Moody’s Mega Math Challenge contenders have broken down the numbers behind the U.S. Census, figured out the effect of the stimulus package, and assessed the unintended consequences of increased ethanol use. Now, there’s a new problem coming their way in March.

The contest sets out to remind highschoolers that math is more than problems in a textbook. In 14 hours, teams are required to solve an open-ended, applied math-modeling problem focused on a real-world issue. The challenge is Internet-based, and students are allowed to use free, publicly available, inanimate sources of information.

Solutions are judged based on the approach and methods used and the creativity displayed in problemsolving and math modeling. There is no unique, correct answer, and partial solutions are accepted.

The next challenge weekend is set for March 5–6; the registration deadline is February 25. There are no entrance or participation fees, and each high school may enter up to two teams of three to five students each.

The problem is unknown to teams until they log in on their selected challenge day at 7 a.m., after which they will have until 9 p.m. to research the question, analyze their findings, develop a model, and submit their solution.

Scholarship prizes totaling $100,000 will be awarded to winning students to use toward the pursuit of higher education.

The contest is unlike the tests students routinely encounter. As Jacob Hurwitz of Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland—whose team won the top prize in the 2010 challenge—puts it, “I’ve never done a math competition that was open-ended and applied math to something real like the census. Most of the time, it’s math that nobody cares about; it’s just some abstract concept.”

The goal of the competition is to introduce students to applied math as a powerful problemsolving tool and viable and exciting profession. “Moody’s Mega Math Challenge is an excellent venue for students to apply critical thinking skills to real-life problems that have immediate relevancy,” says Raymond Eng, a teacher-coach at High Technology High School in New Jersey whose teams have found success in every contest.

Past challenge winners have appeared on national cable news shows, been interviewed by radio talk show hosts, had their papers published in peer-reviewed research publications, and been invited by the experts, themselves, to present their findings.

The challenge is funded by The Moody’s Foundation and organized by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Visit the challenge website for complete information.