American Math Competition open to high school students

Christine Davis Mantai
High school students who enjoy solving challenging mathematics problems are invited to the 2007 American Mathematics Competition being held at SUNY Fredonia on Wednesday, Feb. 21 from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in Jewett Hall Room 101.

Students who perform exceptionally well on the exam will be invited to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination. From there, the top scorers go on to the USA Mathematical Olympiad. The top 12 students from the USAMO and other promising math students participate in a three-week summer program at the University of Nebraska and, eventually, compete against the best math students in the world at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Last year, the international contest was held in Slovenia, and the USA team earned two gold medals and four silver medals, ranking fifth behind China, Russia, Korea, and Germany. The 2007 international contest will be held in Vietnam.

The AMC competition this month includes two separate examinations—the AMC 10 for students in ninth and tenth grade, and the AMC 12 for students in eleventh or twelfth grade.

Dr. Joseph Straight, chairperson of the mathematical sciences department at SUNY Fredonia, gave an example of the type of question that would be posed for the ninth and tenth graders: “Two circles of diameters 1 inch and 3 inches, respectively, have the same center. The smaller circle is painted red, whereas the area outside the smaller circle and inside the larger circle is painted blue. What is the ratio of the blue area to the red area?”

The contest is free, but requires a $10 deposit. Participants should send a check for $10 in advance to Dr. Joseph Straight, CMC Coordinator, Mathematical Sciences Department, SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063. Checks, which will be returned after the exam is taken, should be accompanied by the contestant’s name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Refreshments will be available for both participants and their parents at both the practice session and the contest. Prizes will be awarded to the top-scoring students for both the AMC 10 and AMC 12.

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