Calculating to Succeed

HIGH SCHOOLERS COMPETE IN MATH CONTEST

Westmont hosts its 21st annual mathematics contest for high schools students Saturday, Feb. 9. Participating this year will be Bishop Garcia Diego High School, Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, Cate School, Dos Pueblos High School, Santa Barbara Family Schools, Oaks Christian High School, San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara High School, Olive Grove Charter School and Thacher School.

The contest begins at 1 p.m. with chalk talks, written exams and a fast-paced team competition with buzzers modeled after the once-popular College Bowl TV show. Finals will get under way beginning at 4 p.m. Dinner and an awards ceremony will be at 5:20 p.m. in the Kerr Student Center.

The contest also includes a Chalk Talk Derby, where students are required to communicate mathematical ideas. Each student will deliver a 10-minute talk on this year’s topic “Fibonacci Numbers,” quantities that were first investigated by the Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci in an attempt to model the population growth of rabbits. The topic was chosen because 21 is a Fibonacci number.

A contest itinerary, map, sample questions and photos from past events can be found at www.westmont.edu/departments/mcs/mathcontest/index.html.