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k a April Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Apr 2, 2025
Spring is in full swing and summer is right around the corner, what are your plans? At AoPS Online our schedule has new classes starting now through July, so be sure to keep your skills sharp and be prepared for the Fall school year! Check out the schedule of upcoming classes below.

WOOT early bird pricing is in effect, don’t miss out! If you took MathWOOT Level 2 last year, no worries, it is all new problems this year! Our Worldwide Online Olympiad Training program is for high school level competitors. AoPS designed these courses to help our top students get the deep focus they need to succeed in their specific competition goals. Check out the details at this link for all our WOOT programs in math, computer science, chemistry, and physics.

Looking for summer camps in math and language arts? Be sure to check out the video-based summer camps offered at the Virtual Campus that are 2- to 4-weeks in duration. 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 events:
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April 9th (Webinar), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Learn about Video-based Summer Camps at the Virtual Campus
[*]April 10th (Math Jam), 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, 2025 MathILy and MathILy-Er Math Jam: Multibackwards Numbers
[*]April 22nd (Webinar), 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Competitive Programming at AoPS (USACO).[/list]
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0 replies
jlacosta
Apr 2, 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.
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What belongs on this forum?
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Mathcounts and how to learn

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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
trolling geometry problem
iStud   1
N 40 minutes ago by iStud
Source: Monthly Contest KTOM April P3 Essay
Given a cyclic quadrilateral $ABCD$ with $BC<AD$ and $CD<AB$. Lines $BC$ and $AD$ intersect at $X$, and lines $CD$ and $AB$ intersect at $Y$. Let $E,F,G,H$ be the midpoints of sides $AB,BC,CD,DA$, respectively. Let $S$ and $T$ be points on segment $EG$ and $FH$, respectively, so that $XS$ is the angle bisector of $\angle{DXA}$ and $YT$ is the angle bisector of $\angle{DYA}$. Prove that $TS$ is parallel to $BD$ if and only if $AC$ divides $ABCD$ into two triangles with equal area.
1 reply
iStud
3 hours ago
iStud
40 minutes ago
basically INAMO 2010/6
iStud   3
N 41 minutes ago by iStud
Source: Monthly Contest KTOM April P1 Essay
Call $n$ kawaii if it satisfies $d(n)+\varphi(n)=n+1$ ($d(n)$ is the number of positive factors of $n$, while $\varphi(n)$ is the number of integers not more than $n$ that are relatively prime with $n$). Find all $n$ that is kawaii.
3 replies
iStud
3 hours ago
iStud
41 minutes ago
GCD of a sequence
oVlad   7
N an hour ago by grupyorum
Source: Romania EGMO TST 2017 Day 1 P2
Determine all pairs $(a,b)$ of positive integers with the following property: all of the terms of the sequence $(a^n+b^n+1)_{n\geqslant 1}$ have a greatest common divisor $d>1.$
7 replies
oVlad
Yesterday at 1:35 PM
grupyorum
an hour ago
Another System
worthawholebean   3
N an hour ago by P162008
Source: HMMT 2008 Guts Problem 33
Let $ a$, $ b$, $ c$ be nonzero real numbers such that $ a+b+c=0$ and $ a^3+b^3+c^3=a^5+b^5+c^5$. Find the value of
$ a^2+b^2+c^2$.
3 replies
worthawholebean
May 13, 2008
P162008
an hour ago
Geometry Transformation Problems
ReticulatedPython   6
N Yesterday at 6:22 PM by ReticulatedPython
Problem 1:
A regular hexagon of side length $1$ is rotated $360$ degrees about one side. The space through which the hexagon travels during the rotation forms a solid. Find the volume of this solid.

Problem 2:

A regular octagon of side length $1$ is rotated $360$ degrees about one side. The space through which the octagon travels through during the rotation forms a solid. Find the volume of this solid.

