What Every Young Mathlete Should Know

 

 

           I. Vocabulary and Language

 

The following explains, defines, or lists some of the words that may be used by authors of the Olympiad problems. The definitions below are the official definitions for the Olympiad contests.

 

1.             Basic Terms

                Sum, difference, product, quotient, ratio, square of a number, factors of a number.  The value of a number is the simplest name for that number. "OR" is inclusive: "a or b" means "a or b or both."

            Division M      Square root of a number, cube of a number.

 

2.             Reading

                Read “1 + 2 + 3 + …”               as “one plus two plus three and so forth”.

            Read “1 + 2 + 3 + … + 10”        as “one plus two plus three and so forth up to ten.”

 

3.             Standard Form of a Number

                The standard form of a number refers to the form in which we usually write numbers (also called Hindu-Arabic numerals or positional notation).

            A digit is any one of the ten numerals 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Combinations of digits assigned place values are used to write all numbers. A number may be described by the number of digits it contains: 358 is a three-digit number. The “lead-digit” (leftmost digit) of a number is not counted as a digit if it is 0: 0358 is a three-digit number. Terminal zeros of a number are the zeros to the right of the last nonzero digit: 30,500 has two terminal zeros because to the right of the digit 5 there are two zeros.

 

4.             Sets of numbers

            Whole Numbers = {0, 1, 2, 3, … }

            Natural or Counting Numbers = {1, 2, 3, … }

            Division M    Integers = { …, –3, –2, –1, 0, +1, +2, +3, … }

            Division M    Negative numbers are all numbers less than zero.

                        Note: Negative numbers will appear only in Division M problems.

            Consecutive Numbers are natural numbers that differ by 1, such as 83, 84, 85, 86, and 87.

            Consecutive Even Numbers are multiples of 2 that differ by 2, such as 36, 38, 40, and 42.

            Consecutive Odd Numbers are nonmultiples of 2 that differ by 2, such as 57, 59, 61, and 63.

 

5.             Divisibility

            Let a and b be natural numbers. Then a is divisible by b if b divides a with zero remainder (or is equal to a natural number). In such instances b is called a factor of a, and a is called a multiple of b.

 

6.             Number Theory

a. A prime number is a natural number that has exactly two different factors, namely itself and 1. Note that 1 is not a prime number. Examples: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, …

b.  A composite number is a natural number which has more than two different factors, namely 1, itself, and at least one other factor. Thus, there are 3 categories of natural numbers: prime, composite, and 1. Examples:  4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, …

 

c.  A number is factored completely when it is expressed as a product of prime numbers.           Example: 144 = 2×2×2×2×3×3. It may also be written as 144 = 2⁴×3².

d.  The Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of two natural numbers is the largest natural number that divides each of the two given numbers with zero remainder. Example: GCF(12,18) = 6.

e.  If the GCF of two numbers is 1, then we say the numbers are relatively prime or co-prime.

f.  The Least Common Multiple (LCM) of two natural numbers is the smallest number that each of the given numbers divides with zero remainder.

     Example: LCM(12,18) = 36.

g.  Order of Operations. When computing the value of expressions involving two or more operations, the following priorities must be observed from left to right:

                        1) Do operations in parentheses, braces, or brackets,

            2) Do multiplication and division from left to right, and then

            3) Do addition and subtraction from left to right.

                        Example:             3 + 4 × 5 – 8 ÷ (9 – 7)

                                                = 3 + 4 × 5 – 8 ÷     2

                                                = 3 +   20   –    4

                                                = 19

 

7.             Fractions

a.  A common (or simple) fraction is a fraction in the form  where a and b are whole numbers and b cannot be 0.

b.  A unit fraction is a common fraction with numerator 1.

c.  A proper fraction is a common fraction in which a < b. Its value is between 0 and 1.

d.  An improper fraction is a common fraction in which a > b. Its value is 1 or greater than 1. A fraction whose denominator is 1 will be accepted in place of an integer.

e.  A complex fraction is a fraction whose numerator or denominator contains a fraction.

            Examples:           ^{, ,}

f.   The fraction is simplified ("in lowest terms") if a and b have no common factor other than 1 [GCF(a,b) = 1].

g.  Division M   A decimal or decimal fraction is a fraction whose denominator is a power of ten. The decimal is written using decimal point notation.

            Examples:  .7 =; .36, .005, 1.4

h.  Division M   A percent or percent fraction is a fraction whose denominator is 100, which is represented by the percent sign. Examples:  = 45%; 8%, 125%, 0.3%

 

8.             Statistics and Probability

                The average (arithmetic mean) of a set of N numbers is the sum of all N numbers divided by N. The mode of a set of numbers is the number listed most often. The median of an ordered set of numbers is the middle number if N is odd, or the mean of the two middle numbers if N is even.

            The probability of an event is a value between 0 and 1 inclusive that expresses how likely an event is to occur. It is often found by dividing the number of times an event does occur by the total number of times the event can possibly occur. Example:The probability of rolling an odd number on a die is or . Either or will be accepted as a correct probability.

 

 

 

9.             Geometry

            a. Angle: degree-measure.

            b. Kinds of angles: acute, right, obtuse, straight, reflex.

            c. Polygons:

            Triangles: acute, right, obtuse, scalene, isosceles, equilateral.

                        Note: an equilateral triangle is isosceles with all sides equal.

