Welcome to the web
site for the game show to be held on the afternoon of
Who Can Participate:
Everyone is encouraged to sign up for this event. The necessary mathematical background is very minimal because you will be asked only to agree or disagree with someone else’s (a celebrity mathematician’s) answer to a mathematical question. Therefore, anyone with any kind of mathematical background can participate. Teams of two students are encouraged but if you can’t find a partner or want to play alone please sign up and we will accommodate you. To participate just select the appropriate option on the MUMC registration page. All participants will be required to check in on the day of the MUMC during lunch with the host, William Dickinson, to determine the starting order and other details
Meet
the Celebrity Mathematians:
Here are the
distinguished mathematicians who
have already agree to participate in this year game:
Ed Aboufadel, Grand Valley http://faculty.gvsu.edu/aboufade/
Janet Andersen, Hope College http://math.hope.edu/andersen/
Ruth Favro,
Sidney Graham, Central Michigan University http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/graha1sw/
Michele Intermont,
Kalamazoo College http://kzoo.edu/~intermon/
Mike McDaniel, Aquinas College http://www.aquinas.edu/homepages/mcdanmic/mcdbio.htm
Randy Pruim, Calvin College http://www.calvin.edu/~rpruim/
Tim Pennings, Hope College http://math.hope.edu/pennings/
John Clifford, University of
Prizes:
The
following prizes will be awarded during the game (or after the game, to random
members of the audience, if we run out of time)
1.
6
Student versions of Maple
2.
6
Student versions of Mathematica
3.
Numerous
mathematical books
4.
T-shirts
and pens
Description and Rules of the Game:
Two teams of two students (or one student) from different participating colleges or universities will agree or disagree with answers to mathematically based questions. Questions (multiple choice, true/false and others) will be posed to celebrity mathematicians who are sitting in a 3 by 3 grid. The celebrity mathematician will then give an answer to the question and one of the contestant teams will either agree or disagree with the answer given by the celebrity. Be careful, the celebrity mathematician may try to trick you, and give a convincing, but incorrect answer. They may even supply a convincing, but false, argument for their answer. This means that there are four cases:
Case 1:
The celebrity mathematician is correct in their answer to the question and the contestant team agrees with the given answer
Case 2:
The celebrity mathematician is incorrect in their answer to the question and the contestant team disagrees with the given answer
Case 3:
The celebrity mathematician is correct in their answer to the question and the contestant team disagrees with the given answer
Case 4:
The celebrity mathematician is incorrect in their answer to the question and the contestant team agrees with the given answer
In cases 1 and 2 the contestant team wins the square in which the celebrity mathematician is sitting, and their mark is then placed the corresponding square.
In cases 3 and 4 the contestant team loses the square and their opponent’s mark is placed in the corresponding square. This is slightly different then the regular TV version of the game, because the game can end when a team gets a question wrong.
Object of the Game:
The object is the same as in the usual Tic-Tac-Toe game. The first team to get three of their marks in a row, column or diagonally, wins the game. In the case of a draw the team with the most symbols on the board wins. Each member of the winning team will get a prize and each member of the losing team will get a consolation prize.
Starting the game and play of the game:
Each new game will start with two new teams and once a team has competed it can not compete again. When it is a team’s turn, that team will select a celebrity mathematician from the 3 by 3 grid to answer a question. The team to go first will be randomly selected and then the teams will then alternate turns.
Selection of the teams:
Once all participating colleges or universities have fielded a team in the game, repeats from the same college or university will be allowed (if time permits) .