Sunday, January 11, 2009

First MathNotations Math Contest Offically Announced and It's FREE!

Important Updates:

  • Several schools have requested registration up to this point so the contest will probably run on Tue Feb 3rd as planned.
  • All you need to do to sign up initially is to email me! I will email you the Reg. Form and Rules/Procedures within 24 hours. Complete the form (about 5 minutes) and email it back and you're officially registered! (dmarain "at geemaill dot com")
  • A team of students should be able to complete most of the problems in 45 minutes or less. It is not necessary to keep students for the full 90 minutes! The extra time was provided for students to enter their answers/solutions electronically.
  • Scanned student solutions will be accepted if format is followed.
  • Return registration form ASAP even if you have not yet identified the 6 participants. The team can have fewer than 6 members (but at least 2).
  • The contest questions are copyrighted, therefore I will probably not publish all of them on this blog although I will provide some samples of questions and student responses for discussion purposes on this blog.
  • After the contest is over, participating schools will receive results, answers, suggested solutions and certificates via email. At that time, if anyone else is interested in receiving a copy of the questions, email me.
  • If you like the idea of this kind of contest and would be interested in signing up for the next one (probably in March), let me know via email or comments.
  • I will send a template for Certificates of Participation for your school and individual participants. Top-scoring schools will receive a Certificate of Merit.

After getting several helpful comments and suggestions, I have now made an "official" decision (always subject to last minute changes of course!) regarding the date and details of our first contest. I chose this date to accommodate schools' exam weeks. The date is also a week before AMC-10 and -12. I will run this event if I get at least 6 schools participating. Pls spread the word to your friends in other schools. I understand there is not much time to consider this but the registration process and administration of the test should not be too burdensome.


DATE OF CONTEST: TUE FEB 3rd 2009

  • WINNING TEAMS WILL BE RECOGNIZED ON MATHNOTATIONS AND WILL RECEIVE SCHOOL AND INDIVIDUAL CERTIFICATES!
  • INTERESTED SPONSORS SHOULD EMAIL IMMEDIATELY (see address below) TO RECEIVE REGISTRATION FORM AND RULES/PROCEDURES!
  • DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: TUE JAN 27th
  • CONTEST WILL BE EMAILED TO SPONSORS BY JAN 30TH
  • SUITABLE GRADE LEVELS: 7-12 (Some questions can be handled by Middle School students)
  • 90 MIN TIME LIMIT - FLEXIBLE RANGE OF TIMES FOR ADMINISTRATION!
    TEAMS WILL BE ABLE TO PERFORM WELL EVEN IF ONLY 45 MIN ARE AVAILABLE!
  • CONTENT: Up to and including precalculus; emphasis on Algebra II
  • CALCULATORS ALLOWED
  • FEE: NONE!

What makes this contest different?
  • Team event - Up to 6 participants may work together!
  • All answers/solutions must be submitted electronically
  • Some multistep and open-ended questions
  • FREE! (At least this first one is!)
  • Separate acknowledgments on MathNotations given to Middle and High School teams
  • All students will receive a Certificate of Participation and top-scoring schools and students will receive a Certificate of Merit via email.
All interested sponsors should email me at dmarain "at" "geemail dot com" ASAP for the official registration form and detailed rules and procedures. After receiving your registration form, the contest problems and official answer form will be emailed before or on Jan 30th. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions (the rules/procedures form should answer most questions).


4 comments:

Kate said...

Hiya - I can probably find some takers in Math League, but they're going to ask what's the prize? (If it's just bragging rights, that's ok.)

Dave Marain said...

Braggin' rights! I will display their names on the blog (if I have permission), the sponsor's name and, of course, the school's name. If 3 schools register, then everyone will be in the top 3!

You could also tell them this could have tremendous impact on their high school transcript!

Seriously, if you're interested, send me a personal email and I will send you the registration materials. Thanks for the support, Kate. I know this is the 11th hour and teachers are overwhelmed with so many other math competitions and more pressing obligations, but I felt I had to start somewhere.

Alex said...

I don't think this would be suitable for any of my students (given the mix of ages and classes I have right now), but I'd certainly be interested in seeing the paper. Will you be posting it online once the competition is over?

Dave Marain said...

Alex, Happy New year!
Sorry that this may not work out for your classes. Pls share the link with others in your school, the Math Team, etc. I haven't decided about posting the contest and/or solutions. The materials will be copyrighted and it's important to me to maintain ownership. Up to now, as you know, I've been more than happy to publish materials that anyone can use. A contest is a bit different however. I will probably post one or two problems to give everyone a flavor of the questions. Anyone who participates will naturally have a copy of the questions and will also receive emailed solutions.

I hope to run two more of these this year.