Morrison wins math competition Saturday

DIXON – A popcorn quandary can be solved with mathematical smarts, the MATHCOUNTS competition showed Saturday.

Sixth through eighth grade students tried to figure out how many 4-quart buckets can be filled with the corn popped from 4 cups of kernels if 1/3 of a cup of kernels makes 2 quarts.

The answer: 6. But don’t feel badly if you didn’t get the answer because the 58 students competing at Sauk Valley Community College knew probability, statistics, linear algebra and polynomials like nobody’s business.

Their parents, who attended the final round, sat in the back of the room with scratch paper, seeing whether they could keep up with their children.

Teams of 6th, 7th and 8th grade students from seven area schools competed.

The Rock River Chapter of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE) organized the contest to recognize middle school and junior high school students’ achievement in mathematics.

Lexy LeMar, 13, who won first place as an individual, said she had fun although “it was a little nerve-wracking being up there.”

The seventh-grader from Rochelle Middle School said she has been practicing every day for the contest, twice a week with her team.
The competition had written and oral rounds, as well as individual and team components. The problems focus on grade-appropriate standards of the National Council of Teachers in Mathematics.

The top team, Morrison Junior High School, and the top three individuals not on the first place team (Lexy LeMar, Jonathan Liu, and Kyle McCoy) will represent the area when they compete at the state MATHCOUNTS Competition March 3 in Lisle. Winners in the state competition will go on to compete in nationals in May.

Scott Brown is the coordinator of the Rock River chapter of MATHCOUNTS. The competition is rewarding for coaches and students, he said.

“I’m hoping that the key they go forth with is better problem-solving skills and having fun,” he said.

Brown hopes more schools participate in MATHCOUNTS in the future, he said.

In its 29th year, MATHCOUNTS involves volunteers, educators, industry sponsors and students to secure America’s global competitiveness.

Results

Team competition

First place: Morrison Junior High School