The ninth group of essays from the 2023 Teddy Rocks Maths Competition. The showcase will take place throughout June and July with the winners being announced at the end.

The competition is organised with St Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford and offers a cash prize plus publication on the university website for the winners. It will be running again in early 2024 so be sure to follow Tom (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) to make sure you don’t miss the announcement!

John breaks down the infamous million-dollar problem of whether P is equal to NP.

Dion explores the unpredictable realm of chaos theory.

This essay introduces the concept of ‘antiprimes’ – numbers with lots of factors.

This essay investigates the best strategy to ensure a victory when playing Monopoly.

Raheen explains the patterns created by fidget spinners when placed in front of a light source.

Hannah looks at how Bayesian statistics can be used in the development of Artificial Intelligence.

Claudia goes back in time to look at how humans learned to count.

This essay explores how we use formal logic every day, often without realising.

This essay calculates just how difficult it is to hit a baseball pitch in the professional game.

Matilda champions the work of Alan Turing and others at Bletchley Park during WW2.

Jasmine delves into the maths used in Formula 1 racing.

This essay debates whether or not zero can be considered a number.