Mathematical Challengers!

On Thursdays, some Year 8 and 9s have been practising for the UK Team Maths Challenge. The UK Team Maths Challenge is a competition where teams of four, compete on puzzling and difficult maths questions through four rounds each lasting 40 minutes. The 2019 challenge is described by Sam, Year 9, who took part:

“Round 1 was the Group Challenge where the whole team takes on ten questions and picks one each to try until all ten were finished or the time of 40 minutes is up.

Round 2 was a cross-number challenge. This is similar to a crossword but all the letters are numbers. The catch is that the team is split up into two, one half across and one half down. The only way to communicate is through the marker in the middle. If you think you have an answer you can write it on the marking sheet and see if you got the number right. However, it is wrong you score zero and the correct number is marked on the sheet. This was our best round!

Round 3 was a shuttle round. Again, the team was split into two. One side started with the number and had to solve a question, then pass the answer on. The number was passed three times per set and there were four sets of shuttles to do. The starting pair changed each time. Sometimes the number seemed really odd, like 200 pencils given to someone. Then you could send the number back, but only through the marker.

Round 4 was the final round and was a relay. The team was split into pairs, (you could change pairs each round) and the starting pair would get a question. You had two attempts at the question. When you either got the question right or both attempts were exhausted the next pair would get their question. This would last until the time was up.

The day was really exciting and interesting. We were learning new things each round and we all really enjoyed it.”

Sam, Year 9