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About IMONST
International Mathematical Olympiad National Selection Test, or IMONST, is a mathematical competition that is also a pathway to select top students to represent Malaysia in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
IMONST is an open competition where students from all over Malaysia are invited to join, as they are exposed to challenging problems that require creative and mathematical thinking in order for them to be able to solve them.
IMONST 2022 is the third year of IMONST, with the first and second IMONST receiving a warm reception from teachers, parents, and students from all corners of Malaysia. We hope to provide a competition that is not only challenging but is also memorable and will instill a healthy mathematical culture among the participants. We are committed to providing content that will be helpful not only for the students but will also be beneficial for parents and teachers.
Key Dates
| Event | Date |
| Registration opens for IMONST 1 | 1 March 2022 |
| Registration closes for IMONST 1 | 30 April 2022 – Extended to 13 May 2022 |
| IMONST1 | 21 May 2022 |
| IMONST2 | (To Be Announced) |
Eligibility
Everyone is welcome to participate in IMONST 1, subject to eligibility. These are the categories:
| CATEGORY | LEVEL |
| Primary* | Primary |
| Junior | Form 1 to Form 3 |
| Senior | Form 4 to Form 6, and pre-university |
For IMONST, eligible participants with these criteria will be invited:
- Must be a Malaysian citizen;
- Must be attending school in Malaysia;
- Must be, at the time of IMO 2023, under 20 years old and not a university student.
* We recommend age 11 and above, though some of the very good younger students would be able to answer the sample IMONST paper. We suggest you look at the sample paper to gauge the level of difficulty of this competition and the suitability of your students/children.
Registration
Registration will be open by 1 March 2022, and it can be done through Contesthub. There are two types of registrations:
- Individual registration (Preferred): Registration and payment to be done individually. Login info will be given to participant directly.
- Multiple registration: Registration and payment to be done by an assigned teacher/person (under individual registration but multiple participants can be registered via one registration account). Login info will be provided to the teacher/person, who will distribute them to each participant.
We will provide the user’s manual guide for registration to ensure that the registration process will be smooth for the participants.
Fee
The registration fee is RM30 per participant.
Competition Procedure (IMONST 1)
- Competition Day: Saturday, 21st May 2022.
- Time: Competition opens at 10.00am and the system closes at 4.00pm.
- Duration: Once started, the participant are given 2.5 hours to sit for the test. Therefore, it is advised that the participant starts the test before 1.30pm.
- Contest webpage:
The unique username and password for the contest page is available now. To get your username and password, please visit Contesthub > Login (using the registrar’s email) > Online Slip (on the left-hand side menu).
Requirements
Since IMONST is an online competition, students need an internet connection and a device (preferably a desktop or laptop computer, but phones and tablets can be used as well). Please make sure your internet connection is stable, otherwise, you will lose time if your internet is interrupted.
At a minimum, prepare a pen and paper to do your calculations. All IMONST problems can be solved without a calculator.
You are allowed to refer to any book or any website and use a calculator. IMONST is an open-book competition.
IMPORTANT: You must sit for the competition alone, without the help of another person. If there is any evidence of collaboration or assistance from other people, you will be disqualified and blacklisted from all future IMONST.
Format
Format of IMONST 1
- Time: 2.5 hours.
- You may start at any time within the designated period on the competition dates.
- The participants in the Primary, Junior, and Senior categories will receive different papers and the rankings are done separately for all categories.
- There are 20 problems in total. There will be Malay and English versions of the problem.
- The problems are divided into 4 parts, in increasing order of difficulty:
| Part | # of problems | # of points for each problem |
| A | 5 | 1 |
| B | 5 | 2 |
| C | 5 | 3 |
| D | 5 | 4 |
- For each problem you have to submit the answer only. The answer to each problem is a non-negative integer.
- No mark is deducted for a wrong answer.
- The maximum number of points is (1 + 2 + 3 + 4) x 5 = 50 points.
Format of IMONST 2
- Time: 4.5 hours.
- There are 6 problems, each worth 7 points. There will be Malay and English versions of the problem.
- To get full points for each problem, you have to write a complete solution, with the correct mathematical reasoning. You can either write the solution in Malay or English.
- A suggested reading assignment will be distributed to all participants 3 weeks before the competition.
Syllabus and Sample Problems
IMONST covers various topics, including but not limited to:
- Number Theory: Properties of Integers, Primes, Divisibility, Modulo Arithmetic.
