Brilliant's First Official Problem Writing Party!

This party is now over. Thanks for your contributions. You can see what we chose by joining the next party!

Hello Brilliant,

Thanks to you (the members of the community), Brilliant was able to successfully launch two new quizzes in the past two weeks: Percentages: Level 2-3 and Quadratic Discriminant: Level 1-2.

You may have noticed the recent addition of new challenge quizzes to the Brilliant experience. These challenge quizzes are collections of some of the best problems written by the community.

Brilliant has organized many of your problems to cover hundreds of topics on all levels of difficulty, but we are looking to add even more to improve the community experience. We are looking for talented problem writers to create the fun and challenging level 1-2 problems that are missing from these challenge quizzes in Brilliant's inaugural Problem Writing Party.

How it works

The party starts right now (January 18th, 2016) and will last for the next two weeks. Throughout the two weeks, we will be focusing on writing awesome level 1 and level 2 problems for the topics listed below. To participate, submit as many problems as you want to these listed topics. At the end of the party, Brilliant staff will be picking the best 5-10 problems for each topic. These problems will then be immortalized and formed into a challenge quiz. If we pick your problem, then you can brag to your friends because it will be displayed on Brilliant forever!

Use this note to:

Ask questions about the party or brainstorming ideas from Brilliant staff.

Share links to great relevant problems.

Bounce your ideas off each other to help formulate the best problem you can.

Remember! To be selected, problems you submit should be fun and challenging to a level 1 or level 2 student.

Topic Listing

The topics of problem submission for this party are below. Just click the link of the topic for which you want to create a problem.

Algebra - Rational Functions

Geometry - General Polygons

Number Theory - Number Bases

Calculus - Limits of Sequences

Combinatorics - Expected Value

Computer Science - Complexity/Runtime Analysis

Classical Mechanics - Momentum

Thanks!

Markdown

Appears as

*italics* or _italics_

italics

**bold** or __bold__

bold


- bulleted
- list

bulleted
list


1. numbered
2. list

numbered
list

Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly

paragraph 1

paragraph 2

paragraph 1

paragraph 2

[example link](https://brilliant.org)

example link

> This is a quote

This is a quote

    # I indented these lines
    # 4 spaces, and now they show
    # up as a code block.

    print "hello world"

# I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.

print "hello world"

Math

Appears as

Remember to wrap math in $ ... $ or \[ ... \] to ensure proper formatting.

2 \times 3

2 \times 3

2^{34}

2^{34}

a_{i-1}

a_{i-1}

\frac{2}{3}

\frac{2}{3}

\sqrt{2}

\sqrt{2}

\sum_{i=1}^3

\sum_{i=1}^3

\sin \theta

\sin \theta

\boxed{123}

\boxed{123}

Easy Math Editor

This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.

When posting on Brilliant:

Use the emojis to react to an explanation, whether you're congratulating a job well done , or just really confused .
Ask specific questions about the challenge or the steps in somebody's explanation. Well-posed questions can add a lot to the discussion, but posting "I don't understand!" doesn't help anyone.
Try to contribute something new to the discussion, whether it is an extension, generalization or other idea related to the challenge.
Stay on topic — we're all here to learn more about math and science, not to hear about your favorite get-rich-quick scheme or current world events.

Markdown	Appears as
`italics` or `_italics_`	italics
`bold` or `__bold__`	bold
- bulleted - list	bulleted list
1. numbered 2. list	numbered list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
paragraph 1 paragraph 2	paragraph 1 paragraph 2
`[example link](https://brilliant.org)`	example link
`> This is a quote`	This is a quote
# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"	# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `$` ... `$` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$

Comments

Nihar Mahajan - 5 years, 4 months ago

Super cool names!

Sandeep Bhardwaj - 5 years, 4 months ago

Great problems Nihar. We picked a few of these. :)

This party is now over. Time to move on to the next one!

Andrew Ellinor - 5 years, 4 months ago

Hello Sir, I am submitting the following problems for the Party!

Algebra - Intercept of Asymptote
Geometry - Regular Polygons?
Number Theory - Primes in a Prime Base
Calculus - Divide by Prime
Combinatorics - A Peculiar Game
Classical Mechanics - Colliding Spheres

Pranshu Gaba - 5 years, 4 months ago

@Pranshu Gaba These are awesome! You got one problem in almost every category too. Now that's truly impressive.

Thank you @Sandeep Bhardwaj @Andrew Ellinor I enjoyed making the problems. :)

Ohhh, I really like the 2nd one. That's a very common mistake made :)

Calvin Lin Staff - 5 years, 4 months ago

A surprising number of people have got it wrong. It seems to be a very common geometry misconception.

Thanks @Pranshu Gaba for such wonderful set of problems!

Thanks for these problems

Siva prasad - 5 years, 4 months ago

Thanks for your contributions! We picked at least one of these. :)

After the epic weekend wiki party, I thought no other thing could beat it, but I think this will be the one!

