MOPSS

Study materials for Math Olympiad

• Available for download.
  • Algebra.
  • Combinatorics.
  • Geometry (to be posted soon).
  • Number Theory (to be posted soon).
  • IOQM.
• Students enrolled in 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th standard, or anyone interested may use the notes posted at the above links.

Participation of India in IMO, APMO, EGMO

For ease of reference, here is a brief overview of participation of India in IMO, APMO, EGMO in recent times, which relies on the information available at the following webpages, which are significantly more detailed.

• Team results at IMO,
• Results for India at APMO,
• India at EGMO.

If you (the reader!) are aware of these Olympiads, and would like to prepare for them, then you may wish to know about a few training programs.

Mathematics Olympiad Problem Solving Sessions (MOPSS)

Here is the flyer.

• The Department of Mathematics, IISER Bhopal, would be organizing a series of Mathematics Olympiad Problem Solving Sessions (MOPSS).
• The aim is to develop an interest in mathematics among the students by encouraging them to work on problems falling broadly within the scope of the Mathematical Olympiad.

• The plan for MOPSS is spread across the following 9 dates. The sessions will be held during 9:00am to 12:00pm at IISER Bhopal in person offline classroom meetings. The venue for these sessions is the Multimedia Classroom, on the first floor of the building AB1-B, at IISER Bhopal.

  3rd, 17th, 31st August, 2024.

  14th, 28th September, 2024.

  19th October, 2024.

  2nd, 16th, 30th November, 2024.

• A student will get the maximum benefit out of MOPSS if he/she attends all the above 9 sessions.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

• Will MOPSS be held offline or online?
  • As mentioned above, MOPSS will be held offline.
• What is the procedure to participate in these sessions?
  • By being present at the venue, a student may participate in MOPSS provided he/she has been selected for it.
• Will there be an online session for MOPSS apart from the in person classroom meetings?
  • No.
• Can one participate in some of the sessions of MOPSS if one cannot participate in all the sessions?
  • As stated above, a student, selected for participation in MOPSS, will get the maximum benefit out of MOPSS if he/she attends all the 9 sessions. However, if one cannot participate in all the sessions, and would like participate in the remaining, then one may join those sessions.
• Will refreshments be provided to the participants?
  • Yes.
• Are there any suggestions for the students living far from Bhopal?
  • The problem sets, that will be discussed in MOPSS, will also be posted online. Anyone may have a look at them, including the students living in Bhopal, or far from Bhopal.
• What are the fees for MOPSS?
  • MOPSS is free of cost. The only aim of MOPSS is to develop an interest in mathematics among the students by encouraging them to work on problems falling broadly within the scope of Mathematics Olympiad.

• Applications to be accepted until 21st July, 2024 through the Google form posted at this link.
• In the Google form, the link to this problem set has been provided. While filling in the form, the solutions to these problems (or the details of the progress made) are to be submitted.
• The students, selected for participation in the session, will be informed by the end of July, 2024.

• Please refer to the flyer for further information.
• For more information, you may write to
  • Jyoti Prakash Saha ( jpsaha@iiserb.ac.in),
  • Kartick Adhikari ( kartick@iiserb.ac.in),
  • Manas Kar ( manas@iiserb.ac.in).

Why math olympiads are a valuable experience for high schoolers

Admission to the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI)

To quote from the webpage of CMI regarding admissions (please refer to this page and any other relevant page for the precise and updated details),

Students with exceptionally good performance in the National Olympiads in Mathematics and Physics conducted by HBSCE and the Indian Computing Olympiad conducted by IARCS are exempted from writing the BSc entrance examination. Typically, the following categories of students qualify for direct admission:

• Students who have qualified for the International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC) or European Girls Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (EGMOTC) in Class 11 or Class 12.
• Students who have qualified for the Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in Physics in Class 11 or Class 12.
• Students who have qualified for the International Olympiad in Informatics Training Camp (IOITC), or have received a gold or silver medal at the Indian National Olympiad in Informatics (INOI) in Class 11 or Class 12.

Admission to the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)

To quote from the Prospectus 2024–25 of ISI (please refer to this page and any other relevant page for the precise and updated details),

The following applies to admissions in a particular academic year.

There is a separate provision for applicants of B.Stat.–B.Math. programmes who have been selected as INMO AWARDEES to participate in the International Mathematics Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC) in the years 2023 and 2024 based on their performance in the Indian National Mathematics Olympiad (INMO), conducted by the National Board of Higher Mathematics, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. The number of seats for INMO AWARDEES is supernumerary, subject to a maximum of 5 seats. There will be no Written Test, and the selection to these supernumerary seats will be based on interview.

Geoff Smith

is a British mathematician. He has been the leader of the UK IMO team during 2002–2010, 2013–2018, 2022. He has been awarded the IMO Golden Microphone thrice (during 2006, 2009, 2014).

He remarked the following in the foreword to the text Infinity by Hojoo Lee, Tom Lovering (he maintains a blog), and Cosmin Pohoata.

The nations which do consistently well at this competition (IMO) must have at least one (and probably at least two) of the following attributes:

• A large population.
• A significant proportion of its population in receipt of a good education.
• A well-organized training infrastructure to support mathematics competitions.
• A culture which values intellectual achievement.

Alternatively, you need a cloning facility and a relaxed regulatory framework.

Here is an excerpt from his Advice for young mathematicians.

From time to time I am approached by students interested in advice about becoming more effective contestants in mathematics olympiads. Here it is.

Do lots and lots, and then more, past papers. Begin with national mathematical olympiads, starting with the less difficult papers. Now, I am not going to risk insulting any countries by saying that their national maths olympiads are easy. Work it out for yourself. Countries which have small populations, and no great tradition of success in maths competitions, will generally have easier questions. When you become very good at those, then move on to hard national maths olympiad problems and the less demanding international competitions.

I am often approached by students from developing countries. Sometimes students complain that there is no satisfactory educational or training regime in my country. Please check that this is true! The IMO contact person in your country may tell you otherwise. In the worst case, where there is no competent organization providing free (or nearly free) assistance to young mathematicians, then you will have to help yourself. Try to locate other young people in your country who are interested in mathematics, and work together. Fortunately there is a vast collection of free resources on the internet: over 25 thousand past problems from maths competitions are available at the extensive Art of Problem Solving site, and if you explore, you will find discussions of solutions. Don’t look up the solutions too quickly (be prepared to spend many hours thinking about each problem). If you want to start on some problems which are less demanding than a full national maths olympiad, here are plenty of British Maths Olympiad round 1 problems. The round 2 problems are more challenging.