The Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC) is a Canadian educational organization dedicated to promoting and creating activities and materials in mathematics and computer science. Founded in 1995 with origins dating back to the 1960s, it is housed within the

Faculty of Mathematics In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge. Although rese ...

at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...

. It runs off of funding from the University of Waterloo,

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...

, the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

, and other individual donors. Its mission is to increase interest, enjoyment, confidence, and ability in mathematics and computer science among learners and educators. The CEMC administers the Canadian Mathematics Competitions (CMC), written annually by over 200,000 students from around the world, as well as contests in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

. These competitions can be viewed as analogous to the structure of the American Regions Mathematics League. Attaining a score high enough to be on the Student Honour Roll associated with the contests is one of the most highly-viewed STEM achievements for Canadian secondary school students. The CEMC also holds other activities promoting mathematics in high school, such as

math circle A math circle is a learning space where participants engage in the depths and intricacies of mathematical thinking, propagate the culture of doing mathematics, and create knowledge. To reach these goals, participants partake in Problem solving, pro ...

s and teacher education programs.

Contests held

The contests are listed by grade below. * Grade 7 - Gauss 7 * Grade 8 - Gauss 8 * Grade 9 - Pascal and Fryer * Grade 10 - Cayley and Galois * Grade 11 - Fermat and Hypatia * Grade 12 - Euclid * Grade 9 and 10 - Canadian Intermediate Mathematics Contest * Grade 11 and 12 - Canadian Senior Mathematics Contest * All grades -

Canadian Computing Competition The Canadian Computing Competition (CCC) is an annual programming competition for secondary school students in Canada, organized by the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing at the University of Waterloo. Stage 1 is written at high ...

(CCC) * All grades, by invite only - Canadian Computing Olympiad (CCO) * Grade 7/8 - 10 - the Beaver (Bebras) Computing Challenge for Grade 7/8 - 10 students. (Beaver)

Gauss

The Gauss 7 and 8 contests (named after

Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

) are multiple-choice contests intended for grade 7 and 8 students respectively. Calculators without Internet connectivity, graphing, computer algebra systems or dynamic geometry software are allowed. The Gauss 7 is offered to all grade 7 students as well as being offered to interested students in lower grades. Test includes material generally covered in the Ontario 7th grade curriculum, it focuses largely on geometry, number sense, and mathematical thinking. Generally written by approximately 45000 students all over Canada, most from Ontario. The mean sore on the test is 90/150 with around 500-600 students scoring in the 136-150 range. The Gauss 8 contest is offered to all grade 8 students as well as being offered to interested students in lower grades. Test includes mostly the same material as the Gauss 7 with more emphasis on some algebra that is a part of the grade 8 curriculum. Generally written by approximately 45000 students all over Canada, most from Ontario. The mean score on the test is 90/150. Questions are divided into 10 Part A questions, 10 Part B questions, and 5 Part C questions (worth 5/6/8 points respectively per question), ranging from easiest to hardest. Students are given 60 minutes to complete the questions. Starting in 2022, Part C questions are no longer multiple-choice and their answers are integers from 0 to 99, inclusive.

Pascal/Cayley/Fermat

PCF (Pascal/Cayley/Fermat, each named after Blaise Pascal, Arthur Cayley and

Pierre de Fermat Pierre de Fermat (; between 31 October and 6 December 1607 – 12 January 1665) was a French mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality. In particular, he ...

respectively) are the multiple-choice contests that are offered to secondary school students. The maximum grade a student may be in to participate in the contests is 9/10/11 respectively. Each test covers material that is standard for each particular grade, and may be taken by students in lower grades. The maximum score is 150 with an average score of around 100 for each contest. Awards are given to some of the top scorers. Calculators without Internet connectivity, graphing, computer algebra systems or dynamic geometry software are allowed. Questions are divided into 10 Part A questions, 10 Part B questions, and 5 Part C questions (worth 5/6/8 points respectively per question), ranging from easiest to hardest. Students are given 60 minutes to complete the questions. Starting in 2022, Part C questions are no longer multiple-choice and their answers are integers from 0 to 99, inclusive.

