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''Organizers: Dima Arinkin, Benedek Valko''


''Organizers: Dima Arinkin, Gheorghe Craciun, Mihaela Ifrim''


The Putnam Exam, offered by the Mathematical Association of America, is the premier American math competition for undergraduate students. It is given each year on the first Saturday in December. The exam consists of 12 problems, 6 in the 3 hour morning session and 6 in the 3 hour afternoon session. Each problem is worth 10 points, so the maximum score is 120. National winners usually get around 100 points. The median score is generally around 0-2 points.  This is a difficult exam with many interesting and fun problems.
The Putnam Exam, offered by the Mathematical Association of America, is the premier American math competition for undergraduate students. It is given each year on the first Saturday in December. The exam consists of 12 problems, 6 in the 3 hour morning session and 6 in the 3 hour afternoon session. Each problem is worth 10 points, so the maximum score is 120. National winners usually get around 100 points. The median score is generally around 0-2 points.  This is a difficult exam with many interesting and fun problems.


[http://math.ucsd.edu/~pfitz/putnam.html Old exams and more information on the Putnam competition.]
[http://kskedlaya.org/putnam-archive/ Old exams and more information on the Putnam competition.]


The UW is also participating in the Virginia Tech Regional Mathematics Contest. This is an individual competition with seven problems in 2.5 hours. Many schools use it as a kind of rehearsal for the Putnam. You can find more information [http://www.math.vt.edu/people/plinnell/Vtregional/ over here.]


We hold our own UW Madison [[Undergraduate Math Competition]] in the spring; this year, it is on '''April 24th, 2018'''.


==Spring 2017==


==Fall 2013==
The Putnam Club does not meet in the spring, but we had the fourth annual UW [[Undergraduate Math Competition]] on '''April 24th''', 2018, 5:30-8pm in VV B239.
 
==Fall 2017==
 
The Putnam Club will help you prepare for the exam by practicing on problems from previous years and other olympiad-style problems. The meeting time is 5pm on Wednesdays in VV B139.
 
* September 20: [[Media:Putnam092017.pdf | Introductory meeting]] by D.Arinkin
* September 27: [[Media:Putnam092717.pdf | Equations with functions as unknowns]] by M.Ifrim (by request: here is [[Media:Putnam092717sol6.pdf | a solution to problem 6]]; problem 7 is problem B5 of 2016 Putnam exam; you can see the solution [http://kskedlaya.org/putnam-archive/2016s.pdf here]).
* October 4: [[Media:Putnam100417.pdf | Inequalities ]] by G.Craciun.
* October 11: [[Media:Putnam101117.pdf | Polynomials ]] by D.Arinkin.
* October 18: [[Media:Putnam1(2)..pdf | Equations ]] by M. Ifrim
* October 21: Virginia Tech Math Contest: 9-11:30am in VV B203.
* October 25: Review of this year's [[Media:VTRMC2017.pdf | Virginia Tech Contest]] by G.Craciun.
* November 1: [[Media:Putnam110117.pdf | Functions and calculus]] by D.Arinkin.
* November 8: [[Media:Putnam1.pdf | Past Competitions]] by M.Ifrim
* November 15: [[Media:Putnam111517.pdf | Recurrences]] by G.Craciun.
* November 22: '''No meeting''': Happy Thanksgiving!
* November 29: [[Media:Putnam112917.pdf | Complex numbers]] by D.Arinkin.
* December 2: '''Putnam Exam''' in VVB115. Morning session: 9-12pm; Afternoon session: 2-5pm.
 
==Spring 2016==
 
The Putnam Club does not meet in the spring, but we had the third annual UW [[Undergraduate Math Competition]] on April 19th, 2017.
 
==Fall 2016==
 
* September 20: [[Media:Putnam092016.pdf | Introductory meeting]]
* September 27: [[Media:Putnam092716.pdf | Calculus and analysis]]
* October 4: [[Media:Putnam100416.pdf | Generating functions]] (by Vlad Matei)
* October 11: [[Media:UWUMC2016.pdf | Review of last year's UW Math competition]]
* October 18: [[Media:Putnam101816.pdf | Functional equations]]
* October 22: Virginia Tech Math Contest
* October 25: Review of this year's [[Media:vtrmc16.pdf | VT contest]]
* November 1: [[Media:Putnam110116.pdf | Matrices]] (by Vlad Matei)
* November 15: [[Media:Putnam111516.pdf | Two algebra problems]]
* November 22: No meeting: Happy Thanksgiving!
* November 29: [[Media:Putnam112916.pdf | Assorted problems]]
* December 3: Putnam Exam: Morning session: 9am-noon, Afternoon session: 2-5pm in VV B135.
 
==Spring 2016==
 
The Putnam Club does not meet in the spring, but we had the second annual UW [[Undergraduate Math Competition]] on April 12th, 2016.
 
==Fall 2015==
.
* September 23rd: [[Media:Putnam092315.pdf | Introductory meeting]]
* September 30th: [[Media:Putnam093015.pdf | Pigeonhole principle]]
* October 7th: Review of [[Media:UWUMC15.pdf | 2015 UW math competition]]
* October 14th: [[Media:Putnam101415.pdf | Matrices and determinants]]
* October 21st: [[Media:Putnam102115.pdf | Virginia Tech practice]]
* October 24th: Virginia Tech Regional Mathematics Contest: 9-11:30 am
* October 28th: Review of the 2015 Virginia Tech contest.
* November 4th: [[Media:PutnamProblemsOct12.pdf | Polynomials]]
* November 11th: [[Media:PutnamProblemsNov11.pdf | Assorted problems]]
* November 18th: [[Media:PutnamProblemsNov18.pdf | Assorted problems]]
* No meeting on November 25th
* December 2nd: TBA
* December 5th: Putnam competition: Morning session: 9am-12pm, afternoon session: 2-5pm in VV B115.
 
==Spring 2015==


The Putnam Club does not meet in the spring, but we had our first UW [[Undergraduate Math Competition]]!


The Putnam Club will help you prepare for the exam by practicing on problems from previous years and other olympiad-style problems.  This year, the Putnam Club will meet on Wednesdays from 5:00-6:30 PM, beginning on September 11, in room B139 Van Vleck Hall.  The meetings will be lead by Prof. Dima Arinkin.
==Fall 2014==


* September 11: Introductory Meeting [[Media:Putnam091113.pdf | problems]]
* September 17: [[Media:Putnam091714.pdf | Introductory meeting]]
* September 18: Assorted Problems (by Yihe Dong) [[Media:Putnam091813.pdf | problems]]
* September 22: [[Media:Putnam092214.pdf | Coloring and pigeonhole principle]]
* September 25: Combinatorics [[Media:Putnam092513.pdf | problems]]
* October 1st: Went through HW problems from last time
* October 2: Matrices and Linear Algebra [[Media:Putnam100213.pdf | problems]]
* October 8th: [[Media:Putnam100814.pdf | Number theory]]
* October 15th: [[Media:Putnam101514.pdf | Games]]
* October 22nd: [[Media:VTRMC13.pdf | Problems from last year's Virginia Tech contest]]
* October 25th: Virginia Tech Regional Mathematics Contest
* October 29th: Review of this year's Virginia Tech contest
* November 5th: [http://www.math.cmu.edu/~lohp/docs/math/2014-295/06-inequalities.pdf Inequalities] and [http://www.math.cmu.edu/~lohp/docs/math/2014-295/05-functional.pdf functional equations]
* November 12th: [http://www.math.cmu.edu/~lohp/docs/math/2014-295/02-polynomials.pdf Polynomials]
* November 19th: [http://www.math.cmu.edu/~lohp/docs/math/2014-295/10-combinatorics.pdf Combinatorics]
* December 3rd: [http://www.math.cmu.edu/~lohp/docs/math/2014-295/08-recursions.pdf Recursions]
* December 6th: Putnam competition: Morning session: 9am-12pm, Afternoon session: 2pm-5pm in Van Vleck B119
* December 10th: Review of [http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Forum/resources/files/undergraduate_competitions/Undergraduate_Competitions-Putnam-2014-23 this year's Putnam]


==Fall 2012==
==Fall 2013==


'''The Putnam Exam will be held on Saturday, December 1, from 9:00 AM - Noon and 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM.  We will be holding the exam in room B105 Van Vleck Hall.  Please be there at 8:45 AM for pre-exam paperwork.'''


