The Singapore Mathematical Olympiad is a mathematics competition organised by the Singapore Mathematical Society. It comprises three sections, Junior, Senior and Open, each of which is open to all pre-university students studying in Singapore who meet the age requirements for the particular section. The competition is held annually, and the first round of each section is usually held in late May or early June. The second round is usually held in late June or early July.
The Junior Section consists of 5 multiple-choice questions, each with five options, and 20 open-ended questions, geared towards Lower Secondary students. Topics tested include number theory, pattern recognition, geometry, simple combinatorics and algebra. Noticeably, trigonometry is not included as a test subject, because trigonometry is not included in the Lower Secondary mathematical curriculum. Beginning in 2006, a second round was added, based on the Senior Invitational Round, and consists of a 5-question, 3hour long essay/proof.
Senior Section
There are two rounds to the Senior Section: a written round and an invitational round. The exam in Round 1 consists of 5 multiple-choice questions, each with five options, and 20 open-ended questions. The Senior Test is geared towards Upper Secondary students, and topics tested include number theory, combinatorics, geometry, algebra, probability. The second round, the Senior Invitational Round consists of a 5-question, 4-hour long paper, with each question of varying difficulty. Only the top scorers of Round 1 are invited to take this test, and helps determine the individual rankings of the test takers.
Open Section
Similar to the Senior Section, there are also two rounds, the written round and the invitational round. The paper in Round 1 comprises 25 open-ended questions, and geared towards pre-university students. Topics tested include number theory, combinatorics, geometry, algebra, calculus , probability, but of a higher difficulty level than the Senior Section. The Open Invitational Round consists of a 5-question, 4.5-hour long paper, in which only the top scorers of Round 1 are invited to take. This test will help determine the individual rankings of the scorers, and in addition, it acts as a guideline to select Singaporean or Permanent Resident participants for the National Team training team, whereby a further six will then be selected for the International Mathematical Olympiad.
Prizes
As of 2006, in each of the Junior and Senior sections, prizes are awarded to the 30 individuals with the highest total scores in the first and special rounds, as well as to the 20 secondary schools with the highest team scores. The team score is computed by summing the three best scores from students of their school in the first round alone. In the Open section, prizes are similarly awarded to the top 30 individuals, as well as to the 10 institutions (secondary schools and junior colleges with the highest team scores from the first round. Effective 2012, however, school awards are also awarded based purely on the sum of the 3 highest scorers, including both the first and second round. The above prizes take the form of cash awards, certificates displaying the individual's/team's ranking, as well as trophies. Individuals who do not place in the top 30 may also receive gold, silver, bronze, honourable mentions or participation, in decreasing order of merit.
