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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]
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0 replies
jlacosta
May 1, 2025
0 replies
k i A Letter to MSM
Arr0w   23
N Sep 19, 2022 by scannose
Greetings.

I have seen many posts talking about commonly asked questions, such as finding the value of $0^0$, $\frac{1}{0}$,$\frac{0}{0}$, $\frac{\infty}{\infty}$, why $0.999...=1$ or even expressions of those terms combined as if that would make them defined. I have made this post to answer these questions once and for all, and I politely ask everyone to link this post to threads that are talking about this issue.
[list]
[*]Firstly, the case of $0^0$. It is usually regarded that $0^0=1$, not because this works numerically but because it is convenient to define it this way. You will see the convenience of defining other undefined things later on in this post.

[*]What about $\frac{\infty}{\infty}$? The issue here is that $\infty$ isn't even rigorously defined in this expression. What exactly do we mean by $\infty$? Unless the example in question is put in context in a formal manner, then we say that $\frac{\infty}{\infty}$ is meaningless.

[*]What about $\frac{1}{0}$? Suppose that $x=\frac{1}{0}$. Then we would have $x\cdot 0=0=1$, absurd. A more rigorous treatment of the idea is that $\lim_{x\to0}\frac{1}{x}$ does not exist in the first place, although you will see why in a calculus course. So the point is that $\frac{1}{0}$ is undefined.

[*]What about if $0.99999...=1$? An article from brilliant has a good explanation. Alternatively, you can just use a geometric series. Notice that
\begin{align*}
\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{9}{10^n}&=9\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{10^n}=9\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\biggr(\frac{1}{10}\biggr)^n=9\biggr(\frac{\frac{1}{10}}{1-\frac{1}{10}}\biggr)=9\biggr(\frac{\frac{1}{10}}{\frac{9}{10}}\biggr)=9\biggr(\frac{1}{9}\biggr)=\boxed{1}
\end{align*}
[*]What about $\frac{0}{0}$? Usually this is considered to be an indeterminate form, but I would also wager that this is also undefined.
[/list]
Hopefully all of these issues and their corollaries are finally put to rest. Cheers.

2nd EDIT (6/14/22): Since I originally posted this, it has since blown up so I will try to add additional information per the request of users in the thread below.

INDETERMINATE VS UNDEFINED

What makes something indeterminate? As you can see above, there are many things that are indeterminate. While definitions might vary slightly, it is the consensus that the following definition holds: A mathematical expression is be said to be indeterminate if it is not definitively or precisely determined. So how does this make, say, something like $0/0$ indeterminate? In analysis (the theory behind calculus and beyond), limits involving an algebraic combination of functions in an independent variable may often be evaluated by replacing these functions by their limits. However, if the expression obtained after this substitution does not provide sufficient information to determine the original limit, then the expression is called an indeterminate form. For example, we could say that $0/0$ is an indeterminate form.

But we need to more specific, this is still ambiguous. An indeterminate form is a mathematical expression involving at most two of $0$, $1$ or $\infty$, obtained by applying the algebraic limit theorem (a theorem in analysis, look this up for details) in the process of attempting to determine a limit, which fails to restrict that limit to one specific value or infinity, and thus does not determine the limit being calculated. This is why it is called indeterminate. Some examples of indeterminate forms are
\[0/0, \infty/\infty, \infty-\infty, \infty \times 0\]etc etc. So what makes something undefined? In the broader scope, something being undefined refers to an expression which is not assigned an interpretation or a value. A function is said to be undefined for points outside its domain. For example, the function $f:\mathbb{R}^{+}\cup\{0\}\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ given by the mapping $x\mapsto \sqrt{x}$ is undefined for $x<0$. On the other hand, $1/0$ is undefined because dividing by $0$ is not defined in arithmetic by definition. In other words, something is undefined when it is not defined in some mathematical context.

WHEN THE WATERS GET MUDDIED

So with this notion of indeterminate and undefined, things get convoluted. First of all, just because something is indeterminate does not mean it is not undefined. For example $0/0$ is considered both indeterminate and undefined (but in the context of a limit then it is considered in indeterminate form). Additionally, this notion of something being undefined also means that we can define it in some way. To rephrase, this means that technically, we can make something that is undefined to something that is defined as long as we define it. I'll show you what I mean.