Source:Own

Hint

Useful Formulas
6 replies
ReticulatedPython
Apr 17, 2025
ReticulatedPython
Yesterday at 6:22 PM
Camp Conway acceptance
fossasor   17
N Yesterday at 2:29 AM by fossasor
Hello! I've just been accepted into Camp Conway, but I'm not sure how popular this camp actually is, given that it's new. Has anyone else applied/has been accepted/is going? (I'm trying to figure out to what degree this acceptance was just lack of qualified applicants, so I can better predict my chances of getting into my preferred math camp.)
17 replies
fossasor
Feb 20, 2025
fossasor
Yesterday at 2:29 AM
Facts About 2025!
Existing_Human1   249
N Yesterday at 2:02 AM by EthanNg6
Hello AOPS,

As we enter the New Year, the most exciting part is figuring out the mathematical connections to the number we have now temporally entered

Here are some facts about 2025:
$$2025 = 45^2 = (20+25)(20+25)$$$$2025 = 1^3 + 2^3 +3^3 + 4^3 +5^3 +6^3 + 7^3 +8^3 +9^3 = (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9)^2 = {10 \choose 2}^2$$
If anyone has any more facts about 2025, enlighted the world with a new appreciation for the year


(I got some of the facts from this video)
249 replies
Existing_Human1
Jan 1, 2025
EthanNg6
Yesterday at 2:02 AM
random problem i just thought about one day
ceilingfan404   5
N Yesterday at 1:47 AM by e_is_2.71828
i don't even know if this is solvable
Prove that there are finite/infinite powers of 2 where all the digits are also powers of 2. (For example, $4$ and $128$ are numbers that work, but $64$ and $1024$ don't work.)
5 replies
ceilingfan404
Sunday at 7:54 PM
e_is_2.71828
Yesterday at 1:47 AM
geometry problem
kjhgyuio   7
N Yesterday at 12:56 AM by Shan3t
........
7 replies
kjhgyuio
Sunday at 10:21 PM
Shan3t
Yesterday at 12:56 AM
2500th post
Solocraftsolo   31
N Sunday at 10:15 PM by Solocraftsolo
i keep forgetting to do these...


2500 is cool.

i am not very sentimental so im not going to post a math story or anything.

here are some problems though

p1p2p3

p4
31 replies
Solocraftsolo
Apr 16, 2025
Solocraftsolo
Sunday at 10:15 PM
2025 MATHCOUNTS State Hub
SirAppel   585
N Sunday at 9:27 PM by Eddie_tiger
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)
[*] 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!
585 replies
SirAppel
Apr 1, 2025
Eddie_tiger
Sunday at 9:27 PM
9 Did you get into Illinois middle school math Olympiad?
Gavin_Deng   2
N Sunday at 7:21 PM by Pi_isCool31415
I am simply curious of who got in.
2 replies
Gavin_Deng
Apr 19, 2025
Pi_isCool31415
Sunday at 7:21 PM
Weird Similarity
mithu542   3
N Sunday at 5:07 PM by zhoujef000
Is it just me or are the 2023 national sprint #21 and 2025 state target #4 strangely similar?
[quote=2023 Natioinal Sprint #21] A right triangle with integer side lengths has perimeter $N$ feet and area $N$ ft^2. What is the arithmetic mean of all possible values of $N$?[/quote]
[quote=2025 State Target #4]Suppose a right triangle has an area of 20 cm^2 and a perimeter of 40 cm. What is
the length of the hypotenuse, in centimeters?[/quote]
3 replies
mithu542
Apr 18, 2025
zhoujef000
Sunday at 5:07 PM
9 What is the most important topic in maths competition?
AVIKRIS   34
N Sunday at 3:46 PM by b2025tyx
I think arithmetic is the most the most important topic in math competitions.
34 replies
AVIKRIS
Apr 19, 2025
b2025tyx
Sunday at 3:46 PM
IMO Problem 4
iandrei   105
N Apr 13, 2025 by cj13609517288
Source: IMO ShortList 2003, geometry problem 1
Let $ABCD$ be a cyclic quadrilateral. Let $P$, $Q$, $R$ be the feet of the perpendiculars from $D$ to the lines $BC$, $CA$, $AB$, respectively. Show that $PQ=QR$ if and only if the bisectors of $\angle ABC$ and $\angle ADC$ are concurrent with $AC$.
105 replies
iandrei
Jul 14, 2003
cj13609517288
Apr 13, 2025
Source: IMO ShortList 2003, geometry problem 1
The post below has been deleted. Click to close.
This post has been deleted. Click here to see post.
iandrei
138 posts
#1 • 13 Y
Y by Davi-8191, nguyendangkhoa17112003, TurtleKing123, HWenslawski, Adventure10, centslordm, megarnie, proxima1681, Mahmood.sy, Mango247, Rounak_iitr, and 2 other users
Let $ABCD$ be a cyclic quadrilateral. Let $P$, $Q$, $R$ be the feet of the perpendiculars from $D$ to the lines $BC$, $CA$, $AB$, respectively. Show that $PQ=QR$ if and only if the bisectors of $\angle ABC$ and $\angle ADC$ are concurrent with $AC$.
Attachments:
Z K Y
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sebadollahi
1 post
#2 • 4 Y
Y by Adventure10, centslordm, Mango247, and 1 other user
in two cyclic quadrilatrals APRD & DRCQ ,AD & CD are diameters respectively and we have:
RQ/sin(<RCQ)=CD/2 or RQ/sin(<BCA)=CD/2
PR/sin(<PAR)=AD/2 or PR/sin(<BAC)=AD/2
By dividing:
CD/AD= sin(<BAC)/sin(<BCA)=BC/AB
Since CD/AD=BC/AB thus bisectors of <CBA and <ADC intersect AC in the same poin.
S.Ebadollahi
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galois
400 posts
#3 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
i must admit that this problem was quite easy by imo standards.my solution is based on a standard trick using pedal triangles and projections which is damn easy and pretty similar to the proof posted here.
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Lagrangia
1326 posts
#4 • 5 Y
Y by Inconsistent, Adventure10, Mango247, and 2 other users
here is an interesting thing about this problem and other 2 IMO problems in the past! it's about the so called Pedal Triangle Trick!

