes ago by navier3072
In a quiz competition, there are a total of $100 $questions, each with $4$ answer choices. A participant who answers all questions correctly will receive a gift. To ensure that at least one member of my family answers all questions correctly, how many family members need to take the quiz?

Now, suppose my spouse and I move into a new home. Every year, we have twins. Starting at the age of $16$, each of our twin children also begins to have twins every year. If this pattern continues, how many years will it take for my family to grow large enough to have the required number of members to guarantee winning the quiz gift?
8 replies
EeEApO
May 8, 2025
navier3072
12 minutes ago
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Reflections of AB, AC with respect to BC and angle bisector of A
falantrng   29
N 16 minutes ago by cursed_tangent1434
Source: BMO 2024 Problem 1
Let $ABC$ be an acute-angled triangle with $AC > AB$ and let $D$ be the foot of the
$A$-angle bisector on $BC$. The reflections of lines $AB$ and $AC$ in line $BC$ meet $AC$ and $AB$ at points
$E$ and $F$ respectively. A line through $D$ meets $AC$ and $AB$ at $G$ and $H$ respectively such that $G$
lies strictly between $A$ and $C$ while $H$ lies strictly between $B$ and $F$. Prove that the circumcircles of
$\triangle EDG$ and $\triangle FDH$ are tangent to each other.
29 replies
falantrng
Apr 29, 2024
cursed_tangent1434
16 minutes ago
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JBMO Combinatorics vibes
Sadigly   1
N 19 minutes ago by Royal_mhyasd
Source: Azerbaijan Senior NMO 2018
Numbers $1,2,3...,100$ are written on a board. $A$ and $B$ plays the following game: They take turns choosing a number from the board and deleting them. $A$ starts first. They sum all the deleted numbers. If after a player's turn (after he deletes a number on the board) the sum of the deleted numbers can't be expressed as difference of two perfect squares,then he loses, if not, then the game continues as usual. Which player got a winning strategy?
1 reply
Sadigly
Yesterday at 9:53 PM
Royal_mhyasd
19 minutes ago
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line JK of intersection points of 2 lines passes through the midpoint of BC
parmenides51   3
N 20 minutes ago by cursed_tangent1434
Source: Rioplatense Olympiad 2018 level 3 p4
Let $ABC$ be an acute triangle with $AC> AB$. be $\Gamma$ the circumcircle circumscribed to the triangle $ABC$ and $D$ the midpoint of the smallest arc $BC$ of this circle. Let $E$ and $F$ points of the segments $AB$ and $AC$ respectively such that $AE = AF$. Let $P \neq A$ be the second intersection point of the circumcircle circumscribed to $AEF$ with $\Gamma$. Let $G$ and $H$ be the intersections of lines $PE$ and $PF$ with $\Gamma$ other than $P$, respectively. Let $J$ and $K$ be the intersection points of lines $DG$ and $DH$ with lines $AB$ and $AC$ respectively. Show that the $JK$ line passes through the midpoint of $BC$
3 replies
parmenides51
Dec 11, 2018
cursed_tangent1434
20 minutes ago
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Six variables
Nguyenhuyen_AG   2
N 27 minutes ago by arqady
Let $a,\,b,\,c,\,x,\,y,\,z$ be six positive real numbers. Prove that
$$\frac{a}{b+c} \cdot \frac{y+z}{x} + \frac{b}{c+a} \cdot \frac{z+x}{y} + \frac{c}{a+b} \cdot \frac{x+y}{z} \geqslant 2+\sqrt{\frac{8abc}{(a+b)(b+c)(c+a)}}.$$
2 replies
Nguyenhuyen_AG
Yesterday at 5:09 AM
arqady
27 minutes ago
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Brilliant guessing game on triples
Assassino9931   2
N 28 minutes ago by Mirjalol
Source: Al-Khwarizmi Junior International Olympiad 2025 P8
There are $100$ cards on a table, flipped face down. Madina knows that on each card a single number is written and that the numbers are different integers from $1$ to $100$. In a move, Madina is allowed to choose any $3$ cards, and she is told a number that is written on one of the chosen cards, but not which specific card it is on. After several moves, Madina must determine the written numbers on as many cards as possible. What is the maximum number of cards Madina can ensure to determine?

