Mathematics is not the enemy, really. That’s part of the message behind an Internet-based math contest that’s open to all Iowa high school students. The questions are being compiled by “the mysterious Doctor E” and are posted on a website run by the University of Northern Iowa.U-N-I math professor Doug Shaw, says they questions are designed to be “interesting” not hard. He says there are some “groovy” prizes for the top puzzle solvers, including cash. Shaw says the math questions are not your typical a-plus-b-minus-c-squared types of problems. New questions are being posted to the website each week and the contest will run through May. Shaw explains the motive behind the on-line math contest, which is now in its third year, is to get kids interested in math that may’ve been turned off by their algebra classes. To check it out, surf to “www.math.uni.edu” and click on the “Wright Challenge” button.
