Mathematics
& Computer Science

 ===== About the Competition - Math Talks - Past Years' Exams - 2012 Winners =====

About the Competition:
The focus of the day is a fun and challenging mathematics competition, focusing on both individual and cooperative achievement. High Schools from the region may enter teams of up to three students in the competition.

The competition consists of two parts:

• The team round presents each school's team with a few challenging, open-ended problems. To solve these problems, the team members are allowed (and encouraged) to work together. Each team is to provide complete solutions to as many problems as possible, including justification of all steps and clear, concise explanations. The use of calculators is permitted during the team round.
   
• The individual round has each student, working independently, answer twenty multiple choice questions. Winners are chosen based on the number of questions answered correctly; there is no penalty for incorrect answers. The use of calculators is not permitted during the individual round.

Subject areas covered by contest questions include: algebra, geometry, functions and functional notation, exponents and logarithms, trigonometry, probability and statistics, logic and set theory, arithmetic sequences, geometric series, and number theory.

We also share a lunch buffet with the students, where awards are presented to the three students with the highest scores in the individual round of the contest and to the three teams with the highest scores in the team round.

Math Talks:
In addition to the competition, students are invited to participate in a brief workshop on a mathematical topic which they may not otherwise encounter in the high school curriculum. Recent topics have included:

• "How to Save a Life: Mathematics in Medical Research" (2008)
        -- by Dr. Troy V. Banks
• "Are Seven-Game Baseball Playoffs Fairer than Five-Game Series?" (2009)
        -- by Dr. Brian J. Dean
• "Why are so many people today in such deep financial trouble?" (2010)
        -- by Dr. Michael A. Gauger
• "Euclid, Mersenne, And The Search For Perfection" (2011)
        -- by Dr. Kurt E Ludwick
• "The Vexations of Voting Systems" (2012)
        -- by Dr. Jennifer A. Bergner