UK Senior Maths Challenge

I got 92 on the SMC and 12 in the BMO last year.... Well out of practice at that sort of test though...

Reply 24

apd35

sebbie

I got 92 on the SMC and 12 in the BMO last year.... Well out of practice at that sort of test though...

Don't worry about (seemingly) crap BMO marks, I did really badly in one of y12 or y11, I didn't get in on the other (despite getting over 10 in y10), then in y13 I got 25 in BMO 1 then somewhere between 2 qnd 4 on BMO2 and I'm now studying at Cambridge.

BMO 1 usually accepts the top 800 people based on SMC, then BMO 2, the top 100 based on both rounds, and also about 100 people receive a book based on their position in BMO1. Don't bother practicing for them it's a bit of fun, and nailing your A-levels (and AEAs and STEP if applicable) are far more important.

Reply 25

-G-a-v-

apd35

Don't bother practicing for them it's a bit of fun, and nailing your A-levels (and AEAs and STEP if applicable) are far more important.

Agreed. The SMC in particular is just meant to be an enjoyable 'quiz' rather than a formal maths exam. Preparation for it is next to useless other than to be used to the general format of it ie 25 multiple choice questions, 90 minutes, hard questions towards the end.

Reply 26

Speleo

7

speleo, didn't you do good-ish in BMO1 last year? or am i imagining that?

I somehow managed to get through to BMO2 (not top 100 though) where I got 2 marks D:
I was lucky, last year's BMO1 had an easy combinatorics question and an easy 'show that blah blah blah is divisible by 720' question, so I scraped through (23 IIRC). I am looking at BMO1 papers now and I haven't been able to do a single other question yet.

I guess I'm OK at it, I just find it much much harder than STEP or anything.

Oh, and to Cataclysm, I realised a couple minutes after I posted that you can write (1 and a half)(1 and a third)...(one and a 2005th) as (3/2)(4/3)...(2006/2005) and almost everything cancels to leave 2006/2

Reply 27

hungry_hog

Slightly OT - any truth in the rumour that IMO participants have STEP waived for Maths at Cam?

Rumour heard from a NatSci at Trinity

Reply 28

Sculler

5

hungry_hog

Slightly OT - any truth in the rumour that IMO participants have STEP waived for Maths at Cam?

Rumour heard from a NatSci at Trinity

Having spoken to the guy concerned, then in at least one case (and probably all of them), yes.

Reply 29

apd35

hungry_hog

Slightly OT - any truth in the rumour that IMO participants have STEP waived for Maths at Cam?

Rumour heard from a NatSci at Trinity

Proper IMO participants (as in the 6 who do it nationawide) quite often have A-level requirements waived, a friend of mine got an EE offer for Trinity, Cambridge, he came second in the year in the end of year exams last year. Anyone who gets to IMO would walk STEP anyway though.

Reply 30

nota bene

Link to more old IMO questions and some others... many different countries etc.

Reply 31

sebbie

apd35

Don't worry about (seemingly) crap BMO marks, I did really badly in one of y12 or y11, I didn't get in on the other (despite getting over 10 in y10), then in y13 I got 25 in BMO 1 then somewhere between 2 qnd 4 on BMO2 and I'm now studying at Cambridge.

BMO 1 usually accepts the top 800 people based on SMC, then BMO 2, the top 100 based on both rounds, and also about 100 people receive a book based on their position in BMO1. Don't bother practicing for them it's a bit of fun, and nailing your A-levels (and AEAs and STEP if applicable) are far more important.

Haha, I was actually pleased with my 12 marks!!!! (I was aiming for 10) The other person at my school who did it got 4, it is insanely difficult!

Reply 32

73337

18

I'm doin' this as well but I'm looking to it quite informally. :smile:

Reply 33

DoMakeSayThink

I'm going in for it as well, it's interesting. Other than in the intermediate challenge where I was entered in to round 1, I've never done better than gold. It's still good fun, though. :smile:

**EDIT** Gosh, what a horrible sentence that was. It needed changing. **/EDIT**

Reply 34

Chewwy

17

hungry_hog

Slightly OT - any truth in the rumour that IMO participants have STEP waived for Maths at Cam?

Rumour heard from a NatSci at Trinity

2 IMO team members from my school in recent years who went to cambridge (both trinity) had to take STEP..

Reply 35

vector

Some old ones here:

http://www.stepmaths.tk/

Reply 36

yusufu

Cataclysm

Thanks for your help, I think I just about understood that, I'll ask my Maths teacher for further help and past papers. :smile:

Rewrite the expression as:
3/2.4/3.5/4.6/5...2004/2003.2005/2004.2006/2005

Cancelling terms yields the answer.

Reply 37

yusufu

chewwy

2 IMO team members from my school in recent years who went to cambridge (both trinity) had to take STEP..

A trinity mathmo was telling me about this. They only have STEP waived if they have some sort of certificate (IIRC) before the interview cycle.
I may have misremembered this fact, so don't quote me on it.

Reply 38

apd35

sebbie

Haha, I was actually pleased with my 12 marks!!!! (I was aiming for 10) The other person at my school who did it got 4, it is insanely difficult!

I know I've already told you in a PM, I thought I'd explain publicly. Most people doing BMO1 probably used to getting 90+% in every test they do, so 25% is a lot less than average for them. However the papers are really hard and getting even 5 marks is a good achievement, especially before your upper sixth year.

Reply 39

yusufu