The 2015 Clemson Calculus Challenge
The twelfth annual Clemson Calculus Challenge (CCC ) was held on Friday, April 17, 2015. The Department of Mathematical Sciences hosted 249 students from 36 regional schools representing Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. The student-contestants 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 chaos theory. During the awards ceremony, it was announced that the 2015 CCC witnessed an historic occasion: the first perfect score recorded on the morning exam was achieved by one of the contestants.
Funding for the 2015 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-six 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.
| High School | City | State | Division | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. C. Flora High School | Columbia | SC | 2 | 6 |
| Academic Magnet High School | North Charleston | SC | 1 | 4 |
| Augusta Area Homeschoolers | Augusta | GA | 1 | 3 |
| Ben Lippen School | Columbia | SC | 1 | 8 |
| Bishop England High School | Charleston | SC | 2 | 8 |
| Broome High School | Spartanburg | SC | 2 | 8 |
| Chestatee High School | Gainesville | GA | 2 | 8 |
| Crescent High School | Iva | SC | 2 | 4 |
| D. W. Daniel High School | Central | SC | 2 | 8 |
| Emerald High School | Greenwood | SC | 2 | 8 |
| Evans High School | Evans | GA | 3 | 8 |
| First Presbyterian School | Macon | GA | 1 | 8 |
| Goose Creek HS | Goose Creek | SC | 3 | 8 |
| Greenbrier HS | Evans | GA | 3 | 6 |
| Hammond School | Columbia | SC | 1 | 8 |
| Jackson HS | Jackson | GA | 2 | 8 |
| Marist School | Atlanta | GA | 2 | 2 |
| Mauldin HS | Mauldin | SC | 3 | 8 |
| Mountain View HS | Lawrenceville | GA | 3 | 5 |
| North Oconee HS | Bogart | GA | 2 | 4 |
| Oakbrook Preparatory School | Spartanburg | SC | 1 | 6 |
| Oconee County HS | Watkinsville | GA | 2 | 8 |
| Peachtree Ridge HS | Sewanee | GA | 3 | 4 |
| Pendleton HS | Pendleton | SC | 2 | 6 |
| Riverside HS | Greer | SC | 2 | 8 |
| Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology | Conyers | GA | 1 | 8 |
| South Aiken HS | Aiken | SC | 3 | 8 |
| South Forsyth HS | Cumming | GA | 3 | 8 |
| Southside Christian School | Simpsonville | SC | 1 | 7 |
| Spartanburg Day School | Spartanburg | SC | 1 | 8 |
| Spring Valley HS | Columbia | SC | 3 | 8 |
| St. Joseph's Catholic School | Greenville | SC | 1 | 3 |
| Tattnall Square Academy | Macon | GA | 1 | 7 |
| Vestavia Hills HS | Vestavia Hills | AL | 3 | 8 |
| West Forsyth HS | Cumming | GA | 3 | 8 |
| Westminster Catawba Christian School | Rock Hill | SC | 1 | 8 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Dr. Elena Dimitrova from Clemson University’s Department of Mathematical Sciences delivered a short research talk, entitled “How Calculus Led Me to Chaos.” She discussed how functions and their derivatives are powerful tools used to model natural phenomena and predict the future. Dr. Dimitrova illustrated they can “behave” in surprising and unpredictable ways, and then described how these observations led to what is now called Chaos Theory: a theory that deals with things which are effectively impossible to predict or control, such as turbulence, weather, the stock market, our brain states, and so on.
 |
 |
 |
 |
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. Five hundred dollar scholarships to Clemson University were also granted to the first and second place finishers in the morning exam in each division. 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 2015 CCC . The overall top scorer in the individual exam (David Stoner) was awarded the $100 cash prize, while the second place finisher in the individual exam (Esme Bajo) 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
| Place | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| First | Vaibhav Mohanty | Academic Magnet High School |
| Second | Sloan Nietert | Academic Magnet High School |
| Third | Lina Tian | Southside Christian School |
 |
 |
 |
| Place | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| First | Esme Bajo | A. C. Flora High School |
| Second | Ian Ruohoniemi | D.W. Daniel High School |
| Third | Sarah Baum | D.W. Daniel High School |
 |
 |
 |
| Place | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| First | David Stoner | South Aiken High School |
| Second | Jenning Chen | Spring Valley High School |
| Third | Will Mathews | Vestavia Hills High School |
 |
 |
 |
Team Awards
| Place | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| First | SCS Team 1 | Southside Christian School |
| Second | Augusta Area Homeschoolers | Augusta Area Homeschoolers |
| Third | L’Hopitalitalians | Academic Magnet High School |
 |
 |
 |
| Place | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| First | Area is an integral part of calculus | A.C. Flora High School |
| Second | Team Daniel - Team 48 | D.W. Daniel High School |
| Third | Normally Vectorious | Chestatee High School |
 |
 |
 |
| Place | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| First | South Aiken Team 1 | South Aiken High School |
| Second | Vestavia Hills Blue | Vestavia Hills High School |
| Third | Descartes before the horse | Spring Valley High School |
 |
 |
 |
School Awards
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Division | Place | School |
|---|---|---|
| I | First | Southside Christian School |
| I | Second | Academic Magnet High School |
| I | Third | Hammond School |
| II | First | A.C. Flora High School |
| II | Second | D.W. Daniel High School |
| II | Third | Emerald High School |
| III | First | South Aiken High School |
| III | Second | Spring Valley High School |
| III | Third | South Forsyth High School |
 |
 |
 |
Most Creative Team Names
| Division | Team Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| I | exPert Integrators | Westminster Catawba Christian School |
| II | sin(intelligence) | Oconee County High School |
| III | Weapons of Math Destruction | West Forsyth High School |
 |
 |
 |
We are grateful to our sponsors:
College of Engineering and Science | Department of Mathematical Sciences | Mu Alpha Theta