SoR Math Team (Grades 9-12)
Welcome!
Welcome to the Eagle Ridge Academy (ERA) School of Rhetoric (SoR) Math Team page. This page is the starting place for all SoR Math Team activity information. If after reviewing the information here you have further questions, please contact SoR Math Team coach Mr. Stephen MacLennan via email at [email protected].
What Is SoR Math Team?
The SoR Math Team is a fun way for students in grades 9-12 to explore the wonders of mathematics in a supportive environment. SoR Math Team members ("mathletes") are introduced to and gain experience with both recreational (game-like) and standard ("school-like") mathematical topics. Multiple sessions (symposia, forums, and/or competitions, see below) are held each week.
Mathletes are encouraged to participate in the Minnesota State High School Mathematics League (MSHSML, hereafter referred to as "Math League"). The Math League season begins in November and extends into March, and includes 5 regular-season meets and a state tournament for qualifying individuals and teams.
Each symposium (plural: symposia) features an introduction to and practice with a new mathematical topic, often recreational (game-like) in nature. It really could be just about anything - a true brain-storm: games (magic squares, matchstick puzzles), history and literature (Pythagoras the hippie, the funny logic in the story Alice in Wonderland), or interesting applications (earthquake magnitude scales, parallel parking like a geometer). As the ancient Greeks knew (too?) well, almost anything goes in a symposium!
Each forum features an introduction to and practice with one or more competition mathematics topics typically present in Math League meets. Here is where your standard algebra I & geometry (Forum AB) and trigonometry, precalculus, algebra 2, and analysis (Forum CD) topics flex their muscles. (No calculus!) Think forum = formal math.
In addition, mathletes may choose to participate in national mathematics competitions, such as the American Mathematical Competitions AMC 10 and AMC 12 (in late January or early February, for those in 10th grade and below).
Note that due to the coronavirus situation nearly all 2020-21 SoR Math Team sessions will be conducted online. [As of 19 August 2020, the AMC format (online or in-person) has not been announced.] The Math League hopes that the 15 March 2021 State Tournament format will once again be in-person at South St. Paul High School.
Mathletes are encouraged to participate in the Minnesota State High School Mathematics League (MSHSML, hereafter referred to as "Math League"). The Math League season begins in November and extends into March, and includes 5 regular-season meets and a state tournament for qualifying individuals and teams.
Each symposium (plural: symposia) features an introduction to and practice with a new mathematical topic, often recreational (game-like) in nature. It really could be just about anything - a true brain-storm: games (magic squares, matchstick puzzles), history and literature (Pythagoras the hippie, the funny logic in the story Alice in Wonderland), or interesting applications (earthquake magnitude scales, parallel parking like a geometer). As the ancient Greeks knew (too?) well, almost anything goes in a symposium!
Each forum features an introduction to and practice with one or more competition mathematics topics typically present in Math League meets. Here is where your standard algebra I & geometry (Forum AB) and trigonometry, precalculus, algebra 2, and analysis (Forum CD) topics flex their muscles. (No calculus!) Think forum = formal math.
In addition, mathletes may choose to participate in national mathematics competitions, such as the American Mathematical Competitions AMC 10 and AMC 12 (in late January or early February, for those in 10th grade and below).
Note that due to the coronavirus situation nearly all 2020-21 SoR Math Team sessions will be conducted online. [As of 19 August 2020, the AMC format (online or in-person) has not been announced.] The Math League hopes that the 15 March 2021 State Tournament format will once again be in-person at South St. Paul High School.
Purpose
The stated goals of the Minnesota State High School Mathematics League ("Math League") are as follows:
- The Math League exists to identify students with exceptional interest and/or mathematical ability, give them recognition and encouragement, bring them together with similarly motivated students, and introduce them to topics not commonly taught in the high school curriculum
Information Session
The SoR Math Team information session is 4:30 pm Monday, 9/21, with an information session, online via Zoom. Email Mr. MacLennan at [email protected] to express your interest and receive a Zoom invitation. If you miss the session, email Mr. MacLennan anyway and he will follow up with you and answer your questions.
