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Now and then I work through problems on projecteuler.net without anything more than a basic calculator. I've gotten 17 of them so far (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 15, 17,

by mark-t 18y ago

Now and then I work through problems on projecteuler.net without anything more than a basic calculator. I've gotten 17 of them so far (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, 52, 63, 76, 164, 190, 191). Also, there are a bunch of contest problems on John Scholes's website: http://www.kalva.demon.co.uk/ http://www.kalva.demon.co.uk/ . It seems to be down at the moment, but I'm sure it'll be back soon. Of the contests I'm familiar with: AIME is for fairly advanced high school students (say, on average, one person per high school might take it, and most won't get any of them right) USAMO is a step up from AIME -- the top ~150 high school students in the US take it each year IMO is a step up from USAMO -- basically, don't even bother Putnam is an exam for US university students -- it's generally considered difficult, since the median score is usually 0, even among those willing to take it in the first place, but A1 and B1 are usually pretty easy on every test; I would say it's between AIME and USAMO

lacker 18y ago
USAMO and IMO problems are about the same difficulty. Try some of the easier ones first - they are in order of difficulty, so the first ones are generally easier. In general geometry is more likely to require specialized knowledge; go for the problems that sound "programmy". Putnam problems are about the same average level of difficulty but there is more of a gradient from A1-A6 and B1-B6.
- mark-t 18y ago
  I strongly disagree. USAMO problems range in difficulty quite a bit. I can solve some but certainly not all. Not so for IMO. And nowadays I generally solve all of the Putnam problems in the time allotted. By the way, the early years of the IMO were very easy, by today's standards (only a few countries were involved at that point). They would probably be approachable to people comfortable with the AIME problems.
ComputerGuru 18y ago
Add WYSE to the list - some really intriguing problems there.

by mark-t 18y ago

lacker 18y ago

USAMO and IMO problems are about the same difficulty. Try some of the easier ones first - they are in order of difficulty, so the first ones are generally easier. In general geometry is more likely to require specialized knowledge; go for the problems that sound "programmy". Putnam problems are about the same average level of difficulty but there is more of a gradient from A1-A6 and B1-B6.

mark-t 18y ago
I strongly disagree. USAMO problems range in difficulty quite a bit. I can solve some but certainly not all. Not so for IMO. And nowadays I generally solve all of the Putnam problems in the time allotted. By the way, the early years of the IMO were very easy, by today's standards (only a few countries were involved at that point). They would probably be approachable to people comfortable with the AIME problems.

ComputerGuru 18y ago

Add WYSE to the list - some really intriguing problems there.