Define x @ y as (x3 − y)/x, for distinct positive integers x and y. What is the value of 5 @ 10? Evaluating 5 @ 10 yields (53 − 10)/5 = (125 − 10)/5 = 115/5 = 23. Define a # b as a2 − b2 − ab, for...
For the following problems, assume that the snowballs are perfect spheres. Chiquita and Rhonda are each building a snowman. Rhonda tells Chiquita that she is making each of her 3 balls of snow 20%...
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 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...
Over the summer millions of people around the world visit amusement parks. Previously heralded as the “World’s Largest Amusement Park,” Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio earned that title...
Each week, Devin buys school lunch on Friday because the cafeteria serves pizza every Friday. Monday through Thursday, Devin brings his lunch to school. The lunch he brings always includes a peanut...
It’s Autumn, and that means leaves are falling! Amber’s house occupies 2650 ft2 in the middle of a 50-foot by 80-foot parcel of land, and the leaves that fall cover the ground all around her house. If...
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...
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...