Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2013 - (Page 18)

A of Our Own CONTESTS FOR MATH LOVERS by Ashwin Sah W hen I was in elementary school, my math experience consisted of repetitive and tedious problem sheets. In fifth grade, I read a basic algebra book my older brother had used and was fascinated by the types of problems it covered. Soon I was reading my brother's more advanced materials, including problem-solving books. Then, in September of sixth grade, I learned that my school's MATHCOUNTS club was seeking interested students. MATHCOUNTS is a series of competitions, from the school level through the national level, intended to engage and challenge middle school students in mathematics. When I arrived at the MATHCOUNTS classroom after school the first day, a parent volunteer handed out a pre-test containing 30 problems. While they seemed interesting-they required creative thinking rather than simply applying formulas-they were also challenging: I solved less than half of them in the allotted time. But because I scored among the top 20 students, I was selected to participate in the club. At weekly meetings, we completed problem sets, practice tests, and were even given homework. The problems grew more difficult, and also more interesting. We took another test to determine the 10 individuals who would represent our school at the chapter competition, including the four who would make up our team. I was thrilled to be among the four. The Wide World of Competition Math Searching for math resources on the Internet, I found the Art of Problem Solving (AoPS). On AoPS forums, like-minded students from around the world post math problems and discuss solutions. Having access to this resource and interacting with other kids who were into math really helped me get into competition math. In addition to MATHCOUNTS, I began participating in the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC). I liked them because they required problem-solving skills. I performed well on the AMC 8. Advanced middle school math students can also participate in high-school level AMC competitions, and-based on superior performance on these exams-may participate in the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) and the

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2013

In My Own Words
Interested in Econ
The World in Numbers
Reckoning with Randomness
Elliptic Curves
A League of Our Own
More Than Math
Developing Your Numbersense
Where Math Meets Imagination
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Dancing in the Footsteps of My Ancestors
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Game

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2013