249 core topics
+ 100 prerequisite topics taught
as needed · approximately 113 hours of instruction
including spaced review
An adaptive diagnostic (up to
40 questions) places the student on the course's knowledge
graph - topics already known are credited, and instruction begins exactly
at the learning frontier. Every topic is taught with a worked-example
lesson and auto-graded practice; a topic is mastered at
75%+ and then maintained through spaced reviews on an
expanding schedule. Mixed checks follow every 6 lessons;
each unit ends with a 12-item quiz, and course-wide assessments appear at
25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% mastery. Prerequisite gaps below the course are detected and taught rather
than skipped, so completion certifies the whole tower, not just the top.
| AM-GM & Inequality Bounds
[H] |
Bound sums and products without calculus. |
| Vieta: Symmetric Functions of Roots
[H] |
Turn any symmetric expression in the roots into the coefficients. |
| Stars, Bars & Bijective Counting
[H] |
Count integer solutions by placing dividers. |
| Principle of Inclusion-Exclusion
[H] |
Add the singles, subtract the overlaps, add back the triple. |
| Modular Arithmetic & the CRT
[H] |
Stitch remainders modulo coprime bases into one answer. |
| Divisor Counting & Sum of Divisors
[H] |
Read divisor data straight off the prime factorization. |
| Units & Last Digits via Cycles
[H] |
Powers repeat their tail digits on a short cycle. |
| Power of a Point
[H] |
One product controls every line through a point. |
| Mass Points, Menelaus & Ceva
[H] |
Hang weights on the vertices and let ratios balance. |
| Pythagorean Triples & Diophantine Structure
[H] |
Generate every right triangle from two parameters. |
| Recursion & Characteristic Equations
[H] |
Linear recurrences are governed by a small polynomial. |
| Roots of Unity & Complex Geometry
[H] |
The nth roots of unity are a regular polygon on the unit circle. |
| Invariants & Coloring Arguments
[H] |
Find a quantity the moves can't change. |
| Generating Functions (Intro)
[H] |
Encode a counting problem as a coefficient. |
| Cyclic Quadrilaterals & Angle Chasing
[H] |
Concyclic points unlock angle and length relations. |
| Remainder Theorem
[H] |
Dividing by (x − a) leaves remainder p(a). |
| Factor Theorem
[H] |
(x − a) divides p(x) exactly when p(a) = 0. |
| Sum of Reciprocal Roots
[H] |
1/r + 1/s = (r+s)/(rs) via Vieta. |
| Cauchy-Schwarz Bound
[H] |
(px+qy)² ≤ (p²+q²)(x²+y²). |
| Rearrangement Inequality
[H] |
Same-order pairing maximizes the sum of products. |
| Simplifying Radicals
[H] |
Pull out the largest square factor. |
| Odd-Denominator Telescoping
[H] |
1/((2k−1)(2k+1)) = ½(1/(2k−1) − 1/(2k+1)). |
| Infinite Geometric Series
[H] |
Sum = a/(1 − r) for |r| < 1. |
| Reciprocal Functional Equation
[H] |
Substitute x → 1/x and solve the linear system. |
| Binomial Coefficients
[H] |
Term of xᵏ in (x+c)ⁿ is C(n,k)c^{n−k}. |
| Fermat's Little Theorem
[H] |
a^{p−1} ≡ 1 (mod p) for prime p ∤ a. |
| Wilson's Theorem
[H] |
(p−1)! ≡ −1 (mod p) for prime p. |
| Multiplicative Order
[H] |
Smallest k with aᵏ ≡ 1 (mod n). |
| Legendre's Formula
[H] |
Exponent of p in n! is Σ⌊n/pᵏ⌋. |
| Base Representation
[H] |
Repeatedly divide to change base. |
| Euler's Totient Function
[H] |
φ(pᵃqᵇ) = pᵃqᵇ(1−1/p)(1−1/q). |
| Linear Diophantine Counting
[H] |
Count positive (x,y) on ax + by = N. |
| Modular Inverses
[H] |
Solve ax ≡ 1 (mod m). |
| Squarefree Part
[H] |
k is the product of odd-exponent primes. |
| Complementary Counting
[H] |
Subtract the bad arrangements from all. |
| Integer-Sided Triangles
[H] |
Casework with the triangle inequality. |
| Hockey Stick Identity
[H] |
Σ_{i=k}^{n} C(i,k) = C(n+1,k+1). |
| Expected Value (Linearity)
[H] |
E[sum] = sum of E's, no independence needed. |
