Spring Break
'Track Geniuses' divide, conquer competition in 3rd URI Calc Bowl
Lisa McGunigal
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: News
04/22/09 - Nine teams of University of Rhode Island students and four teams of local high school students competed against each other in a "Jeopardy"-style quiz show as they answered calculus questions at the third Calc Bowl.
Professors Li Wu, Jim Baglama, Lubos Thoma and Tom Bella organized last week's event created through the URI math department. Bella and professor Mark Comerford played the roles of "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek.
Wu saw her first Calculus Bowl at the University of Wyoming as a graduate student and has since brought the concept to URI.
At the three-hour "game show," there were two regular rounds and one final round. Teams are eliminated after each round based on their final scores. Questions projected on the screen led teams to hit their wireless buzzers.
This year, the team Track Geniuses from URI placed first, Velocity Raptors from the Prout School placed second and Team Enginerds, also from URI, placed third.
Students could make teams with three to five people.
Thoma said he enjoys seeing the Calc Bowl come together. "The action, the afternoon, it gets very exciting because it's a game atmosphere," he said.
Prizes of $100, $50 and $25 URI bookstore gift cards were awarded to each individual on the ranked teams. Sponsors included the URI Foundation, URI Pi Mu Epsilon - URI's mathematical honor society - and Wiley, an educational publishing company.
URI students could participate if they have taken MTH 131, 141, 132 or 142. The high school students are often in an AP calculus course.
Of the high school students visiting the campus, Baglama said, "It's nice for them to come to campus and interact with professors." He added that some students then come to URI the next year as freshmen.
The college students and high school students are generally comparable in performance as they are learning similar calculus concepts.
Wu explained that the format is not only about knowing the answer, but "your reaction has to be very quick."
Bella added, "The ability to answer a question in a timed environment is its own skill set."
Team Geniuses developed a strategy after the first round: only buzz in when they know the answer.
Junior Mike Pezzullo, a member of Team Geniuses, said, "We buzzed in a lot and got a bunch wrong and a bunch right. In the second round, we only buzzed in if we knew the answers and got a bunch right."
Sophomore Shunzaburo Kida, another member of the team, said he enjoyed the Calc Bowl as well.
"It was a lot of fun and definitely a good experience," he said.
Professors Li Wu, Jim Baglama, Lubos Thoma and Tom Bella organized last week's event created through the URI math department. Bella and professor Mark Comerford played the roles of "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek.
Wu saw her first Calculus Bowl at the University of Wyoming as a graduate student and has since brought the concept to URI.
At the three-hour "game show," there were two regular rounds and one final round. Teams are eliminated after each round based on their final scores. Questions projected on the screen led teams to hit their wireless buzzers.
This year, the team Track Geniuses from URI placed first, Velocity Raptors from the Prout School placed second and Team Enginerds, also from URI, placed third.
Students could make teams with three to five people.
Thoma said he enjoys seeing the Calc Bowl come together. "The action, the afternoon, it gets very exciting because it's a game atmosphere," he said.
Prizes of $100, $50 and $25 URI bookstore gift cards were awarded to each individual on the ranked teams. Sponsors included the URI Foundation, URI Pi Mu Epsilon - URI's mathematical honor society - and Wiley, an educational publishing company.
URI students could participate if they have taken MTH 131, 141, 132 or 142. The high school students are often in an AP calculus course.
Of the high school students visiting the campus, Baglama said, "It's nice for them to come to campus and interact with professors." He added that some students then come to URI the next year as freshmen.
The college students and high school students are generally comparable in performance as they are learning similar calculus concepts.
Wu explained that the format is not only about knowing the answer, but "your reaction has to be very quick."
Bella added, "The ability to answer a question in a timed environment is its own skill set."
Team Geniuses developed a strategy after the first round: only buzz in when they know the answer.
Junior Mike Pezzullo, a member of Team Geniuses, said, "We buzzed in a lot and got a bunch wrong and a bunch right. In the second round, we only buzzed in if we knew the answers and got a bunch right."
Sophomore Shunzaburo Kida, another member of the team, said he enjoyed the Calc Bowl as well.
"It was a lot of fun and definitely a good experience," he said.
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