By: Neval Mulaomerovic
Math Club hosted its annual AMC (American Mathematics Competitions) on Feb. 7, Math Club President Mealaud Mokhtarzad said. The annual math competition, held in the library from first to second period, is available to students of all grade levels, he said.
AMC is formatted as a 25 question math test lasting 75 minutes taken by American students on the same day, Mokhtarzad said. Questions, which go up to precalculus and are based around critical thinking, increase in difficulty closer to the end of the test, he said.
“Looking at just as it is, I’ll say it’s a really good chance to do some math that’s not the usual,” Mokhtarzad said. “It may be the first time they get their interest sparked in math. I’ll say it’s a good introduction to using problem solving skills because for a lot of them, you have to think out of the box and think in peculiar ways to do the problem. So, maybe it could sharpen those skills.”
Participating in AMC offers both competitive and personal benefits, Math Club Advisor Elena Sherbakov said. If one performs well on AMC, then they advance to the next qualifier in an attempt to be selected for the national math team, she said. Participation is available for students of different grade levels, including middle schools, she said.
“They have eighth grade so we do have some kids from the middle schools and one from Burnett,” Sherbakov said. “We have AMC10, which is the version for students who are in tenth grade and below. AMC12 is for twelfth graders and below. If you’re an eleventh grader you can’t take tenth. If you’re a twelfth grader you can’t take tenth.”
Math Club hosts AMC once a year, though they offer other competitions throughout the year, Mokhtarzad said. Competitions are held in Santa Clara University, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley each year, he said.
“They’re difficult problems, but anyone who wants to can go,” he said. “We also host CAML (California Math League) which is another way for people to get into math and for a lot of kids to get extra credit. It’s also fundraising for math club because we don’t charge for any competitions. We pay for everything. We also hosted Math madness, which is an online math competition that was hosted every Friday after school during the first semester.”
AMC is especially beneficial for students applying to a math-related field, Sherbakov said. Top universities, such as Stanford, include a space to list AMC scores in their applications, she said.
“To qualify means you are in the top two percent,” Sherbakov said. “Achieving this is counted very favorably for colleges, so we encourage students to get involved in the activities that we offer.”
Several people from Math Club qualified in 2008 and 2009, Sherbakov said. Since then, students have come close to reaching the top two percent, though none had achieved it, she said.
“We are optimistic, though,” Sherbakov said. “We have a few students who are doing really well and we think they could really make it.”