Generally, the mere mention of the word “Mathematics” is enough to instill fear and hopelessness in children. It is often characterized by constantly flipping to-and-fro between the pages, trying to comprehend and solve those complex variables and equations, which can be quite exhausting. So what happens when a student has to prepare for an international level exam of the said subject?
Not to fret, all the information mentioned below can help you analyze and understand what this contest is all about-
Introduction to IMO:
International Mathematics Olympiad, also known as IMO, is a prominent mathematical competition held all over the globe. It originated in Romania in 1959 and has been conducted annually ever since. It is considered as a subsidiary of the International Science Olympiad (ISO), which is used as an umbrella term for the organization that conducts worldwide evaluation in various other fields.
There are 15 other internationally recognized Olympiads conducted by the ISO, namely-
- International Physics Olympiad
- International Chemistry Olympiad
- International Olympiad in Informatics(involves computer programming/coding)
- International Biology Olympiad
- International Philosophy Olympiad
- International Astronomy Olympiad
- International Geography Olympiad
- International Linguistics Olympiad
- International Junior Science Olympiad
- International Earth Science Olympiad
- International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics
- International History Olympiad
- International Medicine Olympiad
- International Economics Olympiad
- International Anthropology Olympiad
The ISO organizes these assessments in countries around the world. Each year, a host country is selected as per the Annual Regulations and General Regulations of the Olympiad. The host country takes overall responsibility for arranging the Olympiad. It also has to ensure that the arrangements support IMO’s aim and competition in the spirit of fair play.
Aims of IMO:
In its own words, IMO has described its aims as follows:
- To discover, encourage, and challenge mathematically gifted young people in all the countries.
- To foster friendly international relationships among mathematicians of all the countries.
- To create an opportunity for the exchange of information on school syllabuses and practices throughout the world.
- To promote mathematics in general.
IMO in India:
On a national level, the IMO is conducted by Science Olympiad Foundation(SOF). It was established in 1999 and has its headquarters in New Delhi, India. It is responsible for organizing Olympiads on behalf of ISO in India. The SOF officially acknowledges the following Olympiads on a national stage as well:
- National Cyber Olympiad(NCO)
- National Science Olympiad(NSO)
- International Mathematics Olympiad(IMO)
- International English Olympiad(IEO)
- International Commerce Olympiad(ICO)
- International Social Science Olympiad(ISSO)
- International General Knowledge Olympiad(IGKO)
How to Compete in the IMO?
Eligibility Criteria: Anyone from classes 1-12 and under the age of 20 years old can register themselves for SOF IMO.
Any schools can register themselves as a center for level 1 of IMO. The SOF does not additionally charge the institution for registration.
SOF holds the IMO exam on three dates for level 1. Each school can select any date for conducting the IMO as per its convenience. A separate set of question papers is given out to the students on each date of the exam. Once an exam date is selected, no changes are allowed.
Registration fee:
The registration fee for the Olympiad is Rs. 125 for Indian students.
Fees is exempted for students having some major form of physical disability or parent who was martyred in a defense operation.
There are two levels to the SOF International Mathematics Olympiad:
- Level 1:
- Participating Classes: 1-12
- Question Type: Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs)
- Exam duration: 1 hour(conducted in between school hours)
- The number of questions:
| For classes 1-4 | 35 |
| For classes 5-12 | 50 |
- Number of sections in the question paper: 4
| Section | Name |
| 1 | Logical Reasoning |
| 2 | Mathematical Reasoning |
| 3 | Everyday Mathematics |
| 4 | Achievers Section |
- Medium of the test: English
- Syllabus followed: CBSE, ISC/ICSE, and State Board.
- Level 2:
- Participating classes : 3-12
The criteria for qualifying for the second round are:
- School Level: Must be a class topper in a class of at least 10 students that appeared in the exam and have scored 50% of the qualifying marks.
- Zone/State Level: Should be in the top 25 rank holders from his/her class and zone.
- International Level: Should be the top 5% candidates, in order of class, who appeared for Level 1 on the international stage.
But knowing the process in itself is not enough. One should also possess the right study material to compete in this exam. The concepts tested through this exam are given below:
| Section | Concepts/Chapters |
| 1 | Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning |
| 2 | Squares and Square Roots, Cubes and Cube Roots, Rational Numbers, Exponents and Powers, Algebraic Expressions and Identities, Comparing Quantities, Linear Equations in One Variable, Constructions, Playing with Numbers, Factorisation Mensuration, Visualising Solid Shapes, Understanding Quadrilaterals, Data Handling, Direct and Inverse Variations, Introduction to Graphs, |
| 3 | As per the syllabus of Mathematical Reasoning. |
| 4 | Higher Order Thinking Questions (HOTQ) whose syllabus as per Section 2 |
Marks Distribution for Classes 5-10:
The distribution of marks in the various sections of the question paper is given below:
| Section | Number Of Questions | Marks per question | Total Marks |
| Logical Reasoning | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Everyday Mathematics | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Achievers section | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| Grand Total | 35 | 40 |
Points to be noted:
- Questions of Level 1 will be 60% from the current class syllabus and 40% from the previous class syllabus i.e. Class-8 IMO exam will have 60% questions from the class 8 syllabus and 40% questions from the class 7 syllabus.
- Questions of Level 2 Olympiad exams will be from the current class syllabus.
- Questions in the last section will be from the current class syllabus.
For more information on the language and tone of the questions, one can always refer to IMO Class 8 Previous Year Paper 2015.
Conclusion:
Lastly, everyone needs to remember that this is just another exam. Even if a child does not perform satisfactorily enough, it does not mean the end of the world. Tell them not to be disheartened by these failures, for these are the hurdles that make you challenge yourself and accomplish even better results in the future.
