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k a June Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Monday at 3:57 PM
Congratulations to all the mathletes who competed at National MATHCOUNTS! If you missed the exciting Countdown Round, you can watch the video at this link. Are you interested in training for MATHCOUNTS or AMC 10 contests? How would you like to train for these math competitions in half the time? We have accelerated sections which meet twice per week instead of once starting on July 8th (7:30pm ET). These sections fill quickly so enroll today!

[list][*]MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics
[*]MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced
[*]AMC 10 Problem Series[/list]
For those interested in Olympiad level training in math, computer science, physics, and chemistry, be sure to enroll in our WOOT courses before August 19th to take advantage of early bird pricing!

Summer camps are starting this 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 a transformative 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:
[list][*]June 5th, Thursday, 7:30pm ET: Open Discussion with Ben Kornell and Andrew Sutherland, Art of Problem Solving's incoming CEO Ben Kornell and CPO Andrew Sutherland host an Ask Me Anything-style chat. Come ask your questions and get to know our incoming CEO & CPO!
[*]June 9th, Monday, 7:30pm ET, Game Jam: Operation Shuffle!, Come join us to play our second round of Operation Shuffle! If you enjoy number sense, logic, and a healthy dose of luck, this is the game for you. No specific math background is required; all are welcome.[/list]
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0 replies
jlacosta
Monday at 3:57 PM
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
A beautiful collinearity regarding three wonderful points
math_pi_rate   9
N a minute ago by alexanderchew
Source: Own
Let $\triangle DEF$ be the medial triangle of an acute-angle triangle $\triangle ABC$. Suppose the line through $A$ perpendicular to $AB$ meet $EF$ at $A_B$. Define $A_C,B_A,B_C,C_A,C_B$ analogously. Let $B_CC_B \cap BC=X_A$. Similarly define $X_B$ and $X_C$. Suppose the circle with diameter $BC$ meet the $A$-altitude at $A'$, where $A'$ lies inside $\triangle ABC$. Define $B'$ and $C'$ similarly. Let $N$ be the circumcenter of $\triangle DEF$, and let $\omega_A$ be the circle with diameter $X_AN$, which meets $\odot (X_A,A')$ at $A_1,A_2$. Similarly define $\omega_B,B_1,B_2$ and $\omega_C,C_1,C_2$.
1) Show that $X_A,X_B,X_C$ are collinear.
2) Prove that $A_1,A_2,B_1,B_2,C_1,C_2$ lie on a circle centered at $N$.
3) Prove that $\omega_A,\omega_B,\omega_C$ are coaxial.
4) Show that the line joining $X_A,X_B,X_C$ is perpendicular to the radical axis of $\omega_A,\omega_B,\omega_C$.
9 replies
math_pi_rate
Nov 8, 2018
alexanderchew
a minute ago
f this \8char
v4913   30
N 24 minutes ago by eg4334
Source: EGMO 2022/2
Let $\mathbb{N}=\{1, 2, 3, \dots\}$ be the set of all positive integers. Find all functions $f : \mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{N}$ such that for any positive integers $a$ and $b$, the following two conditions hold:
(1) $f(ab) = f(a)f(b)$, and
(2) at least two of the numbers $f(a)$, $f(b)$, and $f(a+b)$ are equal.
30 replies
v4913
Apr 9, 2022
eg4334
24 minutes ago
Weird length condition
Taco12   16
N an hour ago by lpieleanu
Source: USA January Team Selection Test for EGMO 2023, Problem 4
Let $ABC$ be a triangle with $AB+AC=3BC$. The $B$-excircle touches side $AC$ and line $BC$ at $E$ and $D$, respectively. The $C$-excircle touches side $AB$ at $F$. Let lines $CF$ and $DE$ meet at $P$. Prove that $\angle PBC = 90^{\circ}$.

