Math Out Loud: An Oral Olympiad Handbook (MSRI Mathematical Circles Library)

Description

Math Hour Olympiads is a non-standard method of training middle- and high-school students interested in mathematics where students spend several hours thinking about a few difficult and unusual problems. When a student solves a problem, the solution is presented orally to a pair of friendly judges. Discussing the solutions with the judges creates a personal and engaging mathematical experience for the students and introduces them to the true nature of mathematical proof and problem solving. This book recounts the authors' experiences from the first ten years of running a Math Hour Olympiad at the University of Washington in Seattle. The major part of the book is devoted to problem sets and detailed solutions, complemented by a practical guide for anyone who would like to organize an oral olympiad for students in their community. In the interest of fostering a greater awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and everyday life, MSRI and the AMS are publishing books in the Mathematical Circles Library series as a service to young people, their parents and teachers, and the mathematics profession. Acknowledgments Chapter 1. What is an Oral Math Olympiad? 1.1. History of oral math olympiads 1.2. Bringing oral olympiads to Seattle 1.3. How to use this book Part 1. Problems and Solutions Chapter 2. Problem Sets from the UW Math Hour Olympiad 2.1. 2010 Olympiad 2.2. 2011 Olympiad 2.3. 2012 Olympiad 2.4. 2013 Olympiad 2.5. 2014 Olympiad 2.6. 2015 Olympiad 2.7. 2016 Olympiad 2.8. 2017 Olympiad 2.9. 2018 Olympiad 2.10. 2019 Olympiad Problem Index Chapter 3. Solutions 3.1. 2010 Olympiad 3.2. 2011 Olympiad 3.3. 2012 Olympiad 3.4. 2013 Olympiad 3.5. 2014 Olympiad 3.6. 2015 Olympiad 3.7. 2016 Olympiad 3.8. 2017 Olympiad 3.9. 2018 Olympiad 3.10. 2019 Olympiad Part 2. Organizing an Oral Math Olympiad Organizational Overview Chapter 4. Preparing for the Olympiad 4.1. The scientific committee 4.2. What makes a good (or bad) problem? 4.3. Judges 4.4. Advertising the olympiad 4.5. Pre-registration 4.6. Finding space to host the olympiad Chapter 5. The Day of the Olympiad 5.1. Registration 5.2. The opening ceremony 5.3. Scorekeeping 5.4. The morning judges’ meeting 5.5. Arbiter and expert judges 5.6. Backlogs and queueing issues: Carl’s cubes 5.7. Proctors 5.8. Determining winners and prizes 5.9. The closing ceremony Appendix A. Supplemental Material A.1. Sample correspondences A.2. Other documents A.3. Organizational checklist Appendix B. Greatest Hits Problem Sets B.1. Greatest hits: Grades 6–7 B.2. Greatest hits: Grades 8–10 Credits Bibliography