| Conditional Probability
[H] |
Condition shrinks the sample space. |
| Geometric Probability
[H] |
Probability = favorable length / total length. |
| Gambler's Ruin
[H] |
Fair walk: reach N before 0 with prob k/N. |
| Pigeonhole Guarantees
[H] |
Worst case then one more. |
| Circular Arrangements
[H] |
Fix one seat: (n−1)! around a circle. |
| Law of Cosines
[H] |
c² = a² + b² − 2ab cos C. |
| Law of Sines & Circumradius
[H] |
a/sin A = b/sin B = 2R. |
| Stewart / Median Length
[H] |
4m_a² = 2b² + 2c² − a². |
| Ptolemy's Theorem
[H] |
AC·BD = AB·CD + BC·DA. |
| Heron's Formula
[H] |
Area = √(s(s−a)(s−b)(s−c)). |
| Angle Bisector Theorem
[H] |
Bisector splits the opposite side in ratio b:c. |
| Section Formula
[H] |
P = (m·B + n·A)/(m+n) for ratio m:n. |
| Power Sums of x + 1/x
[H] |
The quantities x^n + 1/x^n obey s(n+1) = k·s(n) − s(n−1). |
| Evaluating the Polynomial Itself
[H] |
A product over the roots is the polynomial evaluated at one point. |
| Symmetric Sums for a Quartic
[H] |
Read e₁ through e₄ off the coefficients and rewrite the request in them. |
| Two Quadratics Sharing a Root
[H] |
Subtracting the two quadratics leaves a linear equation the shared root must satisfy. |
| Vieta a Second Time, in the Parameter
[H] |
A condition on the roots becomes a quadratic in the parameter, so Vieta applies again. |
| The Cubic With Transformed Roots
[H] |
Shifting every root replaces p(x) by p(x − h); inverting every root reverses the coefficients. |
| Symmetric Fractions of the Roots
[H] |
Put the symmetric fraction over one denominator and read both parts from Vieta. |
| Climbing the Power Sums
[H] |
Every x^n + y^n follows from x + y and xy, in either direction. |
| Three Pair Sums
[H] |
Adding the three pair sums gives twice the total, and each variable is the total minus one equation. |
| Systems Written in the Reciprocals
[H] |
xy/(x+y) = A means 1/x + 1/y = 1/A, which turns the system linear. |
| Systems Written in the Products
[H] |
Multiplying all three product equations gives (xyz)², and dividing recovers each variable. |
| Adding Every Equation at Once
[H] |
Summing a symmetric system produces the total, and each variable is one subtraction away. |
| Substituting the Partner Value
[H] |
Substitute the value that swaps the two unknown outputs, then solve the linear system. |
| Additive With a Correction Term
[H] |
f(x+y) = f(x) + f(y) + cxy builds f(n) one step at a time, adding c(n−1) each step. |
| Pairing f(x) With f(1 − x)
[H] |
When f(x) + f(1−x) is constant, a long sum collapses to a count of pairs. |
| Iterating a Map Into Its Cycle
[H] |
Compose the map a few times, find the period, then reduce the exponent modulo it. |
| Equations Mixing x With Its Floor
[H] |
Write x as n + f with n = ⌊x⌋ an integer and 0 ≤ f < 1, then read n off the size of the equation. |
| Counting With the Floor Function
[H] |
Group the index range into blocks on which the floor is constant. |
| The Fractional Part as Its Own Unknown
[H] |
Treat ⌊x⌋ = n and {x} = f as separate unknowns tied by 0 ≤ f < 1. |
| Counting With the Floor of a Square Root
[H] |
⌊√n⌋ = k exactly on the 2k+1 integers from k² to k²+2k. |
| Nested Absolute Values
[H] |
Peel one absolute value at a time and count how many branches survive. |
| Minimizing a Sum of Distances
[H] |
A sum of absolute values is piecewise linear, so its minimum sits at one of the marked points. |
| Regions Cut Out by Absolute Values
[H] |
Absolute-value inequalities bound polygons whose vertices are the axis intercepts. |
| An Arithmetic Sequence Pinned by Two Facts
[H] |
Two facts determine a₁ and d, and sums are linear in both. |
| Terms Two Progressions Share
[H] |
Common terms of two arithmetic progressions form a third, with difference lcm(d₁, d₂). |
| An Arithmetic Progression Turned Geometric
[H] |
