We have your learning goals covered with Spring and Summer courses available. Enroll today!

G
Topic
First Poster
Last Poster
k a March Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Mar 2, 2025
March is the month for State MATHCOUNTS competitions! Kudos to everyone who participated in their local chapter competitions and best of luck to all going to State! Join us on March 11th for a Math Jam devoted to our favorite Chapter competition problems! Are you interested in training for MATHCOUNTS? Be sure to check out our AMC 8/MATHCOUNTS Basics and Advanced courses.

Are you ready to level up with Olympiad training? Registration is open with early bird pricing available for our WOOT programs: MathWOOT (Levels 1 and 2), CodeWOOT, PhysicsWOOT, and ChemWOOT. What is WOOT? WOOT stands for Worldwide Online Olympiad Training and is a 7-month high school math Olympiad preparation and testing program that brings together many of the best students from around the world to learn Olympiad problem solving skills. Classes begin in September!

Do you have plans this summer? There are so many options to fit your schedule and goals whether attending a summer camp or taking online classes, it can be a great break from the routine of the school year. Check out our summer courses at AoPS Online, or if you want a math or language arts class that doesn’t have homework, but is an enriching summer experience, our AoPS Virtual Campus summer camps may be just the ticket! We are expanding our locations for our AoPS Academies across the country with 15 locations so far and new campuses opening in Saratoga CA, Johns Creek GA, and the Upper West Side NY. Check out this page for summer camp information.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following events:
[list][*]March 5th (Wednesday), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, HCSSiM Math Jam 2025. Amber Verser, Assistant Director of the Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics, will host an information session about HCSSiM, a summer program for high school students.
[*]March 6th (Thursday), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Free Webinar on Math Competitions from elementary through high school. Join us for an enlightening session that demystifies the world of math competitions and helps you make informed decisions about your contest journey.
[*]March 11th (Tuesday), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, 2025 MATHCOUNTS Chapter Discussion MATH JAM. AoPS instructors will discuss some of their favorite problems from the MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition. All are welcome!
[*]March 13th (Thursday), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Free Webinar about Summer Camps at the Virtual Campus. Transform your summer into an unforgettable learning adventure! From elementary through high school, we offer dynamic summer camps featuring topics in mathematics, language arts, and competition preparation - all designed to fit your schedule and ignite your passion for learning.[/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, Mar 2 - Jun 22
Friday, Mar 28 - Jul 18
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
Tuesday, Mar 25 - Jul 8
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
Sunday, Mar 23 - Jul 20
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
Sunday, Mar 16 - Jun 8
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
Monday, Mar 17 - Jun 9
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
Sunday, Mar 2 - Jun 22
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
Tuesday, Mar 4 - Aug 12
Sunday, Mar 23 - Sep 21
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
Sunday, Mar 16 - Sep 14
Tuesday, Mar 25 - Sep 2
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
Sunday, Mar 23 - Aug 3
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
Sunday, Mar 16 - Aug 24
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
Wednesday, Mar 5 - May 21
Tuesday, Jun 10 - Aug 26

Calculus
Sunday, Mar 30 - Oct 5
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
Sunday, Mar 23 - Jun 15
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
Tuesday, Mar 4 - May 20
Monday, Mar 31 - Jun 23
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
Monday, Mar 24 - Jun 16
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
Sunday, Mar 30 - Jun 22
Wednesday, May 21 - Aug 6
Sunday, Jun 15 - Sep 14
Monday, Jun 23 - Sep 15

Physics 1: Mechanics
Tuesday, Mar 25 - Sep 2
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
Mar 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
Slightly weird points which are not so weird
Pranav1056   10
N 4 minutes ago by kes0716
Source: India TST 2023 Day 4 P1
Suppose an acute scalene triangle $ABC$ has incentre $I$ and incircle touching $BC$ at $D$. Let $Z$ be the antipode of $A$ in the circumcircle of $ABC$. Point $L$ is chosen on the internal angle bisector of $\angle BZC$ such that $AL = LI$. Let $M$ be the midpoint of arc $BZC$, and let $V$ be the midpoint of $ID$. Prove that $\angle IML = \angle DVM$
10 replies
Pranav1056
Jul 9, 2023
kes0716
4 minutes ago
classical R+ FE
jasperE3   1
N 9 minutes ago by pco
Source: kent2207, based on 2019 Slovenia TST
wanted to post this problem in its own thread: https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c6h1784825p34307772
Find all functions $f:\mathbb R^+\to\mathbb R^+$ for which:
$$f(f(x)+f(y))=yf(1+yf(x))$$for all $x,y\in\mathbb R^+$.
1 reply
jasperE3
Yesterday at 3:55 PM
pco
9 minutes ago
Physics disguised as math
everythingpi3141592   7
N 12 minutes ago by kes0716
Source: India IMOTC 2024 Day 4 Problem 2
There are $n\ge 3$ particles on a circle situated at the vertices of a regular $n$-gon. All these particles move on the circle with the same constant speed. One of the particles moves in the clockwise direction while all others move in the anti-clockwise direction. When particles collide, that is, they are all at the same point, they all reverse the direction of their motion and continue with the same speed as before.

