Reflection Paper

The primary goal of this project was to examine the math bowl and try to improve upon it. After three years of being a member of the Montana tech math club I was given the opportunity to run it. So, with the resources available to the math club, I attempted to organize and promote another math bowl completions. Through running this event I hoped to gain insight on short coming that the math club faced. One of these was the lack of participation from the math club members.

You have selected a course unlike any other math course. The purpose of this Summer Assignment is to:

Tom and I were all set to present our 4th Battle of the Classes at an all-school meeting. We had each taken time to prepare every aspect of our “hula-hoop battle” in the days prior, dividing up tasks such as recruiting volunteers from each grade and procuring four hula-hoops. Since all of our previous competitions had gone off without a hitch, we went into this all-school meeting feeling confident about our plan. When our names were called, we walked up to the stage. The audience, used to our faces at this point, applauded in anticipation. Tom went out into the seats and signaled to our volunteers, while I laid the four hula-hoops on stage within an arm’s length of each other. As we counted down from ten, the four contestants took their places,

Next was Math Masters. We prepared for it a lot. Finally, the day had come. First came the timed tests. I wasn’t the best at those. Then were the individual rounds. I was sure I was good at those. After that was the team round. We all did great together. Awards were then given out. I had gotten first place in the individual round! To celebrate, we went to Pizza Ranch.

For this year, in 2016, the event will be held in mid-August, and has not been held at the time of submission of this publication, but indications from our registration database have shown a sharp increase in the number of participants. The following numbers are set to increase, as the registration database is still accepting new participants to the tournament. Currently, the numbers stand at over 340 students, with over 100 teams from 27 different schools participating from

College Algebra, said to be possibly the hardest course you can take at Wayne County High School, made even more difficult, however, for one specific class, the last class of the day. Everyone who has ever attended high school knows that by the end of the day you are worn out, the students said by that time all they could think about was how many minutes were left in the day until they could go home and sleep. Today was exceptionally hard for them because it was a test day. Fighting back the urge to simply sleep the test away, the students’ piled into room one-hundred and nine with pencils in their hands and strain on their faces.

Remembering my experience regarding the AMC 8, I carefully consider whether I want to participate. The next day, I say yes, realizing that, if I practice more, I might do better. I come home, do my homework, and practice. I come home from school the next day, do my homework, and practice. The days go on like that until the day of the MATHCOUNTS competition.

Mr. Crowdell, my A.P Calculus teacher, welcomed us into his office. A narrow room with a desk in the far end, and a long table placed on the left side. Math shirts and family memorabilia were set on a file cabinet on the right. Above the table was a white board with markers and at the end of the table sat a computer. A window behind the desk showed the night sky.

The first activity that morning was to solve a Euclidean algorithm problem that I wrote on the Smart Board. I swear when I designed the problem, I was thinking of the Gordian knot and was confident it would have even challenged Euclid, at least I thought. However, I was so wrong. Before, the other students could pick up their pencils, Arabella had solved the problem.” Thomas, a close friend interjected in a joking manner, “Maybe your knot was not truly a knot, perhaps it was just a clump of string that gave the appearance of a knot.” Laughing, she said, “You would think, since I hold a Ph.D. in Advanced Mathematics from MIT, I could outsmart a five-year-old child. Go figure!” Laughter fills the room and when it fades, she continues, “It is easy to see she lives up to her IQ of 171+, Arabella not only thinks outside the box, but lives there as well. Over the past four years, the facility has had to burn gallons of midnight oil to keep one-step ahead of Arabella. On numerous occasions, she has said history is her favorite subject and that Fred Carrier was her favorite teacher.” She glances at Fred, warmly smiles and says, “You hold a Ph.D. from Oxford in History and not long ago you told me that her sharp analytical ability, in addition to her

I enjoyed the problems in Concrete Mathematics so much, that I requested to be the teaching assistant for the class the following year. Though Donald Knuth had taught the class for years, the following year it was taught by Herb Wilf, who was on sabbatical at Stanford from the University of

Introduction: This game is a fun and educational game that will keep you on your toes as you try and answer before the other teams. Playing this game will sharpen your math skills and help you get an A in your Math class.

Half past noon on the fourteenth of December 2328, Cort West, a member of the Committee for thirty-two years, won the final round with rock over scissors. After delivering a short acceptance speech, Cort opened a sealed envelope and removed from it the approved list. The smile on his face swiftly vanished the moment he noticed it

A few hours passed then school ended for the day, students rushed out of the classroom. I haven't seen anyone use magic, maybe it’s a bit too early? No, we were taking notes on magic and preparing for future world tournaments against other schools around the world. I was walking through the city until the top five ranked students in competitive battling were being mentioned by the [SEN NEWS CHANNEL] hologram screen. “Today, we’ll be telling you the top ranking students all over across the country, don’t miss out and stay tuned!” the newscaster beamed, all the people were watching the [SEN NEWS CHANNEL] and their eyes filled with curiosity. The newscaster got out five index cards “The fifth-ranked student is... Oh Soetsu! (OH SO-EI-SUE)” some people cheered happily for Oh and his friends lifted him up to toss him in the air, congratulating that he made it to the top five. The newscaster went to the next index card “This third-year high school girl worked exceptionally hard to make it to the top and placing fourth is...Yamanishi Fujiko! (YAH-MA-KNEE-SHE

The first day after class I didn’t like Dr. Olson. He not only seemed to have a dark outlook on the following semester that first day but also seemed to make pre cal trig, what I had anticipated as a daring test of my dearly held math abilities, even more complicated than I originally thought. His grading system itself I couldn’t understand; how was he going to teach me trigonometry? There he stood though, large and, to make matters worse, rather awkward in his first appearance to the class. He commented dryly on the futility of enforcing attendance policies before, without any greater energy, moved on to further dissect his intricate grading plan and anticipated difficulty levels of the course. He ended that day’s class with “May God bless you in whatever way possible…see you Thursday”. At which point, I couldn’t decide if I should be frightened of him or laugh about him or both. I went home that night bemoaning my new professor to my friends and family, unaware I would not only find a friend in Dr. Olson but also be influenced by his work ethic, rigorous admonitions, and theoretical teaching style. Dr. Olson was highly influential to me because he reinforced mental disciplines needed to succeed, approached problems with an engaged and multi-angled approach, and whet my appetite for more abstract concepts.

The National Math Festival in Washington, DC was a particular success. JRMF organized one of their most popular exhibit halls. We invited four other partner organizations to contribute activities, and over 400 parents, children and professionals attended. Feedback was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. In the coming year, we plan to exhibit at the MAA/AMS