View source for American Invitational Mathematics Examination

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) for qualification from taking the AMC 12 or United States of America Junior Mathematics Olympiad (USAJMO) for qualification from taking the AMC 10.

The AIME is administered by the [[Mathematical Association of America]] (MAA).  [[Art of Problem Solving]] (AoPS) is a proud sponsor of the AMC.

{{Contest Info|name=AIME|region=USA|type=Free Response|difficulty=3-6|breakdown=<u>Problem 1-5</u>: 3<br><u>Problem 6-10</u>: 4<br><u>Problem 11-12</u>: 5<br><u>Problem 13-15</u>: 6}}

== Format ==

The AIME is a 15 question, 3 hour exam<math>^1</math> 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 000 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 AMC 12 level, while the later questions become extremely difficult in comparison. Calculators are not permitted.

<math>^1</math> In the first two years (1983 and 1984) there was a 2.5 hour time limit instead of the current 3 hour limit.

== 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 ===
* The MAA's [https://maa.org/student-programs/amc/ official webpage] for the AMC and its [https://maa.org/maa-invitational-competitions/ Invitational Competitions] page
* The AoPS Wiki's [[AIME Problems and Solutions]] page
* The AoPS Contest's [https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c3416_aime_problems AIME Problems] folder
* [https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/AMC_historical_results Statistics] for the past AMC and AIME exams
* The AoPS [https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5_contests_amp_programs Contests & Programs Forum] for contest related discussions
* AoPS [[Mock AIME | User created mock AIMEs]], an abundance of mocks designed to mimic real AIME tests, compiled [https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c2439872_aime_mocks here] in AoPS Contests
* Past [https://www.hmmt.org/www/archive/problems HMMT], [https://jason-shi-f9dm.squarespace.com/archives#directory PUMaC], and [https://cmimc.math.cmu.edu/math/past-problems CMIMC] problems
* Evan Chen's [https://blog.evanchen.cc/2019/01/31/math-contest-platitudes-v3/ Math Contest Platitudes] blog, a guide to contest preparation, and [https://web.evanchen.cc/faq-contest.html Math Contest FAQs]
* [http://math.llmlab.io/ Math.llmlab.io], an online contest training platform
* BOGTRO's [https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h1061437p4596291 AIME Study guide]
* Dylan Yu's [https://yu-dylan.github.io/files/handouts/M2-aime.pdf AIME Study guide], accessed through his website [https://yu-dylan.github.io/handouts/ here]

=== Books & Classes ===
* [http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Store/viewitem.php?item=ps:aops1 The Art of Problem Solving Volume 1] by [[Sandor Lehoczky]] and [[Richard Rusczyk]]
* [http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Store/viewitem.php?item=ps:aops2 The Art of Problem Solving Volume 2] by [[Richard Rusczyk]] and [[Sandor Lehoczky]]
* [https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/book/intermediate-algebra Intermediate Algebra] by [[Richard Rusczyk]] and [[Mathew Crawford]]
* [https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/book/intermediate-counting Intermediate Counting & Probability] by [[David Patrick]]
* [https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/book/precalculus Precalculus] by [[Richard Rusczyk]]
* The AoPS [http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Classes/AoPS_C_About.php Online School], with AIME preparation classes and other classes on AIME topics
* The AoPS [https://artofproblemsolving.com/school/mathjams Math Jams], some of which are devoted to discussing problems of the AIME 

== See also ==
* [[American Mathematics Competitions]]
* [[AIME Problems and Solutions]]
* [[AMC historical results]]
* [[Resources for mathematics competitions]]
* [[How should I prepare?]]
* [[Mathematics Olympiads]]

[[Category:Mathematics competitions]]
[[Category:Intermediate mathematics competitions]]