Mississippi
Mu Alpha Theta
2014 State Convention Packet
“Pythagorean Paradise”
April 13th – 14th
Hinds Community College
Clyde Muse Center
Pearl, MS
Schedule
Sunday, April 13th
2:00-3:30 / Registration - Please send only adult representativesTake scrapbook, banner, & video to Workforce Training Room / Lobby
3:30-3:45
3:45-4:15 / Welcome by Nathan Barron, President
(All Attendees and Sponsors)
Sponsors meeting
Student Activity / Auditorium
Lobby
Auditorium
4:30-5:30
5:30-7:00
6:45-7:00
7:00-8:30 / Area Testing
Supper on your own (Pizza Dinner for those who pre-purchased tickets)
Runners Meeting - All Ciphering, Hustle, and Relay runners meet for instructions
Chalk Talk
Junior Ciphering
Intermediate Ciphering
Advanced Ciphering / Auditorium
Lobby
Stage
Workforce Training
Auditorium
8:30-9:00
9:00 / Business Meeting
Dismissed / Auditorium
Monday, April 14th
8:10-8:158:15-9:45 / Inter-School set up by max of 5 student team leaders per school
(Each school is responsible for their own table set up)
Interschool Test (Bring ream of paper) / Auditorium
Auditorium
10:00–11:00
11:15-12:45 / Potpourri
Hustle
Relay
Junior Ciphering Finals
Intermediate Ciphering Finals
Advanced Ciphering Finals
College Recruiters for student not participating / Auditorium
Auditorium
Meeting Rooms
Auditorium
Lobby
12:15-1:30 / Lunch on your own (Schlotzsky’s for those who pre-purchased tickets) / Staging/Storage
1:30-1:45 / District 1–6 Meetings (Elect Governors for next year) / Auditorium
2:00–3:00 / Awards Program / Auditorium
*Sponsors’ Meeting - (at least one sponsor from each school). Sponsor Assignments & Changes.
*Runners' Meeting - (all runners) Ciphering, Hustle, and Relay Runners instructions.
*Business Meeting - (all convention attendees) Candidate Speeches.
*Delegates’ Meeting - (all delegates) Vote for New Officers.
*District Meeting - (2 delegates per district) Vote for new District Governors. New executive board will represent his own district; no governor will need to be elected for that district.
CALCULATOR USE
The use of any type of calculator is not allowed on the written tests except for Probability & Statistics and Trigonometry tests. Calculators are allowed in the team competitions. Prohibited calculators include any calculator with a QWERTY keyboard as well as any calculator with symbolic manipulation, such as the TI-89. We will follow the same graphing calculator policy as that of MDE for the SATP Algebra Exam. Any calculator violation will result in the disqualification of the entire school from that event. Sponsors, please have students remove ALL programs from their calculator or put in “Press-to-Test” mode PRIOR TO testing time. PLEASE DO NOT BRING PROHIBITED CALCULATORS INTO THE TESTING SITES. Monitors will be checking calculators at each table.
CELL PHONES
Cell phones are to be turned off and put completely out of sight (pocket or purse) at all times during any competition. Violation of this rule will cause disqualification of the individual. Text messaging will cause individuals to be disqualified from all competitions at the convention. During a team event, the team will be disqualified for that particular competition.
CONTESTS
Each student attending the convention will be classified in one of two divisions.
OPEN DIVISION students will be those who have completed any advanced mathematics course beyond Algebra II, such as Trigonometry or Calculus, or any other math course offered at universities. (Current Framework standards will be used as guidelines).
JUNIOR DIVISION includes all other students, including those currently enrolled in Algebra II or Geometry.
AREA TESTS / Sunday 4:30–5:30 / 10 points for 1st place down to 1 point for 10th placeJUNIOR DIVISION TESTS: Algebra II, Geometry
OPEN DIVISION TESTS: Trigonometry, Advanced Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus, Probability and Statistics
A student who takes a test out of his division will be ineligible for an award for that test.
1. Each student can only take one test.
2. The area tests are composed of no more than 25 multiple-choice questions chosen from one topic area. These topic areas coincide with the 2007 Mississippi Mathematics Framework Revised.
