2013 State Math Contest

Information Page

Southern Utah University

Contest Date: Monday, March 11, 2013

FAQs about the State Math Contest (for Those Coming to SUU)

Date	Monday, March 11, 2013
Time	Arrive by 9 a.m.; the test is from 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. If you have to get here later, let us know ASAP so we can make other arrangements for you.
Cost	$15 per student if registered between now and Friday, February 17, 2013; $20 from February 18 – March 3. The absolute deadline is Friday, March 3. No exceptions can be granted and there are no refunds if a student/school fails to attend.
Registration	It’s easy! Do online at this link. See “Cost” (above) for details. Each school can register at most ten students per grade.
Location (Click on map)	Hunter Conference Center, Great Hall (note: different from previous years!) (circled in blue on map linked on left): Meet on the ground floor; the doors will open for students to enter the Hall at 9:15. The test begins at 9:30.
Parking	The parking lot on the corner of 300 W, 200 S (see the map next to “Location” above). As it is Spring Break for SUU that week, parking should be easy to find.
Who can take the test?	At most ten students per grade. There is one test for students in grades 7-9 and a different test for grades 10-12. All this is found at the main USU link.
Will we starve?	No way! Breakfast for teachers and lunch – pizza and sodas – for students and teachers will be served.
Can my students do it?	Yes! This is a link to the tests from the past to judge how your students might do.
Why take the test?	There are many awards available, including scholarships for high individual and school placers. Even if you are not one of the top finishers, it still looks good on an application to college if you did well. Individuals (such as from St. George, where this test is during Spring Break – just like it is for us at SUU!) are also welcome to come even if your school can’t bring you along.
Contact people at SUU	Seth Armstrong (armstrong@suu.edu) or Robin Archibald (archibald@suu.edu); you may also phone us at (435)590-4516 (Armstrong, Math Dept Chair – can text as well) or (435)586-5448 (Robin, Math Department Administrative Assistant)
What should we bring?	Just have students bring their brains. We provide the pencils (they can even keep it - wow!), bubble sheets, and scratch paper for your students. Calculators are not allowed.
Can I guess?	Well, sure, but the phrase anything is possible is very different from saying anything is probable! The test has 30 multiple-choice questions with parts a-e each. You get five points for choosing the correct answer, get zero points for an incorrect answer, but get one if you leave it blank. This means that it may be to your student’s advantage to guess if he/she can get down to one or two pretty good possibilities.
What if I win?	This isn’t all bad! There is an awards banquet for top individual finishers. The Awards Banquet will be held at a place to be announced later. The individual winners will each be allowed to bring two guests to accompany them to the dinner/awards ceremony.
Will it be any fun?	You must mean besides the opportunity to do math, right? Well, during lunch we talk about our math programs and also have drawings for lots of cool prizes, including one Grand Prize for teachers and one Grand Prize for students!

Schedule of Activities for Students and Teachers

We have activities planned until 1:00. We plan to have more giveaways this year, a grand prize for teachers as well as a grand prize and many other small prizes for students. The grand prizes are quite nice, but we’ll surprise you!

Time	Students	Teachers
9:00-9:30	Arrival and seating in Ballroom	Arrival and getting students ready to go and seated.
9:30-12:00	Math Test Students can walk around the Student Center after they’re done. There’s a bookstore, candy score, and so on. (Please encourage your students to take as much time as they can stand on the test—you never know but what the winning question takes the last hour to solve!)	Breakfast and Social. We’ll also give you copies of the tests so you can work through them. (Students usually have many questions for their teachers about the answers to problems they tried!)
12:15-1:00	Lunch/Presentations and Prizes -Pizza and drinks will be served -While eating, SUU professors will talk about our programs for a short time.	Lunch/Presentations and Prizes -Pizza and drinks will be served -While eating, SUU professors will talk about our programs for a short time.

Main State Math Contest Page Link

The Math Contest Web page from Utah State University is the main link for the State.

Driving Directions

The easiest exit to take is Exit 59—the middle of the three Cedar City exits. Go E along 200 S, then take a right onto 800 West. The parking lot will be just before 300 S on your right.