MathCounts

This past Saturday (Feb 10th) my love for Mathematics had me awake at 5.30am. I had signed up to volunteer for MathCounts Manhattan, which was taking place in the Mathematics building of Columbia University. In some way the event was like a Maths spelling bee. Mathletes from schools all over Manhattan competed in the competition, which was comprised of the Sprint, Target, Team and Countdown rounds. The 6th, 7th and 8th graders were tested in each round and only the top 12 made it to the Countdown round, which resembled a spelling bee much more than the others. In the Countdown round the kids went head to head answering questions as quickly as they could. They proved themselves worthy of the Ivy League setting as they answered questions before I'm sure some of the adults could even read the complete question. I was definitely one of those adults at times! A thoroughly enjoyable morning, despite the early start.

I am happier than my face suggests - Maths woo!

The Countdown Round

Mathematics building at Columbia University

Test yourself......

Question - The symbols §, #, ª and © represent digits in the following subtraction. Find the integer value of §.

6 ª #
- § 8 #
_____
1 © ª

Answers on a postcard please!