Music & Math in Perfect Harmony
What makes two notes sound good together? How do noise-canceling headphones actually work? What does the future bring to the music world? Middle school students had their questions answered on February 27th through WSMA’s Music & Math Expo! WSMA was able to unveil the hidden integration of math and music, including basic music theory and […]
More »Game Theory and Flight Bookings
Have you ever wondered why airlines overbook their flights? Or why don’t they avoid the hassle of turning down a passenger’s flight ticket? The answer to that question lies in a field known as game theory. Game theory is a part of mathematics that deals with strategies to outperform competitors in certain situations. Naturally, airlines […]
More »The Intersection of Mathematics and Computer Science
Mathematics is a field that can be seen everywhere in the real world. From filling up your daily glass of milk to finding the probability that you get a good hand in a game of cards, math has applications in our daily lives. Math shares intersections with other subjects, such as physics, chemistry and computer […]
More »Girls Power Math: Looking at Math from Another Angle
Who runs the world? Girls – especially at the end of January, when over a hundred Middle School girls gathered at the Microsoft Commons in Redmond to showcase their problem-solving talents. On Saturday 1/26, the Washington Student Math Association partnered with Microsoft to host Girls Power Math, a fair for girls in middle school to […]
More »Game Theory
Game theory is considered by many to be a complex yet simple theory that deals with rules, probability, and math. Essentially, it is the study of thinking in different situations where the motives of the other decision makers affect the thinking processes of others. Some may ask, how is math involved in game theory? Or […]
More »Professor Klee’s Talk
On January 7th, Professor Steven Klee from Seattle University visited WSMA to give an hour long talk regarding the importance of math after high school. Professor Klee has taught numerous mathematics courses at Seattle University since 2012 after receiving his PhD in mathematics from the University of Washington. He has published over thirty papers and […]
More »Newport Heights Game Night
Every year, a local school, Newport Heights Elementary, hosts a game night for elementary-age kids to participate. At the event, our organization, the Washington Student Math Association (WSMA), hosts a station dedicated solely to playing math-related board games. I decided to use this year’s Game Night, which took place on November 3rd, to discuss some […]
More »The Fibonacci and Lucas Sequences
The Fibonacci numbers were first introduced by Fibonacci in his book Liber Abaci. As he was considering the growth of an idealized rabbit population, he noticed that there was one pair of rabbits at the end of the first month, two pairs of rabbits at the end of the second month, three rabbits at the […]
More »WSMA Math Bowl 2017 Recap
The Washington Student Math Association (WSMA) hosted their annual Math Bowl event on April 30th at Newport High School. Every year, the organization plans and organizes the math competition for 5th-8th graders in the Puget Sound area. Teams of three or four register together and compete within their category (5th-6th or 7th-8th). Math Bowl […]
More »Mu Alpha Theta Recap
Mu Alpha Theta is a state-level competition hosted by the national Mu Alpha Theta organization. This year’s competition took place on March 18 at Thomas Jefferson High School. Competitors are split into three different categories, depending on the level of math they are taking in school. Mu is for students currently taking Calculus, Alpha is for Pre-Calculus, and […]
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