Pascal, Cayley and Fermat Contests

• Students in Grade 9 are eligible to write the Pascal Contest.
• Students in Grade 10 are eligible to write the Cayley Contest.
• Students in Grade 11 are eligible to write the Fermat Contest.
• Motivated students in lower grades are welcome to write the contest. 

Contest dates:  

• North and South America: Wednesday, February 26, 2025  
• Outside North and South America: Thursday, February 27, 2025 

Contest timing: Contest Supervisors are expected to administer the contest within the two-week contest period. We encourage schools to administer the contest as close to the beginning of the school day as possible in their respective time zones.

Ordering deadline: 

Deadline for schools  

• in India – Thursday, January 30, 2025
• outside of Canada and India – Thursday, February 6, 2025
• in Canada – Tuesday, February 11, 2025 

• 25 multiple-choice questions.
• 3 parts: Parts A and B follow a traditional multiple-choice format where the answer is A, B, C, D or E; in Part C, participants select a whole number from 0 to 99.
• Time allowed for completion is 60 minutes.
• Score out of 150.
• Written at school, participants write individually on paper or online. 
• Some calculators permitted. 

Questions on the PCF Contests are based on curriculum common to all Canadian provinces. Rather than testing content, most of the problems test logical thinking and mathematical problem-solving. 

Online Practice Contest

Participants writing the contest online use our CEMC Contests Online platform. In order to give educators and their participants an opportunity to familiarize themselves with this system, we provide a practice contest that features questions from last year's PCF contests. Participants will not receive a test score on attempting a practice contest. The practice contest system opens a few weeks before the PCF contest day and can be accessed up to close to the official contest date.  

Below are links to four types of resources and classroom support that can help with preparation for the for the Pascal, Cayley and Fermat Contests:

• Past contests: Participants can review and attempt past contests to gain a better understanding of the contest format, level of difficulty and time management. The CEMC has published contests and their solutions from previous years in the Past Contests section of Tools and Resources.  
• Problem-Set Generator: Participants, educators and guardians can create their own sets of random problems from past PCF contests to practice using the CEMC’s free, online Problem-Set Generator.  
• Math Courseware: Participants can use the CEMC’s free, online Courseware to learn and review important curriculum content and concepts.
• CEMC Visits Schools: Experts from the CEMC are available to conduct problem-solving workshops for students and educators. Visit CEMC Visits Schools to learn more. 

• The Pascal, Cayley and Fermat Contests can be written on paper or online. Educators can select the mode of writing that best suits their needs when submitting a contest order.
• Contest Supervisors should arrange to have participants write the contest at school, regardless of the mode of writing, and are responsible for ensuring that participants are supervised appropriately.
• For participants writing the contests online, the Contest Supervisor will provide each participant with a link and a Participant ID to access our secure CEMC Contests Online Platform where they will enter their solutions on contest day.
• Completed paper contest materials must be shipped back to the CEMC for marking.
• Results will be available in our Contest Supervisor Portal six to eight weeks after the contest date. 

Contest fee per participant: $6.00  

Processing fee per order, applies to all contest orders: $5.00  

Shipping fee per order (not applicable to online contests):  

• For schools in Canada: $5.00 per order  
• For schools outside Canada: 15% of the contest order total, before processing fees and applicable taxes (minimum charge of $10.00) 

This contest is tax-exempt within Canada and internationally.  

Each school is responsible for independently arranging and paying for the shipping of completed contests back to the CEMC. We recommend using a courier to ensure materials are returned safely and in good condition for marking.  

The CEMC does not offer refunds, returns or cancellations of any kind.  

We believe that all students will enjoy and benefit from the experience of preparing for and writing our mathematics contests. Our contests are not tests or exams. There is no passing or failing score. Information about how students and schools are awarded for their performance on our mathematics contests is listed below.

Official participants

Any full-time student may write a contest but only participants that qualify as "official" are eligible for inclusion on honour rolls and as part of a school's team score. An official participant* is one who meets the requirements below and has properly completed their Student Response Form:

• The Pascal Contest may be written by any participant in Grade 9 or below.
• The Cayley Contest may be written by any participant in Grade 10 or below.
• The Fermat Contest may be written by any participant in Grade 11 or below.

All other participants that do not meet the criteria are considered unofficial. Unofficial participants will have their papers marked and are still eligible for certificates and medals at the discretion of their school.

Disclaimer 
* A participant’s contest may also be considered unofficial if it was submitted after the allotted time (for those writing online) or if their contest is received by the CEMC too late to be included in the final results.

Notes:

1. Some participants may be taking mathematics courses beyond their grade level. These participants are still eligible to write the contest appropriate to their grade level. For example, a Grade 9 participant may be taking a Grade 10 mathematics course. Such a participant is eligible to write the Pascal Contest.
2. Exceptional participants may elect to write a contest beyond their actual grade level. Participants can only write one of the Pascal, Cayley and Fermat Contests in a given school year.  

Individual Awards

• Every participant scoring in the top 25% of all competitors receives a Certificate of Distinction.
• Each School Champion receives a Contest Medal, at the discretion of the CEMC.
• The names of some top-scoring official participants appear in zone, provincial, Canadian and international honour rolls (for regions with at least 30 participants).
• Each of the top five official participants in Canada receives a plaque at the discretion of the CEMC.
• For official participants in the Fermat Contest only, each Regional Champion is awarded a prize of $200, at the discretion of the CEMC.

Team Awards

A school's team score consists of the sum of the scores of the three highest scoring official participants. Schools have the option of not taking part in the team competition. 

For schools in Canada, rankings and team honour rolls are provided at three levels: zone, provincial, and national (for regions with at least four competing teams). Canadian schools are also eligible for the Canadian Championship Plaque, Provincial Championship Plaques, and Zone Championship Certificates at the discretion of the CEMC. 

For schools outside Canada, rankings and team honour rolls are provided.

We also encourage schools and boards to recognize and celebrate the achievements of those participants who excel.

The CEMC reserves the right to disqualify students or withhold the publication of results at its discretion.

Opt-out option:  

Our contests allow participants to opt out of having their names displayed in publicly accessible results booklets if their score is high enough to be listed on an honour roll. Their names will, however, still be published in the school results which we provide securely to the organizing educator. 

Pascal, Cayley and Fermat 2024