Oregon ARML

 

The American Regions Mathematics League is an annual mathematics competition that takes place at four location in the United States simultaneously in early June. ARML is a math competition that can best be described as "Mathcounts on steroids." (Manny Norse) Each team is composed of fifteen members who compete in the four following rounds of competition (from Wikipedia):

 

• A team round, where the entire team has 20 minutes to solve 10 problems. Each problem is worth 5 points, for a possible total of 50 points

 

• A power question, where the entire team has one hour to solve a multiple-part (usually ten) question requiring explanations and proofs. This is usually an unusual, unique, or invented topic so students are forced to deal with complex new mathematical ideas. Each problem is weighted for a possible 50 points.

 

• An individual round, where each team member answers five groups of two questions each, with ten minutes per pair. Starting in 2009, the individual round expanded from eight questions to ten. Each problem is worth 1 point, for a grand total of 150 points possible for the team. Only 12 students nationwide received a perfect score in 2014.

 

• A relay, where the team is broken into five groups of three. Within each group, the first team member solves a problem and passes the solution to the next team member, who plugs that answer into their question, and so on. The allotted time is six minutes, but extra points are given for solving the problem in three minutes. Solving the relay in 3 minutes gives 5 points, solving it in 6 minutes gives 3 points. The whole process is done twice, making the maximum 50 points possible for the team.