Stay ahead of learning milestones! Enroll in a class over the summer!

G
Topic
First Poster
Last Poster
k a May Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
May 1, 2025
May is an exciting month! National MATHCOUNTS is the second week of May in Washington D.C. and our Founder, Richard Rusczyk will be presenting a seminar, Preparing Strong Math Students for College and Careers, on May 11th.

Are you interested in working towards MATHCOUNTS and don’t know where to start? We have you covered! If you have taken Prealgebra, then you are ready for MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics. Already aiming for State or National MATHCOUNTS and harder AMC 8 problems? Then our MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced course is for you.

Summer camps are starting next month at the Virtual Campus in math and language arts that are 2 - to 4 - weeks in duration. Spaces are still available - don’t miss your chance to have an enriching summer experience. There are middle and high school competition math camps as well as Math Beasts camps that review key topics coupled with fun explorations covering areas such as graph theory (Math Beasts Camp 6), cryptography (Math Beasts Camp 7-8), and topology (Math Beasts Camp 8-9)!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following upcoming events:
[list][*]May 9th, 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, Casework 2: Overwhelming Evidence — A Text Adventure, a game where participants will work together to navigate the map, solve puzzles, and win! All are welcome.
[*]May 19th, 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, What's Next After Beast Academy?, designed for students finishing Beast Academy and ready for Prealgebra 1.
[*]May 20th, 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Mathcamp 2025 Qualifying Quiz Part 1 Math Jam, Problems 1 to 4, join the Canada/USA Mathcamp staff for this exciting Math Jam, where they discuss solutions to Problems 1 to 4 of the 2025 Mathcamp Qualifying Quiz!
[*]May 21st, 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Mathcamp 2025 Qualifying Quiz Part 2 Math Jam, Problems 5 and 6, Canada/USA Mathcamp staff will discuss solutions to Problems 5 and 6 of the 2025 Mathcamp Qualifying Quiz![/list]
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
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
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, 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
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
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
Tuesday, May 6 - Aug 19
Wednesday, Jun 4 - Sep 17
Sunday, Jun 22 - Oct 19
Friday, Jul 18 - Nov 14

Introduction to Geometry
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

Paradoxes and Infinity
Mon, Tue, Wed, & Thurs, Jul 14 - Jul 16 (meets every day of the week!)

Intermediate: Grades 8-12

Intermediate Algebra
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
Wednesday, May 21 - Sep 17
Sunday, Jun 22 - Nov 2

Intermediate Number Theory
Sunday, Jun 1 - Aug 24
Wednesday, Jun 18 - Sep 3

Precalculus
Friday, May 16 - Oct 24
Sunday, Jun 1 - Nov 9
Monday, Jun 30 - Dec 8

Advanced: Grades 9-12

Olympiad Geometry
Tuesday, Jun 10 - Aug 26

Calculus
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
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
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
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

AIME Problem Series A
Thursday, May 22 - Jul 31

AIME Problem Series B
Sunday, Jun 22 - Sep 21

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
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
Wednesday, May 21 - Aug 6
Sunday, Jun 15 - Sep 14
Monday, Jun 23 - Sep 15