Fryer/Galois/Hypatia

FGH (Fryer/Galois/Hypatia, named after Ken Fryer, a former professor at the University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics,

Évariste Galois Évariste Galois (; ; 25 October 1811 – 31 May 1832) was a French mathematician and political activist. While still in his teens, he was able to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be solvable by radicals, ...

, and Hypatia of Alexandria respectively) are contests for grade 9/10/11 students respectively, but may be taken by students in lower grades. The maximum score is 40. Awards are given to some of the top scorers. Calculators without Internet connectivity, graphing, computer algebra systems or dynamic geometry software are allowed. The contest consists of four written questions each worth 10 points, some of which require only an answer and others requiring full solutions, ranging from easiest to hardest. Students are given 75 minutes to complete the questions.

Euclid

The Euclid contest (named after

Euclid of Alexandria Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of g ...

) is a contest for grade 12 students, but may be taken by students in lower grades. The maximum score is 100. Awards are given to some of the top scorers, and those who perform well are considered for scholarships. The University of Waterloo states: "We strongly encourage you to participate in the Euclid Mathematics Contest and/or the Canadian Senior Mathematics Contest if you’re applying to a program in the Faculty of Mathematics." Calculators without Internet connectivity, graphing, computer algebra systems or dynamic geometry software are allowed. The contest consists of 10 written questions each worth 10 points, some of which require only an answer and others requiring full solutions. Students are given 150 minutes to complete the questions. Questions ascend in difficulty as the participant progresses through the contest, with question 1 being very easy to question 10 being very difficult. Some of the tested material consists of: *

Algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary ...

and functions *

Geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...

and analytic geometry *

Trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies ...

Sequences In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...

and

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

Logarithms In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means the logarithm of a number to the base is the exponent to which must be raised, to produce . For example, since , the ''logarithm base'' 10 of ...

Probability Probability is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1, where, roughly speakin ...

and combinatorics * Discrete mathematics

CIMC and CSMC

The Canadian Intermediate Mathematics Competition (CIMC; for grades 9 and 10) and Canadian Senior Mathematics Competition (CSMC; for grades 11 and 12) are two contests both consisting of 6 questions (Part A) requiring only an answer and 3 questions (Part B) requiring full solutions. The maximum score is 60. Students are given 120 minutes to complete the questions. Awards are given to some of the top scorers, and those who perform well on the CSMC are considered for scholarships. Calculators without Internet connectivity, graphing, computer algebra systems or dynamic geometry software are allowed. The content of the CIMC covers up to the grade 10 curriculum, while the content of the CSMC covers all of the standard Canadian maths curricula.

CCC

The

(CCC) is a programming competition, split into Junior (for elementary programming skills) and Senior (for higher programming skills). There are 5 questions each worth 15 points, for a maximum score is 75, ranging from easy questions to difficult. Students are given 180 minutes to complete the questions. Knowledge of programming is tested, with the more difficult content being advanced algorithm design and mathematical reasoning. All written programs have a 3 second time limit and a maximum of 512 MB of memory. While access to the Internet is allowed (for accessing documentation), the use of other material (such as Google, chat systems, forums, and any other form of communication) is forbidden. Calculators are permitted. The CCC Online Grader accepts the following programming languages: * C *

C++ C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

(2.x and 3.x) * Pascal *

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

Perl Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was offic ...

PHP PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group. ...

For the Junior competition, the questions test the following content: * Questions 1 and 2: basic loops and conditions * Questions 3 and 4: combination of loops, conditions, counting * Question 5: recursion, two-dimensional arrays, algorithm design For the Senior competition, the questions test the following content: * Questions 1 and 2: basic algorithm design (sorting and searching) * Questions 3 and 4: advanced algorithm design (counting skills and mathematical reasoning) * Question 5: International Olympiad for Informatics (IOI) level question Students who perform well are considered for scholarships and are given rewards. The top 20 or so participants are invited to write the Canadian Computing Olympiad (CCO) at the University of Waterloo. It is used to select members for the Canadian delegation at the International Olympiad for Informatics (IOI).

References

Computer science departments in Canada University of Waterloo 1995 establishments in Ontario {{Mathematics_in_Canada