Let $s$ be the smallest number of collisions after which all particles return to their original positions. Find $s$.

Proposed by N.V. Tejaswi
7 replies
everythingpi3141592
May 31, 2024
kes0716
12 minutes ago
D1016 : A strange result about the palindrom polynomials
Dattier   3
N 34 minutes ago by Dattier
Source: les dattes à Dattier
Let $Q\in \{-1,1,0\}[x]$ with $Q(1)=0$.

Is it true that $\exists P \in \mathbb Z[x]$ palindrom with $P | Q$ ?
3 replies
Dattier
Monday at 12:13 PM
Dattier
34 minutes ago
Equation with integer part
soruz   2
N an hour ago by lbh_qys
Determine $ x \in [1, \infty) $ for which $x^2+(2^x-x)^2=2^ {\left\lfloor { 2^x-x}\right\rfloor}$, where $ \left\lfloor {.}\right\rfloor$ denote the integer part.
2 replies
soruz
Feb 26, 2025
lbh_qys
an hour ago
2015 Taiwan TST Round 1 Quiz 1 Problem 1
wanwan4343   10
N an hour ago by PrinceChen
Source: 2015 Taiwan TST Round 1 Quiz 1 Problem 1
Find all primes $p,q,r$ such that $qr-1$ is divisible by $p$, $pr-1$ is divisible by $q$, $pq-1$ is divisible by $r$.
10 replies
wanwan4343
Jul 12, 2015
PrinceChen
an hour ago
Inspired by BaCaPhe
sqing   8
N 2 hours ago by sqing
Source: Own
Let $ a,b,c \ge 0 $ and $ ab + bc + ca \ge 4 + abc. $ Prove that
$$  a^2  +  b^2  +  c^2  \ge 8$$
8 replies
sqing
Today at 3:39 AM
sqing
2 hours ago
USAMO 2000 Problem 4
MithsApprentice   33
N 2 hours ago by MaxSze
Find the smallest positive integer $n$ such that if $n$ squares of a $1000 \times 1000$ chessboard are colored, then there will exist three colored squares whose centers form a right triangle with sides parallel to the edges of the board.
33 replies
MithsApprentice
Oct 1, 2005
MaxSze
2 hours ago
Cool NT with Sets and Mod
pear333   0
2 hours ago
Find all integers $a$ such that there exists a set $X$ of $6$ integers satisfying the following condition: for each $k = 1,2,...,36$, there exist $x, y \in X$ such that $ax+y-k$ is divisible by $37$.
0 replies
pear333
2 hours ago
0 replies
postaffteff
JetFire008   14
N 2 hours ago by Korean_fish_Kaohsiung
Source: Internet
Let $P$ be the Fermat point of a $\triangle ABC$. Prove that the Euler line of the triangles $PAB$, $PBC$, $PCA$ are concurrent and the point of concurrence is $G$, the centroid of $\triangle ABC$.
14 replies
JetFire008
Mar 15, 2025
Korean_fish_Kaohsiung
2 hours ago
Family of functions
Davdav1232   4
N 2 hours ago by Davdav1232
Source: Israel TST 2025 test 4 p1
Let \(\mathcal{F}\) be a family of functions from \(\mathbb{R}^+ \to \mathbb{R}^+\). It is known that for all \( f, g \in \mathcal{F} \), there exists \( h \in \mathcal{F} \) such that for all \( x, y \in \mathbb{R}^+ \), the following equation holds:

\[
y^2 \cdot f\left(\frac{g(x)}{y}\right) = h(xy)
\]
Prove that for all \( f \in \mathcal{F} \) and all \( x \in \mathbb{R}^+ \), the following identity is satisfied:

