Metroplex Math Circle

January 28, 2012 – Dr. Jonathan Kane – “My Favorite Circle Problems”

Metroplex Math Circle — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:21:39 +0000

Dr. Jonathan Kane will guide students through important theorems from “the results about angles in circles” to the “theory of inversion.” He will then derive parametric equations for hypocycloids and similar curves. Finally, the students will tackle many circle related problems which can be solved using these theorems.

Dr. Kane and Dr. Andreescu are the founders of the popular PurpleComet! problem solving contest. Many people around the world have been talking about the paper authored by Dr. Kane and Dr. Janet Mertz, “Debunking Myths about Gender and Mathematics Performance.” This follows another very popular paper by Kane, Mertz, Gallian and Andreescu called “Cross-Cultural Analysis of Students with Exceptional Talent in Mathematical Problem Solving.”

In these papers, Dr. Kane and his co-authors challenge the idea of a biological explanation for the difference in mathematical achievement by young men and women. Instead they describe the many ways that cultural forces create a significant challenge to US students and particularly young women who would otherwise excel at mathematics and problem solving. Certainly the outstanding performance of Lisa Sauermann at the International Mathematical Olympiad demonstrates this great potential.

January 21, 2012 – Roberto Bosch Cabrera – “Equations and System of Equations via Inequalities”"

Metroplex Math Circle — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:30:45 +0000

The Metroplex Math Circle begins its Spring semester with a lecture and some beautiful problems presented by Roberto Bosch Cabrera! For example:

This lecture will focus on three well known inequalities:

x^2>=0
AM – GM
Cauchy – Schwarz

Richard Rusczyk – MATHCOUNTS Mini – January 2012

Metroplex Math Circle — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:46:48 +0000

Richard Rusczyk has created a number of excellent videos for MATHCOUNTS. These would be excellent primers for our younger problem solvers.

Terence Tao: There’s more to mathematics than rigour and proofs

Metroplex Math Circle — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:37:01 +0000

A very interesting discussion of the three stages of mathematical education by the amazing Terence Tao:

There’s more to mathematics than rigour and proofs.

Vi Hart: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant

Metroplex Math Circle — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:36:42 +0000

While we are on break from Metroplex Math Circle for the winter here is a great new video from Vi Hart.

2011 AMC 8 Texas Achievement Roll

Metroplex Math Circle — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:27:30 +0000

Congratulations to the many students in Texas who took the 2011 AMC 8. We would like to especially recognize those Texas students in sixth grade or below who scored above a 23 on this challenging 25 point test. Many of these students are regular attendees of the Metroplex Math Circle:

Dachey Lin, Rice Middle School, 25/25
Michael Ma, Rice Middle School, 25/25
Kevin Feng, Fowler Middle School, 24/25
Luke Robitaille, Oakridge School, 24/25
Gyumin Ro, Spartan Learning Academy, 23/25
Vinjai Vale, Eudaimonia Academy, 23/25
Jerry Yang, Rice Middle School, 23/25

Soap Film Solution to the Motorway Problem

Metroplex Math Circle — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:57:39 +0000

If you were not among the fortunate students who heard Dr. Ivor Page give his December 10 talk on “Thinking as Exercise” here is a video that illustrates one of the many fascinating problems discussed.

December 10, 2011 – Dr. Ivor Page – “Thinking as Exercise”

Metroplex Math Circle — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:48:12 +0000

In this talk we will solve problems from multiple areas of mathematics and computer science. We will discuss Euler circuits and paths and their use in designing postman routes, finding Steiner points with soap bubbles, counting cannon balls in stacks, continued fractions, the ubiquity of Fibonacci numbers in Computer Science and nature, problems that are intractable for computers, and more.

Bring your brain!

December 3, 2011 – Dr. Branislav Kisačanin – “Solving Recursions”

Metroplex Math Circle — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:50:57 +0000

Sequences of numbers are often defined using a recursive relation and initial conditions, for example, the sequence of Fibonacci numbers is defined with F_{n+2} = F_{n+1} + F_{n} and initial conditions F_{1} = 1, F_{2} = 1. In this lecture we will see (a) how to solve various types of recursions (b)How to determine various sequence properties of number sequences directly from the recursions, and (c) how this knowledge can come in handy in many competition problems as well as in the study of computer science.

2012 North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO)

Metroplex Math Circle — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:15:11 +0000

Registration is now open for the 2012 North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO). This is a contest that appeals to many students who enjoy mathematical problem solving competitions. As in past years, Dr. Vincent Ng will offer the contest at UT Dallas and will also provide a prep session before the contest.

Knowledge of specific languages is not being tested, but rather the ability of our students to detect patterns and solve problems. Computational Linguistics and Natural Language processing are two exciting fields whose benefits we experience every day when we interact with Google search or Apple’s Siri.