On Tuesday, March 3rd, ERHS held its annual math competition. Sponsored by Mr Scott, it had over a hundred participants this year. Students, in teams of four, competed against each other to solve math problems and win the grand prize.
The questions ranged all over high school math, from geometry to precalculus. They were all set against the clock. Each match consisted of three rounds. In the first round, questions were asked to each team. If the team got it wrong, the other team could steal. The second round was a speed round. Each team had 2 one minute chunks to answer as many questions as they could. The third round was the buzzer round. Points were doubled, with incorrect answers losing two. At the end of these three rounds, the team with the most points would move on in the bracket.
The winning team was the Pirates, with team members Faridah Olayiwola, Karl Konchou, Kadoh Bangu, and Tijesunimi Alabi. In the final showdown, they beat out the team, Algestars, with members Ahmed Ahmed, Kasiye Woubeshet, Nmesomachi Agoh, and Alexis Gumapas.
In an interview, Nmesomachi Agoh, a junior, said “[the competition] was a lot of fun. The hardest part was trying to get my brain to work fast enough to answer the questions in time.” She, as part of the runner up team “did not expect to get that far into the competition,” concluding that “while I wish we won, I’m really happy with the results and I feel pretty proud of myself.”
All of the teams all had punny math related names. The best of which being the Pi-Thons and the Derivative Divas. There were custom shirts too, and everyone participating got to have one.
Overall, the math competition was a great experience. There was energy in the room and tension in the matches. People were nervous and excited. Anyone who’s interested in math, and has a competitive spirit should participate next year.
