Why Olympiads? Working mathematiciansoftentell us that results in the ?eld are achievedafter long experience and a deep familiarity with mathematical objects, that progress is made slowly and collectively, and that ?ashes of inspiration are mere punctuation in periods of sustained effort. TheOlympiadenvironment, incontrast, demandsarelativelybriefperiodofintense concentration, asksforquickinsightsonspeci?coccasions, andrequiresaconcentrated but isolated effort. Yet we have foundthat participantsin mathematicsOlympiadshave...

This is the third volume of problems that cover the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) to be published by the MAA in its Problem Book series. The aims of the IMO are: to discover, encourage and challenge mathematically gifted young people in all countries; to foster friendships between mathematicians around the world; and to create an opportunity for the exchange of information on school syllabi and practice throughout the world. The USAMO and the Team Selection Test (TST) are the last two stages of the selection process leading to representing...

This book starts with simple arithmetic inequalities and builds to sophisticated inequality results such as the Cauchy-Schwarz and Chebyshev inequalities. Nothing beyond high school algebra is required of the student. The exposition is lean. Most of the learning occurs as the student engages in the problems posed in each chapter. And the learning is not ``linear''. The central topic of inequalities is linked to others in mathematics. Often these topics relate to much more than algebraic inequalities. There are also ``secret'' pathways through the book. Each chapter has a subtext, a theme...

The Mathematical Olympiad examinations, covering the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), have been published annually since 1976. This is the fourth volume in that series. The IMO is a world mathematics competition for high school students that takes place each year in a different country. Students from all over the world participate in this competition. These Olympiad style exams consist of several challenging essay-type problems. Although a correct and complete solution to an Olympiad problem often requires deep analysis and careful argument,...