Online Math Is Cool Contest – Grades 6-8 – Feb. 10, 2021

Due to the ongoing pandemic, Academics Are Cool is offering the Math Is Cool contest as an online event. We are running this in a format as close to our normal in-person contests as possible, with the standard events except that Relay is replaced with a new event.

Adaptations for the online format include the following:

The contest events will be administered via a webinar. The Contest Administrator will present instructions, mental math oral questions, and college bowl rounds via the live webinar video stream.
Students will submit their answers via Google form answer sheets. Participants may wish to write down their answers on a piece of paper or take a screen shot of their answer sheet for comparison to solutions that are provided at the end of the contest.
Each student has been assigned a 5-digit Participant ID, which must be entered on all answer sheet forms. Answer sheets without proper ID numbers will not be counted. Obtain your participant ID from your coach.
- Your coach has entered registration information for students' current math class. Students in geometry or beyond are designated as GE, students in algebra (I) as A1, and students in pre-algebra or below as PA.
- Except for students participating as an individual or alternate, all students are assigned to a grade level team of four students. The team-of-four grade level is the highest level of any of the four students. Make sure you know the grade level of your team of four, so that you can select the correct test (for grade 6 or grade 7/8). Individuals and alternates are welcome to participate in the team events, but the results will not be attributed to a school team.
Except for the Multiple Choice test, all answers are integers. Entry of units or symbols (including dollar signs, spaces, commas, fractions, colons, AM/PM, etc.) is not allowed. Negative integers are accepted, though the form will show a warning when just the negative sign is entered until a digit is added to the answer. On the Multiple Choice test, students will select a letter corresponding to the intended answer.
Except for Mental Math and College Bowl, test questions will be included on the answer sheets and the answer sheets will be made available on this website when the test begins. Answer sheets must be submitted prior to or immediately at the end of time for the test. For certain events (Individual, Multiple Choice, Team Test) you will be allowed to submit answers and then edit your submission so that you can periodically save your work. Submissions after time is up will receive a zero score.

Sample Test

As a warm-up and example to practice the process for written tests, a Sample Test is provided here.

When instructed to begin, open the Sample Test answer sheet. Fill in your Participant ID and first/last name, then proceed to answer the questions.
When the answer sheet is completed, press 'Submit' to record your answers.

Contest Overview and Schedule

We will conduct the six contest events in the standard order, per the schedule outlined below. Mental Math and Individual tests must be completed by the student themselves, with no outside help. The Multiple Choice, Team Test, Triple Jump, and College Bowl are team events, for which you can use any convenient method (phone, text, Skype, Zoom, etc.) to communicate with the other students on your team of four. Only the first submission by any team member will count as the team answer sheet for the contest. Be sure you have everything (online access, pencil, scratch paper, etc.—but calculators or other aides are not allowed) ready before the 3:30 pm starting time.

Participants should have received the webinar meeting link, participant ID, and team-of-four assignment from your coach. If a coach has forgotten the meeting link or participant IDs, contact us for help prior to 3:20 pm. Include your name and school in the request. If a participant is uncertain about their participant ID, math class, or team/grade level, they can confirm that information with their coach or on the participant list. Coaches can note any errors related to the math class by e-mailing the Webinar Manager after the contest, but by 8:00pm with the participant ID, student name, school, and correct math class.

3:30 pm Welcome and Mental Math

Remember, there is to be no work done on paper for the Mental Math event. Work the problem out in your head and then type the answer on the answer sheet. Each question will be read three times, then the Contest Administrator will wait for 30 seconds before going to the next question.
Open the Mental Math Answer Sheet and fill in your Participant ID and name.
After the test, when time is called, submit your answer sheet. Do not submit the answer sheet until the time is up on the last question (you cannot go back and edit the answer sheet).

4:00 - 4:35 pm Individual Test

For the Individual test and all subsequent events, you can use your paper and pencil to do work.
You can submit your answers at any time to save your work, and then follow the 'Edit your response' link to resume with adding/editing your answers.
When instructed to begin, open the Test and Answer Sheet for your own grade level: 6th Grade or 7th/8th Grade. Fill in your Participant ID and name and begin testing. (If the test form does not display on the first try, then try reloading the page again because the form is being made available in real time.)
When time is called at the end of the event, submit your answer sheet.

4:45 - 5:00 pm Multiple Choice

You can communicate with the rest of your team for the rest of the contest. Choose a team captain to submit the answers for the team.
You can submit your answers at any time to save your work, and then follow the 'Edit your response' link to resume with adding/editing your answers.
When instructed to begin, open the Test and Answer Sheet for your team-of-four grade level: 6th Grade or 7th/8th Grade. The team captain needs to fill in their own Participant ID and name (answers will be assigned to the team). Everyone can begin testing. (If the test form does not display on the first try, then try reloading the page again because the form is being made available in real time.)
After the test, when time is called, the team captain needs to submit their answer sheet promptly.

5:10 - 5:25 pm Team Test

Again, you will be working as a team with a team captain.
You can submit your answers at any time to save your work, and then follow the 'Edit your response' link to resume with adding/editing your answers.
When instructed to begin, open the Test and Answer Sheet for your team-of-four grade level: 6th Grade or 7th/8th Grade. The team captain needs to fill in their own Participant ID and name (answers will be assigned to the team). Everyone can begin testing. (If the test form does not display on the first try, then try reloading the page again because the form is being made available in real time.)
After the test, when time is called, the team captain needs to submit their answer sheet promptly.

5:40 - 5:55 pm Triple Jump

Again, you will be working as a team with a team captain.
You can submit your answers at any time to save your work, and then follow the 'Edit your response' link to resume with adding/editing your answers.
When instructed to begin, open the Test and Answer Sheet for your team-of-four grade level: 6th Grade or 7th/8th Grade. The team captain needs to fill in their own Participant ID and name (answers will be assigned to the team). Everyone can begin testing. (If the test form does not display on the first try, then try reloading the page again because the form is being made available in real time.)
The team captain must submit an answer sheet every 5 minutes, with answers and/or blanks. Keep track of your answers to use on subsequent submittals, though you can change your answer on subsequent submittals. It is critcally important to follow the link in the submittal confirmation to the next form for the subsequent submittal (prior submittals cannot be edited). That is, there are separate test/answer sheet forms for each submittal and you don't want to submit the first answer sheet multiple times. The team captain must submit answer forms promptly when the Contest Administrator instructs you to do so.

6:00 - 6:40 pm College Bowl

College Bowl questions will be displayed in the webinar, one at a time over three rounds of 10 questions each.
Everyone on the team can answer each question. Only the first answer for the team will be counted for each question. Submitted answers cannot be edited.
Open the Answer Sheet for 6th Grade, 7th Grade, or 8th Grade. which you will use for every question that you wish to answer (follow the link in the submittal confirmation to submit another response).
Fill in your Participant ID and name and select the current round and question number from the drop-down menu.
When you know the answer, enter it and press the Submit button. You will have a maximum of 45 seconds to submit an answer.
Up to the first 60% of the participating teams that correctly answer each question within the time limit will get the point.

6:45 - 8:00 pm Dispute Submittal Opportunity

At the conclusion of the contest, the 6th Grade Solutions and 7th/8th Grade Solutions will be provided here. If a participant would like to dispute the answer to a question, they need to send an e-mail to the Webinar Manager during the Dispute Submittal Opportunity time period. You must include the following information in the e-mail: your name, your participant ID number, grade level, school name, test and question number in dispute, and a detailed explanation justifying your contention of a different answer.

You may provide feedback on your online contest experience to the Webinar Manager.