Putnam Problem Solving (110.225)

Fall, 2003, Johns Hopkins University

• Instructor: Byungchul Cha
• Office: Krieger 311
• E-mail: chabc [at] math [dot] jhu (dot) edu
• Office hours: 4-5pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and by appointment.
• Course description: William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is an annual mathematics problem solving competition for college students in North America. (See the link below for official Putnam Competition website) In this class, we will learn some of mathematics problem solving skills, well-suited for Putnam-kind of problems. Follow the links below if you want to taste some of those problems.
• Prerequisite: Calculus I is required. Calculus II is recommended but not required. Experience in Discrete Mathematics and/or Linear Algebra will be useful but not essential. Anyone who is interested in this class, but is unsure if he or she has enough background should contact the instructor.
• Lecture: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6pm - 7:15pm.
• Classroom: Gilman 33
• Textbook: The art and craft of problem solving, by Paul Zeitz, John Wiley & Sons, inc.
• Grader: Zhi He ( zhihe [at] math (dot) jhu (dot) edu )

• Homework
  • Homework 1 (due by Sep 23)
  • Homework 2 (due by Oct 7)
  • Homework 3 (due by Oct 21)
  • Homework 4 (due by Nov 4)
  • Homework 5 (due by Nov 25)

• Handouts
  • Syllabus
  • Supplementary Problem 1
  • Supplementary Problem 2
  • Supplementary Problem 3
  • Supplementary Problem 4
  • Midterm Plan
  • Final Exam and its solution (See Chris's picture for a counterexample for number 2.)

• Useful links
  • Official web site for William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition.
  • See John Scholes's website for a very complete list of past Putnam problems. Also, see this archive - better formats and some with solutions -  for recent Putnam.
  • Mathematical Association of America, the organization which runs the competition.
  • There are many resources online regarding to Putnam competition. Dave Rusin, a professor at Northern Illinois University has an excellent website. If you happen to know some other (electronic) resources, and if you want to share them with your classmates, please let me know so that I can have them here.
  • International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students and is held annually in a different country.
  • Download a free Adobe Reader for pdf files, if your computer doesn't have one yet.