Rules for the Individual Exam and Ciphering Rounds
Individual Exam
Each school is invited to bring a minimum of four and a maximum of eight participants. In the morning, all students from each school will complete a 90 minute, 45-question, multiple-choice examination covering the areas of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic geometry, and “puzzle problems”. The composition of the test will be as follows: 20 algebra questions, 10 geometry questions, 10 trigonometry questions, and 5 miscellaneous questions. The miscellaneous category could contain questions from the areas of probability, statistics, logic, calculus, etc. There will be indicated tie-breakers on the test. In the event of a tie, the answers to these questions will be checked in order until the tie is broken. The four highest scores by participants from each school will constitute the team score for that school on the written examination. The score will be computed by the formula 45 + (4c - i), where c represents the number of correct answers and i represents the number of incorrect answers. If a student can definitely rule out at least one choice, it will be to his advantage to randomly guess from the remaining choices. There is no penalty for problems left unanswered.
Ciphering Round
Four members from each school team will participate (in pairs) in ciphering matches during the afternoon to earn extra points to add to the team score. The ciphering matches require participants to solve problems using a team approach in a race against time. Twenty points will be given the team if the correct answer is given during the first minute, and ten points will be given for a correct answer found during the second minute. If a team attempts to answer a question and does not give the correct answer in the first minute, it cannot attempt the same problem again during the second minute.