Want to Ace the Gauss Contest Part C? Prepare With Our Exclusive Workbook and Class!

The Gauss Contest, the world-famous math contest for students grades 7-8, is just around the corner! Known for its difficulty, it is one of the most widely taken math contests in the world and is highly regarded by academic institutions.

For such a tough competition, a good strategy is necessary to achieve a high score. Today, we’ll share some tips on how to approach Gauss problems effectively!

Exam Format

The exam consists of 25 multiple-choice questions which are divided into three parts according to difficulty.

• Part A is relatively easy and contains 10 questions.

• Part B has 10 questions that are more challenging than Part A, but aside from two or three harder problems, most students who’ve consistently studied math should be able to solve them.

• Part C contains 5 high-level challenging questions which require advanced math skills and logical reasoning to tackle.

  
  

However, students with weaker reading comprehension may spend more time understanding the questions than actually solving them, which can cause students to miss even the easier questions.

Scoring Breakdown

• 10 questions in Part A: 5 points each → 50 points

• 10 questions in Part B: 6 points each → 60 points

• 5 questions in Part C: 8 points each → 40 points

Total possible score: 150 points

Time Management Strategy

The key is how you manage your time.

You need to train yourself to quickly understand the questions, so you can efficiently solve Parts A and B and leave enough time for Part C.

Part C questions are usually long and confusingly worded to be ambiguous. You may have to read the problem multiple times to grasp what it's asking. This leads to time pressure and can cause panic when trying to decide what formula or approach to use.

That’s why time allocation is one of the most important strategies.

For example:

• Spend about 10 minutes on Part A

• 15–20 minutes on Part B

• 30–35 minutes on Part C

Practicing with this time structure can help increase both your speed and accuracy in reading and solving problems.

Sample Part C Questions

Now, let’s look at some Part C questions from past Gauss exams. You’ll need to solve 5 questions in 30 minutes. For students who aren’t well-practiced, even one question might take 30 minutes to solve!

Let’s take a look at some questions from the 2023 Grade 8 contest:

Our Contest Prep Class & Workbook!

Although past exam questions and solutions are provided by the University of Waterloo, it can be a lot to work through. We gathered the problems that students found most difficult in our custom workbook.

Even the most difficult problems become manageable with focused, repeated training. As students continue to practice, they naturally begin to understand how to approach these problems, and their skills will improve without even realizing it.

We also provide training to solve problems quickly and accurately, exposing students to time-pressured situations frequently in our Contest Prep class.

If you have any questions about the class, please feel free to contact us anytime.