Loyola Academy had four teams compete in the 22nd annual High School Math Competition in Modeling (Hi-MCM) in November. One of our teams reached the "outstanding" rating which is a major accomplishment and tops last year’s "meritorious" rating. This was Team 9756 which consisted of the following Ramblers: John P. “Jack” Nugent ’20, Claire C. O'Shaughnessy ’20, Robert P. “Preston” Hess ’20 and Peter Scheidt ’22.
The premise of the competition is straightforward. Teams choose from two modeling problems and then construct solutions.
Together, Team 9756 wrote their paper on the "B" problem option, called Bottle Battles. Their model attempts to predict which alternative people will switch to if plastic water bottles are banned and the impact of that change. They looked at the impact on two communities and one major airport.
A total of 792 teams, with up to four students each, from 324 schools, competed. All teams worked at their own schools within the contest window (November 6–19, 2019).
“I am continually impressed at the determination, intelligence, grit and creativity of these students,” says Mathematics TeacherMrs. Liz Van Lieshout, who moderates the Math Modeling Club.
Next, the team has qualified for an International Math Modeling Competition representing the United States. Best of luck to the team members as they tackle their challenge!