3. The winners will be determined as follows:
· The person(s) with the most problems correct will be considered.
· If there is a tie, the order the tied tests were turned in will be used to determine the final winner. Tests will be numbered in the order in which students turn them in.
RELAY / Monday 10:00–11:00 / Two times the points as in area testsThis 4-person relay team (must have 4) will be geared for speed and accuracy. The students will be seated in order in a row. They will receive problems in the following order.
Seat 1: Geometry/Algebra Seat 2: Algebra II
Seat 3: Trigonometry/Precalculus Seat 4: Calculus
Seat 1 will solve for variable A, pass the solution back to Seat 2, who inserts the solution for A into his problem and solves for variable B. Seat 2 passes his result to Seat 3, who inserts the B value into his problem and solves for C. Seat 3 passes his result to Seat 4 who inserts the C value into his problem and solves for D. Students may not talk but may return an answer to the previous seat if they believe the value is wrong and want it to be checked. When the person in Seat 4 gets a final value, the answer sheet is submitted for scoring. There will be no final round. As with Hustle, the team can include no more than two students from any of the three ciphering divisions.
POTPOURRI / Monday 10:00–11:00 / Two times the points as in area testsEach school may enter a team for this test (up to 4 members). This test consists of a variety of questions from various math subjects. There will be no final round.
HUSTLE / Monday 10:00–11:00 / Two times the points as in area testsThe Hustle will consist of a team of up to 4 students. The members of the team can include no more than two students from any of the three ciphering divisions. The 4 members will have five different eight-minute rounds to sort through 125 questions. The questions will come from 5 mathematical areas and will be color-coded for each area. The areas are the following: (1) algebra & geometry, (2) Algebra II, (3) trigonometry, (4) advanced math & calculus, and (5) statistics, data analysis, probability. Each round will require that the team submit no more than 5 questions of a given area (color) up to a maximum of 24 questions per team. Each correct response from Round I will score 6 points; Round II, 5 points; Round III, 4 points; Round IV, 3 points; and Round V, 2 points. There will be no final rounds of Hustle.
CIPHERING – Junior, Intermediate and Advanced / First Round: Sunday 7:00–8:30Final Round: Monday 11:15–12:45 / Two times the points as in area tests
A ciphering team may consist of up to 4 students. There are three divisions of Ciphering: Junior Division Ciphering consisting of Algebra II and Geometry; Intermediate Division Ciphering consisting of Trigonometry, Probability and Statistics, Advanced Algebra, and Pre-calculus; and Advanced Ciphering consisting of all Intermediate Ciphering topics and Calculus. Students may "Cipher up but cannot Cipher down". Ciphering questions are short-answer. You will be given a maximum of 2 minutes to answer each question. If you answer the question correctly within one minute, you get 4 points. If you answer the question correctly within the second minute, you get two points. The ten highest scoring schools will advance their 4 highest scorers (from the first round) to the final round.
INTERSCHOOL TESTSet-up / Monday 8:15–9:45
Monday 8:00–8:15 / Two times the points as in area tests.
Send 3-5 student leaders to set up test area.
The Interschool Test is the oldest event of the competition and should give your chapter a real sense of school spirit. The Interschool Test is a short-answer test composed of a variety of challenging problems chosen from all of the topic areas. A chapter’s Interschool team may consist of up to 25 students. Teams may bring reference materials into the test (such as textbooks). Each school participating in the Interschool Test is asked to bring a sealed ream of paper. 5 student team leaders per school set up table early. (Each school is responsible for their own table set up)
OVERALL THEME / Pythagorean ParadiseThe overall theme should be apparent in your banner, scrapbook, video, and program cover. After registering, deliver your scrapbook and banner to a sponsor in the President’s Dining Room by 3:30 to be judged.
SCRAPBOOK / to be judged / 1.5 times the points as in area tests1. Each scrapbook must have the school name and year placed visibly on the front cover and be no more than 2 ft. x 2 ft. x 6 in.
2. Only scrapbooks or portions of scrapbooks dealing with chapter activities since the convention of 2012 will be judged.
