User:Aoum

Find more resources at Omega Learn: https://www.omegalearn.org/

Visit me at my website, Mathance: https://sites.google.com/view/mathance/

Welcome

Welcome to my user page! I am a math competition enthusiast! I contribute to the AoPS Wiki and I try to get better at math!

'Please remember to bookmark or watch this page, as it will give you vital information on math competition preparation.' My user page provides a list of information and resources for contest preparation, most notably the AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12, AIME, MATHCOUNTS, NSB, and the F=ma. My user page is often updated with more information and edits, so please keep coming back!

Visit Count

Please add one more to the visit count below if this is your first time on my user page. I got the idea from cxsmi, who got the idea from MRENTHUSIASM. Thanks for visiting my user page, and enjoy your stay!

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Special thanks to AoPS User Zhenghua for making the first user count!

Thanks for Visiting!

If you would like to find more math and science competition resources, check out OmegaLearn.org for information, resources, books, and videos by Sohil Rathi! Also check out Sohil Rathi's YouTube Channel for a collection of videos, including AMC 8, 10, 12 preparation videos.

Sohil Rathi's Omega Learn provides a variety of resources for math competition enthusiasts. For example, Omega Learn has written the following books, free and available on Omega Learn:

AMC 8

What is the AMC 8 Contest

The AMC 8 is a math contest organized by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The AMC 8 contest consists of 25 multiple-choice questions that must be completed within 40 minutes. There is no negative marking on this test, so remember to select an answer for every problem, even if you have to guess.

Who can take the AMC 8

Students must be in grade 8 or below and also under 14.5 years of age on the day of the competition. Note that students in elementary schools are also eligible to take the contest.

Where can you take the AMC 8

Many middle schools host the contest in their school. If your middle school doesn't offer the contest, you can try requesting your math teachers or principal to consider becoming a hosting site. You can also search for nearby locations hosting the contest using this zip code search.

The Mathematical Association of America also requests its member institutions of higher learning to consider offering the AMC 8 to students whose schools will not be offering the contest. You can find a list of alternate locations in your area here.

​If you are in elementary school and interested in taking the AMC 8, you can also reach out to math teachers in nearby middle schools and check if any of them will allow outside students to take the contest.

How to score high on the AMC 8

So, how can you score well on the AMC 8? Here are four key things to focus on:

• Understanding all the content: these go beyond the school curriculum so there's going to be a lot of learning to do if you're new to competition math

• Being able to apply concepts to tricky problems: these are math content problems and the problems are not straightforward like in school math so the problems require creative thinking and that's something that can only be achieved with more practice

• ​Solving the problems accurately: You need to learn how to avoid common mistakes like calculation errors, silly mistakes, misreading the questions, etc.

• ​Working quickly: You need to finish 25 problems in 40 minutes, and you need to learn good time management so you can attempt all the questions without getting stuck.

AMC 10

What is the AMC 10 Contest

The AMC 10 is a math contest organized by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The AMC 10 contest contains 25 multiple choice questions that must be completed within 75 minutes. You get 1.5 points for every question that is left blank, so remember to not guess blindly.

​The top 2.5% (approximately) students on the AMC 10 are invited to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME).

Who can take the AMC 10

Students in grade 10 or below and under 17.5 years of age on the day of the contest can take the AMC 10. Note that even students in elementary schools are eligible to take the contest.

Where can you take the AMC 10

Many middle/high schools host the contest in their school. If your school doesn't offer the contest, you can try requesting your math teachers or principal to consider becoming a hosting site. You can also search for nearby locations hosting the contest using this zip code search.

​The Mathematical Association of America also requests its member institutions of higher learning to consider offering the AMC 10 to students whose schools will not be offering the contest. You can find a list of alternate locations in your area here.

If you are in a school which does not host the contest, you can also reach out to math teachers in nearby high schools and check if any of them will allow outside students to take the contest.

How to score high on the AMC 10

So, how can you score well on the AMC 10? Here are four key things to focus on:

• Understanding all the content: The problems go beyond the school curriculum, so if you're new to competition math you will need to learn a variety of concepts from Algebra, Number Theory, Combinatorics, and Geometry

• Being able to apply concepts to tricky problems: AMC 10 problems are not straightforward like in school math, so the problems require creative thinking and that's something that can only be achieved with significant practice

• ​Solving the problems accurately: You need to simulate test conditions to learn how to avoid common mistakes like calculation errors, silly mistakes, misreading the questions, etc.

