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ROUND
THREE

Comments used by the graders as they evaluated round three papers are listed in the table below, while a scoring breakdown by part for each team appears in the bottom frame next to the corresponding school code. If you are unable to locate your scores or are unsure of your school code, please check with your coach or contact us from the Dialogue page. The letters to the right of your scores refer to the grader's remarks (one or two comments per question). Scroll each window so that you can view both the scores and comments at the same time to obtain feedback. To see other results, return to the Score Center.

Grader's Comments

A) Admirable solution, nicely presented.
B) Working backwards is a good problem solving strategy, but make sure to present solutions arguing forward from known information and facts.
C) Complete solution, or close enough; fine job.
D) The proof was difficult to decipher because of a confusing or illegible presentation.
E) The paper did not merit any points, but the response was quite enjoyable to read!
G) You found the correct theoretical minimum using Brahmagupta's formula; now just explain how we now it is possible to achieve this small an area.
H) Half the question was answered correctly; the other half was omitted or no headway was made.
J) The triangle inequality does imply that y+z>4 and w+x>5, so the area is at least 20. But this bound is not sharp; in other words, there is no diagram that simultaneously gives y+z=4 and w+x=5.
K) Good job, but be sure to justify why (or how) you are counting the triangle twice.
L) Fine answer, but more work than necessary; it is OK to be more concise or cite previous results.
M) Mostly there; main ideas are correct but points deducted for missing details or too brief a proof.


N) Not bad; careless mistakes or a false statement tarnish an otherwise correct solution.
O) Omitted problem or no attempt at a proof.
P) Note that point P can be located outside of the rectangle, which allows for the possibility of even smaller areas.
Q) Your response contained good ideas which did not lead (unfortunately) to a solution.
R) On the right track or a few of the correct ideas present, so deserving of some credit.
T) One can achieve the theoretical minimum of 24. To do this, you'll need a quadrilateral whose opposite angles sum to 0. This is actually possible, with a self-intersecting cyclic quadrilateral using signed angles. (See the diagram in the solution.)
W) On the wrong track or a very difficult approach, but warranting some credit.
Y) Little or no significant progress towards a solution (occasionally despite a fair amount of work), or misinterpretion of the question.
Z) The solution was sufficient to warrant full credit, but it would still be a good idea to provide more justification or supporting details.