Shubin Yakov, Russia
2 replies
Assassino9931
Saturday at 9:46 AM
Mirjalol
28 minutes ago
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ISI UGB 2025 P5
SomeonecoolLovesMaths   4
N an hour ago by Shiny_zubat
Source: ISI UGB 2025 P5
Let $a,b,c$ be nonzero real numbers such that $a+b+c \neq 0$. Assume that $$\frac{1}{a} + \frac{1}{b} + \frac{1}{c} = \frac{1}{a+b+c}$$Show that for any odd integer $k$, $$\frac{1}{a^k} + \frac{1}{b^k} + \frac{1}{c^k} = \frac{1}{a^k+b^k+c^k}.$$
4 replies
SomeonecoolLovesMaths
Yesterday at 11:15 AM
Shiny_zubat
an hour ago
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ISI UGB 2025 P2
SomeonecoolLovesMaths   6
N an hour ago by quasar_lord
Source: ISI UGB 2025 P2
If the interior angles of a triangle $ABC$ satisfy the equality, $$\sin ^2 A + \sin ^2 B + \sin^2 C = 2 \left( \cos ^2 A + \cos ^2 B + \cos ^2 C \right),$$prove that the triangle must have a right angle.
6 replies
SomeonecoolLovesMaths
Yesterday at 11:16 AM
quasar_lord
an hour ago
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ISI UGB 2025 P6
SomeonecoolLovesMaths   3
N an hour ago by Shiny_zubat
Source: ISI UGB 2025 P6
Let $\mathbb{N}$ denote the set of natural numbers, and let $\left( a_i, b_i \right)$, $1 \leq i \leq 9$, be nine distinct tuples in $\mathbb{N} \times \mathbb{N}$. Show that there are three distinct elements in the set $\{ 2^{a_i} 3^{b_i} \colon 1 \leq i \leq 9 \}$ whose product is a perfect cube.
3 replies
SomeonecoolLovesMaths
Yesterday at 11:18 AM
Shiny_zubat
an hour ago
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Shortest number theory you might've seen in your life
AlperenINAN   5
N an hour ago by Royal_mhyasd
Source: Turkey JBMO TST 2025 P4
Let $p$ and $q$ be prime numbers. Prove that if $pq(p+1)(q+1)$ is a perfect square, then $pq + 1$ is also a perfect square.
5 replies
AlperenINAN
Yesterday at 7:51 PM
Royal_mhyasd
an hour ago
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d+2 pts in R^d can partition
EthanWYX2009   0
2 hours ago
Source: Radon's Theorem
Show that: any set of $d + 2$ points in $\mathbb R^d$ can be partitioned into two sets whose convex hulls intersect.
0 replies
EthanWYX2009
2 hours ago
0 replies
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hard inequality omg
tokitaohma   4
N 3 hours ago by arqady
1. Given $a, b, c > 0$ and $abc=1$
Prove that: $ \sqrt{a^2+1} + \sqrt{b^2+1} + \sqrt{c^2+1} \leq \sqrt{2}(a+b+c) $

2. Given $a, b, c > 0$ and $a+b+c=1 $
Prove that: $ \dfrac{\sqrt{a^2+2ab}}{\sqrt{b^2+2c^2}} + \dfrac{\sqrt{b^2+2bc}}{\sqrt{c^2+2a^2}} + \dfrac{\sqrt{c^2+2ca}}{\sqrt{a^2+2b^2}} \geq \dfrac{1}{a^2+b^2+c^2} $
4 replies
tokitaohma
Yesterday at 5:24 PM
arqady
3 hours ago
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ISI UGB 2025 P4
SomeonecoolLovesMaths   6
N 3 hours ago by Atmadeep
Source: ISI UGB 2025 P4
Let $S^1 = \{ z \in \mathbb{C} \mid |z| =1 \}$ be the unit circle in the complex plane. Let $f \colon S^1 \longrightarrow S^2$ be the map given by $f(z) = z^2$. We define $f^{(1)} \colon = f$ and $f^{(k+1)} \colon = f \circ f^{(k)}$ for $k \geq 1$. The smallest positive integer $n$ such that $f^{(n)}(z) = z$ is called the period of $z$. Determine the total number of points in $S^1$ of period $2025$.
