International Regions Mathematics League (IRML)
IRML Contest Procedures:
The proctor(s) should use a stopwatch and should supply plenty of paper. Calculators are not allowed on any part of the contest.
The contest is given in this order:
- The Team Round. The team of 15 gets 20 minutes to solve 10 problems. They can work together but they cannot use calculators. Only the answer is graded. The proctor should pass out a question sheet for each person face down. When everyone has a question paper the proctor says to begin. The proctor announces when 3 minutes are left and when 1 minute is left. The team writes its answers on the answer sheet. When time is called they must stop. Each right answer is worth 5 points so this round is worth 50 points.
- The Power Question. The team gets 60 minutes to solve a series of questions based on one idea. Some problems require just a numerical answer, some problems require proofs. The students work together. Often they divide up the questions and the better students work on the harder questions. Often different groups of students write up the solutions to their part and then all the solutions are put together. In this part the whole solution is graded. Students should show their work when it is called for. The team cannot submit alternate proofs—they must choose one. If they happen to submit alternate proofs all will be graded but the one with the fewest points will count. This question is worth 50 points. Partial credit is given. The proctor gives a 10 minute warning and a 3 minute warning. Calculators are not allowed.
- The Individual Round. On this part the students work separately, no talking is allowed, and no calculators are allowed. The students receive a total of 10 questions in pairs. They have 10 minutes for each pair. Only the answer is graded. After the pair of questions has been passed out face down, the proctor tells the students to turn the questions over. The proctor then reads the question and then says to begin. No work can begin until the proctor finishes the reading and says to begin. We have the problem read to reduce misunderstanding. The proctor gives a 1 minute warning and a 15 second warning. When the proctor says to stop, all work must cease. Only the answer is graded. There is one point per student for each correct answer. With a team of 15 there are 120 points on this round.
- The Relay Round. Each relay round lasts for 6 minutes. The team of 15 is divided into 5 groups of 3. Each group of 3 has a first person, a second person, and a third person. The first person can solve his/her question. The 2nd person needs the first person's answer to solve the problem. The 3rd person needs the 2nd person's answer. Students can only pass answers back. They cannot talk or send any other information. In particular, they cannot send their problem back. Numbers such as 6, 9 18, and 81 can be underlined to show the correct orientation, but otherwise, the slips passed back can contain no additional information. The 3rd person's answer is the only one that is graded.
A student can pass back only one slip of paper at a time, but the student may pass back more than one slip of paper during the relay. For example, if a student gets an answer, passes it back and then redoes the problem and gets a different answer, the student may then pass the new answer back. If the student redoes the problem and gets the same answer, the student may pass the same answer back as a way of telling the next person that the student is confident of that answer.
The proctor passes out the first question to each of the 5 first students, the second question to each of the 5 second students, and the third question to each of the 5 third students. The questions are passed out face down. The proctor then says to begin. At 2 minutes 45 seconds the proctor announces that there are 15 seconds to 3 minutes. At 3 minutes the proctor announces that 3 minutes are up. The students can continue working but the proctor will collect any answers that the third person has to submit. At 5 minutes and 45 seconds the proctor announces that there are 15 seconds left. At 6 minutes the proctor says to stop and the third student submits an answer. A team of 3 may submit an answer at 3 minutes and at 6 minutes. The only answer graded for that team of 3 is the last one submitted. A correct answer at 3 minutes is worth 5 points, a correct answer at 6 minutes is worth 3 points.
Examples: Suppose the correct answer to the 3rd person's problem is 12.- At 3 minutes the 3rd person submits 9 and no answer is submitted at 6 minutes. That team of 3 gets 0 points.
- At 3 minutes the 3rd person submits 12 and no answer is submitted at 6 minutes. That team of 3 gets 5 points.
- At 3 minutes the 3rd person submits 9 and at 6 minutes, the person submits 12. That team of 3 gets 3 points.
- At 3 minutes the 3rd person submits 12 and at 6 minutes, the person submits 9. That team of 3 gets 0 points.
- At 3 minutes the 3rd person submits 12 and at 6 minutes, the person submits 12. That team of 3 gets 3 points. So students should not submit the same answer twice.
- At 3 minutes the 3rd person submits 10034 and at 6 minutes, the person submits 3445. That team of 3 gets 0 points.
There are 25 points possible for each relay so 50 points for both relays.