Drexel Second Annual Math Contest
Co-sponsored by the Department of Mathematics,
Office of Enrollment Management and The Math Forum

The Second Annual Drexel Math Contest was held on Tuesday, December 16, 2003, from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm at Drexel University.

Dr. Herrmann, Drexel University Mathematics Department Head, welcomes the 202 students from 26 schools from the greater Philadelphia area registered to participate in the event. The schedule included:

• Mathematics Exam - download the PDF version
• Tour of Drexel University campus
• Lunch
• Kinesthetic and Computer Lab Activity - The Math Forum @ Drexel
• Awards Ceremony

Kinesthetic and Computer Lab Activity

Frieze patterns were explored by students in both a kinesthetic and a computer lab activity. A frieze pattern is a symmetrical pattern that extends indefinitely in one direction.

Annie Fetter and Richard Tchen demonstrate the kinesthetic part of the activity.

View larger gif || Download PDF file

     

Students work in their groups to demonstrate one of the frieze patterns.

     

One group used their shoes to understand the patterns more clearly.

Constructing the Seven Frieze Patterns

In the computer lab part of the activity, students used Geometer's Sketchpad* to construct the simplest frieze pattern, a pattern with only translation symmetry, then applied isometries to it incrementally to create other symmetrical frieze patterns.

     

     

*Our thanks to Key Curriculum Press for giving us permission to install and use the software for the day!

Awards Ceremony

The three winners all had perfect scores!

All three winners will receive scholarships to attend Drexel if they elect to come here for college. They also received a laser crystal trophy Flowlines created by the artist Bathsheba Grossman.

Adam Bildersee, grade 11 Lower Merion HS Teacher: Dr. Eizen

Samuel Hughes, Grade 12 Marple Newton HS Teacher: Mr. Clancy

Jay Ni, Grade 11 Radnor HS Teacher: Mr. Herman

Dr. Schmutz, Huaou Yan and Yuzhe Feng (Honorable Mention winners), Dr. Herrmann

Contest Organizers:

Department of Mathematics:

Dr. Nira Herrmann, Dr. Eric Schmutz

 

Office of Enrollment Management:

Kristen Schwarze

 

The Math Forum:

Suzanne Alejandre, Annie Fetter, Richard Tchen, Stephen Weimar

 

Office of Information Resources and Technology:

Jan Biros, John Caruso, Adele Varenas

 

Special thanks also to the administrators, faculty, staff, and students who helped make this event so successful:

 

College of Arts & Sciences:

Dr. Donna Murasko, Dean

 

Pennoni Honors College and School of Education:

Dr. Mark Greenberg, Dean

 

Department of Mathematics:

Dr. William Goh, Rachel Hammond, Prof. Patricia Henry, Dr. Pawel Hitczenko, Dr. Li Sheng, Liz Lowry, Dr. Douglas Mcleod, Rachel Miller, Prof. Marna Mozeff, Loni Philip