MS 74 student Kevin Peng receives award for winning the New York State
MATHCOUNTS competition
(Below) The MATHCOUNTS team from MS 74
“Anna is reading a 300 page book. She can read a page in two minutes. If she has finished reading 75 percent of the pages, how many minutes of reading does she have left?”
If you answered 150 minutes, you got the question correct. A student from MS 74 in Queens not only had the right answer but calculated it in two seconds... helping to propel the school's team to a third place finish in the recent State MATHCOUNTS Competition.
The tournament included 57 public and private schools from across the State.
MS 74 8th grader Kevin Peng won the individual competition, beating out 242 other students, and will now represent New York State at the prestigious national finals in Denver in early May.
“I like the tournament because it is challenging and the fierce 
competition makes me think above and beyond,” Peng said. “Plus, working with other students is exciting because you can see how others solve problems.
"All of the students involved gave up lunch hours, spent time before and after school, and weekends practicing, drilling each other, and studying to prepare for this competition," MS 74 Principal Andrea Dapolito said. "Their hard work and dedication paid off."
Peng received $1,000 college scholarship for winning the State competition. The national winner will collect a larger college scholarship plus other perks, like a possible visit to the White House.
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