Our January 30, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Maryah Span. This geometry problem needed you to set up a proportion since there are similar triangles and cross multiply to solve for the length of the unkn0wn triangle side. Answer is B.
Our January 29, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Nadine Redic. This problem involved percentage and asked how much money was saved. Answer is C.
Our January 26, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Shkeem Brown. This logic problem asked how what conclusion was always correct given a situation. Answer is B.
Our January 27, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem involved algebra. It asked which function represented an exponential growth function. Answer is A.
Our January 23, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Nadine Redic. This geometry problem asked how many small cubes of a given size would fit into the volume of a larger right rectangular prism with given dimensions. Answer is B. See also: dimensional analysis.
Our January 22, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Maryah Span. This algebra problem involved several points on a Cartesian coordinate plane with a line of best fit. You had to identify the correct slope-intercept form. Interesting is that the graph was NOT labeled. Answer is B. See also: linear regression.
Application for the prestigious US Naval Academy Summer Session opens February 1. The USNA Summer Session is a 6-day program for those who have completed his/her junior year. See Mr. Bujak for details.
The winner of Mr. Bartal's art class' banners that have been decorating the cafeteria is the "Time for a Change" team. Congratulations to Saheem Blackwell, Val, Pierre, Ronald Singleton, Brianne Williams-Medley, Tanae Jones, Shane Franklyn, and Jonathon Williams.
Our January 21, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Maryah Span. The geometry problem involved a triangle's interior angles, exterior angles, sum of interior angles = 180, supplementary angles. Maryah took a novel approach of estimating the angle measures knowing all the sum of the interior angles of a triangle = 180. She also knew the indicated exterior angle and the adjacent interior angles are supplementary (sum = 180). Knowing all this, Maryah simply crunched the numbers to come up with a quick solution.
Our January 20, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Telisha Alexander. Telisha solved the problem of calculating or explaining the mean, median, and mode of a sample set. See also: data analysis, statistics.
Our January 16, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Jolesha Cruickshank. This probability problem involved random selection of 2 cards from a sample set. Words such as "and" and "or" are often used in probability.
Our January 15, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Tishell Wessells. This algebra problem showed a linear equation graphed in the Cartesian coordinate plane. Four possible equations of the line were provided. Tishell solved this by finding m, the slope, of the graphed line. Tishell then looked at the four possible equations and found the equation that had a slope that matched that of the graphed line. See also: y-intercept.
Members of the Pennsylvania National Guard gave a great presentation for the 11th and 12th grades during 2nd and 3rd periods. Some students received T-shirts and other small favors.
Our January 14, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Ashley Alston.
Our January 13, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Cindi Gil. Since this was multiple choice, Cindi did a quick approximate measurement of one side of the regular (all side lengths are equal) hexagon at about 3 cm. Since there are 6 sides in a hexagon, Cindi added six 3's to get 18 cm for the perimeter. She picked the closest answer since her initial measurement of one side was only approximate.
Our January 9, 2009 PSSA math challenge problem winner is Odell Anderson. Odell solved a classic probability problem of random selection without replacement. To help him visualize a solution, Odell drew an illustration of the marbles after the 1st pick pulled a green marble (left on outside of box) and the remaining green and red marbles on the inside of the box during the 2nd pick.
Our January 7, 2009 winner is Melissa Epps. Melissa simplified an expression by substituting a value for the variable. This was a challenging problem because it involved negative integers with powers (exponents).
Brainyflix is offering $600 in prize money for the top SAT Vocabulary video. Submit your videos by March 16, 2009. This contest is open to students nationwide and is being sponsored by a group of MIT alums who are trying to make SAT Prep fun and free for all. See SAT word list here.