Physics 1: Mechanics
Thursday, May 22 - Oct 30
Monday, Jun 23 - Dec 15

Relativity
Mon, Tue, Wed & Thurs, Jun 23 - Jun 26 (meets every day of the week!)
0 replies
jlacosta
May 1, 2025
0 replies
Disjoint Pairs
MithsApprentice   42
N 24 minutes ago by endless_abyss
Source: USAMO 1998
Suppose that the set $\{1,2,\cdots, 1998\}$ has been partitioned into disjoint pairs $\{a_i,b_i\}$ ($1\leq i\leq 999$) so that for all $i$, $|a_i-b_i|$ equals $1$ or $6$. Prove that the sum \[ |a_1-b_1|+|a_2-b_2|+\cdots +|a_{999}-b_{999}|  \] ends in the digit $9$.
42 replies
MithsApprentice
Oct 9, 2005
endless_abyss
24 minutes ago
FE with gcd
a_507_bc   8
N 26 minutes ago by Tkn
Source: Nordic MC 2023 P2
Find all functions $f: \mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{N}$ such that $$\gcd(f(x),y)f(xy)=f(x)f(y)$$for all positive integers $x, y$.
8 replies
+1 w
a_507_bc
Apr 21, 2023
Tkn
26 minutes ago
2014 JBMO Shortlist G1
parmenides51   19
N 36 minutes ago by tilya_TASh
Source: 2014 JBMO Shortlist G1
Let ${ABC}$ be a triangle with $m\left( \angle B \right)=m\left( \angle C \right)={{40}^{{}^\circ }}$ Line bisector of ${\angle{B}}$ intersects ${AC}$ at point ${D}$. Prove that $BD+DA=BC$.
19 replies
parmenides51
Oct 8, 2017
tilya_TASh
36 minutes ago
Stars and bars i think
RenheMiResembleRice   1
N an hour ago by NicoN9
Source: Diao Luo
Solve the following attached with steps
1 reply
RenheMiResembleRice
an hour ago
NicoN9
an hour ago
Square number
linkxink0603   4
N 5 hours ago by pooh123
Find m is positive interger such that m^4+3^m is square number
4 replies
linkxink0603
Yesterday at 11:20 AM
pooh123
5 hours ago
Inequalities
sqing   7
N Today at 2:01 AM by sqing
Let $ a,b>0, a^2+ab+b^2 \geq 6  $. Prove that
$$a^4+ab+b^4\geq 10$$Let $ a,b>0, a^2+ab+b^2 \leq \sqrt{10}  $. Prove that
$$a^4+ab+b^4  \leq 10$$Let $ a,b>0,  a^2+ab+b^2 \geq \frac{15}{2}  $. Prove that
$$ a^4-ab+b^4\geq 10$$Let $ a,b>0,  a^2+ab+b^2 \leq \sqrt{10}  $. Prove that
$$-\frac{1}{8}\leq  a^4-ab+b^4\leq 10$$
7 replies
sqing
Thursday at 2:42 PM
sqing
Today at 2:01 AM
Compilation of functions problems
Saucepan_man02   2
N Today at 12:45 AM by Saucepan_man02
Could anyone post some handout/compilation of problems related to functions (difficulty similar to AIME/ARML/HMMT etc)?

Thanks..
2 replies
Saucepan_man02
May 7, 2025
Saucepan_man02
Today at 12:45 AM
How many triangles
Ecrin_eren   5
N Today at 12:10 AM by jasperE3


"Inside a triangle, 2025 points are placed, and each point is connected to the vertices of the smallest triangle that contains it. In the final state, how many small triangles are formed?"


5 replies
Ecrin_eren
May 2, 2025
jasperE3
Today at 12:10 AM
Triangle on a tetrahedron
vanstraelen   2
N Yesterday at 7:51 PM by ReticulatedPython

Given a regular tetrahedron $(A,BCD)$ with edges $l$.
Construct at the apex $A$ three perpendiculars to the three lateral faces.
Take a point on each perpendicular at a distance $l$ from the apex such that these three points lie above the apex.
Calculate the lenghts of the sides of the triangle.
2 replies
vanstraelen
Yesterday at 2:43 PM
ReticulatedPython
Yesterday at 7:51 PM
shadow of a cylinder, shadow of a cone
vanstraelen   2
N Yesterday at 6:33 PM by vanstraelen

a) Given is a right cylinder of height $2R$ and radius $R$.
The sun shines on this solid at an angle of $45^{\circ}$.
What is the area of the shadow that this solid casts on the plane of the botom base?

b) Given is a right cone of height $2R$ and radius $R$.
The sun shines on this solid at an angle of $45^{\circ}$.
What is the area of the shadow that this solid casts on the plane of the base?
2 replies
vanstraelen
Yesterday at 3:08 PM
vanstraelen
Yesterday at 6:33 PM
2023 Official Mock NAIME #15 f(f(f(x))) = f(f(x))
parmenides51   3
N Yesterday at 5:13 PM by jasperE3
How many non-bijective functions $f$ exist that satisfy $f(f(f(x))) = f(f(x))$ for all real $x$ and the domain of f is strictly within the set of $\{1,2,3,5,6,7,9\}$, the range being $\{1,2,4,6,7,8,9\}$?

