FAQ: Click on a question of interest
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 When is the Math Meet?
The next Math Meet will be held on Saturday February 20, 2010(top of page)
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What is the Math Meet?
Since 1978, the C of C Math Department has been bringing bright,
interested high school students to the C of C campus for innovative and
exciting mathematical competitions that we call The Math Meet. In
doing so, we have been helping high school teachers throughout the
Southeast region to motivate their students to excel, and through the
lecture that exposes the students to cutting edge research in
mathematics, to recognize a role for this subject outside of the
classroom. With the help of the faculty and students in other
departments, the Math Meet also generally includes events revolving
around related subjects including computer science, physics and
chemistry.
To learn more, read the rest of this page or write to us
with any questions.
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What are the individual competitive events?
I. Individual Events:
A) Marathon: The Math Marathon is an event that starts well before
the date of the Math Meet! It is made up of questions so challenging (and
interesting!) that students can work on them during the month leading up to
the other competitions.
The 2009 Marathon
is now available! You can download it from here
in PDF format. (If you would like a copy sent to you by mail, please send us a request by e-mail.)
DOWNLOAD 2009 MARATHON HERE
There
is
no limit on the number of entries per school. Each entrant must be
registered for
the Math Meet. Answers must be postmarked or received by February 14, 2009.
B) Multiple Choice Written Exams:
The written tests have three levels to accomodate students at different
levels in their secondary math education. Trophies are awarded for
best individual scores and best school scores in 2 categories:
out-of-state
schools and South Carolina schools.
NOTE: All tests are calculator free (This policy has been in effect since 2003: no calculators at all on the written exams.)
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Level I designed for students taking Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra
II. Questions on logic, probability, statistics and set theory may also
be included. Any student who has taken 3 months (or more) of Algebra III, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus or Calculus cannot take this exam and must take the Level II or Level III exam.
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Level II is designed for students taking Algebra III, Trigonometry or
Pre-Calculus. It will include questions on
topics from these classes as well as questions on the topics covered by the
Level I exam. Any student who has taken 3 months (or more) of a calculus course at any point is ineligible to take the Level II exam and must take the Level III exam.
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Level III is designed for students that are taking (or have completed)
Calculus. This test will include questions on calculus as well as questions
on the topics which are covered by the Level I and Level II exams. Any student who has taken three months (or more) of Calculus must take the Level III written exam.
Note: Students may have completed the courses whose material is
covered on the test for which they register, but
cannot be eligible for a higher level test.
SCORING: 5 points for a correct answer, 1 point for a blank, 0 points
otherwise.
C) Timed Sprints: There will be sprints on a
variety of
mathematical areas (including some appropriate for 8th graders) as well as in chemistry and physics. No preregistration is required. More information on these
events
will be mailed with the confirmation forms.
D) Estimation Station: How many jelly beans are in the jar? How
long is this piece of string? Those are the sorts of questions that the
Estimation Station has asked in the past. Who knows what it will be -- or
what prize will be offered -- this year?
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What are the team events?
II. Team Events:
There are 8 different team events. A limited number of teams can be
accommodated
in each event so register as early as possible!
A) Computer Programming Competition: Each team may have from 1 to 3 team
members. Programs will be graded during the competition and the winners will be announced at the Math Meet awards ceremony. See the ACM web site for more
information.
Note: The Programming Competition is not affiliated with the Math Meet. It will be held on the preceding day, and students are welcome to participate in both. However, registration for the programming event (which is free) will be handled separately from the Math Meet. This is good news, because it means that participants in the programming event do not have to register for the Math Meet (unless they want to).
B) Written Exam Team Competition: Each school which enters
students in
any one level of individual written exam competition is automatically
eligible for written
exam team awards at that level. The scores from the 4 highest scoring students from each
school
will be totaled to determine team winners for each test level.
C) Physics Brainstorming: You may enter more than one team in this event!
Each 4 student team will work together to solve a set of problems.
D) All-Day Sprints: This very popular event provides students with
challenging puzzles requiring both mathematical and non-mathematical
skills. They can be worked upon any time that a student is not otherwise
occupied by scheduled events and the school turns in their collaborative
answer at the end of the day.
