About the Math Hackathon
Explorer Hop's Math Hackathon is a global math competition where contestants use math to solve one of our world's most pressing issues. The competition is open to students all around the world between the ages of 11 and 17 who are enrolled full-time in school. We welcome students of all different Math levels. Participants can join either as individuals (if they want to work on their project solo) or join as a group of 4 members (max), and work collaboratively with others.
This year's competition ran from June 4th to June 5th, 2022. Therefore, from the start of the competition, participants had 48 hours to submit their solution to the proposed problem for assessment by the Explorer Hop team. Following the assessment of all answers, participants were awarded prizes according to their rank, with the top finisher taking home a $100 gift card and the other contestants in the Top 10 receiving smaller prizes. All participants, however, received a certificate acknowledging their effort and completion of the hackathon.
If you feel that you're on the lesser experienced side and want to prepare first, there is still time to do so before the next competition (2023 dates: TBA). Please visit Explorer Hop's website and sign up for one of our many math programs now. These offerings have been individually curated and refined to cater to children and students from 6th grade (11 years old) to 12th grade (18 years old) so check them out now if you want to boost your math skills prior to our next hackathon (2023 dates: TBA)!
Young Math Whiz Rio Cao on His Experience
The Explorer Hop team interviewed Math Hackathon participants on their experiences to help prepare future students and offer them insight into what it's like to compete.
Read on for a written version of our interview with Rio (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
EH: Why is math your favourite subject?
Rio: It is the best subject. I find it interesting and it is fun to solve some very different questions that bend your mind.
EH: How did you find out about this hackathon?
Rio: My dad told me about it and he signed me up. It's my first one but I feel like I can learn a lot.
EH: Where do you think population density is the highest?
Rio: Definitely China and India are very densely populated and I would think that northern Europe is not that populated.
EH: Would you want to live in a country with low or high population density?
Rio: Both extremes are not good. Both extremes can create problems. I would say a higher population would be better than a lower population because if there are more people living in that area, it means more competition but it also means more opportunity. You can get into a very good environment. You can accomplish much more in a bigger group than in a smaller group.
EH: How do you think you could inspire more kids to be excited about math?
Rio: One of the most interesting parts of math is thinking about why it works, thinking about why using the method to solve a problem. Thinking further about why it works and what use it can have in some slightly different situations can help make math more interesting.