Problem Solving Competition

The competitions start annually and last from September to May, but you can enter any time during the academic year.

In Mathematics, there are four different contests, in Physics and in Informatics there are two. The conditions of the respective contests are slightly different. See below for details.

Every primary or secondary school student is eligible to participate in the competitions. Students in different grades might find the same problems but in most cases their work is evaluated within their age group, they compete with students of the same age only. 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 individual competitions, solutions produced by a group are not accepted. If two papers turn out to be practically identical, none of them will be marked.

This year students are not allowed to participate in both competitions “K” and “B” at the same time.

MATHEMATICS
We have four contests in Mathematics this year.

K contest: this is a joint contest of KöMaL and ABACUS, exclusively for students of grade 9 – beginning the secondary school this year. 6 problems in each Month; each of them is worth of 6 points.

C contest: easy exercises for practice. 5 problems in each Month; each one for 5 points. There are three age categories:

grades 1 to 8
grades 9 to 10
grades 11 to 12th (preferably those not studying mathematics in a special advanced class. Those in advanced classes are advised to take part in the B contest).
B contest: this is the traditional contest of KöMaL. 10 problems each month. You can send any number of solutions, but only the highest six scores are entered.

Age groups:

up to the 8th grade
9th grade
10th grade
11th grade
12th grade
A contest: advanced problems, 3 each month. More demainding than the B contest, for those who are preparing for national or international competitions. Here there are no separate age groups.

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 data obtained sufficient in quantity and quality, the analysis of the data, and the estimation of the error. There are no separate age groups.
P contest: 10 theoretical problems each month.

Age groups:

up to the 8th grade;
9th grade;
10th grade;
11th grade;
12th grade.
Every age group may send solutions to all kinds of problems. In the P contest we evaluate only 3 problems up to the 8th grade and 5 problems from 9th – 12th grade.

INFORMATICS
This year we have two contests in Informatics. There are no separate age groups, competition is opened for everyone.

I contest: three problems every Month which can be solved in Pascal, C, C++, BASIC or Delphi.

S contest: one advanced problem every Month which can be solved in Pascal, C, C++ or JAVA. Solving these problems need deeper algorithmic thoughts and knowledge.

Please do not send .exe files!

Deadlines, adresses
The deadline of mailing or e-mailing the solutions is indicated in every issue next to the new exercises and problems. Deadlines: in Physics: 11th of the month following the publication of the current issue; in Informatics: 15th of the month following the publication of the current issue; in Mathematics: A, B and C contest – 15th, K contest – 10th of the month following the publication of the current issue. Should that be a weekend or bank holiday, the deadline is the next workday.