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North Central Team Competition
The North Central Team Competition will take place on November 12, 2005,
probably from 9:00am to noon. The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Campus, can enter as many teams as needed to accommodate students
who would like to participate. Students must be undergraduates at the
U of M, TC. This includes high school students who
are taking U of M, TC courses, but such students should be aware that
there is a limit of 4 on the number of times one can compete in this competition.
Also, students having all college majors may enter.
There is an absolute restriction to undergraduates, meaning that no
participant should have previously received a college or university
degree in any major.
Teams consist of three or fewer members working together for
three hours on ten problems. Only one solution for each problem
may be submitted the each team.
Professor Lewicka and I will be taking care of the registration for the team
competition, so that students who are interested in competing need to contact
one of us during the first couple months of Fall Semester. Teams can
be formed in either of two ways: (i) three students who know they
would like to form a team can tell us that information; (ii) we will form
teams from those who are not assigned via route (i). While it is
nice if all teams can have 3 members, it is even more important that all
who would like to compete are accommodated---thus, there might
be one to two teams each having two members. And there is no need
to wait until Fall Semester; let me know now at
fristedt@math.umn.edu that you want to enter---or slip a note
underneath my office door at 252 VinH. Whenever you let us
know that you want to enter, make sure to include your e-mail
address---and let us know if you want your e-mail address hidden
from other contestants. The reason for this last request is
that we will send mailings to those who want to enter
using an e-mail address list.
In 2004, U of M, TC, entered 7 teams; the total number of teams
was between 60 and 70. The top few scores were above 75
out of 100 based on 10 points maximum for each of the 10 problems.
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The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition
The Putnam Competition will take place December 3, 2005, probably from
9:00am-noon followed by 2:00pm-5:00pm. It is primarily an individual competition
among several thousand undergraduate students in Canada and the
United States. Students have 3 hours to work on 6 problems in the
morning session and another 3 hours to work on a different 6
problems in the afternoon session. It is also a team competition in
the following sense: Professor Lewicka and I will, in the registration,
designate three of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, contestants
as the U of M, TC team. There is no cooperation during the competition
of the team members, but their individual scores are summed in order
to give a team score.
The problems are very challenging and the partial credit grading very
tough, since the purpose is to clearly identify the top five individuals
in this competition among thousands. But it is also important that the
problems are quite interesting, and that participating in the competition
can be an enriching experience for those whose total scores are
only in the single digits.
It is important that those who want to compete inform Professor
Lewicka or myself early in the Fall Semester since the registration
deadline is quite early in the semester, and usually only two additional
contestants can be permitted after that registration. And there is
no need
to wait until Fall Semester; let me know now at
fristedt@math.umn.edu that you want to enter---or slip a note
underneath my office door at 252 VinH. Whenever you let us
know that you want to enter, make sure to include your e-mail
address---and let us know if you want your e-mail address hidden
from other contestants. The reason for this last request is
that we will send mailings to those who want to enter
using an e-mail address list.
The rules for entering are the same as those described above
for the North Central Team
Competition
described above. For high school students the 4-year rule might
more important than it is for the North Central Team Competition,
since if such a student were to go to college in Canada or
the United States but outside the North Central region, the
4-year limit for the Putnam Competition would be relevant but
it would be moot for the North Central Team Competition.
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Practice Sessions for the North Central Team and Putnam Competitions
Professor Lewicka and I will be running practice sessions for these two
contests. On the one hand, it is not required that one attend any of
the practice sessions in order to enter one or both of the contests.
On the other hand, attendance and participation in the practice sessions
does not entail a commitment to enter either of the two contests.
Practice sessions are informal. One can arrive anytime and leave anytime;
for these, as opposed to classes, it is not impolite to arrive late or leave
early or even to leave early only to later to return.
In order to help us schedule practices at times most convenient to as many
as possible, it would be helpful if you provide information about your
schedule. When you do, it is best if you distinguish actual conflicts from personal
preferences.
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Contests for Middle- and High-School Students, Sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America
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School Team Mathematics Contests in Minnesota
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The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.