The geometric condition (middle)² = (first)(third) reduces to d² = ac. |
| Telescoping by Partial Fractions
[H] |
Split 1/(k(k+m)) into (1/m)(1/k − 1/(k+m)) and cancel the interior. |
| Telescoping With Radicals
[H] |
Rationalizing a radical denominator turns each term into a difference that cancels. |
| Infinite Geometric Series in Disguise
[H] |
Identify the constant ratio hidden in a physical or geometric process, then sum a/(1−r). |
| A Geometric Series From Two Conditions
[H] |
Two sums involving the same a and r give two equations whose quotient isolates r. |
| Recursions That Cycle
[H] |
The recursion aₙ = aₙ₋₁ − aₙ₋₂ repeats with period 6 and any six consecutive terms sum to zero. |
| Chains of Change of Base
[H] |
log_a b · log_b c = log_a c, so a chain of logarithms collapses to its endpoints. |
| Systems Written in the Logarithms
[H] |
Set u = log x and v = log y; the system becomes ordinary algebra in u and v. |
| Quadratics in log x
[H] |
Substitute L = log x; Vieta on L gives the sum of the logs, hence the product of the roots. |
| One Value Shared by Several Exponentials
[H] |
Set the common value equal to k and take logarithms, so the exponents become reciprocals. |
| How Many Digits, and Which Leading Digit
[H] |
A positive integer n has ⌊log₁₀ n⌋ + 1 digits. |
| Nested Logarithms and Hidden Quadratics
[H] |
Work from the outside in, and name the repeated exponential as a single unknown. |
| Powers of 1 + i and the Sums They Compute
[H] |
(1+i)² = 2i, so every power of 1+i reduces to a power of 2 times one of 1, i, −1, −i. |
| Complex Roots of Real Quadratics
[H] |
For a real quadratic the roots are conjugates, so |z|² is the constant term and z + z̄ is minus the linear coefficient. |
| Cube Roots of Unity as an Algebraic Tool
[H] |
With ω³ = 1 and 1 + ω + ω² = 0, any expression in ω collapses to a short normal form. |
| Rotation by Multiplication
[H] |
Multiplying by i rotates a point 90° counterclockwise about the origin. |
| Splitting a Term to Make AM-GM Fit
[H] |
Break one term into equal pieces so the product of all pieces is free of x. |
| The Cauchy-Schwarz (Titu) Bound
[H] |
a²/x + b²/y ≥ (a+b)²/(x+y), with equality when x : y = a : b. |
| The Largest Product With a Fixed Sum
[H] |
Splitting a fixed sum into 3s (with at most two 2s) maximizes the product. |
| The Bound a Discriminant Forces
[H] |
Two reals with a known sum and product are the roots of a quadratic, and reality forces a discriminant bound. |
| Average Speed Is a Harmonic Mean
[H] |
Average speed is total distance over total time, so equal distances give the harmonic mean. |
| Mixtures and Repeated Replacement
[H] |
Track the amount of the pure substance, not the percentage. |
| Digit Problems and What Reversal Does
[H] |
Write the number as 10a + b, and reversal differences become multiples of 9 or 99. |
| Work Rates Add, Times Do Not
[H] |
Convert each time to a rate of one job per hour, add the rates, then invert. |
| Smallest Integer with a Given Divisor Count
[H] |
Match the exponent pattern to the factorization of the divisor count, then assign the largest exponents to the smallest primes. |
| Divisors That Are Perfect Powers
[H] |
A divisor of n is a perfect k-th power exactly when every exponent it uses is a multiple of k, so the count is the product of floor(e/k) + 1. |
| Writing n as a Product of Two Factors
[H] |
Factorizations n = ab pair each divisor with its cofactor, and coprime factorizations assign each prime power wholly to one side. |
| Divisors That Are Multiples of m
[H] |
The divisors of n that are multiples of m are exactly m times the divisors of n/m, so there are tau(n/m) of them. |
| Divisors Common to Two Numbers
[H] |
A number divides both a and b exactly when it divides gcd(a, b), so the common divisors number tau(gcd(a, b)). |
| Recovering a Number from gcd and lcm
