BOTS50 Math Challenge – 128 Students

The first national mathematical competition for secondary school students in Botswana was organized on the 22nd November. The event was a part of the golden jubilee independence celebrations on the occasion of the 50th Independence Day of Botswana. The competition was organized by the Mathematical Association of Botswana (MAB) under the title “BOTS50 Mathematics Challenge”.

There were 128 participants from different schools of Botswana. The participation was open for every secondary school student all over the country, no registration was necessary. The problem sheet was based on the exam sheets of the American Junior High School Mathematics Examination. It was a 60-minute multiple choice test containing 20 questions.

The competition was managed and supervised by the local math teachers. They received the problem sheets together with the solution key via email.  The tests were scored in a way that penalizes guesses: correct answers were worth 6 points, unanswered questions were worth 1.5 points, and incorrect answers were awarded zero point. The total score was 120 points.   The best solver earned 91.5 marks, the best ten ranged between 64.5 and 91.5.

If you are interested in the questions and their solutions, please first visit the Problems then the Solutions page of this website. Good luck and have fun!