APMO 2010 (Revealed)

My sister and I took the APMO today. We were told not to reveal anything about it, not the name, not the number of questions, how long is it, whether it is a test or not, and how many questions I did. The APMO is held at RI from 0800 to 1200, which is about geometry, number theory, combinatorics and algebra. We ate alot of food at RI. There are five questions in the test and we can only discuss the APMO 7 days later.

APMO - Asia Pacific Maths Olympiad

today - 9 March 2010

AIME I 2010

This morning I took the AIME I at NUS High Theatrette. I did 13 questions out of 15, but I may have made careless mistakes because I did not have time to check my answers.

I think this year's AIME is about as tough as AMC 12B. AMC 12B is considered tough because there is very little time (75 minutes for 25 questions). For AIME, we were given 3 hrs to do 15 questions. The questions were of course harder than AMC 12, but I did more percentage of questions in AIME than in AMC 12 since I was given more time to solve the problems. I would rather find the product of 2 10-digit numbers than find 100 products of 2 1-digit numbers.

Update on 21 March - answers for AIME I are found here. I think I have made 3 careless mistakes and got only 10 correct answers. I got the hardest question (#15) correct but the easiest question (#1) wrong :-(

**** 2010

My sister and I took the **** today. We were told not to reveal anything about it, not the name, not the number of questions, how long is it, whether it is a test or not, and how many questions * did. The **** is held at ** from **** to ****, which is about ********, ****** ******, ************* and *******. We ate alot of food at **. There are **** questions in the test/not test and we can only discuss the **** * day(s) later.

My sister will decrypt the above message 1 week later.

SIMO training

We did some combi questions today led by our new IMO gold medalist trainer from Bulgaria. His name is Vladimir Barzov, and he has won 3 gold medals in the IMO 2000 to 2002. He has an accent and his handwriting is sometimes hard to read. But at least he taught us, unlike some other trainers who just left us alone to do the pr0blems and then asked one of us to present it.

I heard that this year there will be two rounds of selection tests to select the IMO team, one in April and one in May. In previous years, there was only one selection test in May.

Year 3 Level Briefing to Parents

NUS High principal, Dr Hang, informed parents that there would be two new Major subjects introduced - Computing Studies and Economics. The current Year 3 students would be able to opt for these Majors when they are in Year 5 & 6. I think this is a good initiative by NUS High. At present the Major modules and Major with honours (advanced modules designed at university undergraduate level) are: Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology; Major modules only are: Geography, History, Music and Fine Arts. The new initiative provides more options for students who have passion in Computing Studies or Economics to further pursue their dreams.

Dr Hang also shared with us that for the first batch of 88 NUS High graduates ('08), all made it into the university with many having multiple offers from both local and overseas universities. Details on the university offers are here. Among those who have already enrolled in the university (i.e. 88 minus those who are currently serving National Service), about half chose local universities (the majority is predictably with NUS) while the rest opted for an overseas education.

As NUS High is affiliated with NUS, I think it would be good that eventually it can be a through-train from Year 1 to a bachelor's degree at NUS. This would likely make NUS High an even more attractive choice for top PSLE students, as currently IP schools only offer a through-train system from Sec 1 to JC2, and students have to take 'A' levels/IB before applying for the universities. There could also be a more seamless module acceleration not just within NUS High, but leading all the way to a degree course. It would make it easier for high-ability students to get double degrees or even Masters/Doctor's degrees in NUS, within a shorter timeframe.
(posted by LJ's mum)

Biology Field Trip

Last Saturday morning, the Year 3s went to Botanic Gardens for the General Botany Evolution Garden field trip. Below are the photos that my group has taken.

odontonema strictum, Firespike, Cardinal Guard, Scarlet Flame, Acanthaceae

polypodium 'green wave' polypodiaceae

cycas rumphii, paku laut, ceylon sago, cycadaceae

allamanda cathartica allamanda, yellow allamanda, apocynaceae

pinus merkusii, tenasserim pine, merkus pine, pinaceae

phymatosorus nigrescens (microsorum membranifolium), polypogiaceae

hibiscus rosa-sinensis, bunga raya, hibiscus, malvaceae

CNY 2010

Happy Chinese New Year 2010.

I played on the computer from 11.30 pm to 5.15 am yesterday. It is the only day in the whole year when I can play more than 1 hour. I should have played until 10 am but my sisters went to sleep before me, because they failed.

I got $316 of hong bao money.

We love to eat "Cake"

During the CMO, student reporters from Chongqing Nankai Middle School were attached to the various groups. The student reporter assigned to us wrote the above. The phrase in bold is translated: "Math is like a cake, we eat it once a week (refering to our national team training), no nutrition if we miss it for a week, we will grow fat if we eat too much, but we're not afraid of growing fat"

After the competition, Ivan was still holding on to the question papers, in deep thought trying to analyse the questions, oblivious to the surroundings.

