FAQ –

Frequently Asked Questions about registering for the AMC 10 A, AMC 10 B, AMC 12 A and AMC 12 B.

Q: Can a school register for both dates?

A. Yes, but the school will have to pay the appropriate registration fee for each contest date, purchase the contest bundles for each date, and pay the corresponding postage for each date. The problems on the AMC 10 A and AMC 12 A on February 11, are different from the problems on the AMC 10 B and AMC 12 B on February 26, respectively

Q: What would stop a school from registering for both contests?

A: Nothing, except the cost in registration fees and the time to administer the contest on two separate days.

Q: Will there still be the "window dates" after the official contest date?

A: No, the only two official dates for eligibility for national and regional awards will be the A contest date, February 11, 2003 and the B contest date February 26, 2003. However, a school may elect to administer the contest later than the official contest as an unofficial contest for intramural fun, and as a courtesy for the registration fee the AMC office will score the answer sheets and send the results and intramural awards tot he school. Students taking the contest later than the official date will not be eligible for national awards, regional awards, or invitation to the AIME. Under no circumstances can the contest be given earlier than the official contest date.

Q: Can a student take both contests?

A: Yes, as long as a student is eligible to take the appropriate contests, that is

  • A 10th grader or below can take the AMC 10 A on February 11, and the AMC 12 B on February 26, or
  • A 10th grader or below can take the AMC 10 A on February 11, and the AMC 10 B on February 26 or
  • A 10th grader or below can take the AMC 12 A on February 11, and the AMC 10 B on February 26 or
  • An 11th or 12th grader can take the AMC 12 A on February 11, and the AMC 12 B on February 26

However, in order to do this the school would have to register for both dates and order contest bundles to have the contests on hand.

Q: Are the A contests on February 11 different from the B contests on February 26?

A: Yes, the problems on the AMC 10 A and AMC 12 A on February 11, are different from the problems on the AMC 10 B and AMC 12 B on February 26, respectively. There are about a dozen problems in common between the AMC 10 A and the AMC 12 A, and about a dozen problems in common between the AMC 10 B and AMC 12 B. The A contests are as equivalent to the B contests as possible while still having different problem sets.

Q: What if a school registers for one date, then later wants to change the registration to the other date?

A: Although we discourage a change in date because of the extra handling and potential confusion, nevertheless, a change in date is permitted, as long time permits according to the registration schedule and as long as the corresponding increases in registration or postage are paid. Increases must be paid with charge card, both to expedite changes and to eliminate billing costs. If the registration decreases, we will not be able to offer refunds, since the AMC policy is not deal with refunds of less than $10, and the only decrease in registration or postage could occur in the postage costs, which are $5 more for the B contest shipping.

Q: What do I do in the event of school closure on the day we have registered to take the Contest A?

A: In the event school is closed due to weather or any other insurmountable situation you will be given the option to register your school for Contest B ($30 registration fee plus bundle, and postage/handling charge), or you may elect to give Contest A on a later date as an unofficial administration. Please note that unofficial participation means students will not be eligible for national awards, nor will their scores qualify them for AIME. All schools taking Contest A unofficially will still receive a school report, and all intramural awards.

Q: Isn’t it unfair to allow schools and students to take the contests twice within two weeks time?

A: Not really. The contest problems for the last 53 years of high school contests are available in books, and in copies of old contests. The problems are basically the same from contest to contest, so there is plenty of common material to study. The addition of another 25 contest problems with two more weeks to study is not a significant advantage for any student. Furthermore, it is the philosophy and purpose of the AMC to encourage students to engage in significant mathematical problem solving. If we can do this by offering more contests, then we are better meeting our goal.

Q: What if a student is sick or absent or at another school activity on the date of the A contest, February 11? Can the student take the B contest on February 26?

A: Yes, if the school has registered for the B contest date and has contest bundles available for the contest, a student can take the second contest.

Q: Why are you charging registration fees for and postage for both contest dates?

A: Because we have to create, print, handle, store, ship, grade, summarize and send intramural awards for an entirely distinct and new set of problems for both contests, our production costs are proportionately increased. In addition, in order to avoid confusion and errors in administering the two contests , we send the B contests by expedited shipping to arrive after the A contest has been given. The expedited shipping costs significantly more.

Q: What is the rewards structure for the two contest dates?

A: A School Winner Pin is given to the student in a school with the highest score on a given test date. Thus, it is conceivable that a student could win two School Winner Pins, if the school elects to administer both the A and B contests. It is also conceivable that a school could have two different School Winners if it elects to give both the A and B contests.

