NZ Kids Take Part In Icon Maths Competition

Wednesday 25 July 2007

New Zealand Kids Join The World To Take Part In Icon Maths
Competition Celebrating Its 30th Year

The 30th annual Australian Mathematics Competition for the Westpac Awards will take place on both sides of the Tasman this Wednesday 25 July with a record number of schools entering.

Hundreds of thousands of primary and secondary schools from all over New Zealand and 37 overseas countries will sit the Competition. Many of the students entering will have parents, older siblings and other relatives who took part when they were at school.

The annual Competition has attracted about 12 million entries since it began in 1978. It is the first and the largest Competition per capita of its kind in the world, with more than 1000 prizes and 60 medals awarded globally.

The Competition continues to grow. Extended into primary schools four years ago, 2006 saw a record number of students attain perfect scores. In 2007 primary school entries have increased by a further12%.

Professor Peter Taylor, Executive Director of the not-for-profit Australian Mathematics Trust, which administers the Competition, said, “The fact that this Competition has endured and flourished for 30 years is a great testament to the teachers and volunteers who passionately believe in it and work
so hard to make it happen”.

Mathematics underpins all technology and is imperative to scientific advancement. Australia must grow its skills base and the study of mathematics is vital to this. The Australian Mathematics Competition is designed to attract the average student to the study of mathematics by demonstrating its place in everyday life and making it fun.

Westpac New Zealand Sponsorship Manager, Rose-Marie Schiavuzzi, said the bank has sponsored the Competition for the last 30 years. “Numeracy skills are essential in everyone’s daily lives and mathematics forms the basis of financial literacy. By supporting this mathematics competition we hope to have helped generations of young Australians become more financially literate, giving them valuable skills for the future. “

A sample question from the 2006 Upper Primary paper follows:

Sally and Fred weigh a total of 59kg when they stand on the scales together. Sally and Anne together weigh only 53kg. Fred and Anne together weigh 62kg. How much does Sally weigh?
(a) 25kg, (b) 28kg, (c) 34kg, (d) 53kg, (e) 59 kg.

SOLUTION:
Fred and Anne together weigh 62kg and Fred and Sally together weigh 59kg. This means that Anne weighs 3kg more than Sally. Now, since Sally and Anne together weigh 53kg, if we take 3kg from the 53kg, this must be twice Sally's weight, so Sally weighs 50 divided by 2 = 25kg.

Many of the questions test students’ problem-solving skills, a challenge that many students enjoy so much that they look forward to the Competition each year.

There are separate multiple-choice papers with 30 problems on the 60-minute paper for Middle Primary School (Years 4-5) and Upper Primary (Years 6,and 7 ); and the 75-minute papers for Juniors (Years 8 and 9), Intermediates (Years 10 and 11) and Seniors (Years 12 and 13).

Approximately 1100 students share the $50,000 prize money. Around 50% of participants qualify for a Certificate of High Distinction, Distinction or Credit. All other entrants in the Competition receive a Certificate of Participation.

The Competition also identifies and nurtures the exceptionally talented. About 60 students, who are outstanding both within their country and overall in the Competition, are awarded medals at special annual ceremonies. This year awards will be presented to the New Zealand medallists at a special ceremony to be held in Auckland in September.

ENDS

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