| MANSW | The Mathematical Association of New South Wales, Inc. Promoting Quality Mathematics Education for all. |
Mathsearch 2009
The Mathsearch 2009 competition for the J.L. Williams awards is organised by the Mathsearch sub-committee of MANSW. The competition is part of the selection process for the National Mathematics Summer School (NMSS), which is held in the following January at ANU.
This is a take-home competition for Year 11 students who are gifted in mathematics. It brings out the best in those who have not only talent but also the perseverance to explore an area of interesting mathematics. It also allows students to receive recognition for their care in logical argument. The exercises lead the students into the exploration gently. If you have not entered a student before, and you feel you have one or more students who would benefit from this competition, encourage them to have a go. There is little work involved for you as the teacher. The object of this project is to encourage students to enjoy the benefits that accrue from addressing a challenge. With your assistance, students from your school will have this opportunity.
National Mathematics Summer School selection is partly based on performance in this project and other contests such as the AMC for the Westpac prizes, the IBM competition and the Telecom Competition, which are held later in the year.
We will return the marked entries with a set of solutions to schools so that students can receive feed back on their efforts. There is a registration fee of $20 (incl GST) for Institutional Member schools or $30 (incl GST) for non-member schools. This fee is a per school amount and is to be paid with the expression of interest. Questions will only be sent to those schools that have paid. Schools may submit any number of entries from students who have made a reasonable attempt in all sections.
Even if you don’t intend to enter any of your students this year, you should still register your school for Mathsearch so that you receive the Mathsearch questions. They are an excellent resource, a source of structured and extended investigations for your staff and students. You can use them as practice questions for future years - you will automatically receive the full worked solutions later in the year. Providing this opportunity for staff and students to engage in sustained response tasks will support them in building their confidence in using mathematics in investigations.
TIMELINE:
- School Entry form and fee to MANSW Office by Friday 13 March 2009
- Questions sent to schools 27 March 2009 approximately
- Students are to be given a two week period including three weekends to attempt this project. It should be stressed that the project should, on the average, take students no more than 10 hours to complete. The period allotted should allow students plenty of time to fulfil other commitments.
- Completed student entries should be retuned to MANSW Office by Friday 22 May 2009.
- Marked student entries AND solutions will be returned to the school after the judging.
CONDITIONS:
- In principle, students are to attempt the project without outside assistance. The exception is that if there are any technical terms that students have never encountered, they may seek clarification from a teacher at their school. In the setting of the project, care has been taken to explain all necessary terms so consultation should not need to occur.
- It is expected that most schools would only send enties from students who have made a reasonable attempt in all sections.
- If you have an exceptionally talented Year 9 or Year 10 student who you would like to enter, then feel free to do so, but it must be stressed that only Year 11 students are eligible for the National Mathematics Summer School
The competition material will be posted only to those schools that have completed and returned the registration form, along with a self-addressed A4 envelope and ENTRY FEE of $20 (incl GST) per school by Friday 13 March 2009 to The Mathematical Associaton of NSW,
PO Box 339 NORTH RYDE NSW 1670
Past papers
Have a look at a sample of past questions.
