<p>Arachnotron- the first 10 (of 25) problems on the AMC are a joke. The next say 5-6 are more challenging but still not very hard. After that, it gets pretty hard and a more nuanced and in-depth knowledge of math is required. I havent taken the actual AMC, but this is based on a practice test i took of last year's amc. I went through the first 15 problems in like 35 minutes (no calc allowed), but honestly some problems after that I just had no idea how to solve. AMC definitely requires a high-level of math ability than the SAT, but it ALSO requires a sizeable knowledge of math to score very highly (like way over 100). I had 780 sat math (careless mistake) and 800 math 2 without doing any studying.</p>
<p>How does the scoring work?</p>
<p>I had about 80 when I my math score on sat was 680 - 720 (previously), and I thought I was lucky to get that much on amc 12. I'ld like to take it again now, but I'm not in the U.S. It gets quite hard after question 10-15 probably.</p>
<p>I think it's 5 pts for right answer, 1 pt for blank, 0 pts for mistake</p>
<p>1.5 for blank, 6 for correct, and 0 for incorrect.</p>
<p>The AMC is nothing
but the AIME and USAMO... holy **** they are hard</p>
<p>i never get anything but 800 on sat II MAth or Sat I Math practices, but cant get more than 5 or 6/15 on the AIME.</p>
<p>SAT I math is basically knowing the material and making no careless mistakes.</p>
<p>AIME has really creative, smart applications of some complicated math processes. People who dont do a lot of math basically dont even qualify to take it.</p>
<p>Wouldnt say that the AMC is nothing...
while it is much easier to pass... its still very very hard to score a 150.. i only managed a 126/150 on amc 12a last year.. but a 10/15 on aime...
and USAMO is impossible.. 9 hours proof oriented..</p>
<p>I'm too lazy to check the guys name... but whoever started this thread had some ignorant things to say... SAT math cant be compared to AMC/AIME/USAMO...</p>
<p>wow wow wow I just did an AMC set and it was so much harder than any SAT math I've ever done. I had to bring everything to bear just to find openings on some problems!</p>
<p>I did get an incredible high though after solving a few of the trickier ones :P</p>
<p>:D yeah, I've been checking out the tests, too. They're reeeeally hard :)</p>
<p>SAT math is piece of cake. GRE math is too simple. AMC is simple too. Need take a look at AIME. AMC 8th questions are just like 5th grade maths from my country.</p>
<p>If I take the AMC 8/10/12 but win nothing, can I still write this down on my college application/resume?</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
AMC is simple too
[/QUOTE]
Really? I dare you to go score a 150 on the AMC.</p>
<p>Haha, ya, 150 on AMC is quite hard. Very few people ever get them.</p>
<p>I would probably say that qualifying for the AIME is harder than getting an 800 on the Math SAT. AIME is definitely harder than the Math SAT.</p>
<p>Here are some of the problems and solutions to last year's AMC 12B:
2008</a> AMC 12B Problems/Problem 1 - AoPSWiki</p>
<p>The problems get progressively harder. You can find AIME tests there as well.</p>
<p>Yeah, there's no doubt that AMC 10 & 12 are much harder than SAT math. AIME is just so far above AMC that it's not even worth comparing.</p>
<p>The SAT Math is a joke compared with AMC/AIME.</p>
<p>A perfect score on SAT math means you are a competent math student.
A perfect score on the AMC (10 or 12) means you are quite literally a genius.
A perfect score on the AIME means you are an unparalleled prodigy and probably among the best high school mathematicians in the entire world (only 1 or 2 people per year get 15/15 on AIME if I remember properly).
And as for USAMO... fill in the blanks. </p>
<p>The SAT simply cannot measure true mastery of mathematical knowledge... it can only really test a certain degree of familiarity. The problems (minus perhaps the last one or two, which occasionally ask for a little intuition) all fall easily into the same patterns. The fact that you can use a calculator makes the test even easier.</p>
<p>Juanmarco knows what 'e is talking about. That classification scheme adequately characterizes the huge difference between the SAT and the AMC series of contests. I know a number of people that have gotten 800s on the SAT math but have not even qualified for the AIME (which basically requires that you score 100/150 on the AMC 12). </p>
<p>Unrelatedly, I'm friends with one of the guys who got a 15/15 on the AIME last year. This guy is in a class beyond all those who are only capable of getting 800 on the SAT. To say that his achievement was comparable to my achievement of an 800 on the SAT math is foolish.</p>
<p>I'm a college grad so I haven't taken them recently, but I'll throw in my two cents.</p>
<p>SAT is a joke compared to AMC and AIME. There's a definite scale to all three tests though. Maybe the most difficult SAT question (not sure how the SAT works anymore, but let's say the 25th question on a section of 25 questions) would be comparable to the first AMC 12 question.</p>
<p>AMC12 questions progressively get harder. If you're a very good math student, the first 7-8 should be doable. They're not trivial questions though, they take some thought and don't underestimate the easiness for you personally. Many even well above average (low to mid 700 level SAT I math) students could not solve those questions. Then from about 8-15, the questions are progressively harder and they really require some nuanced mathematical thought. From 15-20, very very difficult questions that are extremely hard to solve and especially so within the time constraint. 21 and 22 get harder. By 23-25, you're looking at incredibly difficult questions.</p>
<p>As for AIME, there are 15 questions and the level of difficulty corresponds well with the AMC. Questions 1-3 are mid level AMC12 questions. From 4-6, you'll really really have to think, probably commensurate with question 20 on AMC12. 7-9 is around question 23 on AMC. Then questions 10-15 are insanely hard.</p>
<p>I didn't take USAMO, but I looked at the questions. I imagine some college professors at state schools (let's say University of Florida) couldn't solve them.</p>
<p>Getting a 6 on AIME or higher is a fantastic accomplishment. </p>
<p>Also keep in mind only the very best math students even get to take the AMC. Getting to AIME is awesome. I think the average score on AIME is a 2.5 or something.</p>
<p>@Anarch,</p>
<p>Is your friend at Princeton now? I might have met him over break =) Small world.</p>
<p>this conversation seems to have reached the correct conclusion-- sat math is a joke
compared to amc.</p>
<p>^ yet I still managed to get one wrong :(</p>
<p>So did I...</p>