The conclusion of the Singapore International Mathematics Challenge (SIMC) was indeed a celebration befitting a pioneering event – complete with commendations, cultural performances and confetti.

The SIMC Closing Ceremony held at the NUS High School Auditorium yesterday morning began on a high note with an inspiring speech by Dr Hang Kim Hoo, the principal of NUS High School who feels that it had been “an eventful and inspiring week”. He was very “impressed [with the] elegant and insightful solutions” that the teams had come up with, and added that it had been “a delightful dilemma” for the judges in selecting the winning teams, for everyone had put i n much effort and had demonstrated their creativity and intelligence through the myriad intricate solutions they had come up with.

Following Dr Hang’s opening address, the Guest of Honour, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, Senior Deputy President of the National University of Singapore (NUS) took the podium, but not before participants relived their memories through a video montage that took them through the events of the last few days. Prof Tan shared his perspective on SIMC and offered some insights into the similarities of the educational systems between those of NUS and NUS High School. Prof Tan also emphasized that the objective of the SIMC was to bring together math whizzes from over the world and to have them creatively apply their mathematical knowledge and skills to real-world problems. He added that while it was an intense competition, it also served to bring together the rich and diverse cultures and traditions of participants. Prof Tan reiterated that while the backgrounds of international participants might vary greatly, the “language of mathematics transcends” such differences. He expressed his hope for the bonds forged to last beyond the boundaries of SIMC, paving the

Think you know everything about Math? Take this Math Trivia Challenge!

Did you know that…• 111111111 × 111111111 = 12345678987654321?

• In a group of 23 randomly chosen people, there is more than a 50% chance that at least two of them have the same birthday?

• Numbers have their own personalities too? 70 is known as a ‘weird number’, 284 an ‘amicable number’ and 384 a ‘narcissistic number’!

• Among all shapes with the same perimeter, a circle has the largest area?

• 151 is a palindromic prime number?

• Forty is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order?

• People have named theorems after ham sandwiches and hairy balls?

Issue 5 Sunday 25.05.2008The official SIMC newsletter

PIGRAPHPIGRAPHMathematics. Love it or hate it, at some point in your education you’re going to have to learn it. To some it might seem a dry, inane topic, what with its dull repetitiveness and arcane equations, yet contained within its lines and symbols are hidden patterns that help us understand the world around us. More than simple arithmetic and geometry, modern mathematics deals with the manipulation of data, extrapolation of real-world situations and can even model and analyze phenomena as complex as human social systems and behaviour.

Mathematics as a discipline involves far more than simple calculation or measurement, and requires deduction, conjecture, estimation and pattern-recognition as well. Like the other sciences, mathematics is a study in structure and order, the difference being merely that it seeks patterns in abstract information rather than in physical cells or molecules.

Without Math...

Mathematics is also a fundamental component of modern society, and has played an absolutely vital role in human technological development. Without mathematics, many of the inventions that we take for granted would never even have been conceptualized. Computers, for instance, would be non-existent, as the

algorithms involved in performing computation via binary logic gates would never have been developed. Similarly, spaceflight would be impossible without the ballistic and gravitational calculations involved in plotting their trajectories. Much of modern physics and chemistry would never even have been developed, as both heavily involve mathematical principles at a fundamental level.

Skyscrapers would not exist. Most importantly, mathematics plays a vital part in the design and construction of modern buildings, allowing structural tension and stress levels to be calculated and compensated for. Even the geometry of the

Why Study Math?By Tan Shoun

Great Pyramid of Giza hinted at the application of the mathematical concept of “The Golden Ratio”.

Our notion of time would be completely different. Math is also applicable in many areas of everyday life, from counting the money for that movie ticket to balancing the chequebooks and calculating your living expenses for the month. Speaking of months, even the calendar itself is a practical application of mathematics in our day-to-day life, something which most of us take for granted every time we mark a date in our appointment book.

We would be missing out on something beautiful.

In the minds of many, the most important reason for the study of mathematics is best captured in a single statement: Math is beautiful. Just as polymath Henri Poincaré once said, “The mathematician does not study pure mathematics because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it and he delights in it because it is beautiful.” The inherent beauty and order found in mathematics must surely be one of the most compelling arguments for its study.

Answers to Yesterday’s Sudoku Challenge

9 5 2 1 7 4 8 3 66 3 4 2 8 5 7 9 11 8 7 9 3 6 4 2 58 7 9 6 5 1 2 5 45 2 1 8 4 9 3 6 73 4 6 3 2 7 1 8 94 6 3 5 1 8 9 7 27 9 8 4 6 2 5 1 32 1 5 7 9 3 6 4 8

SIMC Draws to a CloseBy Stephanie Chew

way for future collaborations.