• Working quickly: You need to finish 25 problems in 75 minutes, and you need to learn good time management so you can attempt most of the questions without getting stuck.

AMC 12

What is the AMC 12 Contest

The AMC 12 is a math contest organized by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The AMC 12 contest contains 25 multiple choice questions that must be completed within 75 minutes. You get 1.5 points for every question that is left blank, so remember to not guess blindly.

​The top 5% (approximately) students on the AMC 12 are invited to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME).

Who can take the AMC 12

Students in grade 12 or below and under 19.5 years of age on the day of the contest can take the AMC 12. Note that even students in elementary/middle schools are eligible to take the contest.

Where can you take the AMC 12

Many high schools host the contest in their school. If your school doesn't offer the contest, you can try requesting your math teachers or principal to consider becoming a hosting site. You can also search for nearby locations hosting the contest using this zip code search.

​The Mathematical Association of America also requests its member institutions of higher learning to consider offering the AMC 12 to students whose schools will not be offering the contest. You can find a list of alternate locations in your area here.

​If you are in a school which does not host the contest, you can also reach out to math teachers in nearby high schools and check if any of them will allow outside students to take the contest.

How to score high on the AMC 12

So, how can you score well on the AMC 12? Here are four key things to focus on:

• Understanding all the content: The problems go beyond the school curriculum, so if you're new to competition math you will need to learn a variety of concepts from Algebra, Number Theory, Combinatorics, and Geometry. Note: The AMC 12 contests include a few extra topics compared to the AMC 10, so you must specifically prepare for these topics:

1. Trigonometry
2. Logarithms
3. Complex Numbers

• Being able to apply concepts to tricky problems: AMC 12 problems are not straightforward like in school math, so the problems require creative thinking and that's something that can only be achieved with significant practice

• Solving the problems accurately: You need to simulate test conditions to learn how to avoid common mistakes like calculation errors, silly mistakes, misreading the questions, etc.

• Working quickly: You need to finish 25 problems in 75 minutes, and you need to learn good time management so you can attempt most of the questions without getting stuck.

AIME

What is the AIME Contest

The AIME (American Invitational Math Examination) is a math contest organized by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The AIME contest contains 15 questions that must be completed within 3 hours. Each answer is a 3 digit integer from 000 - 999. There is no penalty for guessing but there is only a 1 in 1000 chance of guessing something correctly.

Who can take the AIME

To take the AIME, you must qualify based on your score on AMC 10 or AMC 12 contest. The top 10 - 15% on the AMC 12 and the top 5 - 10% on the AMC 10 are invited to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME).

​You can also qualify for AIME from USAMTS (USA Mathematical Talent Search), which is a proof based competition with 3 rounds over 3 months. However, this is much harder than making it through the AMC 10/12. Even if you qualify for AIME through USAMTS, it will be much harder to qualify for USA(J)MO as the index for USAMTS is "100 times the USAMTS score divided by 75" so your maximum index will be 100 (compared to AMC max score of 150), and you would need to score very high on AIME to have any chance at USA(J)MO qualification.

Where can you take the AIME

The AIME must be taken at the same center where you took the AMC 10/12, which helped you qualify for the AIME.

​

MATHCOUNTS

What is MATHCOUNTS

MATHCOUNTS is a middle school math competition, organized by the MATHCOUNTS foundation. The competition has 4 levels:

• School
• Chapter
• State
• National

MATHCOUNTS also includes a fun math video challenge.

When is MATHCOUNTS

The competition dates for 2024-2025 are:

• School competitions: November 2024 – January 2025, as determined by the school’s coach. A copy of the 2024 School Competition will be released online Nov. 6, 2024.

• Chapter competitions: February 1-29, 2025. To find the specific competition date for your area and your chapter coordinator's contact information, use the Chapter and State Competition Search tool.

• State competitions: March 1 – March 31, 2025. To find the specific competition date for your state and your state coordinator's contact information, use the Chapter and State Competition Search tool.

• 2025 RTX MATHCOUNTS National Competition: May 11 - 12 in Washington, DC.

