AMATYC CONTEST
The annual national contest sponsored by the American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) consists of 2 rounds: one round in the fall semester and one round in the spring semester.
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. 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 1 is now completed. Round 2 will take place during the Spring 2010 semester. Details will be provided by your instructor or can be found in the Math Learning Center at the beginning of the Spring 2010 semester.
You can prepare for Round 2 by working out the problems in the previous contests below.
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. |
Johnathon Jiang |
1. |
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1. |
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| 2. |
Minh Dang |
2. |
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2. |
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| 3. |
Guo Yang |
3. |
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3. |
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| 4. |
Daniel Winsor |
4. |
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4. |
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| 5. |
Trung Dinh |
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!
During the test, contestants may use a scientific or graphing calculator which does not have a keyboard.
Contestants may not use dictionaries, cell phones, PDAs, iPods or other electronic devices.
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: 11/19/09
Problems with this page? Contact Rick Hobbs at rick_hobbs@wvm.edu