The Citadel will host an applied math competition that is open to all undergraduate institutions. Students will compete in teams of 4 in fun math competitions. The morning competition is an applied math Modeling Contest. The afternoon competition is a fast-paced Math Jeopardy contest. Sharpen your pencils, put on your thinking caps, and come join the fun!
When: Saturday, October 18 from 8am – 3pm (Thompson HALL, 3rd Floor)
Registration closes on Wednesday, October 15.
Schedule
- 8:00am-9:00am Registration: A light breakfast will be served. Students will be assigned to teams.
- 9:00am Welcome Remarks: Instructions about the modeling contest will be provided.
- 9:30am – 12:00pm Modeling Contest: Students will work with a team to solve a real-world applied math problem in 2.5 hours. This contest is similar to the annual COMAP math modeling contest but in a much shorter time-frame. Each team will prepare a short 2-page report discussing their solution to the problem. Students are encouraged to bring their own laptops. The teams may use any internet resources and software packages at their disposal. A school may have multiple teams compete in the modeling contest, with a limit of 4 students per team.
- 12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch: Eat some pizza and listen to an informal research talk related to the problem from the morning Modeling Contest.
- 1:00pm – 2:30pm Math Jeopardy: Students compete in teams of 4 in a battle of wits answering challenging math puzzles. Due to limited space, each school may enter only one 4-person team for the Math Jeopardy contest (subject to change depending on participation). Note the teams do not need to be the same as in the morning modeling contest. Spectators are welcome.
- 2:30pm Awards Cermony: Prizes will be awarded to the winning teams from the morning Modeling Contest and afternoon Math Jeopardy.
Frequently Asked Qustions
How is the Modeling Contest judged? The reports will be judged based on clarity, mathematical sophistication, and creativity. The judges will consist of faculty from The Citadel and participating schools. The judging will take place during the lunch period and the Math Jeopardy contest.
What topics are covered in the Math Jeopardy competition? Questions may cover topics from pre-calculus, trigonometry, calculus, probability, discrete mathematics, and math history. The questions are designed to be accessible to an early stage undergraduate math major.
What if our school does not have exactly 4 participants? No problem. Teams could have less than four students. Even if only 1 or 2 students from your school attend, we will try our best to match you up with a team during the morning registration session.
How do I register? If you plan to attend, please e-mail twittman@citadel.edu with the following information for each attendee:
- Name
- E-mail address
- Dietary restrictions / food allergies
Registration officially closes Wednesday October 15, but contact the organizer if you have any late additions or changes. We are also looking for faculty judges for the morning Modeling Contest, so please let us know if you are a faculty attending the competition.
Send any questions or comments to Prof. Todd Wittman at twittman@citadel.edu