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NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. 50 US, DC, and US territories. Entries
must be submitted by the student’s teacher, 18+. Teachers submit
entries online: scholastic.com/hardestmathcontest. Teachers submit
entries by mail: Scholastic Inc., The Hardest Math Contest, ATTN:
SNP, Space 3-226, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Challenge 1:
Open to grs. 5-8 students. Students may enter by answering at least
one question at or above their current grade level. For each
problem submitted, only one answer may be submitted. Use a
different entry form for each answer submitted. Entry period: 12:01
a.m. ET on 9/25/20 to 11:59 p.m. ET on 11/23/20. Mailed entries:
postmarked by 11/23/20, and rec’d by 12/7/20. Three teachers who
submit at least three eligible student entries (except as set forth
in official rules) will each receive a $500 gift card. Challenge 2:
Open to grs. 5-8 students who answered correctly in Challenge 1.
Teachers of eligible students will be notified on or around
1/11/21. Students may enter by answering at least one question at
or above their current grade level. For each problem submitted,
only one answer may be submitted. Use a different entry form for
each answer submitted. Entry period: 12:01 a.m. ET on 1/11/21 to
11:59 p.m. ET on 2/26/21. Mailed entries: postmarked by 2/26/21,
and rec’d by 3/12/21. Three (3) Grand Prize winning students, one
from each of sixth, seventh, and eighth grades problems, will each
receive a laptop computer with Microsoft Office Home and Student
Office products (ARV $550) and a $5,000 contribution to a 529 plan
(a college savings account) (ARV $5,000). The three teachers who
submitted the entries of the Grand-Prize Winners will each receive
a $500 American Express gift card for classroom use (ARV $500).
Three (3) Runner-Up winning students, one from each of sixth,
seventh, and eighth grade problems, will each receive a tablet
computer, which does not include a data plan (ARV $125). Official
Rules: scholastic.com/hardestmathcontest/rules. Void where
prohibited.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Student’s First Name
Student’s Last Name
Grade
Teacher’s Name
Teacher’s Email
School Phone
School Name
School Address
City
State Zip Code
THE HARDEST MATH PROBLEM STUDENT CONTEST
STUDENT ENTRY FORMCHALLENGE 1
Ready to show off your math and writing skills? Have your
teacher send us your answer to the Challenge 1 story problem. If
you answer correctly, you’ll be invited to enter
Challenge 2 for a chance to win great prizes, including a
laptop. Whoa!
Use the Challenge 1 Question Sheet to answer the story problem
for your grade.
Want an extra challenge? You can also answer the problem for any
grade level above you!
(Heads up: You can only submit one entry per grade problem. Use
a separate form for each problem.
A correct answer for your current grade level or above will make
you eligible to enter Challenge 2!)
My Grade I’m currently in grade ❏ 5 ❏ 6 ❏ 7 ❏ 8
My Answer
My Reasoning Sharing your reasoning is optional now, but it’s
good practice because it’s required in Challenge 2! For
more space, continue on a separate sheet of paper.
Entries due November 23,
2020
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Vishal loves to eat! He wants to know which foods are pollinated
by bees. He found out that the honeybee, one of 20,000 different
bee species, makes honey and provides most of the pollination for
blueberries, broccoli, cherries, and many other foods. (Yum!) The
honeybee
provides 100 percent of the pollination for almonds. But,
honeybees are dying from habitat loss, the varroa mite, pesticides,
and climate change. Below are approximate rates of honeybee loss in
the U.S. for nine consecutive years.
What survival rate in the 10th year would make the average rate
of loss over the 10-year period equal to 38.0%?
Definition: Survival rate is the opposite of rate of loss.
THE HARDEST MATH PROBLEM GRADE 6
There’s a new club at Monroe Middle School thanks to three
persuasive students—Vishal, Maria, and Jade. When the principal
read their proposal for EARTH Club, she smiled and said,
“Environmentally Aware and Ready to Help! What a great title! Now
what activities do you have planned?”
“First, we’ll study the declining population of bees,” said
Vishal.
“Bees are vital to our ecosystem,” Maria explained. “Did you
know that when they transfer pollen, they start the process of
reproduction in about 80 percent of plants? That includes fruits,
vegetables, flowers, and seeds.”
