(April 28, 2004)

The thirtieth annual Math Field Day was held at the University of Wisconsin-Superior on April 28, 2004. Ten teams from high schools in Wisconsin and northern Minnesota attended. The Wisconsin schools included Ashland, Bruce, Drummond, Grantsburg, Hayward, Rice Lake, Superior, and Unity. The Minnesota schools were Barnum, and Hermantown.

The competition began with a Team Event, in which the eight-member teams collaborate in solving ten problems within 20 minutes. Schools with 500 or more students compete in the large-school class; the other schools form the small-school class. Runner-up in the small school class was Barnum, with a score of 64. The winner in the small school class was Grantsburg, with a score of 74. In the large school class, the runner-up was Hayward, scoring 78, and the winner was Superior, scoring 88.

The winner in the small school class was Grantsburg, with a score of 74.

Runner-up in the small school class was Barnum, with a score of 64.

The winner in the large school class was Superior, scoring 88.

The runner-up in the large school class was Hayward, with a score of 78.

The individual events consist of 15 problems to solve within a time limit of 15 minutes. The top finishers in each event received a Math Meet T- shirt; the winners of each event will also receive a $100 U.S. Savings Bond. (No student may receive more than one bond or more than one T- shirt.) The top finishers in each event and their scores are:

Event II - Plane Geometry:

Event III - Algebra II and Analytic Geometry:

Event IV - Trigonometry and Elementary Functions:

Event V - Probability and Statistics:

Quick Response / Calculator Event:

The quick-response verbal event just prior to lunch then provided a nice change of pace from the sit-down events. Dr. Chad Scott from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science coordinated a series of toss-up and bonus questions. The students who won candy bars for correct answers were:

The Math Meet T-shirt for this year showed a coded message on the front, and the scheme for decoding it on the back. The students were challenged to decode the message early in the day, before seeing the decoding. The first person to successfully decode the message ("Mathematics holds the key!") was Celina Cooper from Bruce. She won a large candy bar as a prize.

The day's activities concluded with an outstanding pizza buffet in the Rothwell Student Center, followed by the announcement of awards.