FDLTCC Hosts Math Compitition

Tom Urbanski For NSO

Feb 25

Tom Urbansko

It was an unusual type of competition to be held in a college gymnasium, but the intensity of the participants was certainly on the caliber of most championships.

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College hosted the 61th annual American Mathematics Competitions for high school students on February 24, 2010. The 65 students taking on the challenge represented schools from Cloquet, Carlton, Esko, Barnum, Moose Lake, Willow River, and Harbor City. Two levels of testing were conducted: one for freshmen and sophomores and another for juniors and seniors.

When the time limit was exhausted, a sigh of relief filled the room and the pencil-gripping tension lifted off the shoulders of the focused test-takers.

“The Mathematical Association of America invited colleges to offer the AMC-B exams, so we were pleased to sponsor and host this event,” said Ted Wetherbee, Mathematics Faculty at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. “We plan to do it again next year, and hopefully every year. This was our second time hosting the annual competition, and we had a nice increase in student participation compared to last year. We hope this event will continue to grow.” Additional local sponsors included Sappi Fine Paper, B & B Market, and American Legion Post 262 in Cloquet.

The American Mathematics Competitions, called AMC for short, is dedicated to the goal of strengthening the mathematical capabilities of young people in the United States. National organizers believe that one way to meet this goal is to identify, recognize and reward excellence in mathematics through a series of national contests.

For over 50 years, many excellent exams have been given in the hope that all secondary students will have an opportunity to participate in these problem-solving and enriching mathematics experiences. The AMC contests are intended for everyone, from the average student at a typical public school who enjoys mathematics to the mathematics-focused student who might be attending a magnet or private preparatory school. To ensure this mission is served, the AMC solicits participation by mailing an invitation to all schools in the United States teaching grades six through twelve.

“It was pretty tough,” said Jon Michalski, a junior at Moose Lake High School. “The first couple problems seemed easy and then it kept getter harder and harder. Overall, it was more difficult than I was expecting.”

“It was a great opportunity to take an exam to see how much you know,” said Sammi DeRungs, also a junior from Moose Lake. “It was challenging.”

“It was kind of hard,” said Alex McDowell, a senior at Willow River High School. “In order to get to the answer it took a lot of paper space to figure out the problem. I would probably recommend other people try it sometime.”

“It was challenging,” said Andy Lee, a junior at Carlton High School. “At times it seemed like I didn’t know much of the stuff on the test, but I still think I did decent.”

During the AMC held at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, the AMC 12 and AMC 10 level exams were given to students, based on current grade and age levels. Both exams were 25-question, 75-minute multiple choice examinations in secondary school mathematics containing problems which can be understood and solved with pre-calculus concepts.

“It’s always fun to take a math test,” quipped a smiling Dylan Clark, a junior at Cloquet Senior High School. “It was hard. I took a different version last year, so I knew a little bit about what to expect. It will be satisfying to get the results.”

Completed exams are returned to the AMC headquarters for official scoring and results, with results being sent to teachers at the high schools once all scoring is completed and verified. High-scoring students will have the opportunity to continue through the contest process leading to national and international competitions.

In 2008, over 413,000 students in over 5,100 schools participated in the AMC contests. Of these, approximately 10,000 students qualify each year to participate in the American Invitational Mathematical Examination scheduled for late March/early April. From this group, approximately 500 students will be invited to take the prestigious United States American Mathematical Olympiad in early May. Karl Olesen, retired Esko Math teacher, coordinated student participants at the FDLTCC site.

The twelve top-scoring USAMO students are invited to a two-day Olympiad Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America, the Akamai Foundation, the Microsoft Corporation, and the Matilda Wilson Foundation. Six of these twelve students will comprise the United States team that competes in the International Mathematical Olympiad.