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Contests & Programs AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
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Contests & Programs AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
AMC and other contests, summer programs, etc.
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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
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Calculus
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Group Theory
Thursday, Jun 12 - Sep 11

Contest Preparation: Grades 6-12

MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics
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MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced
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F=ma Problem Series
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WOOT Programs
Visit the pages linked for full schedule details for each of these programs!


MathWOOT Level 1
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Mon, Tue, Wed & Thurs, Jun 23 - Jun 26 (meets every day of the week!)
0 replies
1 viewing
jlacosta
Mar 2, 2025
0 replies
k i Peer-to-Peer Programs Forum
jwelsh   157
N Dec 11, 2023 by cw357
Many of our AoPS Community members share their knowledge with their peers in a variety of ways, ranging from creating mock contests to creating real contests to writing handouts to hosting sessions as part of our partnership with schoolhouse.world.

To facilitate students in these efforts, we have created a new Peer-to-Peer Programs forum. With the creation of this forum, we are starting a new process for those of you who want to advertise your efforts. These advertisements and ensuing discussions have been cluttering up some of the forums that were meant for other purposes, so we’re gathering these topics in one place. This also allows students to find new peer-to-peer learning opportunities without having to poke around all the other forums.

To announce your program, or to invite others to work with you on it, here’s what to do:

1) Post a new topic in the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum. This will be the discussion thread for your program.

2) Post a single brief post in this thread that links the discussion thread of your program in the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum.

Please note that we’ll move or delete any future advertisement posts that are outside the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum, as well as any posts in this topic that are not brief announcements of new opportunities. In particular, this topic should not be used to discuss specific programs; those discussions should occur in topics in the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum.

Your post in this thread should have what you're sharing (class, session, tutoring, handout, math or coding game/other program) and a link to the thread in the Peer-to-Peer Programs forum, which should have more information (like where to find what you're sharing).
157 replies
jwelsh
Mar 15, 2021
cw357
Dec 11, 2023
k i C&P posting recs by mods
v_Enhance   0
Jun 12, 2020
The purpose of this post is to lay out a few suggestions about what kind of posts work well for the C&P forum. Except in a few cases these are mostly meant to be "suggestions based on historical trends" rather than firm hard rules; we may eventually replace this with an actual list of firm rules but that requires admin approval :) That said, if you post something in the "discouraged" category, you should not be totally surprised if it gets locked; they are discouraged exactly because past experience shows they tend to go badly.
-----------------------------
1. Program discussion: Allowed
If you have questions about specific camps or programs (e.g. which classes are good at X camp?), these questions fit well here. Many camps/programs have specific sub-forums too but we understand a lot of them are not active.
-----------------------------
2. Results discussion: Allowed
You can make threads about e.g. how you did on contests (including AMC), though on AMC day when there is a lot of discussion. Moderators and administrators may do a lot of thread-merging / forum-wrangling to keep things in one place.
-----------------------------
3. Reposting solutions or questions to past AMC/AIME/USAMO problems: Allowed
This forum contains a post for nearly every problem from AMC8, AMC10, AMC12, AIME, USAJMO, USAMO (and these links give you an index of all these posts). It is always permitted to post a full solution to any problem in its own thread (linked above), regardless of how old the problem is, and even if this solution is similar to one that has already been posted. We encourage this type of posting because it is helpful for the user to explain their solution in full to an audience, and for future users who want to see multiple approaches to a problem or even just the frequency distribution of common approaches. We do ask for some explanation; if you just post "the answer is (B); ez" then you are not adding anything useful.

You are also encouraged to post questions about a specific problem in the specific thread for that problem, or about previous user's solutions. It's almost always better to use the existing thread than to start a new one, to keep all the discussion in one place easily searchable for future visitors.
-----------------------------
4. Advice posts: Allowed, but read below first
You can use this forum to ask for advice about how to prepare for math competitions in general. But you should be aware that this question has been asked many many times. Before making a post, you are encouraged to look at the following:
[list]
[*] Stop looking for the right training: A generic post about advice that keeps getting stickied :)
[*] There is an enormous list of links on the Wiki of books / problems / etc for all levels.
[/list]
When you do post, we really encourage you to be as specific as possible in your question. Tell us about your background, what you've tried already, etc.

Actually, the absolute best way to get a helpful response is to take a few examples of problems that you tried to solve but couldn't, and explain what you tried on them / why you couldn't solve them. Here is a great example of a specific question.
-----------------------------
5. Publicity: use P2P forum instead
See https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2489297_peertopeer_programs_forum.
Some exceptions have been allowed in the past, but these require approval from administrators. (I am not totally sure what the criteria is. I am not an administrator.)
-----------------------------
6. Mock contests: use Mock Contests forum instead
Mock contests should be posted in the dedicated forum instead:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c594864_aops_mock_contests
-----------------------------
7. AMC procedural questions: suggest to contact the AMC HQ instead
If you have a question like "how do I submit a change of venue form for the AIME" or "why is my name not on the qualifiers list even though I have a 300 index", you would be better off calling or emailing the AMC program to ask, they are the ones who can help you :)
-----------------------------
8. Discussion of random math problems: suggest to use MSM/HSM/HSO instead
If you are discussing a specific math problem that isn't from the AMC/AIME/USAMO, it's better to post these in Middle School Math, High School Math, High School Olympiads instead.
-----------------------------
9. Politics: suggest to use Round Table instead
There are important conversations to be had about things like gender diversity in math contests, etc., for sure. However, from experience we think that C&P is historically not a good place to have these conversations, as they go off the rails very quickly. We encourage you to use the Round Table instead, where it is much more clear that all posts need to be serious.
-----------------------------
10. MAA complaints: discouraged
We don't want to pretend that the MAA is perfect or that we agree with everything they do. However, we chose to discourage this sort of behavior because in practice most of the comments we see are not useful and some are frankly offensive.
[list] [*] If you just want to blow off steam, do it on your blog instead.
[*] When you have criticism, it should be reasoned, well-thought and constructive. What we mean by this is, for example, when the AOIME was announced, there was great outrage about potential cheating. Well, do you really think that this is something the organizers didn't think about too? Simply posting that "people will cheat and steal my USAMOO qualification, the MAA are idiots!" is not helpful as it is not bringing any new information to the table.
[*] Even if you do have reasoned, well-thought, constructive criticism, we think it is actually better to email it the MAA instead, rather than post it here. Experience shows that even polite, well-meaning suggestions posted in C&P are often derailed by less mature users who insist on complaining about everything.
[/list]
-----------------------------
11. Memes and joke posts: discouraged
It's fine to make jokes or lighthearted posts every so often. But it should be done with discretion. Ideally, jokes should be done within a longer post that has other content. For example, in my response to one user's question about olympiad combinatorics, I used a silly picture of Sogiita Gunha, but it was done within a context of a much longer post where it was meant to actually make a point.

On the other hand, there are many threads which consist largely of posts whose only content is an attached meme with the word "MAA" in it. When done in excess like this, the jokes reflect poorly on the community, so we explicitly discourage them.
-----------------------------
12. Questions that no one can answer: discouraged
Examples of this: "will MIT ask for AOIME scores?", "what will the AIME 2021 cutoffs be (asked in 2020)", etc. Basically, if you ask a question on this forum, it's better if the question is something that a user can plausibly answer :)
-----------------------------
13. Blind speculation: discouraged
Along these lines, if you do see a question that you don't have an answer to, we discourage "blindly guessing" as it leads to spreading of baseless rumors. For example, if you see some user posting "why are there fewer qualifiers than usual this year?", you should not reply "the MAA must have been worried about online cheating so they took fewer people!!". Was sich überhaupt sagen lässt, lässt sich klar sagen; und wovon man nicht reden kann, darüber muss man schweigen.
-----------------------------
14. Discussion of cheating: strongly discouraged
If you have evidence or reasonable suspicion of cheating, please report this to your Competition Manager or to the AMC HQ; these forums cannot help you.
Otherwise, please avoid public discussion of cheating. That is: no discussion of methods of cheating, no speculation about how cheating affects cutoffs, and so on --- it is not helpful to anyone, and it creates a sour atmosphere. A longer explanation is given in Seriously, please stop discussing how to cheat.
-----------------------------
15. Cutoff jokes: never allowed
Whenever the cutoffs for any major contest are released, it is very obvious when they are official. In the past, this has been achieved by the numbers being posted on the official AMC website (here) or through a post from the AMCDirector account.

