UCLA Olga Radko Endowed Math Circle

ORMC Meetings • 2022-2023 Academic Year

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For meetings prior to Fall 2022, visit the Circle Archive.

Advanced 1AAdvanced 1BAdvanced 2Advanced 3AMC 10/12 A TrainingAMC 10/12 B TrainingAMC 8 TrainingBeginners 1ABeginners 1BBeginners 1C
Beginners 2ABeginners 2BChess clubIntermediate 1AIntermediate 1BIntermediate 2AIntermediate 2B
6/26/2022

Students will study the Polybius and Caesar cyphers.

7/10/2022

Students will warm up solving an anagram. Then they will study the pigpen and rail fence ciphers.

7/17/2022

Students will take one last look at ciphers, solve fun problems of other types, and take a quiz on ciphers.

Handouts: Lesson 10
7/24/2022

Students will continue their study of logic.

7/31/2022

Students will continue studying math logic.

8/7/2022

Students will finish the Intro to Math Logic mini-course and take a quiz. If time permits, they will start a new topic, Lineland.

8/14/2022

Students will continue studying various shapes intersecting lines and planes.

8/21/2022

Students may possibly start the next topic, Traveling on a Cube, if time permits.

9/25/2022

We will cover Chapter 15 -- exploring how objects in a higher number of dimensions look when projected into a smaller number.

10/2/2022

We will continue with our study of the mathematics of projection. This week we will study Flatland -- a 2D world, in which 3D shapes appear in projected form.

10/9/2022

We will do a recap of lineland and flatland, including a short quiz. Then we will start the next topic, which is inverse operations.

10/16/2022

We will discuss the book Flatland. Then we will finish Chapter 18, on inverting operations. If we have time, we start a new Chapter on geodesics (shortest paths) on the cube.

10/23/2022

In this class we will study geodesics, also known as shortest paths. In most of our experience shortest paths are straight lines. Given any 2 points there is exactly one shortest path between them. But there are spaces in which shortest paths look very different and for which two point may have two very different shortest paths between them (Ch. 19).

10/30/2022

We will review Chapter 19, on shortest paths on a cube that students were able to pre-study for homework. Then we will cover Chapter 20, which is a review of both topics. There will be a short quiz. Time permitting, we will start to look at Egyptian multiplication.

11/6/2022

We will finish covering Egyptian multiplication.

11/20/2022

We will finish studying Chapter 22, revisiting binary numbers. For our class, it is not necessary for students to have studied this topic before in Beginners 1.

12/4/2022

We follow Chapter 23, learning how to multiply numbers that are represented in binary form.

1/8/2023

Multiplication is standardly introduced as repeated addition. In this lesson, students will learn that division can be introduced as repeated subtraction.

1/15/2023

We will do a short discussion of the relationship between ASCII coding and binary numbers. Then we will review some of the techniques from the last two classes (multiplication, division, binary). After a short quiz, we will do some Math Kangaroo problems if time allows.

1/22/2023

We will demonstrate and then learn a magic trick that use trinary representations to locate a card in a deck.

1/29/2023

Students will continue practicing the trick and discussing the reason it works.

2/5/2023

Students will study the associative, commutative, and distributive properties of multiplication using both algebra and geometry.

2/19/2023

We discussion arithmetic progressions and their sum formula.

2/26/2023
3/5/2023

We will start new materials on time. First we will talk about time zones and their relationships to the division of the Earth into meridians. Then, time permitting, we will start to talk about how to do calculations that involve time.

Handouts: handout
3/12/2023

Students will start learning basics of mod n arithmetic, that of a circle divided into n equal parts.

4/2/2023

We will continue to study the relationship between clocks and arithmetic. Time permitting, we may start our next topic, on the geometry of clocks.

4/9/2023

In this class, which will take place over Zoom, we will finish up Clock Arithmetic Part 2, and begin Lesson 27 (Time and Angles).

4/16/2023

We will finish our discussion of the relationship between angles and clocks (Lesson 27 - Angles and Time), and then revisit how angles and time on globes.

4/23/2023

After a short quiz on clock arithmetic, we will start studying Euclidean geometry.

4/30/2023

We will finish our discussion of systems of axioms. Then we will introduce Euclid's postulates for geometry.

5/7/2023

We will begin learning Euclidean geometry, starting with Euclid's postulates.

Handouts: handout
5/14/2023

Having introduced our definitions in the last class, we will start to learn how to construct and compare triangles using only our straight edge and compasses.

Handouts: handout
5/21/2023

We will finish our introduction to Geometry, focusing on using our only available tools to recreate triangles with given dimensions or angle(s). We will practice making rigorous arguments about the properties of

6/4/2023

We will do a little geometry practice to reinforce what we've learned in the past three lessons. We will take a quiz. Then we will learn to play some math-games.