[H] |
For any two positive integers, gcd times lcm equals the product, and each prime is split so that one number carries the smaller exponent and the other the larger. |
| Counting Pairs with a Given lcm
[H] |
For lcm(a, b) = p^e the pair of exponents must have maximum e, which happens in 2e + 1 ways, and the primes multiply independently. |
| gcd of Two Linear Forms
[H] |
Any common divisor of two linear expressions in n divides every integer combination of them, and eliminating n exposes the largest value it can reach. |
| Coincident Cycles
[H] |
Events repeating every a and every b units coincide exactly at multiples of lcm(a, b), and three cycles need inclusion and exclusion to separate double from triple coincidences. |
| Reducible Fractions
[H] |
A fraction (n+a)/(n+b) reduces exactly when some prime factor of b - a divides n + a, so only the primes of the difference matter. |
| The Last Two Digits of a Power
[H] |
The last two digits of a power are the value modulo 100, and the powers of a fixed base repeat with a period that divides 20 for bases coprime to 10. |
| A Far-Out Digit of a Repeating Decimal
[H] |
The decimal expansion of a fraction repeats with period equal to the multiplicative order of 10 modulo the reduced denominator, so the position of a digit is read modulo that period. |
| A Long Power Sum Modulo m
[H] |
The residues of i^k modulo m repeat with period m, so a long power sum reduces to whole blocks plus a short leftover. |
| A Factorial Sum Modulo m
[H] |
Every factorial from m! onward is divisible by m, so a factorial sum modulo m collapses to its first m terms. |
| Two Congruences at Once
[H] |
With coprime moduli there is exactly one residue class modulo the product satisfying both congruences, found by walking one congruence until the other holds. |
| Counting Solutions of a Congruence System
[H] |
Two coprime congruences combine into a single congruence modulo the product, so the solutions in a range form an arithmetic sequence with that common difference. |
| Three Simultaneous Remainders
[H] |
Three pairwise coprime congruences pin down one residue class modulo the product of the moduli, best found by merging two at a time. |
| Solving for the Base
[H] |
A base-b numeral is a polynomial in b with the digits as coefficients, so an equation in base ten becomes a polynomial equation in the base. |
| Digit Length in Two Bases
[H] |
Having exactly k digits in base b means lying in the interval from b^(k-1) to b^k - 1, so a two-base condition is an intersection of intervals. |
| Palindromes in Another Base
[H] |
Palindromes of a fixed digit length in base b are counted by choosing the free half of the digits, with the leading digit nonzero. |
| Counting Numbers by Digit Sum
[H] |
Counting numbers with a prescribed digit sum is a stars-and-bars count on the digits, corrected by inclusion and exclusion for the cap of nine and the nonzero leading digit. |
| Reversals and Multiples of Nine
[H] |
A number minus its reversal is a fixed multiple of nine times the difference of the outer digits, and the sum of a number and its reversal depends only on the digit sums by place. |
| Finding the Missing Digit
[H] |
Replacing an unknown digit changes the number by a fixed power of ten times the digit, so divisibility becomes a single linear congruence in that digit. |
| Counting Numbers by Digit Product
[H] |
A prescribed digit product forces a factorization of that product into digits, and each factorization contributes its number of distinct orderings. |
| The Multiplication Principle Under Restriction
[H] |
When digits or slots are chosen with restrictions, fill the most constrained slot first and multiply the remaining independent choices. |
| Casework and the Addition Principle
[H] |
