American Invitational Mathematics Examination

Revision as of 19:01, 13 August 2010 by Rrusczyk (talk | contribs) (AIME Preparation Classes)

The American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) is the second exam in the series of exams used to challenge bright students on the path toward choosing the team that represents the United States at the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO). While most AIME participants are high school students, some bright middle school students also qualify each year.

High scoring AIME students are invited to take the prestigious United States of America Mathematics Olympiad (USAMO).

The AIME is administered by the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC). Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) is a proud sponsor of the AMC!


Format

The AIME is a 15 question, 3 hour exam taken by high scorers on the AMC 10, AMC 12, and USAMTS competitions. Qualification through USAMTS only is rare, however. Each answer is an integer from 0 to 999, inclusive, making guessing almost futile. Wrong answers receive no credit, while correct answers receive one point of credit, making the maximum score 15. Problems generally increase in difficulty as the exam progresses - the first few questions are generally AMC12 level, while the later questions become extremely difficult in comparison. Calculators are not permitted.

Curriculum

The AIME tests mathematical problem solving with arithmetic, algebra, counting, geometry, number theory, and probability and other secondary school math topics. Problems usually require either very creative use of secondary school curriculum, or an understanding as to how different areas of math can be used together to investigate and solve a problem.


Resources

Links

Recommended reading

AMC Preparation Classes

  • AoPS hosts an online school teaching introductory and intermediate classes in topics covered by the AIME as well as AIME preparation classes.
  • AoPS holds many free Math Jams, some of which are devoted to discussing problems on the AIME. Math Jam Schedule

AIME Exams on the AoPSWiki

See AIME Problems and Solutions for a complete list of AIME tests in the AoPSWiki.

See also