Why Start Now with AMC Math? AMC 數學競試

The prestigious 8th Grade American Math Competitions (AMC) are targeted towards 13 to 14 year olds. Yet since 2020 summer, Lighthouse's 10-year-old campers have embarked on a mathematical journey to approach and solve AMC-8 problems! Why do we offer a class that is so advanced for the students' age level? What is so important about learning 8th-grade math?

在8年級學生(13-14歲)中享譽盛名的AMC美國數學競賽，一直備受美國中學認可。自2020年暑假開始，參加萊特豪斯營隊10歲的學生就開始著手解決AMC-8問題！為什麼我們提供這個課程給4-5年級的學生? 學習8年級數學有什麼重要意義？

​Host by MAA (Mathematical Association of America) since 1950, American Mathematics Competitions, AMC, are a series of examinations and curriculum materials that build problem-solving skills and mathematical knowledge in middle and high school students. Starting with approximately 200 schools to around 6,000 students in the New York area only, now, the competition has grown to over 300,000 students participating annually, in over 4,000 schools. AMC 8 targets at middle school level. Yet, since last summer, Lighthouse's students have embarked on a mathematical journey to approach and solve AMC 8 problems. 

Whereas many children think of math as a systematic, dry subject in which they must simply memorize formulas and input numbers, AMC questions require a genuine understanding of the way in which math works and a creative approach to solving problems. By testing their ability to apply math to real-life situations, AMC gives students a strong foundation in problem-solving and mathematical thinking. In our weekly AMC camp, our students work through tens of questions involving a wide range of topics. This immersion in pure math is one that not many of them will experience and they enjoy the challenge of understanding the power of unknown variables, the reasons behind each topic, such as why we calculate medians and solving simultaneous equations, and so on.

The AMC camp guide students to learn new mathematical concepts and leave equipped with essential middle-school and high-school math skills. But most importantly, our campers will leave with the knowledge that math is not a rigid, tedious subject, but an exciting and powerful language.

Throughout the whole summer, Lighthouse provides boot camp for AMC, as well as other well-known similar test host in Australia or UK. Here's an assessment test, based on 2019 real AMC test, feel free to download it and give yourself a test!

AMC (American Mathematics Competition)數學競試由美國數學協會 (Mathematical Association of America, MAA)主辦，是一系列的考試以及教材，目的在於培養中學生解決問題的技巧以及數學相關的知識。自1950年從紐約的200間學校、6000位學生開始，現今每年約有30萬學生、超過4000間學校參與AMC考試，同步測驗的國家還有加拿大、新加坡、香港、日本、法國等20多個國家，是全球可信度和有效性最高的數學競試。它為學校提供了申請入學者在數學方面的學習成就和評量，每年成功地讓許多測驗成績優良學生進入理想學校。

其中，AMC 8為提供8年級學生、13-14歲的測驗，而自去年暑假開始，參加我們營隊10歲的學生就開始著手解決AMC-8問題！

儘管許多孩子認為數學是系統的枯燥的學科，他們必死背公式然後輸入數字，但AMC的問題需要對數學的工作方式有真正的了解，並需要有創造性的解決方法。利用AMC可以測試孩子將數學應用於現實生活中的能力，並提供了解決問題和數學思維的堅實基礎。在每周營隊中，我們的學生將著手研究數十個問題，從幾何到統計學到代數等等廣泛主題。很少有學生能夠真正沉浸在純粹的數學，而萊特豪斯的學生就是這些少數族群! 除此之外，我們讓孩子不但挑戰自己理解未知變數及其能達成不同任務的能力、並且享受於這樣的學習新知的挑戰。除了學習新概念，也讓孩子了解這些數學主題的功用，例如為什麼要計算中位數並求解聯立方程的挑戰。

AMC訓練營指導這些8-12歲的孩子們學習新的數學概念、擁有基本的國中和高中數學技能。更重要的是，我們的營隊學生們知道數學不是一門刻板、乏味的科目，而是一門令人振奮且功能強大的語言。

萊特豪斯整個暑假都有提供數學競試營隊，除了美國的AMC之外，也包含了其他來自澳洲或是英國等國際聞名的數學競試。在此也提供一份由2019年AMC考試擷取的小評量，歡迎下載、試試看你的程度如何唷!