You've had a chance to come listen to some interesting math talks, now it's your turn to come solve problems and talk about math! The annual Math Hour Open Olympiad, hosted by the Monthly Math Hour and the Northwest Academy of Sciences, is an individual oral math olympiad in the tradition of Russian math olympiads, which date back to the 1930s.
Due to the special format of this session, which emphasizes one-on-one communication between the participants and our team of volunteer mathematicians, we can only accommodate a limited number of students. The event is free but requires a pre-registration.
Online registration for 2013 is now closed due to full capacity.
The Olympiad is intended for middle/junior high school students, grades 6–10. If you are a highly motivated 5th grader ready for a high level middle school challenge, you are welcome to try it out. No other grades will be admitted.
This style of olympiad is likely to be quite different than any other type of mathematical contest you have experienced (such as MathCounts, Math Kangaroo, or Math is Cool).
Initially, students will be given a set of five problems to solve. There will be two levels of problems – one for 5th-7th graders, and another for 8th-10th graders.
This is an individual oral Olympiad. This means that when you solve a problem, you will discuss your solution with a judge. After you explain your answer, the judge will decide whether or not your solution is correct. If your solution is incomplete, the judge will help you understand why your solution is incomplete. At that point you will have an opportunity to continue to work on the problem, and try to present it again. Each student will have three attempts to present each problem to the judges.
Our judges are friendly mathematicians who have volunteered their time on a Sunday morning to talk about math with you. They want to be there, and they want to help you as you work on these problems.
After having solved three of the initial five problems, you will be given two additional harder problems.
The rules will be carefully explained on the day of the Olympiad, and any additional questions will be answered during the welcome ceremony.
What to Bring: First and foremost, be sure to bring scratch paper and pencils. Secondly, you will be working on math problems for three hours, which ends up being a rather exhausting endeavor. Be sure to bring a snack and drink to keep your brain going. We do not know about anyone's allergies! Please do not bring any snacks with nuts! If you would like to bring a simple scientific calculator, you are free to do so, but you shouldn't need one.
| 9:30–9:45: | Registration in SAV 260 |
| 9:45–10:00: | Welcome ceremony |
| 10:00–1:00: | Problem solving time for students |
| 1:00–1:30: | Break + pizza! |
| 1:30–2:30: | Explanation of solutions |
| 2:30–3:00: | Award ceremony |
Please arrive promptly by 9:30 AM. Registration and the welcome ceremony will take place in SAV 260.
Parents are welcome to wait in Room 260 while students are working on the problems.
The Olympiad ends at 1 PM, and parents should plan to return to Savery Hall at this point. Students and parents are invited to join us for a pizza break.
The Olympiad will conclude with an award ceremony for all participants and an explanation of the solutions.
This event would not have been possible without the dedicated support and time given by our volunteers!
We gratefully acknowledge the generous help and support from the Northwest Academy of Sciences. This event is partially supported by NSF grant DMS-0953011.