this was posted on a forum by: fritue2000 and I thought it would be interesting to post it here also!

"The previous two IMO problems solved by the Pedal Triangle Trick.
(1996 IMO) Let P be a point inside the triangle ABC such that angle
APB - angle ACB = angle APC - angle ABC. Let D, E be the incenters of
triangles APB, APC respectively. Show that AP, BD, CE meet at a
point.

As I know, at the jury meeting at IMO 1996, there is a discussion
for this problem becasuse its solution is very similar to problem
2 of the 34th IMO. The techniques include 'inversion' and 'PTT', etc.
For example, http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~slwee/imo96/imo96op.htm )

(1993 IMO) Let D be a point inside the acute-angled triangle ABC such
that angle ADB = angle ACB + 90 degrees, and AC*BD = AD*BC.

(a) Calculate the ratio AB*CD/(AC*BD).

The well-known 'Pedal Triangle Trick' is "For any point D, let
X, Y, Z be feet of the altitudes from D to AB, BC and CA. Then,
YZ = (DA*BC)/2r, etc, where r is the circumradius of ABC."
The proof is very easy, since D, A, Y, Z lies on a circle with
diameter DA, by the law of sines, YZ = DA sin A = DA*(BC/2r).
(2003 IMO) Given is a cyclic quadrilateral ABCD and let P, Q, R
be feet of the altitudes from D to AB, BC and CA respectively.

Prove that if PR = RQ then the interior angle bisectors of the
angles <ABC and <ADC are concurrent on AC.
Solution) By PTT, PR=RQ implies (DA*BC)/2r = (DC/AB)/2r, so,
CD/DA=BC/AB implies the results. q.e.d.

The most noticeable thing is in the above solution, we did not
used the condtion 'ABCD is cyclic'. And as an IMO problem, it
is not so intersting because all three problems 1993, 1996,
2003 solved by exactly the same TWO ways (PTT and inversion).
Well, the PTT is really well-known, for example, it appears
at "Geometry Revisited" by Coexter. It also used for a proof
of Ptolemy's Theorem.