​MATHCOUNTS Critical Dates

Who can take MATHCOUNTS

This competition is only for middle schoolers (unlike AMC 8 where elementary schoolers can also participate). There are 500 chapters in the US, and each middle school is assigned to a specific chapter.

Your school needs to register for this contest. You cannot register for this contest individually unless you are home-schooled. If your school doesn’t currently participate in MATHCOUNTS, you can request your math teachers or administrators to register for this prestigious competition.

Each school can register a maximum of 1 team of 4 students and 8 individuals (12 students total) to the Chapter competition. Most schools use the School level test to determine their top 12 students. Some schools use a series of tests throughout the year for that selection.

Competition Rounds

The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series comprises four distinct rounds, each designed to assess various mathematical skills.

The Sprint Round is an individual event featuring 30 short-answer questions to be completed in 40 minutes. Calculators are not permitted in this round. The objective is to evaluate speed and accuracy in solving problems.

The Target Round is also an individual event, consisting of four sets of two questions each, totaling eight questions. Each set must be completed in 6 minutes. Calculators are allowed in this round. The aim is to assess problem-solving abilities and mathematical reasoning.

The Team Round involves a team of four students working together to solve 10 questions within 20 minutes. Calculators are permitted in this round as well. This round evaluates teamwork and collaborative problem-solving skills.

The Countdown Round is an oral event where students compete head-to-head using a buzzer system. Each problem must be solved within 45 seconds without the use of a calculator. This round tests speed and accuracy under pressure. While the Countdown Round is an unofficial fun round at the Chapter and State competitions, it is used to determine the MATHCOUNTS winner at the National competition. To get a better idea, check out the YouTube videos of past-year National MATHCOUNTS Countdown rounds.

CLICK HERE to view past-year samples of school, chapter, and state level MATHCOUNTS competitions.

How to score high on MATHCOUNTS

How can you score well on the MATHCOUNTS exam? Here are four key things to focus on:

• Understanding all the content: These contests go beyond the school curriculum so there's going to be a lot of new mathematical concepts to learn that are not typically covered in a school curriculum.

• Practice problems to Improve Problem Solving Intuition: MATHCOUNTS and other math contests are designed to challenge the students and require creative thinking, that's something that you can only develop with lots of practice.

• Increase Speed and Accuracy: The Sprint round requires solving 30 short answer problems in just 40 minutes, and most students have trouble finishing those questions. So it is critical to improve your problem solving speed to do well on the contest. There are many resources below which will help you in improving your speed and accuracy.

MOEMS

What is the MOEMS Contest

Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS) is a math competition for elementary and middle schools. This competition consists of 5 tests - one each in the month of November, December, January, February, and March. Each test consists of 5 problems with a time limit of 25 minutes. More information about this contest can be found at MOEMS website.

Who can take the MOEMS contest

More than 120,000 students from every US state and 39 additional countries participate every year. The are two divisions:

• Division E: Grades 4-6 recommended, but the contest is open for anyone in 6th grade or lower.

• Division M: The middle school contest is open for Grades 6-8.

Anyone can register a team (up to 35 students in 1 team) for the contest including teachers and parents.

The fees for registering a team starts at $175 for early bird (by July) and goes up to $300 for last chance registration (November).

National Science Bowl

What is the National Science Bowl (NSB)

The National Science Bowl (NSB) is a nationwide academic competition that tests students’ knowledge in all areas of science and mathematics. NSB is a buzzer based science competition on questions ranging from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Energy, and Mathematics. This competition is sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Middle and high school student teams from diverse backgrounds are comprised of four students, one alternate, and a teacher who serves as an advisor and coach. These teams face-off in a fast-paced question-and-answer format. There are 65 high school and 50 middle school regional Science Bowl tournaments, and the winner from each region is invited to attend the National Science Bowl competition in Washington DC.

You can find more details about the 2022 National competition in this video:

Competing at the Most Prestigious Science Competition in the US

You can also find the 2024 Middle School National Science Bowl video here. You can find the 2024 High School National Science Bowl video here.

Who can participate in National Science Bowl

The NSB has two divisions:

• Middle School: The middle school division has 45 regions, where each school can send 1-2 teams comprised of students in grades 6, 7, 8.

• High School: The high school division has 60 regions where each school can send 1/2 teams to comprised of students in grades 9-12.

