The British Mathematical Olympiad (BMO), a competition taken by almost 2,000 school pupils in the UK, featured today's puzzle.
The selection process for the British team at the International Mathematical Olympiad and the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad involves the top national maths contest for pre-university students.
One of the easier questions on last year's paper was today's. It was attempted by more than 90 per cent of entrants. Your serve.
The percentages of ping pong.
The two people played several games of table tennis. At five points during the day, he calculated the percentage of games played that he had won. The results of these calculations were not necessarily in that order.
What is the smallest number of games they played?
Here is a hint that wasn't given to the contestants. The first two games were won by Arun.
I will return to the UK at 5pm with the solution. NoSPOILERS!
The process that selects the UK's six-person team for the International Mathematical Olympiad and the four-person team for the European Girls Mathematical Olympiad is part of the BMO.
Despite its name, EGMO attracts teams from across the globe because of its aim to increase female participation in the world of math olympiads. The UK came 14th out of 57 countries that took part. The top ranked countries were USA,Peru, Australia, Romania and Bulgaria. Eleanor MacGillivray, a member of the UK team, was the highest scoring European contestant. Well done Eleanor!
The UK Mathematics Trust organizes many school maths contests. You can find more information at ukmt.org.uk.
On Mondays, I set a puzzle here. I always look for great puzzles. Email me if you would like to suggest one.
I'm the author of several books of puzzles, most recently the Language Lovers Puzzle Book. I give school talks about math and puzzles. Please contact your school if you are interested.
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