TDMC
The DAIS Math Club started this year with the aim to nurture a community of math-loving students in DAIS who inspire each other and grow by teaching, having discussions, sharing resources, collective problem solving and also preparing for math olympiads and competitions around the world. During the sessions, participants usually engage in discussions over problem-solving strategies and help each other gain a better understanding of mathematical concepts.
"The classes are pretty tricky since we haven't done most of the work that is being described. However, I have learnt how to quickly find the possibilities for large problems that would take a while to do otherwise, with the help of factorials."
- Akshay, Grade 9
"I enjoyed the first session, and found the problems challenging (I was only able to solve the first B1 problem). I also learned about phi."
- Bose Kaikini, Grade 9
"The first math club session hit the mark in my eyes. Since I already had prior knowledge regarding some of the concepts that the club leaders talked about, the challenging questions put forward were at the optimal difficulty – not too easy such that they caused stupefying boredom, but not too strenuous either. Aside from some IGCSE students from the 9th and 10th grades, I found it very surprising that even an 8th grader had joined us on the meeting! Seeing how well he was able to grasp the concepts inspired me to focus even more and work on the problems with an enhanced spirit. Another aspect that I really enjoyed was the logic puzzle. The Josephus problem was posed to the group, and we were encouraged to work on it individually. I’m filled with anticipation right now; hopefully, I can make some progress on it soon!"
- Abhimanyu Pandey, Grade 11
"Loved today's session. We did the basics of permutations and combination with some logical questions as well as some thereotical knowledge about the golden ration at the end. Excited for next class' topic"
- Vikram Karra, Grade 8
"Today we learnt about permutation and combination. It was a really interesting class. I really loved it."
- Eklavea Shah, Grade 9
"In today's session we learnt the basics of modular arithmetic and some basic number theory theorems like Fermat's little theorem, Wilson's theorem, Chinese remainder theorem, etc. This session sparked my interest in number theory, an area in mathematics that I have relatively little experience in and not explored all that much. I am looking forward to applying the theorems I have learnt today in problem solving while solving AMC12 level and other olympiad questions."
- Kanishk Kundu, Grade 11
"Today we went into more depth in Permutations and Combinations. We solved two very interesting problems, one of which I got, the other I couldn't. In the 2nd half of the class we learnt about different types of infinities - countable and uncountable. Rational numbers are a countable infinity, whereas real numbers are uncountable."
- Raahil Mullick, Grade 9
"Today we solved more problems as a continuation of the previous topic. I found new and easier ways to approach a variety of problems. In the second half of the class, we discussed an interesting mathematics concept - countable and uncountable infinities. I found it highly intriguing and would love to explore it further in detail."
- Aditya Iyer, Grade 11
"We did a quiz on permutation and combinations. When the solution to the answers were given it made everything much clearer, the questions I got wrong was cleared and how to solve it, it was helpful."
- Sara Adukia, Grade 9
"In class, we did a Quizizz on using factorials in probability. There were totally 8 questions and there was also a time limit. After everyone had finished solving the problems, we discussed them on a notebook."
- Leah Iyer, Grade 9
"During today's session, we started off by starting a quiz on number theory that was discussed in the previous question. I got 3 questions right the first time, and a fourth question right during the redemption round. I found that some questions could be solved using basic ideas of powers e.g. all powers of 2s end with 2,4,8,6 and this cycle repeats. Hence, it is possible to use this simple idea to calculate some larger powers due to how these powers work cyclically. Other questions required sophisticated use of congruency and such formulas to tackle them. At the end, there was a discussion about the answers and I got the final questions that I'd missed out on for 2 previous attempts. Interacting and discussing the solutions with others was collaborative and communicative for me. We ended with a fun logical puzzle that I enjoyed solving with my peers and it reminded me of quizzes I used to take when I was younger."
- Aishi Basu, Grade 11
"In today's class we started a new topic, called absolute value. We learnt how to solve questions related to modulus and then did a few practice questions. I gained clarity on the concept and I enjoyed today's class. For the next half of the class, we looked at Gerald's Horn paradox where, the surface area is infinite but, the volume is finite."
