The Conditions of the Points Contest of KöMaL, 1998/1999
The competitions start annually and last from September to May, but they can be joined any time during the school year.
In mathematics, there are four different contests, in physics there are two. The conditions of the mathematics and physics contests are different. See below for details.
Every primary or secondary school student is eligible to take part in the competitions. Students in different grades may solve the same problems but in most cases their work is evaluated within their age group, they only compete against other students in the same grade. Therefore, it is essential that the paper should indicate the 1 to 12 grade of the contestant in the current school year. The KöMaL contests are competitions of individuals, solutions produced in team work are not accepted. If two papers are found to be practically identical, neither will be scored.
MATHEMATICS
Each full solution is scored 5 points in all the four contests.
C contest: exercises for practice, easier than those in the Gy and F contest; 4 per month.
Age groups:
- up to 10th grade students
- 11 to 12th grade students (preferably those not studying mathematics in a special advanced class. Those in advanced classes are advised to take part in the F competition).
Gy contest: exercises for those up to 10th grade; 8 per month.
Age groups:
- up to 8th grade
- 9th grade
- 10th grade.
F contest: problems advised for 11 to 12th grade students, 6 per month.
Age groups:
- up to 8th grade
- 9th grade
- 10th grade
- 11th grade (the Gy exercises marked with H also count in the 11th graders' contest)
- 12th grade
N contest: advanced problems, 4 per month. More involved than F contest, for those who are preparing for national or international competitions. There are no separate age groups here.
PHYSICS
m contest: Experimental problems: One measuring task is set each month. Each of them is worth 6 points. The report must contain a description of the method, the material data sufficient in quantity and quality, the analysis of the data, and the estimation of the inaccuracies. There are no separate age groups.Theoretical contest: 10 problems per month. The letter codes do not indicate different contests, they are merely informatic:
FGY: exercises scored 4 points each
FF: problems scored 5 points each
FN: advanced problems scored 6 points each.
Age groups:
- up to 8th grade;
- 9th grade;
- 10th grade;
- 11th grade;
- 12th grade.
Every age group may send solutions to all kinds of problems but at most 5 theoretical + 1 experimental problem a month. More than 5 + 1 solution sent by one contestant will not be evaluated.
Deadlines, adresses
The deadline of sending in the solutions by mail or e-mail is indicated next to the new exercises and problems in every issue. In mathematics, it is the 15th of the month following the publication of the problems, in physics it is the 11th. Should that be a weekend or bank holiday, the deadline is the next workday.
Send solutions to the following address:
KöMaL Szerkesztőség (KöMaL feladatok), Budapest Pf. 47. 1255, Hungary
or by e-mail to: megoldas@komal.elte.hu.
The actual state of the contests appears at our web-site (http://komal.elte.hu/eredm/index.e.shtml) updated at regular intervals. These data are unofficial, for your information. The final results will appear in August in our Internet home page and in the September issue of the next academic year. The winners of the first few places will get a certificate mailed to their schools, and their photos will be shown in the December issue and the Internet. Entry for the contests
The outward appearance of the papers:
By ordinary mail:
- Write the solutions to different problems on separate A4 sheets of paper. (This is important because different people are responsible for the correcting.)
- The heading of every sheet must contain in the upper left corner (see sample 1):
- the letter code (C, Gy, F, m, FGy, FF, FN) and number of the problem in red
- the full name and the grade of the sender
- the name of the school and the town (and country)
- Fold each sheet separately in four so that the heading is seen on top.
- Solutions to geometry problems should contain a diagram.
- Enclose in the envelope with the solutions a separate sheet listing the data of the contestant and the contents of that envelope. See sample 2.
| Sample 1. Heading of a sheet | Sample 2. Enclosed list |
|---|---|
|
C. 473. Varga 783 István, 10th grade Révai High School, Győr |
Varga 783 István, 10th grade Révai High School, Győr
I send the following 3 papers in: |
By e-mail:
- Send the solutions of different problems in separate e-mail messages.
- The "subject" line of the e-mail message must contain the letter code and number of the problem.
The content of the papers:
It is not enough to state the answer. Only results with detailed explanations will receive full credit. (Reference to secondary-school material does not require a proof.) A second solution to the same problem but based on principally different ideas will receive at most 2 extra points. A third different solution will not be evaluated.