| Week 1 (9/1) |
course planning, no meeting |
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| Week 2 (9/8) |
Shi |
Pigeon hole principle |
Pigeonhole principle handout | Problem
set 1 |
Berkeley's
handout |
MIT problems on
pigeonhole principle |
| Week 3 (9/15) |
Shi |
Geometry, Congruence |
Congruence handout | Problem
set 2 |
handout from Berkeley | |
| Week 4 (9/22) |
Yu |
Recurrece Relation | Ramsay
Theory handout |
Problem
set 3 |
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| Week 5 (9/29) |
Yu |
Generating functions | generating function handout | |||
| Week 6 (10/6) |
Yu |
Graph theory | ||||
| Week 7 (10/13) |
Fall
break, no meeting |
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| Week 8 (10/19) |
Hasler |
Sequences, Series | |
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| 10/24 (Sat) |
Va. Tech Contest |
9-11:30am |
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| Week 9 (10/26) |
Hasler |
Inequalities | ||||
| Week 10 (11/2) |
Hasler |
Mathematical induction | |
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| Week 11 (11/9) |
Dey |
Counting, combinatorics |
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| Week 12 (11/16) |
Dey |
Probability | ||||
| Week 13 (11/23) |
Thanksgiving,
no meeting |
Putnam Mock Exam |
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| Week 14 (11/30) |
Shi |
Putnam Mock Exam discussion | ||||
| 12/5 (Sat) |
Putnam Exam |
10am-1pm, 3-6pm (lunch will be
served by math dept) |
What is the Putnam Competition?
The Putnam Exam is a nationwide competetive exam given yearly to full-time undergraduates (all majors are welcome) in the United States and Canada. It is voluntary, and problems are presented with clever and ingenious solutions.
What is the format of this test?
The Putnam Exam consists of two parts, each containing six problems. Contestants are given 3 hours to work on each part. The first session runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1pm, and the second from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.on the same day. You are not allowed to bring notes, books, or calculators.
When is it?
The competition is held on the first Saturday of December every year; this year, it is December 6, 2008.
What topics are covered on the Putnam Competition?
Geometry, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, linear algebra, combinatorics (counting), probability, number theory, complex numbers, differential equations, to name a few. Often, you will have to figure out what topic to use to answer a certain problem. The committee claims that every section contains two problems which only require algebra and cleverness, so you shouldn't be intimidated by this list.
How does the scoring work?
Each problem is worth 10 points, so you can potentially get 120 points. Partial credit is given, but typically this means 0, 1, 9, or 10 points for a problem. The median is usually 0 or 1 points. (That is, at least half of the students taking the test don't get any problems right.)
Created by Junping Shi, September 18th, 2004, Updated Fall 2009.