            Quadrilaterals: parallelogram, rectangle, square, trapezoid, rhombus.

                        Note: a square is a rectangle with all sides equal. It is also a rhombus with all angles equal in measure.

            Others: pentagon, hexagon, octagon, decagon, dodecagon, icosagon.

            Area: the number of unit squares contained in the interior of a region.

            Perimeter: the number of unit lengths in the boundary of a plane figure.

            Circumference: the perimeter of a circular region.

            Congruent figures: two or more plane figures whose corresponding sides and angles have the same measure.

            Similar figures:  two or more plane figures whose size may be different but whose shape is the same. Note: all squares are similar; all circles are similar.

Division M 

Geometric Solids: Rectangular Solid, Cube, Right Circular Cylinder.

Volume: the number of unit cubes contained in the interior of a solid.

Surface Area: the sum of the areas of all the faces of a geometric solid.

 

 

II.  Skills

 

1.         Computation

            The tools of arithmetic are needed for problem solving. Competency in the basic operations on whole numbers, fractions, and decimals is essential for success in problem solving at all levels. In Division M competency in basic operations on integers and signed numbers should be developed.

 

2.         Answers

            Unless otherwise specified in a problem, equivalent numbers or expressions should be accepted. For example, 3½, ⁷/₂, and 3.5 are equivalent.

            Units of measure generally are not required in answers but must be correct if given in an answer. Measures of area are usually written as square units, sq. units, or units². For example, square centimeters may be abbreviated as sq cm, or cm × cm, or cm². In Division M , cubic measures are treated in a like manner.

            After reading a problem, a wise procedure is to indicate the nature of the answer at the bottom of a worksheet before starting the work necessary for solution.

Examples: “A = ___, B = ___”; “The largest number is __”.

 

Another worthwhile device in practice sessions is to require the student to write the answer in a simple declarative sentence using the wording of the question itself. Example: “The average speed is 54 miles per hour.”  This device usually causes the student to reread the problem.

 

 

3.         Measurement

            The student should be familiar with units of measurement for time, length, area, and weight (and for Division M, volume) in English and metric systems. Within a system of measurement, the student should be able to convert from one unit to another.

 

III. Some Useful Theorems

 

1.         If a number is divisible by 2ⁿ, then the number formed by the last n digits of the given number is also divisible by 2ⁿ; and conversely.

            Example:          7,292,536 is divisible by 2 (or 2¹) because     6 is divisible by 2.

            Example:          7,292,536 is divisible by 4 (or 2²) because   36 is divisible by 4.

            Example:          7,292,536 is divisible by 8 (or 2³) because 536 is divisible by 8.

 

2.         If the sum of the digits of a number is divisible by 9, then the number is divisible by 9.

            If the sum of the digits of a number is divisible by 3, then the number is divisible by 3.

Example:   658,773 is divisible by 9 because 6+5+8+7+7+3 = 36 which is a multiple of 9.

Example:   323,745 is divisible by 3 because 3+2+3+7+4+5 = 24 which is a multiple of 3.

 

3.         A number is divisible by 5 if its units digit is 5 or 0.

 

4.         A number is divisible by 11 if the difference between the sum of the odd-place digits and the sum of the even-place digits is 0 or a multiple of 11.

       Example:    90,728 is divisible by 11 because   (9+7+8) – (0+2) = 24 – 2 = 22,

                        which is a multiple of 11.

 

5.             If A and B are natural numbers, then:   

                                (i) GCF(A,B)  ×  LCM(A,B)  =  A × B.

                                (ii) LCM(A,B)  =  (A × B)  ÷  GCF(A,B).

                                (iii) GCF(A,B)  =  (A × B)  ÷  LCM(A,B).

                Example:   If A = 9 and B = 12:  GCF(9,12)  =  3, LCM(9,12)  = 36, A × B = 9 × 12 =108.

                                                Then:  (i) 3 x 36  =  108;   (ii) 108 ÷ 3 = 36;   (iii) 108 ÷ 36 = 3.

 

6.             If p represents a prime number, then pⁿ has n+1 factors.

Example: 2×2×2×2×2 = 2⁵ has 6 factors which are  1, 2, 2×2, 2×2×2, 2×2×2×2, 2×2×2×2×2.

In exponential form, the factors are:  1, 2, 2², 2³, 2⁴, and 2⁵.

In standard form, the factors are: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32.

Notice that the factors of  2⁵ include 1 and 2⁵ itself.

 

                Problem: how many factors does 72 have?   

72 = 2×2×2×3×3 = 2³×3².

Since 2³ has 4 factors and 3² has 3 factors, 72 has 4×3 = 12 factors.

The factors may be obtained by multiplying any one of the factors of 2³ by any one of the factors of 3²:   (1, 2, 2², 2³) × (1, 3, 3²).

 

Written in order, the 12 factors are:  1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 72.

 

 

IV. SOME GENERAL Strategies for Problem Solving

 

                                Draw a picture or diagram               Make an organized list              

                                Solve a simpler problem                    Work backward

                                Find a pattern                                      Make a table

                                Guess, check and revise                     Use reasoning (logic)

Encourage students to guess, check, and revise when no other method presents itself. With time and practice, more efficient strategies should start to present themselves.

 

Thorough discussions of these and many other useful topics may be found in Creative Problem Solving in School Mathematics 2nd Edition and Math Olympiad Contest Problems for Elementary and Middle Schools.