  • A Gold Medal is given to a student who achieves the highest score in his/her school for four consecutive years. The highest score could be on either the A contest or the B contest.
  • A Silver Medal is given to a student who achieves the highest score in his/her school for three consecutive years. The highest score could be on either the A contest or the B contest.
  • A Bronze Medal is given to a student who achieves the highest score in his/her school for two consecutive years. The highest score could be on either the A contest or the B contest. However, as a national award, a student can only win one Bronze Medal, even if the student was high score in 2001, and took both the A contest and the B contest in 2002 and was high score on both.
  • An Honor Roll of Distinction Pin is awarded to the top scoring one percent of the AMC 12 A and the AMC 10A and the top scoring one percent of the AMC 12 B and the AMC 10B.A Certificate of Distinction is awarded to all students who qualify for the AIME.
  • A Certificate of Achievement is awarded to the students in grade 10 or below with a score of 90 or above on the AMC 12 A or AMC 12 B.
  • A Certificate of Achievement is awarded to the students in grade 8 or below with a score of 90 or above on the AMC 10 A or AMC 10 B.
  • A Certificate of Honor is awarded to schools with a team score of at least 400 on the AMC 12 A or AMC 12 B. Thus it is conceivable that a school could receive two Certificates of Merit if it chooses to register for both the AMC 12 A and AMC 12 B contests.
  • A Certificate of Merit is awarded to schools with a team score of at least 300 on the AMC 12 A or AMC 12 B. Thus it is conceivable that a school could receive two Certificates of Merit, or a Certificate of Honor and a Certificate of Merit if it chooses to register for both the AMC 12 A and AMC 12 B contests.

For national and regional awards, only one award will be issued based on the higher score from the A and B contests. For intramural wards, it is possible to win an award for both the A and the B contest.

The top one percent of students on the AMC 10 A will be invited to take the AIME. The top one percent of students on the AMC 10 B will be invited to take the AIME. The top 5 percent of students on the AMC 12 A or students scoring better than 100 on the AMC 12 A will be invited to take the AIME. The top 5 percent of students on the AMC 12 B or students scoring better than 100 on the AMC 12 B will be invited to take the AIME. Thus, it is conceivable that a student could be invited twice to take the AIME, provided the school has registered for both the A and B contests in which case the higher score will be used for USAMO purposes.

Q: What mathematics is covered on the AMC 10?

One way to explain what is on the AMC 10 contest is to say what it excludes (that is still fair to put on the AMC 12). What are excluded are trigonometry, advanced algebra, and formal geometry.

Another way to explain what is on the AMC 10 is to say that it assumes elementary algebra; basic geometry knowledge including the Pythagorean theorem, area and volume formulas; elementary number theory, and elementary probability.

An item-by-item analysis of the content in the 25 questions on the 2001 AMC 10 Contest is as follows:

  1. Understanding of median and mean
  2. Understanding of number line, “reciprocal” and “inverse”
  3. Elementary algebra
  4. Intersection of circle and triangle
  5. Symmetry of irregular figures
  6. Base ten representation of a number
  7. Decimal notation and number representation
  8. Reasoning about integers from a word problem, understanding Least Common Multiple
  9. Word problem about percents
  10. Solving three equations in three unknowns, (can be done by educated guessing)
  11. Pattern recognition in figures and numbers
  12. Products, primes, and divisors
  13. Reasoning about integers
  14. Word problem about two variables
  15. Geometry reasoning, similar triangles
  16. Mean and median of set of integers
  17. Geometry of a cone
  18. Area of a square and proportions
  19. Combinations
  20. Definition of an Octagon, and Pythagorean Theorem
  21. Geometry of a cylinder and a cone
  22. Solving a system of equations, using reasoning
  23. Elementary probability
  24. Pythagorean theorem applied to a simple trapezoid
  25. Reasoning about integers

Last year on the 2002 AMC 10, the average score was 68.5 nationally, which according to our scoring scheme means that the average student correctly answered about 3 to 4 of the questions. The contest was challenging nationally but specific knowledge level required is elementary.

It is recommended that prior year copies of the AMC 10 contest and solutions be ordered to see precisely what the AMC 10 contest is like!

Q: How do I qualify for the USAMO?

The USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) is a two day, nine-hour, six-question,essay-proof examination. Only USA citizens or permanent residents (currently possessing a USA green card) will be invited to officially take the USAMO.

  • Selection for the USAMO will be made according to the follwing rules:
    1. The goal is to select about 250 of the top scorers from the prior AIME and AMC 12A, AMC 12B, AMC 10A and AMC 10B contests to participate in the USAMO.
    2. Selection will be based on the USAMO index which is defined as 10 times the student’s AIME score plus the student’s score on the AMC 12 or the AMC 10.
    3. The first selection will be the approximately 160 highest USAMO indices of students taking the AMC 12A or AMC 12B contest.
    4. The lowest AIME score among those 160 first selected will determine a floor value. The second selection of USAMO participants will be from the highest USAMO indices among students who took the AMC 10A or AMC 10B and the AIME, and got an AIME score at least as high as the floor value.
    5. The student with the highest USAMO index from each state, territory, or U.S. possession not already represented in the selection of the first and second groups will be invited to take the USAMO.
    6. To adjust for variations in contest difficulty, the number of students selected from A & B contests will be proportional to the number of students who took the (A & B) Contests.
    7. The selection process is designed to favor students who take the more mathematically comprehensive AMC 12A and AMC 12B contests.
  • In advising students who desire to be selected for the USAMO whether to take the AMC 12 level contests or the AMC 10 level contests, it will be to their advantage to take the AMC 12 level contests.

This AMC Web Page was last updated on 10/23/02