You must never post fake cutoffs, even as a joke. You should also refrain from posting cutoffs that you've heard of via email, etc., because it is better to wait for the obvious official announcement. A longer explanation is given in A Treatise on Cutoff Trolling.
-----------------------------
16. Meanness: never allowed
Being mean is worse than being immature and unproductive. If another user does something which you think is inappropriate, use the Report button to bring the post to moderator attention, or if you really must reply, do so in a way that is tactful and constructive rather than inflammatory.
-----------------------------

Finally, we remind you all to sit back and enjoy the problems. :D

-----------------------------
(EDIT 2024-09-13: AoPS has asked to me to add the following item.)

Advertising paid program or service: never allowed

Per the AoPS Terms of Service (rule 5h), general advertisements are not allowed.

While we do allow advertisements of official contests (at the MAA and MATHCOUNTS level) and those run by college students with at least one successful year, any and all advertisements of a paid service or program is not allowed and will be deleted.
0 replies
v_Enhance
Jun 12, 2020
0 replies
k i Stop looking for the "right" training
v_Enhance   50
N Oct 16, 2017 by blawho12
Source: Contest advice
EDIT 2019-02-01: https://blog.evanchen.cc/2019/01/31/math-contest-platitudes-v3/ is the updated version of this.

EDIT 2021-06-09: see also https://web.evanchen.cc/faq-contest.html.

Original 2013 post
50 replies
v_Enhance
Feb 15, 2013
blawho12
Oct 16, 2017
Distributing cupcakes
KevinYang2.71   18
N an hour ago by MathLuis
Source: USAMO 2025/6
Let $m$ and $n$ be positive integers with $m\geq n$. There are $m$ cupcakes of different flavors arranged around a circle and $n$ people who like cupcakes. Each person assigns a nonnegative real number score to each cupcake, depending on how much they like the cupcake. Suppose that for each person $P$, it is possible to partition the circle of $m$ cupcakes into $n$ groups of consecutive cupcakes so that the sum of $P$'s scores of the cupcakes in each group is at least $1$. Prove that it is possible to distribute the $m$ cupcakes to the $n$ people so that each person $P$ receives cupcakes of total score at least $1$ with respect to $P$.
18 replies
+3 w
KevinYang2.71
Friday at 12:00 PM
MathLuis
an hour ago
usamOOK geometry
KevinYang2.71   73
N an hour ago by deduck
Source: USAMO 2025/4, USAJMO 2025/5
Let $H$ be the orthocenter of acute triangle $ABC$, let $F$ be the foot of the altitude from $C$ to $AB$, and let $P$ be the reflection of $H$ across $BC$. Suppose that the circumcircle of triangle $AFP$ intersects line $BC$ at two distinct points $X$ and $Y$. Prove that $C$ is the midpoint of $XY$.
73 replies
KevinYang2.71
Friday at 12:00 PM
deduck
an hour ago
Gunn Math Competition
the_math_prodigy   15
N an hour ago by the_math_prodigy
Gunn Math Circle is excited to host the fourth annual Gunn Math Competition (GMC)! GMC will take place at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California on Sunday, March 30th. Gather a team of up to four and compete for over $7,500 in prizes! The contest features three rounds: Individual, Guts, and Team. We welcome participants of all skill levels, with separate Beginner and Advanced divisions for all students.

Registration is free and now open at compete.gunnmathcircle.org. The deadline to sign up is March 27th.

Special Guest Speaker: Po-Shen Loh!!!
We are honored to welcome Po-Shen Loh, a world-renowned mathematician, Carnegie Mellon professor, and former coach of the USA International Math Olympiad team. He will deliver a 30-minute talk to both students and parents, offering deep insights into mathematical thinking and problem-solving in the age of AI!

View competition manual, schedule, prize pool at compete.gunnmathcircle.org . For any questions, reach out at ghsmathcircle@gmail.com or ask in Discord.
15 replies
the_math_prodigy
Mar 8, 2025
the_math_prodigy
an hour ago
Scary Binomial Coefficient Sum
EpicBird08   36
N an hour ago by deduck
Source: USAMO 2025/5
Determine, with proof, all positive integers $k$ such that $$\frac{1}{n+1} \sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k$$is an integer for every positive integer $n.$
36 replies
EpicBird08
Friday at 11:59 AM
deduck
an hour ago
Red Mop Chances
imagien_bad   21
N 2 hours ago by giratina3
What are my chances of making red mop with a 35 on jmo?
21 replies
imagien_bad
Yesterday at 8:27 PM
giratina3
2 hours ago
USAPhO Exam
happyhippos   1
N 2 hours ago by RYang2
Every other thread on this forum is for USA(J)MO lol.

Anyways, to other USAPhO students, what are you doing to prepare? It seems too close to the test date (April 10) to learn new content, so I am just going through past USAPhO and BPhO exams to practice (untimed for now). How about you? Any predictions for what will be on the test this year? I'm completely cooked if there are any circuitry questions.
1 reply
happyhippos
Yesterday at 3:14 AM
RYang2
2 hours ago
BOMBARDIRO CROCODILO VS TRALALERO TRALALA
LostDreams   58
N 3 hours ago by blueprimes
Source: USAJMO 2025/4
Let $n$ be a positive integer, and let $a_0,\,a_1,\dots,\,a_n$ be nonnegative integers such that $a_0\ge a_1\ge \dots\ge a_n.$ Prove that
\[
\sum_{i=0}^n i\binom{a_i}{2}\le\frac{1}{2}\binom{a_0+a_1+\dots+a_n}{2}.
\]Note: $\binom{k}{2}=\frac{k(k-1)}{2}$ for all nonnegative integers $k$.
58 replies
LostDreams
Friday at 12:11 PM
blueprimes
3 hours ago
high tech FE as J1?!
imagien_bad   58
N 3 hours ago by llddmmtt1
Source: USAJMO 2025/1
Let $\mathbb Z$ be the set of integers, and let $f\colon \mathbb Z \to \mathbb Z$ be a function. Prove that there are infinitely many integers $c$ such that the function $g\colon \mathbb Z \to \mathbb Z$ defined by $g(x) = f(x) + cx$ is not bijective.
Note: A function $g\colon \mathbb Z \to \mathbb Z$ is bijective if for every integer $b$, there exists exactly one integer $a$ such that $g(a) = b$.
58 replies
imagien_bad
Mar 20, 2025
llddmmtt1
3 hours ago
mohs of each oly
cowstalker   7
N 3 hours ago by Pomansq
what are the general concencus for the mohs of each of the problems on usajmo and usamo
7 replies
cowstalker
5 hours ago
Pomansq
3 hours ago
Base 2n of n^k
KevinYang2.71   41
N 4 hours ago by mineric
Source: USAMO 2025/1, USAJMO 2025/2
Let $k$ and $d$ be positive integers. Prove that there exists a positive integer $N$ such that for every odd integer $n>N$, the digits in the base-$2n$ representation of $n^k$ are all greater than $d$.
41 replies
KevinYang2.71
Mar 20, 2025
mineric
4 hours ago
funny title placeholder
pikapika007   52
N 5 hours ago by v_Enhance
Source: USAJMO 2025/6
Let $S$ be a set of integers with the following properties:
[list]
[*] $\{ 1, 2, \dots, 2025 \} \subseteq S$.
[*] If $a, b \in S$ and $\gcd(a, b) = 1$, then $ab \in S$.
[*] If for some $s \in S$, $s + 1$ is composite, then all positive divisors of $s + 1$ are in $S$.
[/list]
Prove that $S$ contains all positive integers.
52 replies
pikapika007
Friday at 12:10 PM
v_Enhance
5 hours ago
Tennessee Math Tournament (TMT) Online 2025
TennesseeMathTournament   39
N 5 hours ago by TennesseeMathTournament
Hello everyone! We are excited to announce a new competition, the Tennessee Math Tournament, created by the Tennessee Math Coalition! Anyone can participate in the virtual competition for free.

The testing window is from March 22nd to April 5th, 2025. Virtual competitors may participate in the competition at any time during that window.

The virtual competition consists of three rounds: Individual, Bullet, and Team. The Individual Round is 60 minutes long and consists of 30 questions (AMC 10 level). The Bullet Round is 20 minutes long and consists of 80 questions (Mathcounts Chapter level). The Team Round is 30 minutes long and consists of 16 questions (AMC 12 level). Virtual competitors may compete in teams of four, or choose to not participate in the team round.

To register and see more information, click here!

If you have any questions, please email connect@tnmathcoalition.org or reply to this thread!

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Jane Street!

IMAGE
39 replies
TennesseeMathTournament
Mar 9, 2025
TennesseeMathTournament
5 hours ago
MATHCOUNTS halp
AndrewZhong2012   19
N 6 hours ago by orangebear
I know this post has been made before, but I personally can't find it. I qualified for mathcounts through wildcard in PA, and I can't figure out how to do those last handful of states sprint problems that seem to be one trick ponies(2024 P28 and P29 are examples) They seem very prevalent recently. Does anyone have advice on how to figure out problems like these in the moment?
19 replies
AndrewZhong2012
Mar 5, 2025
orangebear
6 hours ago
2025 Math and AI 4 Girls Competition: Win Up To $1,000!!!
audio-on   11
N Yesterday at 11:33 PM by ev2028
Join the 2025 Math and AI 4 Girls Competition for a chance to win up to $1,000!

Hey Everyone, I'm pleased to announce the dates for the 2025 MA4G Competition are set!
Applications will open on March 22nd, 2025, and they will close on April 26th, 2025 (@ 11:59pm PST).

Applicants will have one month to fill out an application with prizes for the top 50 contestants & cash prizes for the top 20 contestants (including $1,000 for the winner!). More details below!

Eligibility:
The competition is free to enter, and open to middle school female students living in the US (5th-8th grade).
Award recipients are selected based on their aptitude, activities and aspirations in STEM.

Event dates:
Applications will open on March 22nd, 2025, and they will close on April 26th, 2025 (by 11:59pm PST)
Winners will be announced on June 28, 2025 during an online award ceremony.

Application requirements:
Complete a 12 question problem set on math and computer science/AI related topics
Write 2 short essays

Prizes:
1st place: $1,000 Cash prize
2nd place: $500 Cash prize
3rd place: $300 Cash prize
4th-10th: $100 Cash prize each
11th-20th: $50 Cash prize each
Top 50 contestants: Over $50 worth of gadgets and stationary


Many thanks to our current and past sponsors and partners: Hudson River Trading, MATHCOUNTS, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Automation Anywhere, JP Morgan Chase, D.E. Shaw, and AI4ALL.

Math and AI 4 Girls is a nonprofit organization aiming to encourage young girls to develop an interest in math and AI by taking part in STEM competitions and activities at an early age. The organization will be hosting an inaugural Math and AI 4 Girls competition to identify talent and encourage long-term planning of academic and career goals in STEM.

Contact:
mathandAI4girls@yahoo.com

For more information on the competition:
https://www.mathandai4girls.org/math-and-ai-4-girls-competition

More information on how to register will be posted on the website. If you have any questions, please ask here!


11 replies
audio-on
Jan 26, 2025
ev2028
Yesterday at 11:33 PM
Scary Binomial Coefficient Sum
G H J
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Source: USAMO 2025/5
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EpicBird08
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#1 • 1 Y
Y by KevinYang2.71
Determine, with proof, all positive integers $k$ such that $$\frac{1}{n+1} \sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k$$is an integer for every positive integer $n.$
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EpicBird08
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#2 • 1 Y
Y by KevinYang2.71
We claim that the answer is $\boxed{\text{all even integers}}.$

Proof that odd $k$ fail: Just take $n = 2$ and get $2^k + 2$ is divisible by $3,$ which implies $2^k \equiv 1 \pmod{3}$ This can only happen if $k$ is even.

Proof that even $k$ work: Substitute $n-1$ in place for $n$ in the problem; we then must prove that $$\frac{1}{n} \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \binom{n-1}{i}^k$$is an integer for all positive integers $n.$ Call $n$ $k$-good if $n$ satisfies this condition. Letting $\omega(n)$ denote the number of not necessarily distinct prime factors of $n,$ we will prove that all positive integers $n$ are $k$-good by induction on $\omega(n).$ The base case is trivial since if $\omega(n) = 0,$ then $n = 1,$ which vacuously works.

Now suppose that the result was true for all $n$ such that $\omega(n) \le a.$ Let the prime factorization of $n$ be $p_1^{e_1} \cdot p_2^{e_2} \cdots p_m^{e_m},$ where $p_1, \dots, p_m$ are distinct primes and $e_1, \dots, e_m \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $e_1 + \dots + e_m = a+1.$ We will show that $$\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \binom{n-1}{i}^k \equiv 0 \pmod{p_l^{e_l}}$$for all $1 \le l \le m,$ which finishes the inductive step by CRT.

We compute
\begin{align*}
\binom{n-1}{i} &= \frac{(n-1)!}{i! (n-i-1)!} \\
&= \frac{(n-1)(n-2)\cdots (n-i)}{i!} \\
&= \prod_{j=1}^i \frac{n-j}{j},
\end{align*}so $$\binom{n-1}{i}^k = \prod_{j=1}^i \left(\frac{n-j}{j}\right)^k.$$If $p_l \nmid j,$ then $p_l \nmid n-j$ as well since $p_l \mid n.$ Thus $j$ has a modular inverse modulo $p_l^{e_k},$ so we can say $$\left(\frac{n-j}{j}\right)^k \equiv \left(\frac{-j}{j}\right)^k \equiv (-1)^k \equiv 1 \pmod{p_l^{e_k}}$$because $k$ is even. Hence the terms in this product for which $p_l \nmid j$ contribute nothing to the binomial coefficient.

If $p_l \mid j,$ then we have $$\frac{n-j}{j} = \frac{\frac{n}{p_l} - \frac{j}{p_l}}{\frac{j}{p_l}}.$$Reindexing the product in terms of $\frac{j}{p_l},$ we get $$\binom{n-1}{i}^k \equiv \prod_{j'=1}^{\lfloor i/p_l \rfloor} \left(\frac{n/p_l - j'}{j'}\right)^k \equiv \binom{n/p_l}{\lfloor i/p_l \rfloor}^k \pmod{p_l^{e_l}}.$$Therefore, plugging back into our sum gives $$\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \binom{n-1}{i}^k \equiv p_l \sum_{i=0}^{n/p_l - 1} \binom{n/p_l - 1}{i}^k \pmod{p_l^{e_l}}.$$By the inductive hypothesis, the sum on the right-hand side is divisible by $p_l^{e_l - 1},$ so the entire sum is divisible by $p_l^{e_l}.$ This completes our inductive step.

Therefore, we have proven that all positive integers $n$ are $k$-good, and we are done.

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KevinYang2.71
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#3
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original statement says "for every positive integer $n$"

We claim that $k$ is $\boxed{\mathrm{even}}$.

From $n=2$ we get $3\mid 2+2^n$ so clearly $k$ is even.

Now suppose $k$ is even.

Claim 1. If $\alpha=\nu_2(n+1)$, then $2^\alpha$ divides
\[
\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k.
\]Proof. We proceed by induction on $\alpha$ with the base case $\alpha=0$ trivial.

Assume the statement for $\alpha-1$. Let $n+1=:2^\alpha m$ and let us work in $\mathbb{Z}/2^\alpha\mathbb{Z}$. Note that if $r$ is even, $(r+1)^{-1}$ exists so
\[
\binom{n}{r+1}=\frac{n-r}{r+1}\binom{n}{r}=\frac{2^\alpha m-(r+1)}{r+1}\binom{n}{r}=-\binom{n}{r}.
\]We prove that $\binom{n}{2r}=(-1)^r\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}$ for $r=0,\,1,\,\ldots,\,\frac{n-1}{2}$ by induction on $r$ with the base case $r=0$ trivial.

Assume $\binom{n}{2r}=(-1)^r\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}$. We have
\begin{align*}
\binom{n}{2r+2}&=\frac{n-2r-1}{2r+2}\binom{n}{2r+1}\\
&=-\frac{\frac{n-1}{2}-r}{r+1}\binom{n}{2r}\\
&=(-1)^{r+1}\frac{\frac{n-1}{2}-r}{r+1}\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}\\
&=(-1)^{r+1}\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r+1},
\end{align*}completing the induction step.

Thus,
\begin{align*}
\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k&=\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\left(\binom{n}{2r}+\binom{n}{2r+1}\right)^k\\
&=2\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\binom{n}{2r}^k\\
&=2\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\binom{n}{2r}^k\\
&=2\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\left((-1)^r\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}\right)^k\\
&=2\sum_{r=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\binom{\frac{n-1}{2}}{r}^k.
\end{align*}Since $\nu_2\left(\frac{n+1}{2}\right)=\alpha-1$, by the induction hypothesis with $n':=\frac{n-1}{2}$, $2^{\alpha-1}$ divides
\[
\sum_{r=0}^{n'}\binom{n'}{r}^k.
\]Thus
\[
\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k=2\sum_{r=0}^{n'}\binom{n'}{r}^k=0,
\]as desired. $\square$

Odd $p$ case is the same except there is no $(-1)^r$ in the proof. Since all prime powers dividing $n+1$ divide $\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k$, $n+1$ divides $\sum_{i=0}^n\binom{n}{i}^k$. $\square$

How many point dock for dropping ^k in Claim 1 but doing the odd $p$ case correctly (I wrote a Claim 2 that was basically identical to Claim 1 but modified for odd $p$). Also by dropping the ^k, I did not induct on $\alpha$ in Claim 1 because the last summation (wrongly) becomes $0$ directly.
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arfekete
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#4
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Will I get docked if I just said it was sufficient to prove that the term is divisible by $p^{v_p{(n + 1)}}$ for any arbitrary $p | n + 1$ and didn't mention CRT? (I defined p-adic notation)
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Countmath1
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#5
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this is the one thing i started on before i had to leave. i got that all odd k fail and k=2 works by vandermonde's + catalan. 0/21 day 2 baby
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balllightning37
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#7
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Nice, solution was same as #2.

Do we get docked for not defining $v_p$? I was in a hurry...
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plang2008
328 posts
#8
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Bruh I interpreted this as “For each positive integer $n$, find all positive integers $k$ such that this expression is a positive integer”

Then the answer should be all positive integers if $n + 1$ is a power of $2$ and all even positive integers otherwise
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Sleepy_Head
562 posts
#9
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how many points for correct answer (no proof), odd $k$ doesn't work, and $k=2$ works?
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HamstPan38825
8857 posts
#10
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nvm this solution is actually wrong you have to induct it :/
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bachkieu
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#11
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dnw vp moment??
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Pear222
5 posts
#12
Y by
sniped by @2above

We claim that the answer is $\boxed{\text{all even positive integers}}$. To show that odd doesn't work, just look at $n=2$.

The main part of the problem is proving that $n+1$ divides \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni ^{2k}.\]Pick a prime $p$ dividing $n+1$, and let $\nu_p(n+1) = e \ge 1$ so that $p^e$ is the maximal power of $p$ dividing $n+1$. Let $n = mp^e-1$ with $\gcd(m,p) = 1$ The key claim is as follows:

Claim 1: For each $0 \le a < e$, we have that \[\sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^a}\right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^a}^{2k} \equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^{a+1}}\right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^{a+1}}^{2k}\bmod{p^{e-a}}\]
Proof: Consider the values \[\binom{n}{0}^2, \binom{n}{p^a}^2, \dots, \binom{n}{(mp^{e-a}-1)p^a}^2.\]We claim that these values can be blocked into consecutive groups of $p$ such that the values in each block are equal modulo $p^{e-a}$. Specifically, for $p\nmid i+1$, we claim that \[\binom{n}{ip^a} \equiv \binom{n}{(i+1)p^a} \pmod p^{e-a}.\]Indeed, we have that
\begin{align*}
\binom{n}{(i+1)p^a}^2 &= \left(\frac{n}{1}\cdot \frac{n-1}{2} \cdots \frac{n+1-j}{j} \cdots \frac{n+1 - (i+1)p^a}{(i+1)p^a}\right)^2 \\
&= \binom{n}{ip^a}^2 \prod_{j = ip^a + 1}^{(i+1)p^a} \left(\frac{n+1}j - 1\right)^2
\end{align*}But for every $ip^a + 1 < j \le (i+1)p^a$, $\nu_p(j) \le a$ since $p\nmid i+1$. Therefore $\frac{n+1}{j} \equiv 0 \bmod{p^{e-a}}$, so the entire product is equal to $1\pmod{p^{e-a}}$; thus the subclaim is true. Therefore we have that
\begin{align*}
\sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^a} \right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^a}^{2k} &=\sum_{i=0}^{\frac 1p\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^a} \right\rfloor} \sum_{j= ip}^{ip+p-1} \left(\binom{n}{jp^a}^2\right)^k\\
& \equiv \sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^{a+1}} \right\rfloor} p\left(\binom{n}{ip(p^a)}^2\right)^k \pmod{ p^{e-a}}\\
& \equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^{a+1}} \right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^{a+1}}^{2k}
\end{align*}and the claim is proven.

To finish, note that a quick induction implies that \[p^{e-a} \mid \sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{n}{p^a}\right\rfloor} \binom{n}{ip^a}^{2k}\]for all $0\le a \le e$. Taking $a = 0$ gives that \[p^e \mid \sum_{i=0}^{n} \binom ni^k\]for any prime power $p^e$ dividing $n+1$. This means that \[\frac 1{n+1} \sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^{2k}\]is an integer for any $k\in \mathbb{N}$, so we are done.
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pianoboy
320 posts
#13
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I noticed (by taking powers over first 10 rows of Pascal triangle) that (n choose k)^4 = (n choose k)^2 mod (n+1). Is that always true?

If we prove that the problem is basically solved.
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YaoAOPS
1497 posts
#14
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$n = 215, k = 54$ is a counterexample.
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NoSignOfTheta
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#15
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No its not
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YaoAOPS
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#16
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yes it is????????
Attachments:
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pianoboy
320 posts
#17
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What ? This false conjecture with an absurdly high counterexample?
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OronSH
1727 posts
#18 • 1 Y
Y by centslordm
Answer is even $k$. Odd $k$ fail at $n=2$.

Let $m=n+1$ and set $\nu_p(m)=s$. The main idea is that \begin{align*}\binom{pm-1}{pi+j}&=\frac{(pm-1)(pm-2)\cdots(pm-pi-j)}{1\cdot 2\cdots(pi+j)}\\&=\left(\frac{pm-1}1\cdot\frac{pm-2}2\cdots\frac{pm-p+1}{p-1}\cdot\frac{pm-p-1}{p+1}\cdots\right)\cdot\frac{(m-1)(m-2)\cdots(m-i)}{1\cdot 2\cdots i}\\&\equiv\pm\binom{m-1}i\pmod{p^{s+1}}.\end{align*}Then \[\sum_{i=0}^{pm-1}\binom{pm-1}i^k\equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{m-1}\binom{m-1}i^k\pmod{p^{s+1}}\]so inducting on $\nu_p(m)$ works.
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OronSH
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#19
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pianoboy wrote:
What ? This false conjecture with an absurdly high counterexample?