In a cyclic qudrilateral ABCD, the three points are on the
simson line, we have PR+RQ=RP, with the same notation of 2003
imo. Then, (DA*BC)/2r + (DC*AB)/2r = (DB*AC)/2r or
DA*BC + DC*AB = DB*AC. "
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Anonymous
334 posts
#5 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
A bit of standard angle chasing shows that triangles DPR and DBC are similar and so are DQR and DBA. Thus PR=QR gives DC/CB = DR/RP = DR/RQ = DA/AB, and the result follows from the angle bisector theorem.
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Peter
3615 posts
#6 • 4 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247, Dream6068., ehuseyinyigit
Yeah, I had something like that too, was quite easy :D solved in about 30 minutes (which is extremely few for me)
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Philip_Leszczynski
327 posts
#7 • 3 Y
Y by Adventure10, Adventure10, Mango247
Lemma: Let $ABCD$ be a cyclic quadrilateral. Let $DR$ and $DP$ be the altitudes from $D$ to $AB$ and $DC$, respectively. Let $RP$ intersect $AC$ at $Q$. Then $\angle AQD$ is a right angle.

Proof of Lemma:

$\angle DRB = \angle DPB = \pi / 2$, so $DRPB$ is cyclic. Then $\angle DRP = \angle DBP$. From cyclic quadrilateral $ABCD$, $\angle DBP = \angle DAP$. $\angle DRP = \angle DAP$, so $RAQD$ is cyclic. Thus $\angle AQD = \pi - \angle ARD = \pi / 2$.

Proof:

Let the bisector of $\angle ABC$ meet $AC$ at S. Let the bisector of $\angle ADC$ meet $AC$ at T.
By the Lemma, $R,Q,P$ are collinear.
Let $\angle DRQ = \alpha$. $\angle APD = \pi - \alpha - \angle RDP = \pi - \alpha - (\pi - \angle ABC) = \angle ABC - \alpha$.
$\frac{RQ}{\sin \angle RDQ} = \frac{DQ}{\sin \alpha}$, $\frac{PQ}{\sin \angle PDQ} = \frac{DQ}{\sin (\angle ABC - \alpha)}$.
$\frac{RQ}{PQ} \cdot \frac{\sin PDQ}{\sin RDQ} = \frac{sin(\angle ABC - \alpha)}{\sin \alpha}$.
$\angle RDQ = \pi - \angle RAQ = \angle BAC$. Also $\angle PDQ = \angle BCA$.
$\frac{RQ}{PQ} \cdot \frac{\sin \angle BCA}{\sin \angle BAC} = \frac{\sin (\angle ABC - \alpha)}{\sin \alpha}$.
$\frac{RQ}{PQ} \cdot \frac{AB}{BC} = \frac{\sin \angle QCD}{\sin \angle QAD} = \frac{AD}{DC}$.
So $RQ=PQ$ if and only if $\frac{AB}{BC} = \frac{AD}{DC}$.

By the Angle Bisector Theorem,
$\frac{AS}{SC} = \frac{AB}{BC}$ and $\frac{AT}{TC} = \frac{AD}{DC}$.
So $\frac{AB}{BC} = \frac{AD}{DC}$ if and only if $\frac{AS}{SC} = \frac{AT}{TC}$.
This can happen if and only if $S=T$.
So $PQ=QR$ if and only if the angle bisectors of $\angle ABC$ and $\angle ADC$ are concurrent with $AC$. QED.
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beta
3001 posts
#8 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Yay I exploded this problem with like 20 cyclic quadrilaterals.

Okay first well-know fact: Simson's Line, so we know P, Q, R are collinear.

i'll go with the only if direction
Let X be the intersection of the angle bisectors. Extend BX, DX to Y, Z, where Y and Z lies on the circumcircle of ABCD. Y, Z lies on the perpendicular bisector of AC, hence YZ is a diameter, and it goes through midpoint M of AC. angle AMY = 90, angle ZDY = 90 because YZ is a diameter, so MYDX is cyclic, so angle ZYB = MDX = ADB. DX bisects ADC hence ADM = BDC = BAC = PDQ.
angle QAD=QPD. Hence triangle PQD is similar to triangle AMD, and triangle ADC is simlar to PDR. DM is a median hence DQ is a median => Q is the midpoint of PR as desired.