One example of making something undefined into something defined is the extended real number line, which we define as
\[\overline{\mathbb{R}}=\mathbb{R}\cup \{-\infty,+\infty\}.\]So instead of treating infinity as an idea, we define infinity (positively and negatively, mind you) as actual numbers in the reals. The advantage of doing this is for two reasons. The first is because we can turn this thing into a totally ordered set. Specifically, we can let $-\infty\le a\le \infty$ for each $a\in\overline{\mathbb{R}}$ which means that via this order topology each subset has an infimum and supremum and $\overline{\mathbb{R}}$ is therefore compact. While this is nice from an analytic standpoint, extending the reals in this way can allow for interesting arithmetic! In $\overline{\mathbb{R}}$ it is perfectly OK to say that,
\begin{align*}
a + \infty = \infty + a & = \infty, & a & \neq -\infty \\
a - \infty = -\infty + a & = -\infty, & a & \neq \infty \\
a \cdot (\pm\infty) = \pm\infty \cdot a & = \pm\infty, & a & \in (0, +\infty] \\
a \cdot (\pm\infty) = \pm\infty \cdot a & = \mp\infty, & a & \in [-\infty, 0) \\
\frac{a}{\pm\infty} & = 0, & a & \in \mathbb{R} \\
\frac{\pm\infty}{a} & = \pm\infty, & a & \in (0, +\infty) \\
\frac{\pm\infty}{a} & = \mp\infty, & a & \in (-\infty, 0).
\end{align*}So addition, multiplication, and division are all defined nicely. However, notice that we have some indeterminate forms here which are also undefined,
\[\infty-\infty,\frac{\pm\infty}{\pm\infty},\frac{\pm\infty}{0},0\cdot \pm\infty.\]So while we define certain things, we also left others undefined/indeterminate in the process! However, in the context of measure theory it is common to define $\infty \times 0=0$ as greenturtle3141 noted below. I encourage to reread what he wrote, it's great stuff! As you may notice, though, dividing by $0$ is undefined still! Is there a place where it isn't? Kind of. To do this, we can extend the complex numbers! More formally, we can define this extension as
\[\mathbb{C}^*=\mathbb{C}\cup\{\tilde{\infty}\}\]which we call the Riemann Sphere (it actually forms a sphere, pretty cool right?). As a note, $\tilde{\infty}$ means complex infinity, since we are in the complex plane now. Here's the catch: division by $0$ is allowed here! In fact, we have
\[\frac{z}{0}=\tilde{\infty},\frac{z}{\tilde{\infty}}=0.\]where $\tilde{\infty}/\tilde{\infty}$ and $0/0$ are left undefined. We also have
\begin{align*}
z+\tilde{\infty}=\tilde{\infty}, \forall z\ne -\infty\\
z\times \tilde{\infty}=\tilde{\infty}, \forall z\ne 0
\end{align*}Furthermore, we actually have some nice properties with multiplication that we didn't have before. In $\mathbb{C}^*$ it holds that
\[\tilde{\infty}\times \tilde{\infty}=\tilde{\infty}\]but $\tilde{\infty}-\tilde{\infty}$ and $0\times \tilde{\infty}$ are left as undefined (unless there is an explicit need to change that somehow). One could define the projectively extended reals as we did with $\mathbb{C}^*$, by defining them as
\[{\widehat {\mathbb {R} }}=\mathbb {R} \cup \{\infty \}.\]They behave in a similar way to the Riemann Sphere, with division by $0$ also being allowed with the same indeterminate forms (in addition to some other ones).
23 replies
Arr0w
Feb 11, 2022
scannose
Sep 19, 2022
k i Marathon Threads
LauraZed   0
Jul 2, 2019
Due to excessive spam and inappropriate posts, we have locked the Prealgebra and Beginning Algebra threads.

