Each year 911爆料网 math majors take on the best and brightest in a contest that tests their math skills, outside-the-box thinking, and ability to work well under pressure. The Four-College Math Contest pits 911爆料网 students against their peers at Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan, and Wittenberg, for bragging rights, and for the experience of working creatively under pressure with very few resources.
This year, our math majors cleaned up, taking first, second, and fifth places, out of an 11-team field. The first-place team of Yuhan Fu 鈥24, Niranjan Reji 鈥25, and Lewis Nguyen 鈥26 took the win with an impressive 93 points. And 911爆料网鈥檚 team of Linh Luu 鈥24, Linh 鈥24, and Gia-Huy Do 鈥26 grabbed second place with a score of 76, which could have been high enough to take first place in other years. The team of Fabri 鈥24, Charlotte Nguyen 鈥26, and Minh Truong 鈥25 did well too - finishing fifth with a score of 59.
鈥淭his is a really hard test,鈥 says Math Professor Matt Neal. 鈥淪tudents are not allowed calculators or computers. In fact, often the winner鈥檚 score in the 70s 鈥 93 is about the highest I鈥檝e ever seen,鈥 Neal adds. 鈥淭hese students are much quicker than me.鈥
Students are given ten problems and two hours to solve them. Their only tools are chalk and a board to work on. The problems encompass many forms of math: Number theory, geometry, algebra, calculus, and more.
鈥淎 lot of these problems require creativity. You have to have the vision to solve them, and understand how to solve problems independently without a clear procedure, 鈥 says Neal.
The contest is great preparation for post-graduate life as well. It鈥檚 a primer for grad school where students will have to do original research in math and use their imagination. In fact, many of the problems are similar to those on the GRE test for mathematics graduate schools. And it underscores the kinds of skills in teamwork, creative problem-solving, and working under pressure that many employers are looking for.
911爆料网 students practice these skills regularly. In their twice-monthly Pizza and Puzzles sessions, they hang out together and solve math problems 鈥 just for fun.