Ray Li
16 replies
Taco12
Jan 16, 2023
lpieleanu
an hour ago
ABC is similar to XYZ
Amir Hossein   56
N an hour ago by lksb
Source: China TST 2011 - Quiz 2 - D2 - P1
Let $AA',BB',CC'$ be three diameters of the circumcircle of an acute triangle $ABC$. Let $P$ be an arbitrary point in the interior of $\triangle ABC$, and let $D,E,F$ be the orthogonal projection of $P$ on $BC,CA,AB$, respectively. Let $X$ be the point such that $D$ is the midpoint of $A'X$, let $Y$ be the point such that $E$ is the midpoint of $B'Y$, and similarly let $Z$ be the point such that $F$ is the midpoint of $C'Z$. Prove that triangle $XYZ$ is similar to triangle $ABC$.
56 replies
Amir Hossein
May 20, 2011
lksb
an hour ago
Cubes and squares
y-is-the-best-_   61
N 2 hours ago by ezpotd
Source: IMO 2019 SL N2
Find all triples $(a, b, c)$ of positive integers such that $a^3 + b^3 + c^3 = (abc)^2$.
61 replies
y-is-the-best-_
Sep 22, 2020
ezpotd
2 hours ago
Chess game challenge
adihaya   21
N 2 hours ago by Mr.Sharkman
Source: 2014 BAMO-12 #5
A chess tournament took place between $2n+1$ players. Every player played every other player once, with no draws. In addition, each player had a numerical rating before the tournament began, with no two players having equal ratings. It turns out there were exactly $k$ games in which the lower-rated player beat the higher-rated player. Prove that there is some player who won no less than $n-\sqrt{2k}$ and no more than $n+\sqrt{2k}$ games.
21 replies
adihaya
Feb 22, 2016
Mr.Sharkman
2 hours ago
[ELMO2] The Multiplication Table
v_Enhance   27
N 2 hours ago by Mr.Sharkman
Source: ELMO 2015, Problem 2 (Shortlist N1)
Let $m$, $n$, and $x$ be positive integers. Prove that \[ \sum_{i = 1}^n \min\left(\left\lfloor \frac{x}{i} \right\rfloor, m \right) = \sum_{i = 1}^m \min\left(\left\lfloor \frac{x}{i} \right\rfloor, n \right). \]
Proposed by Yang Liu
27 replies
v_Enhance
Jun 27, 2015
Mr.Sharkman
2 hours ago
Problem 1
randomusername   74
N 3 hours ago by Mr.Sharkman
Source: IMO 2015, Problem 1
We say that a finite set $\mathcal{S}$ of points in the plane is balanced if, for any two different points $A$ and $B$ in $\mathcal{S}$, there is a point $C$ in $\mathcal{S}$ such that $AC=BC$. We say that $\mathcal{S}$ is centre-free if for any three different points $A$, $B$ and $C$ in $\mathcal{S}$, there is no points $P$ in $\mathcal{S}$ such that $PA=PB=PC$.

(a) Show that for all integers $n\ge 3$, there exists a balanced set consisting of $n$ points.

(b) Determine all integers $n\ge 3$ for which there exists a balanced centre-free set consisting of $n$ points.

Proposed by Netherlands
74 replies
randomusername
Jul 10, 2015
Mr.Sharkman
3 hours ago
Find Triples of Integers
termas   41
N 3 hours ago by ilikemath247365
Source: IMO 2015 problem 2
Find all positive integers $(a,b,c)$ such that
$$ab-c,\quad bc-a,\quad ca-b$$are all powers of $2$.

Proposed by Serbia
41 replies
termas
Jul 10, 2015
ilikemath247365
3 hours ago
DO NOT OVERSLEEP JOHN MACKEY’S CLASS
ike.chen   31
N 3 hours ago by Mr.Sharkman
Source: USA TSTST 2023/4
Let $n\ge 3$ be an integer and let $K_n$ be the complete graph on $n$ vertices. Each edge of $K_n$ is colored either red, green, or blue. Let $A$ denote the number of triangles in $K_n$ with all edges of the same color, and let $B$ denote the number of triangles in $K_n$ with all edges of different colors. Prove
\[ B\le 2A+\frac{n(n-1)}{3}.\](The complete graph on $n$ vertices is the graph on $n$ vertices with $\tbinom n2$ edges, with exactly one edge joining every pair of vertices. A triangle consists of the set of $\tbinom 32=3$ edges between $3$ of these $n$ vertices.)