The awards presentation, very much the highlight of the closing ceremony, followed soon after. Certificates of participation were presented to all schools, after which Second and First Awards for the Pre-Site Challenge were given out. The Commendation

and Distinction Awards for the On-Site Challenge were then presented. Teams from Beijing No. 4 High School, Camborne Science and Community College, the Hanoi University of Science High School for Gifted Pupils, Ipoh Sam Tet Secondary School, NUS High School and

Raffles Institution received Commendation Awards, while

others from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Beijing No. 4

High School, Hwa Chong Institution, the Israel Arts and Science Academy, Raffles Girls’ School, River Valley High School, the School for Science Gifted Students “Intellectual” and the North Carolina

School of Science and Mathematics took

home Distinction Awards. The tension and a n t i c i p a t i o n in the air was palpable as teams then waited for

the announcement of the Grand Champion

for the On-Site Challenge. The honour went to Team 1 of Raffles

Junior College.

It was then a timely opportunity to present a token of appreciation not only to the Guest of Honour Prof Tan, but

also to Associate Professor Peter Pang, Chief Judge for SIMC 2008, to thank him

for his time and invaluable advice.

Solve this puzzle!Take three cups. Place one upside down and two right side up. The objective is to eventually turn all cups right side up in six moves, no more, no less. You must turn exactly two cups over in each turn.

Student Sub-Editors: Lin Wayne, Quek Yihui, Rajasekar Gulabi, Srinath Reddy, Dorothy HuangStudent Photographers: Lee Zhe Xu, Chen Yixun, Rebecca Teck Ci Hui, Cheang Wei Benjamin, Chen Jingxin,

Hu Zhenzhen, Tran Thi Phuong Ha, Zhao Yichen, Le Lan Chi and Deborah Wong Student Layout Artists: Wang Yiwei, Gu Yanlong and Ng Yuting

We’d still be living in the Stone Age.

But this is only the beginning...

The Winners RevealedBy Elza Cheong & Tang Si Ying

Another Look at SIMCBy Dorothy Huang

Farewell Dinner and PartyWith Reports by Cheung Pik Yan and Vijay Ramakrishnan T.

Student participants Anna Dai from the Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School and Renan Gross from the Israel Arts and Science Academy then took the stage to share their experiences at the SIMC thus far. Anna, who admits this was her first time at an international competition, shares that she has had “an awesome experience” and has gained much insight into other schools and other cultures and the way mathematics is learnt in other countries. The Amazing Race was the highlight of the week for her because she was able to “see a lot of Singapore” on the Race. Renan, donned in a black suit, was last in Singapore for an international science competition in 2007. He said in humour that the “weather was much hotter and more humid than [he] remembered” and that “wearing suits is a bad idea” in Singapore. On the issue of food, he mused that over the last few days, he was exposed to a large variety of dishes he had never consumed before, and that it was a matter of “close your eyes and just bite”, a quip which earned much laughter from the audience. On a more serious note, he added that the competition had been “very rigorous” and was “a very enriching experience” that allowed them to foster friendships with counterparts from other countries.

The Grand Champion team of the On-Site Challenge from Raffles Junior College then gave a comprehensive and enlightening presentation on “Algorithms for the Static Continuous Berth Allocation Problem”, touching on the context of the issue as well as sharing with the audience the process of the formulation of their final algorithm. The team had started with an algorithm inspired by graph theory, which they later refined based on the criteria of robustness, efficiency and versatility.

The closing ceremony came to a rousing finale with performances by the Gamelan Ensemble and the Chinese Orchestra from NUS High School. A fitting reminder of the rich inter-cultural exchanges at the SIMC was the rendition of the 1960s Billboard song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by the Gamelan Ensemble, traditionally an Indonesian instrumental group. Later, as the Chinese Orchestra played their final notes, party poppers released confetti as colourful as the spectrum of guests and participants seated in the auditorium.

While the SIMC may now be officially over, we hope that the participants, be they local or international, will bring home with them not just awards, accolades and certificates, but also a wealth of memories of their new experiences, insights and friendships. As the international participants return to their respective countries and local participants to their own schools, we trust that this is not simply the end of the SIMC – it is just the beginning.

Students Bid Goodbye amidst Songs and Presentations

The SIMC participants are not at all geeky as was evident at the farewell dinner last night. After earlier throwing away all the draft paper on which solutions to the On-Site Challenge had been scribbled, and packing their trophies, they put on spirited cultural performances.

S p o r t i n g colourful paper headbands, the students showcased their native cultures. Students from the Israel Arts and Science School, Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls’ High School, Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School, Ipoh Sam Tet Secondary School as well as the Camborne Science and Community College took turns to introduce aspects of life in their home countries. Hou Ting-Chang from Kaohsiung was not at all jittery when he delivered a spiel. His team had prepared for the cultural night even before its arrival.

Some students displayed vocal skills with their compatriots. Not surprisingly, most of them picked songs that had to do with parting. Choi Wonhyong and other members of the Korea Science Academy teams sang “Arirang”, a folk song about a woman who hopes that her

departing sweetheart would have sore feet so that he could return. The Vietnamese teamed up for a rendition of “Ngu Co Bac Ho” as the Aussies on “Home among the Gum Trees” and the Americans on sing-along classic “American

Pie”.

Others demonstrated creativity that extends beyond the confines of music and

mathematics. Bogacheva Galina of the School for Science Gifted Students “Intellectual”, for

instance, performed a mime. Her teammates Pyaderkin Mikhail and Bogacheva Ekantrina

cheered from the sidelines.

