How Contest Entries Were Judged

We judged the contest entries to determine which entries had the most "correct" answers in each grade level.

1) Our first step was to separate the entries by grade level. (If the entry came from a mixed-grade classroom, we ranked the class according to the highest grade in the class.)

2) Our next step was to carefully review each entry to determine how many "correct" answers there were. As stated on the Checklist, to be a "correct" answer in this contest, the answer needed to provide BOTH:

a) The correct CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE (or correct place/facility name if a true city or town is not involved.)

AND

b) The correct COUNTRY (or correct continent if a true country is not involved).

Entries with the highest number of correct answers are listed by grade on the Contest Results 2011 page.

 
Questions? Or Don't See your Class Listed?

If you expected your class to be included among the list of those with the most correct answers, please be sure that you carefully review your answers again, and ask yourself these questions:

"Did I submit my answer by the contest deadline?"

"Did each of my answers give BOTH the correct
CITY and the correct COUNTRY?"

Then, read the Special Notes below about how we judged specific Mystery Class sites this year.

Special 2011 Judging Notes

Remember, your answer needed to provide BOTH:
The correct CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE and the correct COUNTRY.

Example:

Correct:
City: Sarnia; Country: Canada

Incorrect:
City: Sarnia Country: Ontario

Example:

Correct:
City: Mafikeng; Country: South Africa

Incorrect:
City: Mafikeng; Country: Africa

For MC#1 (Perth, Australia), the correct city is Perth, and the correct country is Australia. If you listed Western Australia as the country, that would not be correct because Western Australia is a state, not a country.

For MC #2 (Guatemala City, Guatemala), the correct country required Guatemala to be named. If you listed "Central America" or "Mexico" as the country, those are not correct.

For MC #3 (SANAE IV Research Base, Antarctica), this location has no city, and no country because it is in Antarctica. In place of the city we needed your answer to refer specifically to the SANAE IV or current South Africa Research Base at this location, or to Vesleskarvet (the name of the specific Nunatak on which it is located), because the clues did lead to these answers. Listing another South African base at a different location (like Sarie Marais) is not correct. In place of country, in addition to Antarctica, we also accepted references to Queen Maud Land or Dronning Maud Land, or to South Africa because this research station is operated by South Africa.

For MC #4 (Hong Kong, Peoples Republic of China), the correct city needed you to answer Hong Kong; the correct country was China or Peoples Republic of China. If you listed Hong Kong for the country, that is not correct because Hong Kong is not a country. Instead, it is regarded either as a city or a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.

For MC #5 (Mafikeng, South Africa), for the correct city, in addition to alternate spellings of Mafeking and Mahikeng, we also accepted Mmbatho as correct, because it is part of Mafikeng. Mmbatho is the former capital city of the province, and was merged into Mafikeng. The correct country is South Africa.

For MC #6 (Jerusalem, Israel), the correct city is Jerusalem, and the cities of Tel Aviv, Haifa or Nazareth are not correct city answers for this location. The correct country is Israel.

For MC #7 (Buenos Aires, Argentina), the correct city is Buenos Aires, and the correct country is Argentina. If you listed South America for the country, that is not correct because South America is the continent, not the country.

For MC #8 (Sarnia, Canada), for the correct city, in addition to Sarnia, we also accepted Port Edward as correct because it is an adjacent village considered to be part of Sarnia for many purposes, and because the clues also allow for Port Edward as the city because the Blue Water bridges pass over/into Port Edmond as well as Sarnia. The correct country for this location is Canada; if you listed Ontario as the country, that is not correct because Ontario is a province, not a country.

For MC #9 (Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo), the correct city is Pointe-Noire, and the correct country is Republic of Congo, or Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville. If you specifically gave "Democratic Republic of Congo" for the country, then your answer is not correct, because "Democratic Republic of Congo" (formerly known as Zaire) is a completely different country. And if you gave "Africa" as your answer for the country, that is incorrect too because Africa is a continent, not a country.

For MC #10 (Daejeon, South Korea), for the correct city, in addition to Daejeon, we also accepted the alternate spellings of Daejon, Taejon, and Taejeon.

 

Note: If you still feel your answer should have been listed, don't be alarmed, we will look into it for you. Just send any questions to our feedback form. (Include the name, e-mail address, school, grade etc... that you included on your Contest Form.)