Kids Ready to Have Fun with Maths Again!

New Zealand Kids Ready to Have Fun with Maths Again!

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Aug. 5 /Medianet International-AsiaNet/ --

The 33rd annual Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) will take place on Thursday 5 August in primary and secondary schools all over New Zealand. Hundreds of thousands of students from Year 3 to Year 12 compete on the same day, making it the one of the largest single events on the New Zealand education calendar.

Students of all levels of ability, from all types of schools in vastly different locations around the country will sit the 90-minute paper, which contains quirky questions with an emphasis on fun and problem solving.

AMC is also the first and also believed to be one of the largest Competitions of its kind in the world, with more than 1100 prizes and 60 medals awarded annually. Since it began in 1978, it has become a truly international event, attracting approximately 13.5 million entries. This year, there are entries from 43 countries across South East Asia, the Pacific, Europe, and Africa. Mongolia is entering for the first time and there is an increase in entries from Singapore, Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago.

Professor Peter Taylor, Executive Director of the not-for-profit Australian Mathematics Trust, which administers the Competition, said, “Responding to great societal and technological changes for more than three decades now, we aim to ensure that this Competition and our other enrichment programs remain relevant and of value. We are constantly striving to promote the study of mathematics, contribute to improving the curricula and to supporting teachers’ practices and education. This work is vital.”

Students who are outstanding both within their state or country and overall in the Competition, are awarded medals at special annual ceremonies. This year the New Zealand medallists will be presented with their awards at a special function in Christchurch in November.

The Australian Mathematics Trust is based at the University of Canberra and the Canberra Mathematical Association also supports the Competition.

The following sample question appeared in the 2009 Upper Primary paper (Years 7 and 8):
SAMPLE PROBLEM:

In a television quiz show, Rachel wins 250 points for a correct answer but loses 150 points for an incorrect answer. Rachel answered 15 questions and obtained 2150 points. How many questions did she get correct?

Answer: 11

Method: Since 8 x 250 = 2000, it is clear that Rachel must have got 9 or more questions correct. Trying each number from 9 gives the correct answer with 11 (11 x 250 = 2750 minus 4 x 150 = 600 is 2150).

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