We will either unlock these threads once we've cleaned them up or start new ones, but for now, do not start new marathon threads for these subjects. Any new marathon threads started while this announcement is up will be immediately deleted.
0 replies
LauraZed
Jul 2, 2019
0 replies
k i Basic Forum Rules and Info (Read before posting)
jellymoop   368
N May 16, 2018 by harry1234
f (Reminder: Do not post Alcumus or class homework questions on this forum. Instructions below.) f
Welcome to the Middle School Math Forum! Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the rules.

Overview:
[list]
[*] When you're posting a new topic with a math problem, give the topic a detailed title that includes the subject of the problem (not just "easy problem" or "nice problem")
[*] Stay on topic and be courteous.
[*] Hide solutions!
[*] If you see an inappropriate post in this forum, simply report the post and a moderator will deal with it. Don't make your own post telling people they're not following the rules - that usually just makes the issue worse.
[*] When you post a question that you need help solving, post what you've attempted so far and not just the question. We are here to learn from each other, not to do your homework. :P
[*] Avoid making posts just to thank someone - you can use the upvote function instead
[*] Don't make a new reply just to repeat yourself or comment on the quality of others' posts; instead, post when you have a new insight or question. You can also edit your post if it's the most recent and you want to add more information.
[*] Avoid bumping old posts.
[*] Use GameBot to post alcumus questions.
[*] If you need general MATHCOUNTS/math competition advice, check out the threads below.
[*] Don't post other users' real names.
[*] Advertisements are not allowed. You can advertise your forum on your profile with a link, on your blog, and on user-created forums that permit forum advertisements.
[/list]

Here are links to more detailed versions of the rules. These are from the older forums, so you can overlook "Classroom math/Competition math only" instructions.
Posting Guidelines
Update on Basic Forum Rules
What belongs on this forum?
How do I write a thorough solution?
How do I get a problem on the contest page?
How do I study for mathcounts?
Mathcounts FAQ and resources
Mathcounts and how to learn

As always, if you have any questions, you can PM me or any of the other Middle School Moderators. Once again, if you see spam, it would help a lot if you filed a report instead of responding :)

Marathons!
Relays might be a better way to describe it, but these threads definitely go the distance! One person starts off by posting a problem, and the next person comes up with a solution and a new problem for another user to solve. Here's some of the frequently active marathons running in this forum:
[list][*]Algebra
[*]Prealgebra
[*]Proofs
[*]Factoring
[*]Geometry
[*]Counting & Probability
[*]Number Theory[/list]
Some of these haven't received attention in a while, but these are the main ones for their respective subjects. Rather than starting a new marathon, please give the existing ones a shot first.

You can also view marathons via the Marathon tag.

Think this list is incomplete or needs changes? Let the mods know and we'll take a look.
368 replies
jellymoop
May 8, 2015
harry1234
May 16, 2018
Italian WinterCamps test07 Problem4
mattilgale   89
N 2 minutes ago by cj13609517288
Source: ISL 2006, G3, VAIMO 2007/5
Let $ ABCDE$ be a convex pentagon such that
\[ \angle BAC = \angle CAD = \angle DAE\qquad \text{and}\qquad \angle ABC = \angle ACD = \angle ADE.
\]The diagonals $BD$ and $CE$ meet at $P$. Prove that the line $AP$ bisects the side $CD$.

Proposed by Zuming Feng, USA
89 replies
mattilgale
Jan 29, 2007
cj13609517288
2 minutes ago
Simple triangle geometry [a fixed point]
darij grinberg   49
N 14 minutes ago by cj13609517288
Source: German TST 2004, IMO ShortList 2003, geometry problem 2
Three distinct points $A$, $B$, and $C$ are fixed on a line in this order. Let $\Gamma$ be a circle passing through $A$ and $C$ whose center does not lie on the line $AC$. Denote by $P$ the intersection of the tangents to $\Gamma$ at $A$ and $C$. Suppose $\Gamma$ meets the segment $PB$ at $Q$. Prove that the intersection of the bisector of $\angle AQC$ and the line $AC$ does not depend on the choice of $\Gamma$.
49 replies
darij grinberg
May 18, 2004
cj13609517288
14 minutes ago
Kosovo MO 2010 Problem 5
Com10atorics   19
N 23 minutes ago by CM1910
Source: Kosovo MO 2010 Problem 5
Let $x,y$ be positive real numbers such that $x+y=1$. Prove that
$\left(1+\frac {1}{x}\right)\left(1+\frac {1}{y}\right)\geq 9$.
19 replies
Com10atorics
Jun 7, 2021
CM1910
23 minutes ago
Hard combi
EeEApO   1
N 30 minutes ago by EeEApO
In a quiz competition, there are a total of $100 $questions, each with $4$ answer choices. A participant who answers all questions correctly will receive a gift. To ensure that at least one member of my family answers all questions correctly, how many family members need to take the quiz?

