lewelma Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Update in post 44. DS is turning in the math exam tomorrow. 20 pages of typed proofs. He is so proud of his Latex, and I will say that it does look very professional. The entire exam took about 40 hours of at-the-desk time, 20 of which was for the last one he solved (he solved 8 out of 10). He got the answer in 1 or 2 hours, but then it was a very long slog to get the proof. More than once over the last 10 days he told me that he had solved it, and then the next day he would come out and say nope, its all wrong and I've got to start again. But funny thing was he never got upset. He just would scrap the 6-hour idea that he had been working on for 2 days and move on to something else. Crazy really, but also kind of cool. He's feeling pretty confident, but his focus is really at this point on the BMO and Squad exam. By the squad exam in January, he will have gone up a level in all 4 subjects since last year: algebra, number theory, combinatorics, and geometry. :huh: He has worked very very hard this year and I hope it pays off. Friday he goes tramping to the Ruapehu Rim Crater.... in the snow. Last time it erupted was 1995, :eek: so cross your fingers. It will be a nice break from a month of quite a bit of math including the last week of 'challengers' in the Algebra 3 class (wow, they are not kidding about challenging.), his intermediate combinatorics class, and an additional 15ish hours a week for the math exam. He definitely needs the break! Here are some photos. Hopefully linked in the correct way!!! in the snow erupting!!! This mama is running nervous, but hoping it will be an excellent adventure and a great stress reliever. This math thing is tiring! Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Fingers crossed! I am so glad your son has found his passion and is able to openly pursue it. Good for him! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Well done to your son. Ruapehu won't erupt without at least some warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Well done, and congratulations. And I'll keep my fingers crossed for no rumbles from the volcano! My DD was fascinated with volcanos and wanted to live in Hawaii until she found out that she could have volcanos, but not snakes there. Snakes won, but If she realizes that she can have both in New Zealand (not to mention tuatara), I may get a strong push to move! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Good luck to you son, Ruth!! I fully expect to hear good news about his results in the near future. Loving your descriptions of how he works on proofs. Sounds like he finds the tough ones energizing, not tiring! And yeah, the algebra 3 online class challengers are really something else. Hey, wait a minute...I think dd substitute taught that class once over the summer. Maybe his section? It was her practice run before she was given a first class of her own. Gorgeous photos! What a beautiful country. :001_smile: Looks like a refreshing hike after slogging through a humid VA summer. Hard to imagine that it's winter in your corner of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Well done, and congratulations. And I'll keep my fingers crossed for no rumbles from the volcano! My DD was fascinated with volcanos and wanted to live in Hawaii until she found out that she could have volcanos, but not snakes there. Snakes won, but If she realizes that she can have both in New Zealand (not to mention tuatara), I may get a strong push to move! We don't have snakes - not even in zoos. We have some nice lizards and eels plus lots of strange birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Congrats and good luck to him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 It took 5 hours today to tidy it up and have him agree to call it done. :willy_nilly: Reading over everything, proofing the equations, drawing the diagrams (twice, because the first time he did them all on one page front and back rather than with each proof), filling in the forms, putting his name on everything, etc. At then the very last moment he decides that the really long involved proof has a hole in it that must be patched. So 2 more hours of work. That proof is now 3 pages long single spaced and typed! :001_huh: Somehow I am guessing that there is a shorter way. :tongue_smilie: Thanks for everyone's kinds words. This has been a difficult week for me trying to get him to *finish* it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avilma Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Would you mind sharing which problem took 3 pages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyGirl Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Fingers crossed and congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Good luck to your son! I bet he will make some big strides in the one year of intense studying. Besides working through all the math problems, I am impressed that your son has learned and uses Latex. Hope he enjoys his trek to the crater! Looks beautiful up there. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horsellian Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I am impressed that your son has learned and uses Latex. Agreed - I took a maths degree and tried latex, but decided it was quicker to write everything out on paper, even if that included making a neat copy to hand in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 :hurray: :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 yay your son! How long until you hear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 We hear in a month. He might have a shot at getting into the seniors this year. But we're not holding our breadth. I really thought that he could have solved the 9th problem, but he was so intent on making the 8th one air tight that he ran out of both time an energy for any more. Would you mind sharing which problem took 3 pages? I thought about putting it up yesterday but decided that it would be impossible to not want to discuss it, and of course that is against the rules. So I'll post it on the 24 Sept, when the submissions are due. It was quite fascinating to have a question where the answer was so easy to get but making an airtight proof was so very hard. How do mathematicians create such things?!?! I am impressed that your son has learned and uses Latex. Agreed - I took a maths degree and tried latex, but decided it was quicker to write everything out on paper, even if that included making a neat copy to hand in! The kids in AoPS really encourage each other. During class, DS will squeal and when I ask him what-in-the-world is going on, he will say "I can't believe xxx can get his answer in before me AND typeset in it latex". So he feels this friendly rivalry. He told me that at this point he is almost as fast typesetting as writing a neat copy. And he is pretty fast. Plus, of course, you can then *edit* so easily. So for each new class he takes, he just memorizes the new typesetting commands required for that kind of math. He has really enjoyed the learning process and the professional output that it has given him. He has been writing/typesetting 2-4 proofs a week since December last year. +++++ This morning I wake up to find a note on the kitchen bench: "Please wait so I can read my proofs one more time." :closedeyes: (that's as close as I can get to an awww sweety face.)They were in my dh's bag and ready to be mailed. I think he just needed to hold them one more time, love them, reassure himself. He did. We put them back in the bag. And he got back into bed. He is currently reading the Book Thief, perhaps all day. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thank you for sharing and letting us follow along. It is really cool to hear how excited your ds is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Some of those problems are really cute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Blizzard. Yes, there is going to be a blizzard this weekend on the volcano. :crying: The trip has been cancelled. On the good side, ds can now be in his string group's concert on Saturday! So not all has been lost. Plus, his good friend is still flying in, but just not for tramping. I think they are planning to build a trebuchet. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Ruth, just sending a belated congrats to your son. What a fantastic effort! I would so like to meet you and your kids, you all sound like amazing people!!! :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 The results are in. He got in again! :party: The problem he spent 20 hours on, he got wrong! Well, half wrong. DH and I spent a miserable weekend worrying because the invites were supposed to go out last Friday, and we had not heard. We did not want to tell ds, so we just kept it to ourselves and worried. I started to think because he wrote it in Latex rather than by hand, that the committee might think that *I* had done the work (which would be a major laugh). Then dh thought perhaps he had not got a 'yes' or 'no' e-mail because he was on the wait list. We had lots of nail biting over here. But the committee was just late! BMO is in November, and he hopes to do better than last year's score of 1. They use the BMO results to help decide on the 12-member squad, so it is worth ds's time to do a practice test or two. Here's the problem that required such a long proof: (well, a long proof to prove the wrong thing. :001_smile: ) Michael wants to arrange a doubles tennis tournament among his friends. However, hehas some peculiar conditions: the total number of matches should equal the total numberof players, and every pair of friends should play as either teammates or opponents in atleast one match. The number of players in a single match is four. What is the largestnumber of people who can take part in such a tournament? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakpak Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Congratulations!! I'm sure you're all so proud and relieved :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 :party: How good to hear; I was just wondering about his results last night. Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Congratulations! That's wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Great! L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 :cheers2: Yay for you both!! Congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 YAY! Congrats to you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I missed this thread...we were moving at the time. So glad he got in Ruth. But more than anything, so proud of him for working so hard and persevering through all those hours. What a kid! He is amazing! And has such an amazingly supportive family too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Congratulations!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mukmuk Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Congratulations!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1053 Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Fantastic news! Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 Thanks everyone for the support! My ds said to me yesterday, 'I wish there was someone I could tell.' This is just not a math country, and no one that we know has ever even heard of the Olympiad program. Sigh. We told his grandparents instead. Don't you love grandparents! The BMO is the British Math Olympiad, it is roughly equivalent to the USAMO, which is why ds at age 13 scored a 1!!! NZ does not have the population size to focus only on the older kids. Instead, they work to identify the younger ones and train them up. So we were reassured that it would be ok if he bombed the BMO last year; they just wanted all the camp kids to take it, and they did. If he gets into the training squad of 12, he will get weekly sessions with a university professor for the 4 months leading up to the IMO, which would be awesome! The BMO and the Squad exam on the last day of camp are the two exams that determine who gets in the squad. Last year there were 11 from Auckland and 1 from Wellington. So the kid in Wellington missed out on the camaraderie of the group sessions in Auckland, but did have one on one with the Wellington professor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 Congratulations. What is BMO? Your DS should think about what went wrong with this problem. The easy part is showing there is a maximum possible number n of players, by a simple counting argument. Then the tricky part is finding whether or not there actually exists a solution with this n. As it turns out there is, and it can be nicely described and quickly proved with a bit of number theory. It appears that your DS tried to prove it did not exist (so then you'd have to go to a smaller n). The problem with this, apart from being wrong, is that in mathematics, it is often much easier to show that something exists, simply by demonstrating an example, than it is to to show that something does not exist, because the latter (if true) may often involve a lengthy complicated case analysis to show you've exhausted every possibility. As test taking strategy, your DS perhaps could have wondered if they'd really ask a question with such a lengthy case analysis. Once he realized that a certain type of mathematical object was being sought, he might have guessed that one really does exist, rather than trying to prove it doesn't. In open research, there's no guarantee how it will work out (e.g. trying to figure if a certain kind of thing exists or not) but in this context, it appears that the question writer was aware of a certain mathematical object that exists, and made up a question whose solution is that object. We've been talking about test taking strategies. To do well on the BMO, he needs to develop some strategies, and I definitely feel at a loss as to how to help him. Somehow I don't think there is a book called 'how to ace the USAMO'. But I am also sure that there are some very effective methods that some teachers (like at Exeter) are using. So I am all ears if anyone can recommend some resources to help us. Here are some ideas that I have come up with so far: 1) He needs to have a pre-planned set of strategies to work through. He gave up on the geometry question (#9) because he ran out of ideas, but then when the solutions came out, he said 'oh, should have thought to try that.' We need to make some sort of lists of tools and have him memorize them. I remember all the tools from the Art and Craft of Problem Solving that we went through in 2014, so perhaps get that book out again. But I'm open to other approaches. 2) Given the above post, I started to wonder if it wouldn't be good for ds to see things from the other side, to actually try to create his own Olympiad problems in each of the different areas (algebra, number theory, geometry, combinatorics). So find a mathematical idea and build a word problem around it in such a way that the idea would be difficult to uncover. Seems like this might give him insight into going the other way. Clearly the WOOT will be good next year, but he chose not to do it this year because he had not yet taken PreCalc which is a prerequisite. Open to any suggestions of approaches or books/websites etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1053 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Your son's scores on Olympiads will increase over the years with growing experience and maturity. There's really no way to cram for these tests. Too much reviewing might lead to stress, which would just be counter-productive. Of course, the first year that my son qualified for the USAMO, I also thought that I needed to order some review materials for him. I bought some materials recommended by the AMC: booklets of worldwide olympiad problems with solutions & some of the Arbelos journals edited by Samuel Greitzer. There wasn't as much material on the internet a decade ago, so written material was the only way to go.Today the AoPS resource pages contain lots & lots of practice olympiads from around the world if you want that kind of practice. Frankly, my son didn't have tons of spare time to prepare for the USAMO during his busy school year. If I recall correctly, he worked through the slim geometry Arbelos booklet (geometry always seems to be the trickiest!) and that was that. I pointed out to him the copies of The Art & Craft of Problem Solving and Engel's Problem Solving Strategies (yikes, it's gone up in price a lot since then) on the bookshelf, but I doubt he did much with them. The USAMO is given in late April here, just before AP exams in early May, so it's a hectic season to say the least. He did at least read through The Elusive Formulas, our favorite 'review sheet' for higher math contests, which we found long ago when I was coaching MathCounts. Not to memorize stuff, but just to see what parts looked familiar and what might need refreshing. The geometry sections on that handout are quite nice. It might be fun and reassuring for your son to read Steve Olsen's Countdown someday soon, if he hasn't already. It follows the students on the USA's 2001 IMO team throughout their competition week, and gives some background on each of them. There are chapters focusing on the six attributes of a successful math Olympian: insight, competitiveness, talent, creativity, breadth, and a sense of wonder. It's fun for non-mathematical readers, but it also walks the reader through partial solutions to each problem on that year's IMO, one by each USA team member, given in some detail so you can see their thought processes. Very intriguing! Anyway, my son (older than your son at his first national written test) made a score of 11 with the preparation described above. Good, but not enough to advance past the USAMO level. That summer, he went happily to Mathcamp, which probably advanced his abilities as much as anything we did. Then the next school year, AoPS (relatively new at the time) offered an Olympiad Problem Solving class, the predecessor to their WOOT course. Other than that, ds took 'regular' math at home with me, using Marsden & Tromba's Vector Calculus course and started to read Apostol's Calculus volumes. He again qualified for USAMO, and again did not do any more focused study for the exam outside of the above. This time his score doubled by virtue of increased experience. He went to MOSP olympiad summer training camp, a wonderful experience, and continued with Mathcamp, too. His idea of a perfect summer... The next year, WOOT started, and he took that. Another friend of ours from Richmond did even better a couple of years later and made MOSP and honorable mention on the USAMO. We asked him what he thought helped him the most. His reply was that it certainly wasn't the classes at his gifted Governor's public high school, but probably two other things. The first was attending Promys camp the previous summer, and the second was working hard on the Mathcamp application problems that winter. Again, no special focused exam study (no time!), but certainly lots of hard problem-solving that was part of what he would have done anyway. Again, congrats to your son, and good luck on the BMO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinsomeCreek Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Congratulations! I really enjoy following your amazing family journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsutsie Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Excellent, congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Kathy, thanks so much for such a detailed response. The elusive formulas sheet is exactly what he has been looking for, and I have ordered Countdown. I so wish there were lengthy math camps here, that would be his dream come true. But it is so good to know that he just needs to keep doing what he does everyday - beat his head against a wall trying to solve problems that are too hard. :001_smile: Olympiad Geometry starts on Thursday, and he is excited about the challenge. As for the six attributes you mentioned, the one he has in spades is a sense of wonder. He is in love with a new website he has found for seeing inside Mandelbrot patterns. I let him just watch them slowly draw on his ten-year old computer while I read to him "They Say; I Say: Moves that Matter in Academic Writing." His kind of multitasking. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Your son is my newly 8 year old's new hero. He loves maths, and recently discovered the existence of the olympiad, which immediately made it a goal for him. When I told him there was a boy on here who had applied he is beyond excited for him, and wishes him the very best for the next step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Oh, I hope your son loves the Olympiad Geometry class! I just noticed that the instructor, Miles Edwards, is an old friend of my daughter's from her former travel math team days. I bet he'll be terrific! Your son might be interested in learning that when Miles was in high school not that long ago (taking AoPS classes himself!) he came up with a new and intriguing proof of Heron's Formula using complex numbers. He got quite a bit of positive attention for it at the time. :) He's also a serious cellist who studied in the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana U, turning down math studies at MIT for that choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 DS just called, and he got into the training squad of 12! Not only is he the youngest, he is also the tallest. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 DS just called, and he got into the training squad of 12! Not only is he the youngest, he is also the tallest. :D Congratulations!!! Does that mean he will be participating in the actual competition? How does the training squad work--I assume these kids are scattered around the country? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 They choose the team of 6 in April. I would assume he will not get on the team. The members of the squad meet weekly with a professor from the local university, but most of the kids are in Auckland so they meet as a group. I think there is another week long training camp. I am not sure how this is going to affect his very dense math plans this year; we may have to re-jig again! :willy_nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1053 Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 DS just called, and he got into the training squad of 12! Not only is he the youngest, he is also the tallest. :D Liking this isn't enough. I LOVE it!!! Made my day! Congratulations to you both!! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 :thumbup: How exciting and congratulations!!! You probably won't have to worry about re-jgging because he will learn so much while training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 :hurray: I'm so excited for him. It's been a long wait to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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