DIXON – Linear algebra. Polynomials. Probability. Statistics.

If such mathematics topics seem a bit complex, have faith in some of the area’s best sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade math wizards to figure it all out.

Students from six local schools convened at Sauk Valley Community College’s lecture hall Saturday for a regional MathCounts competition.

St. Anne Catholic School in Dixon’s quartet of Claire Chrisham, Sam Neisewander, Carson Palmer and Kyle Wolfe won the team competition to give the school its second win in 3 years. Defending champ Rochelle Middle School took second; St. Mary in Dixon and St. Mary in Sterling rounded out the top four.

“Every member of the team rose to the occasion this weekend,” St. Anne coach Susan Bontjes said. “They had to work together as a team in order to win. We are very proud of them.”

​The competition involved written tests and fast-paced verbal matches. Students got a unique perspective about problem solving skills not normally experienced in the classroom, said Scott Brown, a director at Wendler Engineering in Dixon who organized the competition on behalf of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers.

Students worked individually in a pair of timed rounds, then together among their team, and finally in one-on-one competition with other students.

Scores are based on a combination of individual and team results.

“Once the students compete, we know the experience is meaningful and helped sharpen their problem-solving skills,” Brown said. “Solving difficult math problems during preparation for and competing at the event encourages them to trust their problem-solving skills.”

St. Anne advances to state competition March 23 in Lisle; also moving on are individual winner David Wanner and runner-up John Green, both of Rochelle. Winners there compete in the national MathCounts event.

Michael Murray of St. Mary in Dixon was the top local competitor, finishing third.

Ainsley Reed of St. Mary in Sterling placed fifth and Neisewander was sixth. Neisewander and Palmer were members of St. Anne’s winning team 2 years ago.

Also competing were students from Christ Lutheran School in Sterling, Morrison Junior High School and Ohio Grade School.

Questions

Here is a sampling of what local students attempted to solve Saturday at a regional MathCounts competition:

• A rectangular tile measures 3 inches by 4 inches. What is the fewest number of these tiles that are needed to completely cover a rectangular region that is 2 feet by 5 feet?

• What is the greatest whole number that must be a factor of the sum of any four consecutive positive odd numbers?

• A four-digit perfect square integer is created by placing two positive two-digit perfect square integers next to each other. What is the four-digit square integer?

• Someone exercised by doing jumping jacks for 5 minutes and then walked on a track at 4 minutes per lap. If a routine took 73 minutes, how many laps were walked?

Answers

• 120 tiles

• 8

• 1681

• 17 laps