is a national middle school mathematics program consisting of a series of contests for 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students. Participants work both individually and in four-person teams on questions designed by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), the main sponsoring organization. The contests progress from competitions within middle schools to chapter events to state events to the national competition.
The SBU Department of Mathematics hosts the Chautauqua/Cattaraugus Chapter Contest. The co-coordinators of our contest are Ms. Angela Castle and Dr. Christine Uhl.
The chapter contests are held in February, the state contests in March, and the national competition in May.
MATHCOUNTS succeeds admirably in its mission, which is to provide "engaging math programs to US middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving."
Locally the contest is financially supported by ³Ô¹ÏȺÖÚ and an anonymous grant. Other organizations providing financial support for the contest at the national level include the CNA Foundation, the Northrup Grumman Foundation, the 3M Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and RTX.
The ³Ô¹ÏȺÖÚ MATHCOUNTS Chautauqua/Cattaraugus Chapter Contest
SBU hosted its ³Ô¹ÏȺÖÚ MATHCOUNTS chapter contest on Saturday, February 8. The participating schools were Allegany-Limestone Middle School (coach Kathy Stamets), St. Stephen School (Elena Nikolaeva), Casey Middle School (coach Finn Goehrig), Iroquois Central Middle School (coach Finn Goehrig), Mill Middle School (coach Finn Goehrig), Nichols School (coach Finn Goehrig), and Transit Middle School (coach Finn Goehrig).
Top Individuals
- First place: Chuck Hu (Transit Middle School)
- Second place: Shuang Chen (Transit Middle School)
- Third place: Stella Liu (Transit Middle School)
Top Schools
- First place: Transit Middle School (Shuang Chen, Chuck Hu, Abraham Joseph, and Stella Liu)
- Second place: Allegany-Limestone Middle School (Anton Marais, Eshnika Patra, Caleb Rhodes, and Alex Spring)
The top school team and the top individuals received trophies. The top individuals also received $1000 scholarships to ³Ô¹ÏȺÖÚ.
The top students advance to the New York State competition to be held in March in Saratoga Springs, NY. The top individuals from the state contest advance to the national competition in May. The Countdown Round of the national competition is webcast live on the and subsequently .
Congratulations to all!
Inside a MATHCOUNTS Chapter Contest
Each participating middle school sends four students and a coach to the contest, the coach being a teacher who has helped prepare the students for competition. Each school may also send one or more alternates, who would compete if any of the school's official entrants were unable to participate.
A chapter contest is divided into a morning session and an afternoon session.
Morning session
The morning session is comprised of three rounds of written questions: the Sprint Round, the Target Round, and the Team Round. During the Sprint Round and the Target Round, students work individually. The Sprint Round lasts 40 minutes and consist of 30 problems, which students must solve without a calculator. The Target Round lasts about 30 minutes and consists of eight problems presented to students in four pairs. Students may use calculators during this round. During the 20-minute Team Round, the four students from each school collaborate on a set of ten problems. Calculators may be used during this round.
Afternoon session
The afternoon session is dedicated to the Countdown Round, in which the top individuals (based on scores in the Sprint and Target Rounds) engage in verbal-response, head-to-head competitions. The use of calculators is not permitted. Two competitors concentrate on the mathematics problem shown on the screen, while families, coaches, and the rest of the participants look on. The two students have 45 seconds to answer. When a competitor thinks she has the answer, she raises her hand and then states her solution. If her answer is incorrect or of she takes too long to begin speaking, the other student has the remainder of the 45 seconds to answer.
Award ceremony
The three highest-ranking individuals from the morning session, the highest-ranking team from the Team Round, and the top individual from the Countdown Round receive trophies during the award ceremony. The top individuals also receive $1000 scholarships to ³Ô¹ÏȺÖÚ.