USC High School Math Contest - Overview
Written Exam (10:30 A.M.-Noon):
The written exam consists of 30 multiple choice questions.
Each question is followed by answers marked a, b,
c, d, and e. Only one of these is the
correct answer. A student gets 5 points for each correct answer,
1 point for each blank answer, and 0 points for each incorrect
answer. No calculators are allowed! Students should be seated by 10:15 A.M.
Scholarships:
USC Scholarships will be offered to the top three students on
the written exam.
We will award a four-year full tuition scholarship to the winner, a
four-year half-tuition scholarship to the second place contestant, and a
four-year quarter-tuition scholarship to the third place contestant.
These three students also receive plaques.
Solutions for Teachers (11:00 A.M.-Noon):
While the students are working on the written exam, a presentation of
its solutions will be given to the teachers.
Ciphering (1:15 P.M.-2:15 P.M.):
The ciphering portion of our contest consists of 3 rounds.
Each school should choose 3 students to participate (one per round).
In this contest, you are racing against the clock.
There are 6 questions per round and you have 90 seconds per
question. You get two chances to answer the question, and receive 3 points,
2 points, 1 point, or 0 points, depending on how quickly you answer the
question.
For team awards, schools are separated into two different divisions,
based upon school size and other factors. The larger schools are
generally placed in division 1, while the smaller schools are
generally placed in division 2. A school's total ciphering points will be
added to the average of that school's top three scores from the
written exam. Using this total, trophies will be awarded
to the top three schools from each division.
Tournament (2:15 P.M.- 2:45 P.M.):
The top 16 scorers from the written exam will be paired at random for a single
elimination tournament. Students must be able to answer
questions quickly, correctly, and before the other student beats them to
a correct answer! There are only 45 seconds per question and students can
only give one answer. When one member of a pair gives a correct answer first,
the other is eliminated from the tournament. This is altered slightly
during the final round, when only two students are left. Here the first
student to win two problems becomes the winner of the tournament.
Plaques are awarded to the winner and runner-up.
Awards Ceremony (2:45 P.M.- 3:30 P.M.):
Three or four invited speakers will say a few words and then
distribute all of the awards.
Last modified on February 5, 2004.
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