- Tavishi Kapoor, Grade 9
"Today we learned about algebra and the relationship between roots and coefficients of terms in a polynomial. We had done this for quadratics in school but it was interesting to see how it expands to other polynomials as well, especially how the signs alternate with each term. Then we looked at an annoying yet intriguing paradox called the Gabriel's horn, which is basically a 3d version of the horizontal part of the y=1/x graph (rotate the graph around x axis). The paradox is interesting, since it says the shape will have an infinite surface area but a finite volume. I am still not convinced by it and will research further."
- Annsh Navle, Grade 11
"Today we learned about geometric and arithmetic sequences and how to find their sums in a finite or infinite length of terms. It was interesting to learn about these different formulae and we understood more about the different sequences. We also learnt about the Collatz conjecture, which has a simple set of rules but has not been proven as of yet even though it has been tried correctly up till 2^68. However this does not mean it is true, because other conjectures have been disproven at higher numbers in the past. At the moment, computers are not powerful enough to "brute force" the answers to these problems."
- Bose Kaikini, Grade 9
"This session was again divided into two parts: part 1- AMC preparation, and part 2-the abstract mathematical learning. In the first part we learnt about polynomials and finding sum of roots and did problems on that. It was interesting to do these different types of questions in the session as we are currently doing polynomials in Math AA HL as well. Looking at the different style of questions gives a new perspective and approach to solving sums and thus, it was an interesting session. We ended by learning a paradox called Gabriel's Horn which was confusing to understand, but eye-opening and piqued by interest. Overall, this session was a great session and allowed me to gather new knowledge."
- Rayaan Sonawala, Grade 11
"Today we solved a mock AMC paper for year 10. I solved up till question 9, but even in some of those I could not get the answers. I should practice my probability skills in particular."
- Bose Kaikini, Grade 9
"Today we learned about how to write imaginary numbers in the form of cis theta. We then learned about De Moivre's Theorem which states that z^n = cis z theta (remember to raise number outside bracket to n). We then played a quiz in which i could perform well enough. Post this we did another sum regarding writing imaginary numbers as ordered pairs, which was a tricky question."
- Annsh Navle, Grade 11
"In today's class we solved the July 2019 Mock AMC. I enjoyed solving the paper however, I found it slightly hard. I was only able to solve 12 questions with 1 doubt in between."
- Tavishi Kapoor, Grade 9
"We solved a mock AMC paper, it was harder than I expected and I did not get many answers. But it helped me realize what I need to work on."
- Sara Adukia, Grade 9
"This session was not about learning new concepts but applying previously learnt concepts. With the AMC math competition coming up, we were given a paper to solve in the class. The initial questions were quite straightforward however, the rest were challenging for me. However, after the end of the 45 minutes, I completed a good amount of the questions, which is something I felt proud about. The session was a good session and it helped us revise the previously learnt concept and practice AMC-style questions."
- Rayaan Sonawala, Grade 11
"We got the solution of the AMC paper. I realized I took too long to solve each question, so I couldn't finish the paper in the allotted time. I got a few answers wrong as well, the solution helped me clear my doubts."
- Sara Adukia, Grade 9
"Today we checked our answers for the Mock test and then solved our doubts if any. I did not have any but, I feel I could have done better in the test."
- Tavishi Kapoor, Grade 9
"This session was a continuation from the last class. in the first half of the class, there was discussion of the doubts we had in the AMC-12 practice paper we solved last week. It helped me to understand my mistakes better and thus, thought this was helpful. The last five questions of the paper I did not understand at all however, after reading and understanding the explanation, I got a fair idea about the questions. After the paper discussion, we learnt a concept called AM-GM Inequality. I found this extremely interesting, especially when we were shown an example of how to use this inequality to solve some types of sums. With the sum they gave, I used calculus to solve it however, it was extremely tedious and time consuming. This AM-GM inequality solved the problem so fast and I found that fascinating. Overall, it was a great last session before our Diwali break and hope to use some of these critical approaches in my Math AA HL practice."
- Rayaan Sonawala, Grade 11