mathematics

Sam Vandervelde

Sam Vandervelde 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 Sam Vandervelde rather than just read about it. In short: Samuel Kendrick Vandervelde (born 12 February 1971) is a mathematician who, along with Sandor Lehoczky and Richard Rusczyk, created the Mandelbrot Competition, and is listed first under "Thanks" in the mathematical textbook The Art of Problem Solving. Contributions to mathematics Vandervelde contributes problems to the USA Math Olympiad.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Samuel Kendrick Vandervelde (born 12 February 1971) is a mathematician who, along with Sandor Lehoczky and Richard Rusczyk, created the Mandelbrot Competition, and is listed first under "Thanks" in the mathematical textbook The Art of Problem Solving.

Contributions to mathematics Vandervelde contributes problems to the USA Math Olympiad. He was a member of the 1989 United States International Mathematical Olympiad team. He was a grader at the Mathematical Olympiad Program, an intensive summer camp that prepares top high school students for the International Math Olympiad. Vandervelde founded the Stanford Math Circle. He was on the math faculty at St. Lawrence University from 2007 to 2015, and is currently the Head of School and math teacher at Proof School, a private day school in San Francisco for kids who love math. He is also a regular instructor at and board member of MathPath, and has published two books, Bridge to Higher Mathematics and Circle in a Box. His educational work has been recognized by the Mathematical Association of America's Edyth May Sliffe Award for high school teaching (2000) and the Henry L. Alder Award for collegiate teaching (2011).

Interests His other interests include playing soccer, spending time with his two sons, and cooking. He attended Amherst County High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College and doctoral degree from the University of Chicago in June 2004. He currently resides in California. He is married to Eunice Cheung.

See also Art of Problem Solving Mandelbrot Competition

References

External links Mandelbrot Art of Problem Solving

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sam Vandervelde

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sam Vandervelde 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 Sam Vandervelde 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 Sam Vandervelde 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 Sam Vandervelde

In research: Sam Vandervelde 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 Sam Vandervelde 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: Sam Vandervelde is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1971 births, 20th-century American mathematicians, 21st-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sam Vandervelde 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.

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How to study Sam Vandervelde in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sam Vandervelde 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 Sam Vandervelde out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sam Vandervelde in simple terms?

Why does Sam Vandervelde 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 Sam Vandervelde?

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 Sam Vandervelde.