UPPER BURRELL, Pa. -- Penn State New Kensington will be the host site Wednesday, Feb. 25, for the American Mathematics Competition in the campus' Forum Theatre.
Nearly 100 students from high schools in the western Pennsylvania region, including Apollo Ridge, Burrell, Kiski Area and Valley — will take the 25-question, 75-minute, multiple-choice examination in secondary school mathematics. The problems are solved with pre-calculus concepts.Campus faculty Ge Mu, instructor in mathematics, and Ji Xiang, assistant professor of mathematics at the campus, organized the event and will administer the test. Mu will deliver the opening address.
AMC 12 and AMC 10 are administered annually to more than 200,000 high school students to help identify the students with truly exceptional mathematics talent. The main purpose of the competitions is to spur interest in mathematics and to develop talent through solving challenging problems in a timed multiple-choice format. The AMC 10 is restricted to students in grades 10 and below, while the AMC 12 is open to all students through grade 12.
The AMC 12 is one in a series of examinations, followed in the United States by the American Invitational Examination and the USA Mathematical Olympiad, that culminate in participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad, the most prestigious and difficult secondary mathematics examination in the world. Students who are among the very best receive indication of how they stand relative to other students in the country and around the globe.
In addition to organizing national contests, Mu and Xiang are the co-directors of the Mathematics League, an annual academic competition among the eight local high schools. Sponsored by WEDIG (Westmoreland Economic and Development Initiative for Growth), and held on the New Kensington campus, the league puts the students' math skills to the test by giving them the opportunity to go head-to-head with each other.
Each school is allowed three teams of five students, competing against all the other teams in each round. Students answer two sets of eight questions within the 25-minute limit for each set. The questions in algebra, geometry and other areas of mathematics are developed by Mu and Xiang.
The leaderboard looks familiar after the first round as the Kiski School A team scored 40 points to open a 14-point advantage on Kiski School C. The battle for third place is the most competitive with Kiski School B at 22 points, followed by Freeport A, 21, and the A teams of Burrell and Kiski Area at 20. Yunzhe Li of Kiski School is the individual leader with 15 points. The Saltsburg college preparatory boarding school also produced the next two highest individual scores with Wei Zhang, 14, and Immanuel Joy, 12.
Scores carry over to the final round that is slated for April 16 in the campus' Forum Theatre. Team and individual champions will be crowned. Kiski School is the five-time defending champion.
Mu holds a master of arts in mathematics degree from Penn State, where she taught mathematics for two years before arriving at the New Kensington campus. A native of China, Mu has written two books, “Being an Undergraduate in the U.S.” that was published by Heilongjiang Education Press in 2006 and “Comprehensive College Algebra: Building Mathematics Insights through Logic and Exercises,” that was published by Cognella Academic Publishing in 2013. The first book was written when she was an undergraduate and was based on her experiences at Louisiana State University. She was recognized for her publication at LSU’s commencement ceremony in 2008.
Ji, in his second year at the campus, earned his doctorate in mathematics from Penn State after securing a master’s degree in mathematics from Beijing University in China. He was a graduate teaching assistant at the University Park campus for four years. Ji’s research interests are differential geometry and mathematical physics. He wrote a book, “Comprehensive College Algebra: Building Mathematical Insights Through Logic and Exercises.” Mu was the co-author.
For additional information, contact Mu at 724-334-6030 or gxm929@psu.edu