Math educationAn 8th grader from Indiana, Massachusetts school team, win 2012 math competition
An 8th grader from Sycamore School Carmel, Indiana won the 2012 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition; he competed against more than 200 other middle school students in the prestigious academic event; the best and brightest middle school mathematics students engaged in a multi-day competition which included a written exam and culminated in the lightning speed Countdown Round; in the team competition, Massachusetts captured the title of National Team Champion
Chad Qian of Carmel, Indiana, won the 2012 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition Friday at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort after an intense final competition before a packed live and Webcast audience. This year’s winning Mathlete answered the following math problem to be crowned national champion of this year’s competition:
Question: A bag of coins contains only pennies, nickels, and dimes with at least five of each. How many different combined values are possible if five coins are selected at random? (for the correct answer, see the end of the article)
Raytheon says that the 8th grader from Sycamore School competed against more than 200 other middle school students in the prestigious academic event. The best and brightest middle school mathematics students engaged in a multi-day competition which included a written exam and culminated in the lightning speed Countdown Round.
Chad Qian was victorious in the intense, one-on-one Countdown Round, in which the top twelve Mathletes vied for the title of this year’s Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Champion. Ashwin Sah of Portland, Oregon, was awarded the second-place individual title with Allen Liu of Penfield, New York, and Kevin Sun of Lisle, Illinois, advancing to the semifinals.
In the team competition, Massachusetts captured the title of National Team Champion. Team members include Niket Gowravaram of Acton; James Lin of Winchester; Matt Lipman of Lexington; Alec Sun of Lexington; and coach, Josh Frost of Lexington. The Illinois team took second place, and the Washington team placed third.
“Congratulations to the 2012 MATHCOUNTS champions and all of today’s finalists on their outstanding accomplishments,” said William H. Swanson, Raytheon chairman and CEO and 2012 MATHCOUNTS honorary chairman. “I was impressed by these young Mathletes — they demonstrated an ability to solve complex math problems with great enthusiasm. These students have the potential to achieve new heights in any field, but especially as scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.”
“My congratulations extend to all 224 participants who rose above 100,000 students at the local, chapter and state levels to compete in this year’s Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition,” said Lou DiGioia, executive director of MATHCOUNTS. “These Mathletes have worked hard throughout the entire year, and they should be extremely proud of their concerted efforts that brought them to math’s biggest stage.”
As National Champion, Chad Qian won the $8,000 Donald G. Weinert Scholarship and a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Ashwin Sah won a $6,000 scholarship for achieving second place in the Individual category. Semifinalists Allen Liu and Kevin Sun each won a $4,000 scholarship. Sean Shi, of Saratoga, California, won an $8,000 scholarship as the Written Round winner, and Alec Sun also won a $6,000 scholarship as Written Round runner-up. Additionally, each member of the winning National Team from Massachusetts won a $2,000 scholarship and a trip to space camp.
Students from all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Department of Defense and State Department schools worldwide participated in the 2012 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition. To advance to the national competition, students had to place among the top four of their peers during their state competition in March, which itself was the culmination of having advanced through local and chapter-level contests.
Raytheon is the title sponsor of the Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition through 2014. The competition sponsorship is one of the centerpieces of Raytheon’s MathMovesU initiative, which seeks to elevate students’ interest in math and science education through hands-on, interactive activities.
MATHCOUNTS is a non-profit national math enrichment, coaching, and competition program which promotes middle school mathematics achievement in every U.S. state and territory, and Raytheon says it is one of the most successful education partnerships involving volunteers, educators, industry sponsors, and students in America. MATHCOUNTS offers teachers, kids, and parents free materials to aid them in math enrichment and prepare for a high-tech future which will require mathematics related skills to achieve success. Materials and information are available at the newly redesigned website www.mathcounts.org.
Raytheon’s MathMovesU program is an initiative committed to increasing middle and elementary school students’ interest in math and science education by engaging them in hands-on, interactive activities. The innovative programs of MathMovesU include the traveling interactive experience MathAlive!, Raytheon’s Sum of all Thrills experience at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot, which showcases math in action as students design and experience their own thrill ride using math fundamentals; the “In the Numbers” game, a partnership with the New England Patriots on display at the Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon; the company’s ongoing sponsorship of the MATHCOUNTS National Competition; and the MathMovesU scholarship and grant program.
Answer: 21 (values)
