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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.

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[*]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 Adding contests to the Contest Collections
dcouchman   1
N Apr 5, 2023 by v_Enhance
Want to help AoPS remain a valuable Olympiad resource? Help us add contests to AoPS's Contest Collections.

Find instructions and a list of contests to add here: https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c40244h1064480_contests_to_add
1 reply
dcouchman
Sep 9, 2019
v_Enhance
Apr 5, 2023
k i Zero tolerance
ZetaX   49
N May 4, 2019 by NoDealsHere
Source: Use your common sense! (enough is enough)
Some users don't want to learn, some other simply ignore advises.
But please follow the following guideline:


To make it short: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!
If you don't have common sense, don't post.


More specifically:

For new threads:


a) Good, meaningful title:
The title has to say what the problem is about in best way possible.
If that title occured already, it's definitely bad. And contest names aren't good either.
That's in fact a requirement for being able to search old problems.

Examples:
Bad titles:
- "Hard"/"Medium"/"Easy" (if you find it so cool how hard/easy it is, tell it in the post and use a title that tells us the problem)
- "Number Theory" (hey guy, guess why this forum's named that way¿ and is it the only such problem on earth¿)
- "Fibonacci" (there are millions of Fibonacci problems out there, all posted and named the same...)
- "Chinese TST 2003" (does this say anything about the problem¿)
Good titles:
- "On divisors of a³+2b³+4c³-6abc"
- "Number of solutions to x²+y²=6z²"
- "Fibonacci numbers are never squares"


b) Use search function:
Before posting a "new" problem spend at least two, better five, minutes to look if this problem was posted before. If it was, don't repost it. If you have anything important to say on topic, post it in one of the older threads.
If the thread is locked cause of this, use search function.

Update (by Amir Hossein). The best way to search for two keywords in AoPS is to input
[code]+"first keyword" +"second keyword"[/code]
so that any post containing both strings "first word" and "second form".


c) Good problem statement:
Some recent really bad post was:
[quote]$lim_{n\to 1}^{+\infty}\frac{1}{n}-lnn$[/quote]
It contains no question and no answer.
If you do this, too, you are on the best way to get your thread deleted. Write everything clearly, define where your variables come from (and define the "natural" numbers if used). Additionally read your post at least twice before submitting. After you sent it, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.


For answers to already existing threads:


d) Of any interest and with content:
Don't post things that are more trivial than completely obvious. For example, if the question is to solve $x^{3}+y^{3}=z^{3}$, do not answer with "$x=y=z=0$ is a solution" only. Either you post any kind of proof or at least something unexpected (like "$x=1337, y=481, z=42$ is the smallest solution). Someone that does not see that $x=y=z=0$ is a solution of the above without your post is completely wrong here, this is an IMO-level forum.
Similar, posting "I have solved this problem" but not posting anything else is not welcome; it even looks that you just want to show off what a genius you are.

e) Well written and checked answers:
Like c) for new threads, check your solutions at least twice for mistakes. And after sending, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.



To repeat it: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!


Everything definitely out of range of common sense will be locked or deleted (exept for new users having less than about 42 posts, they are newbies and need/get some time to learn).

