Welcome to Chattanooga Math Circle!

What is Chattanooga Math Circle About?

There is a correlation between problem solving and the learning process of mathematics. Strong problem solving skills have considerable effect in transforming a mathematics enthusiast into an exceptional researcher. Following the traditions of Russian and Eastern European math circles, Chattanooga Math Circle is a creative enrichment program geared toward gifted middle and high school students in grades 7-10. Its objectives are:

• to provide an enriching and stimulating environment that encourages further involvement from students already interested in mathematics;

• to promote mathematics to a wider audience and explain its impact and relevance for society;

• to develop the mathematical background of students; and

• to guide students towards promising careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

The Math Circle includes the following major components:

• a series of mathematically intensive, expository seminars on a variety of pure, applied and computational mathematics topics designed to challenge top Chattanooga students;

• special guest lectures that show students some of the ways mathematicians approach problems;

• collaborative problem solving activities that focus on complex problems and advanced problem solving techniques; and

• workshops on American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) 8 and 10/12 B.

The Math Circle focuses on topics outside of what is typically covered in a middle and high school setting but accessible to the mathematically inclined students. These are as varied as advanced Euclidean geometry, elementary number theory, fractals, combinatorics, graph theory, probability, statistics, game theory, and logic. Under the guidance and instruction of mathematics faculty and supported by talented undergraduate mathematics majors, students will have the opportunity to learn and explore a variety of effective problem solving strategies. Students can expect to be supported in an environment with events and activities that help them learn quickly and push outside their comfort zone, to grow their skills and gain valuable insights into various mathematical problems, and to have a lot of fun learning beautiful and useful mathematics.

 

Spring 2018 Schedule

The format is that of one and a half hours meeting, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM on Thursdays. The Math Circle will meet in Room 239 of the Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science (EMCS) Building starting January 18th and continuing until April 19th. After hours parking is free in Lot 10. Parents are welcome to use the UTC Library while their children are participating in the Math Circle. The latest books and magazines are in the common area of the first floor of the UTC Library.

 

Date	Title	Speaker(s)
1/18	Aspects of Discrete Mathematics I	Andrew Ledoan
1/25	AMC 10/12 Workshop	Shannon Hyder, Rhionna Sims, Matthew Villanueva, Roger Nichols, and Andrew Ledoan
2/1	Aspects of Discrete Mathematics II	Roger Nichols
2/8	AMC 10/12 Workshop	Shannon Hyder, Rhionna Sims, Matthew Villanueva, Roger Nichols, and Andrew Ledoan
2/15	AMC 10/12 Competitions	No Session
2/22	Some Topics on Unusual Geometry	Boris Belinskiy (UTC)
3/1	An Introduction to Cryptography and Modular Arithmetic	Matthew Villanueva (UTC)
3/8	Some Topics in Abstract Mathematics	Matthew Villanueva (UTC)
3/22	Misleading Statistics	Aniekan Abiefung (UTC)
3/29	Visualizing Data Using Graphs–Example of the Winter Olympics Medals Data	Lani Gao
4/5	Hamilton County Spring Break	No Session
4/12	Rocket Science Really is Rocket Science!	Paul Crawford (Marshall Space Flight Center)
4/19	Can You Spot It?!	Philip DeOrsey (Westfield State University)
4/26	Mathematical Programming	Lakmali Weerasena (UTC)

 

 

Fall 2017 Schedule

Date	Title	Speaker(s)
9/7	Pythagorean Triangles	Andrew Ledoan
9/14	Majorization and Muirhead’s Theorem	Roger Nichols
9/21	Exploring a Mathematical Magic Trick: Liar’s Bingo	Sarah Trebat-Leder (Emory University)
9/28	AMC 8 and AMC 10 Workshops	Shannon Hyder, Rhionna Sims, Roger Nichols, Andrew Ledoan
10/5	Difference Equations and Their Applications to Population Dynamics	Jin Wang (UTC)
10/12	Hamilton County Fall Break (No session)
10/19	Polygon Differencing Games	Philip Yasskin (Texas A&M University)
10/26	AMC 8 and AMC 10 Workshops
11/2	Prime Numbers	Andrew Ledoan
11/9	Understanding the Law of Large Numbers and the Central Limit Theorem by Looking at Color Distribution of M&M Candies	Cuilan (Lani) Gao
11/14	AMC 8 Competition at UTC
11/16	Walking On and Coloring Graphs	Ben Webb (Brigham Young University)
11/23	Thanksgiving Holiday (No session)
11/30	Mathematical Induction	Roger Nichols
12/7	AMC 10 Workshop	Shannon Hyder, Rhionna Sims, Roger Nichols, and Andrew Ledoan
12/14	Who Wants to Be a Mathematician? (Quiz competition)	Shannon Hyder, Rhionna Sims, Roger Nichols, and Andrew Ledoan

 

Math Circle Instructors

The Math Circle instructors are faculty members and graduate and undergraduate students from The University of Tennessee at Chattanoooga (UTC) and Lee University:

• Dr. Andrew Ledoan, UTC, Director

• Dr. Roger Nichols, UTC, Co-Director

• Dr. Cuilan (Lani) Gao, UTC, Co-Director

• Dr. Lakmali Weerasena, UTC

• Mr. Matthew Villanueva, UTC

• Ms. Shannon Hyder, UTC

• Ms. Rhionna Sims, UTC

 

Upcoming Mathematics Competitions

The AMC is a series of national mathematical competitions of increasing difficulty organized annually by the Mathematical Association of America. Participants are middle school and high school students. According to AMC, the competitions are intended for everyone from the average student at a typical school who enjoys mathematics to the very best student at the most special school. The AMC starts with AMC 8 and AMC 10/12, continues with the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) for students who qualify, and finishes with the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). The top participants in the USAMO are invited to take part in the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP), where a US team for the International Olympiad is selected.

The dates for the upcoming AMC contests are:

• AMC 8 — Tuesday, November 14, 2017

  • 25 multiple choice questions in 40 minutes

  • AMC 8 is for grades 6, 7, and 8

• AMC 10/12 A — Tuesday, February 7, 2018

• AMC 10/12 B — Wednesday, February 15, 2018

  • 25 multiple choice questions in 75 minutes

  • AMC 10 is for grades 9-10 (top 2.5% nationally qualify for the AIME)

  • AMC 12 is for grades 11-12 (top 5% nationally qualify for the AIME)

Typically, students take AMC 10/12 B at their schools. However, if their school is not offering the test, they can now take it at UTC. For banks of AMC problems, visit the Art of Problem Solving’s AoPSolving Wiki website.

 

AIME

• 10,000 students are invited (March)

• 15 questions in 3 hours, each answer is an integer number 0-999

 

USAMO

• 500 students are invited (April)

• 6 essay/proof questions in 2 days (9 hours)

• 12 students are invited to the award ceremony in Washington, DC

 

MOSP

• 50 students are invited: IMO team (6 students), 2 alternates, 17 younger top students, 25 top

• 3 to 4 weeks (intensive)

 

IMO

• 6 students represent the USA

• 6 essay/proof questions in 2 days (9 hours)

 

Old Math Circle Sessions