The Putnam Club will help you prepare for the exam by practicing on problems from previous years and other olympiad-style problemsThis year, the Putnam Club will meet on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:00 PM, beginning on September 11, in room B139 Van Vleck Hall. After the first week, problem sets will appear here roughly one week before we discuss them, as well as being handed out in the previous week's meeting. It is not necessary to solve any problems to come to the meeting, but you are encouraged to spend time working on them.
* September 11: [[Media:Putnam091113.pdf | Introductory Meeting]]
* September 18: [[Media:Putnam091813.pdf | Assorted Problems]] (by Yihe Dong)
* September 25: [[Media:Putnam092513.pdf | Combinatorics]]
* October 2: [[Media:Putnam100213.pdf | Matrices and Linear Algebra]]
* October 9: [[Media:Putnam100913.pdf | Number Theory]]
* October 16: [[Media:Putnam101613.pdf | Functions and Calculus]]
* October 23: [[Media:Putnam102313.pdf | Polynomials]]
* October 26: Virginia Tech Regional Mathematics Contest
* October 30: [[Media:VTRMC13.pdf | Problems from this year's Virginia Tech contest]]
* November 6: [[Media:Putnam110413.pdf | Games]]
* November 13: [[Media:Putnam111113.pdf | Pigeonhole Principle]]
* November 20: [[Media:Putnam112013.pdf | Extreme Principle]]
* November 27: No meeting (Thanksgiving)
* December 4: TBA
* December 7: Putnam competition Morning session: 9am-12pm, afternoon session: 2-5pm in VV B239.


Brian Rice is running the seminar each week unless otherwise noted.
==Fall 2012==


* September 11: Introduction [[Media:Putnam2012IntroProblems.pdf | Problems]]
* September 11: Introduction [[Media:Putnam2012IntroProblems.pdf | Problems]]

Revision as of 23:03, 19 April 2018

Organizers: Dima Arinkin, Gheorghe Craciun, Mihaela Ifrim

The Putnam Exam, offered by the Mathematical Association of America, is the premier American math competition for undergraduate students. It is given each year on the first Saturday in December. The exam consists of 12 problems, 6 in the 3 hour morning session and 6 in the 3 hour afternoon session. Each problem is worth 10 points, so the maximum score is 120. National winners usually get around 100 points. The median score is generally around 0-2 points. This is a difficult exam with many interesting and fun problems.

Old exams and more information on the Putnam competition.

The UW is also participating in the Virginia Tech Regional Mathematics Contest. This is an individual competition with seven problems in 2.5 hours. Many schools use it as a kind of rehearsal for the Putnam. You can find more information over here.

We hold our own UW Madison Undergraduate Math Competition in the spring; this year, it is on April 24th, 2018.

Spring 2017

The Putnam Club does not meet in the spring, but we had the fourth annual UW Undergraduate Math Competition on April 24th, 2018, 5:30-8pm in VV B239.

Fall 2017

The Putnam Club will help you prepare for the exam by practicing on problems from previous years and other olympiad-style problems. The meeting time is 5pm on Wednesdays in VV B139.

Spring 2016

The Putnam Club does not meet in the spring, but we had the third annual UW Undergraduate Math Competition on April 19th, 2017.

Fall 2016

Spring 2016

The Putnam Club does not meet in the spring, but we had the second annual UW Undergraduate Math Competition on April 12th, 2016.

Fall 2015

.

Spring 2015

The Putnam Club does not meet in the spring, but we had our first UW Undergraduate Math Competition!

Fall 2014

Fall 2013

Fall 2012

Fall 2011