Mathletes Compete for State MATHCOUNTS Titles in March

Middle School Students Gear Up for Competitions Across the South

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Middle school Mathletes® from Arkansas, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, and Alabama will compete this month for the right to represent their state in the 2010 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition in Orlando this May.

“It is incredible to watch these students display such passion and dedication towards mathematics”

Students qualified for their respective MATHCOUNTS State Competitions when they or their school team won local competitions in February by correctly solving problems such as:

How many six-inch by six-inch square tiles are needed to cover a three-foot by two-foot rectangular section of floor?

A copy of the Sunday Times costs $0.95 more than a copy of the Sunday News.
Ms. Jones buys both papers for $7.25.
How much does the Sunday News cost?

The top four Mathletes from each state will advance to the 2010 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition as a team or as individuals, and will compete for the national title against other talented middle school mathematicians representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and schools from the Department of Defense and State Department. The 2010 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition will be held at the Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin Resort, in Orlando, Fla., on Friday, May 7.

“It is incredible to watch these students display such passion and dedication towards mathematics,” said Lou DiGioia, executive director of the MATHCOUNTS Foundation. “These Mathletes represent our future in an increasingly important math literate global economy. MATHCOUNTS is honored to support the efforts of U.S. middle school students in developing strong mathematical abilities and the critical-thinking skills necessary to help the nation move forward with innovative solutions to our challenges in the coming years.”

The MATHCOUNTS State Competitions will take place as follows:

March 13, 2010

Arkansas MATHCOUNTS State Competition
Location: University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Dickinson Hall Auditorium, Little Rock, Ark.
Contact: Zane Lewis [phone] or [e-mail]

West Virginia MATHCOUNTS State Competition
Location: Braxton County Middle School, Flatwoods, W. Va.
Contact: Kevin Wall, [phone] or [e-mail]

March 20, 2010

Maryland MATHCOUNTS State Competition
Location: Johns Hopkins University, Hodson Hall, Baltimore, Md.
Contact: Joel Oppenheimer, P.E., [phone] or [e-mail]

Virginia MATHCOUNTS State Competition
Location: Dominion Virginia Power, Innsbrook Technical Center, Glen Allen, Va.
Contact: Becky Golden, [phone] or [e-mail]

March 26, 2010

Florida MATHCOUNTS State Competition
Location: Hilton Orlando Altamonte Springs, Crystal Ballroom, Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Contact: Scott Johnson, [phone] or [e-mail]

March 27, 2010

Alabama MATHCOUNTS State Competition
Location: Faulkner University, Harris Business Building, Montgomery, Ala.
Contact: Brian Shelton, [phone] or [e-mail]

Answers to Sample Problems: 24 tiles, $3.15

Editor’s Note: Interested in more samples of the types of math problems these students will be solving? The problems and answers from prior School, Chapter and State Competitions are available at https://mathcounts.org/Page.aspx?pid=295 or contact us for a one page sample of representative math problems.

ABOUT MATHCOUNTS

MATHCOUNTS is the nation’s premier middle school math enrichment and competition program. To secure America’s global competitiveness, MATHCOUNTS inspires excellence, confidence and curiosity in U.S. middle schools students through fun and challenging math programs. Beyond the challenge of learning new skills, the MATHCOUNTS Competition Program (school, local, state and national) provides students with fun-filled opportunities to focus on mathematics. Each year, more than 100,000 students from over 6,000 schools register to participate in the MATHCOUNTS Competition Program and vie for prizes and scholarships, as well as the opportunity to advance to the Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition. Students of all abilities thoroughly enjoy the experience and develop mathematical aptitude, self-confidence and teamwork skills.

At the state and local level, sponsors and volunteers from the National Society of Professional Engineers support MATHCOUNTS. At the national level, Raytheon Company, National Defense Education Program, Northrop Grumman Foundation, National Society of Professional Engineers, CNA Foundation, ConocoPhillips, Pitsco Education, Texas Instruments Incorporated and 3M Foundation generously sponsor MATHCOUNTS. The National Society of Professional Engineers, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and CNA Foundation founded MATHCOUNTS in 1983.

ABOUT OUR TITLE SPONSOR

Raytheon Company is the title sponsor of the 2010 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition and has made a commitment to serve in this capacity until 2011.

Raytheon’s support of MATHCOUNTS is a component of its MathMovesU program, an initiative designed to engage U.S. middle school students in math and science through interactive learning programs, contests, events, scholarships, tutoring programs and more. Since its inception in 2005, MathMovesU has touched the lives of more than 1 million students, teachers and parents. For more information, please visit MathMovesU.com.

Additional information on MATHCOUNTS and the 2010 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition is available at www.mathcounts.org. For more information on each MATHCOUNTS State Competition, and to find out when doors open to the public for the Countdown Round, please contact a MATHCOUNTS State Coordinator listed above.