Group Photo

Got this from the magazine given to us. Click for a larger photo of the entire group photo. Most of our team members are within the red circle, or somewhere nearby.

Got this photo from RI-JC website. From left: Ang Yan Sheng, Ryan Chan, Ivan Loh, Lee You Jin, me and Vincent Tjeng

Another 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube

I lost my camera on the way back from China to Singapore, so there are no photos from the CMO trip. The above cube (solving method is the same as 3x3x3 Rubik's cube) was bought in China at 15 RMB, which is about S$3.

Failed at CMO 2010

Most of the things in China failed. The food tasted horrible, the room was small, the room was cold and the excursion was prosaic. While the teachers stayed at a warm comfortable hotel room with power plugs and internet, we stayed in a hostel room without any power plug or internet cable. The water was freezing cold, the toilet was the squatting one and the shower was just above the squat toilet. The first dinner we had at the hostel was atrocious, so for the subsequent lunches and dinners, we ate outside.

I can only think of 1 good thing about China - the things are quite cheap.

The CMO questions were relatively easier than the IMO's, but since there was no coordination sessions which involved the team leader/observer to evaluate our solutions and to agree on marks awarded (IMO practice), we lost partial marks everywhere and got low marks. As a result the Singapore team did not perform very well, getting only 3 silver medals and 3 bronze medals. The silver medals were won by Ang Yan Sheng, Ivan Loh and Ryan Chan.

If I had another chance at CMO, I wouldn't want to go. I also heard that next year's CMO would be at a place with a temperature of -26 degrees celsius.

CMO 2010

I will be in Sichuan-Chongqing, China, from 20 to 25 January for the China Mathematical Olympiad 2010.

Itinerary:
20 Jan (Wed) - arrival
21 Jan (Thu) - opening ceremony
22 Jan (Fri) - 1st day of contest
23 Jan (Sat) - 2nd day of contest
24 Jan (Sun) - excursion / closing ceremony
25 Jan (Mon) - departure

I heard the temperature is 4 - 8 degrees celsius, which is freezing cold :-(

Modules in Year 3 Semester 1

This is a routine post at the beginning of each semester, about modules taken, from most-like to least-like or should I say, from hate-a-little to hate-a-lot ;-)

1. MA5106/5402 Calculus II and Calculus III (You know why)
2. CS3203 Basic Procedural Programming (You also know why, but I haven't started this elective module yet, I may rank this no. 1 and Maths no. 2)
3. PC3110 Mechanics (I think it is more maths than physics)
4. CM3107 Physical Chemistry 1A (It is more physics than chemistry)
5. FA3101 2D Design - Intermediate (The teacher is mundane)
6. ACE (I prefer just listening and not doing anything :-))
7. EL3103 Introduction to Expositions
8. CL3101 Chinese 3A
9. BL3105 General Botany
10. Da Vinci
11. PE

Timetable is rather packed this semester. Total 7 hrs of Math each week (though I can only join M10506 for 2.5 hrs due to timetable clash, and meet Mr Chia in the staff room at other times), 3 days end at 4 pm and 2 days end at 6 pm.

3D Pyramid Puzzle

Chance of Being Selected for IMO

In China, about 200,000 participants will take part in the national China Mathematical Competition held in October every year. Out of the 200,000 participants (and some more from CWMO and CGMO), eventually 6 will make it into the China IMO team. The chance is about 0.003%.

In Singapore, about 2,000 participants will take part in the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad (SMO) Open category each year (in exact figures, 1895 participants in 2007, 1945 participants in 2008 and 1877 participants in 2009 -statistics obtained from the Singapore Mathematical Society website). Out of these participants (and some more who have not taken part in SMO Open but are recommended to take the Open category Special Round), only 6 will make it into the Singapore IMO team. The chance is about 0.3% (only counting those who take part in the SMO Open, not the whole cohort!)

Therefore, it is 100 times harder to get into the China IMO team than to get into the Singapore IMO team! I won't be surprised if there are young Maths talents in China who may be able to beat Terence Tao's (Australian) record of being the youngest IMO Gold medalist (at 13) but unfortunately due to the stiff competition, they can't make it into the China IMO team (top 6) earlier!

Maths Olympiads in China

In China, every year in October, there is a national China Mathematical Competition, from which about 120 students are selected to join the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad (CMO), in January the following year. CMO lasts for five days, and the format and difficulty of the problems mirror those of the IMO - a 2-day competition where participants solve 3 problems each day in 4.5 hours. From CMO, about 20-30 students are selected to form a national training team.

Because of the differences in education and culture, Maths competitions in the Western part of China do not develop as fast as the eastern part. To promote Maths interest in the western China, the China Western Math Olympiad (CWMO) has been conducted since 2001, and the top 2 winners are invited to join the national training team.