Proposed by Ankan Bhattacharya
31 replies
ike.chen
Jun 26, 2023
Mr.Sharkman
3 hours ago
Grade IX - Problem I
icx   23
N 4 hours ago by shendrew7
Source: Romanian National Mathematical Olympiad 2007
Let $a, b, c, d \in \mathbb{N^{*}}$ such that the equation \[x^{2}-(a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}+d^{2}+1)x+ab+bc+cd+da=0 \] has an integer solution. Prove that the other solution is integer too and both solutions are perfect squares.
23 replies
icx
Apr 13, 2007
shendrew7
4 hours ago
USAMO 2002 Problem 2
MithsApprentice   35
N 4 hours ago by sami1618
Let $ABC$ be a triangle such that
\[ \left( \cot \dfrac{A}{2} \right)^2 + \left( 2\cot \dfrac{B}{2} \right)^2 + \left( 3\cot \dfrac{C}{2} \right)^2 = \left( \dfrac{6s}{7r} \right)^2,  \]
where $s$ and $r$ denote its semiperimeter and its inradius, respectively. Prove that triangle $ABC$ is similar to a triangle $T$ whose side lengths are all positive integers with no common divisors and determine these integers.
35 replies
1 viewing
MithsApprentice
Sep 30, 2005
sami1618
4 hours ago
Center lies on altitude
plagueis   17
N 4 hours ago by bin_sherlo
Source: Mexico National Olympiad 2018 Problem 6
Let $ABC$ be an acute-angled triangle with circumference $\Omega$. Let the angle bisectors of $\angle B$ and $\angle C$ intersect $\Omega$ again at $M$ and $N$. Let $I$ be the intersection point of these angle bisectors. Let $M'$ and $N'$ be the respective reflections of $M$ and $N$ in $AC$ and $AB$. Prove that the center of the circle passing through $I$, $M'$, $N'$ lies on the altitude of triangle $ABC$ from $A$.

Proposed by Victor Domínguez and Ariel García
17 replies
plagueis
Nov 6, 2018
bin_sherlo
4 hours ago
IMO Shortlist 2014 C6
hajimbrak   22
N 4 hours ago by awesomeming327.
We are given an infinite deck of cards, each with a real number on it. For every real number $x$, there is exactly one card in the deck that has $x$ written on it. Now two players draw disjoint sets $A$ and $B$ of $100$ cards each from this deck. We would like to define a rule that declares one of them a winner. This rule should satisfy the following conditions:
1. The winner only depends on the relative order of the $200$ cards: if the cards are laid down in increasing order face down and we are told which card belongs to which player, but not what numbers are written on them, we can still decide the winner.
2. If we write the elements of both sets in increasing order as $A =\{ a_1 , a_2 , \ldots, a_{100} \}$ and $B= \{ b_1 , b_2 , \ldots , b_{100} \}$, and $a_i > b_i$ for all $i$, then $A$ beats $B$.
3. If three players draw three disjoint sets $A, B, C$ from the deck, $A$ beats $B$ and $B$ beats $C$ then $A$ also beats $C$.
How many ways are there to define such a rule? Here, we consider two rules as different if there exist two sets $A$ and $B$ such that $A$ beats $B$ according to one rule, but $B$ beats $A$ according to the other.

Proposed by Ilya Bogdanov, Russia
22 replies
hajimbrak
Jul 11, 2015
awesomeming327.
4 hours ago
2011-gon
3333   27
N Apr 10, 2025 by Maximilian113
Source: All-Russian 2011
A convex 2011-gon is drawn on the board. Peter keeps drawing its diagonals in such a way, that each newly drawn diagonal intersected no more than one of the already drawn diagonals. What is the greatest number of diagonals that Peter can draw?
27 replies
3333
May 17, 2011
Maximilian113
Apr 10, 2025
2011-gon
G H J
Source: All-Russian 2011
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3333
667 posts
#1 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
A convex 2011-gon is drawn on the board. Peter keeps drawing its diagonals in such a way, that each newly drawn diagonal intersected no more than one of the already drawn diagonals. What is the greatest number of diagonals that Peter can draw?
Z K Y
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mavropnevma
15142 posts
#2 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Are two diagonals sharing a common vertex considered to intersect ?
Z K Y
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301EC
48 posts
#3 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
I don't think so!
Z K Y
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JBL
16123 posts
#4 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
For $n \geq 3$, let $f(n)$ be the maximal number for an $n$-gon, and for convenience set $f(2) = -1$. Suppose the $n$-gon has vertices $A_1$, $A_2$, ..., $A_n$. Certainly, any optimal configuration contains at least one pair of crossing diagonals, say $A_1 A_j$ and $A_i A_k$. To any such configuration we can add the diagonals $A_1 A_i$, $A_i A_j$, $A_j A_k$ and $A_k A_1$ if they do not already appear without creating any new crossings. Moreover, doing so makes clear that the problem decomposes into four smaller versions of the same problem, with $i$, $j - i + 1$, $k - j + 1$ and $n + 2 - k$ vertices. It follows immediately that
\[
f(n) = 6 + \max_{\substack{i, j, k \\ 1 < i < j < k \leq n}}( f(i) + f(j - i + 1) + f(k - j + 1) + f(n + 2 - k)).
\]
Now prove by induction that $f(n) = n + \lfloor n/2 \rfloor - 4$.
Z K Y
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mymath7
162 posts
#5 • 5 Y
Y by JBL, Adventure10, Mango247, DEKT, and 1 other user
JBL wrote:
Now prove by induction that $f(n) = n + \lfloor n/2 \rfloor - 4$.

