The contest is traditionally the first Tuesday in April. The next test will be on April 7, 2009

There is a senior division for students in grades 10-12 (2 hours, 40 questions) and a junior division for students in grades 7-9 (1 hour, 20 questions). If a 9th grade student desires to compete in the senior division, he or she should register as a 10th-grader.

We think we have struck a better balance on question difficulty than other math contests.
Feedback from previous attendees confirms this. There are a few questions that will stretch the best students, but there are other questions that many students will be able to answer. So the questions range in difficulty, but every student should be able to answer some. We also strive to use questions that are interesting and educational as well. See past years' tests on this web site.

Click on our Registration button and use the password you obtained from us. As the instructor, you need to fill in some contact information, and some school information (including the number of students in grades 10-12 at the school). Then you will fill in contact and grade information for each student who plans to attend. Minor changes to the roster can be accommodated on test day (come a little before 9:30 to do so).

By registering, students and teachers agree we can use their names and photos in future contest promotional materials.

The fee is $5 per student. Either send a single check made out to Snow College Math Department to
Math Dept. Chair
Box 1046, Snow College
150 College Ave.
Ephraim, UT 84627
or bring it on test day.

We encourage the school to pay the fee rather than pass the cost on to the students.

Just their brains. Bubble sheets, scratch paper, and pencils will be provided.

Just the biological ones inside the students' craniums. No electronic calculators allowed.

Guessing is discouraged, but there is no penalty for leaving a question blank. The score is 4R - W (where R is the number right and W is the number wrong), so scores can range from -40 to 160 for the senior division and from -20 to 80 for the junior division. Negative scores are therefore theoretically possible, but they are rare.

Arrive between 9:15 and 9:30, check in at the registration table, and get the contestants seated and reading the instructions. The test begins promptly at 10:00.

The registration table will be outside the LDS Institute building. (51 North 100 East)

The senior division test is in the LDS Institute; the junior division test is in the bottom floor of the Noyes building. The teachers will gather in the bottom floor of the Noyes building.

The teachers are invited to the Noyes building to meet with Snow faculty, talk shop with each other, have a small brunch, and peruse the test. There is also a short meeting for concurrent enrollment instructors during the latter part of this time.

A special group activity is planned for the second hour for the students who took the junior test. A show in our new planetarium will be included.

Lunch will be provided free of charge for teachers and students who attend one of our science department presentations (Biology, Chemistry, Engineering/Computer Science, or Geology) at 12:10.

Please RSVP when registering.

If they prefer, students are also able to buy lunch at the College cafeteria or at various eateries in Ephraim.

The test is scored during the lunch hour. All winners are announced and all prizes are awarded on the day of the test at the awards ceremony at 1:30 in the LDS Institute on 100 East.

Senior division (grades 10-12)

The overall top scorer recieves a grand prize.

Prizes are also awarded to team and individual winners in four categories determined by school size (student body enrollment of 10-12 grade students).

In each category the first, second, and third place individual winners receive a one-year full tuition scholarship to Snow College (worth $1800) and a Math Jock T-shirt.

A team consists of the top five scorers from each school. The team score is the sum of those top five scores. In each category the five members of the winning team and their Math instructor each receive a Math Jock T-shirt.

Junior division (grades 7-9)

The top individual in each grade receives a copy of Graphing Calculator (easy-to-use math visualization software which retails for $100) and a Math Jock T-shirt.

Other prizes

Various other door prizes are awarded to participants.

Everything is generally over by about 2:00.

The first Tuesday in April next year is April 7, 2009.

It was started in 1977 by Bart Nelson and Ted Olson, and the Math Department has been sponsoring it ever since.

In 2006 the other departments in the Natural Science Division joined in the effort; they now sponsor the lunch and the departmental tours.

The junior division of the test began in 2007.