Hexad - Handbook For Mathematical Olympiads

The Olympiads are not restricted to a specific grade; they allow students from class IX to XI to write the tests. In some cases, exceptionally strong class VIII students are also permitted to appear for the exams. Thus, the questions at the Olympiads are not bound to any set syllabus, and generally cover all aspects of mathematics that a bright high-school student should know. The material to be covered for these tests are often scattered over several classes, multiple books and some topics are not even taught in school as a part of the regular curriculum. We attempt at summarizing the broad topics that are required for taking the Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO) examination. The Mathematical Olympiads focus on six prime topics - Number Theory, Polynomials, Inequalities, Geometry, Combinatorics and a mixed bag of additional topics. In the RMO examination, the students are asked to solve around six problems as well, typically one from each topic. The preparation for this six-part examination should also be in six phases; hence the name of the book - 'hexad' - which means a group or set of six. The book has been organized in six main chapters, one each for the topics mentioned above. In addition, we have included some fundamental notions in the first chapter to build the foundation. It is imperative that the student readers study the first chapter thoroughly before moving on to the main topics.