From 1986 till a few years ago, the China team did not have any female trainee. To encourage more women to join the Maths competitions, since 2002, the China Girls Math Olympiad (CGMO) has been conducted to select female students gifted in Maths. Again, the top 2 winners are admitted directly into the national training team. The winner of CGMO 2007 joined the national training team in 2008 and she won a Gold medal for China in the 49th International Math Olympiad (IMO) held in 2009!

The China national training team undergoes intensive training and a 2-week Maths camp. After 6-8 tests, plus 2 qualifying examinations, 6 students are finally selected to form the national team, to take part in IMO in July that year. With a very huge pool of participants to select from, dedicated & experienced coachers, perservering & talented trainees and numerous stringent selection rounds, it's no wonder the China team has been doing very well in the IMO. Since 1985, China has taken part in the IMO 24 times (she missed the IMO held in Taiwan in 1998!) and has won the top ranking for countries 15 times!

Besides IMO, Singapore has also sent representatives to take part in the CMO, CWMO and CGMO. A team selected from our own national training team will participate in the CMO to be held in Chongqing, Sichuan, from 20-25 Jan 2010. The team comprises Vincent Tjeng (RI-JC), Ivan Loh (RI-JC), Lee You Jun (RI), Ryan Chan (NUSH), Ang Yan Sheng (NUSH) and I (NUSH). Our trainers cum teachers-in-charge Mr Lu and Mr Teo are also going. This trip is fully sponsored by MOE :-)

Hunter x Hunter

Hunter x Hunter is a nice and cool Japanese comic/anime! It is about Gon Freecss (the boy dressed in green), who one day discovers that the father he had always been told was dead is actually alive and well. He learns that his father, Ging Freecss, is a legendary, top-notch Hunter. The fishing rod (see picture) belongs to his father and is quite useful to Gon throughout his journey to look for his father.

Gon leaves home to take the Hunter qualification exam, where he meets Kurapika (the chain dude), Leorio (with tiny black specs) and Killua (white-haired). The four of them become good friends, while going through the grueling exam to get a Hunter license. Each year, less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the exam.

Kurapika has scalet eyes which are very powerful and will automatically surface when he is agitated. He wants to kill the Phantom Troupe for some reasons that are too long for me to narrate here. He looks like a girl but is a boy.

Leorio wants to be a doctor and loves money alot. He is kind of dumb and loves to shout and quarrel with Kurapika. He hates Tonpa, the Rookie Crusher, whom he met in the Hunter exam.

Killua is from a family of elite assassin. During the exam, he plucks a criminal's heart in a split second and crushes it. He says his skill is only elementary and that his father can take out the heart without any traces of blood. He is the only one of the four good friends to fail the exam in the final phase as he kills someone on impulse, agitated by his brother (Illumi)'s taunting remarks.

There are so many things to say about this story with its many fascinating characters (e.g. Hisoka the creepy magician, Illumi, Chairman Netero, Honzo the baldie etc) and unique storyline. So just go and watch or read it. It is really a very absorbing story. Even my mother is addicted to watching it. Of course that includes the 3 of us.

Above picture: Hunter x Hunter DVDs and comic books which we borrowed from the library. Each DVD has 5 episodes in it and each DVD box contains 3 DVDs. We had borrowed volume 1 and 2 from the library (the only 2 the library has) which totaled 30 episodes, from the beginning to the end of the Hunter Exam. That is from comic book 1 to half of book 5. But the DVDs have extra scenes that the comic book does not have. The library has up to book 25. The beginning (1st episode) is kind of boring but from the time when Gon begins to journey towards the venue of the Hunter exam, it gets very exciting and entertaining. When we went to Jurong Regional Library to borrow, initially we couldn't find the DVDs in the Young People DVD anime section where other anime such as Inuyasha and Naruto were located. But later we found the Hunter x Hunter DVDs in the Adult DVD section, which was kind of wierd!!

(posted by Lim Min)

Books from Australian Mathematics Trust

My mother exchanged the book vouchers which we won in the Australian Maths competition, for the above 3 books. The green one (Australian Maths Olympiad) is lousy. The solutions are too whacking, there are many errors and two of the questions are exactly the same (1982 & 1986). Buy it at your own risk.
The giant red ugly, hideous, with ridiculously simple questions and costly (if without voucher) book is for my younger sister.

A to Z Transformation

This palm drawing is done by my younger sister, Lim Li, the video is recorded by my older sister, Lim Min, and the video is uploaded to youtube by my mother.

Comic Books

If you can't find some comic books in the library, here is where they have gone to. My sisters wanted the Skip Beat comic books, not me. I only read Naruto and Case Closed. We have been reading comic books every day.