Junior Maths Challenge 2021 Answers Pdf
Rolando Kumar
Ah, was it a national thing? My DD is in Y8 and did one today. She said that Qs 1-15 were OK (ish) but that from 16-20 if you got the question wrong you dropped a mark and I can't remember what the marking was for qs 21-25.
My gdd has done the test since yr 7 and is now in year 10 so does the intermediate level. She said this years one harder than last years but she hopes to scrap a bronze. The school doesn't tell them when it is they just get told on the day. The test is meant to stretch their abilities and are hard so they can't guess the answers, also lots of trick questions too, not meant to be serious really but great if they go on to the further olympiads. My gdd hasn't got further than a gold but isn't fazzed about it.
My daughter sat it today - was quite hopeful before going in and but came out saying it was much harder than expected - she had been practicing the past papers.
if you cannot work out the answers 1-15 you might as well guess because it is multiple choice and you do not loose points for a wrong answer but for 16 upwards more marks but marks off if you get it wrong.
Dd has had virtually no maths teaching since she started in Y7 (teacher ill, rather dubious supply teacher if she is to be believed) let alone preparation for this particular test, so it will be interesting to see if any of her lot manage to come anywhere.
If you get on average about 11 right on the first 15 you will get a bronze but it depends what the boundaries are for each year as they vary. If you go on their site you will find the questions and answers and the mark boundaries in a couple of days when they have all the results in. Good luck!
DS sat it yesterday, he is in Y7. He thought first 15 questions were ok. He didn't like the next 5 questions so missed them out as didn't want to drop any marks. He then did a few of the next section. Fingers crossed he got them right, as otherwise you drop 2 marks each.
My Y7 class bounced out of it happily declaring it was easy and some answered all the questions, which leads me to suspect that they didn't read them properly and will be losing marks!
Results usually take about a fortnight to come out.
Yr7 DS1 sat it and said the first 18 or so were fine and then it got harder and quite a lot of them were educated guesses. He was told to try to answer all of them. Is that not a good approach - comments above indicate that you might be better not to attempt the question?
Definitely do not attempt any after 15 unless you are positive about answer, that is why they are hard because you lose marks! But as I said before it is meant to stretch them and to get gold or into an olympiad you would have to answer some beyond the 15. It doesn't really matter the fun is taking part, don't worry too much about the results. Past papers are on the site which would be handy for next year as practise.
Uh Oh - DS1 is not happy. Clearly he didn't listen properly. The teacher apparently said you won't lose any marks for giving the first 15 a go - but he didn't then take that to mean you would lose marks for trying the next lot and getting some wrong.
Shame because he thinks he got about 6 right from the harder questions. Oh well - next time!
Y7 ds sat it yesterday-said it was harder than he expected, and didn't answer 4 questions in the last lot. He's a high achiever in maths and was gutted-he was aiming for kanagaroo but because he didn't answer enough he knows he won't get it.
That said, he did say he enjoys this style of test-far more interesting than normal maths, so it doesn't seem to have killed the love of the subject for him, which is a relief!
The UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge is a multiple-choice maths competition. There are 25 questions, each with 5 options labelled A, B, C, D and E. Students who do well in the challenge are awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates and the best-performing students are invited to take the follow-on Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds. Watch the video below to learn more!
The UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge is usually taken by students in Years 7 and 8 in England and Wales, which corresponds to Years 8 and 9 in Northern Ireland or S1 and S2 in Scotland, but younger students can also take the challenge. Students in equivalent year groups around the world also take the Junior Maths Challenge. These year groups usually correspond to students aged between 11 and 13, but there is no lower limit on the age students can participate.
The UKMT Junior Maths Challenge is marked automatically. Paper entries are passed through a machine that scans the papers and checks students multiple choice answers so it is very important that students follow the instructions on the answer paper carefully and only enter one answer for each question. Students often keep a note of their answers on rough paper and enter their answers on the answer sheet at the end as it can be hard to erase answers fully if they want to change their answers. Students taking the challenge online do not have this problem of course where the marking is fully automated and answers are chosen on the screen.
The Junior Mathematical Challenge usually takes place in April, a couple of weeks after the Easter holidays. The exact date varies from year to year. I keep a list of upcoming maths challenge dates here or you can also see the date of the next JMC at the UKMT website here.
