Go Figure: Students Set for Math Contest

The tools are simple: scratch paper and sharpened pencils. But the questions will be tough.

More than 140 Orange County students will flex their mental muscles today in a math competition at UC Irvine.

“MathCounts,” an annual regional competition, will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The afternoon events, beginning at 1:45, are open to the public. In the final round, beginning at 2 p.m., UCI faculty will pose complicated problems to the top 10 students.

Top students will advance to the state competition at UCI on March 14. The four highest-scoring students there will be teamed and compete in the national MathCounts competition in Washington later this year.

MathCounts was founded in 1985 by the National Society of Professional Engineers to encourage students to develop math and science skills.