Charles City 6th graders compete in math bee

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

You buy 12 candy bars. You also buy a cake that costs $23.35. The bill is $28.75. How much does each candy bar cost?

You have eight minutes.

That’s an example of one of a “more simple” type of math problem that Charles City sixth graders Jadyn Van Horn, Cole Jones and Akil Knighten were asked to solve last Tuesday at the Central Rivers Area Education Agency Regional Math Bee, held at Cedar Falls. Many of the problems were far more complicated than that.

“The questions are a lot harder than the ones we do in math class,” Jones said. “There are expressions and equations that we had to try and figure out.”

The first round of the regional math bee was held in Clear Lake on May 2. Schools that participated included Mason City, Clear Lake, Osage, Forest City, Hampton, Central Springs, Belmond and Northwood-Kensett. When all the rounds were scored, the top 25% of the teams of four, as well as those who scored individually in the top 25%, proceeded to the finals in Cedar Falls.

There were many more schools at that bee, and students were included from the Marshalltown AEA region and the Cedar Falls AEA region. A total of 110 students were at the finals.

“I just liked the experience of it,” said Knighten. “I liked the opportunity to meet new people.”

The students said that they didn’t necessarily have to be math whizzes to participate — but it helped.

“I just thought the experience would be cool,” Van Horn said. “It’s not that I love math or I hate math, I just wanted to try it.”

“I like math, it’s probably my favorite subject,” Jones added. “This was a chance to expand on what I already know.”

Other Charles City sixth graders who participated were Carter Haberkorn, Lilie Mohring, Erik Gavitt, Isaac Houdek, Lilly Strough, Ryder Biwer anfd Braydon Ellis. The students made up two teams of four, with two alternates. Although neither of the Charles City teams scored high enough to advance to the finals, Van Horn, Jones and Knighten all scored in the top 25%, good enough to advance to the finals as individuals.

The students take five tests and answer 10 math questions on each test, on the clock. Topics include geometry, statistics, probability, etc. The three students said the questions start out easier and get more difficult as the bee goes along. The time limit varies from 8 ro 12 minutes, depending on the difficulty of the questions.

To prepare for the bee, the students said they had to take a crash course in some of the subjects.

“Most of the questions in statistics and probability, we haven’t even covered yet,” Jones said.

Math bee coach Ann Prichard said it’s been a few years since Charles City students have advanced, so the success was a “nice surprise.”

All three students recommended that future 6th-graders participate, for the experience.

“I was nervous, but it was also fun,” Van Horn said. “I think any people who can do it should do it. Even if you don’t move on, it’s still a good experience.”

“It’s a good learning experience,” Jones agreed. “It’s now prepared us for the next grade.”

By the way, the candy bars mentioned at the beginning of this article cost 45 cents each, if you were looking for an answer.