Trivia Countdown
#MATHCOUNTS #Mathletes
Math Flashback!
In 2011, Scott Wu from Louisiana became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
It takes 180 digits to write down all of the two-digit positive integers. How many of these digits are odd?
A. 90
B. 95
C. 92
D. 91
2011 National Champion Scott Wu celebrates with fellow Mathletes after winning the Countdown Round.
#Throwback Trivia
Four states have won the First Place Team title but have never had a National Champion. Which four?
North Carolina
Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia
New York
Oregon
South Carolina
Virginia
Answer:
Won First Place Team in 1991
North Carolina
Alabama
New York
Virginia
Won First Place Team in 1987
1988
Won First Place Team in 1989
Won First Place Team in 1984
2001
2006
Math Flashback!
In 2001, Ryan Ko from New Jersey became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
Three million boys and girls played Little League Baseball in 1997. In 1939, only 30 boys played on three teams. How many more players on average were on a 1997 team compared to a 1939 team?
A. 5
B. 10
C. 30
D. 3
Math Grams
At the 2015 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition in Boston, 4 past National Champions stopped by to cheer on the Mathletes. From left: MATHCOUNTS Executive Director Lou DiGioia, Albert Ni (2002), Adam Hesterberg (2003), Kevin Chen (2007) and Mark Sellke (2013).
Math Flashback!
In 2002, Albert Ni from Illinois became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
Which is the greatest:
416, 233, (1/8)–10, (–2)34 or 168?
A. 233
B. 168
C. 416
D. (–2)34
#Throwback Trivia
Which state below won Most Improved at the National Competition in 2016 and 2017?
C. Florida
C. Georgia
It is rare for a state to improve enough to win Most Improved twice in a row, but Georgia accomplished just that in 2016 and 2017.
Answer:
Math Flashback!
In 2003, Adam Hesterberg from Washington became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
The area of a square is 144 square meters. The square has the same perimeter as a regular hexagon. What is the number of meters in the length of one side of the hexagon?
A. 12
B. 8
C. 6
D. 16
Math Grams
In 2001 President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney recognized the top 3 individuals and members of the top 3 teams, as well as their coaches in the Oval Office.
Photo courtesy of the White House.
Math Flashback!
In 2004, Gregory Gauthier from Illinois became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
How many five-digit positive integers have the sum of all five digits equal to 8 and the product of all five digits equal to 8?
A. 8
B. 5
C. 10
D. 24
2004 National Champion Greg Gauthier and his parents are interviewed after his Countdown Round victory.
#Throwback Trivia
More national competitions have been in Orlando, FL and Washington, DC than anywhere else. How many have taken place in one of these cities?
Orlando, FL
Washington, DC
Answer:
22 times
5 times
27
Orlando, FL
Washington, DC
Math Flashback!
In 2005, Neal Wu from Louisiana became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
A volleyball coach has three setters and eight other players on her team. Without assigning any of the positions, in how many ways can she choose six starters if exactly one of the three setters is selected as a starter?
A. 168
B. 11
C. 6
D. 204
2005 National Champion Neal Wu during one of his Countdown Round matchups.
Math Grams – #Flashbacks
The Countdown Round stage at the 2004 MATHCOUNTS National Competition.
Math Flashback!
In 2006, Daesun Yim from New Jersey became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
A jar contains 8 red balls, 6 green balls and 24 yellow balls. In order to make the probability of choosing a yellow ball from the jar on the first selection equal to ½, Kerry will add x red balls and y green balls. What is the average of x and y?
A. 8
B. 6
C. 4
D. 5
2006 National Champion Daesun Yim holds up his gold medal after winning the Countdown Round.
#Throwback Trivia
Name that National Competition! Match the year to the city that hosted that year’s big event.
Ft. Worth, TX
Chicago, IL
Detroit, MI
2002 | 2005 | 2007
Answer:
Ft. Worth, TX
Chicago, IL
Detroit, MI
2005
2002
2007
Math Flashback!
In 2007, Kevin Chen from Texas became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
On an exam, a student answered 15 of the first 20 questions correctly. Of the remaining questions, he answered 1/3 correctly. If the student answered 50% of all questions correctly, how many questions were on the exam?
A. 80
B. 50
C. 40
D. 60
2007 National Champion Kevin Chen during the final matchup against Countdown Round Runner-Up Ben Kraft.
#Throwback Trivia
Teams from Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam,
Dept. of Defense and State Dept. schools travel far to get to the National Competition. Approx. how many miles total did the 20 students from these teams fly last year to get to Orlando, FL?
Answer:
100,713
miles
Math Grams
Vice President Joseph Biden invited 2014 Math Video Challenge winners Terrell Prince, Erick Patterson, Matthew Meadows and Garrett Minor to participate in a panel discussion session during the White House Science Fair in April 2015.
Math Flashback!
In 2008, Darryl Wu from Washington became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
A set of distinct positive integers has a total of 11 digits, and all the digits are 1s. What is the smallest possible sum of the integers in the set?
