AMATYC CONTEST
The annual national student math contest sponsored by the American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) consists of 2 rounds: one round in the fall and one round in the spring.
Each round consists of 20 multiple-choice questions on a variety of topics in precalculus mathematics: algebra, geometry, trigonometry, functions, graphing, probability, combinatorics and elementary statistics.
To take the exam, one needs to be a community college student at a participating community college. Only students who have not yet earned a college degree at any institution are eligible. To take the exam at Mission College, one needs to be a Mission College student.
The top 5 scores in each round form the Mission College "team." The college, then competes informally with other community colleges around the state and the country. Members of the team receive certificates to honor their accomplishments.
At the end of the 2 rounds, the top five winners receive scholarships from the Mission College Mathematics Department and Mission College mathematics instructor, Ms. Thoi Nguyen:
| First Place |
$300 |
| Second Place |
$200 |
| Third Place |
$100 |
| Fourth Place |
$50 |
| Fifth Place |
$50 |
On the national level, the person who has the highest combined score on all three rounds receives a $3,000 scholarship from AMATYC. For more details, see the rules and tips sections below.
Round 2 will take place in February or March, 2009.
Reveiw sessions will be posted during the Spring 09 semester. You should plan to attend a review session if you want to do well on the contest.
Begin reviewing NOW!
REVIEW SESSIONS:
MATH CONTEST:
Interested students can pick up copies of the most recent exams along with the answer keys in the Math Learning Center or at the links below. The MLC will have copies of the latest test and solutions.
The Mission College Math Contest team for the first round is as follows:
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ROUND 1 |
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ROUND 2 |
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OVERALL WINNERS |
| 1. |
Albert Ai |
1. |
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1. |
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| 2. |
Anh Nguyen |
2. |
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2. |
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| 2. |
Adam Black |
3. |
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3. |
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| 4. |
Xin Chen |
4. |
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4. |
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| 5. |
Huiyuan Yu |
5. |
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5. |
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Congratulations to the contest winners and to all participants. The contest questions were both challenging and mind-expanding. Having the contest experience makes everyone a winner. Keep up the good work and look forward to next semester!
Eligible contestants must be community college students who have not earned an AA, AS or other degree from any college in the world.
During the test, contestants may use a scientific or graphing calculator which does not have a keyboard.
Questions are multiple choice, although occasionally there may be a short-answer question.
Scoring is as follows: 2 points for each correct answer; 0 points for an answer left blank; and minus 0.5 point for a wrong answer.
- Pick up copies of old math contests in the Math Learning Center (S2-301) and try as many of the problems as you can before the contest date. Some recent tests can be found online. Click on the links below to view and download the tests. (You will need Acrobat reader, which you can download for free.)
- Come to one of the review sessions conducted by the Mission College Math Department. The dates for the sessions can be found above.
- Bring a scientific or graphing calculator to the contest. If you do not have a calculator, the college can lend you one.
- Do not try to answer all the questions on the test (unless you know how to do them all in the time allowed!). Since wrong answers count as negative points, it is best to leave the answer blank if you have no idea how to do the problem.
- Do not spend too much time on one problem. Try the easier problems first, but beware if the problem seems too easy.
- Read each problem very carefully before and after solving it.
- Have fun solving these intriguing puzzles!
If you have further questions regarding this contest, you can contact one of the moderators of the Mission College AMATYC Contest:
last update: 11/12/08
Problems with this page? Contact Rick Hobbs at rick_hobbs@wvm.edu