Splitting a count by the value of one variable turns a hard problem into a sum of easy independent counts. |
| Arrangements with a Block Together
[H] |
People who must stay together are glued into a single block, and the block's internal orders multiply the arrangements of the reduced list. |
| Arrangements That Keep People Apart
[H] |
Separation constraints are handled either by subtracting the glued arrangements or by seating the unrestricted people first and dropping the others into the gaps. |
| Fixing a Relative Order
[H] |
Requiring some items to appear in one prescribed relative order divides the total arrangements by the number of orders those items could take. |
| Committees with Required and Barred Members
[H] |
Forcing a person onto a committee fixes one seat and reduces both the pool and the number of seats, while barring a person only shrinks the pool. |
| At Least k of a Type
[H] |
An at-least condition is a sum over the exact counts, because reserving seats for a required type and filling the rest freely double counts. |
| Complementary Counting on Sequences
[H] |
Counting sequences that contain a pattern is easiest as the total minus the sequences that avoid it, and the avoiding sequences satisfy a short recursion. |
| Inclusion and Exclusion on Two Conditions
[H] |
Counting multiples of a or b requires subtracting the multiples of their least common multiple, and exactly one of the two requires subtracting it twice. |
| Inclusion and Exclusion on Three Conditions
[H] |
With three conditions the alternating sum adds singles, subtracts pairs and adds the triple, and exactly-one counts subtract the pairs twice and restore the triple three times. |
| Venn Counts from Overlap Totals
[H] |
Survey totals count overlapping regions repeatedly, so peel the triple overlap out of each pair count before reading off the exactly-one and exactly-two regions. |
| Arrangements of Repeated Letters
[H] |
Arrangements of a multiset equal the factorial of the length divided by the factorial of each repeated letter's multiplicity. |
| Repeated Letters Together or Apart
[H] |
Identical letters forced together become one block with no internal orderings, while forcing them apart means arranging the others first and choosing gaps. |
| Distributions with a Minimum
[H] |
Giving every variable its required minimum first reduces the problem to a nonnegative stars-and-bars count on the remaining total. |
| Distributions with a Cap
[H] |
An upper bound on each variable is enforced by subtracting the solutions where one variable exceeds the cap and adding back the double violations. |
| Solutions of an Inequality
[H] |
An inequality becomes an equation by adding a slack variable, so counting solutions below a bound uses one extra box in stars and bars. |
| Lattice Paths Through a Checkpoint
[H] |
The number of monotone lattice paths to a point is a binomial coefficient, and paths through a required point multiply the counts of the two legs. |
| Lattice Paths Around a Blockage
[H] |
Paths avoiding a closed intersection are the total minus the paths through it, and two closures need inclusion and exclusion for the paths using both. |
| Paths That Stay Below the Diagonal
[H] |
Monotone paths from the origin to (n, n) that never rise above the line y = x are counted by the Catalan number C(2n, n)/(n + 1). |
| Forcing a Forbidden Difference
[H] |
Grouping the integers by residue modulo d turns a forbidden difference of d into a no-two-adjacent condition on separate chains, each of which admits half its length rounded up. |
| Worst-Case Draws
[H] |
The guarantee threshold is one more than the largest draw that still avoids the goal, and a color with fewer socks than the target caps its own contribution. |
| Forcing a Pair with a Given Sum
[H] |
