Math Club prepares for February AMC

With the American Math Competition (AMC) coming up in February, the Math Club has begun preparing for the contest.  By attending club meetings every Friday, members are able to get into the appropriate mindset for the competition.

Last year, the top scorers for the AMC 10 were sophomores Celine Liang, Nathan Ney and Sean Shi. On the AMC 12, seniors Edgar Chen, Jeffrey Chen and Matthew Lee received high scores. A total of 22 students qualified for the 2013 American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME), a test given to students who ranked high enough on the AMC.

With the AMC in mind, club members have been taking practice tests every Friday. According to sophomore Kristine Zhang, members usually take “a few” tests per week to exercise their skills.

Lee said that when taking these practice tests, teamwork within the club is key.

“We have people who are good at the test help the other people do problems,” Lee said, “and explain how to do things or different topics.”

Some dedicated club members spend up to 10 hours per week preparing for the competition. Lee emphasized the motivation students need to succeed. 

“It’s hard to practice something for a long period of time without any interest in it,” Lee said.

According to math teacher and club adviser P.J. Yim, somewhere around 85 students from Saratoga High will participate in the AMC this year. The questions on the test draw from a variety of topics, including algebra, geometry, number theory, probability and counting.

“It’s hard stuff; it’s beyond what you do in the curriculum,” Yim said. “We have students who take Geometry and Algebra 2 far exceed students who take Calculus. You wouldn’t expect that.”

Yim said that the skills students need to take the AMC are “half problem solving, half experience.”

“Like anything else, if it’s familiar to them, it’s easier,” Yim said. “Having that exposure, it’s kind of like playing chess. Chess is problem solving; at the same time, they did a study where the bigger library of the possible moves you have, the better you do.”

Lee said club members are not entirely sure what to anticipate in terms of results.

“I have no expectations,” Lee said.

Yim added that the AMC is often unpredictable because it encompasses a broad range of topics.

“The difficult questions are the ones you probably haven’t seen before,” Yim said. “You just can’t prepare for everything. The permutation of the number [of topics] you have is just astronomical.”

Although Math Club’s structure has not changed significantly from previous years, Lee said the club’s adaptability and skills have increased.

“I think we are more efficient and productive this year,” Lee said.

According to Zhang, the number of schools participating in the AMC increases each year, making it more difficult for Saratoga to secure a top spot.

“It gets harder every year; there is more competition,” Zhang said.

Zhang said that the AMC is always surrounded with an air of uncertainty, since she and other students are not always confident in their performances. Ultimately, there is only one thing they can do after taking the test.

“Hope for the best,” Zhang said.