# Putnam competition



## Tim Reynolds (Dec 5, 2009)

Who took the Putnam today? What did you think? I got solutions to A1, A3, B1, B2, B3, B5, and some stuff on A2 and B4.

For those not aware, the Putnam is a college math competition in America. 2 parts, each part is 6 problems in 3 hours, all proof based.


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## joey (Dec 6, 2009)

I got A1,2,5 and B1 3,4,5. The others I got somewhere, but didn't manage it fully.


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## The3point14 (Dec 6, 2009)

I failed just like last year ( I made a 12 lol)

I solved A4 and B1 and worked on A1 and A3.

A1 was extremely easy, and I was approaching the correct solution, except I didn't notice two important things that would have let me finish the problem .

EDIT: What do you guys do to warm-up for this thing? I thought about looking at old tests, but it almost seems pointless without someone knowledgeable to explain it if you can't get it yourself.


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## qqwref (Dec 6, 2009)

I answered 10 (didn't have any idea what to do on A5 or B5) and out of those I think 7 or so were solved. Putnam grading can be pretty harsh, though, so I don't expect more than 60 or so points.


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## fanwuq (Dec 6, 2009)

Are you allowed to post the questions?

I looked at last year's problems and I can only understand what 3 of them are asking. I'd like to try this next year, but I need to learn a lot more if I want to score more than 10 points.

qq, 60 points would be very good! When would the results come out? How well did you do last year?


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## Lucas Garron (Dec 6, 2009)

Regrettably, I slept through because I stayed up way too late, and I have finals soon.
Stupid time difference making it at 7:30 AM.


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## The3point14 (Dec 6, 2009)

I'm not sure of the time frame, but I think you have to take the exam today, so maybe at midnight we can post some of the problems? If not, they will be up here: http://www.unl.edu/amc/a-activities/a7-problems/putnamindex.shtml on Sunday/Monday.


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## Mike Hughey (Dec 6, 2009)

Wow, you guys are good! I remember solving only a single problem each time I took it. I got 9 points the first year, and just 3 the second year.  But hey, that meant I was still well above average the first year, and slightly above average the second year. And I wasn't embarrassed; I was a chemistry major, and I was just taking it for fun. I was the top scorer at my school (William and Mary) both years, above the math majors. Of course, there were only a handful taking it, and everyone but me was a math major. 

Of course, I took it back in the early eighties - it looks like scores have gone up since then. The second year I took it (when I got 3 points), 60 points would have tied you for fourth place.


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## qqwref (Dec 6, 2009)

fanwuq said:


> qq, 60 points would be very good! When would the results come out? How well did you do last year?



Forgot to sign up last year. Freshman year I had a 44 which was just barely enough to not make the top ~200.

Mike: yeah, scores have gone up, but I think it's because of the test just being more competitive now. There are more math competitions in high school and more training courses (both offline and in schools) so the average serious contestant is a lot better at math competitions than they would have been 20-odd years ago.


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## Mike Hughey (Dec 6, 2009)

qqwref said:


> fanwuq said:
> 
> 
> > qq, 60 points would be very good! When would the results come out? How well did you do last year?
> ...



I also notice that there are a lot more people taking the test now than there were before. So of course there would be a lot more high scores now.

44 is pretty amazing for Freshman year - nice job!


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## Cyrus C. (Dec 6, 2009)

Darn, I thought this was a competition at the putnam museum.


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## Tim Reynolds (Dec 7, 2009)

fanwuq said:


> Are you allowed to post the questions?



Here they are:
http://www.unl.edu/amc/a-activities/a7-problems/putnam/-pdf/2009.pdf


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## blah (Dec 7, 2009)

I skipped it because of CMU.

Cube > Putnam


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## The3point14 (Dec 7, 2009)

After looking at the results, I'm expecting a 15-20. I got A4 and B1 correct, but i'm not sure how many points out of 10 I will get. I don't think I will get any amount of points from the others that I submitted. Overall, I'm satisfied because I think I performed better than my 12 from last year without any study/practice. I might look at some old tests and try them before next year's contest.


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## fanwuq (Dec 7, 2009)

Tim Reynolds said:


> fanwuq said:
> 
> 
> > Are you allowed to post the questions?
> ...



Thanks! 
Will take a look at them after AMC or AIME.
A4 and B1 do looks solvable for me. I'll probably bump this in a few months with my solutions when I have the time take a good look at the problems.


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## Muesli (Dec 8, 2009)

Tim Reynolds said:


> fanwuq said:
> 
> 
> > Are you allowed to post the questions?
> ...


Wow. I've got a lot to learn.


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## The3point14 (Dec 8, 2009)

fanwuq said:


> Tim Reynolds said:
> 
> 
> > fanwuq said:
> ...



A1 is solvable for you too. Anyone with 3 hours and a basic knowledge of proofs should be able to get it....except for me


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## Kian (Dec 8, 2009)

Tim Reynolds said:


> fanwuq said:
> 
> 
> > Are you allowed to post the questions?
> ...



I understand about three words on that page.


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## pjk (Mar 17, 2010)

Did you guys get your results yet?


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## The3point14 (Mar 24, 2010)

Made a 12.  same as last year


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## qqwref (Mar 24, 2010)

I got an HM (honorable mention)


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## Tim Reynolds (Mar 25, 2010)

Not yet, but I know it's somewhere between 37.2 and 49. No idea what that ".2" means.


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## Tim Reynolds (Mar 29, 2010)

OK, I got a 40. Down 9 points from last year, but oh well.


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## Kian (Mar 16, 2012)

Congrats to Ravi Fernando (N1), Michael Gottlieb (N2) and Tim Reynolds (HM)!


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