$n=8,k=3$ is a counterexample
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NoSignOfTheta
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#20
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YaoAOPS wrote:
yes it is????????

ohhh I thought u were talking about the actual problem
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Ilikeminecraft
302 posts
#21
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how many points will proving the case for $\operatorname{rad}(n) = n$(prime exponents are 1)
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awesomeguy856
7263 posts
#22 • 2 Y
Y by OronSH, bjump
OronSH wrote:
Answer is even $k$. Odd $k$ fail at $n=2$.

Let $m=n+1$ and set $\nu_p(m)=s$. The main idea is that \begin{align*}\binom{pm-1}{pi+j}&=\frac{(pm-1)(pm-2)\cdots(pm-pi-j)}{1\cdot 2\cdots(pi+j)}\\&=\left(\frac{pm-1}1\cdot\frac{pm-2}2\cdots\frac{pm-p+1}{p-1}\cdot\frac{pm-p-1}{p+1}\cdots\right)\cdot\frac{(m-1)(m-2)\cdots(m-i)}{1\cdot 2\cdots i}\\&\equiv\pm\binom{m-1}i\pmod{p^{s+1}}.\end{align*}Then \[\sum_{i=0}^{pm-1}\binom{pm-1}i^k\equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{m-1}\binom{m-1}i^k\pmod{p^{s+1}}\]so inducting on $\nu_p(m)$ works.

more like pmo
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krithikrokcs
146 posts
#23
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if i wrote my solution backwards will i get points off?
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v_Enhance
6869 posts
#24 • 2 Y
Y by Curious_Droid, jkim0656
The answer is all even $k$.
Let's abbreviate $S(n) \coloneq \binom n0^k + \dots + \binom nn^k$ for the sum in the problem.
Proof that even $k$ is necessary. Choose $n=2$. We need $3 \mid S(2) = 2+2^k$, which requires $k$ to be even.

Remark: It's actually not much more difficult to just use $n = p-1$ for prime $p$, since $\binom{p-1}{i} \equiv (-1)^i \pmod p$. Hence $S(p-1) \equiv 1 + (-1)^k + 1 + (-1)^k + \dots + 1 \pmod p$, and this also requires $k$ to be even. This special case is instructive in figuring out the proof to follow.

Proof that $k$ is sufficient. From now on we treat $k$ as fixed, and we let $p^e$ be a prime fully dividing $n+1$. The basic idea is to reduce from $n+1$ to $(n+1)/p$ by an induction.

Remark: Here is a concrete illustration that makes it clear what's going on. Let $p = 5$. When $n = p-1 = 4$, we have \[ S(4) = 1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k \equiv 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 \equiv 0 \pmod 5. \]When $n = p^2-1 = 24$, the $25$ terms of $S(24)$ in order are, modulo $25$, \begin{align*} S(24) &\equiv 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k\\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k \\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k \\ &= 5(1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k). \end{align*}The point is that $S(24)$ has five copies of $S(4)$, modulo $25$.
To make the pattern in the remark explicit, we prove the following lemma on each individual binomial coefficient.
Lemma: Suppose $p^e$ is a prime power which fully divides $n+1$. Then \[ \binom{n}{i} \equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor} \pmod{p^e}. \]Proof. [Proof of lemma] It's easiest to understand the proof by looking at the cases $\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor \in \{0,1,2\}$ first.
  • For $0 \le i < p$, since $n \equiv -1 \mod p^e$, we have \[ \binom{n}{i} = \frac{n(n-1) \dots (n-i+1)}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot i} \equiv \frac{(-1)(-2) \dots (-i)}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot i} \equiv \pm 1 \pmod{p^e}. \]
  • For $p \le i < 2p$ we have \begin{align*} \binom{n}{i} &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-p+1}{p} \cdot \frac{(n-p)(n-p-1) \dots (n-i+1)}{(p+1)(p+2) \dots i} \\ &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{\frac{n-p+1}{p}}{1} \cdot \pm 1 \\ &\equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{1} \pmod{p^e}. \end{align*}
  • For $2p \le i < 3p$ the analogous reasoning gives \begin{align*} \binom ni &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-p+1}{p} \cdot \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-2p+1}{2p} \cdot \pm 1 \\ &\equiv \pm \frac{\left(\frac{n+1}{p}-1\right)\left( \frac{n+1}{p}-2 \right) }{1 \cdot 2} \\ &\equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{2} \pmod{p^e}. \end{align*}
\dots And so on. The point is that in general, if we write \[ \binom ni = \prod_{0 \le j \le i} \frac{n-(j-1)}{j} \]then the fractions for $p \nmid j$ are all $\pm 1 \pmod{p^e}$. So only considers those $j$ with $p \mid j$; in that case one obtains the claimed $\binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor}$ exactly (even without having to take modulo $p^e$). $\blacksquare$
From the lemma, it follows if $p^e$ is a prime power which fully divides $n+1$, then \[ S(n) \equiv p \cdot S\left( \frac{n+1}{p}-1 \right) \pmod{p^e} \]by grouping the $n+1$ terms (for $0 \le i \le n$) into consecutive ranges of length $p$ (by the value of $\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor$).
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Mathandski
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#25
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I initially fakesolved this problem writing a proof that was somewhat a convoluted way of saying $\binom{n}{i} \equiv \binom{-1}{i} \pmod{n}$. Realized this with 2 hours left and had to start over. 25AMO5 gave me the exact same feeling as 24JMO4. It took another 1:15 to solve correctly - easily the most stressful hour of my life. I measured my heart rate with roughly an hour left and it was at 50 beats / 20 seconds = 150 BPM.
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v_Enhance
6869 posts
#26 • 1 Y
Y by NaturalSelection
Realized this with 2 hours left and had to start over. In total it took 1:15 to solve correctly; the most stressful hour of my life. I measured my heart rate with 45 minutes left and it was at 50 beats / 20 seconds = 150 BPM
I remember that experience as a student too. In my case, the problem was USAMO 2014/4, but I only had 20 minutes to fix my wrong solution.
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peppapig_
279 posts
#27 • 5 Y
Y by YaoAOPS, OronSH, KnowingAnt, golue3120, centslordm
Haven't seen this solution yet! Pure manipulation, no induction on $p$.

We claim that the answer is all even $k$, odd $k$ dies to $n=2$.

For even $k$, let $k=2m$ for $m\in \mathbb{Z}^+$, note that
\[\binom{n}{i}^{2m}=\binom{n}{0}^{2m}+\left(\binom{n}{1}^{2m}-\binom{n}{0}^{2m}\right)+\left(\binom{n}{2}^{2m}-\binom{n}{1}^{2m}\right)+\dots+\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right).\]Now, summing this up over all $1\le i\le n$, we have
\[\sum_{i=0}^{n}\binom{n}{i}^{2m}=(n+1)\binom{n}{0}^{2m}+\sum_{i=1}^{n}(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right).\]
It now suffices to show that
\[(n+1)\mid (n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right),\]for all $1\le i\le n$. However, note that since $2m$ is even, we have that
\[(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}+\binom{n}{i-1}\right) \mid (n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right).\]But we also have that
\[(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}+\binom{n}{i-1}\right)=(n+1-i)\binom{n+1}{i}=(n+1-i)\cdot \frac{(n+1)!}{(n+1-i)!i!}=(n+1)\cdot \frac{n!}{(n-i)!i!},\]which is just $(n+1)\binom{n}{i}$. This is clearly divisible by $n+1$, proving that
\[(n+1)\mid (n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right),\]for all $1\le i\le n$.