Nice try, but this is clearly wrong. Take $n=5$ for example. If the pentagon is $ABCDE$, we can draw $AD, BE, CE, CA$ in that order. This yields $4$ diagonals. In your formula, $f(5) = 5 + \lfloor 5/2 \rfloor -4 = 3$. :)

Hint: $f(3) = 0, f(4) = 2, f(5) = 4, \ldots$ :)
mavropnevma wrote:
Are two diagonals sharing a common vertex considered to intersect ?

Pedantic as always. No :)
Z K Y
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JBL
16123 posts
#6 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Ah, you're right, I didn't read carefully: my solution asks that no diagonal crosses more than one other, regardless of the times they were drawn.
Z K Y
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mavropnevma
15142 posts
#7 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
mymath7 wrote:
mavropnevma wrote:
Are two diagonals sharing a common vertex considered to intersect ?

Pedantic as always. No :)
Not that pedantic ... In the thrackle definition (see Conway's thrackle conjecture), two edges of a thrackle are considered to meet if they have a common endpoint, not just if their crossing is transverse.
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mymath7
162 posts
#8 • 6 Y
Y by Adventure10 and 5 other users
mavropnevma wrote:
Not that pedantic ... In the thrackle definition (see Conway's thrackle conjecture), two edges of a thrackle are considered to meet if they have a common endpoint, not just if their crossing is transverse.

I was by no means saying that your pedantry is a bad thing. Indeed, with one problem that is clearly stated to others, you are able to generate dozens of other interpretations for people to solve :)
JBL wrote:
Ah, you're right, I didn't read carefully: my solution asks that no diagonal crosses more than one other, regardless of the times they were drawn.

Yes, but we can still use apply your idea with the correct version. Supposing that $A_1A_j$ is the last diagonal drawn, and $A_iA_k$ is the only one crossing it, we can induct on the two polygons $A_1A_2...A_j$ and $A_j...A_1$, after which we are essentially done. :)
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Mewto55555
4210 posts
#9 • 3 Y
Y by NewAlbionAcademy, Adventure10, Mango247
Rough sketch since there's no solution yet:

First we prove inductively that we can get $2(n-3)$. Base cases are obvious. Now, assume we have $2(n-3)$ diagonals drawn on points $A_1,A_2,...,A_n$. WLOG add point $A_{n+1}$ after $A_n$ and before $A_1$. Then we can draw diagonals $A_nA_1$ and then $A_{n+1}A_2$ in that order.