Registration
Please read the following program information. Once you arrive at the noble decision to unleash your inner mathlete, register via the ERA Activities & Athletics page > Fall Athletics & Activities > SoR Math Team. Note: Do not register for the SoL Math Team (grades 6-8). The following information provides more detail than that available on the ERA website.
Who
ERA students in the School of Rhetoric (grades 9-12).
When
The SoR Math Team season begins Monday, 9/21 at 4:30 pm with a short (30-minute) information meeting, and continues through Monday, 3/22/2021. We know ERA students are busy and already have a math class. That's why all SoR Math Team sessions are optional. Mathletes attend as time and interest permit. Session duration is nominally an hour or less with days and times as follows:
Here is a sample weekly schedule. Again, all SoR Math Team sessions are optional.
- Symposium: 4:30 pm most Mondays, beginning 9/21, online via Zoom
- Forum AB: 4:30 pm Tuesdays, beginning 9/22, online via Zoom (Algebra 1 & Geometry)
- Forum CD: 4:30 pm Thursdays, beginning 9/24, online via Zoom (Trigonometry, Precalculus, Algebra 2, & Analysis)
- Meets: 4:30 pm on five Mondays: 11/2, 11/23, 12/14, 1/25, and 2/8/2021. All regular-season meets will be held online using a web-based competition application. The State Tournament is Monday, 3/15/2021, hopefully in-person at South St. Paul HS.
Here is a sample weekly schedule. Again, all SoR Math Team sessions are optional.
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
4:30 pm: Symposium or Meet or off-day (SoL meet) |
4:30 pm: Forum AB Algebra 1 & Geometry |
- |
4:30 pm: Forum CD Precalc & Algebra 2 |
- |
Where
Nearly all SoR Math Team sessions will be conducted online, via Zoom (.symposia and forums) or the Math League web-based application competition site. The Math League hopes that the 15 March 2021 State Tournament format will once again be in-person at South St. Paul High School.
Supplies
Required: paper, pencil(s), eraser, wi-fi connection, Zoom installed (free version is fine), curious brain
Optional: calculator, ruler, compass, family cell phone with Remind installed (for quick intra-team communication).
Optional: calculator, ruler, compass, family cell phone with Remind installed (for quick intra-team communication).
Cost
SoR Math Team is free; however, you must register to participate.
Math League Meet Format
The Math League regular season consists of 5 meets in which all students from each school in the conference participate. In each meet, each student participates in 2 of the 4 available Individual Events as well as the Team Event. For each school, the coach-designates an official "scoring team" of 8 students. Individual Event and Team Event scores for the scoring team only are totaled for each school to determine the outcome of the meet.
The Individual Events in each Math League meet address mathematical topics typically taught in middle school and high school. The broad categories for the four Individual Events are as follows:
As mentioned above, the four questions are generally progressively more difficult. Here are the informal descriptions:
For each of the 5 meets during the season, within each Individual Event (A, B, C, and D) specific topics are designated for emphasis. This information is known beforehand (see file, below), allowing students to prepare for a smaller set of topics for a given meet. The topics are selected such that students currently enrolled in a course (Geometry, for example) typically will have been introduced to these specific topics in their current coursework by the time the meet takes place, and therefore students may have the confidence to participate in that event.
The Team Event emphasizes the specific topics designated for all four Individual Events (A, B, C, and D). The Team Event exam consists of 6 questions, again generally progressively more difficult. The questions are solved jointly in teams of up to 8 students. Each question is worth 4 points, for a maximum possible of 24 points per scoring team. The scoring team submits a single answer sheet with one answer to each of the 6 problems. The team has 20 minutes to complete the exam. Teams are provided with scratch paper, but work does not need to be shown.
For a given school, the maximum possible points is (7 points/Individual Event)*(2 Individual Events/student)*(8 scoring-team students/school) + (24 points/Team Event)*(1 Team Event/school) = 112 + 24 = 136 points/school.
The topics appearing in both Individual and Team Events are cumulative, in that specific topics from previous meets are fair game.
For the 2020-21 season, regular-season meets will take place via a web-based competition application.
The specific topics are listed in the following file (excerpted from the 2014-15 Math League manual yet current for 2020-21)..
