Pi Day Mathematics Competition

The Pi Day Mathematics Competition is an opportunity for high school students in Qatar to explore the fun side of mathematics. Teams of four students compete in two rounds of mathematical problem solving. The preliminary round will determine the top four teams. The top four teams advance to the final round.

Check back for information on the next Pi Day Mathematics Competition!

About the Competition

What is Pi Day?

The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is an irrational number denoted by the Greek letter π and commonly approximated as 3.14. Every year, mathematics enthusiasts all over the world celebrate March 14 (written as 3/14 in the month/date format) as Pi Day.

Rules and Regulations

Teams of four students compete in two rounds of mathematical problem solving. A school may register only one team for the competition. The preliminary round will determine the top four teams. The top four teams advance to the final round. The venue for both events is the Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar campus in Education City.

Teams and Registration

All teams must have exactly four students and one faculty/staff team advisor. All students on a team must attend the same school.
No student can be a member of two or more teams. It is not possible to substitute or exchange team members at any stage of the competition.
A school may register only one team for the competition.
All applications must be submitted in English.
The faculty/staff advisor will be responsible for registering the team and for all prior and subsequent communication with organizers.
To register a team, please fill out the application form.
The registration deadline is early February, and application decisions will be sent out via e-mail in February.

Format of the Competition

The competition will consist of two rounds: a Preliminary round in February and a Final round in March.
Both rounds of the competition will be conducted in English yet Arabic translations will also be available.
The mathematical content of the competition will be consistent with the topics listed in the Curriculum Standards for grades 9-11 as set by the Supreme Education Council.

Preliminary Round

The Preliminary round will be held in February at the Carnegie Mellon University Qatar campus in Education City.
Contestants are requested to arrive one hour before the start of the competition.
The preliminary round will be a written test. Teams will be given 90 minutes to complete a set of 40 questions of varying difficulty.
A question booklet (in English and Arabic) and an answer sheet will be provided to each team. Team members may work on different problems; however, each team may submit only one answer sheet.
There will be a penalty for incorrect answers: ¼ of the respective points will be deducted from the overall total points.
Calculators are not allowed during the competition.
Formula sheets are not permitted during the competition.
The top 4 teams from the preliminary round will advance to the final round. In case of a tie, decisions will be made by a random draw.
The finalists will be contacted by email in February.
Decisions of the judges are final.

Final Round

The Final round will be held in March at the Carnegie Mellon University Qatar campus in Education City.
Contestants are required to arrive one hour before the competition start time.
The Final round will be held in a “Quiz Bowl” format.
In case of a tie, tiebreaker questions will be used and the first team to answer correctly will win.
Decisions of the judges are final.

Prizes

Certificates of Participation will be awarded to all participants of the Preliminary round immediately after the completion of the round.
More prestigious prizes will be awarded to finalists at an award ceremony to be held immediately after the completion of the Final round.