Math count syllabus

[Anonymous]

Mathcounts is strictly for 6th-8th grade. 4th graders are not eligible.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:In order to prepare my DC for math count contest what does DC need to know, Algebra 1 or Algebra 2? I am planning to put DC in AOPS and trying to decide what course should I opt for?

AoPS has wonderful courses. Algebra and Geometry are somewhat useful for this but Mathcounts specifically is contest math. You may want to consider something like their AMC 8 class instead if this is what is important to your child.

Mathcounts specifically is contest math that is heavily based on Algebra 1 and Geometry. Both would be quite helpful. The Contest prep classes would be entirely useless if your child does not have a solid background in both Algebra I and Geometry, as they would then be learning concepts in isolation. If your child already has strong mastery of Algebra and Geometry, then they might be useful. AoPS also has Number Theory and Counting & Probability classes, both covering areas common in contest math and not generally covered well in regular school math. At the highest levels of Mathcounts competition, Algebra 2 is quite helpful as well, since many problems can be more easily solved by trig than they can with a geometric approach.

PP, with all due honesty, why are you posting in this thread and the other thread in the other forum? It's painfully obvious that you have no idea what you're talking about. Let me guess: your kid participated last year and qualified for State only because VA took the top half of the competitors, and now you think you're some kind of expert at all things Mathcounts. The big leagues are completely different.

My kid learned Algebra and Geometry basics by taking this class prior to having completed AoPS Algebra and Geometry. They also did those but not until 6th grade.

And was taking the AMC 8 class without fully learning Algebra or Geometry sufficient for your kid to be competitive in Mathcounts State or National level? Didn't think so.

They scored 18 on the AMC 8 a few months later so I guess so.

Again, great score, but you're grossly underestimating just how competitive VA is. In the latest AMC 8, VA had 4 perfect scores and another 25 kids on the DHR (scores >= 22). An 18 would not be competitive against this talent pool.

Oh not at all, I've gone through the scores for VA as well as my own state for several years. However, I'm not worried about it. When a kid who just turned 12 scores over 15 even that's a great score. Getting a perfect score is wonderful I guess, but I never believed my kid was competing with anyone but themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In order to prepare my DC for math count contest what does DC need to know, Algebra 1 or Algebra 2? I am planning to put DC in AOPS and trying to decide what course should I opt for?

AoPS has wonderful courses. Algebra and Geometry are somewhat useful for this but Mathcounts specifically is contest math. You may want to consider something like their AMC 8 class instead if this is what is important to your child.

Mathcounts specifically is contest math that is heavily based on Algebra 1 and Geometry. Both would be quite helpful. The Contest prep classes would be entirely useless if your child does not have a solid background in both Algebra I and Geometry, as they would then be learning concepts in isolation. If your child already has strong mastery of Algebra and Geometry, then they might be useful. AoPS also has Number Theory and Counting & Probability classes, both covering areas common in contest math and not generally covered well in regular school math. At the highest levels of Mathcounts competition, Algebra 2 is quite helpful as well, since many problems can be more easily solved by trig than they can with a geometric approach.

PP, with all due honesty, why are you posting in this thread and the other thread in the other forum? It's painfully obvious that you have no idea what you're talking about. Let me guess: your kid participated last year and qualified for State only because VA took the top half of the competitors, and now you think you're some kind of expert at all things Mathcounts. The big leagues are completely different.

My kid learned Algebra and Geometry basics by taking this class prior to having completed AoPS Algebra and Geometry. They also did those but not until 6th grade.

And was taking the AMC 8 class without fully learning Algebra or Geometry sufficient for your kid to be competitive in Mathcounts State or National level? Didn't think so.

They scored 18 on the AMC 8 a few months later so I guess so.

Again, great score, but you're grossly underestimating just how competitive VA is. In the latest AMC 8, VA had 4 perfect scores and another 25 kids on the DHR (scores >= 22). An 18 would not be competitive against this talent pool.

Oh not at all, I've gone through the scores for VA as well as my own state for several years. However, I'm not worried about it. When a kid who just turned 12 scores over 15 even that's a great score. Getting a perfect score is wonderful I guess, but I never believed my kid was competing with anyone but themselves.

PS This is a kid who does math 1-2 hours a week on their own because they enjoy math. They aren't made to do this or study an hour a day. In fact, in DC's summer class most of the other kids were taking 3 classes for 9 hours per day. They were taking 1 only for 2 weeks. There's really no end to this and I don't feel compelled to push them into this insantiy.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:You can see on the MathCounts website which schools are registered for the competition series. Likely a small list right now.

Is there a list of schools that competed in recent years?

I don't think you could get last year's list, but if you posted your school, someone could probably identify if they competed.

I'm looking at the ones around Vienna and Mclean- Colvin run, westbriar, wolftrap, Springhill, vienna, westgate, freedom hill, churchill lemon road, haycock. Mathcounts participation would definitely sway my house purchase decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mathcounts is strictly for 6th-8th grade. 4th graders are not eligible.

He was eligible last year. He got the high score on a different AMC 8. Last year's was easier than recent years. The scores must have jumped quite a bit.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if that is locations or school names, but I see Churchill Road had a few students in the top 50 at state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if that is locations or school names, but I see Churchill Road had a few students in the top 50 at state.

PP - I saw that too - but Churchill is the most expensive nieghborhood on my list!

[Anonymous]

This kid was not in Virginia in 5th grade, and I don't see his name in the AMC 8 list for 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

You could email that coach to find out which schools participate, or check the websites.
You could also start a program at your school.
At the MathCounts website, they have 4 names and contact info listed for Fairfax Chapter coordinator.

[Anonymous]

Algebra in 8th grade is good enough to get into USAMO.
However, USAMO does not require calculus, so a 12th grader who has practiced lots of problems and picked up counting and probability and number theory could qualify for USAMO.
Arithmetic mean-geometric mean-root mean square can get you more points than calculus on AIME.


It is unlikely for an algebra 8th grader, because nowadays those are very unlikely to be math people, as seen by the TJ performance in Math 4.

[Anonymous]

Than again AIME #4 this year looks like calculus would help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Than again AIME #4 this year looks like calculus would help.

AMC 10/12 as well as AIME often have problems that don't strictly require calculus, but are much easier to solve if you know calculus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It is unlikely for an algebra 8th grader, because nowadays those are very unlikely to be math people, as seen by the TJ performance in Math 4.

What TJ performance in math 4? I'm ignorant here.

[Anonymous]

It was posted here, then got deleted. The teachers sent a note to students about how badly they were performing, not showing up for tutoring, and it was an easier class than years prior. Algebra 2 8th graders took Math 4 then Math 5 the next semester, or something more advanced. The poor performance were for the kids taking Math 4 the second semester, algebra 1 in 8th grade. The number of students in this group from single digits in prior years to triple digits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathcounts is strictly for 6th-8th grade. 4th graders are not eligible.

He was eligible last year. He got the high score on a different AMC 8. Last year's was easier than recent years. The scores must have jumped quite a bit.

I wouldn’t get too wrapped up with AMC 8 scores. It’s multiple choice, and some kids are good guessers. Mathcounts is not multiple choice, and it’s nearly impossible to earn points from guessing.