Summing this over all $i$, this means that
\[(n+1)\mid \sum_{i=1}^{n}(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right),\]so
\[(n+1)\mid (n+1)\binom{n}{0}^{2m}+\sum_{i=1}^{n}(n+1-i)\left(\binom{n}{i}^{2m}-\binom{n}{i-1}^{2m}\right)=\sum_{i=0}^{n}\binom{n}{i}^{2m},\]as desired. Therefore all even $k$ work, completing our proof.
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ihatemath123
3440 posts
#28 • 1 Y
Y by peace09
theres no way this problem hasnt already been posted somewhere in hso or math overflow 20 years ago or smth
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solasky
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#29
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v_Enhance wrote:
The answer is all even $k$.
Let's abbreviate $S(n) \coloneq \binom n0^k + \dots + \binom nn^k$ for the sum in the problem.
Proof that even $k$ is necessary. Choose $n=2$. We need $3 \mid S(2) = 2+2^k$, which requires $k$ to be even.

Remark: It's actually not much more difficult to just use $n = p-1$ for prime $p$, since $\binom{p-1}{i} \equiv (-1)^i \pmod p$. Hence $S(p-1) \equiv 1 + (-1)^k + 1 + (-1)^k + \dots + 1 \pmod p$, and this also requires $k$ to be even. This special case is instructive in figuring out the proof to follow.

Proof that $k$ is sufficient. From now on we treat $k$ as fixed, and we let $p^e$ be a prime fully dividing $n+1$. The basic idea is to reduce from $n+1$ to $(n+1)/p$ by an induction.

Remark: Here is a concrete illustration that makes it clear what's going on. Let $p = 5$. When $n = p-1 = 4$, we have \[ S(4) = 1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k \equiv 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 \equiv 0 \pmod 5. \]When $n = p^2-1 = 24$, the $25$ terms of $S(24)$ in order are, modulo $25$, \begin{align*} S(24) &\equiv 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k\\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k \\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k \\ &= 5(1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k). \end{align*}The point is that $S(24)$ has five copies of $S(4)$, modulo $25$.
To make the pattern in the remark explicit, we prove the following lemma on each individual binomial coefficient.
Lemma: Suppose $p^e$ is a prime power which fully divides $n+1$. Then \[ \binom{n}{i} \equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor} \pmod{p^e}. \]Proof. [Proof of lemma] It's easiest to understand the proof by looking at the cases $\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor \in \{0,1,2\}$ first.
  • For $0 \le i < p$, since $n \equiv -1 \mod p^e$, we have \[ \binom{n}{i} = \frac{n(n-1) \dots (n-i+1)}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot i} \equiv \frac{(-1)(-2) \dots (-i)}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot \dots \cdot i} \equiv \pm 1 \pmod{p^e}. \]
  • For $p \le i < 2p$ we have \begin{align*} \binom{n}{i} &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-p+1}{p} \cdot \frac{(n-p)(n-p-1) \dots (n-i+1)}{(p+1)(p+2) \dots i} \\ &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{\frac{n-p+1}{p}}{1} \cdot \pm 1 \\ &\equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{1} \pmod{p^e}. \end{align*}
  • For $2p \le i < 3p$ the analogous reasoning gives \begin{align*} \binom ni &\equiv \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-p+1}{p} \cdot \pm 1 \cdot \frac{n-2p+1}{2p} \cdot \pm 1 \\ &\equiv \pm \frac{\left(\frac{n+1}{p}-1\right)\left( \frac{n+1}{p}-2 \right) }{1 \cdot 2} \\ &\equiv \pm \binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{2} \pmod{p^e}. \end{align*}
\dots And so on. The point is that in general, if we write \[ \binom ni = \prod_{0 \le j \le i} \frac{n-(j-1)}{j} \]then the fractions for $p \nmid j$ are all $\pm 1 \pmod{p^e}$. So only considers those $j$ with $p \mid j$; in that case one obtains the claimed $\binom{\frac{n+1}{p}-1}{\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor}$ exactly (even without having to take modulo $p^e$). $\blacksquare$
From the lemma, it follows if $p^e$ is a prime power which fully divides $n+1$, then \[ S(n) \equiv p \cdot S\left( \frac{n+1}{p}-1 \right) \pmod{p^e} \]by grouping the $n+1$ terms (for $0 \le i \le n$) into consecutive ranges of length $p$ (by the value of $\left\lfloor i/p \right\rfloor$).

Wait I proved the lemma in-contest but I didn’t realize you can just induct on that to finish :sob: I didn’t even write it down b/c I thought it was a dead end, oh well
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by solasky, Friday at 4:29 PM
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Mathandski
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#30 • 2 Y
Y by solasky, GrantStar
v_Enhance wrote:
Remark: Here is a concrete illustration that makes it clear what's going on. Let $p = 5$. When $n = p-1 = 4$, we have \[ S(4) = 1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k \equiv 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 \equiv 0 \pmod 5. \]When $n = p^2-1 = 24$, the $25$ terms of $S(24)$ in order are, modulo $25$, \begin{align*} S(24) &\equiv 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k\\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k + 6^k \\ &+ 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k + 4^k \\ &+ 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k + 1^k \\ &= 5(1^k + 4^k + 6^k + 4^k + 1^k). \end{align*}The point is that $S(24)$ has five copies of $S(4)$, modulo $25$.

These are the exact numbers I used to motivate my solve as well :O
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golue3120
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#31 • 3 Y
Y by GrantStar, OronSH, centslordm
well, I guess I have to post this

Answer is all even $k$, necessity follows from setting $n=2$. Henceforth assume $k$ is even.

Lemma. Let $p^e$ be a prime power. Then $\textstyle (1+x)^{p^e}\equiv (1+x^p)^{p^{e-1}}\pmod p^e$.
Proof. When $e=1$, $\textstyle(1+x)^p=1+x^p+\sum_{i=1}^{p-1}\binom pix^i\equiv 1+x^p\pmod p$. Now we induct on $e$. Suppose $\textstyle (1+x)^{p^e}\equiv (1+x^p)^{p^{e-1}}\pmod p^e$. Then $\textstyle (1+x)^{p^e}=(1+x^p)^{p^{e-1}}+p^eQ$ where $Q$ is some integer polynomials. Raising both sides to the power of $p$, we have $\textstyle (1+x)^{p^{e+1}}=(1+x^p)^{p^e}+\text{terms divisible by }p^{e+1}$, as desired.

We now prove that for every positive integer $m$, prime $p$, and nonnegative integer $e$,
\[p^e\mid\sum_{i=0}^{mp^e-1}\binom{mp^e-1}i^k.\]
We induct on $e$. If $e=0$, this is trivial. Now suppose it holds for $e$. Working modulo $p^{e+1}$, we have
\[(1-x)^{mp^{e+1}-1}=\frac{(1-x)^{mp^{e+1}}}{1-x}=\frac{(1+(-x)^p)^{mp^e}}{1-x}=\frac{1+(-x)^p}{1-x}(1+(-x)^p)^{mp^e-1}=(1+(-x)^p)^{mp^e-1}\sum_{i=0}^{p-1}x^i.\]Thus by comparing coefficients, $\textstyle\binom{mp^{e+1}-1}{qp+r}\equiv\pm\binom{mp^e-1}{q}$ for $0\le q<mp^e$, $0\le r<p$. Therefore, modulo $p^{e+1}$,
\[\sum_{i=0}^{mp^{e+1}-1}\binom{mp^{e+1}-1}{i}^k=\sum_{q=0}^{mp^e-1}\sum_{r=0}^{p-1}\binom{mp^e-1}{q}=p\sum_{q=0}^{mp^e-1}\binom{mp^e-1}{q}.\]By the inductive hypothesis, the last sum is a multiple of $p^e$, hence the first sum is a multiple of $p^{e+1}$.
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Curious_Droid
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#32 • 1 Y
Y by peppapig_
Here is my solution which I stumbled upon after four hours of feverish grinding. I cannot make up my mind whether it is beautiful or just incredibly ugly. Scariest thing is, I still don't know if its correct :blush:

Lemma: If $\nu_p(c) = \nu_p(m) \ge 1$, then $p^k \mid {m-1 \choose c\cdot p^k -1}$ for any $k \ge 1$.

Proof: Kummers Theorem.