Now, suppose my spouse and I move into a new home. Every year, we have twins. Starting at the age of $16$, each of our twin children also begins to have twins every year. If this pattern continues, how many years will it take for my family to grow large enough to have the required number of members to guarantee winning the quiz gift?
1 reply
EeEApO
2 hours ago
EeEApO
30 minutes ago
MATHCOUNTS
ILOVECATS127   8
N 6 hours ago by Inaaya
Hi,

I am looking to get on my school MATHCOUNTS team next year in 7th grade, and I had a question: Where do the school round questions come from? (Sprint, Chapter, Team, Countdown)
8 replies
ILOVECATS127
Yesterday at 10:56 PM
Inaaya
6 hours ago
Geometry Help
ILOVECATS127   3
N Today at 12:36 PM by ILOVECATS127
Hello, I needed some help understanding this concept from Chapter 12, Geometry:

Points P, Q and R are on circle O such that

Arc PQ = 78°, arc QR = 123°, and arc PQR = 201°.

1. Find ∠PQO
2. Find ∠POR

Please help me understand HOW to solve these 2 problems.
3 replies
ILOVECATS127
May 6, 2025
ILOVECATS127
Today at 12:36 PM
Website to learn math
hawa   74
N Today at 7:54 AM by KF329
Hi, I'm kinda curious what website do yall use to learn math, like i dont find any website thats fun to learn math
74 replies
1 viewing
hawa
Apr 9, 2025
KF329
Today at 7:54 AM
Mathcount strategies anyone?
Glowworm   8
N Today at 7:01 AM by Glowworm
Does anyone know good MATHCOUNTS strategies for a higher nationals score? Any tips would be appreciated!
8 replies
Glowworm
Apr 9, 2025
Glowworm
Today at 7:01 AM
Mathcounts Stories
Eyed   179
N Today at 3:18 AM by Soupboy0
Because Mathcounts season is over, and I think we are free to discuss the problems, I think we can post our stories without fear of sharing information that is not allowed.
Hopefully this does not become too spammy, and I hope to see good quality stories. For example, I am not looking to see stories like this, or this.
Instead I would like to have higher quality stories.
Mods if this is not ok, then feel free to lock, I just hope we can all share our reflections on this contest, since mathcounts is now over.
Anyway, here's mine (At the request of Stormersyle)

old locked mathcounts stories thread
179 replies
Eyed
Jun 3, 2019
Soupboy0
Today at 3:18 AM
300 MAP Goal??
Antoinette14   79
N Today at 2:13 AM by tikachaudhuri
Hey, so as a 6th grader, my big goal for MAP this spring is to get a 300 (ambitious, i know). I'm currently at a 285 (288 last year though). I'm already taking a intro to counting and probability course (One of my weak points), but is there anything else you recommend I focus on to get a 300?
79 replies
Antoinette14
Jan 30, 2025
tikachaudhuri
Today at 2:13 AM
2025 MATHCOUNTS State Hub
SirAppel   630
N Today at 2:11 AM by tikachaudhuri
Previous Years' "Hubs": (2022) (2023) (2024)Please Read

