Purple Comet! Math Meet receives boost from Bradley Foundation
Released: April 11, 2008
When high school or middle school students are asked to share the adjectives they associate with the subject of math, fun and exciting are usually far from the top of their list. Sadly, math has been given quite a bad rap over the years, but with the help of a generous $10,000 donation from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater professor Jonathan Kane is hoping to show students all over the world the benefits and enjoyment that can be found in studying math.
Kane, a professor in the mathematical and computer sciences department at UW-Whitewater, started the math contest for middle school and high school students in fall 2003. The competition, the Purple Comet! Math Meet, was designed to be completed by teams. Each team is required to take an online test, with a length and difficulty that correlates to its skill level. Middle school students receive a 15-question test, while high school students take one with 25 questions. The test must be taken in one sitting, with time limits of 60 minutes for middle school students and 90 minutes for high school students.
"The problems in our contest are written to be much less routine, and thus, much more interesting and intriguing than the problems students would regularly find in their textbooks," said Kane.
In 2007, the competition had 614 registered teams. This year, Kane will use most of the $10,000 donation for advertising in hopes to attract more than 6,000 groups to register and participate.
The competition provides an excellent opportunity for students to test their math knowledge as well as for teachers to add a new motivation for studying math to their classrooms. The meet starts on April 14 and will run for four days. The registration is free and is open now through the end of the meet.
To register a team for the competition, visit purplecomet.org/.
- Kyle Kopplin,kopplinka01@uww.edu
