…set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title: Fastest Time to Construct the First 25 Rows of Pascal’s Triangle (Human Formation). The 244 Mathletes® were joined by 61 coaches and 20 advisors to arrange themselves in order of the first 25 rows of Pascal’s Triangle in a record-setting 6 minutes, 16 seconds, 57 tenths of a second. An adjudicator from GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS was in attendance and immediately verified the Record Attempt.
“It was very rewarding to see so many people with a passion for math come together to accomplish this,” said Lou DiGioia, executive director of MATHCOUNTS. “These remarkable Mathletes have already inspired us with their success here at the National Competition, but by setting this record today, they’re also sending the message that math achievement and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education should be priorities that we all have.”
Pointing to America’s Future: 325 of America’s brightest Mathletes(R) set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS(R) title today at the Raytheon MATHCOUNTS(R) National Competition in Washington, D.C. Middle school students from every state formed a giant Pascal’s Triangle in a record-setting 6 minutes, 16 seconds (6:16.57) to raise awareness about the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in the United States. (PRNewsFoto/Raytheon Company)
Pascal’s Triangle is a famous triangular formation of numbers described in 1653 by French mathematician Blaise Pascal. Each number inside the triangle is the sum of the two numbers above it. Pascal’s Triangle is known for its collection of patterns that occur frequently in mathematics. MATHCOUNTS explains how Pascal’s Triangle is used in everyday algebra and probability.
“Raytheon fully supports the Mathletes’ creative approach to Pascal’s Triangle to show the world the power of math. The application of Pascal’s Triangle—a simple collection of patterns used in every day algebra and probability—is just one example of how math is all around us,” said Pam Erickson, vice president of Community Relations at Raytheon Company.
Mathletes representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and schools from the Departments of Defense and State descended on Washington, D.C., to compete at the Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition, having advanced through competitions involving some 100,000 students from more than 5,000 schools at the local and state level.
