Jason Qin reports that his first week at Awesome Math was very exciting, where he learned many “new and amazing” math concepts.
“I learned the basics of how numbers and the basics of mathematics function. In number sense, we went into detail on the fundamental topics in number theory like divisibility, bases, and primes/composites. The first week of Algebra 2.5 covered advanced polynomial topics, the fundamental theorem of algebra of Complex numbers, Viete’s formula, the division algorithm, and even going over the existence of fields and rings,” Jason explains.
“One thing I really loved about this program, both from this year and last summer, is that every concept, no matter how trivial, comes with a proof. For example, we learned how to prove that there are an infinite number of prime numbers as well as proving the existence and uniqueness of the fundamental theorem of algebra (something I just took for granted until this week),” Jason adds.
Jason especially enjoyed the overall structure of the program, where students used online tools such as Zoom, Google Classroom, and Discord to attend class, collaborate on math problems, and network socially.
“These were a fun way to chill from all the work of the classes and get to meet people who I would never have known existed solely through my classes,” Jason says.
“Overall I found this first week to be very rewarding in terms of my mathematical knowledge, similar to last summer. However, I have had so many more social and bonding opportunities for the things outside the classroom, something that I really enjoyed this first week at AwesomeMath. I’m truly grateful for the Garwin Family Foundation for providing me with a wonderful opportunity,” Jason adds.
Jason found his second week at AwesomeMath to be very rigorous and rewarding. His class covered more in-depth topics around number theory and algebra.
“I was able to explore the topics of modular arithmetic and diophantine equations. I was quite surprised by the relationships between number theory and the other fields of mathematics, and some of the topics taught can be used to easily solve quadratic or equations with x. In Algebra 2.5, we learned about complex numbers and their applications (which I definitely did not think about in a regular algebra class). One of my favorite examples from class that we looked at was, interestingly enough, solving geometry problems (my favorite topic in math). One of the problems involved a circle, hexagon, and connecting line segments, and seemed to be quite a complex problem, and one in which I still can’t figure out an alternate solution after further exploration, if tackled the traditional way with geometric principles. However, plotting the hexagon on the complex plane and using the properties of complex numbers and roots of unity, the proof turned out to be doable (definitely not easier, see screen capture at right),” Jason explains.
When not in class, Jason has been attending social events and meeting with many “cool and passionate people.”
“I found a community/group chat of AwesomeMath students to play Gartic phone, a chaotic online drawing game, and I am in touch with another student about starting an online STEM tutoring program. I enjoyed the opportunity to have social opportunities and take a break from math; this Saturday, I joined a session of virtual escape rooms and got to work with 3 other really cool students, from all over the camp, for three hours solving riddles,” Jason reports.
In the final week of class, Jason participated in a math competition where his team worked together to be first to provide solutions to assigned math problems.
Jason really enjoyed his educational experience at AwesomeMath.
“Through these past 3 weeks, I’ve developed a further appreciation and understanding of mathematics, solidified with proofs and curiosity. All the new concepts—no matter how trivial—taught in my classes were backed up with proofs,” Jason explains.
“I really enjoyed the rigorous proof-based side of mathematics that the AwesomeMath program encouraged, as this makes the whole experience of solving problems and asking “why?” to be all the more fun and rewarding. I’ve always loved and been involved in mathematics from a young age, and the AwesomeMath summer program has given me an amazing outlet to exercise creativity and problem solving.” Jason adds.
Excellent, Jason! We are so happy that you had a wonderful experience at Awesome Math.
>> Read Jason Qin’s Final Report (PDF file, 59 KB).
>> Learn about other students’ experiences in the GFF Scholarship Program.
