Duke Math Meet Competition Rules

Power Round: 

The Power Round is a multi-part proof problem worth 30 points (after scaling) that lasts for 60 minutes. All the problems will be related to one overarching theme. The team members will work together on these problems. Answers should be given in the form of mathematical proofs, unless otherwise stated. All the necessary work to justify an answer and all the necessary steps of a proof must be shown clearly to obtain full credit. Partial credit may be awarded for answers that are incomplete but show significant progress toward a solution. On each sheet you turn in, indicate the problem number in the upper left-hand corner and your team name in the upper right-hand corner. Do not put answers to differently numbered problems on the same sheet. NO CALCULATORS OR ELECTRONICS ARE ALLOWED.

Team Round: 

The Team Round consists of ten questions with integer answers, and lasts 20 minutes. Each question is worth 3 points, for a total of 30 points. In this round, the team members will work together and turn in a single answer sheet. All answers are integers. Multiple answers (unless called for) and/or illegible answers will receive no credit. Blank answers do not yield extra points, nor do wrong answers receive a penalty. NO CALCULATORS OR ELECTRONICS ARE ALLOWED.

Individual Round: 

The Individual Round consists of ten questions split into five pairs. Participants receive one pair at a time, and have 10 minutes to solve the two problems given. Each question will be worth 1 point, for a total of 10 points. The correct answer to each pair of problems will be announced at the end of each set.

The answer, and only the answer, should be written in the designated space on the answer sheet provided by the proctor. Illegible and/or multiple answers will receive no credit. Leaving a question blank does not yield extra points, nor do wrong answers receive any penalties. All answers are integers.

As in all other rounds of the contest, NO CALCULATORS OR ELECTRONICS ARE ALLOWED. Each individual’s score is the sum of the scores of all 10 questions. Each individual’s score contributes equally to the team’s score from the individual round, for a total of 60 points. In case of ties between individuals, the tie will be broken during the Tiebreaker round.

Relay Round: 

The Relay Round consists of six questions split into two triplets. Each team will be broken down into 2 groups of 3, and each group must designate a first, second, and third person. The 3 people will be seated consecutively across a row with spaces in between as appropriate, and the third person must be easily accessible from an auditorium walkway. Each of the 3 people will receive a different problem, and will begin working at the same time. When the first person solves their  problem, he writes the answer on a small piece of paper and passes it to the second person. The second person needs that number to solve his or her problem (the number is referred to as "the number you will receive," or TNYWR). When the second person gets an answer, he or she passes that number in the same direction. When the third person gets his or her answer, he or she writes it on an official answer slip and hands it to the official proctor at the proper time.

The second and third people can usually do most of their work before getting a number from the person ahead of them. Nothing may be passed except a number—NO COMMENTS, NO OTHER INFORMATION. You should double underline the answer you pass in case it accidentally gets turned upside down and looks like a different number. You may continue to pass answers, even if they are the same as before. NOTHING MAY BE PASSED in the reverse direction. IF YOU RECEIVE AN ANSWER THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO USE, JUST WAIT AND HOPE THAT A DIFFERENT ANSWER WILL GET PASSED TO YOU!

The third person may submit answers only at the 3 minute mark and at the 6 minute mark. If the answer handed in at 3 minutes is correct, and no answer is handed in later, it gets maximum points. If any answer is handed in at 6 minutes, the previous answer is discarded by the proctor, and you can only get the lower number of points, provided the answer is correct. OBVIOUSLY THE THIRD PERSON SHOULD NOT HAND IN THE SAME ANSWER A SECOND TIME! Also, it is obviously to the benefit of the team to guess an answer at the 3 minute mark, regardless of whether it is correct.

A 15 second warning will be announced before the 3 minute and 6 minute time limits. If you are handing in an answer then, put it on the appropriate answer slip, hold that slip up, and the proctor will collect it.

Teams will receive 5 points for a correct solution at the three-minute mark and 3 points for a correct solution after six minutes, for a total of 20 points between the two relay groups per team and the two rounds of relays. As always, NO CALCULATORS OR ELECTRONICS ARE ALLOWED.

Guts Round: 

The Guts Round consists of 18 questions split into 6 groups of 3 questions. Participants will receive 45 minutes to answer these questions in a sequential order. They will begin the round with the first set of questions, and only when they have submitted all previous sets will they receive the next set of questions. Participants will not be able to change their answers to a set once they have submitted it.

Participants can choose to submit each set whenever they would like and must submit via the guts answer sheet. Illegible and/or multiple answers will receive no credit. Leaving a question blank does not yield extra points, nor do wrong answers receive any penalties. All answers should follow the Numerical Answering Guideline.

Each set’s questions will be progressively worth more points and a live scoreboard will be displayed during the round. During the last 5 minutes, the scoreboard will be frozen and results will be announced at the end of the contest. Set N has three questions worth N points, for N = 1,2,3,4,5, for 45 points in total. This score is scaled by 0.5, for a total of 22.5 points available. The last set will consist of 3 estimation questions, which will be used as tiebreakers within Guts Round scoring. As in all other rounds of the contest, NO CALCULATORS OR ELECTRONICS ARE ALLOWED.

The team score is the sum of the scores of the above categories, and is used to rank teams at the end of the competition.