WARREN - Conner Orr nodded in agreement as his opponent correctly computed the numbers on the card.
The answer always is the same. The challenge is in determining how - by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing those four numbers - the students can make the numbers total 24.
"I practice a lot," Conner, 10, of Bristolville, said. "I get online and play the game. I like it a lot, but it's not always easy."
For nearly 15 minutes, the Bristol Middle School fifth-grader squared off with 10-year-old Antonio Walker of Warren during the annual Challenge 24 tournament Wednesday at Warren G. Harding High School. The boys barely gave the other two students in their group a chance to participate.
"I did pretty good last year," said Antonio, a fifth-grader at Lincoln K-8 School. "I got a medal. I've been practicing at home and at school. I'm hoping to do even better this year."
The challenge, in its 11th year, is sponsored by the Tribune Chronicle and the Trumbull County Educational Service Center. Some 180 students from schools throughout Trumbull County competed in front of more than 400 spectators.
The object of the game is for the students, in groups of four, to compute the four numbers on each card after a proctor, often a teacher, places it on the table. The first student to tap the puzzle card and get the right answer wins the points for the card.
For example, Conner earned a card that had the numbers 5, 2 , 9 and 5 printed on it. He quickly multiplied 5 by 2 to reach 10, and added that to the 14 he reached by adding 9 and 5.
The students collected the cards they computed correctly and at the end of each round their scores were figured by the proctor assisting them.
The top students in each of the four categories received trophies.
Most puzzles are solved within five seconds. However, some cards have no solutions.
"It's really amazing when you realize how fast the students do this," said Megan Samora, a teacher at H.C. Mines Intermediate School in Howland serving as a proctor for the third year. "It takes adults a little longer to figure it out. I look at it and say 'wow.' But the students know whether the others got it right. They know and they check each other pretty quick."
Students in grades four through eight are eligible to compete and each school district picks which of its students will participate. The students are divided into categories based on their grade levels.
"This is all new to us," said Karen Forsha, whose 9-year-old daughter Robin competed. "(Robin) has a couple of older cousins here and we were a little familiar with the process. But we really haven't prepared very much at all. It's amazing to see how well she's doing and how good all of the kids are. I'm impressed."
