MBM Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 (edited) Has anyone used IMACS (Institute for Mathematics and Computer Sciences) in middle school, junior high or high school? From what I understand, IMACS begins with logic and eventually allows advanced students to study the Elements of Mathematics series (Bourbaki) which I believe is geared more toward a graduate level of math? Would these be good texts to have on hand for someone who is very interested in math? We are going to keep on keepin' on with AoPS, but I'm thinking of adding Awesome Math Year-round or IMACS as well. http://www.eimacs.com/ http://awesomemath.org/year-round-program/ Any thoughts, comments? Edited April 11, 2011 by MBM added some links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 If I lived in an area where I could have my son (in later years) take IMACS courses, I probably would try it. I was in a program in middle school called MEGSSS that used the EM books - authored by Exner, Kaufman, Martin, Rade, Sterling as the main original authors. Same group that did the CSMP series. We used only Book 0 (all parts), 1 (Logic!) and 2 (Logic!). I bought the books from IMACS. Unfortunately, you can't get any ancillaries, so that does make some of the problems more difficult and it makes testing difficult. I do intend to use Book 0 through 2 with my son when we've finished Singapore PM series (or start some in Bk 5 or 6). Some of what I learned in 7th and 8th grade, I didn't see again until an undergraduate math degree (fields, rings, basics of group theory). The logic book is good mathematical logic. Once you're beyond Book 2, you're in an undergrad math degree IMO. I haven't looked too far beyond, but these books are serious math. I am unsure whether I'll use the IMACS books for high school or not. AoPS is tempting to me as well. If you do a search for IMACS or Elements of Mathematics, I'd posted some information a few years ago about the books, including a table of contents of one, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 If I lived in an area where I could have my son (in later years) take IMACS courses, I probably would try it. I was in a program in middle school called MEGSSS that used the EM books - authored by Exner, Kaufman, Martin, Rade, Sterling as the main original authors. Same group that did the CSMP series. We used only Book 0 (all parts), 1 (Logic!) and 2 (Logic!). I bought the books from IMACS. Unfortunately, you can't get any ancillaries, so that does make some of the problems more difficult and it makes testing difficult. I do intend to use Book 0 through 2 with my son when we've finished Singapore PM series (or start some in Bk 5 or 6). Some of what I learned in 7th and 8th grade, I didn't see again until an undergraduate math degree (fields, rings, basics of group theory). The logic book is good mathematical logic. Once you're beyond Book 2, you're in an undergrad math degree IMO. I haven't looked too far beyond, but these books are serious math. I am unsure whether I'll use the IMACS books for high school or not. AoPS is tempting to me as well. If you do a search for IMACS or Elements of Mathematics, I'd posted some information a few years ago about the books, including a table of contents of one, I think. Wow. Sounds like a wonderful set of texts. From what I understand -- which is little! -- Bourbaki is a name given to a group of mathematicians who wrote these books? Does this book look similar to what you have, Dana? If not, I'll contact IMACS directly. Amazon Elements of Mathematics Chapters 1-5 I have to stop procrastinating and mail my taxes, but later on I plan to look into this a little more. Thanks so much for the info, Dana! I really appreciate it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Wow. Sounds like a wonderful set of texts. From what I understand -- which is little! -- Bourbaki is a name given to a group of mathematicians who wrote these books? Does this book look similar to what you have, Dana? If not, I'll contact IMACS directly. Amazon Elements of Mathematics Chapters 1-5 I have to stop procrastinating and mail my taxes, but later on I plan to look into this a little more. Thanks so much for the info, Dana! I really appreciate it. :) No, the book you linked is different. I got an order form by emailing IMACS directly and bought the books through them. I had spent a couple years (seriously) looking for them in other forms, so I bought ALL the books!!!! :glare: No way will we get through them. I think I found one online that someone had scanned... think it's linked in this thread. (Wasn't finding it with google search.) Project MEGSSS (St Louis area) website is here. If you end up ordering the books from IMACS, I'd suggest Book 1 and 2 for logic (I didn't see logic again like this until undergrad math degree, but it sure made geometry easy!). Get what you want from Book 0, see what you think, and then buy other books later. I do feel that I had a really SOLID understanding of functions, graphs, transformations, slope of a line, multiplication by a scalar, and sets thanks to the series. I used it only in 7th and 8th grades, then we had a different teacher that didn't use the program anymore :( I've worked through Bk 0, Ch 1 & 2 and part of Ch 3 and part of Book 1 if you do get them and want to compare notes at any point. I am torn because these were excellent materials (and I spent so much on getting the books) but I also am very intrigued by AoPS - especially with more support for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onaclairadeluna Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 My son worked through several of the Book 0 chapters (I think 1-7) and Book 1 and 2. The lack of an answer key doesn't seem to bother him and he wants me to order more (I suppose I'll order 3 and 4 I guess). He kind of does these independently which is good because the material is tough and there is no answer key. He also has worked through all of the Intro AOPS books. I haven't seen too much overlap yet. Next year he will probably start Intermediate Probability and Counting too (that is his favorite). I think the two series complement each other pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 He also has worked through all of the Intro AOPS books. I haven't seen too much overlap yet. Next year he will probably start Intermediate Probability and Counting too (that is his favorite). I think the two series complement each other pretty well. That's good to know. I'm really intrigued by AoPS and want to get my hands on some. I think I'll grab the Prealgebra book that's coming out. I just don't seem to be able to get my son as enthusiastic about math as I wish he were. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onaclairadeluna Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 FWIW my son wasn't really excited about math until AOPS. If a kid has the math gene they will definitely bring out their inner geek. It's like watering a plant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Thanks for the opinion about the iMacs material. I'm going to have to get it. Sounds good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onaclairadeluna Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 One more thing about imacs books. If you have an older kid you might not need as many of the book 0 chapters. You might only need a couple to get a handle on their notation. You need the first one for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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