The 2016 Clemson Calculus Challenge

The thirteenth annual Clemson Calculus Challenge (CCC ) was held on Friday, April 15, 2016. The Department of Mathematical Sciences hosted 233 students from 34 regional schools representing Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. The students competed in individual, team, and school categories. Following the competition portion of the CCC , the high school students and their teachers attended an informal lecture describing how computer modeling is used in civil engineering.

Students answering a team round question

Funding for the 2016 CCC  was provided by the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the College of Engineering and Science (CoES). Additionally, Mu Alpha Theta (the national high school and two-year college mathematics honor society) contributed $150 in prize money and three one-year licenses to the computer algebra system Mathematica for distribution to top performers on the morning exam.

The thirty-four high schools were split into three divisions based on school enrollment. The division numbers increased with school enrollment; thus Division 1 schools had the smallest enrollments, while Division 3 contained the schools with the largest student populations. The high schools that competed in the 2016 CCC  are listed in the following table.


Participating Schools
High School City State Division Participants
A. C. Flora HS Columbia SC 2 4
Academic Magnet HS North Charleston SC 1 5
Augusta Christian Schools Martinez GA 1 8
Ben Lippen School Columbia SC 1 6
Bishop England HS Charleston SC 2 5
Broome HS Spartanburg SC 2 8
Chestatee HS Gainesville GA 2 8
Chester HS Chester SC 2 7
Christ Church Episcopal School Greenville SC 1 7
Crescent HS Iva SC 2 8
D. W. Daniel HS Central SC 2 8
Dutch Fork HS Irmo SC 3 2
First Presbyterian School Macon GA 1 6
Goose Creek HS Goose Creek SC 3 8
Greenbrier HS Evans GA 3 8
Hammond School Columbia SC 1 8
Mauldin HS Mauldin SC 3 8
Mountain View HS Lawrenceville GA 3 7
North Oconee HS Bogart GA 2 8
Oconee County HS Watkinsville GA 2 8
Parkview HS Lilburn GA 3 7
Peachtree Ridge HS Sewanee GA 3 7
Pendleton HS Pendleton SC 2 8
Riverside HS Greer SC 2 8
Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology Conyers GA 1 8
South Forsyth HS Cumming GA 3 8
South Gwinnett HS Snellville GA 3 8
Southside Christian School Simpsonville SC 1 3
Southside HS Greenville SC 2 4
Spartanburg Day School Spartanburg SC 1 7
Spring Valley HS Columbia SC 3 8
St. Joseph's Catholic School Greenville SC 1 8
The Altamont School Birmingham AL 1 4
West Forsyth HS Cumming GA 3 8


Students posting Students taking the morning test Students taking the morning test Students taking the morning test

A presentation was delivered by Dr. Sez Atamturktur, Distinguished Professor of Intelligent Infrastructure, from Clemson University’s Department of Civil Engineering. Her presentation, entitled “Don't be fooled by computer models: they don’t always tell the truth!,” discussed concerns regarding the confidence that can be placed in computer model predictions. Computer models are being implemented at an increasing rate to understand the behavior of engineered or natural systems under what-if scenarios that are difficult (or infeasible) to observe through experimentation, such as nuclear reactor accident scenarios, etc. These models, regardless of how articulate they may be, are approximations of the systems they represent. Hence, by using a computer model, a decision maker in search of a fact relies on an approximate prediction of that fact.


Team round Team round Team round Afternoon presentation


Awards

Trophies were awarded in each division for first, second, and third place finishes in three categories: individual test, team competition, and overall school performance. The first and second place scorer on the morning exam in each division were each given $500 scholarships to Clemson University. Additionally, Mu Alpha Theta, the national honor society for high school and two-year mathematics, donated $150 and three one-year licenses for the computer algebra system Mathematica to be given as awards for the 2016 CCC . The overall top scorer in the individual exam (Andy Xu) was awarded the $100 cash prize, while the second place finisher in the individual exam (Andy Xu) received a $50 cash prize. The top scorers for the individual exam in each division were each presented with the one-year license for Mathematica. Lastly, an award for the most creative team name was given in each division. The following awards were made.


Individual Awards

Division I
Place Winner School
First Andy Xu Christ Church Episcopal School
Second William Tang The Altamont School
Third John Staubes Academic Magnet High School

Student receiving award Student receiving award Student receiving award


Division II
Place Winner School
First Sarah Baum D.W. Daniel High School
Second Ian Ruohoniemi D.W. Daniel High School
Third Hank Morris Oconee County High School

Student receiving award Student receiving award Student receiving award


Division III
Place Winner School
First Albert Huang Spring Valley High School
Second Jenning Chen Spring Valley High School
Third Harish Kamath South Forsyth High School

Student receiving award Student receiving award Student receiving award


Team Awards

Division I
Place Winner School
First CCES Squared Christ Church Episcopal School
Second SDS A Spartanburg Day School
Third Feel the Curve Southside Christian School

Students receiving award Students receiving award Students receiving award


Division II
Place Winner School
First ~ i North Oconee High School
Second We are # sin (π/2) D.W. Daniel High School
Third Differentiated from the crowd D.W. Daniel High School

Students receiving award Students receiving award Students receiving award

Division III
Place Winner School
First Laplace’s Opimus Primes Mountain View High School
Second Math Destruction Spring Valley High School
Third Calcaholics Anonymous Mauldin High School

Students receiving award Students receiving award


School Awards

Students receiving award Students receiving award Students receiving award

School Award Winners
Division Place School
I First Christ Church Episcopal School
I Second The Altamont School
I Third Southside Christian School
II First D.W. Daniel High School
II Second North Oconee High School
II Third Oconee County High School
III First Spring Valley High School
III Second Mountain View High School
III Third South Forsyth High School

Students receiving award Students receiving award


Most Creative Team Names

Most Creative Team Name Winners
Division Team Name School
I Mary Had a Little Lambda Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology
II Calcoholics Crescent High School
III Southern L’Hopitality West Forsyth High School

Students receiving award Students receiving award

 

We are grateful to our sponsors:

College of Engineering and Science | Department of Mathematical Sciences | Mu Alpha Theta