April 19, 1999
Problem of the Month

The A.H.S.M.E.

The American High School Mathematics Examination has been given annually since March 1950.

It is sponsored jointly by the Mathematical Association of America, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Mu Alpha Theta, the American Mathematical Society, and other organizations.

The contest, which is administered to more than 300,000 students nationwide, consists of 30 multiple choice questions.

A student receives 5 points for each correct answer and 2 points for each unanswered question - to eliminate random guessing.

A students earns no points for an incorrect answer.

To be listed on the Student Honor Roll, one must attain a score of 100 or better.

Show all the ways in which a student could score 99 points.

Solution to the Problem:

There are 4 ways in which a student could score 99 points.

They are shown in the table below:

# Correct	# Unanswered	# Incorrect	Score
13	17	0	99
15	12	3	99
17	7	6	99
19	2	9	99

Correctly solved by:

1. Jia Ran	Rome, Italy
2. Liz Cotter	Centreville, VA
3. Jeremy Ramsey	Stephens City, VA
4. Rachel Rasmussen	Winchester, VA

Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher