A Friendly Mathematics Competition

The Mathematical Olympiad examinations, covering the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), have been published annually by the MAA American Mathematics Competitions since 1976. The IMO is the world mathematics championship for high school students. It takes place annually in a different country. The IMO competitions help to discover, encourage and challenge mathematically gifted young people all over the world. The USAMO and the Team Selection Test (TST) are the last two stages of the selection process leading to representing the United States of America in the IMO. The preceding examinations are the AMC 10 or AMC 12 and the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). Participation in the AIME, USAMO, and the TST is by invitation only, based on performance in the preceding exams of the sequence. Through the AMC contests and the IMO, young gifted mathematicians are identified and recognized while they are still in secondary school. Participation in these competitions provides them with the chance to measure themselves against other exceptional students from all over the world. Editors, Andreescu and Feng provide remarkable solutions developed by the examination committees, contestants, and experts, during or after the contests. They also provide a detailed report of the 1995-2000 USAMO/IMO results, and a comprehensive guide to other materials emphasizing advanced problem-solving. This collection of excellent problems and beautiful solutions is a valuable companion for students who wish to develop their interest in mathematics outside the school curriculum and to deepen their knowledge of mathematics.

A Friendly Mathematics Competition tells the story of the Indiana College Mathematics Competition (ICMC) by presenting the problems, solutions, and results of the first 35 years of the ICMC. The ICMC was organized in reaction to the Putnam Exam - its problems were to be more representative of the undergraduate curriculum, and students could work on them in teams. Originally participation was originally restricted to the small, private colleges and universities of the state, but was later opened up to students from all of the schools in Indiana. The competition was quickly nicknamed the ""Friendly"" Competition because of its focus on solving mathematical problems, which brought faculty and students together, rather than on the competitive nature of winning. Organized by year, the problems and solutions in this volume present an excellent archive of information about what has been expected of an undergraduate mathematics major over the past 35 years. With more than 245 problems and solutions, the book is also a must buy for faculty and students interested in problem-solving. The index of problems lists problems in: Algebraic Structures; Analytic Geometry, Arclength, Binomial Coefficients, Derangements, Differentiation, Differential Equations, Diophantine Equations, Enumeration, Field and Ring Theory, Fibonacci Sequences, Finite Sums, Fundamental Theorem of Calculus Geometry, Group Theory, Inequalities, Infinite Series, Integration, Limit Evaluation, Logic, Matrix Algebra, Maxima and Minima Problems, Multivariable Calculus, Number Theory, Permutations, Probability, Polar Coordinates, Polynomials, Real Valued Functions Riemann Sums, Sequences, Systems of Equations, Statistics, Synthetic Geometry, Taylor Series, Trigonometry, and Volumes.