On Jan. 26, the Kiski School, a college preparatory boarding school in Saltsburg, Pa., captured the championship of the StrongLand Chamber of Commerce Math League competition at Penn State New Kensington.
Kiski School "Team B" compiled 89 points to nip Kiski Area "Team A" by four points. Apollo-Ridge "Team A" took third place with 83 points. The two-day competition, spread out over the fall and spring semesters, features three teams of students from area high schools answering mathematical questions.
Sponsored by the StrongLand Chamber of Commerce's Educational Committee, the annual competition brings together students from Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Ford City, Freeport, Kiski Area, Kiski School, Leechburg and Valley high schools and gives them the chance to go head-to-head with each other in an academic competition. Each school has three teams of five students competing against all other teams in each round. Students answer two sets of eight questions. They are allowed 25 minutes to answer each set. The questions in algebra, geometry and other areas of mathematics were developed by David Wells, associate professor of mathematics at Penn State New Kensington.
"The competition provides students with a positive mathematical experience," said Wells, author of two books on mathematics contests. "It exposes them to some challenging problems not normally encountered in the classroom and gives them an opportunity to interact with other students who enjoy mathematics."
Team trophies went to the top three schools and MVP awards were given to the top individual of each team. Kiski Area was the defending champion.
For information, contact Wells at 724-334-6749 or dmw6@psu.edu. For results and MVP awards, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/Information/News/Archive/43070.htm online.