When is the NSB typically held

The competition dates typically are:

• Regional Competitions: February - early March (different regions host it on different weekends)

• National Competition: April (Washington DC)

​You can find more information about the previous contests here:

2023 NSB Finals

2024 NSB Finals

How to do well on the NSB

• Understanding all the content: The concepts asked in NSB go beyond the school curriculum so you need to go deeper into the different subjects. The High School Nationals is significantly harder and requires using many topic specific textbooks (for example Organic Chemistry or Cell Biology). Olympiad Preparation (USABO, USNCO, USAPHO, USAAO, USESO) helps a lot as well. Many accompanying resources (like Chapter Notes, Videos) can be useful for learning and review as well.

• Being able to answer fast: The NSB is a buzzer based competition so you need to practice fast buzzing speeds especially for the toss-up rounds. Some fast buzzing tips are provided at the bottom of this page.

• ​Subject and Topic coverage: This is a team event where 4 members competing (with 1 alternate). It is best to divide the topics such that every topic is covered across the team.

• ​Practice Team Strategies: To maximize your chances, you need to work on team strategies like taking notes, non-verbal clues, and double checking answers.

F=ma

What is the F=ma Contest

The F=ma is a physics contest organized by the Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). The F=ma exam consists of 25 multiple-choice questions related to classical mechanics, and tests skills on how to apply fundamental principles to real-world scenarios. There is no negative marking, so remember to put an answer for every question.

​The top 400 students approximately on the F=ma are invited to take the USA Physics Olympiad (USAPhO). The cut-off is usually between 14-18 for the USAPhO.

​There are two exams "F=ma A" and "F=ma B". Students may take both F=ma A & B exams, but they must meet or exceed the cutoff score for both exams to move on to the USAPhO exam. There is no benefit for students to take both exams.

​The exams are typically held in February. The problems can be solved without the use of calculus, although knowing basic calculus can help you find quicker solution for some problems.

Who can take the F=ma

Students taking the F=ma exam must be either U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders), or currently attending a U.S. school.

Where can you take the F=ma

Both the F=ma and USAPhO exams must be proctored. Parents or relatives of students are not acceptable proctors. It is expected that competitors will take the exam at their local school, though they may take the exam elsewhere if needed. Homeschooled students should contact nearby high schools, community colleges, or universities to ask if they can take the exam there. Parents or relatives of homeschooled students are not acceptable proctors.

How to score high on the F=ma

So, how can you score well on the F=ma? Here are four key things to focus on:

• Understanding all the content: The exams asks questions only on mechanics, so you need to understand all the topics in mechanics and learn how to apply them to complex scenarios.

• ​Solving the problems accurately: You need to simulate test conditions to learn how to avoid common mistakes like calculation errors, silly mistakes, misreading the questions, etc.

• Working quickly: You need to finish 25 problems in 75 minutes, and you need to learn good time management so you can attempt most of the questions without getting stuck.

Free Book: Mastering AMC 8

The Mastering AMC 8 book covers the most important concepts on the AMC 8 exam with video lectures for every topic and hundreds of practice problems with video solutions. This includes problems from AMC 8, MATHCOUNTS, BmMT, EMCC, and many original problems.

This book covers the following topics:

• Combinatorics
• Algebra
• Number Theory
• Geometry

Award: The National Museum of Mathematics organizes the Strogatz Prize for Math Communications which awarded an honorable mention to the Mastering AMC 8 book.

Free Book: Mastering AMC 10/12

The Mastering AMC 10/12 book covers the most important concepts on the AMC 10/12 exam with video lectures for every topic and hundreds of practice problems with video solutions.

This book covers the following topics:

• Combinatorics
• Algebra
• Number Theory
• Geometry
• Logarithms
• Trigonometry
• Complex Numbers

Note: This book is a work in progress and new chapters and problems will be added regularly, so bookmark OmegaLearn.org and check often to get the latest version of the book.

Free Book: The Mathematical Book of Formulas and Strategies

This book covers the most popular mathematical formulas and strategies. This book is a 140+ page collection of the most important theorems, formulas, and strategies for math competitions. This book should serve as a reference guide for quick review before any math competition, and should be useful for competitions like the AMC 8, AMC 10/12, MATHCOUNTS, and AIME.

This book covers the following topics:

• Algebra
• Number Theory
• Combinatorics
• Geometry
• Trigonometry
• Logarithms
• Complex Numbers