(this part was not my idea): To prove $2(n-3)$ is the maximum, draw two n-gons side by side, each with diagonals that never cross. At best, we can get $(n-3)$ in each, super-imposing them gives $2(n-3)$ is the best -- if any side has more, then we would have to draw a diagonal with two intersections.
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MBGO
315 posts
#10 • 3 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247, jkim0656
proof of maximality is quite incorrect.
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sahadian
112 posts
#11 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
I think something wrong in your answer if the answer is $2(n-3)$ it means that for $n=3$ we cant draw any diagonal but it is Obvious that we can draw at least 1 diagonal for n=3
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brothers-brt
32 posts
#12 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
you've made a mistake. A BIG ONE ;D
when you draw a(n+1),a(2) diagonal it intersects all diagonals that exit from a(1) and they might be more than one
so the induction is wrong tooooooo
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numbertheorist17
268 posts
#13 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
So is there actually a correct solution?
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junioragd
314 posts
#14 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
The answer is 2*(n-3).Let the number of diagonals be c.Now,there are at most c-1 intersections.Also,if we pick a random subset of diagonals,such that subset has k diagonals,there are also a t most k-1 intersections(we consider the intersections only among the diagonals in the subset,the inersection of a diagonal which is not in the subset with a diagonal which is in the subset doesn't count),or in another words,subset must consider the conditions of the whole set.Now,WLOG suppose that the last drawn diagonal is A1Ai(we can clockwise move indexes),because the indexing will be easyer.Now,we use induction on polygons A1A2...Ai and AiAi+1...AnA1,and also we can add one more diagonal that isn't in any of the polygons,than it intersects A1Ai.Now,by pure induction we have that the maximum number of diagonals is 2*(i-3)+2*(n-i-1)+2=2*n-6=2*(n-3)(The induction base for n=3 and n=4 is obvious).Now,the example for 2*(n-3):Draw diagonals in this order:
A1A3,A2A4,A3A5...An-1A1,A1A4,A1A5,A1A6,...A1An-2 and we are finished
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SmartClown
82 posts
#15 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
First solution:answer is $2(n-3)$. $n=3$ and $n=4$ cases are trivial.Now consider and $n-gon$.By considering the last drawn diagonal and by induction hypotesis(strong induction) applied on $2$ polygon the last diagonal divides the $n-gon$ and of course adding $2$ for the last diagonal and the diagonal that is intersected by it we easily obtain: $2(n-3)$.
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SmartClown
82 posts
#16 • 2 Y
Y by magicarrow, Adventure10
Now the second solution: We will prove that we can divide the diagonals in $2$ subsets such that no $2$ diagonals from the same subset intersect each other.It is done by greedy algorithm.Let the first diagonal drawn be colored blue.Now for every next diagonal drawn if it intersects a blue diagonal we color it red.Otherwise we color it blue.Now we easily see that no $2$ blue diagonals or $2$ red diagonals intersect each other so we proved that our subsets exist.Now number of diagonals in both subsets is $\le n-3$ so the maximum number is $\le 2(n-3)$.Then we just give an example which is not hard.
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va2010
1276 posts
#17 • 3 Y
Y by Wizard_32, Adventure10, Mango247
The answer is $2(n-3)$. Let the polygon be $A_1A_2 \cdots A_n$. Now, go with $A_{k-1}A_{k+1}$ and then $A_1A_k$ for $k = 3$ through $k = n-1$. The only diagonals that $A_{k-1}A_{k+1}$ can cross are $A_{k-2}A_{k}$ and $A_1 A_k$, the second of which comes after. On the other hand, the only diagonal that $A_1A_k$ can ever cross is $A_{k-1}A_{k+1}$. Hence, this construction works.

We prove that $2(n-3)$ is the largest possible value. Let the answer for an $n$-gon be $f(n)$, and observe that $f(3) = 0$, $f(4) = 2$. We use induction. Now look at the last drawn diagonal, and let it divide the polygon into an $a$-gon and a $b$-gon, where $a + b = n+2$. Now see that there can be at most one diagonal that crosses the diagonal, and that the maximal number of diagonals completely within the $a$-gon and the $b$-gon sum to $f(a)+f(b)$. Hence, it is clear that \[ f(n) \le f(a) + f(b) + 2 = 2(a+b-6) + 2 = 2(n-4) + 2 = 2(n-3) \], so our induction is complete and the answer is $2(n-3)$, as desired.
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HamstPan38825
8877 posts
#19 • 1 Y
Y by jkim0656
The answer is $2n-6$ diagonals for general $n$. Let the polygon be $A_1A_2A_3\cdots A_n$.

For a construction, construct $n-1$ diagonals $\overline{A_iA_{i+2}}$ for $1 \leq i \leq n-1$, where indices are cyclic. Then, construct $n-5$ diagonals $\overline{A_1A_j}$ for $4 \leq j \leq n-2$, in that order.

