Competitions

AMC 10/12

Next Test Date

The AMC 8 was held on November 14th 2017. Check back later for the next test dates!

Test Info

Registration Fee

There is a $15 registration fee for taking the test with the UCI Math Circle to cover administrative expenses and costs for other events. There will be no refund for cancellations or no-shows.

You can pay:

1. online using this link
2. as a check made out to the math circle. Please made the check payable to: Alessandra Pantano, and include the specification "AMC8 registration for (name of student)".

What to Bring

• writing utensils (B-2 pencils) and erasers
• scratch paper (including graph paper)
• rulers, compass and protractors (optional)
• calculators or food are not allowed

What is the AMC 8?

The Test

The AMC 8 (American Mathematics Competition) is a 25 question, 40 minute, multiple-choice examination in middle school mathematics. It is run by the MAA (Mathematical Association of America), with the intent to promote the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills. Many problems are designed to challenge students and to offer problem solving experiences beyond those provided in most junior high school mathematics classes.

How is the test graded?

There are 25 questions on the test. A correct answer scores 1 point. There is no penalty for incorrect or blank answers. All the AMC 8 exams taken in the United States are sent to Lincon, Nebraska for grading.

Eligibility

All the UCI Math Circle participants in Grade 8 and below are eligible to take the AMC 8 test with us. Tickets for the competition can be picked up during the UCI Math Circle Meetings.

Intramural Awards

High scoring students are invited to participate in the AMC 10. Moreover,

• A Certificate of Distinction is given to all students who receive a perfect score.
• An AMC 8 Winner Pin is given to the student(s) in each school with the highest score.
• The top three students for each school section will receive respectively a gold, silver, or bronze Certificate for Outstanding Achievement.
• An AMC 8 Honor Roll Certificate is given to all high scoring students.
• An AMC 8 Merit Certificate is given to high scoring students who are in 6th grade or below.

Students in Grade 8 and below who are not planning to attend the UCI Math Circle in Fall 2016 should consult the MAA website (here) for a list of additional locations.

Practice Problems

The AMC8, called the AJHSME until 2000, began in 1985. The Art of Problem Solving website maintains a record of all the previous competitions, from 1985 to present.

Additional Information

For more information about the AMC 8, visit American Mathematics Contest 8 website.

Questions? Ask Andrei ()

See the updated 2017-2018 results here

What is the Tournament of the Towns?

Background

The Tournament of the Towns (ToT) is one of the most open and at the same time most prestigious mathematical contests with participants from over 100 cities in different countries. This tournament differs from other math competitions in that the problems require ingenuity rather than any kind of special knowledge or technical skills. The problems are mostly combinatorial, with an occasional geometry, number theory or algebra problem. They have a different flavor from problems seen in other mathematics competitions, and are usually quite challenging but fun. Some of the problems have become classics, in particular two from the Autumn 1984 paper.

History

The International Tournament of the Towns was established in the late 1970s in Russia. Professor N. Konstantinov, the inspirational leader and organizer of the Tournament, is also the Chairman of the Central Committee in Moscow. About 100,000 students from 120+ towns and 25 countries participate every year.

ToT in Irvine

While popular in Europe, Tournament of the Towns is slow to make its way in the US. Irvine is only the second US city (after Berkeley) to take part and is noted as one of very few worldwide where it was started by students' initiative.

Yelena Mandelshtam learned of this competition from friends she made at a Summer Math Camp in Russia. While most were accomplished participants of the All-Russian math olympiad, they all kept mentioning ToT as the most interesting contest. She then got an idea to organize it in Irvine, so that Orange County's students could enjoy this type of competition. While not yet on par with some big cities, Irvine has done amazingly well in its very first season.

Test Info

Eligibility

The Tournament of the Towns is especially good for the students who think deeply but require a lot of time to solve a problem. In this competition, students have 4-5 hours to solve any 3 out of 5-7 problems. Also, scores are multiplied by a certain coefficient which increases as grade level decreases, up to a maximum of 2 for 7 graders and under. Thus, younger students have a strong advantage in this competition. There are two levels of difficulty in the Tournament of the Towns: A and O. Some problems of Level A are as challenging as problems of the International Mathematical Olympiad. The main purpose of Level O is to attract every student interested in mathematics. However, Level O is still very challenging. There are also two levels of participation: Senior (grade 11-12) and Junior(grades 8-10). The competition is best for students in grades 8-12 but exceptionally strong younger students may also participate.

Structure

There are four competitions every year: O and A level, each in the Fall and in the Spring. Everyone can participate in one or more, up to all four. Everyone's score is the highest of the four. Irvine's score is the sum of the top five participants' scores.

