Master the Digits of Pi

by | Feb 21, 2018 | Math

Three Strategies to Conquer MaThCliX Digits of Pi Contest

On March 14th, MaThCliX will be hosting our third annual Pi Day, which is filled with a variety of activities for students of all ages. The most anticipated event of the day is the “Digits of Pi” Contest. The rules are simple: whoever wants to participate merely has to recite as many digits of Pi, the famous irrational number, as they can (in order, of course), in other words, master the digits of Pi. The person that says the most digits of Pi accurately wins a Pi Day t-shirt and a pie/cake! Good luck to everyone competing; I hope you find these tips useful! (P.S. make sure you have the correct digits of Pi pulled up on your phone or computer while attempting to memorize it.)

Strategy #1:

One way to memorize the digits of Pi effectively is through auditory learning. Look at the first 5 digits of Pi and say each one of them out loud. Repeat the process four more times while still looking at the correct form of Pi to guide you. Then look away and try to say the five digits by memory. If you get it correct the first time, then repeat it four more times while looking away. However, if you get it wrong the first time, look back at the correct form and repeat the five digits five times while looking again. Next, attempt to say it five times without looking (successfully this time, hopefully). Repeat these steps until you feel like you have those five digits glued to your brain. If you can use this strategy every day for 10 days before the contest, you will have memorized the first 50 digits of Pi!

Strategy #2:

Carry around a piece of paper with Pi written on it. Whenever you have a minute to spare either in the classroom or at home, take out the piece of paper and begin writing the digits of Pi by memory, as many as you can do. Then look at the correct form of Pi and assess how you did. Next, write it again, maybe this time adding one or two digits on to the end. If you make this a habit for a week or two before the contest, you are bound for success.

Strategy #3:

This final strategy is based off the idea that it is easier to remember numbers that have a purpose rather than a random sea of numbers. What you do is assign phone numbers to each set of ten digits in Pi and then attempt to memorize each phone number. It helps to set patterns within the phone numbers to better remember them: make the first letter of the name for the first phone number an “A”, the first letter of the name for the second phone number a “B”, etc. Also, try making the numbers of letter in each name correspond with the first number in that phone number. Try memorizing one phone number every 2 days, and in 10 days you will know 50 digits.

Everyone is different, so a technique that works for one person might not work for another. Experiment with different memorization techniques and find which one works best for YOU. Also, just a reminder: last year’s winner recited 108 digits of Pi. Good luck, and we’ll see you on March 14th!

AP Exams

by | May 18, 2017 | Teaching and Learning, Testing

The Importance of AP Exams

The majority of people know what an Advanced Placement (AP) course is, but many do not realize the true importance of taking these higher level classes, as well as the AP Exams. There are many benefits of taking AP classes, including but not limited to: the increased rigor of your overall course load which colleges take into consideration during the application process, an added 0.5 onto your letter grade which counts towards your HOPE GPA (for example, if you make a “B” in an AP class, it counts as a 3.5 instead of a 3.0), and an extra ten points on your net grade point average which class rank is based off of. However, the biggest reason to take an AP class is to succeed on the corresponding AP test in May and receive college credit for the class.

The AP exams are scored on a 1-5 scale; generally 10% of people get 5’s, 20% of people get 4’s, 20% of people get 3’s, and the remaining 50% receive either a 1 or a 2. The College Board, the organization that creates the tests each year, designs the exams and scoring system in an effort to only give approximately half of the people that take the test college credit, which at most universities is a 3 or higher.. However, if you have a good work ethic in the course throughout the year and then study heavily prior to the test, a 3 or higher is definitely attainable.

If you pace yourself with AP classes starting freshman year, it is very possible to come out of high school as a sophomore in college – which would save anywhere between $5,000 to $40,000 depending on the university. A suggested AP course schedule to complete this task is as follows: one AP class freshman year, two sophomore year, 3-4 junior year, and 2-4 senior year. Each exam that you score well on gives you anywhere from 3-6 credit hours – keep in mind a full year of college consists of 30 hours. So this means that to complete a full year from AP exams requires passing about 7-9 of these tests. Although you do have to pay to take the exam – about $95 per test – that is a heck of a lot better than paying thousands for the first year in college.