MathNotations

CONTEST IS OFFICIALLY OVER AND THE WINNER IS ----- NO ONE! Guess I should have offered a 64GB 3G IPad! to be awarded on Black Friday...


The floor is now open for David, Curmudgeon, and my other faithful readers to offer their own solutions.


And the next contest is...




This is a contest so students must work alone and this needs to be verified by a teacher or parent. No answer will be posted at this time. Deadline is Wed 11-17-10 at 4 PM EST.






Here's a variation on the classic motion-type problems we don't see as often in Algebra I/II but still appear on the SATs. I found this in some long-forgotten source of excellent word problems to challenge NINTH graders!

Barry walks barefoot in the snow to school in the AM and back over the same route in the PM. The trip to school first goes uphill for a distance, then on level ground for a distance and finally a distance downhill. Barry's rate on any uphill slope is 2 mi/hr, any downhill slope is 6 mi/hr and 3 mi/hr on level ground. If the round trip took 6 hours (hey, these are the old days in the 'outback'), what was the total number of miles walked?


First five correct answers with complete detailed solutions emailed to me at dmarain@gmail.com will receive a downloaded copy of my new book of Challenge Problems for the SATs and Beyond when it becomes available. Both the student and teacher(s) will receive this. (Illegal to reproduce or send electronically!). Read further...

Submission by email must include (Number these in your email and copy the validation as well).


1. Answer and complete detailed solution. If answer is correct but method is sketchy or flawed, the submission will be rejected.
2. Full name of student
3. Grade of student
4. Math course(s) currently taking
5. Math teacher's name(s) and parent's name(s)
6. Name, Complete Address of School; Principal's Name & Email address (if known)
7. Email addresses of teacher(s), parents, student
8. Phone number (in case I need to call you) - Optional
9. How your or your teacher or parent became aware of MathNotations.




VALIDATION


I certify that my student (child) did the work independently.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Name of Teacher or Parent (if work done at home)



"All Truth passes through Three Stages: First, it is Ridiculed... Second, it is Violently Opposed... Third, it is Accepted as being Self-Evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer (1778-1860)

"You've got to be taught To hate and fear, You've got to be taught From year to year, It's got to be drummed In your dear little ear. You've got to be carefully taught." --from South Pacific

Posted by Dave Marain at 12:41 PM 5 comments

Labels: algebra, contest, math contest, online math contest, rate-time-distance problems

FINALLY -- THE RESULTS ARE IN!!

I apologize for the delay in getting these results out. The participating schools have all been notified.
NOTE: If any participating school did not receive an email from me, the advisor should email me. Also, if I misspelled anyone's name pls let me know and I'll correct it immediately!


INITIAL COMMENTS ON CONTEST, ETC...

• MEAN SCORE: 5.6 PTS OUT OF 12
• TOPICS INCLUDED Number Theory, Geometric Sequences, Function Notation, Geometry, Discrete Math, Quadratic Functions, and Absolute Value Inequalities (advanced level)
• Twenty schools registered from around the world, but only about half were able to actually give the contest.
  
• I will post the open-ended number theory problem later on but I didn't want to take away from recognizing the efforts of these outstanding students and their dedicated advisors.
• The next contest will be announced in a few weeks. Sign up early!
• After the 5th contest, you will be able to purchase all contests and solutions via download.
  

Posted by Dave Marain at 9:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: math contest, MathNotations Contest, online math contest

There is still time to register for the upcoming MathNotations Third Online Math Team Contest, which should be administered on one of the days from Mon October 12th through Fri October 16th in a 45-minute time period.

Registration could not be easier this time around. Just email me at dmarain "at" "gamil dot com" and include your full name, title, name and full address of your school (indicate if Middle or Secondary School).

Be sure to include THIRD MATHNOTATIONS ONLINE CONTEST in the subject/title of the email. I will accept registrations up to Fri October 9th (exceptions can always be made!).

• Your school can field up to two teams with from two to six members on each. (A team of one requires special approval).
  
• Schools can be from anywhere on our planet and we encourage homeschooling teams as well.
  
• The contest includes topics from 2nd year algebra (including sequences, series), geometry, number theory and middle school math. I did not include any advanced math topics this time around, so don't worry about trig or logs.
  
• Questions may be multi-part and at least one is open-ended requiring careful justification (see example below).
  
• Few teams are expected to be able to finish all questions in the time allotted. Teams generally need to divide up the labor in order to have the best chance of completing the test.
• Calculators are permitted (no restrictions) but no computer mathematical software like Mathematica can be used.
  
• Computers can be used (no internet access) to type solutions in Microsoft Word. Answers and solutions can also be written by hand and scanned (preferred). A pdf file is also fine.
  

Posted by Dave Marain at 8:44 AM 0 comments

Labels: math contest, MathNotations Contest, open-ended, proof