On Farey Sequences

Think back to when you were in elementary school and first learned about fractions. You learned that there is a numerator and denominator, and then you learned about multiplication. Multiplication was simple. All you need to do is multiply the numerators and then multiply the denominators to get the numerator and denominator, just as follows: […]

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Kenken Challenge

Most people know how to play Sudoku. But have you heard of Kenken? Kenken is a arithmetic and logic puzzle with a similar end goal to Sudoku, where you need to fill in the grid completely. Unlike Sudoku, Kenken has bolded cage areas with specific arithmetic operations. The objective of the game is to fill […]

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Bayesian Search: A Twist on Pacman

Pacman is a timeless arcade game. But have you ever heard of the Bayesian search theorem? Bayesian search utilizes Bayesian statistics to search for lost objects. For example, it’s used in finding sunken ships and lost airplanes. Bayesian search theory has been used to successfully find the USS Scorpion, a lost hydrogen bomb in 1966 Spain, and […]

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Can you help Al escape?

I challenge you to a game. Imagine a grid of squares that extends infinitely upwards and to the right. In the bottom leftmost square of this grid, there is an amoeba. During your turn, you can select an amoeba and clone it, putting one clone in the square directly above the original, and one directly […]

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Upcoming Math Mania 2016 + A Look Back at Math Mania 2015

WSMA is hosting the 6th annual Math Mania on Saturday, June 11th, 2016! Math Mania is a family-friendly, interactive problem-solving event with stations, fun problems, and fantastic prizes. This year, Math Mania is having stations with three categories of varied difficulty to accommodate students of all levels. In increasing difficulty, the stations are hands-on games, logic, and […]

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WSMA Workshops: Number Theory

Mark your calendars! WSMA is holding its 5th workshop on Saturday, April 23rd at the Bellevue library. Come to the library meeting room from 12 to 2pm for a Number Theory themed workshop with games and prizes. Register here. Check out a recap of our 4th workshop from last month on probability. The kids had a great […]

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Recap on Mu Alpha Theta

The Washington State Mu Alpha Theta competition was held yesterday, March 26th. After attending it at Thomas Jefferson High School, here is a brief recap of my experience with the event. To me, the biggest thing that stands out about Mu Alpha Theta is the number of trophy opportunities. Mu Alpha Theta offers many different tests, and most of […]

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AwesomeMath Summer Program

Attention students and parents! The 2016 AwesomeMath Summer Program is now open to applications. AwesomeMath is an intensive summer camp for gifted math students. Here’s an introduction of the program from AwesomeMath’s website: An initiative in response to parents and teachers of bright students who have not yet shone at the Olympiad level, as well as of those […]

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WSMA Workshops: What are your chances?

WSMA held its 4th workshop this past Saturday, March 19th. The topic of the workshop was probability. The workshop involved a variety of activities: video, discussion, lecture, card game, and more. The workshop started off with a TED-Ed video called “The last banana: A thought experiment in probability” by Leonardo Barichello. Summary of the video according […]

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Competition Reminder: Mu Alpha Theta

The upcoming 23rd annual Washington State Mu Alpha Theta competition is on March 23th, 2016 at Thomas Jefferson High School. Register soon! There are three divisions: THETA-Students in Algebra 3-4 (Integrated 3) or lower ALPHA- Students who are in Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus MU- Students who have taken any level of Calculus The following is the schedule for the day: 8:15-9:00 […]

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