(Hint : $2025 = 3^4 \times 5^2$)
6 replies
SomeonecoolLovesMaths
Yesterday at 11:24 AM
Atmadeep
3 hours ago
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An innocent-looking inequality
Bryan0224   0
3 hours ago
Source: Idk
If $\{a_i\}_{1\le i\le n }$ and $\{b_i\}_{1\le i\le n}$ are two sequences between $1$ and $2$ and they satisfy $\sum_{i=1}^n a_i^2=\sum_{i=1}^n b_i^2$, prove that $\sum_{i=1}^n\frac{a_i^3}{b_i}\leq 1.7\sum_{i=1}^{n} a_i^2$, and determine when does equality hold
Please answer this @sqing :trampoline:
0 replies
Bryan0224
3 hours ago
0 replies
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Compute the least value of f(p) - ISL 1986
Amir Hossein   2
N Aug 24, 2012 by mihai miculita
A tetrahedron $ABCD$ is given such that $AD = BC = a; AC = BD = b; AB\cdot CD = c^2$. Let $f(P) = AP + BP + CP + DP$, where $P$ is an arbitrary point in space. Compute the least value of $f(P).$
2 replies
Amir Hossein
Aug 31, 2010
mihai miculita
Aug 24, 2012
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Compute the least value of f(p) - ISL 1986
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Reveal topic tags
geometry
3D geometry
tetrahedron
circumcircle
IMO Shortlist
minimization
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Amir Hossein
5452 posts
Amir Hossein
#1 h  Aug 31, 2010, 10:30 AM • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
A tetrahedron $ABCD$ is given such that $AD = BC = a; AC = BD = b; AB\cdot CD = c^2$. Let $f(P) = AP + BP + CP + DP$, where $P$ is an arbitrary point in space. Compute the least value of $f(P).$
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mihai miculita
666 posts
mihai miculita
#2 h  Aug 23, 2012, 9:14 AM • 3 Y
Y by Amir Hossein, Adventure10, Mango247
1). If $|AB|=|CD|=c;\, |AC|=|BD|=b,\,|AD|=|BC|=a$ then, $ABCD$ isoscele tetrahedron.

2).
$f(P)=|PA|+|PB|+|PC|+|PD|=min\Leftrightarrow \{\begin{array}{c} \angle{APB}\equiv\angle{CPD}\\ \angle{APC}\equiv\angle{BPD}\\ \angle{APD}\equiv\angle{BPC}.\end{array}$
$1) \mbox{ and } 2)\Rightarrow f(P)=min\Leftrightarrow P=G(barycenter)=O(circumcenter)\Leftrightarrow \\ \Leftrightarrow |PA|=|PB|=|PC|=|PD|=R (circumradius)\Rightarrow \\ \Rightarrow f(P)=4R=\sqrt{2(a^2+b^2+c^2)}.$
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by mihai miculita, Aug 24, 2012, 5:08 AM
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mihai miculita
666 posts
mihai miculita
#3 h  Aug 24, 2012, 5:02 AM • 3 Y
Y by Amir Hossein, Adventure10, Mango247
$\mbox{Let }M\mbox{-the midpoint of }[AB] \mbox{ and } N\mbox{-midpoint of }[CD]; \mbox{ then: }MN\perp AB;CD.$
$\mbox{In general if }|AB|\neq|CD|,\mbox{ then: } \boxed{f(P)=\mbox{minim, for the point }P_0\in[MN]; \dfrac{|P_0M|}{|P_0N|}=\dfrac{|AB|}{|CD|}\neq 1}.$
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