Mathematics Field Day Events

Chalk Talk Information

The chalk talk topic for February 8, 2025 is Base Systems

 Photo courtesy of the Santa Barbara News-Press

Communication is an important part of mathematics, so it is appropriate that our Mathematics Field Day has an event like this one. Each school selects a student to prepare a 10–12 minute talk based on a topic announced well in advance. During preliminary rounds a panel of judges collaborates to determine two finalists, who then redo their presentations before a larger audience and a different set of judges. The topic for 2006 was Polyhedra. Pictured above is the winner for that year, Sue Lin of Dos Pueblos.

Chalk Talk Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation form used by the panel of judges is given below. Generally, the first three categories deal with the style of the talk, while the last three deal with the content.

The talk should last between 10 and 12 minutes. It is up to the student to create a presentation that is well-organized, sufficiently in depth, and focused. In the past, some students have given talks that the students themselves did not completely understand, and the judges counted this against them. In other words, it is important that the person speaking have a good grasp of the subject. A flashy Power Point presentation without good understanding does not make for a winning formula.

The person giving a talk should rehearse it beforehand so that it flows smoothly and is within the 10–12 minute time requirement. Normally the presenter is on the 11th–12th grade team, but this guideline is not mandatory. We hope that this event will be viewed as an opportunity for learning by all the students, regardless of whether they are the presenters. It should also be a lot of fun!

Chalk Talk Evaluation Form

Name:_________________________________________________

School:________________________________________________

CATEGORIES: (Rank Each on a Scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

_____ 1. Clarity of presentation

_____ 2. Use of visual aids

_____ 3. Delivery (including time)

_____ 4. Focus of topic

_____ 5. Depth of topic

_____ 6. Grasp of / correctness of mathematics

_____ TOTAL

College Bowl Information

The “College Bowl” consists of preliminary and final rounds. Teams from various schools compete against one another in several preliminaries, which the above photo illustrates. The two schools with the highest combined scores then advance to the final round to determine the overall winner. Modeled after the College Bowl TV show, students work individually in an attempt to be the first to answer a series of short questions. After each such question the team of the student who answered correctly gets dibs at solving a more difficult follow-up problem. The other team simultaneously works on the same problem, and will be given a chance to answer if the original team provides an incorrect solution.

College Bowl Rules

No calculators are permitted. The round will begin with a “toss-up question” from the emcee. You will only have 20 seconds to answer this question, but press the buzzer control in front of you soon as you know the answer. The first person doing so will win one point for his or her team if the answer is correct. If you press the buzzer control while the question is being read, the emcee will stop and you must answer based on what has been said so far. If your answer is incorrect, the opposite team will be given whatever time remains of the original 20 seconds to come up with a correct answer. No consultation with teammates is allowed for this question. Make sure you know the answer before you press the buzzer control. If, after pressing the buzzer control the emcee judges that you are still working out the answer, your team will lose its chance to answer the question.

The first team to answer the toss-up question correctly will be given 90 seconds to work on a “follow-up” question. For this part, you are encouraged to work as a team. If the answer to this follow-up question is correct, your team will receive two points. If the answer is incorrect, the opposite team will be given a chance to answer. They will have whatever time is remaining of the original 90 seconds to come up with an answer, so it is important always to work on the follow-up question even if your team does not have the first chance to answer. After the follow-up question is over, a new toss-up question is asked and our pattern will repeat.

If no team answers the toss-up question correctly, both teams will be permitted to answer the follow-up question. The first team to solve the question correctly will be given two points. Make sure you press the buzzer control in front of you before giving your answer.

In order to guard against domination of this contest by any one player, any person who correctly answers a toss-up question will not be allowed to answer the next toss-up question.

Please pay close attention to the question. For example, if you are asked for the area of a rectangle, it is incorrect to report as your answer the length and width of the rectangle.

In this first phase of the college bowl your team will compete against teams from several different schools. The two teams with the highest point totals at the end of these preliminary rounds will advance to the final round.

Team Exam Information

A review of the leading journals reveals that mathematical discovery is a team effort: research articles frequently have more than one author. The purpose of the team exam is to challenge students to think creatively, and to encourage mathematical collaboration. Given a set of five problems, the students must decide how to tackle them. As the above photo shows, the best strategy appears to be some combination of individual and collective effort.

Team Exam Instructions

The following instructions are given to students before they begin their team exam.

Put the name of your school in the space above each answer sheet.

Calculators are not permitted during this exam.

This is a team exam. There are only five questions, so your team will be graded both on the accuracy of your answer and the clarity with which you express your answer. Turn in only one solution per problem per team. Work each problem out on scratch paper at first, then copy the solution you want graded to the space provided below the corresponding question, making sure your writing is legible and coherent. Be sure you justify your answer rather than merely state what the answer is. Use the back of the paper if you run out of room. When time is up, assemble your answers in order and give them to the exam proctor.

If you finish early you may turn in your answers and watch your classmates from the other grades compete in the College Bowl!

Awards Banquet Information 

Westmont’s Mathematics Field Day concludes with an awards banquet. Its purpose is to encourage the students attending to continue their excellent academic work—especially in mathematics. The evening includes dinner, presentation of awards for each event, and a short lecture by a guest speaker. Parents are welcome to attend the banquet at a cost of $20 per person. There is no cost for students and teachers beyond the school registration fee. 

The 2025 guest speaker will be Manuel Reyes. Dr. Reyes is a mathematics professor at the University of California Irvine and in 2022 he gave the American Mathematical Society/Mathematical Association of America Joint Invited Address at the Joint Mathematics Meetings.

Recent Past Speakers:

Alphan Altinok, Lead Engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab

Eric Lucero, Site Lead at Google Quantum AI in Santa Barbara

Russell Howell, Mathematics Professor at Westmont College

Alan Rose, Chief Meteorologist at KEYT News