Samuel Calto
Writer '19
The Great Neck North’s math team participated in the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), one of their strongest challenges of the year. The AMC is comprised of three tests offered to high-performing students in math classes: the AMC 8, the AMC 10, and the AMC 12. North’s math team offers the best math students in the school to have a go at this challenging series of tests.
The AMC competitions are split between age levels to provide progressively more difficult testing as competitors age. The AMC 8 only permitted students in 8th grade or less, so no members of the North High math team participated in the AMC 8 this year. Instead, students participated in the AMC 10 and the AMC 12, which accepted students in 10th grade or less and 12th grade or less, respectively. The competition took place Wednesday, February 15th, nationwide, and students at North completed the exam within the first few periods.
The AMC 10 and AMC 12 tests are comprised of 25 questions taken within 75 minutes. The aim is to complete the exams perfectly, collecting 150 points, six for each correct question. The tests are much more difficult than they seem; only around a hundred students out of hundreds of thousands of testers rarely get perfect score, and the general goal is usually set at around two-thirds of the test takers. At the end of these tests, grades are given out, and the top 5% in the AMC 12 and the top 2.5% in the AMC 10 get to move on to the next level of competition, the American Invitational Mathematics Competition (AIME).
AIME is structured in a similar format to the AMC, but is much more difficult than the already challenging AMC tests, covering many topics not taught in high school and requiring more preparation. Although the exam, comprised of 15 questions, is graded out of 15 points, mean scores tend to be less than three points, and the number of perfect scored range in the ones. Scores are combined from the AMC and the AIME, and the top competitors are selected for the next stage, the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO).
The USAMO is the next level, designed to thin out the crowd of mere hundreds of competitors left. Along with the United States of America Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO), which is for students who took the AMC 10, the USAMO, for students who took the AMC 12, is a nine-hour test with only six challenging mathematical proofs. Seven points are awarded for each question, and the top students that emerge progress to the Mathematical Olympiad Program (MOP), where six finalists are chosen to be on the U.S. team of the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). This team is what represents America's math students on the world stage, for the spot as the top country for math students.
For North's math team, the AMC tests represent a chance for Great Neck students to show their ability. The math team competes in many competitions annually, and routinely wins trophies for defeating other teams on Long Island. Top AMC competitors can prove that Great Neck North doesn't only have a great math team, but powerful students as well.
Writer '19
The Great Neck North’s math team participated in the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), one of their strongest challenges of the year. The AMC is comprised of three tests offered to high-performing students in math classes: the AMC 8, the AMC 10, and the AMC 12. North’s math team offers the best math students in the school to have a go at this challenging series of tests.
The AMC competitions are split between age levels to provide progressively more difficult testing as competitors age. The AMC 8 only permitted students in 8th grade or less, so no members of the North High math team participated in the AMC 8 this year. Instead, students participated in the AMC 10 and the AMC 12, which accepted students in 10th grade or less and 12th grade or less, respectively. The competition took place Wednesday, February 15th, nationwide, and students at North completed the exam within the first few periods.
The AMC 10 and AMC 12 tests are comprised of 25 questions taken within 75 minutes. The aim is to complete the exams perfectly, collecting 150 points, six for each correct question. The tests are much more difficult than they seem; only around a hundred students out of hundreds of thousands of testers rarely get perfect score, and the general goal is usually set at around two-thirds of the test takers. At the end of these tests, grades are given out, and the top 5% in the AMC 12 and the top 2.5% in the AMC 10 get to move on to the next level of competition, the American Invitational Mathematics Competition (AIME).
AIME is structured in a similar format to the AMC, but is much more difficult than the already challenging AMC tests, covering many topics not taught in high school and requiring more preparation. Although the exam, comprised of 15 questions, is graded out of 15 points, mean scores tend to be less than three points, and the number of perfect scored range in the ones. Scores are combined from the AMC and the AIME, and the top competitors are selected for the next stage, the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO).
The USAMO is the next level, designed to thin out the crowd of mere hundreds of competitors left. Along with the United States of America Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO), which is for students who took the AMC 10, the USAMO, for students who took the AMC 12, is a nine-hour test with only six challenging mathematical proofs. Seven points are awarded for each question, and the top students that emerge progress to the Mathematical Olympiad Program (MOP), where six finalists are chosen to be on the U.S. team of the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). This team is what represents America's math students on the world stage, for the spot as the top country for math students.
For North's math team, the AMC tests represent a chance for Great Neck students to show their ability. The math team competes in many competitions annually, and routinely wins trophies for defeating other teams on Long Island. Top AMC competitors can prove that Great Neck North doesn't only have a great math team, but powerful students as well.