Even though this is an AIME problem, a proof is mandatory for full credit. Constants must be ignored as we dont want an infinite number of solutions.
3 replies
parmenides51
Dec 4, 2023
jasperE3
Yesterday at 5:13 PM
Geometry
AlexCenteno2007   3
N Yesterday at 4:18 PM by AlexCenteno2007
Let ABC be an acute triangle and let D, E and F be the feet of the altitudes from A, B and C respectively. The straight line EF and the circumcircle of ABC intersect at P such that F is between E and P, the straight lines BP and DF intersect at Q. Show that if ED = EP then CQ and DP are parallel.
3 replies
AlexCenteno2007
Apr 28, 2025
AlexCenteno2007
Yesterday at 4:18 PM
Cube Sphere
vanstraelen   4
N Yesterday at 2:37 PM by pieMax2713

Given the cube $\left(\begin{array}{ll} EFGH \\ ABCD \end{array}\right)$ with edge $6$ cm.
Find the volume of the sphere passing through $A,B,C,D$ and tangent to the plane $(EFGH)$.
4 replies
vanstraelen
Yesterday at 1:10 PM
pieMax2713
Yesterday at 2:37 PM
Combinatorics
AlexCenteno2007   0
Yesterday at 2:05 PM
Adrian and Bertrand take turns as follows: Adrian starts with a pile of ($n\geq 3$) stones. On their turn, each player must divide a pile. The player who can make all piles have at most 2 stones wins. Depending on n, determine which player has a winning strategy.
0 replies
AlexCenteno2007
Yesterday at 2:05 PM
0 replies
Easy Combinatorial Game Problem in Taiwan TST
chengbilly   8
N Apr 30, 2025 by CrazyInMath
Source: 2025 Taiwan TST Round 1 Independent Study 1-C
Alice and Bob are playing game on an $n \times n$ grid. Alice goes first, and they take turns drawing a black point from the coordinate set
\[\{(i, j) \mid i, j \in \mathbb{N}, 1 \leq i, j \leq n\}\]There is a constraint that the distance between any two black points cannot be an integer. The player who cannot draw a black point loses. Find all integers $n$ such that Alice has a winning strategy.

Proposed by chengbilly
8 replies
chengbilly
Mar 5, 2025
CrazyInMath
Apr 30, 2025
Easy Combinatorial Game Problem in Taiwan TST
G H J
G H BBookmark kLocked kLocked NReply
Source: 2025 Taiwan TST Round 1 Independent Study 1-C
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
chengbilly
11 posts
#1 • 1 Y
Y by Rounak_iitr
Alice and Bob are playing game on an $n \times n$ grid. Alice goes first, and they take turns drawing a black point from the coordinate set
\[\{(i, j) \mid i, j \in \mathbb{N}, 1 \leq i, j \leq n\}\]There is a constraint that the distance between any two black points cannot be an integer. The player who cannot draw a black point loses. Find all integers $n$ such that Alice has a winning strategy.

Proposed by chengbilly
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by chengbilly, Mar 5, 2025, 5:09 AM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
CHESSR1DER
58 posts
#2
Y by
1) $n = 2k+1$
Let's put center of coordinates in $(k+1;k+1)$.
Alice will mark $(0,0)$. Then if Bob marks $(a,b)$ then
$a^2+b^2$ is not a square. Alice can mark $(-a,-b)$ since points are symmetrical with respect to $(0,0)$, then we only need to check if distance from $(-a,-b)$ to $(a,b)$ is an integer.
But $d^2 = (2a)^2 + (2b)^2 = 4(a^2+b^2) $is not a square. So if $n = 2k+1$ then Alice wins.
2) $n=2k$
Lets put the center of coordinates in $(k+0,5;k+0,5)$.