- Algebra: Algebraic Expressions, Factorization, Equations, Polynomials, Inequalities, Sequences, Functions.
- Combinatorics (Counting): Basic Counting, Pigeonhole Principle, Permutations and Combinations.
- Geometry: Measurements (Angles, Lengths, Areas, Volumes), Circles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Polygons, Similar Figures, Geometric Transformation.
Reading Materials
There are many books, videos, and websites that you may use for IMONST preparation.
For newcomers, we recommend these texts as reference:
- A Beautiful Journey Through Olympiad Geometry by Stefan Lozanovski: Chapter 1-6
- Junior Problem Seminar by David A. Santos.
Both of these texts are available legally online for free.
Sample Problems
You may download the sample paper below. The sample papers contain typical mathematics olympiad problems and have a similar level of difficulty with the actual IMONST paper.
IMONST 1 Sample Paper 1 (with Answers)
IMONST 1 Sample Paper 2 (with Answers)
IMONST 1 Sample Paper 3 (with Answers)
IMONST 1 2020 Questions (with Answers)
IMONST 1 2021 Questions (with Answers)
Visit the IMO Malaysia Facebook page for videos discussing the problems from the sample paper.
Results & Certificates
Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards will be given to top scorers in each category. The awards are symbolic (not an actual medal).
After the result is announced, you will receive an electronic certificate and a personalized score report. The score report contains detailed results and analysis of your performance relative to other contestants.
List of Awards
The table below shows the award given based on the participant’s score (subject to change):
| Award | Points |
| Gold | 45-50 |
| Silver | 37-44 |
| Bronze | 30-36 |
| Honorable Mention | 20-29 |
| Merit | 10-19 |
| Certificate | 0-9 |
Selection for IMONST 2
Selection for IMONST 2 is based on the IMONST 1 scores.
All medalists from IMONST 1 will be selected for IMONST2, from all the categories (Primary, Junior, and Senior).
Although the IMO requires a high level of mathematical maturity, the Malaysian IMO training program puts a lot of focus on training younger students, who will have more years to prepare for the IMO in the future (the youngest IMO participant from Malaysia was 12 years old).
Our commitment to inclusiveness: To promote diversity in the IMO program, 10% of the slots in IMONST2 are reserved for students who do well in IMONST1, and belong to a historically underrepresented demographic (e.g., gender, socioeconomic background, geographical area) in the IMO training program.
What’s Next
The top winners of IMONST2 will be invited to the IMO 2023 training program. The IMO training program takes place from October 2022 to June 2023 and consists of:
- online and offline workshops;
- homework assignments;
- participation in several international mathematical competitions.
Benefits
For top winners:
- You will get an opportunity to attend the Malaysian IMO training program
- You will have a chance to represent Malaysia in genuine, credible international mathematics competitions, including the IMO. Many former IMO participants from Malaysia went on to study at the world’s top universities.
For students and teachers:
- Certification is an important part of a co-curricular activities such as IMONST. Hence, every participant will receive an electronic certificate.
- The IMONST certificate is highly valuable, as it is a national level event involving the top mathematical talents in the country.
- Students can apply their knowledge of mathematical theories and skills to solve interesting problems, and assess their performance relative to their peers in the country.
FAQ
Q: The IMONST sample problems are too difficult for primary students.
A: That is generally correct. However, there are very talented primary school students (especially those with some math competition background) who would be able to do well. We’d like to give them the opportunity to join the IMO program, and hopefully join the IMO in future years.
Q: I am a non-citizen / non-resident of Malaysia. Am I eligible for IMONST?
A: You are not eligible for IMONST since it is meant for the Malaysian team selection for IMO.
Q: I want to participate but I cannot afford the fees.
A: We allow fee waivers for students who have difficulty paying the fees. Please send us a request letter, and attach a supporting statement signed by your school principal/headmaster or equivalent authorities.
Contacts
You can also join the IMONST Official Group on Telegram for questions.
Alternatively, email us at contact@imo-malaysia.org
For information and updates, you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
To speak or message with our customer service representatives, please do contact them at:
018-3920204 (Ms. Surie)
018-3604143 (Ms. Jannah)
011-62234143 (Whatsapp only; Mandarin and English)
011-14672812 (Mr. Zafree)
IMO Malaysia 