Shasta College Trimathelon

Registration is now open for the 2024 Trimathelon! Please register below.

What is the Trimathelon?

The annual Trimathelon usually occurs in mid-March of each year. Shasta College has been organizing and hosting this high school math contest since 1990. Dave Bush, former Shasta College math instructor, is the creator and principal figure in the organization of the "Trimathelon". The contest is hosted by the Shasta College Mathematics Department. Members of the department contribute problems, time, and energy to ensure a successful program. A small group of instructors has taken the lead in the contest organization since Dave's retirement, and the entire math department is involved in organizing it each year.

The Trimathelon is open to any high school that would like to attend. Each participating school may enter two teams of six consisting of up to two different participants for each of the three contests.

The three contests include: a talk on mathematics, applied problem solving, and generalized problem solving. The overall contest winner will be determined by combining the school's finishing position in each of the three competitions. Perpetual trophies will be awarded to the champion school and the winning school in each category. Individual awards will be given to the first and second place finishers in each category.

The Trimathelon three competitions are

Chalk Talk
Applied Problem Solving
Dragonslayer Derby

Chalk Talk

Contestants will present an original prepared talk for eight to eleven minutes on the topic "Hyperbolic Functions". Minimal referenced quotations are allowed. Local high school teachers are charged with the responsibility of ensuring originality of the work. A whiteboard and computer with a projector will be provided. The team must supply additional equipment, such as calculators.

Each school may enter one one-person or two-person team. Speakers will be judged on knowledge of subject matter and clarity of the presentation. A presentation that shows a deep understanding of the mathematics is preferred over an abundant use of computer technology. A presentation outside of the time boundaries may be penalized and speakers may be stopped if excessive time is used. Judges may ask questions of the speaker at the end of the presentation.

Finalists will be selected from the morning competition and will present their talks in the afternoon to an assembly of all contestants and advisors. Judges provided by Shasta College will select the winner.

Applied Problem Solving

Contestants will be presented with a series of problems that involve real life applications of mathematics. These will be nontrivial and involve skills including algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and probability/statistics.

Each school may enter up to two two-person teams. Team members may work together or individually to arrive at one team solution to each problem. Seventy-five minutes will be allowed to solve as many problems as possible. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the first to provide a correct solution to a common problem given during the Chalk Talk finals.

Each team may bring textbooks, books of tables/formulas, and hand held calculators totaling Small pi kg or less. Do not try to weigh your materials too carefully, as the Shasta College Mathematics Department will conduct the "official" weighing, but will not guarantee the accuracy.

Dragonslayer Derby

Contestants will be presented problems covering a variety of topics including puzzles and recreational math. Solution of these problems may require critical thinking, intuition, and math concepts normally covered in senior level high school math courses.

For more information on the Trimathelon Event contact:

Rose Miranda
(530) 242-2338
rmiranda@shastacollege.edu

Randy Bush
(530) 242-2251
rbush@shastacollege.edu