Now that it's April and we're allowed to discuss ...
[list=disc]
[*] CA: 43 (45 44 43 43 43 42 42 41 41 41)
[*] NJ: 43 (45 44 44 43 39 42 40 40 39 38) *
[*] NY: 42 (43 42 42 42 41 40)
[*] TX: 42 (43 43 43 42 42 40 40 38 38 38)
[*] MA: 41 (45 43 42 41)
[*] WA: 41 (41 45 42 41 41 41 41 41 41 40) *
[*]VA: 40 (41 40 40 40)
[*] FL: 39 (42 41 40 39 38 37 37)
[*] IN: 39 (41 40 40 39 36 35 35 35 34 34)
[*] NC: 39 (42 42 41 39)
[*] IL: 38 (41 40 39 38 38 38)
[*] OR: 38 (44 39 38 38)
[*] PA: 38 (41 40 40 38 38 37 36 36 34 34) *
[*] MD: 37 (43 39 39 37 37 37)
[*] AZ: 36 (40? 39? 39 36)
[*] CT: 36 (44 38 38 36 35 35 34 34 34 33 33 32 32 32 32)
[*] MI: 36 (39 41 41 36 37 37 36 36 36 36) *
[*] MN: 36 (40 36 36 36 35 35 35 34)
[*] CO: 35 (41 37 37 35 35 35 ?? 31 31 30) *
[*] GA: 35 (38 37 36 35 34 34 34 34 34 33)
[*] OH: 35 (41 37 36 35)
[*] AR: 34 (46 45 35 34 33 31 31 31 29 29)
[*] NV: 34 (41 38 ?? 34)
[*] TN: 34 (38 ?? ?? 34)
[*] WI: 34 (40 37 37 34 35 30 28 29 29 29) *
[*] HI: 32 (35 34 32 32)
[*] NH: 31 (42 35 33 31 30)
[*] DE: 30 (34 33 32 30 30 29 28 27 26? 24)
[*] SC: 30 (33 33 31 30)
[*] IA: 29 (33 30 31 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29) *
[*] NE: 28 (34 30 28 28 27 27 26 26 25 25)
[*] SD: 22 (30 29 24 22 22 22 21 21 20 20)
[/list]
Cutoffs Unknown

* means that CDR is official in that state.

Notes

For those asking about the removal of the tiers, I'd like to quote Jason himself:
[quote=peace09]
learn from my mistakes
[/quote]

Help contribute by sharing your state's cutoffs!
630 replies
SirAppel
Apr 1, 2025
tikachaudhuri
Today at 2:11 AM
DHR Amc8?
imsuper   136
N Today at 1:47 AM by andrussy44
What do yall think the DHR this year will be? Will 22 be enough?
136 replies
imsuper
Jan 30, 2025
andrussy44
Today at 1:47 AM
9 Mathcounts poll
AndrewZhong2012   5
N Today at 1:22 AM by Math-lover1
Last year I got 14th at States and 3rd in Chapter
This year I got 91.5 on AMC 10A.
Do you guys think I can get to nationals this year? I am in PA. This year is also my last chance.

5 replies
AndrewZhong2012
Jan 7, 2025
Math-lover1
Today at 1:22 AM
9 MathandAI4Girls!!!
Inaaya   11
N Today at 1:12 AM by fossasor
How many problems did y'all solve this year?
I clowned and started the pset the week before :oops:
Though I think if i used the time wisely, I could have at least solved 11 of them
ended up with 9 :wallbash_red:
11 replies
Inaaya
Yesterday at 7:25 PM
fossasor
Today at 1:12 AM
Prove excircle is tangent to circumcircle
sarjinius   8
N Apr 24, 2025 by Lyzstudent
Source: Philippine Mathematical Olympiad 2025 P4
Let $ABC$ be a triangle with incenter $I$, and let $D$ be a point on side $BC$. Points $X$ and $Y$ are chosen on lines $BI$ and $CI$ respectively such that $DXIY$ is a parallelogram. Points $E$ and $F$ are chosen on side $BC$ such that $AX$ and $AY$ are the angle bisectors of angles $\angle BAE$ and $\angle CAF$ respectively. Let $\omega$ be the circle tangent to segment $EF$, the extension of $AE$ past $E$, and the extension of $AF$ past $F$. Prove that $\omega$ is tangent to the circumcircle of triangle $ABC$.
8 replies
sarjinius
Mar 9, 2025
Lyzstudent
Apr 24, 2025
Prove excircle is tangent to circumcircle
G H J
Source: Philippine Mathematical Olympiad 2025 P4
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sarjinius
240 posts
#1 • 4 Y
Y by MathLuis, mpcnotnpc, JollyEggsBanana, Rounak_iitr
Let $ABC$ be a triangle with incenter $I$, and let $D$ be a point on side $BC$. Points $X$ and $Y$ are chosen on lines $BI$ and $CI$ respectively such that $DXIY$ is a parallelogram. Points $E$ and $F$ are chosen on side $BC$ such that $AX$ and $AY$ are the angle bisectors of angles $\angle BAE$ and $\angle CAF$ respectively. Let $\omega$ be the circle tangent to segment $EF$, the extension of $AE$ past $E$, and the extension of $AF$ past $F$. Prove that $\omega$ is tangent to the circumcircle of triangle $ABC$.
Z K Y
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ilovemath0402
188 posts
#2
Y by
bump bump this problem is so nice
Z K Y
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sarjinius
240 posts
#3
Y by
ilovemath0402 wrote:
bump bump this problem is so nice

Thanks, I proposed this problem :)
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SimplisticFormulas
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#4
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what’s the solution? I am completely stuck
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MathLuis
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#5 • 4 Y
Y by drago.7437, sarjinius, Mysteriouxxx, radian_51
Well this geo is really amazing I have to say...solved in around 30 mins but I think this could even be around 30-35 MOHS because the way to find things on this problem requires deep intuition.
Let $BI \cap (ABC)=M_B$ and $CI \cap (ABC)=M_C$, also let $N_A$ be midpoint of arc $BAC$ on $(ABC)$, now let reflections of $D$ over $EX, FY, BI, CI, Y \infty_{\perp CI}, X \infty_{\perp BI}$ be $D_B, D_C, L', K', K, L$ respectively now let reflection of $D_B$ over $AX$ be $L_1$ and reflection of $D_C$ over $AY$ be $K_1$.
Using the paralelogram we can easly see from the direction of the reflections that $KK'$ and $LL'$ are diameters on $(Y, YD), (X, XD)$ respectively, now let $I_B, I_C$ be the $B,C$ excenters of $\triangle ABC$ then notice we have $\measuredangle II_CA=\measuredangle CBI=\measuredangle CDY=\measuredangle YK'C$ which implies $I_CAK'Y$ cyclic and similarily $I_BAL'X$ is cyclic however since $\measuredangle CDY=\measuredangle YD_CF$ we also get that $I_CAK'YD_C$ is cyclic and similarily $I_BAL'XD_B$ is cyclic, however it doesn't end here...
Now notice that $YK'=YD_C$ so $Y$ is midpoint of arc $K'D_C$ on $(I_CAK')$ however $D, K'$ are symetric in $CI$ which means both $I_CD, I_CD'$ are reflections of $I_CK'$ over $CI$ and thus $I_C, D, D_C$ are colinear, and similarily $I_B, D, D_B$ are colinear.
Now $\measuredangle CDY=\measuredangle YD_CA=\measuredangle AK_1Y$ which means $CK_1YD$ is cyclic and similarily we have $L_1BXD$ cyclic, but also note that $\measuredangle L_1DL=\measuredangle L_1L'L=\measuredangle AI_BX=\measuredangle ACI=\measuredangle K_1DY$ which means that $L_1, D, K_1$ are colinear.
Now from here notice that $\measuredangle DL_1A=\measuredangle DXI=\measuredangle IYD=\measuredangle AK_1D$ which does in fact show that $\triangle L_1AK_1$ is isosceles and therefore $AK_1=AL_1$, and from reflections this gives $AD_B=AD_C$, but notice from other reflections we have $D_BG=DG=D_CG$ where $EX \cap FY=G$ (clearly then $G$ is A-excenter of $\triangle EAF$), but now also note that we have $\measuredangle AD_BG=\measuredangle GDE=\measuredangle AD_CG$ which means that $AD_BGD_C$ is cyclic but by summing arcs we end up realising $AG$ is diameter and in fact now this means $(D_BDD_C)$ is $\omega$ from the tangencies.
To finish let $J$ be the miquelpoint of $L_1BCK_1$ then $J$ lies on $(ABC)$ but also from Reim's we get $N_A, D, J$ colinear and then Reim's twice gives $M_CX \cap M_BY=J$ and from double Reim's once again we have that $(AL'X) \cap (AK'Y)=J$ and this is excellent news because now we can note that $\measuredangle D_CJD_B=\measuredangle D_CJA+\measuredangle AJD_B=\measuredangle D_CI_CA+\measuredangle AI_BD_B=\measuredangle D_CDD_B$ which shows that $J$ lies on $\omega$ as well, but since $N_A, D, J$ are colinear from the converse of Archiemedes Lemma (or just shooting Lemma/homothety) we have that $\omega, (ABC)$ are tangent at $J$ as desired thus we are done :cool:
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by MathLuis, Mar 13, 2025, 8:16 PM
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AndreiVila
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#6 • 1 Y
Y by Lyzstudent
Notice that $X$ and $Y$ are the incenters of $\triangle ABE$ and $\triangle ACF$. Let $X'$ and $Y'$ be the projections of $X$ and $Y$ onto $BC$. Let $T$ and $S$ be the projections of $X$ onto $AE$ and $AB$ respectively, and let $K$ be the tangency point of $\omega$ with $AE$.