\[
f\left(\frac{x}{f(x)}\right) = 1.
\]
4 replies
Davdav1232
Feb 3, 2025
Davdav1232
2 hours ago
Twin Prime Diophantine
awesomeming327.   18
N 3 hours ago by EthanWYX2009
Source: CMO 2025
Determine all positive integers $a$, $b$, $c$, $p$, where $p$ and $p+2$ are odd primes and
\[2^ap^b=(p+2)^c-1.\]
18 replies
awesomeming327.
Mar 7, 2025
EthanWYX2009
3 hours ago
Sharygin 2025 CR P12
Gengar_in_Galar   7
N 4 hours ago by maths_enthusiast_0001
Source: Sharygin 2025
Circles $\omega_{1}$ and $\omega_{2}$ are given. Let $M$ be the midpoint of the segment joining their centers, $X$, $Y$ be arbitrary points on $\omega_{1}$, $\omega_{2}$ respectively such that $MX=MY$. Find the locus of the midpoints of segments $XY$.
Proposed by: L Shatunov
7 replies
Gengar_in_Galar
Mar 10, 2025
maths_enthusiast_0001
4 hours ago
Problem 1
randomusername   71
N 4 hours ago by MihaiT
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
71 replies
randomusername
Jul 10, 2015
MihaiT
4 hours ago
|B-A| >= 3 for any subsets A,B
mlm95   13
N May 31, 2022 by thczarif
Source: Iran TST 2013: TST 1, Day 1, Problem 2
Find the maximum number of subsets from $\left \{ 1,...,n \right \}$ such that for any two of them like $A,B$ if $A\subset B$ then $\left | B-A \right |\geq 3$. (Here $\left | X \right |$ is the number of elements of the set $X$.)
13 replies
mlm95
Apr 17, 2013
thczarif
May 31, 2022
|B-A| >= 3 for any subsets A,B
G H J
Source: Iran TST 2013: TST 1, Day 1, Problem 2
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
mlm95
245 posts
#1 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Find the maximum number of subsets from $\left \{ 1,...,n \right \}$ such that for any two of them like $A,B$ if $A\subset B$ then $\left | B-A \right |\geq 3$. (Here $\left | X \right |$ is the number of elements of the set $X$.)
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Math-lover123
304 posts
#2 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
What is $A-B$_?
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
mlm95
245 posts
#3 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
$B-A$ is set of the elements that are in $B$ but not in $A$
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Goutham
3130 posts
#4 • 4 Y
Y by hyperbolictangent, blackwave, Adventure10, Mango247
Let $X_i = \sum _{ j = 0} ^{\left\lfloor\frac{n-i}{3}\right\rfloor} \dbinom{n}{i+3j}, i = 0, 1, 2$ and $M = X_k$ such that $X_k \ge X_{k+1}, X_k \ge X_{k+2}$ where indices are modulo $3$. Let $S_n = \{1, 2, \ldots, n \}$. Consider a set $T$ such that each element of $T$ is of the form $\{\phi, \{a_1\}, \{a_1, a_2\}, \ldots, \{a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n \} \}$ where $\{a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n \} = S_n$ and if we have any $K\subset S_n$ with $|K| = k$, then $K$ should occur in $\frac{ \prod_{i = 0} ^{n} \dbinom{n}{i}} {\dbinom{n}{k} }$ elements of $T$. The existence of such a set $T$ can be proven using Hall's Marriage Theorem by considering a set to have $\dbinom{n}{k}$ copies of each subset of $S_n$ of size $k$ and then noticing that there is a matching from subsets of size $k$ and those of size $k+1$ because they can be shown to satisfy Hall's condition and gluing the matchings would give rise to $T$.
Let $K$ be any set satisfying the given conditions. Then \[|K| = \frac{\sum_{A\in K}\dbinom{n}{|A|}\cdot \sum_{P}^{A\in P \in T} 1}{|T|} = \frac{\sum_{P\in T} \sum _{A\in P\cap K } \dbinom{n}{|A|}}{|T|}\le \frac{\sum_{P\in T} M}{|T|} = M\]
Equality holds when
\[K = \bigcup_{j=0}^{\left\lfloor\frac{n-k}{3}\right\rfloor} \{ S| S\subset\{1, 2, \ldots, n\}, |S|=k+3j\}\]
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by Goutham, May 28, 2013, 7:05 AM
Reason: Added a few extra explanations thanks to hyperbolictangent
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
goodar2006
1347 posts
#5 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Proposed by Ali Khezeli
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
leader
339 posts
#6 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
is this correct?
if we call $X_{n}$ the solution of the problem for $n$ then it is enough to find $X_{1},..,X{6}$ and then continue on knowing what sum of binomial coefficents to take(module $3$ either $1,2,3$)
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
qwert1234
4 posts
#7 • 3 Y
Y by blackwave, Adventure10, Mango247
Let $A_1,A_2,\dots ,A_r$ be sets which satisfies the conditions of the problem.
Let $f(A_i)=\{ A_i,A_i\cup \{1\},A_i\cup \{2\},\dots ,A_i\cup \{n\},A_i-\{1\},A_i-\{2\},\dots , A_i-\{n\}\}$.
It is easy to see that $|f(A_i)|=n+1$ and
1) $f(A_i)\cap f(A_j)=\varnothing$
or
2) $|A_i-A_j|=1$, $|A_i|=|A_j|$ and so $|f(A_i)\cap f(A_j)|=2$.