The above rules will be applied from next monday (5. march of 2007).
Feel free to discuss on this here.
49 replies
ZetaX
Feb 27, 2007
NoDealsHere
May 4, 2019
something...
SunnyEvan   2
N 2 minutes ago by SunnyEvan
Source: unknown
Try to prove : $$ \sum csc^{20} \frac{2^{i} \pi}{7} csc^{23} \frac{2^{j}\pi }{7} csc^{2023} \frac{2^{k} \pi}{7} $$is a rational number.
Where $ (i,j,k)=(1,2,3) $ and other permutations.
2 replies
SunnyEvan
May 5, 2025
SunnyEvan
2 minutes ago
Sum and product of digits
Sadigly   1
N 22 minutes ago by Bergo1305
Source: Azerbaijan NMO 2018
For a positive integer $n$, define $f(n)=n+P(n)$ and $g(n)=n\cdot S(n)$, where $P(n)$ and $S(n)$ denote the product and sum of the digits of $n$, respectively. Find all solutions to $f(n)=g(n)$
1 reply
Sadigly
Yesterday at 9:19 PM
Bergo1305
22 minutes ago
USAMO 2002 Problem 2
MithsApprentice   34
N 27 minutes ago by Giant_PT
Let $ABC$ be a triangle such that
\[ \left( \cot \dfrac{A}{2} \right)^2 + \left( 2\cot \dfrac{B}{2} \right)^2 + \left( 3\cot \dfrac{C}{2} \right)^2 = \left( \dfrac{6s}{7r} \right)^2,  \]
where $s$ and $r$ denote its semiperimeter and its inradius, respectively. Prove that triangle $ABC$ is similar to a triangle $T$ whose side lengths are all positive integers with no common divisors and determine these integers.
34 replies
MithsApprentice
Sep 30, 2005
Giant_PT
27 minutes ago
Another config geo with concurrent lines
a_507_bc   17
N an hour ago by Rayvhs
Source: BMO SL 2023 G5
Let $ABC$ be a triangle with circumcenter $O$. Point $X$ is the intersection of the parallel line from $O$ to $AB$ with the perpendicular line to $AC$ from $C$. Let $Y$ be the point where the external bisector of $\angle BXC$ intersects with $AC$. Let $K$ be the projection of $X$ onto $BY$. Prove that the lines $AK, XO, BC$ have a common point.
17 replies
a_507_bc
May 3, 2024
Rayvhs
an hour ago
Nice sequence problem.
mathlover1231   1
N an hour ago by vgtcross
Source: Own
Scientists found a new species of bird called “N-coloured rainbow”. They also found out 3 interesting facts about the bird’s life: 1) every day, N-coloured rainbow is coloured in one of N colors.
2) every day, the color is different from yesterday (not every previous day, just yesterday).
3) there are no four days i, j, k, l in the bird’s life such that i<j<k<l with colours a, b, c, d respectively for which a=c ≠ b=d.
Find the greatest possible age (in days) of this bird as a function of N.
1 reply
mathlover1231
Apr 10, 2025
vgtcross
an hour ago
Three circles are concurrent
Twoisaprime   23
N an hour ago by Curious_Droid
Source: RMM 2025 P5
Let triangle $ABC$ be an acute triangle with $AB<AC$ and let $H$ and $O$ be its orthocenter and circumcenter, respectively. Let $\Gamma$ be the circle $BOC$. The line $AO$ and the circle of radius $AO$ centered at $A$ cross $\Gamma$ at $A’$ and $F$, respectively. Prove that $\Gamma$ , the circle on diameter $AA’$ and circle $AFH$ are concurrent.
Proposed by Romania, Radu-Andrew Lecoiu
23 replies
Twoisaprime
Feb 13, 2025
Curious_Droid
an hour ago
|a_i/a_j - a_k/a_l| <= C
mathwizard888   32
N 2 hours ago by ezpotd
Source: 2016 IMO Shortlist A2
Find the smallest constant $C > 0$ for which the following statement holds: among any five positive real numbers $a_1,a_2,a_3,a_4,a_5$ (not necessarily distinct), one can always choose distinct subscripts $i,j,k,l$ such that
\[ \left| \frac{a_i}{a_j} - \frac {a_k}{a_l} \right| \le C. \]
32 replies
mathwizard888
Jul 19, 2017
ezpotd
2 hours ago
Two lines meeting on circumcircle
Zhero   54
N 2 hours ago by Ilikeminecraft
Source: ELMO Shortlist 2010, G4; also ELMO #6
Let $ABC$ be a triangle with circumcircle $\omega$, incenter $I$, and $A$-excenter $I_A$. Let the incircle and the $A$-excircle hit $BC$ at $D$ and $E$, respectively, and let $M$ be the midpoint of arc $BC$ without $A$. Consider the circle tangent to $BC$ at $D$ and arc $BAC$ at $T$. If $TI$ intersects $\omega$ again at $S$, prove that $SI_A$ and $ME$ meet on $\omega$.

