The Mathematical Olympiad examinations, covering the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), have been published annually since 1976 by the MAA American Mathematics Competitions. This is the fourth volume in that series published by the MAA in its Problem Book 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. The USAMO and the Team Selection Test are the last two stages of the process that lead to the selection of the team representing the USA in the IMO. Problems and solutions from both of these competitions are included in this volume.
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, the problems require no more than a solid background in high school mathematics coupled with a dose of mathematical ingenuity.
There are helpful hints provided for each of the problems. These hints often help lead the student to a solution of the problem. Complete solutions to each of the problems is also included, and many of the problems are presented together with a collection of remarkable solutions developed by the examination committees, contestants and experts, during or after the contest. For each problem with multiple solutions, some common crucial results are presented at the beginning of these solutions.