Training and Preparation

This page features all problems and possible solutions of the International Youth Math Challenge of previous years. The solutions are mostly example submission of outstanding participants.

General Information

Our team frequently receives the questions "How should I prepare for the competition?" and "What books would you recommend?". Following skills are required to solve the IYMC problems:

• Creativity and problem-solving skills.
• General mathematical knowledge (e.g. definitions).
• Scientific reading comprehension (i.e. pre-final round).
• Calculation skills without tools (i.e. final round).

There are multiple problems and questions in each round (qualification, pre-final, and final round) from a variety of mathematical areas:

• number theory
• calculus
• geometry
• statistics
• algebra
• combinatorics
• and more

Additionally, the pre-final round usually includes special-creativity problems which require you to read a scientific article. The final round can also have questions related to the problems (e.g. the scientific article) from the pre-final round and qualification round.

Book Recommendations

In general, all standard school or university books from your local region are useful and contain all information required to approach the problems. For reference, please have a look at the following list of scripts that address mathematical problem-solving in an intuitive and entertaining way:

• Terence Tao (2006). Solving Mathematical Problems: A Personal Perspective. OUP Oxford. View
• George Pólya (2015). How to Solve It: New Aspect of Mathematical Method. Pinc. Press. View
• Titu Andreescu (2003). Mathematical Olympiad Treasures. Birkhauser. View

Problems of 2019

Qualification Round	Qualification Round 2019 Example Solution #1 (Z. Xia) Example Solution #2 (B. P. Tra)
Pre-Final Round	Pre-Final Round 2019 Example Solution #1 (Z. Xia) Example Solution #2 (B. P. Tra)
Final Round	Final Round 2019 (Official) Solution

Problems of 2018

Qualification Round	Qualification Round 2018 Example Solution #1 (S. Manandhar) Example Solution #2 (R. Flores)
Pre-Final Round	Pre-Final Round 2018 Example Solution #1 (R. Flores) Example Solution #2 (N. Pohasii)
Final Round	Final Round 2018 (Official) Solution