Can anyone help me to complete this idea?
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
gev_gev
31 posts
#8 • 3 Y
Y by blackwave, Adventure10, Mango247
I think this must be right
First, note that the group of all subsets with number of elements $3i+1$ ($n$ is even) or $3i+2$ ($n$ is odd) satisfy the requirements of the problem, the number of the subsets in this group is $\Sigma(\frac{n}{3i+1})$ or $\Sigma(\frac{n}{3i+2})$ one of which equals $\frac{2^{n}-(-1)^{n}}{3}$.
We will prove by induction on $n$ that the maximum number of subsets is $\frac{2^{n}-(-1)^{n}}{3}$.
The case $n=4$ is obvious.
We suppose that we have the answer for $n-1$, and we will prove for $n$.
Let's split the group of subsets satisfying the requirements of the problem into $2$ subgroups, on of which contains all subsets which do not contain the element ${1}$ and the other subgroup contains the rest of the subsets. The first subgroup has at most $\frac{2^{n-1}-(-1)^{n-1}}{3}$ by induction, the second subgroup has at most $\frac{2^{n-1}-(-1)^{n-1}}{3}+1$ elements (we can consider subsets $A-\{1\}$ instead of $A$ if $A \neq \{1\}$, then add to the number of that subsets $1$ for the subset $\{1\}$) by induction. This gives the result in case $n$ is odd, still for even $n$ more tricks must be done.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
DVDthe1st
339 posts
#9 • 8 Y
Y by gev_gev, hyperbolictangent, blackwave, K.N, Ankoganit, mijail, Adventure10, Mango247
A faster way to see it is as follows:

Let $S_n$ be the maximum.

We note that $S_1=1,S_2=1$.

Now we show that $S_{n+2}=2^n+S_n$, from which we can easily finish by induction.

Consider a family of sets satisfying the condition for $n+2$. Note for every $A\subseteq \{1,2,...,n\}$, at most one of $A,A\cup\{n+1\},A\cup\{n+1,n+2\}$ is in the family. For the remaining sets (which contain $n+2$ and exclude $n+1$), we can pick at most $S_n$ more sets. Hence our conclusion follows.

Of course, it still remains to show that the maximum can always be attained, but this has been demonstrated in previous posts.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by DVDthe1st, Sep 16, 2015, 8:38 AM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
yunxiu
571 posts
#10 • 3 Y
Y by blackwave, Adventure10, Mango247
${S_2} = 2$so we have ${S_n} = \frac{{{2^{n + 1}} + 3 + {{( - 1)}^n}}}{6}$.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
yugrey
2326 posts
#11 • 3 Y
Y by blackwave, Adventure10, Mango247
Err, another way is to show by straight induction you can split the $2^n$ subsets into the floor of $\frac {2^n} {3}$ chains of $3$ elements and then the last is either a singleton or a chain of $2$, depending on the parity of $n$. The induction step is more or less "clone and combine."
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
blackwave
202 posts
#12 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Can someone help me explain the idea of GOUTHAM ? ( I don't understand much his solution)
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Wonder-Cop
1 post
#13 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Can anyone give a more detailed solution for me please? Thank you so much!
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
thczarif
36 posts
#14
Y by
Click to reveal hidden text

Are you sure that for $n$ the answer is $\frac{2^{n}-(-1)^{n}}{3}$ ?

For $n=4$ we can get $6$ subsets whereas you predicted to have at most $5$. Here are the $6$ subsets, $\{1,2\},\{2,3\},\{1,3\},\{1,4\},\{2,4\},\{3,4\}$. It seems to have at most $\left \lceil \dfrac{2^n}{3} \right \rceil $ subsets instead. Sorry, in advance if I am wrong somewhere.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by thczarif, May 31, 2022, 9:38 PM
Reason: hided the quoted part
Z K Y
N Quick Reply
G
H
=
a