A. 11,121
B. 22
C. 11,234
D. 11
2008 National Champion Darryl Wu (left) shakes hands with Countdown Round Runner-Up Bobby Shen after their final matchup.
#Throwback Trivia
Only 14 states have won the First Place Team title at the National Competition. Which state has won the most?
C. Texas
B. California
The California Team has won 8 times, compared to 6 for Texas and 4 for Massachusetts.
Answer:
Math Flashback!
In 2009, Bobby Shen from Texas became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
How many 2-by-2 cubes must be added to an 8-by-8 cube to make a
10-by-10 cube?
A. 61
B. 20
C. 64
D. 36
Bobby Shen after he realizes he has won the 2009 National Champion title.
Math Grams
President William J. Clinton invited 1993 winners to the Oval Office. Mathletes from left: Davesh Maulik, Stephanie Eucker, Jeffrey Bergfalk and Carleton Bosley.
Photo courtesy of the White House.
Math Flashback!
In 2010, Mark Sellke from Indiana became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
To play the following game, you start with $1. With each move, you can either double your money or add $1 to it. What is the smallest number of moves you have to make to get to exactly $200?
A. 8
B. 12
C. 10
D. 9
2010 National Champion Mark Sellke competing during a Countdown Round matchup.
#Throwback Trivia
National Champions have come from 17 states. How many states have had more than one?
9 states
IL, IN, LA, MA, NJ, PA, TX, WA & WI each have had
2 or more
national champions
Answer:
Math Flashback!
In 2012, Chad Qian from Indiana became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
A bag of coins contains only pennies, nickels and dimes with at least five of each. How many different combined values are possible if five coins are selected at random?
A. 24
B. 15
C. 21
D. 25
2012 National Champion Chad Qian buzzes in during his final matchup against Countdown Round Runner-Up Ashwin Sah.
Math Grams
President Barack Obama with 2015 winners Kevin Liu, Andy Xu, Brandon Benn, Shawl Pryor, Peter Warrick and Quivion Wynn (in white polos) to the White House Science Fair.
Math Flashback!
In 2013, Alec Sun from Massachusetts became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
What is the greatest integer that must be a factor of the sum of any four consecutive positive integers?
A. 8
B. 16
C. 12
D. 40
2013 National Champion Alec Sun competes in his final matchup against two-time Countdown Round Runner-Up Ashwin Sah.
Math Grams – #Flashbacks
2002 National Champion Albert Ni, who went on to become one of the first software engineers at Dropbox, speaks to the Mathletes during the Awards Banquet at the 2016 National Competition.
Math Flashback!
In 2014, Swapnil Garg from California became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
The smallest integer of a set of consecutive integers is –32. If the sum of these integers is 67, how many integers are in the set?
A. 35
B. 99
C. 68
D. 67
#Throwback Trivia
Which state below has swept the National Competition (won 1st place team and individual)?
C. Kansas
C. Kansas
In 1993 the Kansas Team won the First Place Team title and Charleton Bosley of Shawnee Mission, KS was the National Champion.
Answer:
2014 National Champion Swapnil Garg, after realizing he correctly answered the winning question.
Math Flashback!
In 2015, Kevin Liu from Indiana became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
How many arithmetic progressions of six increasing terms include the terms 15 and 20?
A. 12
B. 15
C. 10
D. 11
Kevin Liu at the moment he realizes he has won the 2015 National Champion title.
#Throwback Trivia
Texas made history in 2016 by being the first team to do what?
A. Have all 4 students advance to the national-level Countdown Round
Answer:
Mathletes from left: Andrew Cai, Benjamin Wright, Justin Yu and Luke Robitaille.
Math Flashback!
In 2016, Edward Wan from Washington became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
What is the remainder when 999,999,999 is divided by 32?
A. 22
B. 1
C. 31
D. 9
2016 National Champion Edward Wan competing during a Countdown Round matchup.
Math Grams
On May 18, 2004, President George W. Bush invited 2004 winners to the Oval Office. From left:
Math Flashback!
In 2017, Luke Robitaille from Texas became the National Champion when he correctly answered the following question in under 45 seconds.
Can you solve it?
In a barn, 100 chicks sit peacefully in a circle. Suddenly each chick randomly pecks the chick immediately to its left or right. What is the expected number of un-pecked chicks?
A. 25
B. 50
C. 20
D. 49
Luke Robitaille at the moment he realizes he has won the 2017 National Champion title.
#Throwback Trivia
The first National Competition was held on May 19, 1984 at which university?
C. American University
B. George Washington University
Answer:
Math Grams
President Barack Obama invited the
2010 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition winners to the Oval Office.
#Throwback Trivia
Name that National Competition! Match the year to the city that hosted that year’s big event.
Denver, CO
Boston, MA
Arlington, VA
2015 | 2008 | 2006
Answer:
2006
2015
2008
Denver, CO
Boston, MA
Arlington, VA
Math Grams – #Flashbacks
The First Place team from Florida with astronaut Sally Ride in 1985.