Huntington holds high school math competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HUNTINGTON, IN— The second semiannual Huntington College High School Mathematics Competition occurred April 25, 2001 in the Habecker Dining Commons at Huntington College.  Nine area high school teams met to compete for individual and team awards for their demonstration of mathematical ability.  The teams were comprised of Hamilton Southeastern High of Fishers, Huntington North High of Huntington, KASH (Kokomo Area Schools at Home) of Kokomo, Maconaquah High of Bunker Hill, Marion High of Marion, Northfield High of Wabash, North Miami High of Denver, Oak Hill High of Converse, and West Noble High of Ligonier. 

After three rounds of competition, the title of first place team went to Hamilton Southeastern with a total of 660 points earned.  The second place honors for team went to Huntington North High with a total of 500 points.  Gold medallist for individual scores went to Feng Tu, a sophomore of Hamilton Southeastern with a total of 190 points of a possible 200.  Michael Peregrim, a junior of Hamilton Southeastern High was the silver medallist with a total of 155 points for the individual rounds. 

The mathematics competition is made up of three rounds.  The first round is a 20 question written exam comprised of questions from algebra through calculus.  Students can earn a total of 100 points for the exam.  The individual round of the competition is made up of 10 questions.  Students are given two minutes to complete each question.  Questions answered correctly within the first minute award the student with 10 points while question answered correctly in the second minute receive 5 points.  The final round, the team round, provides additional points for the team score.  Students are provided with a multi-task problem that is best solved through the cooperative efforts of the team.  A total of 50 points was possible for this final round.

In addition to the competition, students heard a brief talk on “When Mathematics Meets Metal,” shared by the Indiana MAA Distinguished College Teacher of Mathematics, Huntington’s own Dr. Francis Jones.  Dr. Jones shared an applied problem presented to him by a local machine shop.  The solution helped students see the importance of the many procedures and concepts in mathematics as well as the importance of being able to communicate those concepts to others.

Dr. Patrick Eggleton, Associate Professor of Mathematics, coordinates the competition.  Mathematics majors provide assistance in organizing and implementing the competition.  The goal of the competition is to support and encourage the efforts of students seeking to achieve in mathematics.  Huntington College plans to provide the competition semiannually.  The next competition is tentatively scheduled for October 24, 2001.  More information regarding the competition is available at http://www.huntington.edu/math/competition/