This plan builds on what Mathletes already know about ratios to introduce the definition of probability as a ratio of desired outcomes to total outcomes. Mathletes will then practice calculating the...
The distinct letters from the word MEMORIAL are used to create set Z, such that Z = {M, E, O, R, I, A, L}. The letters from the word DAY are used to create set Y, such that Y = {D, A, Y}. If set X is...
The date of the beginning of the school year has long been a topic of debate in many areas across the United States, but the trend is leaning towards starting school earlier rather than later...
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...
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 30...
According to “A History of Valentine’s Day Cards in America” by T.M. Wilson, in 1847 Esther Howland was the first to mass-produce Valentine’s Day cards. She made them out of lace, paint and expensive...
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...
The following information and problems were submitted by a MATHCOUNTS volunteer, Emily Koithan. Thank you, Emily! Neuroscientists use a special type of brain scanning called functional magnetic...