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Enter the problem-writing competition -----------------------------------------------
Launched in 2021 to mark the publication of issue 200, the problem-writing competition was a great success. It was therefore decided to make it a permanent event by incorporating it into the Trophées Tangente under the name Prix Affaire de Logique. The APMEP and the website **diophante.fr** are partners in the competition.
The 2022 competition is open to everyone from March 1st to October 30. Entries can be submitted via a link on **tangente-mag.com or tropheestangente.com or affairedelogique.com**
Each entrant may submit at most one problem every two months and must certify that they are its author.
Once logged into the website, entrants complete and save the form displayed. They may edit its contents as they wish until the end of each two-month period.
During each two-month period, the jury will shortlist a number of problems, which may initially be published in issues of Tangente. These problems will then be considered during the jury's final deliberations in November, when the prizewinners will be chosen.
In addition to having their shortlisted problems published by Tangente and its partners, the prizewinners will receive:
\- a work of mathematical art for first prize;
\- one or more honourable mentions in each of the five categories (see opposite).
The awards ceremony will take place in December, when the Trophées Tangente results are announced.
Further details on submitting a problem -----------------------------------------
The problems submitted will be judged primarily on three criteria:
– originality;
– the elegant presentation of the problem statement;
– the ingenuity of the solution.
They must also meet a few requirements:
– the wording must not resemble a school exercise (and it must not simply ask readers to “prove that…”);
– the level must be accessible to a high-school student (or even a middle-school student);
– the solution must be ingenious: "aha!" moments are welcome;
If the answer is numerical, it must be unique. Furthermore, even if it can be obtained by writing a computer program, it must also be possible to find it through simple reasoning.
In addition to a title, the content posted online must meet specific requirements.
The puzzle's category must be selected from the following five: Curiosities and paradoxes, Numerical challenges, Graphs and algorithms, Geometric puzzles, Logic.
The problem statement must not exceed 500 characters, and the solution must not exceed 800 characters.
Additional material is encouraged: an author bio (200 characters maximum), a description of the source of inspiration (200 characters maximum), and a statement by the author confirming that the work is their own.
A PDF file containing the entire submission must be attached, along with any images and their copyright information.
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The "Problems" section is changing ------------------------------
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The launch of the problem-writing competition will affect the problems section in regular and special issues of Tangente. Until now, the section has consisted of puzzles, most of them selected by Michel Criton from questions posed in various mathematics competitions and related to one of the issue's themes.
Starting with the next issue, one of the two pages will continue to follow this model, while the other will feature problems shortlisted by members of the problem-writing competition jury, or problems written by the jury members themselves or by Tangente authors. Naturally, their suitability for the issue's themes will be taken into account.