Junior Mathematical Olympiad

[clerkKent]

Does anyone have any experience of the UKMT Junior Mathematical Olymiad? DS (age 12) was entered by his school this year - he seemed rather tense for a few days beforehand, but has now gone on a school trip to Wales looking very relaxed.

I enjoyed doing the test paper and was able to help him prepare, but was not on top form as I was jetlagged.

ds did this earlier this week. He was the only one from his school to qualify (apparently for some years) and had to do it with the sixth formers doing A levels. He too was quite nervous - said it was much harder doing it with time pressure than doing the practise paper which he quite enjoyed. Says he made mistakes and hasn't done that well. He's not too worried though - he thinks he will do better next year (assuming he qualifies again).

Should have mentioned the whole challenge thing has reawoken his interest in maths. I understand that's the point of it - so I reckon it's a good thing for kids that aren't usually stretched in maths lessons.

snorkle, you've brought back memories there. 23 years ago I was the only one from my school to qualify for the second stage of the Olympiad (I don't think there was a junior one then) and I had to do it on my own, with no invigilator, in a little cubby-hole behind the Dance changing rooms. I had to pop out several times to ask everyone to change quietly as I was doing an exam!

All the best to everyone's DS/DD doing the Junior Mathematical Olympiad - I bet they've all done better than they're letting on...

I use to be in charge of entering students in the UKMT Maths Challenge when I was teaching.

The Junior Olympiad is a second round when a child does particularly well in the multiple choice questions paper i.e the challenge.

The paper contains 2 sections one containing A questions which are shortish and only require an answer. Section B contains wordy problems where full solutions i.e all working out, reasoning etc must be shown.

It's not really something that he can "revise" for as it's there to test his thinking skills. The mathematical content should be appropriate for his age.

Hope that helps and good luck!

mummyofeb, I don't agree that mathematical thinking skills can't be learnt. I taught a mathematical problem solving course once, and I think the students' skills did improve. I see the \link{http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0387961712/102-0791162-8904948?v=glance&n=283155\textbook} is still in print. Most of the book is probably a bit advanced for the Junior Mathematical Olympiad though!

I think that the problem solving skills are always "there" but not always used in bog standard maths lessons and I don't think you can train someone to have a certain type of mind.

I understand your point, I have been taught and have taught problem solving courses myself and I agree that it encourages one to use that part of the brain more. All I'm saying is that you don't need to learn about proving fermat's last theorem just because you're sitting a Junior Olympiad.

certainly nothing at all on the level of fermat!!!! The questions were quite clever I thought, using simple maths (no trig etc) but still needing thought and multiple steps to get to the answer. I think ds could have done better with practise though - he's never tackled problems like that before - writing out all the steps, explaining simple proofs and reasoning is all quite new - his first experience of real maths really. Practise would help, even if only with the speed that familiarity with a type of question brings.

Exactly, I think practise is the word and the more you use that part of your brain, the more it would occur to you to think like that iyswim.

DS answered 9 out of 10 in section A and attempted 3 questions in section B. He did not say much about it afterwards, but asked me about the A question he could not do. Apparently there is a Maths Olympiad club at the school (a grammar). They will go through the paper in detail next term. It seems to be the usual practice that if you are entered one year, then you can enter in all subsequent years.

I got him to write out a section B answer from a practice paper in full. He clearly has not been shown how to do this yet - the level of maths is above normal year 7. His explanation included a lot of text rather than logical steps, so I would be surprised if he gets high marks. I think the method is more important than the final answer in section B.

I am sure it is something that can be improved through practice. To some extent it can be taught, but it is more a question of introducing techniques than textbook learning.

Hallgerda, the book looks like something I would enjoy, but too advanced for DS.

clerkKent, I'm not too surprised - the book's directed towards the \link{http://www.unl.edu/amc/a-activities/a7-problems/putnam/\Putnam Exam}, and I taught problem solving to final year US undergraduates. It does have a handy little checklist of problem solving techniques in the first chapter:

Search for a pattern
Draw a figure
Formulate an equivalent problem
Modify the problem
Choose effective notation
Exploit symmetry
Divide into cases
Work backward
Argue by contradiction
Pursue parity
Consider extreme cases
Generalize

with copious worked examples, most of which would probably be at your level rather than your son's - there's bucketloads of calculus in there.

Before you buy it as light bedtime reading I should advise you that it does contain some dodgy bits - I have found an old margin note of mine on the principle of insufficient reason section saying "absolute, complete and utter crap!" That said, it's a helpful book on the whole.

clerkKent, surely they still have to achieve the cut-off mark in the qualifying round to enter next year? I guess it's likely that they will, being a year older and wiser and all that, but as far as I know the school can't enter them directly for the Olypiad - they have to qualify through the maths challenge.
Your son's school sounds much more switched into this than ours, with the clubs and going through the paper etc. Do they have a lot of able mathemeticians there? It wouldn't make sense to do all that for just one child.

I never got to the level of the Putnam exam; I stopped at A level. Perhaps I will leave the book off my Xmas list this year...

Hallgerda I think that book is beyond me too, but I'm still on the lookout for the "More Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions" that you recommended on the other thread. Thanks!

snorkle, I've got that one. I like many of Martin Gardner's books (see \link{http://www.ansible.co.uk/misc/mgardner.html\Martin Gardner books}).

Snorkle, just seen your last post. Yes, the school has specialist status in Maths and Computing. 45 Grade 'A' A levels last year (out of 63 entrants), compared to 2 for French. I have just seen that a pupil has been selected for the International Physics Olympiad as well.

I am sure they do have to be selected each year, but presumably if they have been in the Olympiad club they are very well prepared.

That is impressive! Do they select intake on maths ability or only on general ability? Our school is more focussed on music (which ds is also into, so that works well). Some people say maths and music go together.

Verbal Reasoning test, an English test and a Mathematics test. I have often heard of the maths/music link (but not in DS's case). The school site says "A thriving Music Department runs a number of various bands ranging from a string orchestra to a Latin band. The school choir also sings at a number of high profile events over the course of the year, and continues to build its reputation as one of the finest school choirs in the region." DS is in the local church choir, but failed the audition for the school choir.

I've always been a little suspicious of the maths-music link myself. I was a reasonably good mathematician at school, all largely forgotten now, but was thrown out of the school choir . I'm sure there is some correlation - but then again I think you will find a correlation between many types of ability.

clerkKent, the Maths. test for your son's school is pretty fiendish though, isn't it? (If I'm right in thinking it's the one my son's going to in September - and there's a spooky coincidence in the exam results if not - I was quite surprised by his description of some of the subject matter.) Thanks for the Martin Gardner link - I think there may be a few books listed there that I haven't got.

Hallgerda, I think you and dw (Fauve) may have discussed that before

snorkle, the maths/music link is probably something about recognising patterns. Ability in oen of them does not imply ability in the other, but there is an overlap.

Sounds like a great school for maths enthusiasts. Does your ds take after you on this Hallgerda?

I'm not sure, snorkle. He's doing pretty well at everything, so he has a choice. He's doing rather better at Maths. than I was at 11 - I remember my maths. teacher making my parents feel about six inches high over my sloppy habits when I was that age! I'm a non-musical child of musical parents, one of whom failed Maths. O'Level.

I think the Olympiads are great fun - I remember doing the science one at school (I was abroad and we didn't have a maths one at that stage). It really does awaken interest in those subjects.

I don't know how the maths/music thing works. I loved both (and those subjects were always the ones I did best in) but I inherited my love of maths from my father who is completely tone deaf .

Just goes to show you can't pigeon-hole people too young. Hope he enjoys his new school in September and makes the most of all the opportunities there.