AMC, AIME, USAMO, IMO, USACO, the IOI and the Putnam
Prepare for olympiads and the Putnam
You tested a few cases and the claim looks true, but the proof does not close. Send your reasoning and the tutor shows the step that is missing.
New accounts are paused. The waitlist tells you when access opens, with no date promised.
Seven days to try it. Then, a subscription.
An example of a correction
Illustrative example, written for this page. It is not a student's conversation or a call to the live tutor.
Illustrative conversation
“To prove that the sum of the first n odd numbers is n², I checked n = 1, 2, 3 and 4 and got 1, 4, 9 and 16. So it holds for all n.”
Four cases make the claim plausible, but they do not prove it for all n. Induction closes the gap: the base case n = 1 holds, so assume the sum of the first k odd numbers is k².
k² + (2k + 1) = (k + 1)²
Adding the next odd number, 2k + 1, gives the claim for k + 1. Which step of an induction proof would fail if the base case were missing?
The correction explains why testing cases is not enough, shows the induction step that closes the proof and ends with a question.
Research: across 12 meta-analyses, the average effect of feedback was 0.79, twice the typical effect of schooling, but it varied widely, and praise was among the smaller effects (Hattie and Timperley, 2007). The tutor reads a proof step by step, without formal verification, and NodeStudy has not measured whether that reading makes students get more right.
Competitions you can send problems and solutions for
The tutor works from the material you send. The list gives examples of each kind, not a catalogue.
- Mathematics. AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12, AIME, USAMO, USAJMO, the Putnam, the British Mathematical Olympiad, the IMO and the IMC
- Physics. F=ma, USAPhO, the British Physics Olympiad and the IPhO
- Chemistry. USNCO and the IChO
- Biology. USABO and the IBO
- Computing. USACO, the IOI and ICPC
How NodeStudy fits your preparation
Send the problem sets, past papers and solutions you already have. The tutor answers from them and shows what it relied on: a citation opens the page of the file.
The code check covers arithmetic and numeric values, as How it works explains. A proof is read step by step, with no formal verification.
Set the date of your competition and the time you have each day. Sessions land on the calendar before the date, none longer than two hours unless you ask, and the plan is redone when your routine changes.
The tutor builds flashcards from what you studied, and the review comes back on a spaced schedule.
NodeStudy is not affiliated with the Putnam competition, the Mathematical Association of America or any olympiad named here, and it brings no competition problems: the tutor works from the material you send.
See also: Study for international exams, Study for college exams and more exams and courses.
New accounts are paused. The waitlist tells you when access opens, with no date promised.
Seven days to try it. Then, a subscription.