Pairing each integer with its complement to the target sum creates disjoint pigeonholes, and a set avoiding the sum can use at most one integer from each pair. |
| Shoelace on a Lattice Polygon
[H] |
The shoelace sum gives the area of any simple polygon from its vertices. |
| Pick's Theorem
[H] |
A lattice polygon has area I + B/2 - 1, with I interior and B boundary points. |
| Heron Run Backwards into an Altitude
[H] |
Heron gives the area, and the area divided by half a side gives the altitude to it. |
| Two Sides and the Included Angle
[H] |
The area is one half the product of two sides times the sine of the angle between them. |
| Areas Around the Diagonal Point
[H] |
Around the meet of the diagonals, opposite triangle areas have equal products. |
| The Triangle Cut from a Square
[H] |
Subtract the three corner right triangles from the square to get the inner triangle. |
| A Parallel Cut Inside a Triangle
[H] |
A line parallel to a side cuts off a similar triangle whose areas scale as the square of the ratio. |
| Geometric Means at the Right Angle
[H] |
The altitude to the hypotenuse creates two triangles similar to the original and to each other. |
| Crossing Cables Between Two Poles
[H] |
Two crossed wires between poles of heights a and b meet at height ab/(a+b), whatever the gap. |
| The Two Squares Inside a Right Triangle
[H] |
A square at the right angle has side ab/(a+b); a square on the hypotenuse has side abc/(ab+c²). |
| Trapezoid Diagonals and Similar Pieces
[H] |
The diagonals of a trapezoid cut areas p², pq, pq, q² when the parallel sides are p and q. |
| Interior and Exterior Angles from Arcs
[H] |
An inscribed angle is half its arc, two chords give half the sum, two secants give half the difference. |
| The Tangent-Chord Angle
[H] |
The angle between a tangent and a chord equals half the arc the chord cuts off. |
| Star Polygon Point Angles
[H] |
The point angles of an {n/k} star sum to 180(n - 2k) degrees. |
| Inscribed Angles in a Regular Polygon
[H] |
Every arc of a regular n-gon is a multiple of 360/n, so every angle in it is a multiple of 180/n. |
| The Isosceles Ladder
[H] |
Each new equal-length segment repeats the base angle, so the chase steps down by a fixed amount. |
| Two Secants and a Tangent from One Point
[H] |
Every line through P meets a circle in two points whose signed distances have the same product. |
| A Chord Split by an Interior Point
[H] |
For a point inside a circle, every chord through it splits into pieces with product R² - d². |
| Brahmagupta's Area Formula
[H] |
A cyclic quadrilateral with sides a, b, c, d has area the square root of (s-a)(s-b)(s-c)(s-d). |
| Opposite Angles and the Diagonal of a Cyclic Quad
[H] |
Opposite angles of a cyclic quadrilateral are supplementary, so their cosines are negatives. |
| Ptolemy on a Regular Polygon
[H] |
Ptolemy applied to a regular polygon plus a point on its circumcircle gives a linear relation. |
| The Inradius as Area Over Semiperimeter
[H] |
Joining the incenter to the vertices splits a triangle into three pieces of total area rs. |
| The Circumradius from abc Over 4K
[H] |
A triangle with sides a, b, c and area K has circumradius abc divided by 4K. |
| Incircle Tangent Lengths
[H] |
The two tangent segments from a vertex to the incircle are equal and have length s minus the opposite side. |
| The Right Triangle Inradius Identities
[H] |
A right triangle has inradius (a+b-c)/2, and its semiperimeter equals r plus the hypotenuse. |
| Euler's Distance Between the Centers
[H] |
The circumcenter and incenter satisfy OI² = R(R - 2r), so R is at least 2r. |
| The British Flag Theorem
[H] |
For any point and any rectangle, the squared distances to opposite corners have equal sums. |
| Chord Length from the Distance to the Center
[H] |
A radius perpendicular to a chord bisects it, so half the chord, the distance, and R form a right triangle. |
