05 Aug 2019
We were lucky enough to attend the talented mathematicians competition at Sydney Technical High School, where students from over 10 schools competed in various mathematical challenges. Our school sent ten year 11 students to represent our school, along with Mr Laurendet and Mr Choi as our supervisors.
The first challenge was the group competition where teams had to answer 15 questions of various difficulty in 45 minutes. This challenge required efficient time management and allocation of questions. The next round was the swiss competition where teams went head to head in a kind of mathematical spelling bee. Teams had to guess the next value in a number pattern based on a hidden algebraic function. However, the teams weren’t allowed to talk except for their guesses. At this point we were halfway through the competition and Caringbah team B was in the lead.
After a quick break, the next round was the crossnumbers competition. Teams had to complete a crossword-style puzzle with numbers. However, the teams of 5 were split into groups of 2 and 3, one half got the down clues and the other half got the across clues. The final round was the relay competition where once again, the teams were split in half. There were 20 questions and a 45 minute time limit, but one half could only answer the odd numbered questions and the other half the even numbered questions.
The results ceremony was tense and after Sydney Tech was announced as second place, we weren’t expecting to win. However, Caringbah team B managed to pull ahead by 25 points (about one question) and finished in first place. Overall, it was a fun and intellectually challenging day and we would like to thank all the organisers and Head Teacher of Maths at Sydney Tech, Mr Trotman.