Claim 1. The $A$-excircle of $\triangle AEF$ is tangent to $EF$ in $D$.
Proof: Since $IXDY$ is a parallelogram, by projecting onto $BC$ we get that $BX'+BY'=BT+BD$. This is equivalent to $$BE+AB-AE+2BF+FC+AF-AC=BA+BC-AC+2BD.$$Simplifying yields $AE+ED=AF+FD$, which is equivalent to $D$ being the tangency point of the excircle.

Claim 2. Circle $\omega$ is tangent to $(ABC)$.
Proof: By Casey's Theorem, we need to prove that $$b\cdot BD + c\cdot CD = a\cdot AK.$$But $$AK=AT+TK=AT+X'D=AT-BX'+BD=AS-BS+BD=c-2BS+BD.$$With Thales' Theorem, $\frac{BS}{p-b}=\frac{BX}{BI}=\frac{BD}{a},$ so $BS=\frac{BD(p-b)}{a},$ thus getting $AK=\frac{ac+BD(b-c)}{a},$ and the conclusion follows.
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SimplisticFormulas
114 posts
#7
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I found that $X,Y$ are in centres, $XE$ meets $YF$ in $Z=$$A$- excentre of $AEF$ and that$A$ appears to be Miquel point of $IXYZ$.
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markam
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#10
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sarjinius, what solution did you have in mind at first, when you proposed this problem?
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Lyzstudent
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#11
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AndreiVila wrote:
Notice that $X$ and $Y$ are the incenters of $\triangle ABE$ and $\triangle ACF$. Let $X'$ and $Y'$ be the projections of $X$ and $Y$ onto $BC$. Let $T$ and $S$ be the projections of $X$ onto $AE$ and $AB$ respectively, and let $K$ be the tangency point of $\omega$ with $AE$.

Claim 1. The $A$-excircle of $\triangle AEF$ is tangent to $EF$ in $D$.
Proof: Since $IXDY$ is a parallelogram, by projecting onto $BC$ we get that $BX'+BY'=BT+BD$. This is equivalent to $$BE+AB-AE+2BF+FC+AF-AC=BA+BC-AC+2BD.$$Simplifying yields $AE+ED=AF+FD$, which is equivalent to $D$ being the tangency point of the excircle.

Claim 2. Circle $\omega$ is tangent to $(ABC)$.
Proof: By Casey's Theorem, we need to prove that $$b\cdot BD + c\cdot CD = a\cdot AK.$$But $$AK=AT+TK=AT+X'D=AT-BX'+BD=AS-BS+BD=c-2BS+BD.$$With Thales' Theorem, $\frac{BS}{p-b}=\frac{BX}{BI}=\frac{BD}{a},$ so $BS=\frac{BD(p-b)}{a},$ thus getting $AK=\frac{ac+BD(b-c)}{a},$ and the conclusion follows.
Excellent!!!Much better than the solution above.
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