Surya is competing in a triathlon that includes swimming, bicycling and running.  For the first two segments of the race, Surya swam at an average rate of 4 kilometers per hour and bicycled at an average rate of 40 kilometers per hour. It took 81.75 minutes for Surya to swim and cycle a combined total of 43.29 kilometers, completing the first two segments of the race. How long, in minutes, did it take him to complete the swimming portion of the race?

During the month of February, the 2020 Chapter Competitions took place across the country. Let’s look back at a few of the problems our competitors encountered.  

The Iditarod sled-dog race is run on a trail that was originally a mail-supply route. In 1925, part of the trail became a lifesaving highway for the children who lived in Nome.

The Iditarod is sometimes called “The Last Great Race on Earth.” Every year, it begins in Anchorage, Alaska during the first weekend in March. Each team of 12 to 16 dogs and a musher covers the distance to Nome in approximately 9 to 20 days.

State Competitions are coming up fast! Are you ready to compete? Let’s try a few 2019 State Competition problems to get ready.

2019 State Sprint Round, #18

If C is a digit such that the product of the three-digit numbers 2C8 and 3C1 is the five-digit number 90C58, what is the value of C?

Today's Problem: Mechanical Engineering

Chapter Competitions officially started this past weekend! Are you ready to compete? Let’s try a few 2019 Chapter Competition problems to get warmed up.

2019 Chapter Sprint Round, #20

Jones is chasing a car 800 meters ahead of him. He is on a horse moving at 50 km/h. If Jones catches up to the car in 4 minutes, how fast was the car moving?

The Sprint Round of the MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition has 30 questions and students are given 40 minutes to complete the round.  Though it isn’t expected that most students will finish all 40 questions, what is the average time a student can spend on each of the 30 questions, in minutes:seconds per question?

The third Monday of January is the holiday commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The first time Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated was in 1986. Try to solve these problems without using a calendar!

How many times has Martin Luther King Jr. Day been celebrated?

In 1998, Nkem Chukwu gave birth to the first set of surviving octuplets.  The eight babies weighed from 11.3 ounces to 28.6 ounces at birth.  Leonard Weisman, the Texas Children’s Hospital’s chief of neonatal services, said it was imperative they gain lots of weight before they go home.  “For instance, the 500-gram babies are going to have to quadruple their weight [to reach a healthy level],” he said.  How many ounces will the heaviest baby have to gain to reach a healthy level?

Now that 2020 is finally here, let’s see what we can do with this new number! 

If the perimeter of a particular square is 2020 inches, what is the area of the square, in square inches?  Express your answer as a decimal to the nearest hundredth.