To prove the bound, we argue inductively. Let $\ell$ be the last diagonal that was drawn. Then, $\ell$ intersects at most one other diagonal. All other diagonals must be contained in a $a+1$-gon or $b+1$-gon that $\ell$ partitions the $n$-gon into, where $a+b = n$. Thus, by the inductive hypothesis, the number of diagonals $$f(n) \leq f(a+1) + f(b+1) + 2 \leq (n-4)+(n-4) + 2 = 2n-6,$$as needed.
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EhsanHeidari
6 posts
#20 • 1 Y
Y by Parham.moshashaee
intresting fact:
This graph is planner graph and thats prove
how number of diagonals is at most $3n-6-n=2n-6$.
for proving this claim we just draw diagonals until we cant ،then we draw that edge from outside of polygon.if somewhere we cant do this ,thats result in a diagonal must intersect at least two others.that is contradiction.
so this graph is planner.
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joshualiu315
2534 posts
#21
Y by
We will show that the general result for an $n$-gon is $2n-6$. As a construction, in polygon $A_1A_2\dots A_n$, draw $A_iA_{i+2}$ for $1 \le i \le n-1$ and $A_1A_j$ for $4 \le j \le n-2$, where indices are modulo $n$.

To show that this is optimal, we will use strong induction. Suppose the inductive hypothesis holds for all $n < k$. Let the final diagonal drawn in a $k$-gon be $\ell$. Note that $\ell$ intersects at most $1$ other diagonal by the problem condition. Furthermore, suppose that $\ell$ splits the $k$-gon into an $(a+1)$-gon and a $(b+1)$-gon such that $a+b=k$ and $a,b<k$. The total number of diagonals is hence

\[(2(a+1)-6)+(2(b+1)-6)+2=2a+2b-6=2k-6,\]
completing the induction.

At this point, simply plugging $2011$ into the general formula yields $\boxed{4016}$.
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kamatadu
481 posts
#22 • 1 Y
Y by GeoKing
Let $n=2011$. The answer is $2n-6$ diagonals. We proceed by using strong induction. The base cases $n=3$ and $n=4$ can be checked by hand.

Now $\ell_1$ be the diagonal that we draw last. There is at most one more diagonal that intersects $\ell_1$.

So if $\ell_1$ divides the $n$ points into $p$ and $q$ points (the two partitions are disjoint, except that they both share the common points of $\ell_1$), then we get that the maximum number of diagonals is,
\[ \le (2p-6) + (2q-6) + 2= 2p + 2q -10 = 2(p+q-2) -6. \]
The $2$ in the first step are due to counting the two diagonals $\ell_1$ and $\ell_2$.

This completes our induction and we are done. The construction can also be done inductively. :yoda:
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dolphinday
1329 posts
#23
Y by
This is kind of dumb.
The greatest number of diagonals for an $n$-gon is $2n - 6$. We will prove this using induction.
$\newline$
Base Case:
$\newline$
We can see that for a triangle with $3$-side, this is obviously true.
$\newline$
Inductive Step:
$\newline$
The last diagonal we draw splits our polygon into an $p + 1$ sided polygon and a $q + 1$ sided polygon. Note that $p + q = n$.
$\newline$
Due the intersecting diagonal, the last diagonal can only intersect with another diagonal once.$\newline$
Then the total number of diagonals in our polygon(while assuming our formula to be true for the $p + 1$-sided polygon and the $q + 1$-sided polygon) is
$2(p + 1) - 6 + 2(q + 1) - 6 + 2$.(we add two, because we count the last diagonal and the diagonal that intersects the last diagonal)
$2(p + 1) - 6 + 2(q + 1) - 6 + 2 = 2(p + q) - 6 = 2n - 6$ so we are done.
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cursed_tangent1434
661 posts
#24
Y by
We solve the more general problem for a $n-$gon. Let $d(n)$ denote the maximum number of diagonals Peter can draw for a $n-$gon. We proceed via induction.

First note that $d(4)=2$ since that is the maximum number of total diagonals we can draw in a quadrilateral (and you can draw both without any issue). Now, consider a $n-$ gon for $n\geq 5$. Assume that for all $1 \leq k <n$ we have that $d(k) = 2(k-3)$. Then, we simply consider the last diagonal drawn in the $n-$gon. This separates the $n-$gon into two polygons with $a+2$ and $b+2$ vertices each such that $n=a+b+2$. Then,
\[d(n)  = 2 + d(a+2)+d(b+2)= 2+ 2(a-1)+2(b-1)=2(a+b-1) = 2((a+b+2)-3)=2(n-3)\](Here the leading +2 is due to the last drawn diagonal and the one and only diagonal with intersects it (if there are two or more we are not able to draw the last diagonal)). Thus, the induction is complete.