If Alice marks $(a+0,5;b+0,5)$ then Bob should mark $(-a-0,5;-b-0,5)$. Points are symmetrical with respect to the point $(0,0)$. So we only need to check if $d^2$ is not a square.
But $d^2 = (2a+1)^2 + (2b+1)^2 \equiv 2 (mod 4)$. So $d^2$ is not a square. So if $n = 2k$ then Bob wins.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by CHESSR1DER, Mar 5, 2025, 7:21 PM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
alba_tross1867
44 posts
#3 • 1 Y
Y by Hamzaachak
Yet another symmetry problem.
For $n$ odd, Alice plays center of the grid, and then copy (do symmetric of ) Bob's moves.
For $n$ even, Bob plays symmetric of Alice's moves.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
nguyenhuybao_06
39 posts
#4
Y by
Actually, if $n=2k+1,$ Alice can play any point, but follow the rule; then she'll win. And if $n=2k,$ Bob can play any point, but follow the rule; then he'll win. Cuz the problem is equivalent to: pick any point and draw all point on its row and column by black. The game must end after $n$ turns.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
CHESSR1DER
58 posts
#5
Y by
nguyenhuybao_06 wrote:
Cuz the problem is equivalent to: pick any point and draw all point on its row and column by black. The game must end after $n$ turns.

Its not equal to this as for example points $(0,0)$ and $(3,4)$ both can't be marked.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
GreekIdiot
221 posts
#6
Y by
$\cdots$
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by GreekIdiot, May 7, 2025, 4:08 PM
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
CHESSR1DER
58 posts
#7
Y by
Quote:
Consider $(a,b)=(3,4)$ then notice $a^2+b^2=25$ is a perfect square
Same goes for all pythagorean triples
If $a^2+b^2$ is a square, then Bob can't mark it as (0,0) already marked.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
cursed_tangent1434
625 posts
#8
Y by
Extremely standard idea, but the problem is quite enjoyable nevertheless. We claim that Alice wins if and only if $n$ is odd and Bob wins if and only if $n$ is even. We tackle each of these cases separately. Let a violating pair denote a pair of points which have an integer distance between them.

Case 1 : $n$ is odd. In this case, let the center square $O$ of the grid denote cell $\left(\frac{n+1}{2},\frac{n+1}{2}\right)$. Alice's strategy is simple. In here first move she draws a black point at the center square, and then reflects Bob's move across the center square.

To see why this works, assume that Alice cannot copy Bob's move after a certain point. If Bob draws a black point at $P$, then $P'$ must be either already colored black or an integer distance away from a black point. The former is impossible due to the symmetric nature of the moves until this point. For the latter to be possible the violating pair must be either $(P',O)$ , $(P,P')$ or $(P',Q)$ where $Q \not \in \{P,P',O\}$. Clearly if $(P',O)$ is a violating pair by symmetry so is $(P,O)$ implying that Bob performed an illegal move in his previous move. Further if $(P,P')$ is a violating pair so must be $(P,O)$ since an easy calculation yields that $PP'=2PO$. Further, if $(P',Q)$ were a violating pair, then $(P,Q')$ must be a violating pair where $Q'$ is the reflection of $Q$ across the center square. But by the nature of the algorithm, $Q'$ must already be marked which implies that Bob's previous move was illegal.

Thus, as long as Bob has a legal move, so does Alice and since the number of cells on the board is odd, it is Bob who runs out of legal moves first.

Case 2 : $n$ is even. This case is almost entirely similar however the center point $O$ is now defined as the center of the square formed by points $\left(\frac{n}{2},\frac{n}{2}\right)$ , $\left(\frac{n}{2},\frac{n}{2}+1\right)$, $\left(\frac{n}{2}+1,\frac{n}{2}\right)$ and $\left(\frac{n}{2}+1,\frac{n}{2}+1\right)$. Bob now simply performs the symmetric move to Alice's across the center point in each move. If he is unable to do this at any point, say after Alice draws the black point $P$ then either $(P,P')$ or $(P,'Q)$ for $Q\ne P$ must be a violating pair. In the later case, the reflection of $Q$ across the center point $Q'$ must already have been marked due to the nature of the given algorithm implying that $(P,Q')$ is already a violating pair invalidating Alice's final move.

In the former case, note that the horizontal and vertical distances between points $P$ and $P'$ are odd by symmetry. Applying the Pythagorean Theorem results in $PP' = \sqrt{a^2+b^2}$ for odd positive integers $a$ and $b$ which implies that the quantity under the square root is $2\pmod{4}$ which can never be a perfect square. Thus, this distance is not an integer and hence it cannot be a violating pair. Thus, as long as Alice has a legal move, so does Bob and since the number of cells on the board is even, it is Alice who runs out of legal moves first.
Z K Y
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
CrazyInMath
457 posts
#9
Y by
solution
Z K Y
N Quick Reply
G
H
=
a