Duke Math Meet

The Duke Math Meet (DMM) is a regional mathematics competition for high school students hosted by Duke University each year during the fall. The contest is organized by the members of the Duke University Mathematics Union (DUMU) and is sponsored by the Duke Mathematics Department.

For students from China who are interested in participating in the 2024 Duke Math Meet, you must register officially here and qualify through the Duke Math Meet China event co-hosted by DUMU and KSE Education.

2023 Duke Math Meet Results

The Duke Math Meet was once again held in-person on Saturday, November 4th during which the students had fun solving challenging mathematics problems while meeting new people and making friends with contestants from other schools and areas. Over 240 students from 42 teams around the country participated in the 2023 Duke Math Meet. The closing slides can be found here.

Top Teams:
1. Thomas Jefferson A
2. Thomas Jefferson B
3. McLean A
4. Montgomery A
5. $v_n(d)$

Top Individuals:
1. Jason Lee ($v_n(d)$)
2. Calvin Wang (TJ A)
3. Jeffrey Yin (McLean A)
4. Patrick Du (TJ B)
5. Aryan Raj (BBMC-Math)

Registration Information

DEADLINE: Registration will remain open until either the team cap (45 teams) is met, or the registration deadline of October 21st passes. Please email us if there are any necessary changes after that date.

COMPLETING REGISTRATION: Please remember to specify your sandwich preferences. From the team home page, this can be done by clicking "Edit Club Info" and typing in your preferences in the appropriate text box. Sandwich options include ham, turkey, and veggie. Also remember to enter shirt sizes under the “T-Shirts Ordered” section.

Note: If your school requires a new account or requires new login credentials, please email your school/organization name to: duke.mathmeet@gmail.com. Please include the coach's name, school address, phone, and email.

COST/PAYMENT: There is no registration cost this year, thanks to our generous sponsors. We will still provide breakfast and lunch for students and proctors, as well as t-shirts for students.

TEAMS: Each team is composed of 6 students. Since we are limited to allowing 45 teams, each club may send 2 teams + the number of teams they had in the top 20 last year, with a maximum of 4 teams. Spots will be distributed on a first-come first-serve basis. Please email us if you are unsure of the number of teams that you can bring. Due to the pandemic, any school that has done historically well at DMM can also send us a request to expand their team limit.

FULL/PARTIAL TEAMS: Teams with 6 members are full teams, while any team with fewer, including individuals, are partial teams. We will attempt to combine partial teams of compatible sizes to form complete teams, but we request that clubs try their best to create full teams.

PROCTORS: Schools and groups must bring one proctor for every team and partial team they are sending. For example, if a school is bringing one full team of six and one partial team of four, they are required to bring two proctors.

As with last year, Duke University requires adults working with minors through Duke Sponsored programs to complete a Duke background check and training prior to the start of the program as stated here: https://forms.hr.duke.edu/minors/.

Prospective proctors should be entered into the registration platform by October 14th so that we can email them a brief background check and training. This may be done before registering your teams. Proctors entered after this date might not be processed by Duke in time for the competition, and corresponding teams might not be able to attend if there is insufficient staff to supervise your team. If your club is deciding between two proctors, it is better to enter both into the system by the deadline so that both can complete the minors training in time.

PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS: Every participant must get a minors participation agreement signed by their parent or guardian and returned to us. We ask that the coach of each team combine the scanned copies of the form for every participant into a single pdf document and email it to us together. While we can accept physical copies of the form on the day of the contest, we highly recommend the forms be sent to us digitally at least a week prior to the contest. If we do not have the participation agreement on record from a student, they cannot attend. The participation agreement can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xx8WE_LOFz-nCpDndp2hYVRaL-mn36n_/view?usp=sharing

ACCESSIBILITY: If anyone in your organization has accessibility needs, you may add it as a note on the registration platform, or you may email us directly and we will work to accommodate it.

QUESTIONS: If you have any questions, please contact duke.mathmeet@gmail.com.

Contest Rules and Schedule

Instructions to contestants and proctors:

We do not permit the use of electronic devices of any kind during the test. Contestants are not allowed to refer to external sources, such as other people or books, for help. As a general rule, un-mathematics-like behaviors will be frowned upon. All numerical answers should be reduced to the simplest form.