| Tangency Conditions in Coordinates
[H] |
The squared tangent length from a point equals the power of that point with respect to the circle. |
| Centroids and Midpoint Triangles
[H] |
The centroid is the average of the three vertices, and the midpoint triangle has one quarter the area. |
| A Line That Splits a Region by Area
[H] |
A line bisects a rectangle exactly when it passes through the rectangle's center. |
| Shared Altitudes and Base Ratios
[H] |
Two triangles with the same altitude have areas in the ratio of their bases. |
| Nested Cevian Area Ratios
[H] |
Cutting two sides of a triangle at given ratios multiplies the two fractions in the area. |
| Areas Around Two Intersecting Cevians
[H] |
Two cevians cut a triangle into three triangles and a quadrilateral whose areas follow from one ratio. |
| The Six Triangles Made by the Medians
[H] |
The medians cut a triangle into six triangles of equal area, and the median triangle has three quarters of it. |
| A Point Inside a Parallelogram
[H] |
For P inside a parallelogram, the two triangles on opposite sides together make half its area. |
| Space Diagonals and Face Diagonals
[H] |
A box with edges l, w, h has space diagonal the square root of l² + w² + h². |
| The Shortest Path Across a Box Surface
[H] |
Unfold the box flat: the shortest surface path is a straight line in the unfolding. |
| Heights Inside a Pyramid
[H] |
The apothem gives the slant height and the half-diagonal gives the lateral edge. |
| Spheres, Cubes and Tight Fits
[H] |
An inscribed sphere matches the edge; a circumscribed sphere matches the space diagonal. |
| Cross Sections of a Cube
[H] |
Slicing a cube gives triangles, rectangles or a regular hexagon depending on the plane. |
| Similar Solids and the Cut Cone
[H] |
Similar solids scale lengths by k, areas by k squared and volumes by k cubed. |
| Cutting a Corner off a Solid
[H] |
A corner tetrahedron with mutually perpendicular legs has volume pqr/6 and obeys de Gua's theorem. |
| Slanted Slices of a Prism
[H] |
A prism cut by a slanted plane has volume the base area times the average of the edge heights. |
| Reflection and the Shortest Path
[H] |
Reflecting one endpoint across a line turns a bent shortest path into a straight segment. |
| Rotations About a Lattice Point
[H] |
Rotating 90 degrees about a center swaps the offsets and flips one sign. |
| Two Mirrors Make a Rotation
[H] |
Reflecting across two lines through a point is a rotation through twice the angle between them. |
| Choosing the Sample Space
[H] |
Fix the sample space first, then count only the outcomes it contains. |
| Relative Order by Symmetry
[H] |
All k! relative orders of k chosen items are equally likely. |
| All Choices Different
[H] |
Independent choices give m^n outcomes; distinct ones give m(m-1)···. |
| Keeping a Block Together
[H] |
Glue a required block into one object; for separation, place gaps first. |
| Drawing Without Replacement
[H] |
Choose the reds and the blues separately, then divide by all C(n,k) hands. |
| The Largest Value Shown
[H] |
Count max at most m, then subtract max at most m-1. |
| Bayes on Two Boxes
[H] |
Posterior odds equal prior odds times the likelihood of the evidence. |
| What the Information Really Says
[H] |
Conditioning on an existence statement is not the same as naming a child. |
| Which Events Are Independent
[H] |
Events are independent exactly when P(A and B) equals P(A)·P(B). |
| Transfer, Then Draw
[H] |
Split on the hidden first stage and weight each branch by its probability. |
| The Alternating Game
[H] |
Sum the geometric series over full rounds, or use one self-referential equation. |
| Indicators on a Permutation
[H] |
Add the probabilities of the individual events; linearity ignores dependence. |
| Expected Adjacent Pairs
[H] |