The Student Liaison Officers were not to be outdone. They belted out an old National Day Parade song “Singapore Town” with gusto in a choreographed routine.

An earlier autograph session gave students and educators alike a chance to exchange banter about

the events of the past few days. Mikhail from Russia could not

stop talking about the Amazing Race, during which he learned

about foreign cultures such as that of the Chinese. He also

said he got to know more about Singapore. “It is a

place where everything is very good except for the hot

weather,” he said. “If I could, I would participate in SIMC

[again].”

Being a competitive lot, some participants were still smarting from not meriting a commendation in the On-Site Challenge. But they were also sportsmanlike. Ting-Chang from Kaohsiung, for instance, said he had grown to relish the process of problem solving

and sharing with peers. Having already reached the maximum age

limit for SIMC participation at 18 years old, his experiences here at SIMC are

certainly all the more precious.

They came, and they conquered.

The title of Grand Champion of the On-Site Challenge went to Team 1 from Raffles Junior College. In the Pre-Site Challenge, the team from the Israel Arts and Science Academy clinched a First Award and earned a special commendation from the judges.

We catch up with the teams...

Grand Champion of the SIMC 2008 On-Site Challenge.

They humbly accredited their unexpected victory to the support of their teachers as well as their school. Jun Ren quipped that what probably gave their team the edge over the others were the pains they took to present their solutions as creatively as possible. Nevertheless, the team felt that there were many other outstanding and equally deserving presentations done by other schools like the Israel Arts and Science Academy.

Despite their triumphant win in the On-Site Challenge, the RJC boys felt that there was still a lot of room for improvement. “It was unexpected because we didn’t really understand programming and had to read up on applied mathematics,” Guo Cong candidly admitted.

Israel Arts and Science Academy (IASA): Passion for Competition

For the IASA team, the most challenging aspect of the SIMC On-Site

Challenge was the time constraint. “We had to work hard and think more… we needed

more time to really think in depth, to

Raffles Junior College (RJC): Perseverance is the Key

Team 1 from RJC comprising Lim Jun Ren, Chia Guo Cong and Ronald Chan might not have understood programming when they started off, but perseverance eventually led them to generate not one, but three different algorithms that adopted different approaches in tackling the given problem. This feisty trio outshone all other teams to emerge as

really think creatively. Many ideas need time to be built up,” said Noha Yassin, a

member of the IASA team which won the Distinction Award along with teams from seven

other schools. Their win was another feather in the cap for team-mate Renan Gross, who had previously led his team to championship glory in the Singapore International Science Challenge 2007.

The team’s passion for competition and challenge is evident. After all is said and done, the IASA team is game for even tougher challenges. They gladly welcome problem sets that are even more creative and demanding than those posed in SIMC 2008. We look forward to seeing them again at SIMC 2010!

“Jungle-like… with lots of trees!” So avowed one international participant when asked for her opinion of Singapore. Her reaction might be surprising to some Singaporeans, who probably have never thought of their Garden City as a jungle.

Indeed, the inaugural Singapore International Mathematics Challenge (SIMC) has brought together, from 26 local and international schools, educators and students with different backgrounds, varied cultures, and, so it seems, diverse ways of looking at things. It becomes a little surreal at times when I think about how, without the SIMC, the paths of these educators and students from all round the world might have never crossed one another.

In the words of NUS High School principal Dr Hang Kim Hoo, the SIMC was organized with the objective of “starting a new wave in mathematical modeling” and providing an opportunity for bright mathematics students from around the world to demonstrate their creativity and skills in the field. Questions were left intentionally vague and open to any number of possible solutions to encourage creative thinking. Ingenious and elegant approaches were commended and rewarded. The Pre-Site and On-Site Challenges shared similarities, but were sufficiently differentiated to challenge participants to apply “a different type of solution”.

While working on the same Challenge question within the same short time limit might be cause for increased competition, the experience helped give the participants a sense of togetherness. In fact, Dr Hang expressed his delight at the “close relationships and networking [forged] among local students and foreign students, local teachers and foreign teachers”. He also hoped that these friendships “will be sustained in future”.

While the SIMC primarily aspires to broaden the horizons of the participants as much as possible, it also hopes to allow participants, both overseas and local, to interact with and befriend one another. Indeed, each participant and team was given a chance to excel, to benchmark themselves against

their peers (both local and international), and ultimately to share, to learn and to improve.

It is possible to see the SIMC as a reflection of what is taking place on a much larger scale in the world – the sharing and consolidation of knowledge, the establishment of global benchmarking, and discussion of the path ahead in order to know how best to tread it. With the world changing more rapidly now than ever before, globalisation and the increasing ease with which borders can be crossed and information shared augur increased international collaboration and interdependence in the years to come.

In fact, one could think of the SIMC as a celebration of sorts – not only of the similarities that transcend cultures and backgrounds, but also of the differences that set these cultures and backgrounds apart. There is something inherently magical about being part of something that is taking place for the first time – how much more being able to share this experience with people from all around the world?

Singapore International Mathematics Celebration? Sounds good to me!