Mathematics MAT 300 : Problem Solving Seminar
Fall 2007
TBA
Instructor: Dr. Brad Emmons
Office: DePerno Hall 121
Telephone: 792-3413
Office Hours: Tuesday, 9:30 - 10:30, Thursday 9:30 - 11:30, or by appointment
Email: bemmons@utica.edu
Homepage: http://www.utica.edu/faculty staff/bemmons
Course Materials
Lecture Notes
Brain (required)
Introduction
This problem solving seminar has two main goals. The first goal is to make you into a better
mathematical problem solver. We will attempt to achieve this by concentrating on the types of problems
that occur in mathematical contests throughout the country and world. The nice things about these
problems is that the solutions tend to use only elementary techniques, so we will not require any advanced
mumbo jumbo like Abstract Algebra, Analysis, or Non-linear Hypergeometric Bundle Theory. While
there are infinitely many problems that can appear in a contest, there are several themes that reoccur
that we can explore to give ourselves a fighting chance.
This brings us to our second goal. The Putnam Mathematical Competition. The William Lowell
Putnam Competition is an annual student math competition sponsored by the Mathematical Association
of America. More than 2000 students from colleges and universities in the United States and Canada
participate in this contest each year. The Putnam competition is held simultaneously at participating
universities, usually on the first Saturday of December. This year the competition will be held on
Saturday, December 1. For more information about the contest, including past exams and solutions,
visit http://www.unl.edu/amc/a-activities/a7-problems/putnamindex.shtml.
Exams
The exam will be held on Saturday, December 1, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Participation in the
exam is required for the course. As an extra incentive, I will treat the participants to a free lunch at the
Empire Dynasty Chinese Buffet in New Hartford.
Homework
I will pass out problems each week which you will attempt to solve for discussion the following week.
Since the Putnam Exam is a written graded exam, your solutions must be written in a form suitable
for submission. Writing solutions to complex problems takes practice and experience. For this reason,
we will spend a considerable amount of time writing and rewriting solutions. A poorly written correct
solution can loose points in the contest, whereas a well written partial solution can gain points. In
addition to being valuable in the contest, working on good writing now will parlay itself into success
in other mathematics courses, and in life! You will keep and maintain a homework problems portfolio,
which will be periodically checked for accuracy and completeness.
Attendance and Class Participation
Since this is a seminar course, attendance and class participation are mandatory.
Grading
Your grade in this course will be based on your homework problems portfolio, improvement over the
course, and participation in the Putnam Exam on December 1.
Calculators
Since calculators are not allowed on the Putnam exam, you should try to refrain from using one as
much as possible for solving the homework problems. Although you may use a calculator to satisfy an
idle curiosity here and there.
Important Dates
