North County Math
Circle (NCMC)
Welcome to the North County Math Circle! This is a math community where students who love math can get together with students and teachers who share their passion for mathematics and problem solving. This is a place where students can come together to play with challenging math problems and concepts. It is not a place to get tutoring for students who have difficulties with school math classes. Students from all schools are welcome, and there are no fees for attendance. Also, regular attendance is not necessary – students may start up at any time and attend as their schedules permit.
This is NCMC’s first year. Our students range in age from 6th to 10th grade. The students are split into two groups – a younger group for those who have not completed Algebra I, and an older group for those who have. We will be meeting most Sundays at 2:00 at Pacific Ridge School. The topics of these meetings will be a combination of fun mathematical ideas, introduction to advanced topics, and preparation for math competitions such as the AMC 8/10/12. We are flexible in our choice of topics, and the selections are strongly influenced by teacher and student interest.
To learn more about the math circle concept, visit the web site of the San Diego Math Circle (SDMC) http://www.sdmathcircle.org/, or the web site of the National Association of Math Circles at www.mathcircles.org.
Students wishing to join a larger math circle, or one which does not meet on Sundays, may wish to look into the San Diego Math Circle. It meets on Saturday mornings on the UCSD campus. Go to their web site http://www.sdmathcircle.org/ to learn more.
If you have any interest in the NCMC, please write to Chris Wright at the email address chris.g.wright<at-sign>cox.net. Also, please write if you are an instructor/parent interested in teaching classes, or a parent willing to help out.
Meetings are on Sundays from 2:00 to 3:30 in building D at Pacific Ridge School.
Pacific Ridge School is located at 6269 El Fuerte, southeast of Palomar Airport in Carlsbad (be careful, some of the internet mapping services may misdirect you).
October 5th – “The Game of Nim.” – Chris Wright
October 12th
Younger group – “Animal Math – Number Bases” – Chris Wright
Older group – “Problem Solving Strategies and the AMC10.” – Chris Wright
October 19th – No meeting - Pacific Ridge campus is closed this weekend
October 26th
Younger group – “Number Bases Revisited” – Chris Wright
Older group – “Combinatorics and Poker” – Atsuo Kuki
November 2nd
Younger group – “The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic” – Chris Wright
Older group – “Combinatorics and Poker II” – Atsuo Kuki
November 9th – “Practice for the AMC 8 and 10” – Chris Wright
November 16th
Younger group – “Practice for the AMC 8” – Chris Wright
Older group – “Combinatorics and Probability” – Atsuo Kuki
November 23rd – No meeting - Break for Thanksgiving
November 30th – No meeting - Break for Thanksgiving
December 7th
Younger group – “Probability and Pascal’s Triangle” – Atsuo Kuki
Older group – “Arithmetic with Remainders” – Chris Wright
December 14th
Younger group – “the fork in the road, choices and Pascal's Triangle” – Atsuo Kuki
Older group – “Modular Arithmetic” – Chris Wright
December 21st - No meeting – Winter Break
December 28th – No meeting – Winter Break
January 4th – No meeting – Winter Break
January 11th – “Geometry with LOGO Part I” – Chris Wright
January 18th - “Geometry with LOGO Part II” – Chris Wright
January 25th – No meeting – Chinese New Year celebration at PRS
February 1 – “Continued Fractions – Leap Years and Pi” – Chris Wright
February 8 – “Counting and Adding – to infinity and beyond …” – Chris Wright
February 15 – “Review & Creating New Numbers from Old” – Chris Wright
February 22 – “Number bases reviewed and Modular Arithmetic” – Chris Wright
March 1 – “Introduction to Trigonometry” – Chris Wright
March 8 – “Modular Arithmetic” – Chris Wright
March 15 – No meeting – PRS event will use the whole campus
March 22 – “Trigonometry Revisited” – Atsuo Kuki
March 29 – “The Pigeon Hole Principle” – Chris Wright
April 5 – No meeting – Spring Break
April 12 – No meeting – Spring Break
April 19 – No meeting – no one came
April 26 – “Modular Arithmetic Revisited” – Chris Wright
May 3 – TBD – Chris Wright
May 10 – TBD – Chris Wright
May 17 – TBD – Chris Wright
May 24 – TBD, Last Meeting – Chris
After May 24 the NCMC will not meet again until September
Instructors:
Max (Atsuo) Kuki has a Ph.D. in Physical & Biophysical Chemistry and has taught extensively at the college level and postgraduate level as a member of the faculty of Cornell University, Dept of Chemistry, before coming to San Diego in the 1990s to immerse himself in the biotech industry. Max remembers his high school math days (in Chicago) with extreme fondness.
Chris Wright has a Ph.D. in mathematics from Stanford University, and was an assistant professor at Duke University for four years. After many years in the software industry, he found his way back to math education as he enjoyed helping out in his children’s elementary school classes. He is a math teacher at Pacific Ridge School, and has taught at the San Diego Math Circle for many years.