Deakin Maths Contest a teamwork test for students

Hundreds of secondary school students from Geelong and western Victoria can count on a day of fun and tough competition at the 27^th annual Deakin University Mathematics Contest on Friday 28 August.

Held at Deakin's Geelong Waurn Ponds campus, the contest is a wonderful introduction to university life for the 200 Year 10 students from more than 20 secondary schools.

A range of prizes is up for grabs for the top performers as students work individually and in groups to test their mathematical skills in four separate events. 

John Cameron, contest organiser and lecturer with Deakin University's School of Information Technology, explained that the contest is an exhausting day of serious fun.

"The teams are made up of five students, each with a teacher acting as supervisor and scorer," he said. 

"The contest provides a wonderful opportunity for members of different schools to exchange ideas on learning and teaching mathematics and to demonstrate their mathematical knowledge and skill."

The four events in the contest are:

• Round Table requires teams to work collectivelyon 10 challenging problems.
• Snap Quiz is fast and furious with teams competing in pairs for four rounds of 20 questions delivered verbally. Points are awarded to both individual competitors and teams.
• Solo Time is the competitors' time to shine as individuals with 10 questions to be answered within a 50-minute time limit.
• Maths Relay sees teams divided into two pairs with a runner for each team as they try to crack 20 questions in 50 minutes.