For the following team events, only one team per school may be entered into
each
event. Teams
must
be composed of 4 students. (Note Added Feb 24, 2008: I have removed a remark saying that any student can be on only one of these teams. Clearly some schools were following this rule and some were not. I have decided that this rule is not in the best interest of the Math Meet or the participants and have eliminated it for future Math Meets. -Alex)
E) Junior Varsity Team Elimination: Questions requiring algebra and
geometry. Team
members must be 10th grade or lower.
Click here to see some sample questions from
prior Junior Varsity Team Elimination competitions.
F) Varsity Team Elimination: Questions on a comprehensive level including
Trigonometry and Precalculus. Team members must be high school students.
Click here to see some sample questions from
prior Varsity Team Elimination competitions.
G) Math Brainstorming: Each team will work together to solve a set of
problems using
algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.
H) Math Relay: Each team will work sequentially to solve a series of 4
problems.
Problem topics will be from algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.
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What is the calculator policy? There are no calculators allowed on
the Written Test, the Math Relay or the Timed Math Sprints.
In all other events, calculators are allowed only if they are not calculators with built in symbolic algebra abilities. That is, graphing calculators are allowed but not calculators that can factor the polynomial x3-x into x(x+1)(x-1) or one that can differentiate x3-x to get 3x2-1. (For instance, the TI-93 is okay, but not the TI-89.)
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Can we see some sample questions?
There are sample questions from several events on our website (in PDF format). Click here to see them. We should certainly post more sample questions, and will do so whenever we are able. If you have any technical difficulties downloading or viewing the questions, or if you would like to request additional samples, please do feel free to write to us for assistance.
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Hotels: Where to stay?
Unfortunately, we do not provide lodging for Math Meet
participants. However, we do make arrangements for special rates at local
hotels. Please click here to see a list
of hotels and rates.
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Parking on Campus: Where to park your cars or buses?
Please be aware that due to building projects on campus, there have been recent changes in parking facilities. Even if you have been here before, read this to make certain that you understand the current situation.
Car Parking: There are three parking decks on campus that you
should use for parking any cars. All three decks appear on the Math Meet campus map (which you will receive when your registration is completed). Two of them have entrances on St. Philip
Street (one just north of Calhoun and one just south of George
Street). The third one has an entrance on Wentworth Street just off of St. Philip Street. These garages belong to the City of Charleston and there is an hourly charge for parking in them. (Note that the `K Lot' on Coming Street that many of you have used in the past is no longer there. That location is now the site of construction for the new science building.)
Bus Parking: The only legal place to park a bus is the city parking garage next to the Charleston Visitor's Center. The bus entrance is on Ann Street between Meeting and King Streets. To get there from campus, drive north on King Street and turn right onto Ann. To get there from Highway 17, drive south on King Street and turn left onto Ann. Then, halfway down the block, you will see a sign saying "Transit Mall" marking an alley with trolley tracks still embedded in the ground. Turn in there and follow the sign at the right labeled "Bus Entrance". There is a flat rate of $10 for parking a bus in this garage for any length of time up to 24 hours. Click here to see a map showing the location of the bus parking. Note that the red line on the map ie exactly 1/2 mile long, so this is an easily walkable distance for most people.
If you have any additional questions about parking, please contact us at mathmeet@cofc.edu or write directly to campus parking at parkingservices@cofc.edu.
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Registration
Registration is done online through our REGISTRATION
WEBPAGE. You must sign up to use this website by providing your school
code (the same one used for SATs and other such exams), a valid e-mail
address, and a password. After that, you have until
Saturday February 6, 2010 to tell
us how many students you are bringing, which events they will participate
in, and send us full payment for the registration costs ($10 per student, plus the cost of any lunch tickets or extra t-shirts you purchase). You
then have until
February 19, 2010 to enter information about each of the
students you will be bringing (their name, grade, mailing address and which
Written Test they will be taking at this year's Math Meet). After this
information is entered, the student is given an ID Number. The student
must know this ID number and bring it with them to the Math Meet!
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Speaker
Each year at the Math Meet we like to have a speaker to present a talk of interest to teachers and math students. Ideally, the talk will help to convey the idea of mathematics as something other than just a class in school. We focus on math as a career, as an area of research, as a tool for understanding the world, and as something beautiful and interesting.
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