Corollary: Take positive integers $i, n$. Define $g = \gcd(i, n+1)$ and $i = g\cdot a\cdot b$ where $\gcd(b, n+1) = 1$ and $b$ is maximal. Then $a \mid {n \choose i-1}$.

Proof: Take one prime exponent $p^k \mid a$, where $k = \nu_p(a)$. By maximality of $b$, $p \mid n+1$. Obviously $p \nmid b$, and we must have $p \nmid \frac{n+1}{g}$. Thus $\nu_p(n+1) = \nu_p(g) = \nu_p\left(\frac{i}{p^k}\right)$, all $\ge 1$, and the desired follows by applying the Lemma. $\Box$

The case where $k$ is odd is easy, so we assume $k$ is even and show the desired conclusion.

Now consider the following process: Start with $n+1$ ones lined up in a row. Then on step $i$, multiply the central $n+1-2i$ terms by $\frac{n+1-i}{i}$. Obviously, we eventually construct the sequence of all binomial coefficients, and after step $i$, the sequence will be

$$1, {n \choose 1}, {n \choose 2}, \dots, {n \choose i-1}, \underbrace{{n \choose i}, \dots, {n \choose i}}_{\text{$n+1-2i$ copies}}, {n \choose i-1}, \dots, {n \choose 2}, {n \choose 1}, 1$$
Let $S_i$ be the sum of the $k$th powers of these terms after step $i$. As a result, $S_0 = n+1$. We claim that $S_i$ is invariant throughout the process.

Proof: First, note that $S_i - S_{i-1} = (n+1-2i)\left( {n \choose i}^k - {n \choose i-1}^k \right) =(n+1-2i){n \choose i-1}^k\left( \left(\frac{n+1-i}{i}\right)^k -1 \right) $. Now define $g = \gcd(i, n+1)$ and $i = g\cdot a\cdot b$ where $\gcd(b, n+1) = 1$ and $b$ is maximal. Further, let $n+1 = gd$. By the Corollary, $a \mid {n \choose i-1}$. Thus, we may set $X = \left(\frac{{n \choose i-1}}{a}\right)^k \in \mathbb Z$. Now
\begin{align*}
{n \choose i-1}^k\left( \left(\frac{n+1-i}{i}\right)^k -1 \right) &= X \cdot a^k \cdot \left( \left(\frac{gd-gab}{gab}\right)^k -1 \right)\\
&= X \cdot \left( \left(\frac{d-ba}{b}\right)^k -a^k \right)\\
&\equiv X \cdot \left( \left(\frac{-ba}{b}\right)^k -a^k \right)\\
&\equiv X \cdot \left( (-a)^k -a^k \right)\\
&\equiv 0 \pmod{d},
\end{align*}where division by $b$ was allowed because $\gcd(b, d) = 1$. Further, it is obvious that $g \mid n+1-2i$, so in conclusion, $n+1 = gd \mid S_i - S_{i-1}$. $\Box$

It is clear to see how we finish from here.

Note: Just a worse, more convoluted version of peppapig_'s solution.
This post has been edited 7 times. Last edited by Curious_Droid, Yesterday at 2:25 AM
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john0512
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#33
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Clearly, $k$ is even as $n=2$ gives $3\mid 2+2^k$. Now, we show that all even $k$ work. Let $k=2m$.

Main Claim: If $p^r$ is a prime power such that $n\equiv -1\pmod{p^r}$, then
$${n\choose i}^{2m} \equiv {\lfloor n/p\rfloor \choose \lfloor i/p\rfloor}^{2m} \pmod{p^r}.$$
Consider the equation

$${n\choose i}=(\frac{n}{1})(\frac{n-1}{2})(\frac{n-2}{3})\dots(\frac{n-i+1}{i}).$$
Denote the "$k$th slot" as the fraction $\frac{n-k+1}{k}$. Considering just the slots that are multiples of $p$,

$$\frac{n-p+1}{p}\cdot \frac{n-2p+1}{2p}\cdots \frac{n-p\lfloor i/p \rfloor+1}{p\lfloor i/p\rfloor}$$$$=\frac{\lfloor n/p\rfloor}{1}\cdot \frac{\lfloor n/p\rfloor-1}{2}\cdots \frac{\lfloor n/p\rfloor-\lfloor i/p \rfloor +1}{\lfloor i/p\rfloor}$$$$={\lfloor n/p \rfloor \choose \lfloor i/p \rfloor}.$$
However, if $p\nmid k$, then the $k$th slot is
$$\frac{n-k+1}{k}\equiv \frac{-k}{k}\equiv -1\pmod{p^r},$$so if the exponent is even, the slots that are not multiples of $p$ do not affect the residue mod $p^r$ at all, which shows the claim.

Let $f(n)= \sum_{i=0}^n {n\choose i}^{2m}$. Then, if $n\equiv -1\pmod{p^r}$, then by the above claim,

$$f(n)={n\choose 0}^{2m} + {n\choose 1}^{2m}+\dots+{n\choose n}^{2m}$$$$\equiv {\lfloor n/p\rfloor \choose \lfloor 0/p\rfloor}^{2m}+{\lfloor n/p\rfloor \choose \lfloor 1/p\rfloor}^{2m}+\dots+{\lfloor n/p\rfloor \choose \lfloor n/p\rfloor}^{2m}$$$$\equiv p \left [ {\lfloor n/p \rfloor \choose 0}^{2m}+{\lfloor n/p \rfloor \choose 1}^{2m}+\dots+{\lfloor n/p \rfloor \choose \lfloor n/p \rfloor}^{2m}  \right ] \pmod{p^r}$$$$f(n) \equiv pf(\lfloor n/p \rfloor)\pmod{p^r}.$$
Finally we induct on the number of trailing $p-1$'s in the base $p$ representation of $n$ to show that $n\equiv -1\pmod{p^r}$ implies $p^r\mid f(n)$. If there is one trailing $p-1$, then clearly the above implies $p\mid f(n)$. Then, if $n$ has $r$ trailing $p-1$'s, then $\lfloor n/p \rfloor$ has $r-1$ trailing $p-1$'s. Thus, if $p^{r-1}\mid f(\lfloor n/p\rfloor)$, then $p^r\mid f(n)$, as desired.

Since $p^r\mid n+1$ implies $p^r\mid f(n)$, we are done.
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plang2008
328 posts
#34
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I misread it. The answer is all $k$ if $n + 1$ is a power of $2$ and all even $k$ otherwise.


Consider a prime $p \mid n + 1$, and let $a = \nu_p(n + 1)$. Notice that by definition we have $\binom ni = \prod_{j=1}^i \frac{n+1-j}{j}$. Since $p \mid n + 1$, we have $p \mid n + 1 - j$ if $p \mid j$ and $p\nmid n + 1 - j$ otherwise, so for each term, either both the numerator are divisible by $p$, or neither are. Let $M$ be the number of terms in the denominator that are not divisible by $p$.

For each term such that $p \nmid j$, we have $n + 1 - j \equiv -j$, so $\frac{n + 1 - j}{j} \equiv -1 \pmod {p^a}$. For each term such that $p \mid j$, we can divide out a $p$ from both the numerator and the denominator. Notice that what's left is simply $\binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}$. Thus, we conclude that \[\boxed{\binom ni \equiv (-1)^M \binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}}.\]

Proof that $k$ even works for all $p$: For $n = p - 1$, we clearly have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \equiv p \equiv 0 \pmod p.\]
Now consider $n = p(d + 1) - 1$ where $\nu_p(n) = a$, and suppose that $n = d$ satisfies the induction hypothesis for the prime $p$. Clearly $\nu_p(d + 1) = a - 1$. Then we have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}^k \equiv p\sum_{i=0}^d \binom di^k \pmod {p^a}\]By the induction hypothesis, $p^{a-1}$ divides the inner binomial sum, so since we are multiplying it by $p$, $p^a$ must divide $\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k$.


