150 students took the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 10 and 12A exams in the Auxiliary Gym from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday.
The 75-minute AMC exam, hosted by the Mathematical Association of America, consisted of 25 multiple choice questions on algebra, geometry, number theory and combinatorics. Students in 10th grade and under were eligible to take the AMC 10A, and those in 12th grade and under could take the 12A exam.
Frosh Lucas Yuan emphasized the importance of performing well on the AMC, highlighting that it enables students to qualify for more advanced competitions.
“It’s the entry level competition,” Lucas said. “You have to do it to qualify for anything on the path to Olympiads. It also trains your ability to handle stress and think fast because you can’t crash out during the test.”
To aid students in their preparation, Math Club hosted meetings to help students familiarize with competition level math and common problems.
Sophomore Math Club officer Jonathan Li explained the topics officers covered during their hour-long lunchtime sessions.
“We had a series of four AMC lectures where the officers made handouts for each of the four major competition math topics,” Jonathan said. “We taught those topics, lectured and gave them problems to solve. For people who haven’t done competition math, it’s a good way to get exposed to it.”
Ishaan Mysore (11), who took the AMC 12A, described the way he studied and practiced for the exam.
“I practiced a lot of problems using unfamiliar approaches,” Ishaan said. “On the test, when I see a problem, I’ll know how to solve it. Drilling my weaknesses and focusing on areas that I’m less successful at is very helpful for this exam.”
Math Club adviser Dr. Anu Aiyer appreciated the accessibility of the exam, noting that students from a broad range of math backgrounds can approach AMC problems with confidence.
“The type of problems that are given don’t require you to know calculus,” Aiyer said. “If you’re a pretty decent student in Honors Algebra 2 or Precalculus, you can make a lot of headway with these problems. The AMC is also a stepping stone for the next level, as opposed to just a stand alone competition.”
Next week, active Math Club members who signed up for the AMC 10 B and 12 B exams will take it on Tuesday after school in the Dobbins classrooms for another chance to qualify for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination.