Mandelbrot

The Mandelbrot Competition is one of the best round by round high school math competitions in the United States, praised for its challenging and unique problems and its emphasis on group problem solving in the team round. The test is administered four times during the school year.

The Mandelbrot offers two levels of competitions: regional and national. The regional level is suitable for most students enrolled in Algebra II (precalculus?) and below. The national level favors students with considerable problem solving experience (these students should be able to make significant progress on the AIME) and enrollment in precalculus or above. Other topics that frequently appear include probability, number theory, and logarithms. A firm command of the material and an ability to creatively apply concepts is required to excel at either level.

Each round consists of an individual and a team test, neither of which permits the use of calculators. The individual portion contains seven short answer questions. The difficulty of each problem is reflected by its point value. The first two problems are worth one point, the next three two points, and the final two three points for a total of 14 possible points.

The team test may be taken by as many as four students per registered team and consists of an in depth problem broken into five parts, each of which requires justification and/or proof. The subject of the team test is given to all teams in advance, allowing students to become familiar with the topic before the test is administered. This section is worth a total of 21 points. Both the individual and team rounds have a 40 minute time limit. Team scores for each round are calculated by taking the top four individual scores and adding them to three times the team score.

The Art of Problem Solving Volumes 1&2 are textbooks designed to help students who enjoy a comprehensive curriculum of challenging mathematics and problem solving and want to excel in their understanding of the concepts and methods. The authors include two of the three founders of the Mandelbrot Competition. AoPS also offers Sam Vandervelde's compilations of Mandelbrot problems and solutions. Order information can be found here. AoPS now publishes in depth subject oriented textbooks for talented problems solvers interested in delving deeper into a modern mathematics curriculum! These new books can also be found on the order page linked above.

Art of Problem Solving also offers a number of courses that help students gain a foothold on the curriculum and techniques tested by the Mandelbrot and other math contests. Our course selection is broad and includes levels for students all the way from those who are just learning to solve some of the problems on the Mandelbrot (Introductory) up to those who can wade through an entire team round given enough time (Olympiad). Interested students, parents, and teachers can view enrollment information to these courses here.

If you have any questions about our programs, email us at classes@artofproblemsolving.com.