What are your chances of acceptance?
Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
Loading…
UCLA
Loading…
+ add school
Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

World's hardest mathematics question?

Being a prospective math major, I was musing about what could be the world's hardest mathematics question. Does anyone here know something related to this? I can't wait to tackle it!

2 months ago

What an interesting question! The difficulty of a mathematics problem often relates to how much knowledge, creativity, and breakthrough it requires to resolve the problem. One list of particularly difficult math problems is the "Millennium Prize Problems." These are seven math problems proposed by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000, each carrying a prize of $1 million for a correct, peer-reviewed solution.

One of these problems is the "P vs NP Problem." In simple terms, it tackles the issue of how quickly solutions to a problem can be found. In particular, it's yet to be proven that problems whose solution can be checked quickly also have a solution that can be found quickly.

Another complex problem is "Navier-Stokes Existence and Smoothness." Dealing with fluid dynamics, this problem revolves around determining the conditions in which solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations, which describe how fluids move, exist and are smooth.

However, be aware that these problems are unsolved for a reason—generations of mathematicians have grappled with these problems and still couldn't find solutions. So, while attempting them can definitely stretch your mathematical understanding, don't get discouraged if you're not able to crack them instantly (or even in a few years)—they are truly some of the most complex puzzles in the field of mathematics. Is there a particular area of math you're interested in? We might be able to recommend some rigorous problems tailored to your interest.

2 months ago

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.