“It also includes around 90 different types of food, like apples
and pumpkins,” added Jade.
“Wow,” said the principal. “The EARTH Club is officially
approved!”
QUESTION SHEETCHALLENGE 1
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Rate of Loss 36.2% 29.0% 46.2% 37.5% 40.9% 40.0% 32.6% 40.5%
40.1%
Solve the Problem
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6
Maria found out that “bumblebee” isn’t just a nickname. The
rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) exists, but it’s now on
the endangered species list. Twenty years ago, an estimated
727,731,000 of these bees lived across America and Canada. Today,
they are usually found only in the states and the province shown
below.
QUESTION SHEETCHALLENGE 1
IL
56
IN
36
IA
56
ME
31
MD
10
MA
8
MN
80
NC
49
OH
41
PA
45
TN
41
VA
40
WI
54
Ontario
354400
300
200
100
0
There’s a new club at Monroe Middle School thanks to three
persuasive students—Vishal, Maria, and Jade. When the principal
read their proposal for EARTH Club, she smiled and said,
“Environmentally Aware and Ready to Help! What a great title! Now
what activities do you have planned?”
“First, we’ll study the declining population of bees,” said
Vishal.
“Bees are vital to our ecosystem,” Maria explained. “Did you
know that when they transfer pollen, they start the process of
reproduction in about 80 percent of plants? That includes fruits,
vegetables, flowers, and seeds.”
“It also includes around 90 different types of food, like apples
and pumpkins,” Jade added.
“Wow,” said the principal. “The EARTH Club is officially
approved!”
Assume an even distribution of bees per mile across these
territories. Suppose today’s scientists sample an area of five
square miles within each territory, and find, on average, 3 nests
with 205 living rusty patched bumble bees per nest.
What is the percent decline, to the nearest whole number, of
rusty patched bumble bees from 20 years ago to today?
THE HARDEST MATH PROBLEM GRADE 7
Solve the Problem
Lan
d A
rea
(in 1
,00
0 s
qu
are
mile
s)
North American Locations
Size of Various North American Locations
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6
Jade read that honey is in high demand at stores right now
because more and more people want natural sweeteners. She was
interested in looking at the relationship between honey production
and the cost of honey over the same set of years. She considered
the graphs below:
For the 25-year period from 1992 to 2017, find the percent
change in honey production and the percent change in honey price.
Include the complete decimal in the trend line equations. For
example, use 6.029 and 19.871 (all digits to the thousandths place)
in the production equation. Round only at the end of all your
calculations, and round each of the final two answers to the
nearest whole number percent.
QUESTION SHEETCHALLENGE 1
50 10 15 20 25 30 35
250
200
150
100
50
U.S. Honey Production
Years Since 1987
Mill
ion
s o
f P
ou
nd
s o
f H
on
ey y = -2.739x + 222.15
50 10 15 20 25 30 35
250
200
150
100
50
U.S. Honey Price
Years Since 1987
Ce
nts
Pe
r P
ou
nd
of
Ho
ne
y y = 6.029x + 19.871
There’s a new club at Monroe Middle School thanks to three
persuasive students—Vishal, Maria, and Jade. When the principal
read their proposal for EARTH Club, she smiled and said,
“Environmentally Aware and Ready to Help! What a great title! Now
what activities do you have planned?”
“First, we’ll study the declining population of bees,” said
Vishal.
“Bees are vital to our ecosystem,” Maria explained.
“Did you know that when they transfer pollen, they start the
process of reproduction in about 80 percent of plants? That
includes fruits, vegetables, flowers, and seeds.”
“It also includes around 90 different types of food, like apples
and pumpkins,” Jade added.
“Wow,” said the principal. “The EARTH Club is officially
approved!”
THE HARDEST MATH PROBLEM GRADE 8
Solve the Problem
Im currently in grade: OffMy Answer: more space continue on a
separate sheet of paper: undefined: undefined_2: undefined_3:
undefined_4: Students First Name: School Phone: Students Last Name:
School Name: Grade: School Address: Teachers Name: City: Teachers
Email: State: Zip Code: