In this article, we have listed 10 tips that will help you to clear Math Olympiad. This article has been written based on the exam pattern followed by the IMO committee. Students make the mistake of believing that the CBSE,10th board exam (mathematics) is an easy subject, compared to the other three subjects (sciences, social sciences, and arts).
Mathematics Olympiad or Math Olympiad is an international math tournament organized by the IMO and held every year in August–to September, where selected high school students from around the world take part in solving and explaining 4-5 problems in mathematics and written in the English language. It aims to recognize the creative thinking and problem-solving abilities of young people who take up mathematics as their profession and to motivate them to continue mathematical studies at the university level.
1) Know your concepts very well
Not only will you not get false marks in your exam, but you will also be able to solve all problems during your time management period. If you don’t understand a concept, refer to your textbooks and notes. If still nothing works, don’t go for shortcuts or watch youtube videos. Instead, keep on working on it until you understand it well enough to solve any problem on it in minimum time. This way at least there is little chance of getting false marks in olympiads and national level exams.
2) Practice plenty of problems
The most important thing you can do for yourself is practice as many problems as possible, over and over again. Make sure you don’t miss out on those questions which you got wrong previously. This is one of those situations where it might be good to find an online math tutor, so that they can go through your mistakes with you and help improve your skills. It’s also a good idea to look up explanations and tips on how other people managed to solve questions which you had difficulty with.
3) Use concept maps
Concept maps help organize your thoughts and break down each component of a math problem. For example, if you’re working on calculating area, you may break it down into 4 smaller concepts: perimeter (P), length (L), width (W), and area (A). The figure below will demonstrate how we can use concept maps for P × L = A
4) Learn from your mistakes
Mistakes are part of learning, so it’s important not to get disheartened by them. If you didn’t perform well in a particular chapter or topic, be sure you ask your teacher for help. They will be more than happy to go over problems with you and help you understand better.
5) Improve your speed by solving many questions each day
When you first begin solving math questions, it’s important to practice a lot. Solving a problem quickly requires not only an understanding of mathematics but also good strategy and speed. As your speed improves, your accuracy will likely improve as well. One tip for improving your speed is solving many problems every day for several days before each competition. In addition, writing down how long it takes you to solve a problem can help track your progress over time.
6) Stay positive even if you do not know answers initially
It’s important to stay positive even if you do not know the answers initially, especially for difficult questions. A bad attitude will only cloud your mind and distract your attention from other problems, so be careful with how you think. Try putting yourself in a calm situation, away from noise and distractions. Also, remember to take notes during each question so that you don’t miss out on an important idea.
7) Practice variety – timed, untimed and mixed
If you’re following a routine of solving a set amount of exercises every day, it’s a good idea to change it up with a variety of timed and untimed problems. Timed problems teach you how to solve them under pressure, while untimed problems allow you enough time for a thorough proofreading and ensuring that your work is flawless. Practice each kind separately and then switch between them as you see fit.
8) Try harder problems instead of moving on to easier questions
Practicing once in a while is not enough. Practice is required every day for at least 30 minutes. Solving math problems should be your daily exercise. Your brain should be used to solving these puzzles on a regular basis. If you solve math problems regularly, it will help you crack any other puzzle easily. Practicing once in a while is not enough. Practice is required every day for at least 30 minutes. Solving math sheets daily can give you desired results. Let’s get started with these useful tips!
9) Be regular with revision – solve math sheets daily
For a math Olympiad preparation, you need not only good teachers but also continuous revision of every topic. Solving sample papers daily is a must. Here, solving sample papers means solving one full paper daily for each chapter of your syllabus. Try to find as many similar problems as possible and solve them. This will improve your speed and accuracy too.
10) Learn from your mistakes so they do not repeat next time
Here are four signs that you’re not owning up. One of the most important things in solving competitive exams is that you learn from your mistakes. Each time you write an exam, some part of it will be wrong, some question you will not attempt or solve correctly. If you can quickly figure out why it happened and what caused it so that you do not repeat those same mistakes next time around. This is by far one of the most valuable lessons to clear competitive exams with flying colors, don’t miss out on learning from your past mistakes. The biggest challenge in clearing any exam is recognizing where you went wrong. What did you do? Why did it not work out for you? Taking feedback from your mistakes helps you improve every time. Please follow the link shown below
