Are You Smarter Than an Eighth Grader?
Antonette gets 70% on a 10-problem test, 80% on a 20-problem test and 90% on a 30-problem test. If the three tests are combined into one 60-problem test, which percent is closest to her overall score?
(A) 40 (B) 77 (C) 80 (D) 83 (E) 87
This is one example of the types of math questions students in the eighth grade and below will try to tackle in the American Mathematical Competition Nov. 13 hosted by Los Angeles Valley College. The event is being touted as the "premier mathematical competition held throughout the world each year to gear students toward the International Math Olympiads.
Each year six high school students from each country all over the world meet in a host country to compete in mathematical problem solving requiring problem solving skills at an extreme level, but only using mathematical knowledge at a high school level, according to the press release.
This year, the competition was held in Hanoi, Vietnam and the USA team scored fifth behind Russia, China, Vietnam and South Korea. The eighth grade test is the first test for a student to take on the road to being a competitor for the U.S. team in a future year.
Contact Steven Davis at 714-334-8859 to reserve a seat and for more information on the tests. More information is also available at http://www.unl.edu/amc.
For the answer to the question and to see other sample questions go here:
And to see sample questions from previous years, go here and click on the years listed next to "Brochure Sample Questions."