Each adjacent slot is a uniformly random unordered pair of the people. |
| Collecting Every Type
[H] |
Sum the expected waits for each new type: n/n + n/(n-1) + ... + n/1. |
| Expected Wait for a Pattern
[H] |
Set up one equation per state and solve; a single success waits 1/p flips. |
| Expectation of a Maximum
[H] |
For a non-negative integer variable, E[X] equals the sum of P(X >= k). |
| Two Random Points on a Segment
[H] |
Two uniform points are one uniform point in a square; probability is area. |
| The Meeting Problem
[H] |
The two arrival times form a uniform point in a square; meeting is a band. |
| Breaking a Stick
[H] |
Cut points (x,y) fill a unit square; each piece condition is a triangle. |
| Uniform Points on a Disk
[H] |
On a disk, probability scales with area, so it scales with radius squared. |
| Random Coefficients, Real Roots
[H] |
Real roots means the discriminant is non-negative; count lattice pairs. |
| A Bug on the Vertices
[H] |
Collapse the vertices into two states and iterate one recursion. |
| Biased Walk to Absorption
[H] |
For a biased walk, the hitting probability is a geometric ratio, not linear. |
| Forbidden Runs by Recursion
[H] |
Count admissible strings by their last letter; Fibonacci counts no-two-heads. |
| Expected Steps to Absorption
[H] |
Expected absorption time for a fair walk on 0..N from k is k(N-k). |
| Returning on a Cycle
[H] |
Track the full distribution over the cycle one step at a time. |
| The General Term
[H] |
Write the general term, set its exponent to the target, and solve for k. |
| Weighted Binomial Sums
[H] |
Differentiate or integrate the binomial theorem, or use k·C(n,k) = n·C(n-1,k-1). |
| Alternating Binomial Sums
[H] |
A partial alternating row sum collapses to a single entry one row up. |
| Vandermonde's Identity
[H] |
Splitting a committee across two groups gives C(m,k)C(n,r-k) summing to C(m+n,r). |
| Equal Heads and Tails
[H] |
Split the outcomes into more heads, more tails, and the tie, then use symmetry. |
| Roots of Unity Filter
[H] |
Averaging a generating function over the d-th roots of unity keeps one residue class. |
| Sums Over Roots of Unity
[H] |
The n-th roots of unity are the roots of z^n - 1, so their symmetric sums are known. |
| Distances in a Regular Polygon
[H] |
Place the vertices at R times the n-th roots of unity and read the algebra off. |
| Pairing Terms by Symmetry
[H] |
When f(x) + f(1-x) is constant, pair the terms from the two ends. |
| Telescoping Products
[H] |
Factor each term so consecutive numerators and denominators cancel. |
| Partial Fractions That Telescope
[H] |
Split each term into differences so all but the boundary terms cancel. |
| Telescoping with Radicals
[H] |
Rationalize each term so it becomes a difference of consecutive roots. |
| Telescoping Logarithms
[H] |
A sum of logs is the log of a product, and the product telescopes. |
| The Blackboard Invariant
[H] |
Find a quantity every move preserves; it decides the final state. |
| Reachability by Invariant
[H] |
Differences of the counts modulo 3 are unchanged by every meeting. |
| Splitting Piles and Monovariants
[H] |
A quantity that changes by a fixed amount each move settles the outcome. |
| Maximum Product, Fixed Sum
[H] |
Split a fixed sum into 3s, replacing one 3 by two 2s when the remainder is 1. |
| The Largest Admissible Subset
[H] |
Split the set into chains, then take alternate elements of each chain. |
| Clock Hands
[H] |
The minute hand gains 5.5 degrees per minute on the hour hand. |
| Calendar Arithmetic
[H] |
Days of the week repeat with period 7, so count elapsed days modulo 7. |
| Combined Work Rates
[H] |
Rates add; times do not, so convert every time to a rate first. |
| Average Speed
[H] |
Average speed is total distance over total time, a harmonic mean for equal distances. |