3. All scrapbooks should be registered at the convention registration table and taken to the Workforce Training Room to be judged. Each chapter is responsible for retrieving its own scrapbook at the end of convention.
4. Scrapbooks must be new and display the year and words or symbols for Mu Alpha Theta.
BANNER / to be judged / 1.5 times the points as in area tests1. All banners should be completed by students ONLY. School names should NOT be on the front of the banner, but they must be placed on the back (permanent marker can be used). Banners that do not have the school name on the back will be disqualified.
2. Banners will be judged on the criteria of relevance to math, creativity, neatness, and attractiveness, with greater emphasis placed on the relevance to math and creativity.
3. Banners must not exceed the size of 3 ft. x 4 ft. x 4 in. or they will not be judged.
4. All banners must be made of fabric and on a rod and cord, ready to be hung.
5. All banners must be new and display the year and words or symbols for Mu Alpha Theta.
6. All banners should be registered at the convention registration table and taken to the Workforce Training Room to be judged. Each chapter is responsible for retrieving its own banner at the end of convention.
VIDEO / to be judged / 1.5 times the points as in area testsEach school may submit one video. To be judged, the video should be no longer than three minutes. This year the topic is the overall theme “Pythagorean Paradise”. The objective of the video is to encourage creative re-creations of movies using mathematical ideas. The video, including the filming process, must be produced solely by students and approved by a sponsor. Videos must present the topic in a positive manner. Videos with inappropriate language and/or behavior, violence, alcohol, or deemed inappropriate by the judges WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. Videos may NOT mention the school name or be in the video in any way. Your video MUST be an .MPV or .MOV file – improperly formatted videos will be disqualified. Feel free to create the video in any format you wish, but use a free online video converter, such as http://www.zamzar.com, to format the video you submit. Submit your school video through www.dropbox.com to Jennifer Brunetz (). Email Jennifer so that she can invite you to the shared Dropbox folder. She will also answer any questions you have about using Dropbox.
PROGRAM COVER / to be judged / 1.5 times the points as in area tests1. Designs should be submitted on one sheet of 8.5 in. x 11 in. typing paper as a camera-ready copy. Pencil drawings should be copied.
2. Designs will be judged on the criteria of relevance of math and to the theme, creativity, neatness, and attractiveness, with greater emphasis placed on the positive relevance to math and creativity. The words or symbols for Mu Alpha Theta should be displayed along with the date – April 13–14, 2014 – and "2014 State Convention". Covers with inappropriate language and/or behavior, violence, alcohol, or deemed inappropriate by the judges WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.
3. No color.
4. All parts of the design should be hand drawn, including letters.
5. The designs should be student work only.
6. The design should encompass the theme, “Pythagorean Paradise”.
CHALK TALK / to be judged / 1.5 times the points as in area testsChalk-Talk consists of a five minute presentation session and a two minute question-and-answer session. Participants should prepare their presentation before the convention and are required to submit an outline of their presentation at the registration desk. During chalk talk, students are only allowed to use a 3 x 5 notecard for their presentation. However, this year we will also provide a whiteboard and markers for them to use if they so choose. Only one Chalk-Talk entry is allowed per school. The Chalk Talk topic for the 2014 Convention is “How would the Pythagoreans handle a graphing calculator? Use yours to explain.”
TIE BREAKER PROCEDURE
The procedure for breaking a tie in all areas of competition will be announced prior to the tests.
SUPPER AND LUNCH TICKETS
This year we are suggesting that schools order meal tickets for Sunday night and Monday lunch. Supper/Lunch tickets will be $6 per meal. We will offer pizza for supper on Sunday and Schlotzky’s sandwich boxes for lunch on Monday. Options for pizza will include: pepperoni, sausage, and cheese. Schlotzky’s sandwich box options include: The Original, Smoked Turkey Breast, Chicken Breast, and Vegetarian. Students will also receive a canned beverage or water with each meal. Please indicate on the registration sheet how many tickets you would like to pre-purchase. The tickets are non-refundable and cannot be purchased once you are at the convention. Tickets will be issued at registration on Sunday. Students must have their ticket to receive a meal.