Now, this means the maximum number of diagonals Peter can drawn in a $2011-$gon is
\[d(2011)=2(2011-3)=2(2008)=4016\]diagonals.
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shendrew7
802 posts
#25
Y by
We claim that our answer is $\boxed{2n-6}$ for any $n$-gon. We can prove this bound and constructability through strong induction.

We show that a $k$-gon satisfies the inductive hypothesis given that 3-, 4-, $\ldots$, $(k-1)$-gons all hold. Note that the last diagonal drawn divides the $k$-gon into an $m$-gon and a $k+2-m$-gon. Also, this final diagonal must only intersect with at most one other diagonal, so our maximum bound is
\[(2m-6) + (2(k+2-m)-6) + 2 = 2k - 6,\]
as desired. This is achievable by simply taking 4 consecutive vertices $ABCD$ (in order) and setting $AC$ as the final diagonal and $BD$ as the only diagonal crossing $AC$. We are left with a $(k-1)$-gon that we can start constructing by drawing edges from $C$, so we indeed have $2(k-1)-6+2=2k-6$ diagonals. $\blacksquare$
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bebebe
993 posts
#26
Y by
We claim that for a $n$-gon the greatest number of diagonals that can be drawn is $2n-6$. Base cases $n=3, 4$ work.


We use strong induction. Consider the last diagonal we draw. Say it splits the $n$-gon into a $p+1$-gon and a $q+1$-gon where $p+q=n.$ We also know that since most one diagonal intersects the last diagonal, at most one diagonal goes between the $p+1$ and $q+1$ gons. Thus, the maximal diagonals is $$2(p+1)-6 + 2(q+1)-6 + 2 = 2n - 6.$$

We need to show that this is achievable. For this we just need regular induction. Assume $2(n-1)-6$ diagonals is achievable for $n-1$-gon. There exists a vertex, $V$, on the $n-1$-gon such that the number of diagonals going through it is at most $1$ (can be easily shown by contradiction). Let the neighbors of $V$ be $N_1, N_2.$ Now to construct our $n$-gon, insert a new vertex, $N$ beween $V$ and $N_1.$ Finally draw the edges $NN_2$ then $VN_1.$ This $n$-gon will have $2(n-1)-6+2=2n-6$ edges, ad desired. \qed
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Marcus_Zhang
980 posts
#27
Y by
Sol with bad write up

Interesting. The answer is $2n - 6$but if you consider $0$ intersections, the answer appears to be $n - 3$...
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by Marcus_Zhang, Apr 10, 2025, 3:20 AM
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eg4334
637 posts
#29
Y by
Boring problem. The answer is $2n-6$. In a cylic fashion starting with $A_1$, draw $A_iA_{i+2}$ for $i = 1, 2, \dots n-1$ in that order. Now from $A_1A_i$ for $i=4, 5, \dots n-2$ in that order. This gives $n-1+n-5 = 2n-6$.

Now we prove the result by strong induction. Consider the last diagonal drawn, which can intersect another one. It splits the $n$ gon into an $m$ gon and $n+2-m$ gon obviously. Then, we have a maximum of $2m-6 + 2(n+2-m)-6 + 2 = 2n -6$.
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Maximilian113
576 posts
#30
Y by
Did this before, going to post it now ig

We claim that the answer is $2n-6.$ We proceed with induction on $n.$ The base cases, $n=3, 4$ are trivial. Now suppose that the proposition holds for all $n \leq k$ for some positive integer $k \geq 4.$ Then consider a $k+1$-gon. Note that the last diagonal drawn intersects with at most one other diagonal. If this last diagonal separates the polygon into an $m$-gon and a $k-m+3$-gon, then by the inductive hypothesis we have at most $$2m-6+2(k-m+3)-6+2 = 2k-4 = 2(k+1)-6.$$Thus the bound is proven. For the construction, just consider construct $n-1$ diagonals of the form $P_i P_{i+2}$ for $1 \leq i \leq n-1,$ and then $n-5$ diagonals of the form $A_1A_j$ for $4 \leq j \leq n-2.$ Thus the induction is complete, so $2n-6$ is indeed the answer.
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