Fall 2010 - Putnam Exam Seminar

Putnam Exam Information

Every year, usually the first Saturday of December, schools from The US and Canada compete in the William Lowell Putnam Exam Competition.  Undergraduates from each school may compete as part of their school team, and the best teams and individuals win prizes.

The Exam is divided up into two six-problem sections, the A section and the B section.  The A section is given during a three hour time slot in the morning, then there is a two hour break for lunch, and then the B section is given for three hours in the afternoon.  Each problem is worth 10 points, and it is possible to earn partial credit.  That being said, each year over half of the people who take the Exam score either a 0 or 1 out of the possible 120 points.  Ideally the Putnam Exam is more about a student's innate problem-solving abilities than it is about being good at specific mathematics classes.  A good analogy is that it takes more than a large vocabulary to be good at Scrabble, although a good vocabulary certainly doesn't hurt!

Who can take the Putnam Exam?

Anyone currently enrolled as an undergraduate at any university in Canada or the US can take the Exam, provided they have not taken the Exam four times previously.  This means that, currently, every undergrad at Trinity is eligible to take the exam!

The 2009 Putnam Exam

The 2009 Putnam Exam was administered in MMS 130 on Saturday, the 5th of December.  The A portion of exam was given from 9:00 a.m.to 12:00 noon and the B portion of the exam was given from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a Double Dave's lunch break in between.  Students in attendance were Quentin Funk, Mark Girard, Loi Le, J.J. Lubinski, Xin Ma, Matt Maly, Mohsin Rahim, and David Stuck; Brian Fitzpatrick took the exam in Budapest.

Trinity University's team came in 31st place.  The high scorers were Brian Fitzpatrick (28), David Stuck (22), and Mark Girard (20).

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