PRISMS PRIME 2026

The Experience

Format

If you have been to math competitions before, you know the drill. The contest is broken into 3 rounds: one designed for speed and accuracy, one designed for teamwork and one live round with quick results.

Rocket Test (Individual Round)

This Round is an AMC 8-Style exam. Students have 40 minutes to solve 25 questions.

ISS Test (Team Round)

In this round, your team works together to solve 10 questions in 30 minutes.

Spirit Test (Live Round)

This is the live round of 18 questions in 45 minutes where each team gets 6 sets of questions. Each team will assign someone to be the 'runner' who will run as quickly as possible to the scoring table to pick up the questions, solve them with teammates and then quickly run the solutions back and pick up the next set of questions. Meanwhile, the staff at the scoring table will quickly score the problems as they are dropped off and post the results on a TV monitor in real time. Teams get to see their results as the clock ticks.

Rules

We know you want them. We have to have them.

These Things Are Not Allowed:

Because we are emphasizing your own mental skill:

No computational devices will be allowed. This includes: books, calculators and technology devices of all kinds.

No drawing aids are allowed either, including compasses, graph paper, rulers, protractors, etc.

No communication devices will be allowed. This includes: laptops, Smart phones, or any other Smart technologies. (You are Smart enough.)

The PRIME Directive:

It goes without saying, but just to be clear, all decisions made by The PRIME judges are final.

Form of Answers:

  • Fractions should be in their lowest term. ( 7⁄3 , not 14⁄6  )

  • Radicals should be simplified so that the radicand does not contain any fractions nor be divisible by the square of any integer greater than one. Denominators should be rationalized.(√(12, √2/3, 1/(√2 +1) are NOT acceptable. They should be simplified as 2√3, √6/3, √2-1)

  • Answers should be exact. (3.14 will NOT work for Pi, nor will 0.67 instead of 2⁄3)

Conventions:

  • Factors of an integer refer to positive integer factors only. For example, 6 has 4 factors: 1, 2, 3, 6.
  • Prime numbers refer to positive primes only.
  • The notation abc means a 3-digit integer 100a+10b+c.
  • A polygon named ABCD is a quadrilateral with vertices A, B, C, and D occurring in that order.
  • 0 is not a natural number.

Prizes

1st place: $500

2nd place: $300

3rd place: $100

4th - 10th place: $50

Parents

Parents are invited to take a coffee break with us from 9:30 to 9:50 AM. Some of us will be available to meet with you to talk about education trends in this AI era and math learning at PRISMS.

FAQs

I have a question about PRIME. What do I do?

Contact us! The fastest way to reach us is to click this: prime@prismsus.org.

When do I need to register by?

We accept registrations until the number of participants reaches the limit, so we strongly encourage you to sign up as soon as possible. You are welcome to form a team and register together with your friends. However, if you can't find teammates, you may register as an individual - don't worry, we'll assign you to a team later.

Will this event be in person or online?

This is an in-person event. We will have a lot of fun at PRISMS, located at 19 Lambert Dr, Princeton, NJ, 08540.

I am below grade 6 now. Can I participate?

Yes. You are welcome to join us as long as you are interested in math competitions like AMC 8 and Math Kangaroo.

What is orienteering?

PRIME Orienteering is a fun activity where you and your teammates work together to find the right paths and complete a variety of exciting challenges. Your team will receive a campus map and must locate specific checkpoints in order. At each checkpoint, you'll find a simple but entertaining task waiting for you. Have fun!

How many participants in each team?

4

How can I find a team?

The best way is to invite your good friends who are interested in mathematics to participate in the competition. We believe that solving problems together with friends is the most fun. But if you don't have a team, don't worry - we'll assign you to one.

Can I register a team and find my teammates later?

Yes, you can register a team first. You can edit the roster of your team afterwards.

May I participate without a team?

Yes, you can apply as an individual competitor, and we will assign you to a team.

Will PRIME provide lunch for participants?

Yes, we will provide lunch for all the participants. In the morning, we will provide some snacks and water for participants, parents, and coaches. There will be a coffee break for parents and coaches from 9:30 to 9:50 AM.