Math Day 2021

Join us virtually on Dec. 2, 2021

The second online Math Day, referred to as Math Day 2.1, was held virtually on Thursday, December 2, 2021, hosted by the Department of Mathematics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 43 Nebraska high schools joined us online for a day of fast-paced mathematics.

Math Day is designed for students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 and for exceptional students in lower grades. Teachers who would like to invite students from lower grades to participate must request and receive written permission from Nebraska Math Day. Homeschooled students are also welcome to attend but will need to contact us for a registration code. Contact us at mathday@unl.edu. Registration is now closed.

For 2021, Math Day 2.1 will consist of one team mathematics competition, the Math Bowl 2.1, as well as the PROBE I (Problems Requiring Original and Brilliant Effort) Exam. The PROBE I exams will be mailed to schools ahead of time with proctoring instructions. All students will take the exam at 12:45 p.m. on Dec. 2. Teachers will immediately mail the bubble sheets back to us for scanning and grading. The PROBE II Exam will be offered in the spring, in person at the UNL City Campus, to the top 50 students from PROBE I. Scholarships will be attached to the PROBE II scores.

Competition Online

The Math Bowl 2.1 is a team mathematics competition, a Swiss-system tournament pitting three-member teams against each other. The team competitions will be divided into two classes, competitive and recreational, with trophies given to the top four teams in each class. Two teams will meet in each round and are paired using a set of rules designed to ensure that each competitor plays opponents with a similar running score, but does not play the same opponent more than once. The Swiss system seeks to provide a clear winner with a large number of competitors and a relatively small number of rounds of competition, without a single bad result terminating participation. For more rules about the Math Bowl 2.1, see Rules for Students below.

We anticipate that bowl rounds will occur in the morning between 9 a.m. and noon and in the afternoon between 2 and 5 p.m. At most, 12 kids would be taken out of class to compete in bowl rounds. We encourage your bowl team to compete on one Zoom account. We will allow students to compete from home on individual Zoom accounts but then their team collaboration will be limited. Up to 100 students can be registered for PROBE I. Exams will be mailed to the schools approximately one week before Dec. 2.

Rules for Students

1. Each school will be allowed two bowl teams: either (1) two teams in the competitive class; (2) one team in the competitive class and one in the recreational class; or (3) two teams in the recreational class.
2. Each bowl team can have up to six students. Students can rotate in between rounds.
3. Students may participate at school on one Zoom account or at various locations on up to four individual Zoom accounts (i.e., one per student plus the observing teacher).
4. Agreement of Expectations for students: The focus of this competition is exploring mathematics, and I will give my best effort to interact with the faculty and students who are volunteering their time to speak with me and to participate in the activities provided by UNL. For my safety, I will only join Zoom meetings advertised by Math Day with approved UNL Activity Workers. I will notify Math Day of any inappropriate Zoom behavior. I will treat my surroundings with the appropriate respect. I agree to follow the instructions and schedule established by Math Day. If at any time the UNL staff deems my behavior unacceptable, my teacher may be notified, and I may be asked to leave the Zoom event(s).