To UC Berkeley students who participate in the 70th yearly
Putnam Mathematics Competition
This is to remind you that it will happen on Saturday, December 5,
and will consist of session A, session B, and a lunch break in between.
Location: 166 BARROWS
(both sessions)
Time:
Session A: 8 a.m. -- 11 a.m. (arrive before 7:45)
Session B: 1 p.m. -- 4 p.m. (arrive before 12:45)
If you qualify to participate in a math contest, you should cetainly be
able to get to Barrows Hall, but I am not so sure about room 166.
Approaching the building from the North and heading toward the main entrance
door you have to enter a small yard (or big patio) first. As you are
passing under a blue roof through the gate into the patio, room 166 is on
your right, and can be entered from the patio.
Rules:
Well, there are many and they are rather strict. You don't need to remember
all of them, but you should understand the main reasons why the rules are
there: to make the competition (which happens in many locations across
the country in several time zones) absolutely fair, and grading
flawless and impartial.
Here are some important points:
Arrive early: There will be some paperwork to do before the start time.
Bring your student ID.
In each session, you will be given an envelope containing 6 problems, each
on a separate 4-sided sheet of paper for writing your solutions.
(If you are anxious to see sample envelopes and sheets, you are welcome to 81
Evans on Th, Dec. 3, at 3:30 p.m. - I will be showing the samples
to students in my problem solving seminar - or to my office hours Th 5-6
p.m. in 701 Evans.
The event is individual - no cooperation is allowed. Furthermore, your identity
will be concealed from graders. Namely, you will identify yourself on the
envelopes, but not on the solution sheets, and the only link between the two
will be the special ID stickers that you will attach to both.
During the session, you are not allowed to use anything from the outside world
except pencils (scratch paper will be provided). In particular,
no books, notes, rulers, calculators, or communication devices of any kind
are allowed.
You will be asked to shut down your cell phones, put them in your bags, and
leave the bags in a corner of the room.
Advice:
Read this memo by Prof. William Kahan to Putnam contestants
of previous years.
You should realize that the Putnam Math Competition is not a test
(that you can pass or fail) but a challenge (that you can try to meet).
To form adequate expectations, visit Putnam Directory
and examine last year statistics, or try to solve last year problems.
To do your best, take a good night sleep, drink a cup of coffee in
the morning, bring a chocolate bar to sustain you through the morning session,
and have some lunch in between.
Most importantly, enjoy the math: usually some of the Putnam problems
are really beautiful.
Good luck!
Alexander Givental
Department of Mathematics