Análise Temática e do Grau de Dificuldade das Questões da OBMEP: um estudo das provas do Nível 1 entre 2022 e 2025

Abstract

This study analyzes the questions from the first phase of the Brazilian Public School Mathematics Olympiad (OBMEP), Level 1, aimed at students in the 6th and 7th grades of elementary school, considering the editions held from 2022 to 2025. The general objective was to identify the most frequent mathematical contents and the predominant levels of difficulty in the examinations during this period. The research is characterized as documentary, descriptive, and quantitative-qualitative in approach. The corpus consisted of 80 questions distributed across four examinations, classified according to the themes Geometry, Arithmetic/Numbers and operations, Logical reasoning, Quantities and measurements, Combinatorics, Sequences and patterns, and Algebra. They were also organized into easy, medium, and difficult levels. The results showed a predominance of Geometry, with 31.25% of the questions, followed by Arithmetic/Numbers and operations, with 23.75%, and Logical reasoning, with 17.50%. Regarding difficulty, 62.50% of the items were classified as medium, 30.00% as difficult, and 7.50% as easy. It is concluded that OBMEP has a predominantly intermediate and challenging profile, emphasizing problem solving, interpretation, visualization, and the development of mathematical strategies.