Rounds of Math Meet

Power Round

The Power Round is a multi-part proof problem that lasts for 60 minutes. All the problems will be related to one overarching theme. The team members will work together on these problems. Answers should be given in the form of mathematical proofs, unless otherwise stated. All the necessary work to justify an answer and all the necessary steps of a proof must be shown clearly to obtain full credit. Partial credit may be awarded for answers that are incomplete but show significant progress toward a solution. On each sheet you turn in, indicate the problem number in the upper left-hand corner and team name in the upper right-hand corner. Do not put answers to differently numbered problems on the same sheet.

Team Round

The Team Round consists of ten questions with numerical answers, and it lasts for 20 minutes. In this round, the team members will work together and turn in a single answer sheet. Follow the Numerical Answering Guideline: all answers must be reduced to the lowest possible form; fractions and radicals must be reduced. Irrational and imaginary numbers can be in the denominator, as long as they are in the most reduced form. Multiple answers (unless called for) and/or illegible answers will receive no credit. Leaving a question blank does not yield extra points, nor do wrong answers receive any penalties.

Individual Round

The round consists of 10 questions, and lasts 105 minutes. Each question will be worth 1 point, for a total of 10 points. Participants will spend 10 minutes on the first 2 questions, the next 10 minutes on the next 2 questions, and so on. The answer, and only the answer, should be written in the designated space on the answer sheet provided by the proctor. Illegible and/or multiple answers will receive no credit. Leaving a question blank does not yield extra points, nor do wrong answers receive any penalties. All answers should follow the Numerical Answering Guideline.

Each individual’s score is the sum of the scores of all 10 questions. Each individual’s score contributes equally to the team’s score from the individual round.

Relay Round

Each team will be broken down into groups of 3. Each of the 3 people will receive a different problem. When the first person solves their problem, they write the answer on a small piece of paper and pass it down to the second person. The second person needs that number to solve their problem (the number is referred to as “the number you will receive”, or TNYWR). When the second person gets an answer, they pass that number down to the third person. When the third person gets their answer, they write it on an official answer slip and hand it to the official proctor at the proper time.

The second and third people can usually do most of their work before getting a number from the person ahead of them. Nothing may be passed except a number—NO COMMENTS, NO OTHER INFORMATION. You should double underline the answer you pass in case it accidentally gets turned upside down and looks like a different number. You may continue to pass answers, even if they are the same as before. NOTHING MAY BE PASSED in the reverse direction. IF YOU RECEIVE AN ANSWER THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO USE, JUST WAIT AND HOPE THAT A DIFFERENT ANSWER WILL GET PASSED TO YOU!

The third person may submit answers only at the 3 minute mark and at the 6 minute mark. If the answer handed in at 3 minutes is correct, and no answer is handed in later, it gets maximum points. If any answer is handed in at 6 minutes, the previous answer is discarded by the proctor (even if the number is the same as before!), and you can only get the lower number of points, provided the answer is correct. OBVIOUSLY THE THIRD PERSON SHOULD NOT HAND IN THE SAME ANSWER A SECOND TIME!

A 15 second warning will be announced before the 3 minute and 6 minute time limits. If you are handing in an answer then, put it on the appropriate answer slip, hold that slip up, and a volunteer will collect it.

Teams will receive full points for a correct solution at the three-minute mark and half points for a correct solution after six minutes.

Devil Round

This round is purely for fun; it is meant to be a relaxing way for students from different schools to meet each other and will not affect individual or team scores. All participants, including alternates, will be randomly placed onto mixed teams of six or seven. Each team will be assigned a name and assign itself a runner, who will be in charge of retrieving questions and submitting the team’s solutions. Each team will receive a starting question on a slip of paper; once they’ve written a solution and their team name on it, the runner will run it to the moderators and receive another question in return. This process will continue until time or the moderators’ supply of problems run out. Each problem will be worth the same value; correct answers will receive full credit but incorrect answers will not be penalized. Each team’s score will be updated live on the board at the front of the room.

Schedule

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM	Check-In
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM	Snacks
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM	Teams sent to location
10:15 AM - 11:15 AM	Power Round
11:25 AM - 11:45 AM	Team Round
12:00 PM - 1:20 PM	Lunch
1:30 PM - 3:15 PM	Individual Round
3:15 PM - 3:40 PM	Relay Round
3:40 PM - 4:25 PM	Devil Round
4:25 PM - 4:40 PM	Tiebreakers
4:40 PM - 5:00 PM	Award Ceremony