Art of problem solving

Test Preparation
1

<p>have any of you guys usedthis book? specifically level 1?</p>

<p>I think it’s awesome. i’m learning so much. </p>

<p>I’m taking 2c this jan. do you think this book will help? </p>

<p>i think the probability section will definitely help as that’s my weakness. barrons never helped me. they just threw a bunch of equations at me. </p>

<li>aiming for 800.</li>
</ol>

2

<p>I just got it, I'm using it to prepare for AMC and USAMO.</p>

<p>My friend said it sucks, but he's good at math.</p>

<p>I'm not sure how much it would help on 2C, since it teaches different approaches to problems, it might. I'd consider getting some old textbooks and reviewing weak concepts.</p>

3

<p>I really like the aops books. I think that improved problem solving skills would help you with all aspects of math, including 2c. But if you don't have much time before the exam, review books meant specifically for 2c might be more efficient.</p>

4

<p>Ya, AOPS books are prep for long-term, serious math, maybe even real math tests like aime--way beyond SAT1/2. For college entrance standardized exams, a normal PR book will do.</p>

5

<p>also: are there math competitions in college?</p>

6

<p>tiger - the only one I know of is Putnam. A good place to ask if you don't get an answer here is <a href="http://www.artofproblemsolving.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.artofproblemsolving.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

7

<p>I was in a similar dilemma when I registered for the Math IIC. Ultimatley, I just used Sparknotes and forgot about AOPS and 800'ed the exam. AoPS is really more for competition-type math; not necessarily textbook-level math.</p>

8

<p>I just bought both volumes. How useful are these books for advancing to the AIME? I'm taking the AMC 10 FEb 2005. What's the score I need to recieve usually to place in top 1%?</p>

9

<br>


<br>

<p>Extremely helpful! There really is no alternative that is as specifically helpful for contests. Last year the AIME qualifying scores from the two AMC-10 dates were 110 and 120.</p>

10

<p>anyone want to buy brand new copies of art of problem solving vol. 1 and 2 with solution at prices under the regular price?
i bought them at $68 but never opened them... too lazy to study
email me at <a href="mailto:erichuang955043@hotmail.com">erichuang955043@hotmail.com</a></p>

11

<p>I'm really skeptical about the AoPS books. Would it really help a person about to do calculus next year, and got a 104.5 on AMC 12A and 2 on AIME I? The stuff on the table of contents makes me think that these books are just a review of algebra and geometry. Is this true?</p>

12

<p>hmm how much would it help a guy who got 120? I doubt it would help much.</p>

13

<p>The second volume would still help anyone with a 120.</p>

<p>And cooljoe, using the AoPS you could probably get 140+ next year and probably a decent AIME score.</p>

14

<p>I used those books in 7/8th grade!!!! Those books were really helpful for preparing me for MathCounts and the AMC contests.</p>

15

<p>Uses:
1. Getting 800 on SATI (go through all of vol. 1), and I'm sure 800 on SATIIC if you go through relevant chapters of vol. 2
2. Preparing for AMC/AIME
3. Good foundation for other subjects such as calc, do some problems that require a lot of thought</p>

<p>If you read and understand the text, you will suceed. However, if you plan on reading a section over and over and assure yourself that you will get the idea being introduced eventually, you better stop and ask someone for help. </p>

<p>For IIC, if you have a strong algebra 2 and geometry understanding, you can prepare by reading relevant sections in the first 5 chapters of volume 2.</p>

16

<p>sr6622,</p>

<p>Do you think if I read both volumes this summer for about 1-2 hours each day I could possibly qualify for USAMO or get pretty close?</p>

17

<p>The AoPS books are intended as preparation for problem solving, which is mainly tested on things like AMC, AIME, USAMO, ARML, etc. This is the first I've heard of anyone using them to prepare for SATII math.</p>

<p>I just noticed that the question about math contests in college is old, but I'll put in my two cents there anyway. The main one you can compete in is the Putnam, but a few schools (Harvard, MIT, Duke, Stanford, Rice, and maybe others) also run contests for high school kids that you can help with (including writing problems).</p>

18

<p>Cooljoe: Definitely.</p>

<p>I know of people who started using the books just one to two months before the AMC and they did very well.</p>

<p>Even a small amount of practice with those books will make you a better problem solver.</p>

19

<p>AoPS--> Godly for AMC/AIME</p>

<p>ON the other hand...</p>

<p>Useless for SATI/II's (standardized tests in general)</p>

20

<p>Oh, and another thing. Make sure you don't just read the books. Do the problems in the books as you read. In addition, go out and find practice problems (the AoPS website is a great place to start) and do those. Read the solutions, too. And if you can make it to AoPS math jams, those are even better. Solutions will show you how to solve the problem, but math jams really show you how to approach it and think about it so that you arrive at the solution.</p>