Have you heard of American Mathematics Competition 8 (AMC 8)?
Held by Mathematical Association of America, it is one of the most popular Math Competitions worldwide!
For all you Math Olympiad lovers, we’re delighted to share with you in-depth AMC 8 insights by none other than our AMC 8 Perfect Scorer, Think Academy’s Math Olympiad Teacher Crystal! Fun fact – Teacher Crystal also achieved Perfect Scores for AMC 10 AND AMC 12. Because of her stellar achievements, she was invited to the exclusive American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME).
Here’s what you’ll learn by the time you finish reading this article:
- The AMC 8 competition date, format and prizes/awards
- Types of Math knowledge and skills required
- Key benefits of taking part in AMC
- *Highly Recommended* Math Olympiad Teacher Crystal’s Insights into actual AMC 8 past year exam questions
- How to prepare for and achieve excellent AMC 8 results
Let’s begin!
The AMC 8 Competition Date and Format
- 25 Jan 2022
- Online Contest (due to Covid-19 situation)
- Participants’ Grades: Accelerated Grades 4-6 (Singapore Primary 4-6), Grades 7-8 (Singapore Secondary 1 – 2). In addition, participants need to be 14.5 years and below as of the date of the competition.
- 40 minutes
- 25 MCQs (5 choices per question), 1 mark for each correct answer, no deductions for incorrect or blank answers. Therefore, a Perfect Score is 25 points.
- Competition sign up link is here! Registration closes 7 Jan 2022.
Competition Awards:
- P1-P6: 15/25 – Achievement Honor Roll
- Top 5% worldwide – Honor Roll (Second Prize) (about 18 points)
- Top 1% worldwide – Distinguished Honor Roll (First Prize) (22 points)
The competition’s official rule is that it is open to students who are in Grade 8 or under and below 14.5 years old on the day of the competition. However, it’s more suitable if Lower Primary students in Singapore join only when they are older. Wait till they’re older to let them give the competition a go!
Types of Math Knowledge and Skills Required
Typical US Middle School Math curriculum topics and skills are covered. Some examples include:
- Proportional Reasoning
- Counting and Probability
- Estimation
- Spatial Visualisation
- Geometry such as Pythagoras Theorem
- Real-Word Context Math Applications
- Graph and Table Data Analysis
- and more!
The more challenging questions could include beginning Algebra related topics, Linear or Quadratic Functions and Equations, Coordinate Geometry etc.
Based on Teacher Crystal’s own AMC 8 competition experience plus in-depth analysis of past year AMC 8 questions, the distribution of questions’ difficulty are as follows:
- First 10 Questions: Easy Questions
- Next 10 Questions: Medium Difficulty Questions
- Last 5 Questions: Tough Questions that require Singapore Secondary School Math Knowledge and Skills!
Key Benefits of Participating in the Competition
Good question! Here are some of the key benefits for your child:
Benefit #1: A New Learning Opportunity
Since this is a competition that typically USA Middle Schoolers attend, preparing for AMC 8 creates an occasion and opportunity for your child to learn some Upper Primary or Lower Secondary level Math knowledge in advance. Additionally, it’s a way to assess your child’s current Math ability and sense. With time and consistent effort to prepare for the competition, you’ll be able to witness improvements from your child! Typically, children are typically more motivated to learn when they have an end goal to work towards. The AMC 8 is such an opportunity!
Benefit #2: Exam-Setting Practice
Taking the AMC 8 exam gives your child additional opportunities to practice their exam, time management and stress management skills before other Math Olympiad or key examinations (e.g. PSLE, GCE ‘O’ Levels). Just like practicing for Math, the more simulated or real examination and competition experience gained, the better your child will be at handling stressful situations – provided there’s guidance in these aspects as well and monitoring of your child’s emotional wellbeing, which Think Academy’s teachers are trained to do so and coach students in this aspect too!
Benefit #3: Opening Doors to New Opportunities
There’s still American Mathematics Competition 10 and 12 (AMC 10 and AMC 12) after AMC 8 – the high school Math version of the competition. High scoring AMC 10/12 competitors receive a by-invite only opportunity to join the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). Doing well in these competitions can strengthen your child’s USA University Degree and Master Programme applications. If you’re aiming to let your child participate in AMC 10/12 in future, AMC 8 is a good introduction to American Math competitions.
Math Olympiad Teacher Crystal’s Insights into Actual AMC 8 Exams
Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving skills are required to do well in the competition. Based on Math Olympiad Teacher Crystal’s analysis, here’s a breakdown of the type of questions from 2016’s competition:
The questions are of a medium difficulty level, rather manageable and did not require advanced Math knowledge.
Time allocation for the 3 type of questions
For effective time management, Think Academy Math Olympiad Teacher Crystal recommends that AMC 8 participants take:
- 45 secs for each SIMPLE question
- 1min 15 secs per MEDIUM question
- 3mins each for the 5 HARD questions
Let’s check out some of the actual 2018 and 2019 competition questions, with worked solutions provided by Math Olympiad Teacher Crystal!
2018 AMC 8 Question 15
Teacher Crystal’s Worked Solutions
2018 AMC 8 Question 19
Teacher Crystal’s Worked Solutions
2018 AMC 8 Question 20
Teacher Crystal’s Worked Solutions
Did your child find these questions hard? Or it was totally ‘no kick lah’?
How to prepare for and achieve excellent AMC 8 results
There’s TWO things you can do:
Solution #2: You could let your child join our $5 AMC 8 Live Online Mock Test on 17 Jan 2022 Sunday, 7pm – 8pm to gain extra timed, competition practice and assess your child’s readiness for the actual competition!
Teacher Crystal will share learning assessment and feedback based on your child’s scores.
Click here for more details and to sign up! Registration closes 16 Jan 20022 Saturday, 10pm.
That’s all we’ve got for now, but if you like, keep in touch with us and join our community here for our latest Math Olympiad, GEP and Math Heuristics updates!
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