Math Circles (2017-18)
Coordinator: Dr. Tzvetalin Vassilev, Associate Professor of Mathematics
NUMERIC and the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics at Nipissing University invite students from Grades 3-12 to participate in MATH CIRCLES. Math Circles are open format, informal enrichment meetings for students who enjoy mathematics and problem solving. Interested students will work on challenging problems under the guidance of Mathematics students and faculty from Nipissing University. Students can come to as many of the Circles as they want. The Math Circles will take place on a Saturday (see schedule below) from 11:30 to 2:30 pm in Rooms H109 and H110 at Nipissing University. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided to participants. This year the Math Circles will focus on problem solving in small groups, Grades 3-6, 7-9, 10-12, and will prepare the students to participate in Math Kangaroo, an international mathematical contest for school students held simultaneously in more than 70 countries around the world. The contest will take place at Nipissing University Sunday March 18, 2018.
Online Registration Form: http://www.nipissingu.ca/mathcircles
2017-18 Dates:
September 30, 2017
October 21, 2017
November 4, 2017
November 18, 2017
December 2, 2017
January 13, 2018
January 27, 2018
February 10, 2018
March 3, 2018
April 7, 2018
Below are several typical problems that students will be working on. There will be a variety of problems to suit each participant’s background in Mathematics. Students who are interested in Mathematics, interested in challenging problems and in improving problem solving skills are encouraged to attend.
PROBLEM 1: There are 25 coins of the same denomination. 24 coins are of the same weight. The remaining coin is fake and is lighter than the rest. How many weighings is required to determine the fake coin? Find the minimal number of weighings.
PROBLEM 2: You have six-digit ticket number(s): 000000 through 999999. You call a number lucky if the sum of the first three digits is the same as the sum of the last three digits (123006 is lucky, 123007 is not). How many consecutive tickets you should buy to guarantee yourself a lucky ticket?
PROBLEM 3: How long it will take to open all the presents mentioned in the popular song “Twelve days of Christmas”, if you open them at a rate of one per day?
PROBLEM 4: A kangaroo is hopping from Sydney, Australia to North Bay. Its first hop is 1 meter long, the second hop is 2 metres long, third hop is 4 metres long, etc. Each subsequent hop is twice as long as the previous one. On which hop will the kangaroo be closest to North Bay, given that the distance between Sydney, Australia and North Bay is 15 600 kilometres?