εpsilon talk

Musings on math and education. Made with love by the Washington Student Math Association.

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 Theta is for Algebra 2 and below. The competition is mainly geared towards students in high school, but middle school students can participate as well.

There are 4 main tests. The first test is a ciphering, where competitors are given 10 rounds of 4 questions each. This portion of the test focuses on speed, as competitors are only given 4 minutes to answer all 4 problems. Following Ciphering, there are two Topic Tests. Competitors are allowed to chose from various math topics including Logs and Exponents, Geometry, Calculus, Matrices and Vectors, Areas and Volumes, and Probability. Each test focuses specifically on the topic given. Competitors are given 60 minutes to answer 40 multiple choice questions. The last test is the Individual test, which includes questions testing a mix of different math topics. During lunch, there are also a few optional events: Chalk Talk, Jeopardy, and Mental Math.

Individual awards are given for each test and for overall performance as well. Trophies are awarded to the top 10 highest scorers for the Individual and Ciphering tests and the top 5 highest scorers for the Topic Tests. Awards for the top scoring schools are given as well. This year, Thomas Jefferson High School won first, Bellevue won second, and Pullman won third.

Overall, Mu Alpha Theta is a great opportunity for students to gain experience with math competitions and showcase their knowledge in specific math topics. For more information on other math-related events in the community, visit the WSMA webpage.