Prizes

Diplomas will be awarded by the Central Committee to students who have achieved high scores (after their papers have been rechecked by the Central Jury). The highest scorers at the Senior level will be invited to the annual international ToT summer conference where they will participate in team research projects.

Past Winners

2017-2018 Winners

Overall Winners:

• Senior: Andrei Mandelshtam (Gr. 9, University High), 32.5 (A level)
• Junior: Neel Basu (Gr. 9, University High), 17.33 (O level)

Other International Winner Diplomas:

• Senior:
• Artyom Lisitsyn (Gr. 11, Oxford Academy) (A level)
• Michael Diao (Gr. 11, University High) (A level)
• Junior:
• Surya Subbarao (Gr. 8, Sierra Vista) (A level)

Other 5+ scorers:

• Senior:
• Luyang Zhang, 11th grade, University High School
• Mirabel Hu, 10th grade, University High School
• Junior:
• Henry Ding, 7th grade, Jeffrey Trail Middle School
• Imaad Rana, 8th grade
• Yifeng Lin, 9th grade, University High School
• Selene Huang, 9th grade

2016-2017 Winners

Overall Winners

• Senior: Artyom Lisitzyn (Gr. 10, Oxford Academy), 22.5 (Fall A-level)
• Junior: Andrei Mandelshtam (Gr 8, Vista Verde): 40.5 (Spring A-level)

As a result of his high score at the Senior level, Artyom was an invited participant of the 29th summer conference of the International Mathematical Tournament of the Towns. See here

Andrei had the highest score at the Jr. level, worldwide!

International 18+ Certificate Winner

• Junior:
  • Eric Lee, (Gr 7, Corona Del Mar), 22 (Spring O-level)
  • Neel Basu, (Gr. 8, Rancho), 21 (O-level)
  • Surya Subbarao (Gr. 7, Sierra Vista), 18 (Spring O-level)

10-20 Certificate Winners

• Junior:
  • Dhruba Basu (Gr 10, University High)
  • Doyoon Kim (Gr. 8, Orchard Hills)

2015-2016 Winners

Overall Winners

• Senior: Dillon Kanne (Gr. 11, Sage), 18.75 ( A-level)
• Junior: Andrei Mandelshtam (Gr 7, Vista Verde): 24 ( A-level)

International 15-20 Certificate Winner

• Artyom Lisitsyn (Gr. 9, Oxford Academy)17.5 ( A-level)

International 10-15 Certificate Winners

• Junior: Eric Lee (Gr. 5), Neel Basu (Gr. 7, Rancho)

5-10 Certificate Winners

• Junior: Dhruba Basu (Gr 9, University High)

2014-2015 Winners

Overall Winners

• Samuel Reinehr (Gr. 12, Homeschool): 30 (Perfect score on A-level!)
• Junior: Andrei Mandelshtam (Gr 6, Vista Verde): 24

Additional international 15+ Certificate Winners:

• Senior: Jack Sun (Gr. 10, University High), Yelena Mandelshtam (Gr. 12, University High)
• Junior: Artyom Lisitzyn (Gr. 8, Oxford Academy)

10-15 Certificate Winners

• Senior: Jamie Gu (Gr. 11, University High), Dillon Kanne (Gr. 10, Sage)
• Junior: Anthon Than (Gr. 8, Fulton), Eric Lee (Gr. 5), Kieth Bauer (Gr. 5)

5-10 Certificate Winners

• Junior: Jimin Kim (Gr 7, Jeffrey Trail)

2013-2014 Winners

Artyom Lisitzyn (Gr 7, Oxford Academy) is the overall winner of the Fall 2013 tournament, with 24 points at Jr A level!

Perfect scorers O-level

• Jason Ye (Gr 9, University High, Jr)
• Yelena Mandelshtam (Gr 11, University High, Sr)

Additional 15+ certificate winners:

• Yunyang Sun (Gr 9, University High, Sr)
• Haoqin Gu (Gr 10, University High, Sr)
• Jerry Park (Gr 11, University High, Sr)
• Dillon Kanne (Gr 9, Sage Hill, Jr)
• Andrei Mandelshtam (Gr 5, Vista Verde, Jr)

10-15 Certificate Winner

• Angela Dong (Gr 9, University High, Jr)

Questions

Ask Wencai Lui () and/or Rui Han ().

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The "Formula of Unity" olympiad has started! This is a take-home mathematics exams. More details, problems and submission instructions are available here. The deadline is November 12th. On the bottom of the page, there is an email address of the organizers for general enquiries.

You can also address questions to one of the local organizers: Wencai Lui () and Rui Han ().

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