Students who do very well in the Junior Maths Challenge can go on to take either the Junior Kangaroo or Junior Mathematical Olympiad follow-on rounds. You can find more information about these competitions on the page here.
Yes! As well as making the courses here I often teach small group lessons via Zoom to prepare for maths challenges at all levels, including the Junior Maths Challenge. If you would prefer to work with me 1-1 you can see more information and book here.
There is a list of all past grade boundaries for the Junior Mathematical Challenge from 1997 to present on the page here. You can also watch the video below to learn more about how the grade boundaries are set and how this has changed in recent years.
The national mathematics competitions had existed prior to the formation of the trust, but the foundation of the UKMT in the summer of 1996 enabled them to be run collectively. The Senior Mathematical Challenge was formerly called the National Mathematics Contest. Founded in 1961, it was run by the Mathematical Association from 1975 until its adoption by the UKMT in 1996. The Junior and Intermediate Mathematical Challenges were the initiative of Dr Tony Gardiner in 1987 and were run by him under the name of the United Kingdom Mathematics Foundation until 1996. The popularity of the UK national mathematics competitions is largely due to the publicising efforts of Dr Gardiner in the years 1987-1995. Hence, in 1995, he advertised for the formation of a committee and for a host institution that would lead to the establishment of the UKMT, enabling the challenges to be run effectively together under one organisation.
In the Junior and Intermediate Challenges the top scoring 50% of the entrants receive bronze, silver or gold certificates based on their mark in the paper. In the Senior Mathematical Challenge these certificates are awarded to top scoring 66% of the entries. In each case bronze, silver and gold certificates are awarded in the ratio 3 : 2 : 1.So in the Junior and Intermediate Challenges
In the past, only the top 40% of participants received a certificate in the Junior and Intermediate Challenges, and only the top 60% of participants received a certificate in the Senior Challenge. The ratio of bronze, silver, and gold have not changed, still being 3 : 2 : 1.
The Junior Mathematical Challenge (JMC) is an introductory challenge for pupils in Years 8 or below (aged 13) or below, taking place in spring each year. This takes the form of twenty-five multiple choice questions to be sat in exam conditions, to be completed within one hour. The first fifteen questions are designed to be easier, and a pupil will gain 5 marks for getting a question in this section correct. Questions 16-20 are more difficult and are worth 6 marks. The last five questions are intended to be the most challenging and so are also 6 marks. Questions to which no answer is entered will gain (and lose) 0 marks.[3] However, in recent years there has been no negative marking so wrong questions will be given 0 marks. Previously, the top 40% of students (50% since the 2022 JMC) get a certificate of varying levels (Gold, Silver or Bronze) based on their score.
Next 40% get Certificate of Merit.Remaining 35% get Certificate of Qualification or Participation.Top 40 get a gold medal, the next 60 a silver medal, the next 100 a bronze medal. All medalists receive a book prize. Only questions 11-16 are considered for medals
Over 10,000 participants from the JMC are invited to participate in the Junior Kangaroo.[5] Most of the Junior Kangaroo participants are those who performed well in the JMC, however the Junior Kangaroo is open to discretionary entries for a fee. Similar to the JMC, the Junior Kangaroo is a 60 minute challenge consisting of 25 multiple-choice problems.[6] Correct answers for Questions 1-15 earn 5 marks, and for Questions 16-25 earn 6 marks. Blank or incorrect answers are marked 0; there is no penalty for wrong answers.
The highest 1200 scorers are also invited to take part in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad (JMO). Like the JMC, the JMO is sat in schools. This is also divided into two sections. Part A is composed of 10 questions in which the candidate gives just the answer (not multiple choice), worth 10 marks (1 mark each). Part B consists of 6 questions and encourages students to write out full solutions. Each question in section B is worth 10 marks and students are encouraged to write complete answers to 2-4 questions rather than hurry through incomplete answers to all 6. If the solution is judged to be incomplete, it is marked on a 0+ basis, maximum 3 marks. If it has an evident logical strategy, it is marked on a 10- basis. The total mark for the whole paper is 70. Everyone who participates in this challenge will gain a certificate (Participation 75%, Distinction 25%); the top 200 or so gaining medals (Gold, Silver, Bronze); with the top fifty winning a book prize.[8]
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