mathematics

Raúl Chávez Sarmiento

Raúl Chávez Sarmiento is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Raúl Chávez Sarmiento rather than just read about it. In short: Raúl Arturo Chávez Sarmiento (born 24 October 1997) is a Peruvian child prodigy in mathematics. At the age of 11 years, 271 days, he won a bronze medal at the 2009 International Mathematical Olympiad, making him the second youngest medalist in IMO history, behind Terence Tao, who won a bronze medal in 1986 at the age of 10.

Key takeaways

Raúl Chávez Sarmiento belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Raúl Chávez Sarmiento to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Raúl Chávez Sarmiento from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Raúl Arturo Chávez Sarmiento (born 24 October 1997) is a Peruvian child prodigy in mathematics. At the age of 11 years, 271 days, he won a bronze medal at the 2009 International Mathematical Olympiad, making him the second youngest medalist in IMO history, behind Terence Tao, who won a bronze medal in 1986 at the age of 10. He then won a silver medal at the 2010 IMO, a gold medal (6th ranked overall) at the 2011 IMO, and a silver medal again at the 2012 IMO. Chávez Sarmiento received his Ph.D. in 2024 from Harvard University with the thesis The Hilbert-Chow algebra of a proper surface and Grojnowski calculus.

See also List of child prodigies List of International Mathematical Olympiad participants

References

External links Raúl Chávez Sarmiento's results at International Mathematical Olympiad

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Raúl Chávez Sarmiento

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Raúl Chávez Sarmiento claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Raúl Chávez Sarmiento before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Raúl Chávez Sarmiento ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Raúl Chávez Sarmiento

In research: Raúl Chávez Sarmiento appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Raúl Chávez Sarmiento in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Raúl Chávez Sarmiento is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1997 births, 21st-century Peruvian scientists, 21st-century mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Raúl Chávez Sarmiento outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Raúl Chávez Sarmiento” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Raúl Chávez Sarmiento in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Raúl Chávez Sarmiento means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Raúl Chávez Sarmiento out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Raúl Chávez Sarmiento in simple terms?

Why does Raúl Chávez Sarmiento matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Raúl Chávez Sarmiento?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Raúl Chávez Sarmiento.