The Individual Events in each Math League meet address mathematical topics typically taught in middle school and high school. The broad categories for the four Individual Events are as follows:
- Event A: Algebra 1
- Event B: Geometry
- Event C: Trigonometry and Precalculus
- Event D: Algebra 2 and Analysis
As mentioned above, the four questions are generally progressively more difficult. Here are the informal descriptions:
- Question 1, "Quickie": The intent of this question is to get the mathlete off to a good start. It is designed to be solved by an experienced mathlete in less than a minute.
- Question 2, "Textbook": The intent of this question is to reward the mathlete for studying in class or Math Team practice. It is similar to a typical problem that appears on a homework assignment or in previous Math League exams. It is designed to be solved by an experienced mathlete in 2-4 minutes.
- Question 3, "Textbook with a Twist": The intent of this question is to reward mathletes for gaining a deeper understanding in class or Math Team practice. It uses typical techniques, but perhaps in a way that's new. It is design to be solved by an experienced mathlete in 3-6 minutes.
- Question 4, "Challenge": The intent of this question is to challenge all mathletes and, quite frankly, separate the exceptional students. It will often combine multiple areas of mathematics or require deep insight to identify an efficient solution. It is designed to be solved by a highly experienced mathlete in 4-8 minutes.
For each of the 5 meets during the season, within each Individual Event (A, B, C, and D) specific topics are designated for emphasis. This information is known beforehand (see file, below), allowing students to prepare for a smaller set of topics for a given meet. The topics are selected such that students currently enrolled in a course (Geometry, for example) typically will have been introduced to these specific topics in their current coursework by the time the meet takes place, and therefore students may have the confidence to participate in that event.
The Team Event emphasizes the specific topics designated for all four Individual Events (A, B, C, and D). The Team Event exam consists of 6 questions, again generally progressively more difficult. The questions are solved jointly in teams of up to 8 students. Each question is worth 4 points, for a maximum possible of 24 points per scoring team. The scoring team submits a single answer sheet with one answer to each of the 6 problems. The team has 20 minutes to complete the exam. Teams are provided with scratch paper, but work does not need to be shown.
For a given school, the maximum possible points is (7 points/Individual Event)*(2 Individual Events/student)*(8 scoring-team students/school) + (24 points/Team Event)*(1 Team Event/school) = 112 + 24 = 136 points/school.
The topics appearing in both Individual and Team Events are cumulative, in that specific topics from previous meets are fair game.
For the 2020-21 season, regular-season meets will take place via a web-based competition application.
The specific topics are listed in the following file (excerpted from the 2014-15 Math League manual yet current for 2020-21)..
math_league_event_topics_per_meet_-_mshsml_-_2015-10-28.pdf |
Can't Wait?
Registered mathletes will have access to about forty years' worth of Math League events. If you would like a sneak peak, here are the 2019-20 Meet 1 exams, with problems on the left, solutions on the right. If you don't correctly solve any of the problems for a given event in the allowed 12 minutes, don't worry - you're right on schedule! Math Team is designed to unlock the mathematics superpower within you!
Competition math is different than school math in two big ways: (1) it's timed (yuck!), and (2) you don't have to show your work (yay!). However, it is a primary goal of your Math Team coach that, with practice, each ERA mathlete is able to consistently answer questions #1 and #2 correctly, and, on those glorious days when your brain clicks just right, question #3, and even question #4!
Competition math is different than school math in two big ways: (1) it's timed (yuck!), and (2) you don't have to show your work (yay!). However, it is a primary goal of your Math Team coach that, with practice, each ERA mathlete is able to consistently answer questions #1 and #2 correctly, and, on those glorious days when your brain clicks just right, question #3, and even question #4!
2019-20 Meet 1 Event A (Algebra 1) problems
|
2019-20 Meet 1 Event A (Algebra 1) solutions
|
|
|
2019-20 Meet 1 Event B (Geometry) problems
|
2019-20 Meet 1 Event B (Geometry) solutions
|
|
|
2019-20 Meet 1 Event C (Trigonometry & Precalculus) problems
|
2019-20 Meet 1 Event C (Trigonometry & Precalculus) solutions
|
|
|
2019-20 Meet 1 Event D (Algebra 2 & Analysis) problems
|
2019-20 Meet 1 Event D (Algebra 2 & Analysis) solutions
|
|
|