U of I Math Contests Webpage
www.math.uiuc.edu/contests.html
Putnam Wrapup
The 2009 Putnam Contest took place Saturday, December 5.
26 U of I students participated, a record number in recent history.
Results will be available in late March 2010.
Problems and unofficial solutions can be found at the
AMC Putnam Archive.
Thanks to everyone who participated, good luck on your finals, and happy
holidays!
Fall 2009 Putnam Training Schedule
-
U of I Putnam Training sessions and practice contests.
Training sessions begin the week of September 21.
Two levels are offered:
- Basic level, Mondays, 5 pm - 6 pm,
141 Altgeld (Prof. Sujith Vijay).
No background or experience required.
Problem sets and training materials
- Avanced level, Tuesdays, 5 pm - 6 pm,
141 Altgeld (Prof. Jeremy Rouse).
Targeted at those with prior contest experience, or appropriate mathematical
background (e.g., courses in combinatorics and/or number theory).
Problem sets and training materials
Problems on analysis, limits, and convergence of series.
Solutions.
Number theory problems.
Solutions.
-
Practice Contests
The training sessions are interspersed by practice contests that are
similar in format to the Putnam Exam. The first of these contests,
the "U of I Mock Putnam Exam", offers prize money to the winner ("U
of I Mock Putnam Champion") and serves as a key tool in the
selection of the U of I Putnam team. Subsequent tests are more
informal, with no money at stake.
-
U of I Mock Putnam Exam, 9/26/2009.
-
U of I Putnam Practice Test 2, 10/26/2009.
-
U of I Putnam Practice Test 3, 11/17/2009.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009, 9 am - 12 pm, and 2 pm - 5 pm,
245 Altgeld Hall: Putnam Exam.
The real thing. The "Putnam", which has been called
the "world's toughest math test", is a nationwide math problems contest
for undergraduates. Preregistration is required by early October.
Signup for the Putnam will be possible at the Mock Putnam Exam, in the
training sessions, and through
the Putnam Newsletter.
News and Announcements
[To receive news and announcements about contest activities at the U of
I, sign up for the Putnam Newsletter.]
- [10/3/09]
Results of the 2009 U of I Mock Putnam Exam.
The U of I Mock Putnam Exam, which took place September 29, 2009,
was won by Yi-Wei Chan and
Justin Kopinsky, who tied for first place with 51 points out of
60. In third place was
Richard Moy with 41 points, followed by David Goldstein and
Danyang Zhuo, who earned 40 points each.
Problems and solutions are available at the links below:
-
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, 5 pm - 7 pm, 245 Altgeld Hall:
U of I Mock Putnam Exam.
A practice contest for the Putnam. Similar
in format and content to the Putnam, but shorter (2 hours instead of 6).
This contest serves, in part, to identify candidates for the U of I Putnam
Team. PRIZES: Up to $300 in prize money to the top scorer(s).
-
Mathematical Contests at Illinois (pdf file).
Slides from a presentation given on Sept. 15, 2009, on the Putnam Exam
and similar mathematical contests, training sessions, practice
contests, and related activities offered at Illinois.
- [3/29/09] Putnam Results.
Results of the 2008 Putnam Contest are in! The U of I Putnam Team
placed 30th out of over 500 participating teams. The top local
scorers were Justin Kopinsky, who earned 32 points and placed
279th overall, Richard Moy (30 points, 335th), E. Sakulbuth
(24 points, 435th), and Meng Guo and Michael Nasti (20
points, 619th).
For more information, click on the above
link.
- [3/8/09]
Results of the 2009
U of I Undergraduate Math Contest.
The 2009 edition of the U of I Undergraduate Math Contest took
place Saturday, March 7. The contest was won by Justin Kopinsky,
with Yi-Wei Chan and
Michael Nasti taking second and third place.
See the above link for more information.
- [12/15/08] Putnam wrapup:
The 2008 Putnam Mathematical Contest was held on Saturday, December 6.
Fourteen U of I students participated in this contest.
Results will be available in late March 2009.
Problems and unofficial solutions can be found at the
AMC Putnam Archive.
Thanks to everyone who participated, good luck on your finals, and happy
holidays!
- [11/13/08] Putnam Practice Test 3.
The third Putnam practice test was held Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008.
Problems and solutions are available at the following links:
- [10/26/08] Putnam Practice Test 2.
The second Putnam practice test was held Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008. This
test was more informal than the U of I Mock Putnam Exam, with no awards or
prize money at stake. Justin Kopinsky again emerged as the run-away
winner. Problems and solutions are available at the following links:
- [10/2/08]
Results of the 2008
U of I Mock Putnam Exam.
The 2008 U of I Mock Putnam, a practice contest and trial run for the
Putnam Exam, took place on Sept. 29, 2008. The winner, and recipient of
the $300 first prize, was Justin Kopinsky, a first year student in
Math/CS. See the above link for more information and additional results.
Contest problems and solutions are available at the following links:
The William Lowell Putnam 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.
The Putnam competition consists of a morning session and an afternoon
session of three hours each. In each session, six problems are
to be solved. The problems are graded on a 0 - 10 point scale, for a
maximal score of 120 points.
The problems are
challenging and require considerable ingenuity and insight,
but little technical knowledge
beyond high school mathematics. It is extremely rare that a contestant
solves all 12 problems. For example,
in the 1996 Putnam competition, the highest score was
98 points, and a score of 10 (the equivalent
of a single problem solved correctly)
would have placed a contestant among the top third of all
2400 participants!
The highest ranking participants from the UIUC in recent years have
earned scores in the 40 - 60 point range and
ranked in the top 100.
The Putnam competition is open to all
full time undergraduate students; for details on how to enter click on
the link below.
In addition to the individual competition, there is also a team
competition among participating colleges. The team rank of a college
is determined by the scores of three participants from that college
who have to be named in advance.
The team members will, of course, still be ranked as individual
contestants. The 25 highest scoring individuals and the five
highest scoring teams receive
monetary awards. The UIUC team has not made
it into the money ranks in recent history,
but there is always time for a first! (The highest rank for the UIUC
team in the past 20 years was 8th.)
The U of I Mock Putnam Exam is a local version of the Putnam
Exam, held each year in early fall. It is similar in format and
content to the Putnam competition, but the problems are somewhat
easier. The Mock Putnam Exam serves as a practice
test for the Putnam Exam, and a key tool in the selection of the U
of I Putnam Team. The winner will be designated "U of I Mock
Putnam champion". A prize purse of up to $300 is available to the
top scorer(s).
Formerly known as the "Orange and Blue Contest", the U of I
Undergraduate Math Contest is a locally organized problems contest,
held in the latter part of the Spring semester.
The highest ranking participants will receives prizes
up to $300 and be recognized at the departmental awards ceremony.
The U of I Putnam Newsletter is an
email newsletter containing announcements about
the Putnam competition and other
contest-related activities at the U of
I, and a "Problem of the Week." The mailing list for the
newsletter is maintained by Professor Hildebrand;
send email to ajh@uiuc.edu to be put on this mailing list.
Note: This is a local newsletter, with announcements of
local events and activities that would be of little interest
to those not at the U of I. To keep the mailing list manageable, it is
restricted to U of I students and faculty.
Click on the above link for the UIUC "Problem of the Week".
Last modified: Tue 08 Dec 2009 04:03:36 PM CST
A.J. Hildebrand