Contest Problem Book III: Annual High School Contest 1966-1972 : Of the Mathematical Association of America : Society of Actuaries : Mu Alpha Theta (New Mathematical Library) [Paperback]

Charles T. Salkind (Author), James M. Earl (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0883856255 | ISBN-13: 978-0883856253 | Publication Date: June 1973

The annual high school contests have been sponsored since 1950 by the Mathematical association of America and the Society of Actuaries, and more recently by Mu Alpha Theta (1965), the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1967) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (1971). Problems from the contests during the period 1950-1960 are published in Volume 5 of the New Mathematical Library, and those for 1961-1965 are published in Volume 17. The New Mathematical Library will continue to publish these contest problems from time-to-time; the present volume contains those from the period 1966-1972. The questions were compiled by Professor C.T. Salkind until his death, and since 1968 by Professor J.M. Earl, who died on November 25, 1972 after submitting problems for the 1973 contest. Professors Earl and Salkind also prepared the solutions for the contest problems. In preparing this and the earlier Contest Problem Books the editors of the NML have expanded these solutions and added alternative solutions.

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About the Author

C.T Salkind and James M. Earl

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Mathematical Assn of Amer (June 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883856255
• ISBN-13: 978-0883856253
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #353,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good source of challenging mathematics problems., January 5, 2007

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N. F. Taussig (Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Contest Problem Book III: Annual High School Contest 1966-1972 : Of the Mathematical Association of America : Society of Actuaries : Mu Alpha Theta (New Mathematical Library) (Paperback)

This text compiles the (American) Annual High School Mathematics Examinations (AHSME), now called the American Mathematics Competition (AMC), for the years 1966 - 1972. The book contains the questions, their answers and solutions, and a listing of the problems classified by topic. Each examination contains 35 multiple choice questions meant to be answered without the aid of a calculator. In 1966, a penalty was introduced for wrong answers in order to discourage random guessing.

Each examination contains four sections, which are progressively more challenging. The first three contain ten questions apiece, and the last section contains five questions. The editors state that the problems in the first two sections are meant to test for understanding of basic concepts, while the latter sections are meant to test for the ability to apply skills to new situations. The problems draw upon the high school curriculum, but a knowledge of modular arithmetic is helpful. In the subject index, the topics listed include algebra, arithmetic, geometry, and miscellaneous problems drawn from combinatorics, number theory, logic, probability, and set theory. The problems range in difficulty from routine problems to those that require considerable ingenuity to solve.

The format of the book allows you to solve the problems and check your answers before looking at the solutions. Reading the authors' solutions is instructive, as they provide elegant solutions to the problems and sometimes provide alternative solutions. Also, some of the solutions contain interesting comments about related problems.

Working through this text will help develop your problem solving skills. It could prove useful in preparing for the American Mathematics Competition. However, the format and some of the contents of the test have changed since these examinations were administered.

Update (23 March 2009): To prepare for the current format of the AMC, you should work through The Contest Problem: Book VIII (MAA Problem Book Series) in order to prepare for the AMC 10 or The Contest Problem Book IX (Maa Problem Books) (Bk. 9) to prepare for the AMC 12. Top scorers on those examinations qualify for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). Of the volumes in this series, only The Contest Problem Book V: American High School Mathematics Examinations (AHSME) / American Invitational Mathematics Examinations (AIME) 1983-1988 (Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library) contains problems from the AIME.