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

G
Topic
First Poster
Last Poster
Problem of the week
evt917   30
N an hour ago by evt917
Whenever possible, I will be posting problems twice a week! They will be roughly of AMC 8 difficulty. Have fun solving! Also, these problems are all written by myself!

First problem:

$20^{16}$ has how many digits?
30 replies
evt917
Mar 5, 2025
evt917
an hour ago
How important is math "intuition"
Dream9   0
3 hours ago
When I see problems now, they usually fall under 3 categories: easy, annoying, and cannot solve. Over time, more problems become easy, but I don't think I'm learning anything "new" so is higher level math like AMC 10 more about practice, so you know what to do when you see a problem? Of course, there's formulas for some problems but when reading a lot of solutions I didn't see many weird formulas being used and it was just the way to solve the problem was "odd".
0 replies
Dream9
3 hours ago
0 replies
Math Question
somerandomkid32   2
N 3 hours ago by Dream9
I was looking to get better at math overall but don't know where to start. For context I am taking geometry as an 8th grader and have gotten a 18 on AMC 8. I have some background in Algebra 2 already such as factoring polynomials etc. reply if you need more info.
2 replies
somerandomkid32
Today at 12:31 AM
Dream9
3 hours ago
A twist on a classic
happypi31415   9
N Today at 5:30 AM by invisibleman
Rank from smallest to largest: $\sqrt[2]{2}$, $\sqrt[3]{3}$, and $\sqrt[5]{5}$.

Click to reveal hidden text
9 replies
happypi31415
Mar 17, 2025
invisibleman
Today at 5:30 AM
Chances of mathcounts nats qual
stjwyl   79
N Today at 3:17 AM by DhruvJha
Info:
In 8th grade so I'm really hoping I can make nats now

I currently mock around 38 - 40 on nationals questions from 2015+
I mock anywhere from 37 - 42 on state questons from 2020+

For the sprint round I also have noticed that the difficulty jump from questions around 19 and 20 to questions around 22 and 23 has been really large (starting from 2023). I've also noticed that the last three questions (also from 2023 ->) are IMO impossible to do in the 40 minutes.

On target I can get 7/8 or even 8/8 if I'm lucky but it's possible for me to get 6/8

I'm in MA :sob: really hard state so do I have a chance

Edit: Just mocked the 2022 state round and got a 41 (29 sprint, 12 target :sob:)

Currently putting around 3 hrs or so a day and I have been for the past 2 months
States is 3/1 for me :sob:

so am i cooked
79 replies
stjwyl
Feb 21, 2025
DhruvJha
Today at 3:17 AM
state mathcounts colorado
aoh11   54
N Today at 3:14 AM by DhruvJha
I have state mathcounts tomorrow. What should I do to get prepared btw, and what are some tips for doing sprint and cdr?
54 replies
aoh11
Mar 15, 2025
DhruvJha
Today at 3:14 AM
Why was this poll blocked
jkim0656   5
N Today at 2:43 AM by MathRook7817
Hey AoPS ppl!
I made a poll about Pi vs Tau over here:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c3h3527460
But after a few days it got blocked but i don't get why?
how is this harmful or different from other polls?
It really wasn't that harmful or popular i got to say tho... :noo:
5 replies
jkim0656
Yesterday at 10:51 PM
MathRook7817
Today at 2:43 AM
Amc10 prep question
Shadow6885   19
N Today at 12:05 AM by Shadow6885
My question is how much of the geo and IA textbooks is relevant to AMC 10?
19 replies
Shadow6885
Mar 17, 2025
Shadow6885
Today at 12:05 AM
I think I regressed at math
PaperMath   21
N Yesterday at 7:05 PM by SpeedCuber7
I found the slip of paper a few days ago that I think I wrote when I was in kindergarten. It is just a sequence of numbers and you have to find the next number, the pattern is $1,2,5,40,1280,?$. I couldn't solve this and was wondering if any of you can find the pattern
21 replies
PaperMath
Mar 8, 2025
SpeedCuber7
Yesterday at 7:05 PM
My friend needs help on a probability problem.
JJ2023   2
N Yesterday at 4:09 PM by JJ2023
Problem:

A game is played with 2 players. There are 10 rounds. Each round, both players draw a card from a deck without jokers. They get the amount of points from said card (For example, if they get a 7, they get 7 points). After each round, they add the points to their total. What is the probability that player 1 has a higher score at the end than player 2?

Oh, and also, if you get a spades of something (For example, an Ace of Spades), it multiplies the next round points by a certain value, maybe 2.25 times.

Is this problem hard to solve? I think it is after many failed attempts.
2 replies
JJ2023
Yesterday at 1:07 PM
JJ2023
Yesterday at 4:09 PM
Inequalites
Mario16   17
N Mar 17, 2025 by sqing
If a+b+c=3 ;a,b,c>=0 prove that 1/(5+a^2)+1/(5+b^2)+1/(5+c^2)<=1/2
17 replies
Mario16
Feb 1, 2021
sqing
Mar 17, 2025
Inequalites
G H J
G H BBookmark kLocked kLocked NReply
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Mario16
100 posts
#1 • 1 Y
Y by Mango247
If a+b+c=3 ;a,b,c>=0 prove that 1/(5+a^2)+1/(5+b^2)+1/(5+c^2)<=1/2
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
IAmTheHazard
5000 posts
#2
Y by
You literally posted this 2 hours ago.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Mario16
100 posts
#3
Y by
Yes but i forgot to write Something
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
IAmTheHazard
5000 posts
#4
Y by
It seems to be the exact same to me.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Wildabandon
506 posts
#5
Y by
Mario16 wrote:
Yes but i forgot to write Something

You can edit your post.