Sravanth C. - 5 years, 4 months ago

Thanks @Sravanth Chebrolu for nice words. I hope the same. :)

We picked one of your problems for number bases! You can see what we chose in the next problem writing party note.

This party is now over. Thanks for your contributions. Time to move on to the next party!

Cool! Thanks a lot!

Should I suggest some of my old problems or I have to post new for the related topics ?@Sandeep Bhardwaj , @Calvin Lin

A Former Brilliant Member - 5 years, 4 months ago

Old problems are perfect suggestions. We might not have caught them when we made the original challenge quizzes because there wasn't an appropriate chapter assigned to it when it was created, but we'd be glad to take another look at it.

You should also try to tweak old examples and craft them into new ones! Old and new problems are fine. :)

Thanks @Andrew Ellinor for responding to Chinmay's query.

Number theory - Big, Bad, Binary

Arjen Vreugdenhil - 5 years, 4 months ago

Nice problem @Arjen Vreugdenhil, Level 4 though!

This was indeed a tough problem Arjen, but we were able to make room for it in our Level 3 Number Bases quiz. Thanks for your submission! You can see what we chose in the next problem writing party note.

Here are some more problems on bases -

EDIT

One more - Taming the Radix

Note: Majority of them are inspired from AoPS problems

Arulx Z - 5 years, 4 months ago

Beautiful. I have a good feeling at least one of your problems on bases is going to wind up in a quiz.

Thanks :)

Thanks @Arulx Z for the nice collection of problems.

Thanks a lot! I have added one more.

Loved your problems Arulx! We picked one of those problems (maybe two?). You can see what we chose in the next problem writing party note.

Thanks a lot for selecting my problem :)

Well.. keeping in mind Level 1 and Level 2 type of questions I have tried the following ones today:

Algebra - Rational Functions - Restrictions on Domain
Geometry - General Polygons - Area of Polygons
Number Theory - Number Bases - Base 5 or 7 or 9 ?
Calculus - Limits of Sequences - Know your limits !
Combinatorics - Expected Value - How much do you expect ?
Computer Science - Complexity/Run time Analysis - Funny Febo !
Classical Mechanics - Momentum - Angular Momentum

More over I have got two interesting problems regarding Complexity/Run time Analysis as under:

Zeeshan Ali - 5 years, 4 months ago

Nice calculus double limit, and understanding algorithm questions :)

Thanks for the amazing set of problems @Zeeshan Ali! I liked the second problem in the list i.e. "Area of Polygons" the most.

thank you very much for your remarks :)

Thanks for your contributions! We picked at least one of these. :) You can see what we chose in the next problem writing party note.

Momentum

Rajdeep Dhingra - 5 years, 4 months ago

I love it. This should definitely be fun for a level 1 or level 2 member.

Nice problem Rajdeep, thanks!

Why has my problem been deleted ? @Calvin Lin

what is the procedure to write a problem ...

should I post the problem in this comment ?? I want to add some concept or examples for level 1-2 as suggested above in the calculus section.

Aman Rajput - 5 years, 4 months ago

Hi Aman! You can simply click the link in the note as shown:

Hello, I'd like to submit my first set of questions:

Geometry - Polygon Complex

Number Theory - 1+1 is no longer 2

More will be coming up! ;)

Worranat Pakornrat - 5 years, 4 months ago

Hm, for the second question, I think we should ask for the answer in base 2. Otherwise, it's more about converting into decimal system, then doing the calculation in binary. Thoughts?

Oh, OK. I can come up with a new question. Thanks for your advice. ;) Here's the one: Can you subtract binary numbers?

Number theory - Problem 1 - Level 2

Number theory - Problem 2 - Level 1

Number theory - Problem 3 - Level 1

Sachin Vishwakarma - 5 years, 4 months ago

Awesome, I love these!

Thanks. :)

Thanks @Sachin Vishwakarma for level 1-2 and awesome problems.

Welcome sir. :)

We chose one of your number theory problems for the number bases quiz. You can check it out in the next problem writing party note.

Sir, these are my submissions

Guessing won't help!

How many numbers?

Oh wow, I love both problems!

Oops I am sorry I didn't see the topics for the discussion.

my problems:

number bases: new prime discovered

limits: limit as n approaches infinity?

polygons: computer science in geo?

Aareyan Manzoor - 5 years, 4 months ago

Thanks Aareyan! We chose at least one of your problems.

This party is now over. Thanks for your contributions. Time to move on to the next one!

Good problems.

Note that your third link goes to the first problem about primes. Can you fix it?

Here are my questions about polygons:

Those are some colorful questions. I think you can clear up the meaning of some of these questions, to make it easier for others to understand. I've reported a few of them, could you help me understand what you're trying to say?

Thank you. I've just finished editing them. Hope they're clear this time. ;)

Thanks Worranat! We picked some of your problems for the General Polygons quiz. You can see what we chose in the next problem writing party note.

Thank you for choosing my questions. I'm looking forward to writing for the next party! ;)

These are my contributed problems, sir. Hope you like it

Number Theory - 777 base
Calculus - Limits e

Anish Harsha - 5 years, 4 months ago

I like your first problem.

