Math Kangaroo is an international mathematical competition which brings students 7 – 18 engaged and excited in the subject of math. The competition was established in 1991 by Andra Deledicq, a professor of mathematics at the University of Paris and Jean-Pierre Boudine, professor of mathematics at Marseille.
The competition is held annually on the third Thursday of March where students from over 90 countries ranging from grade 1 to grade 12 participate and test is given on the same day all around the world. Some of participant countries from Africa include: Nigeria, Tunisia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Egypt and Zambia.
Purpose of the Math Kangaroo Test
As previously stated, the important thing about the competition is to foster enthusiasm for the subject of math. Students enjoy testing their skills in everything from addition and subtraction to algebra and geometry. It is not so much about the score a student receives, but simply the fact that they participated in the event.
When students get involved in this annual competition, they tell their friends and encourage others to join in on the fun. While some participants will pursue other school subjects more vigorously, a good number of children who take the no-pressure examination may go on to pursue math as a career or at least recognize how important it is to have a good understanding of math for use in everyday situations in life.
Questions are determined well in advance of the actual test date at an annual meeting of all of the countries that offer the Mathematical Kangaroo test. Educators get together and come up with a common set of questions that will be used in each competition around the world. The AKSF ( Association Kangourou Sans Frontieres ) makes allowances for some change in the questions for countries that request a slightly different version of the test for their students.
It would not be fair to ask an 8-year-old child to solve the same math problem as a 16-year-old. The questions are separated into six different age brackets and each bracket contains basic math problems that are straightforward and not too complicated in scope.
6 Facts About Math Kangaroo Test
- The competition is a multiple-choice test.
- The paper contains 30 questions (except for Pre Ecolier and Ecolier papers, which has 24 questions) with 5 choices to each problem.
- The time allotted is 75 minutes.
- The maximum score is 96 points for students up to 4th grade, and 120 points for other students.
- 1 point is deducted for each incorrect answer, and no penalty for skipping a question.
- Student is allowed to use a calculator during the Contest.
The key competence tested by Mathematical Kangaroo is the logical combination, not just pure knowledge of mathematical formulas but also of the applications. Here are some of the Math Kangaroo questions
Känguru der Mathematik 2018 Junior Level (Grade 9 and 10) Austria – 15.3.201
Question 01: Every child in my family has at least two brothers and at least one sister. What is the minimum number of children in my family?
(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6 (e) 7
Question 17: How many three-digit numbers are there with the property that the two-digit number obtained by deleting the
middle number is exactly a ninth of the original number?
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4 (e) 5
Question 18: How often does the summand `2018^2` appear under the root, if the following statement is correct
`sqrt(2018^2 + 2018^2 + … + 2018^2) = 2018^(10)`
(a) 5 (b) 8 (c) 18 (d) `2018^8` (e) `2018^(18)`