Students (K-12) – Mathematical Association of America https://maa.org Advancing the understanding of mathematics and its impact on our world Fri, 04 Oct 2024 13:54:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://maa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/cropped-maa-favicon-white-32x32.png Students (K-12) – Mathematical Association of America https://maa.org 32 32 Sample Competition: 2023 AMC 8 https://maa.org/resource/sample-competition-2023-amc-8/ Wed, 04 Sep 2024 18:34:54 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=4627 Test out your creative problem-solving skills! Try your hand at these problems from the 2023 American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 8 competition. This mathematical competition is for students in grades 8 and below.

Interested in more? Purchase collections of past competitions from our store or participate in our next MAA AMC competition.

2023 AMC 8 Problems 2023 AMC 8 Solutions
]]> Sample Competition: 2022 AMC 10 A https://maa.org/resource/sample-competition-2022-amc-10-a/ Wed, 04 Sep 2024 18:34:32 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=4624 Test out your creative problem-solving skills! Try your hand at these problems from the 2022 American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 10 A competition. This mathematical competition is for students in grades 10 and below.

Interested in more? You can purchase collections of past competitions from our store or participate in our next MAA AMC competition.

2022 AMC 10 A Problems 2022 AMC 10 A Solutions

]]> Curriculum Inspirations: Walking the Track https://maa.org/resource/curriculum-inspirations-walking-the-track/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:46:53 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=2163 James Tanton takes viewers through this question from the 2011 MAA AMC 10 B Competition. Appropriate for the 10th grade level, this question covers the topic of the circumference of a circle formula in Geometry. 

Common Core State Standards (CCSS): A-SSE.2; 7.G.4

Read the Curriculum Burst essay that goes with this question here: Walking the Track

This video demonstrates Problem-Solving Strategy #2: Do Something.

Curriculum Inspirations is a multimedia experience for the middle-school and high-school communities. Math teachers can use these classroom supplements below for classroom warm-ups, extra credit, asynchronous brainstorming, and finals review.

Find more Curriculum Inspiration videos and other resources for the MAA AMC here.

]]> Problem-Solving Strategy #10: Go to Extremes https://maa.org/resource/problem-solving-strategy-10-go-to-extremes/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:42:46 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=2322 It is fun to be quirky and push ideas to the edge! Taking the parameters of a problem to an extreme can give insight to the workings of the situation described. And such insight can often illuminate a path for success.

Read more about this strategy here: Problem-Solving Strategy #10: Go to Extremes

Find other problem-solving strategies you can use on the MAA American Mathematics Competitions and other competitions here.

]]> Problem-Solving Strategy #9 Avoid Hard Work https://maa.org/resource/problem-solving-strategy-9-avoid-hard-work/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:41:10 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=2320 No one enjoys hard computation or a tedious grind through formulas and equations. Brute-force work should be undertaken only as a last resort! Do what a mathematician does - think very hard first to devise a creative, elegant approach that avoids hard work!

Read more about this strategy here: Problem-Solving Strategy Essay #9 Avoid Hard Work

Find other problem-solving strategies you can use on the MAA American Mathematics Competitions and other competitions here.

]]> Problem-Solving Strategy #1: Engage in Successful Flailing https://maa.org/resource/problem-solving-strategy-1-engage-in-successful-flailing/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:40:15 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=2223 One can often identify to which topic a challenge belongs – this question is about right triangles; this question is about repeating decimals – but still have no clue as to how to start on the challenge. What should you do? Engage in successful flailing!

Think about everything you know about right triangles or repeating decimals. Read the question out loud and then describe it again in different words. Draw a picture, perhaps even one relevant to the problem. Try an example with actual numbers. Mark something on the diagram. And so on.

Read more about this strategy here: Problem Solving Strategy Essay #1: Engage in Successful Flailing

Find other problem-solving strategies you can use on the MAA American Mathematics Competitions and other competitions here.

]]> Problem-Solving Strategy #8: Second-Guess the Author https://maa.org/resource/problem-solving-strategy-8-second-guess-the-author/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:39:10 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=2316 If a curriculum or textbook problem is staged, then use that to your advantage!

Read more about this strategy here: Problem-Solving Strategy Essay #8: Second-Guess the Author

Find other problem-solving strategies you can use on the MAA American Mathematics Competitions and other competitions here.

]]> Problem-Solving Strategy #7: Perseverance is Key https://maa.org/resource/problem-solving-strategy-7-perseverance-is-key/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:38:06 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=2311 What impression of the mathematical pursuit do we often give students? Answers are pre-known (they are at the back of the book or are in the teacher’s mind), all can be accomplished in a fixed amount of time (quizzes and exams are usually timed), and the goal is to follow a pre-set intellectual path (as dictated by a curriculum). Open research and problem-solving tasks, on the other hand, usually possess none of these features! Persistence and perseverance are key skills absolutely vital for any success in original intellectual endeavors.

Read more about this strategy here: Problem-Solving Strategy Essay #7: Perseverance is Key

Find other problem-solving strategies you can use on the MAA American Mathematics Competitions and other competitions here.

]]> Problem-Solving Strategy #6 Eliminate Incorrect Choices https://maa.org/resource/problem-solving-strategy-6-eliminate-incorrect-choices/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:36:12 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=2308 Eliminating what cannot be right helps determine that which must be correct!

Read more about this strategy here: Problem-Solving Strategy Essay #6: Eliminate Incorrect Choices

Find other problem-solving strategies you can use on the MAA American Mathematics Competitions and other competitions here.

]]> Problem-Solving Strategy #5: Solve a Smaller Version of the Same Problem https://maa.org/resource/problem-solving-strategy-5-solve-a-smaller-version-of-the-same-problem/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:34:53 +0000 https://maa.org/?post_type=resource&p=2307 A large, complex task can be made comprehensible by examining a smaller, analogous version. This powerful technique applies to mathematics research too.

Read more about this strategy here: Problem-Solving Strategy Essay #5: Solve a Smaller Version of the Same Problem

Find other problem-solving strategies you can use on the MAA American Mathematics Competitions and other competitions here.

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