Proof that $k$ odd fails for $p \neq 2$: For $n = p - 1$, we clearly have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \equiv 1 \pmod p.\]
Now consider $n = p(d + 1) - 1$ where $\nu_p(n) = a$, and suppose that $n = d$ satisfies the induction hypothesis for the prime $p$. Since $p - 1$ is even, there exists one more $(-1)^M = 1$ than $(-1)^M = -1$ for each block of $p$ such that $\lfloor i/p \rfloor$ remains constant. Then we have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^d \binom di^k \pmod {p^a}.\]By the induction hypothesis, $p^{a-1}$ does not divide this sum, so $p^a$ does not divide it either.


Proof that $k$ odd works for $n + 1$ a power of $2$: Let $p = 2$. For $n = 1$, clearly odd $k$ work as $1^k + 1^k \equiv 0 \pmod 2$. Now suppose odd $k$ works for $n = 2^d - 1$. If we let $n = 2^{d+1} - 1$, then we have \[\sum_{i=0}^n \binom ni^k \equiv \sum_{i=0}^n (-1)^{Mk} \binom{\lfloor n/p \rfloor}{\lfloor i/p \rfloor}^k \pmod{2^{d+1}}.\]
Notice that the since for each block of $p = 2$ such that $\lfloor i/p \rfloor$ remains constant, there is exactly one odd $M$ and one even $M$. Thus, the sum simply vanishes $\bmod~2^{d+1}$.


Since all even $k$ work for all primes $p$, it follows by CRT that all even $k$ work. For $n + 1$ not a power of $2$, there exists an odd prime $p$ such that $p \mid n + 1$, which can be easily used to show that all odd $k$ fail.
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awesomeming327.
1671 posts
#35
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Define
\begin{align*}
f_k(n,i) &= \binom{n-1}{i}^k \\
F_k(n) &= \sum_{i=0}^{n-1}f_k(n,i)
\end{align*}We want to find all $k$ such that $n\mid F_k(n)$ for all positive integers $n\ge 2$. Clearly, letting $n=3$, we have
\[3\mid F_k(n,i)=1^k+2^k+1^k\]which forces $k$ to be even.

Now we show that when $k$ is even, $n\mid F_k(n)$. Let $\nu_p(n)=a\ge 1$. First, we prove a claim.

Claim 1: $f_k(n,ip+j)\equiv f_k(n,ip+j+1)\pmod{p^a}$ for all $0\le j\le p-2$.
Note that we have
\begin{align*}
f_k(n,ip+j+1) &= \left(\frac{(n-1)!}{(ip+j+1)!(n-ip-j-2)!}\right)^k \\
&= \left(\frac{(n-1)!}{(ip+j)!(n-ip-j-1)!}\right)^k\cdot \left(\frac{n-ip-j-1}{ip+j+1}\right)^k \\
&\equiv f_k(n,ip+j)\cdot 1\pmod {p^a}
\end{align*}
This implies that $f_k(n,i)\pmod {p^a}$ is constant given that $\lfloor i/p\rfloor$ is constant. Therefore,
\[F_k(n)\equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{n/p-1}f_k(n,ip)\pmod {p^a}\]We now continue to our second claim.

Claim 2: Then $f_k(n,ip)\equiv f_k(n/p,i)\pmod{p^{a-1}}$ for all $0\le i\le p-1$.
We proceed by induction on $i$. Note that if $i=0$ this simply says $1\equiv 1\pmod {p^{a-1}}$ which is trivially true. Now assume
\[f_k(n/p,i)\equiv f_k(n,ip)\equiv f_k(n,ip+p-1)\pmod {p^{a-1}}\]and we have
\begin{align*}
f_k(n,(i+1)p)&\equiv f_k(n,ip+p-1)\cdot \frac{(n-(i+1)p)}{(i+1)p} \\ 
&\equiv f_k(n/p,i)\cdot \left(\frac{n/p-i-1}{i+1}\right)^k \\
&\equiv f_k(n/p,i+1) \pmod {p^{a-1}}
\end{align*}Which completes the induction step.
Now we have
\[F_k(n)\equiv p\sum_{i=0}^{n/p-1}f_k(n,ip)\equiv pF_k(n/p)\pmod {p^a}\]so if $p^{a-1}\mid F_k(n/p)$ then $p^a\mid F_k(n)$. By induction we are done.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by awesomeming327., Yesterday at 9:27 PM
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MathLuis
1464 posts
#36 • 1 Y
Y by KevinYang2.71
If $k$ is odd then $n=2$ fails, now if $k$ is even then from CRT all we need is to prove that $p^{\ell} \mid \sum_{i=0}^{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1} \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1}{i}^k$.
For this matter notice that (for $y<p$) and some positive integer $x$ such that $m \cdot p^{\ell}-1>xp+y$ that:
\[ \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1}{xp+y}=\left( \frac{(m \cdot p^{\ell}-1) \cdots (m \cdot p^{\ell}-p+1)(m \cdot p^{\ell}-p-1) \cdots )}{1 \cdots (p-1)(p+1) \cdots} \right) \cdot \frac{(mp^{\ell-1}-1) \cdots (mp^{\ell-1}-x)}{1 \cdots x} \equiv \pm \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell-1}-1}{x} \pmod{p^{\ell}} \]So now using this notice that we have $\sum_{i=0}^{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1} \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell}-1}{i}^k \equiv p \cdot \sum_{i=0}^{m \cdot p^{\ell-1}-1} \binom{m \cdot p^{\ell-1}-1}{i}^k \pmod{p^{\ell}}$ so we can induct down and throw CRT until we get a degenerate case of the divisibility prompt in which case it is a trivial result thus we are done :cool:.
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deduck
175 posts
#37 • 1 Y
Y by KevinYang2.71
The answer is even only.

Odds fail because of $n=2$.

Now let $n+1 = \Pi p_a^{e_a}$. To show that evens work, we will induct by taking mod $p_a^{e_a}$, then CRT finishes.

We want to prove $$\sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k = 0 (\text{mod } p_a^{e_a})$$.

We will proceed by induction based on $v_{p_a}(n+1)$. When $v_{p_a}(n+1) = 0$ it's obvious.

For the inductive step, let's look at each $\binom{n}{i}^k$ individually. Note that $\binom{n}{i}^k = \Pi \frac{(n+1)-x}{x}$. Therefore, if $p_a \nmid x$, then both the numerator and denominator of $\frac{(n+1)-x}{x}$ are relatively prime, therefore it's $-1$. But since $k$ is even $(-1)^k=1$ and it does nothing. So just ignore all $x$ with $p_a \nmid x$.

Therefore $$\binom{n}{i}^k = \Pi \frac{(n+1)-x}{x} = \Pi_{p_a | x} \frac{\frac{n+1}{p_a} - \frac{x}{p_a}}{\frac{x}{p_a}} = \binom{\frac{n+1}{p_a}-1}{\lfloor \frac{i}{p_a} \rfloor}^k.$$
Therefore $$\sum_{i=0}^n \binom{n}{i}^k = \sum_{i=0}^n \binom{\frac{n+1}{p_a} - 1}{\lfloor \frac{i}{p_a} \rfloor}^k (\text{mod } p_a^{e_a})$$
Finishes by inductive assumption
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by deduck, an hour ago
Reason: typo bruh
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deduck
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#38
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Motivation:
We can see that to move from $\binom{n}{i}$ to $\binom{n}{i+1}$ we see that we multiply by $\frac{n-i}{i+1}$, and this fraction is $-1$ when $p$ and $i$ are relatively prime. So that eliminates all odd cases in general no matter which $n$ u picked as long as $n$ is prime (i just said n=2 because it takes less explanation). Because if it's odd then $(-1)^k = -1$ and it breaks but we need $(-1)^k=1$.

However the issue is what if $i$ and $p$ aren't relatively prime?

Obviously first take a prime $p^e$ from $n$ to make it easier because CRT duh

But then everything is divisible by whichever prime $p$ that we picked and then it's easy to see we can use induction after shrink the binomial coefficient by $p$ on the top and bottom

i fakesolved it first in like 10 min then i was like sus i did not think about $i$ and $n$ aren't relatively prime, im simple minded lmao
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