If direction:
Define X to be on AC such that DX bisects ADC, DX intersect the circumcircle at Z, M is the midpoint of AC, Y is the intersection of MZ and the circumcircle. triangle ADC is simlar to PDR. DM is a median and DQ is a median, so triangle PQD is similar to triangle AMD, angle ADM = PDQ=BAC = BDC. By definition XD bisects ADC hence XD bisects MDB so MDX = XDQ. QMY=90, YZ is still diameter, MYDX is cyclic, ZYX = MDX = ZDB. Now let BX intersect the circumcircle at Y'. XY'Z = XYZ, now Y' is unique(consider the locus of points Y' such that XY'Z = XYZ, which is a circle, and Y' lies on the cirucmcircle of ABCD. Two circle intersects in two points, one of which is Z, hence there's only one such point left and thus it's unique), hence Y = Y', thus B, X, Y are collinear. Y lies on the perpendicular bisector of AC so YA=YC, thus angle ABY = YBC.

QED
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FelixD
588 posts
#9 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
The following will be useful: Let $ \triangle ABC$ be a triangle, $ D$ an arbitrary point and $ X$, $ Y$, $ Z$ the pedal points wrt the sides $ BC$, $ CA$, $ AB$. Then $ YZ= \frac{AD \cdot BC}{2R}$, where $ R$ denotes the circrumradius of $ \triangle ABC$. That's very easy to prove, I won't write it down now :) .
Using the lemma shown above, we have $ PQ= \frac{CD \cdot AB}{2R}$ and $ QR= \frac{AD \cdot BC}{2R}$. Hence, $ PQ =QR \Leftrightarrow \frac{AB}{BC} = \frac{AD}{DC}$. Let $ S$ denote the intersection of the angle bisectors of $ \angle ABC$ and $ \angle CDA$. If $ S \in AC$, then $ \frac{AB}{BC} = \frac{AS}{SC} = \frac{AD}{DC}$. If $ PQ=QR$, then $ \frac{AS_1}{S_1C} = \frac{AB}{BC} = \frac{AD}{DC} = \frac{AS_2}{S_2C}$, hence $ S_2=S_1=S$, where $ S_1$ and $ S_2$ denote the intersections of the angle bisectors of angles $ \angle ABC$ and $ \angle CDA$ with the side $ AC$. Thus, the problem is proved.
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serialk11r
1449 posts
#10 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
Hmmm I came up with this, which uses a bit more of Simson line properties.

Let the angle bisector of $ \angle{ABC}$ intersect $ AC$ at $ N$, let the midpoint of $ AC$ be $ M$, let $ E$ and $ F$ be points diametrically opposite on the circumcircle of $ ABCD$ such that $ EF$ is the perpendicular bisector of $ AC$, with $ E$ on the same side of $ AC$ as $ B$. Let $ B'$ be the point diametrically opposite to $ B$.

$ FDQN$ is cyclic, $ FDMN$ is a rectangle (cyclic), so $ \angle{FND} = \angle{FQD} = \angle{MDQ}$.
$ \angle{FND} = \angle{FBD} + \angle{BFE}$
$ \angle{B'BF} = \angle{BFE}$, since both are diameters.
Thus $ \angle{B'BD} = \angle{BNE} = \angle{MDQ}$.

$ P,Q,R$ are collinear and are the Simson line of $ D$. $ AC$ is the Simson line of $ B'$. By a well known property of Simson lines, $ \angle{PQA} = \frac12\overarc{B'D}$, but $ \frac12\overarc{B'D} = \angle{B'BD} = \angle{BNE} = \angle{MDQ}$ and $ \angle{PQA} = \angle{PDA} = \angle{CDR}$, since $ PDR$ is directly similar to $ ADC$. Thus we have a spiral similarity with center $ D$ mapping $ A,M,C$ to $ P,Q,R$ respectively, and since $ M$ is the midpoint of $ AC$, $ Q$ is the midpoint of $ PR$ so we are done.

The argument should work in reverse as well, with some tweaking here and there.
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hatchguy
555 posts
#11 • 4 Y
Y by AllanTian, Adventure10, Mango247, LeYohan
The concurrent with $AC$ bisectors condition is equivalent to $\frac{AB}{BC}=\frac{AD}{DC}$ $=> \frac{AD*BC}{AB*DC} =1$

Since $\angle DAB+ \angle DCB= 180$ and $\angle DCP+ \angle DCB= 180$ we have $\angle DAB= \angle DCP$.

