John Stark Regional High School students joined thousands of high school students around the country competing in the American Mathematical Competition in November. The AMC 10 (students in 10th grade and below) and AMC 12 (students in grade 12 and below) are 25-question, 75-minute, multiple-choice examinations in high school mathematics designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills. The AMC 10 covers the high school curriculum up to 10th grade. The AMC 12 covers the entire high school curriculum–trigonometry, advanced algebra, and advanced geometry, but excluding calculus.
“This is the fifth year John Stark has administered the AMC competition. We had 18 students take the exam; that’s the greatest number of students at John Stark to participate in the last five years,” said JSRHS Math teacher Matthew Caputo. Caputo added that students who score well, about the top 10%, will have the opportunity to move on to the AIME, the American Invitational Mathematics Examination.
The AMC began in 1950 with 200 schools with about 6,000 students participating in the New York area. Today it has grown to 300,000 students in over 6,000 schools. The AMC provides an opportunity for high school students to develop positive attitudes towards analytical thinking and mathematics that can assist in future careers. The AMC 10 and 12 are the first in a series of competitions that eventually lead to the International Mathematical Olympiad.