You are in class 9th and registered for the international maths olympiad exam. However, despite deep searching on the internet, you aren’t getting relevant and complete information for the exam, and it is creating problems in your preparation. 

However, in this article, your search will get complete. As in the article, we will talk about exam patterns, exam syllabus, methods to register, and much more. You just need to read the article till the end and all your doubts will be cleared regarding the IMO exam. 

Why give the IMO exam? 

The International Math Olympiad is not a school-mandated exam. Then the big question arises: why should one take this exam?

IMO is an international level examination that will assess your knowledge on a global scale. Not only that, but you’ll learn about your place in the state, zone, and even school.

As you are in 9th grade, you are just thinking about which subject to choose in the future, and the olympiad will help you with that. As you prepare for IMO, you will discover your aptitude for mathematics. As a result, it is strongly advised that everyone take the IMO exam and challenge themselves.

How to register for the exam? 

The first step is to register for the IMO exam. Due to Covid 19, they will allow you to register for the exam online and the school will provide you with a registration link. And if they don’t provide, you can ask them yourself. So, thoroughly Register for the exam, fill out the form step by step, and if you can’t fill it out on your own, get help from your parents, teachers, or someone else.

Maths Olympiad exam pattern

Knowing the exam pattern is very essential for the preparation for the exam. As if you don’t know how the exam will come, then you can’t score good marks on paper. 

So, the International maths olympiad comes in two levels as the first level is given by all the enrolled students. However, those who score well in the first level are given a chance to go for level 2.

Let’s understand the level-1 exam pattern in more detail.

Pattern for 5-10th class 

For class 5 to 10: 

The Logical Reasoning, Mathematical Reasoning, Everyday Mathematics, Achievers Section comes with 50 questions for 60 marks.

Marks distribution are as follows: 

• Logical reasoning- 15 questions, each carries 1 mark
• Mathematical Reasoning – 20 questions each carries 1 marks
• Everyday Mathematics – 10 questions each carries 1 mark
• Achievers Section – 5 questions each carries 3 marks

Exam pattern for level 2 exam

The same pattern is given for level 2 papers of IMO. The difficulty level of the IMO Level 2 Exam will be much higher than the IMO Level 1 Exam.

Essentiality criteria for level -2 exam

• Children in grades 3rd through 10th can take the IMO Level 2 Exam.
• Only students who pass the IMO Level 1 Exam and meet the following criteria are eligible to take the IMO Level 2 Exam.

The criteria for the selection of students for the level -2 exam are:  

• Top 5% of students in each class taking Level 1 exams. (The grades obtained in the various sections of the exam will be prioritized.) 
• The top 25 rangers in each class are within the zone. 
•  top performers in each class (including sections, if at least 10 students in each class are attending school).

Note

The Olympia Level 1  exam questions are based on 60% of the current syllabus and 40% of the previous syllabus. 

 For example, for 9th grade, the IMO exam consists of 60% of the questions in the Class 9 curriculum and 40% of the questions in the Class 10 curriculum.

Level-2 olympiad Questions will be from the current class schedule as it were. 

The inquiries in the ACHIEVERS SECTION might be from the current class schedule.

Syllabus of IMO

Maths olympiad syllabus is divided into four sections which include concepts from the present year, past years and some external chapters. We have compiled the syllabus from Class 9 IMO Question Paper 2013 to 2020.

Let’s look at each section syllabus one by one:  

Section – 1: It includes questions from Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Section – 2: It includes questions from Number Systems, Quadrilaterals, Heron’s Formula, Areas of Parallelograms and Triangles, Polynomials, Probability,  coordinate Geometry, Linear Equations in Two Variables, Introduction to Euclid’s Geometry, Lines and Angles, Triangles, Circles, Constructions, Surface Areas and Volumes, Statistics.

Section – 3: The curriculum in this section is based on mathematical thinking and a quantitative aptitude curriculum.

Section – 4: This section includes the questions having high order thinking skills. 

Books to follow for exam 

There are several practice books you can follow, however, stick to the limited number of books. As many books only lead to confusion. 

• The first book is your present year math NCERT as it contains several questions and approximately 60% of the paper will come from it.
• Solve the topics you find tougher from your past year class 8 maths books.
• Solve the olympiad book in detail as it will make you understand the concept and paper pattern.
• Solve at least 10 years past papers as it will tell you the level of your preparation and the weaker areas.

Quick Preparation tips

• Practice the complete olympiad book as it will provide you with a clear idea of the type of questions.
• Solve past year papers to know the level of the paper.
• Practice sample questions. 
• Work on Reasoning questions as not every school has reasoned in their curriculum.
• Never lose confidence. 
• Have faith in yourself.

Work on your weak concepts and try to strengthen them.

Conclusion

We arrived at the end of the article and discussed the topics like the reason for giving the IMO exam, how to register, the exam syllabus and pattern, books to read, and preparation tips.

And all of these points should have cleared up any confusion you had about the international mathematics Olympiad, and you should now be able to prepare for it with ease.