University of Pittsburgh

2007 University of Pittsburgh Integration Bee

What, When, and Where: The 2007 Integration Bee will take place on Thursday, April 5, at 8 pm in Alumni Hall, Room 343.

Who: Everyone is welcome to attend. Participation is open to any Pitt undergraduate student.

How: To sign up, e-mail Dr. Jonathan Rubin at rubin@math.pitt.edu, or call him at 412-624-6157. Sign-ups will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis.

Prizes: $200 in bookstore certificates will be distributed among all winners.

Who Again: This event is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Honors College and Department of Mathematics.

We also sponsor a High School Integration Bee.

Examples of Integrals from Other Integration Bees

Official Rules for the 2007 Competition

  1. Participants must correctly evaluate indefinite or definite single variable integrals in the time allotted.
  2. Participants take turns working. The first participant has two minutes to evaluate an integral. If this is not done correctly, then the second participant has one minute on the same integral. If the next answer is incorrect, the third has 30 seconds on this integral. If all three answer incorrectly, then a new integral is given to the fourth contestant and the sequence repeats. If the integral is evaluated correctly, the next participant gets a new integral and two minutes.
  3. Each participant is allowed one lifeline during the competition. He or she may call a timeout and consult with anyone in the audience on relevant integration techniques for 20 seconds before proceeding. The lifeline cannot simply state the answer to a problem. The participant cannot write during this consultation.
  4. If a participant misses an integral, then he or she is eliminated from the competition.
  5. If five or more contestants remain after two rounds, then all remaining contestants compete head-to-head in a "lightning round" to see who can correctly evaluate the next integral the fastest. Depending on numbers of contestants, there may be multiple lightning rounds.
  6. At some point, it is announced that a particular lightning round is the final round. The integration champ is the first contestant who correctly evaluates the integral in the final round.
  7. Prizes are given to all participants who make it to the final round.