Students Get Primed for Annual Math Contest
Eight high schools from the greater Southern California area will compete in the 29th annual High School Mathematics Contest at Westmont on Saturday, Feb 4, from 1-6:30p.m. in Westmont’s Winter Hall. The contest begins at 1p.m. with the Chalk Talk Derby, a five question written exam and the annual College Bowl competition complete with buzzers, modeled after the 1960’s TV show, College Bowl.
This year’s Chalk Talk topic is prime numbers. The topic was chosen because it is the 29th annual contest, and 29 is a prime number. “The T-shirt this year depicts a formula for the maximum number of pieces of pizza you can get by cutting it a certain number of times. With 7 cuts you can get 29 pieces,” says Russell Howell, Westmont professor of mathematics.
Students from Bishop Diego, Cate, Dos Pueblos, La Canada, Mark Keppel, Oaks Christian, San Marcos and Santa Barbara High School will participate in this year’s competition.
The Chalk Talk Final and College Bowl Finals begin at 4 p.m. in Winter Hall’s Darling Foundation Lecture Hall (Room 210). The Awards Banquet will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Founders Room of the Ruth Kerr Memorial Student Center.
“I hope that doing mathematics calls for and develops imagination and creativity amongst the competing students,” says Howell. “I strive to encourage students who have excelled to continue in their academic pursuits while serving the community.”
A contest itinerary, map, sample questions and photos from past events can be found at here.