For Grade 7 and 8 students in Canada

Gauss-style math contest practice

The Gauss Contest is a math contest for students in Grades 7 and 8, written at school across Canada in May. It is 25 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, in three parts that get harder: the first 10 questions are worth 5 marks each, the next 10 are worth 6, and the last 5 are worth 8, for a score out of 150.

Our Gauss-style practice is a full contest for each grade: 25 five-choice questions in three parts, scored out of 150 the same way, new every time it starts. The questions are contest problems, not textbook exercises: counting, logic, number puzzles, geometry and chance.

Start a contest See the price

Start a contest

Grade 7 and Grade 8

Write a whole contest, or 10 questions to try it first. A free account includes 3 practice tests to write, and you will be asked to make one.

Grade 7

  • Grade 7 contest

    25 questions · 60 minutes

    Three parts worth 5, 6 and 8 marks a question, out of 150.

Grade 8

  • Grade 8 contest

    25 questions · 60 minutes

    Three parts worth 5, 6 and 8 marks a question, out of 150.

The contest

How the real contest works, and ours

The real contestOur practice
Questions25 multiple-choice questions, five choices eachThe same
Time60 minutes60 minutes on the clock
MarksPart A: 10 questions at 5 marks; Part B: 10 at 6; Part C: 5 at 8; out of 150The same three parts and marks
Wrong answersNo marks taken offNo marks taken off
GradesA Grade 7 contest and a Grade 8 contestA paper for each grade
CalculatorsSome calculators allowedUse one if your school allows it

CEMC publishes the contest's length, time and score out of 150, and its past contests. Our mix of question types and how hard each part is are our own.

A look at the contest

Questions in the Gauss style

  • Part A: counting

    How many triangles of any size are there in this figure?

    1. A3
    2. B8
    3. C5
    4. D9
    5. E2
    Show the answer and why
    AnswerD9
    Smallest pieces first (blue), then bigger ones (orange): 9 triangles in all.

    1. Count the pieces

      The lines from the top corner cut the bottom side into 2 pieces.

    2. Count by width

      2 triangles 1 piece wide, 1 triangle 2 pieces wide.

    3. Add them

      1 + 2 = 3 triangles standing on the bottom side.

    4. Each line across

      It is the bottom of another 3 triangles, so 3 × 3 = 9.

    5. Final answer

      9

    Remember

    Count in a fixed order so none is missed or counted twice: first the smallest triangles with no line through them, then the ones made of two pieces, then bigger, ending with the biggest.

  • Logic: who is telling the truth

    Zoe, Ben, Gus, Pia and Dina are playing, and one of them has the ball.
    Zoe says: "Dina has the ball."
    Ben says: "Pia does not have the ball."
    Gus says: "Pia does not have the ball."
    Pia says: "Ben does not have the ball."
    Dina says: "Gus does not have the ball."
    Exactly one of them is not telling the truth. Who has the ball?

    1. ADina
    2. BZoe
    3. CBen
    4. DGus
    5. EPia
    Show the answer and why
    AnswerBZoe

    1. Suppose one child has the ball and check every statement.

    2. Count how many are true. The rule says 4.

    3. Only Zoe makes that work.

    Remember

    Suppose one child has the ball and test every statement: true or not?

In Ontario? Practise for the EQAO assessments.

Pricing

Three free practice tests. Unlimited tests and answers are CA$49.

A free account includes 3 practice tests to write. The pack opens unlimited contest papers for both grades and shows your child what they got right, the right answers and how to reach them.

Gauss-style contest pack

CA$49

for 6 months

  • Which questions your child got right, after every practice test
  • The right answer to every question
  • A worked solution for every question, step by step
  • Unlimited Grade 7 and Grade 8 contests

One payment in Canadian dollars for 6 months of access. No auto-renewal: when the 6 months end, access stops unless you buy again.

Questions

What parents ask

Are these past Gauss papers?
No. CEMC gives its past contests away free on its website, and we suggest doing them too. Ours are new contest-style papers, so your child never runs out.
When is the contest written?
In May, at school, on a day the school picks inside CEMC's two-week window. Ask your child's math teacher whether the school takes part.
Is it scored like the real contest?
Yes. Each paper is in three parts worth 5, 6 and 8 marks a question, out of 150, with nothing taken off for a wrong answer.
Can a Grade 6 student try it?
Yes. CEMC lets keen younger students write the Grade 7 contest, and our Grade 7 paper is a good place to start.
Is it free?
A free account includes 3 practice tests to write. The pack (CA$49, in Canadian dollars) opens unlimited papers for both grades, with which questions were right, the right answers and a worked solution for each.

The Gauss Contest is written and run by the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC) at the University of Waterloo. Scholar Tests is not affiliated with or endorsed by CEMC or the University of Waterloo. Our questions are written by us in the contest's style; they are not CEMC questions, and CEMC's own past contests are free on its website.