Amol Aggarwal.
54 replies
Zhero
Jul 5, 2012
Ilikeminecraft
2 hours ago
Help me this problem. Thank you
illybest   3
N 2 hours ago by jasperE3
Find f: R->R such that
f( xy + f(z) ) = (( xf(y) + yf(x) )/2) + z
3 replies
illybest
Today at 11:05 AM
jasperE3
2 hours ago
line JK of intersection points of 2 lines passes through the midpoint of BC
parmenides51   4
N 3 hours ago by reni_wee
Source: Rioplatense Olympiad 2018 level 3 p4
Let $ABC$ be an acute triangle with $AC> AB$. be $\Gamma$ the circumcircle circumscribed to the triangle $ABC$ and $D$ the midpoint of the smallest arc $BC$ of this circle. Let $E$ and $F$ points of the segments $AB$ and $AC$ respectively such that $AE = AF$. Let $P \neq A$ be the second intersection point of the circumcircle circumscribed to $AEF$ with $\Gamma$. Let $G$ and $H$ be the intersections of lines $PE$ and $PF$ with $\Gamma$ other than $P$, respectively. Let $J$ and $K$ be the intersection points of lines $DG$ and $DH$ with lines $AB$ and $AC$ respectively. Show that the $JK$ line passes through the midpoint of $BC$
4 replies
parmenides51
Dec 11, 2018
reni_wee
3 hours ago
AGM Problem(Turkey JBMO TST 2025)
HeshTarg   3
N 3 hours ago by ehuseyinyigit
Source: Turkey JBMO TST Problem 6
Given that $x, y, z > 1$ are real numbers, find the smallest possible value of the expression:
$\frac{x^3 + 1}{(y-1)(z+1)} + \frac{y^3 + 1}{(z-1)(x+1)} + \frac{z^3 + 1}{(x-1)(y+1)}$
3 replies
HeshTarg
3 hours ago
ehuseyinyigit
3 hours ago
Shortest number theory you might've seen in your life
AlperenINAN   8
N 3 hours ago by HeshTarg
Source: Turkey JBMO TST 2025 P4
Let $p$ and $q$ be prime numbers. Prove that if $pq(p+1)(q+1)+1$ is a perfect square, then $pq + 1$ is also a perfect square.
8 replies
AlperenINAN
Yesterday at 7:51 PM
HeshTarg
3 hours ago
Squeezing Between Perfect Squares and Modular Arithmetic(JBMO TST Turkey 2025)
HeshTarg   3
N 3 hours ago by BrilliantScorpion85
Source: Turkey JBMO TST Problem 4
If $p$ and $q$ are primes and $pq(p+1)(q+1)+1$ is a perfect square, prove that $pq+1$ is a perfect square.
3 replies
HeshTarg
4 hours ago
BrilliantScorpion85
3 hours ago
A bit too easy for P2(Turkey 2025 JBMO TST)
HeshTarg   0
3 hours ago
Source: Turkey 2025 JBMO TST P2
Let $n$ be a positive integer. Aslı and Zehra are playing a game on an $n \times n$ chessboard. Initially, $10n^2$ stones are placed on the squares of the board. In each move, Aslı chooses a row or a column; Zehra chooses a row or a column. The number of stones in each square of the chosen row or column must change such that the difference between the number of stones in a square with the most stones and a square with the fewest stones in that same row or column is at most 1. For which values of $n$ can Aslı guarantee that after a finite number of moves, all squares on the board will have an equal number of stones, regardless of the initial distribution?
0 replies
HeshTarg
3 hours ago
0 replies
A simple power
Rushil   19
N Apr 4, 2025 by Raj_singh1432
Source: Indian RMO 1993 Problem 2
Prove that the ten's digit of any power of 3 is even.
19 replies
Rushil
Oct 16, 2005
Raj_singh1432
Apr 4, 2025
A simple power
G H J
G H BBookmark kLocked kLocked NReply
Source: Indian RMO 1993 Problem 2
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Rushil
1592 posts
#1 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Prove that the ten's digit of any power of 3 is even.
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tµtµ
393 posts
#2 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Ten's = tenth ?

