Minnesota Mathcounts

Increasingly, math and girls do mix

By Kim Ode, Star Tribune
Published Mar 23, 2002
www.startribune.com

Not that you'll ever need to know this, but do you know how many numbers there are between 1 and 999 that do not contain a 7 or a 9? Show 'em, girls!

First, there are 900 three-digit numbers, so you take 900 minus 200 to account for all the 700s and 900s. Laura Evans is writing on the white board in equation form. Melissa Lynn is at her shoulder. Then you take 700 minus 140 (that's two sets of 10 multiplied by 7) to account for the 70s and 90s. So that's 560. Rachel Loh and Linnea Trandem are making their own figures, adding to Laura's start. Finally, two-tenths of 560 is 112, so eight-tenths is 448.

And then?

That's it. The answer is 448.

But the two-tenths and the eight-tenths -- where do you get that?

That's one-tenth for each set of 10 numbers, Rachel said. Sensing a void, she went on: You know -- for the 7s and the 9s.

Of course.

This is just one example of how the top math team in Minnesota does its stuff. The four are students at Field Community School in Minneapolis and won the title at last week's Mathcounts state tournament. They were the first all-girl team ever to take top honors in the tournament's 19 years. The way that adults have been hovering around them, they're willing to grant that it's a big deal.

But the charm of what they did -- and maybe even the real victory -- might be in the fact that you practically have to hit them over the head with this observation.

They're kind of familiar with research that has been tracking how girls' aptitude for math starts to slide in middle school. When I asked them why they think that happens, they looked to the ceiling trying to improvise an answer, glanced at each other for inspiration. Maybe, Laura ventured, there were just so many years when people thought that girls were supposed to do certain things and math just wasn't one of them.

And it hit me: I'd just asked them a history question.

No doubt, there still are times when girls struggle with what society expects of them, schools where certain pursuits are discouraged, homes where certain dreams are not taken seriously.

But our world really is changing. It's in the puzzled giggle as 12-year-old Linnea told how her mother "was really excited" about this. Or as Melissa, 13, said, "It was just great to win, more than the fact that we're girls."

OK. So, um, let's move on.

There's actually a sort of mathematical lesson in how they won. None of them took individual honors. But as a team, they had a winning consistency when their individual scores were averaged.

"We all have certain strengths," said Rachel, 13. Hers is working probabilities and counting. Melissa, 13, excels at equations. Linnea, 12, is a fiend at double-checking work. Laura, 14, couldn't reply before Melissa piped up: "Laura does everything no one else can understand."

Mathcounts is sponsored by the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers for students in grades five through eight. Jeanette Polanski's team was one of 27, and among 38 girls in a field of 131 students. Polanski used to attend Field herself, so the championship is especially meaningful.

The girls describe math as fun, sometimes hard, but more often appearing to them as a clever puzzle rather than a complicated problem.

"We've talked about how there are two ways to get the answers," Polanski said. "There's often an elegant solution to a problem, and then there's a quick way of grinding it out, which is what you have to do in a contest." While Polanski and I were talking, the girls were going on about calculators.

I was trying to figure out 20 factorials. . . .

Oh, I remember doing that with 17 factorials. . . .

The number got to be this long before I stopped.

They giggled. Right now, they're really into graphing calculators. When I got back to the office and looked up what those are, I found that one would enable me to "easily view and edit numeric and alphanumeric data in the list editor. Then plot data in several new statistics plots, including pie charts, pictographs, bar charts, scatter plots, histograms and more."

And more. Their victory was looking sweeter all the time.

Rachel was telling me how she reached into her backpack to pull out the book she's reading, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." "It's about this thick, almost 500 pages," she said. "And I felt it, but what I pulled out was my graphing calculator manual."

They all like doing crossword puzzles in their spare time, although they admit being flummoxed by the one in TV Guide; they just don't have the television knowledge to get through it.

They have one other thing in common: orchestra. Polanski herself wondered if their musicianship affects how well they do with math. Laura said she's read how the two pursuits may complement each other. You can tell she's intrigued.

Then Rachel jumped in. "Yeah, but I'm her stand partner and she goes right through the rests! She doesn't count at all!"

Laura smiled, busted. There's a puzzle there, too, waiting for an elegant solution.

Kim Ode's columns run Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Write to her at kimode@startribune.com, or 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis MN 55488.

