Students of MSD’s Mu Alpha Theta attended a competition at Florida Atlantic University on Nov. 12 to compete in different math categories.
Anyone was able to enter the competition, however it was promoted through the school’s Mu Alpha Theta. The club is MSD’s Math Honors Society, which helps to tutor students in various math courses as well as allows members to enter various statewide competitions. Mu Alpha Theta is run by math teacher Yosleny Valera.
Students arrived at the university after school and were able to compete in various events depending on what they signed up for. These included the AMC 12 B and the AMC 10 B, tests which adhered to specific grade level math.
At the start of the competition, students were given paper, a protractor, a compass and a ruler. They then began the test, a computer exam in which students had an hour and a half to answer 12 questions to earn points. Getting a question right earns them six points, but getting a question wrong earns them no points, and leaving a question blank earns two points. The purpose of this is to discourage guessing in order to make sure students try to answer the questions they know best.
The questions on the math tests covered a variety of topics which complied with whichever grade level or curriculum students signed up for. Students could also compete in tests that covered statistics or calculus, so long as they had the required knowledge for it. Questions given were more based on logic than in school-administered math tests, which provided another level of rigor to the exams. Awards were given to schools whose students received the highest point values on their exams.
“I practiced a lot, and I always strive to do better with my tests,” junior Alex Freedman said. “I feel like I did pretty well that day.”
MSD did not win any awards. However, MAO members are preparing for the next one and hope to perform better in future competitions.