$3^{20} = *3*486784401$ :?: :?:
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Arne
3660 posts
#3 • 3 Y
Y by Adventure10, Adventure10, Mango247
No, the tens digit is the last but one digit, the one coming just before the units digit.
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Singular
749 posts
#4 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
We are going to look at 3^k mod 20. It repeats 3,9,7,1. Hence result.
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Altheman
6194 posts
#5 • 3 Y
Y by tantheta67, Adventure10, Mango247
more completely...
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10000th User
3049 posts
#6 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Altheman wrote:
$0>n>10$
Small correction: it should be $0<n<10$
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grafitti123
165 posts
#7 • 3 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247, DEKT
It can be written in the form:-
$ 3^{m}=10 \times x+1,3,7,9$
It can easily be shown that if it is 1, then it is 1 mod 4, if it is 3 then it is 3 mod 4, if it is 7 it is 3 mod 4 and if it is 9 then it is 1 mod 4.
(We know that $ 10x+3=3^1,3^5,3^9....$
$ 3^{5}\equiv 3\mod{4}$
so,
$ 3^{9}\equiv 3\mod{4}$
,so on and similarly the others.

Taking each of the four cases , we see that $ x\equiv 0\mod{2}$

Yay, my first proper post :D .
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soumik
131 posts
#8 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Observe that 3^3=27...
Now after this unit's place of 3^n can be 1,3,9,7,....the cycle repeats, observe each leaves a rem of 0 or 2, which when added to 2 makes it even, thus proved.
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tonotsukasa
12 posts
#9 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
The last two digit of $3^n$ repeats as
01,03,09,27,81,43,29,87,61,83,49,47,41,23,69,07,21,63,89,67,01,...
Hence $3^n$'s ten's digits are all even.
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Debdut
528 posts
#10 • 3 Y
Y by Ayushakj, Adventure10, and 1 other user
I have a better proof by induction.

Let $N_n = 3^n$
For n=1,
$N_1$ = 03 (ten's digit is even,we will represent even by e)

Assume for n the condition is true that

$N_n$ = _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ e k( k is either of 1,3 ,7,9)

Now, $N_{n+1} = 3*N_n$ = (_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ e k)*3
= 30(_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ e) + 3k
= 10(_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ e) + 3k (since any number multiplied by e is e)
= 10[_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (e+m)] + k (since 1*3 = 03 , 3*3 = 09 , 7*3 = 21 , 9*3 = 27 so m is always even where m is the ten's digit of 3k)
= _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ e k
[proved]
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madhusudan kale
23 posts
#11 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Singular wrote:
We are going to look at 3^k mod 20. It repeats 3,9,7,1. Hence result.



Could you please elaborate.
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Iyerie
163 posts
#12 • 3 Y
Y by bunnyrabbits, Adventure10, Mango247
madhusudan kale wrote:
Singular wrote:
We are going to look at 3^k mod 20. It repeats 3,9,7,1. Hence result.



Could you please elaborate.

I think Singular is referring to the fact that when each of those numbers is multiplied by 3, their tens digit is a 2. Hence the sum of the tens digits must be even is what he is arguing we can infer from that....not entirely sure if that's a rigorous argument.
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Chotu2004
34 posts
#13 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Altheman wrote:
more completely...

what is euler's extension of FLT
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AlastorMoody
2125 posts
#14 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
RMO 1993 P2 wrote:
Prove that the ten's digit of any power of 3 is even.
Solution: Suppose that the power of $3$ is $3^k$. We'll do a quick induction on $k$. First check that $3^3=27$, $3^4=81$, $3^5=243$, $3^6=729$ and $3^7=2187$