WHAT'S NEW Articles, Awards, Alumni News HOW TO PARTICIPATE Registration Procedures THE COMPETITIONS Chapter, State & National COACHES CORNER Information for teachers HOW TO VOLUNTEER Sign up or find volunteers CONTACT US Find your chapter coordinator CALENDAR OUR SPONSORS NATIONAL WEBSITE		Back to What's New homepage Increasingly, math and girls do mix By Kim Ode, Star Tribune Published Mar 23, 2002 www.startribune.com Not that you'll ever need to know this, but do you know how many numbers there are between 1 and 999 that do not contain a 7 or a 9? Show 'em, girls! First, there are 900 three-digit numbers, so you take 900 minus 200 to account for all the 700s and 900s. Laura Evans is writing on the white board in equation form. Melissa Lynn is at her shoulder. Then you take 700 minus 140 (that's two sets of 10 multiplied by 7) to account for the 70s and 90s. So that's 560. Rachel Loh and Linnea Trandem are making their own figures, adding to Laura's start. Finally, two-tenths of 560 is 112, so eight-tenths is 448. And then? That's it. The answer is 448. But the two-tenths and the eight-tenths -- where do you get that? That's one-tenth for each set of 10 numbers, Rachel said. Sensing a void, she went on: You know -- for the 7s and the 9s. Of course. This is just one example of how the top math team in Minnesota does its stuff. The four are students at Field Community School in Minneapolis and won the title at last week's Mathcounts state tournament. They were the first all-girl team ever to take top honors in the tournament's 19 years. The way that adults have been hovering around them, they're willing to grant that it's a big deal. But the charm of what they did -- and maybe even the real victory -- might be in the fact that you practically have to hit them over the head with this observation. They're kind of familiar with research that has been tracking how girls' aptitude for math starts to slide in middle school. When I asked them why they think that happens, they looked to the ceiling trying to improvise an answer, glanced at each other for inspiration. Maybe, Laura ventured, there were just so many years when people thought that girls were supposed to do certain things and math just wasn't one of them. And it hit me: I'd just asked them a history question. No doubt, there still are times when girls struggle with what society expects of them, schools where certain pursuits are discouraged, homes where certain dreams are not taken seriously. But our world really is changing. It's in the puzzled giggle as 12-year-old Linnea told how her mother "was really excited" about this. Or as Melissa, 13, said, "It was just great to win, more than the fact that we're girls." OK. So, um, let's move on. There's actually a sort of mathematical lesson in how they won. None of them took individual honors. But as a team, they had a winning consistency when their individual scores were averaged. "We all have certain strengths," said Rachel, 13. Hers is working probabilities and counting. Melissa, 13, excels at equations. Linnea, 12, is a fiend at double-checking work. Laura, 14, couldn't reply before Melissa piped up: "Laura does everything no one else can understand." Mathcounts is sponsored by the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers for students in grades five through eight. Jeanette Polanski's team was one of 27, and among 38 girls in a field of 131 students. Polanski used to attend Field herself, so the championship is especially meaningful. The girls describe math as fun, sometimes hard, but more often appearing to them as a clever puzzle rather than a complicated problem. "We've talked about how there are two ways to get the answers," Polanski said. "There's often an elegant solution to a problem, and then there's a quick way of grinding it out, which is what you have to do in a contest." While Polanski and I were talking, the girls were going on about calculators. I was trying to figure out 20 factorials. . . . Oh, I remember doing that with 17 factorials. . . . The number got to be this long before I stopped. They giggled. Right now, they're really into graphing calculators. When I got back to the office and looked up what those are, I found that one would enable me to "easily view and edit numeric and alphanumeric data in the list editor. Then plot data in several new statistics plots, including pie charts, pictographs, bar charts, scatter plots, histograms and more." And more. Their victory was looking sweeter all the time. Rachel was telling me how she reached into her backpack to pull out the book she's reading, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." "It's about this thick, almost 500 pages," she said. "And I felt it, but what I pulled out was my graphing calculator manual." They all like doing crossword puzzles in their spare time, although they admit being flummoxed by the one in TV Guide; they just don't have the television knowledge to get through it. They have one other thing in common: orchestra. Polanski herself wondered if their musicianship affects how well they do with math. Laura said she's read how the two pursuits may complement each other. You can tell she's intrigued. Then Rachel jumped in. "Yeah, but I'm her stand partner and she goes right through the rests! She doesn't count at all!" Laura smiled, busted. There's a puzzle there, too, waiting for an elegant solution. Kim Ode's columns run Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Write to her at kimode@startribune.com, or 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis MN 55488. Copyright 2002 Star Tribune. Republished here with the permission of the Star Tribune. No further republication of redistribution is permitted without the express approval of the Star Tribune.
The competitions \| How to participate \| Our sponsors \| Calendar \| Coaches corner \| How to volunteer \| What's New \| Mathcounts Home \| MnSPE Home

Home