A First Step to Mathematical Olympiad Problems (Mathematical Olympiad Series) [Paperback]

Derek Holton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2009 | ISBN-10: 9814273872 | ISBN-13: 978-9814273879

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is an annual international mathematics competition held for pre-collegiate students. It is also the oldest of the international science olympiads, and competition for places is particularly fierce. This book is an amalgamation of the first 8 of 15 booklets originally produced to guide students intending to contend for placement on their country's IMO team. The material contained in this book provides an introduction to the main mathematical topics covered in the IMO, which are: Combinatorics, Geometry and Number Theory. In addition, there is a special emphasis on how to approach unseen questions in Mathematics, and model the writing of proofs. Full answers are given to all questions. Though A First Step to Mathematical Olympiad Problems is written from the perspective of a mathematician, it is written in a way that makes it easily comprehensible to adolescents. This book is also a must-read for coaches and instructors of mathematical competitions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book continues the tradition making national and international mathematical competition problems available to a wider audience and is bound to appeal to anyone interested in mathematical problem solving. The reviewer recommends this book to all students curious about elementary mathematics and how to learn it through solving problems. Teachers would find this book to be a welcome resource for organizing their activities at a high level. --Zentralblatt MATH

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company (July 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9814273872
• ISBN-13: 978-9814273879
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #433,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good first step, February 20, 2010

By 

Math McMath "Math McMath" (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A First Step to Mathematical Olympiad Problems (Mathematical Olympiad Series) (Paperback)

The book is very good if you are new to the mathematical way of thinking of problems and solving them. The book contains many good problems, some hard, some easy, in order to prepare for math competitions. However, the number theory section is extremely easy, so if you are looking to prepare for number theory problems on IMO-level, you might want to pick up another book as well. The solutions to some problems in the book are not written down, so on some of the problems which you are unable to prove, the Solution section offers no help. Instead, the author has chosen to try to be funny, which ends in a fail if you are really looking to plow through the book picking up knowledge.

For those of you who have already bought the book: The first chapter may seem very hard at first, but don't worry, it is not representative for the level the rest of the chapters are on. The geometry was hard, but don't worry if you find the first chapter hard, just take your time and work through it to give yourself a good foundation to work on.

All in all it is a good book, but I only give it 4 stars for the reasons explained over, however, I don't know of any books which are better for you if you are just starting. Titu Andrescuu's books are a little harder, and you might want to start with this one then change over to Andrescuu's books.