On 19 March, as part of the celebration of the 95th anniversary of the founding of Odesa Technical Professional College, the Subject Committee for Physics and Mathematics held the “Mathematical Cross” competition. The competition has been held at the College every year since 2010.
The name “Mathematical Cross” comes from the format of the event, in which players traditionally move between classrooms while the lecturers of the Subject Committee for Physics and Mathematics set them various tasks.
This year, unfortunately, it was not possible to hold the competition in the traditional format. Therefore, the students completed all the tasks in the form of tests. Before the testing began, the participants watched a presentation about the history of the competition. The tasks in the tests corresponded as closely as possible to the tasks usually performed during the cross between classrooms.
The competition is traditionally held among first-year groups. “Mathematical Cross” gives students the opportunity to understand that mathematics is not only numbers and formulas but also curiosity and fun. The competition tasks have original names that hint at the essence of the problem:
• “Measure Seven Times, Cut Once” – cut the given figure into four equal parts;
• “Arithmometer” – perform calculations quickly;
• “Who Is Behind You” – find the pattern and determine the next term of the sequence;
• “Execute Not Pardon” – write the sign of an operation in place of an asterisk to obtain a correct equality;
• “You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours” – solving logic problems.
This year, 11 teams from 11 groups took part in the competition, each consisting of two participants. The winners were:
• Ionov Dmytro, group 1KH-11 – first place;
• Horbatiuk Oleksandra, group 1IM-07 – second place;
• Lupenko Denys, group 1MKh-60 – third place.
In the team standings, victory was won by:
• Group 1KH-11 – first place;
• Group 1IM-07 – second place;
• Group 1MKh-60 – third place.
The winners received certificates and medals, like true athletes, and all the participants were awarded sweet gifts by the Subject Committee for Physics and Mathematics.
