Competitors Balance Knowledge and Strategy During Mathematics Contests
By Matthew Wagner `20
23 Greetings
editor ’ s note :
Wayland provides a wide variety of competitive student teams from athletics to forensics to Solos and Ensembles (music). These team activities are all very visible compared to the quiet concentration during a math competition. While incredibly meaningful for the participants, math competitions don’t lend themselves to spectator participation. We asked one of Wayland’s leading math team members to share his insights about this intense and often overlooked activity.
Last year’s Trailways Conference Math Competition against several local schools proved very memorable. Participants took tests based on the math class they were taking, so the competition was just as prepared as we were. Wayland had 24 students, six at each of four levels: Algebra 1, Geometry, Advanced Algebra, and Advanced Math. As part of the Advanced Math group, the tests included concepts from Algebra 1 through Precalculus.
oining other Wayland students for math competitions has been a great experience for me. Although we don’t have an official roster, there is frequent collaboration when it comes to answering each other’s questions and working together on group problems. Participation in math competitions are voluntary, and I’m always surprised by the turnout we get.
First was an individual test, which we each had 45 minutes to take. Strategy is key.Time is limited at every competition, so it is important to stay focused and not linger on any single problem. If the way to find the answer isn’t obvious, skip the problem for later. It’s difficult to not become overwhelmed, the stakes are high and getting every question right with so little time seems like an insurmountable challenge. While we are instructed in math classes to read each problem slowly and consider it carefully to ensure the best chance of answering it correctly, at competitions, balancing speed and accuracy is crucial. Often problems appear unfamiliar and confusing. The key is to reduce them from paragraphs to numbers and symbols, making the math behind the problem the focus, and quickly eliminating the irrelevant details. Of the 15 questions on the individual test at the Trailways Conference competition, I was unable to solve one and two I wasn’t sure about. I assumed my chances of placing were nonexistent and I tried to ignore
J