Suppose, for some $m \in \mathbb{N}$, $3^m$ has an even ten's digit, say $x$. So:
1) If the unit's digit of $3^m$ is 1, then ten's digit of $3^{m+1}$ $\implies$ $3x \equiv \ell \pmod{10}$
2) If the unit's digit of $3^m$ is 3, then ten's digit of $3^{m+1}$ $\implies$ $3x \equiv \ell \pmod{10}$
3) If the unit's digit of $3^m$ is 7, then ten's digit of $3^{m+1}$ $\implies$ $3x+2 \equiv \ell \pmod{10}$
4) If the unit's digit of $3^m$ is 9, then ten's digit of $3^{m+1}$ $\implies$ $3x +2\equiv \ell \pmod{10}$
(Where, $\ell \in \{0,2,4,6,8\}$). Hence, our Induction is complete and all powers of $3$ have an even ten's digit! $\qquad \blacksquare$
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leibnitz
1407 posts
#15
Y by
Really sorry to bump this trivial problem but I thought this approach was nice.$\pmod{20}\Rightarrow$ there exists $t$ such that $20t<3^n<20t+10$ so $2t<\frac{3^n}{10}<2t+1$ hence $
 [\frac{3^n}{10}]=2t$ ($[.]$ is the floor function).Note that $[\frac{3^n}{10}]$ is the number formed by removing the last digit of $3^n$ and moreover this is even.The result follows
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by leibnitz, Mar 19, 2020, 12:11 PM
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ATGY
2502 posts
#16
Y by
Whoops, I fell asleep while solving this. Here's the solution:

Notice that the last digit of every number in the form $3^k$ (where $k$ is a non-negative integer) goes in the pattern: $3, 9, 7, 1$.

The last digit will be $3$ when $k \equiv 1\pmod{4}$, the last digit will be $9$ when $k \equiv 2\pmod{4}$, the last digit will be $7$ when $k \equiv 3\pmod{4}$ and the last digit will be $1$ when $k \equiv 0\pmod{4}$. We can separate this problem into 4 different cases.

Case 1: The last digit of $3^k$ is $1$ - This means that $k \equiv 0\pmod{4}$. $k$ can be written as $4n$ where $n$ is a non-negative integer. So, $3^k = 3^{4n} = 81^n$. We want the ten's digit to be even, so:
$$\frac{81^n - 1}{10} \equiv 0\pmod{2}$$$$\implies 81^n \equiv 1\pmod{20}$$This is clearly true as $81 \equiv 1\pmod{20}$. So we have proved our statement for the first case.

Case 2: The last digit of $3^k$ is $3$ - This means that $k \equiv 1\pmod{4}$. $k$ can be written as $4n + 1$ and we can proceed to do the same thing as Case 1 to get that $81^n\cdot3^1 \equiv 3\pmod{20}$ which is true.

Case 3: The last digit of $3^k$ is $9$ - This means that $k \equiv 2 \pmod{4}$. $k$ can be written as $4n + 2$ and we can proceed to do the same thing as Case 1 to get that $81^n\cdot3^2 \equiv 9\pmod{20}$ which is also true.

Case 4: The last digit of $3^k$ is $7$ - This means that $k \equiv 3\pmod{4}$. $k$ can be written as $4n + 3$ and we can proceed to do the same thing as Case 1 to get that $81^n\cdot3^3 \equiv 7\pmod{20}$ which is true as $81^n \equiv 1\pmod{20}$ and $3^3 \equiv 7\pmod{20}$.

We are done $\blacksquare$
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SomeonecoolLovesMaths
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#17 • 2 Y
Y by Nilabha_Sarkar, namanrobin08
We try induction.
Base case: $n=1$,
Trivial.
Now let's assume it works for $n=k$. Proof for $n=k+1$.
The ten's digit of $3^k$ is even, so multiplying it with $3$ will also result to an even number. So the rest of the role is played by the units digit. Observe the only possible units digits are $1,3,7,9$. Multiplying them respectively yields $3,9,21,27$. They too add an even number to the tenth position.As two even numbers add up to an even number, the resultant ten's digit is again even. Hence proved. $\blacksquare$
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by SomeonecoolLovesMaths, Sep 16, 2024, 6:25 PM
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AshAuktober
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#18
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Consider $3^k \pmod{20}$ .it takes values $3, 9, 7, 1$. So we're done.
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namanrobin08
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#19
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Chotu2004 wrote:

what is euler's extension of FLT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%27s_theorem
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Raj_singh1432
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#20
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We can also use modulo to proof the statement.
I think that mathematical induction does not work.
you also use obsevation.
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