Therefore we have that $ARD$ is similar to $CPD$ and therefore $\frac{AR}{PC}=\frac{AD}{DC}$. (1)

By Menelaus theorem for transversal $CQA$ in triangle $BRP$ we obtain:

$\frac{AB*RQ*PC}{AR*PQ*BC}=1$. Therefore $\frac{RQ}{QP}=\frac{AR*BC}{AB*PC}=\frac{AD*BC}{AB*DC}$ (because of (1)). The conclusion is now obvious.
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MariusBocanu
429 posts
#12 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
Use that a quadrilateral is harmonic if and only if the diagonals are symmedians(easy to prove with polarity and crossed ratio).
Now, the problem is equivalent to this:
$\triangle{ABC}$,$D$ is on the circumcircle of $\triangle{ABC}$(on the arc$BC$). Denote $X,Y,Z$ the projections of $D$ onto $AB,BC,CA$. $XY=YZ$if and only if $D$ is on the symmedian with respect to $A$.
Proof: See that $BXDY$ and $DYZC$ are inscribed in circles with diameter$BD$,respectively$CD$. We have from Simson's line that $X-Y-Z$are collinear. In $\triangle{XBY}$(aplying law of sines) $XY=BDsinB$, and in $\triangle{YZC}$ we have$YZ=DCsinC$. So, $XY=YZ$ if and only if $\frac{BD}{CD}=\frac{sinC}{sinB}$, but it happens only for symmedian(note that $\frac{sinBAM}{sinCAM}=\frac{sinB}{sinC}$, where $M$ is the midpoint of $BC$.
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arshakus
769 posts
#13 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
hey guys)
I solved this problem in about 10 minutes, but I think there is some thing wrong because I didn't use the fact that $ABCD$ is cyclic.
Can it be so?
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nickthegreek
35 posts
#14 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
A different approach:


To begin with, it is clear that triangles $\bigtriangleup  DRP$ and $\bigtriangleup  DAC$ similar. (This follows by a very simple angle chasing, as in the above posts). This also gives us the fact that triangles $\bigtriangleup  DAR$ and $\bigtriangleup  DPC$ are similar, therefore $\frac{DA}{DC}=\frac{RA}{PC} (1)$

Also, points $P,Q,R$ are collinear (Simson's line)

It remains to prove the equivalence $PQ=QR \Leftrightarrow \frac{BA}{BC}=\frac{DA}{DC}$

Let's focus on triangle $\bigtriangleup RBP$ . Points $A,Q,C $ are collinear and lie on the lines $BR,RP,PB$ respectively. Applying Menelaus' Theorem, we have:
$\frac{AR}{AB}\cdot \frac{CB}{CP}\cdot \frac{QP}{QR}=1$

Therefore, $QP=QR\Leftrightarrow \frac{QP}{QR}=1\Leftrightarrow \frac{AB}{BC}=\frac{RA}{PC}\Leftrightarrow \frac{AB}{BC}= \frac{DA}{DC}$,

since $\frac{DA}{DC}=\frac{RA}{PC}$ by relation (1). The conclusion follows immediately.

Nick
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StefanS
149 posts
#15 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
nickthegreek wrote:
A different approach:
Your solution is actually identical to hatchguy's. Take a look:
hatchguy wrote:
The concurrent with $AC$ bisectors condition is equivalent to $\frac{AB}{BC}=\frac{AD}{DC}$ $=> \frac{AD*BC}{AB*DC} =1$

Since $\angle DAB+ \angle DCB= 180$ and $\angle DCP+ \angle DCB= 180$ we have $\angle DAB= \angle DCP$.

Therefore we have that $ARD$ is similar to $CPD$ and therefore $\frac{AR}{PC}=\frac{AD}{DC}$. (1)

By Menelaus theorem for transversal $CQA$ in triangle $BRP$ we obtain:

$\frac{AB*RQ*PC}{AR*PQ*BC}=1$. Therefore $\frac{RQ}{QP}=\frac{AR*BC}{AB*PC}=\frac{AD*BC}{AB*DC}$ (because of (1)). The conclusion is now obvious.
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