For the latter 2 problems, can you respond to the reports on them? Thanks!

I 've deleted the last two problems. But, substituted with another calculus problem.

Beautiful, we picked some of your problems for one of our quizzes to be featured on Brilliant forever! You can see what we chose in the next problem writing party note.

Thank you, sir

Check out "The Maximum Enneagon".

W Rose - 5 years, 4 months ago

Beautiful. This one is not too difficult and just what we're looking for. The Maximum Enneagon

That's an interesting problem about polygons :)

Interesting, thanks!

Thanks a lot @W Rose. We chose your problem to fit into our General Polygons quiz. I really enjoyed that one!

Algebra - 1 , 2 , 3

Calculus - 1 , 2 , 3

Combinatorics - 1 , 2 , 3

Geometry - 1 , 2

NT - 1 , 2 , 3 . 4

Electricity and Magnetism - 1 , 2 , 3

Is it okay to add Level 3-4-5 questions ? , or just level 1-2 ? and is the format okay , by using numbers ?

@Sandeep Bhardwaj , @Calvin Lin

It depends on the chapter. Given that these chapters (tend to be) are more basic, we would rather start out with the Level 1, 2 challenge quizzes first, because that is what most people would appreciate, before they delve deeper. Over time, we will be building out the higher level challenge quizzes too. E.g. The Algebra topic has a ton of problems in the Level 5 warmups.

@Calvin Lin , so is the above set okay ? or I have to post some easy problems of level 1 -2

@Calvin Lin also update my solution number and upvotes if possible.

Thanks @Chinmay Sangawadekar for the wonderful problems.

For this one Problem Writing Party, all the chapters mentioned in the note need level 1-2 problems. Thanks!

sure I will post a new set of level 1-2 problems

@A Former Brilliant Member – Great! I'm excited. $\ddot \smile$

Algebra decomposition of a rational function

Number Theory Base of Number Bases

Number Theory Forget Base 10

Number Theory Powers of 3

Abdeslem Smahi - 5 years, 4 months ago

Thanks @Kaito Einstein for nice problems. The last one is yummie.

I really enjoyed these. We ended up picking two of them for our number bases quiz! You can see what we chose in the next problem writing party note.

Oh, i like the number base questions.

Hey super intelligent people :DDDDD I am so happy to be in this problem writing party even though I do not have a whole bunch of math skills with me, nor I could think of good problems easily and quickly. So far I got one down Combinatorics, Expected Value - Let's play a game! and I hope it is going to be fine:D

Margaret Zheng - 5 years, 4 months ago

This problem here Margaret? It looks great! :)

Thanks for your compliment and I will try to brainstorm some more :)

Awesome problem Margaret! We picked your problem for our expected value quiz. You can see what we chose in the next problem writing party note.

Here's my new one for Number Bases - What do these hands mean?.

This is a fun one. Just became the first solver!

Congratulations! :)

@Worranat Pakornrat – Thanks:)

Number Bases

Venkata Karthik Bandaru - 5 years, 4 months ago

Enjoyed the problem Karthik, thanks!

Number Theory - Basic Bases, Tricky Factorial.

I am currently working on Number Bases so I'll be posting more of these.

Oh man, these looks good Arulx!

Edit: I kinda want to pick Tricky Factorial right away. That's a good one.

Classical Mechanics- Momentum

Sahil Bansal - 5 years, 4 months ago

We chose one of your problems for the momentum quiz. You can check it out in the next problem writing party note.

Thank you sir!

Hi sir! Finally I've posted some problems, here they are:

Algebra - horizontal asymptotes
Geometry - Can you determine the sides?
Number Theory - Binary sum?
Calculus - True or false
Classical Mechanics - huge collision

The best thing about all these problems is that all lie in the region of level 1-2 and all are quite interesting. Thanks @Sravanth Chebrolu for the amazing problems.

Thanks for conducting this party sir! $\huge\ddot\smile$

Here's my new one:

Combinatorics- The Big Six

Level 2 problem : Limits of sequence Limit

My submission:

Geometry:Equilateral makes it easy

Siddharth Singh - 5 years, 4 months ago

My first one was about Momentum: Caution! Slippery Surface!.

I'll post others later.

Victor Paes Plinio - 5 years, 4 months ago

We chose one of your problems for the momentum quiz! You can check it out in the next problem writing party note.

Combinatorics - 1. Do you expect this? , 2. Again the same old coins

Here's a new one in Number Bases: Zodiac 12.

A new one has come: Combinatorics- Who wants some glass marbles?.

For Combinatorics : Happy Birthday For Calculus : Screw up your brain 1 Screw up your brain 2

Raven Herd - 5 years, 4 months ago

Tnxs for brilliants ...

God bless you

Atta Mengal - 5 years, 4 months ago

@Calvin Lin Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I'm working on a contribution right now.

Aditya Rao - 5 years, 4 months ago

Hmm! I am waiting... for yours! :D

Don't worry you can contribute now too. I'm waiting for your problems. $\ddot \smile$

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$