Taman Truong’s National Win for the Math Team
Taman in his natural habitat (doing math!)
Over the last few weeks, several members of ACP’s Math Club have made some outstanding accomplishments! Students from one of our most academically-committed clubs on campus, Math Club, are constantly challenging themselves to reach new heights in their mathematic abilities.
The math team recently found out how they did on the Fall Startup Event, a challenging speed-based competition that they took before break. One of ACP’s seniors, Taman Truong, placed 8th in the nation in the contest!
Several members of Math Club gather before one of last year’s competitions.
To learn more about recent math club accomplishments, I interviewed Taman, the president of ACP’s Math Club.
Could you give me some more information about the competition in which you placed 8th in the nation?
The contest is called the Fall Startup Event, designed by the National Assessment & Testing that assesses basic mathematical skills, ranging from arithmetic to calculus. This test contains 100 problems to be completed in 30 minutes without a calculator.
How did ACP’s math team rank in this competition?
ACP ranked 13th place in this competition.
How did you prepare for the competition?
I prepared for this competition by doing the previous Fall Startup Event exams (2012 – 2018). I would time myself for each exam, study each problem that I missed, and learn how to solve different types of problems quickly and accurately from those tests.
Taman spends lots of time preparing for math competitions, as evidenced by his many pages of math practice.
How is ACP doing in the current Math Madness competition?
ACP has performed well in the current Math Madness competition, an online competition where schools across the nation compete in a head-to-head battle to solve 8 problems in 30 minutes quickly and accurately in a 30 minute time period. During the second week of fall break, ACP won their first match of the season against Valley Lutheran HS in Michigan 29 – 11. Just last week, ACP had a close match, losing against Diamond Bar HS in California 39 – 40.
How often does math club compete?
Math Club competes very frequently. We usually compete at least once per week, whether it is a competition at school or outside of school.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in improving their math skills?
For students who want to improve their math skills, keep solving various problems (whether it is from homework or other extra practice worksheets) in order to find ways to solve those problems faster.
What is your favorite thing about math?
My favorite thing about math is the beauty of solving problems as quickly, elegantly, and efficiently as possible.
Congratulations, Taman, on your national accomplishment with the Fall Startup Event. Coming up next week, Math Club has yet another competition: the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Excellence in Mathematics Competition. This competition will be next Friday, November 1st. Best of luck to all Math Club members on their upcoming performance in Math Madness and the CGCC math competition!