If $a,b,c\ge 0$ and $a+b+c=3$, prove that
\[\frac{1}{5+a^2} + \frac{1}{5+b^2} + \frac{1}{5+c^2}\le \frac{1}{2}\]
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Wildabandon, Feb 2, 2021, 12:23 AM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Quantum_fluctuations
1282 posts
#6 • 1 Y
Y by Mango247
This is where you should go.
https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c6h2387664
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Quantum_fluctuations, Feb 2, 2021, 12:23 AM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
KP9
27 posts
#7
Y by
Another solution :

Easy to prove : $\frac{1}{5+a^2} \leq \frac{1}{5}(1-\frac{1}{18}a^3 - \frac{1}{9}a)$

So we have : $\sum \frac{1}{5+a^2} \leq \frac{3}{5} - \frac{1}{90}(a^3+b^3+c^3) - \frac{1}{45}(a+b+c) = \frac{3}{5} -\frac{3}{45} - \frac{1}{90}(a^3+b^3+c^3) = \frac{8}{15} - \frac{a^3+b^3+c^3}{90}$ (1)

We also have : $(1+1+1)(1+1+1)(a^3+b^3+c^3)\geq (a+b+c)^3$

$\Rightarrow a^3 + b^3 + c^3 \geq 3$ (2)

(1) and (2) $\Rightarrow \sum \frac{1}{5+a^2} \leq \frac{8}{15} - \frac{3}{90} = \frac{1}{2}$ ( Q.E.D)
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Quantum_fluctuations
1282 posts
#8
Y by
KP9 wrote:
Another solution :

Easy to prove : $\frac{1}{5+a^2} \leq \frac{1}{5}(1-\frac{1}{18}a^3 - \frac{1}{9}a)$

How did you find that?
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
KP9
27 posts
#10 • 1 Y
Y by Mango247
oh , iam sorry , i have a problem when i prove it
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
logrange
120 posts
#11 • 1 Y
Y by Mango247
I have another similar problem in which sum is cyclic in one variable only. In these kind of problems we can use tangent line, but I want to know that whether it can be used in problems which have expression ≤ constant. I have used it only in cases like expression ≥ constant. If you can do this by tangent line then please post the solution of this by tangent line also.
Prove that cyclic sum $\frac{a}{2a^2+a+1}\leq \frac{3}{4}$
Given a+b+c=3 (Sorry, I missed that earlier)
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by logrange, Feb 2, 2021, 5:39 PM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
logrange
120 posts
#12
Y by
Bump bump bump
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
logrange
120 posts
#13
Y by
Anyone?
Note - I want a solution without n-1 EV (Calculus)
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
Wildabandon
506 posts
#14
Y by
I'm thinking Jensen but still using the calculus LOL
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
logrange
120 posts
#15
Y by
@below
Thanks
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by logrange, Feb 3, 2021, 11:13 AM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
starchan
1601 posts
#16
Y by
I think Chebyshev's kills this one..
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
sqing
41104 posts
#17
Y by
Wildabandon wrote:
If $a,b,c\ge 0$ and $a+b+c=3$, prove that
\[\frac{1}{5+a^2} + \frac{1}{5+b^2} + \frac{1}{5+c^2}\le \frac{1}{2}\]
https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c4h2391785p19635446
https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c6h2387664p20486022
Let $a,b,c$ be non-negative numbers such that $ab+bc+ca+abc=4.$ Prove that
$$\frac{1}{a+2}+\frac{1}{b+2}+\frac{1}{c+2}= 1$$$$\frac{1}{2}\leq \frac{1}{a^2+4}+\frac{1}{b^2+4}+\frac{1}{c^2+4}\leq \frac{3}{5}$$https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c6h1510436p8962718
Let $ a,b,c>0 $ and $a^2+b^2+c^2+ab+bc+ca =6.$ Prove that
$$\frac{1}{a^2+5}+\frac{1}{b^2+5}+\frac{1}{c^2+5}\leq \frac{1}{2}$$( Vasile Cîrtoaje)
$$a^2b+b^2c+c^2a\leq \frac{368}{3}-\frac{176\sqrt{33}}{9}$$https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c6h382474p2119615
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by sqing, Mar 17, 2025, 2:55 PM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
sqing
41104 posts
#18
Y by
Let $ a,b,c>0 $ and $a^2+b^2+c^2+ab+bc+ca =6.$ Prove that
$$ ab+bc+ca-  abc\leq 2$$$$\frac{1}{a^2+1}+\frac{1}{b^2+1}+\frac{1}{c^2+1}\geq \frac{3}{2}$$$$\frac{1}{a^2+8}+\frac{1}{b^2+8}+\frac{1}{c^2+8}\leq \frac{1}{3}$$
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by sqing, Mar 17, 2025, 3:30 PM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
sqing
41104 posts
#19
Y by
Let $ a,b\geq 0 $ and $a+b+a^2+ab+b^2 =5.$ Prove that
$$ \frac{1}{a^2+1}+ \frac{1}{b^2+1}  \geq1$$$$  \frac{1}{a^2+2}+ \frac{1}{b^2+2} \geq \frac{2}{3}$$$$  \frac{1}{a^2+\frac{53}{20}}+ \frac{1}{b^2+\frac{53}{20}} \geq \frac{40}{73}$$$$  \frac{1}{a^2+\frac{1327}{500}}+ \frac{1}{b^2+ \frac{1327}{500}} \geq \frac{1000}{1827}$$$$ \frac{1}{a^2+3}+ \frac{1}{b^2+3}  \geq \frac{185+3\sqrt{21}}{402}$$
Z K Y
N Quick Reply
G
H
=
a