Equation limerick competition results
... and the limericks too!

Some individuals made multiple entries, but the bonus mark was based only the best of these in each case.

The limericks below are copyright by their authors and are used by permission.


The winners

The authors earned a bonus of 1% on the final mark.

ln(e4) (√1024) + 6(12) - 8(23) = 16

The lon of e to the four
Times the square root of ten twenty-four
Adding six dozen please
Minus eight twenty-three's
Is sixteen, case is closed, shut the door.

Chris Cole

(∫13 t3 dt × 7 ) + ( 2 × 11 ) - 2 = 160

The integral of tee cubed dee tee
Starting from one to the number three
Multiplied by seven
Plus two times eleven
Minus two is one hundred sixty

Kim Lu

0 < x < 10   &   9x = (ab)10   &   (a+b) - 5 = 4

tween zero and ten take a number
times it by nine and avoid blunder
then add the two digits
and subtract five from it
to get four, isn't it a wonder

Deeba Khan

3t=1   (7t + 3t + 7)/11    =    432/11    ˜    39.3

The sum from t equals one to three
Of seven to the exponent t
PLus three t plus seven
All over eleven
Equals about thirty nine point three

Laura M. Wood


Honourable mention

The authors earned a bonus of 0.5% on the final mark, unless they were among the winners above, in which case they did not get anything extra.

( √9/1 + 7 + 10 )2 - 20 = 380

The square root of nine divided by one
Is added to seven plus ten,
Put wisely in square
Subtracting a score
Becomes multiplication of ten.

Olga Antonova

5log39 + 25-0.5 + √16 + 0.18 = 2560.5

Let us add the the log of nine times five
To twenty-five to minus point five,
And square root of sixteen,
And zero point eighteen,
Get two five six to zero point five.

Oxana Condracova

μ = 11   &   { [ ( 13 × 2 + 2 ) + 19 × 2 ] / μ } × 7 = 42

A Baker's dozen times then plus two
plus nineteen doubled, all divided by μ
μ is eleven
times all with seven
So the meaning of life is forty-two.

David Henderson

ab10 - (a+b) = 9x

Taking any two digit number
Then simply adding it together
and then subtracting it
from what was started with
is multiples of nine, no wonder!

Deeba Khan

ln(ln(sin(t)))' = cot(t) / ln(sin(t))

When the natural log's twice composed
With itself and sine t, I suppose,
Though complex it may be,
It's derivative, see,
Is cotan by "lawn" sine, so you know.

Michael Lavoie

(∫13 t3 dt + 11 - 7 ) × 5 = 120

The integral of tee cubed dee tee
Starting from one to the number three
Adding on eleven
Subtracted by seven
Times five gives you one hundred twenty

Kim Lu

∫ tan6(x) sec4(x) dx = (1/7)tan7(x) + (1/9)tan9(x) + C

To integrate tan(x) to the sixth
times the secant squared squared dx predicts
an outcome of (1/7)tan
to the seventh and
(1/9)tan to the nine plus C for a quick fix.

Joanne Sortberg

-11 earctan(y)/(1+y2) dy = eπ/4 - e-π/4

To integrate e to arctan(y)
over 1+y2 dy and lies
between -1 and 1
shouldbe easily done
as e to π/4 minus e to -π/4

Joanne Sortberg

∫ x2/(x+1) dx = x(½x-1) - x + ln|x+1| + C

To integrate x2 over
x+1 dx moreover
can be easily done
as x times ½x-1
minus x + ln|x+1| grover.

Joanne Sortberg

∫ t2  dt   =   1/3   t3   +   C

The integral of t squared dt
Is a simple problem, you will see
If you just take the time
To read on with this rhyme,
It's just one third of t cubed plus c.

Laura M. Wood


Noteworthy

The following entries did not really meet the stated conditions, and so did not earn any bonus marks, but are still pretty cool.

A mathematician named Erdös
Found proofs that would cause him to sweardös:
"By the hook or the crook
That came straight from the Book!
And I know how they're so very raredös."

Michael Lavoie


3, 4, 5; from this, the theory stems
6, 8, 10; will solve all your problems
There is no where to hide
All these numbers abide
To the Pythagorean Theorem

Linh Phan

The product rule says that, when h(x)
Equals f of x times g of x
The result of h prime
Of x is f(x) times
g prime x plus f prime x g(x)

Tam Nhan


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