I got a 3!!!

[Guest15937]

Re: I got a 3!!!

I looked at the test and (given that the test is six hours long) I might actually have been able to crack A1. (At least I have a clue what it's saying...unlike half the questions :P)

(goes back to reviewing AIME topics)

[25thhour]

Re: I got a 3!!!

Wtf? If I ever got a test like that I'd kill myself

[Patashu]

Re: I got a 3!!!

I would need to study so much before I even thought about taking one of these, and I consider myself mathematically skilled

[Thatskier]

Re: I got a 3!!!

This doesn't make me feel stupid.

It makes me not understand the world.

[hi19hi19]

Re: I got a 3!!!

A few years ago I got 1 point on the Putnam, I felt like such a badass.

I don't like these kinds of long mathematics tests, I have lots of trouble focusing for that long x_x
The AIME was okay, I did alright on that, but at higher levels my mind just wanders too much, real ADD kid

[Reincarnate]

Re: I got a 3!!!

I never took AIME/Putnam/etc because my high school sucked (I had never even heard of the Putnam until I had already gotten into college) but that shit def. looks hardasfuc.

EDIT: Actually, looking at this 2011 exam, this doesn't look horrible (though in HS I would have had a very different opinion). It's basically like having one shot at solving a couple tough conceptual PE problems and getting them all right. Incredibly hard, still.

[iironiic]

Re: I got a 3!!!

Not bad. The Putnam this year was brutal, apparently the top 200 cutoff was 13 points this time and 31 in 2010. I personally got a 52 (yay top 25), but I do have a lot of experience with this kinda stuff, and I'd say you should be happy with your result.

Thanks! (: I did work really hard, so I am proud of that! It just seems like a bad score compared to my 10 last year haha! Congrats to you too! (:

I never took AIME/Putnam/etc because my high school sucked (I had never even heard of the Putnam until I had already gotten into college) but that shit def. looks hardasfuc.

I took the AIME at my senior year because I never heard of it until then. I wish my math teachers were able to inform me about these opportunities, but fortunately I did my research just in time haha!

I am also interested to see how the graders grade the problems so I can learn from my mistakes. Too bad I won't ever find that out haha!

[Reincarnate]

Re: I got a 3!!!

Still, though, gettin' 3 like a baws -- congrats.

[hi19hi19]

Re: I got a 3!!!

Being able to even understand some of the problems is an accomplishment tbh

[Cavernio]

Re: I got a 3!!!

Mathematical proofs made no sense to me until I took discrete structures, a computer science course. Not that I remember what I learned in the class now, but I remember it being so simple once it was actually taught, got an easy A in the class. It was all such simple, logical, steps. But yet I remember having to memorize stupid simple proofs for first year calculus years earlier because I it just didn't make any sense.
There's totally methodology for proving things, and I'm not sure it's taught very well even at the higher level. Certainly odd that they only teach it long after you've been immersed in math for 12-14 years. It really felt to me like I was just supposed to 'pick up' mathematical proofs at some point, or that you just had to understand the logic behind it when I was never really even taught what tenets of math 'just are' versus 'what needs to be proven' in the first place.

[qqwref]

Re: I got a 3!!!

I never took AIME/Putnam/etc because my high school sucked (I had never even heard of the Putnam until I had already gotten into college) but that shit def. looks hardasfuc.

The Putnam's a competition for college students only, which is pretty clear to anyone who's researched it, so what you're saying doesn't make any sense to me. Don't act like bad luck prevented you from showing the world your awesome skills; you definitely could have taken it, you just didn't.

I have to say, it's pretty insane that the top score was around 90. There are some people who completely wreck me at math competitions, and if THEY couldn't make significant progress on 3 of the questions, that's just crazy.

[Artic_counter]

Re: I got a 3!!!

Congrats! Even managing some points out of this test is an incredible achievement in itself I might join you in the competition next year since I'll be going to college next semester haha.

Out of these 12 questions, I think I could only solve A2, B4 and B6 xD


Take a rest, I think you pretty much deserve it xD

[hi19hi19]

Re: I got a 3!!!

The Putnam's a competition for college students only, which is pretty clear to anyone who's researched it

True, but the problems are studied at all levels. Even if you do not have the skills to come to an answer, understanding even the process one would use to start on the problem can be important to understand on its own.
You can find old Putnam problems pretty easily, and they are a great way to practice problem-solving skills when in high school if you are aiming for doing mathematics in college.
I remember going over Putnam problems when preparing for the AIME.
(one kid from my school always beat me though, never did get to the USAMO level )

EDIT- lol I'm looking through the Putnam problems, this was the one I got my 1 point on XD
Like a BOSS.

A2. Alan and Barbara play a game in which they take turns filling
entries of an initially empty 2008x2008 array. Alan plays first. At
each turn, a player chooses a real number and places it in a vacant
entry. The game ends when all the entries are filled. Alan wins if the
determinant of the resulting matrix is nonzero; Barbara wins if it is
zero. Which player has a winning strategy?

In hindsight this problem is pretty easy, I feel like I would get a much better score were I to take it again today. Hmmm

[iironiic]

Re: I got a 3!!!

Congrats! Even managing some points out of this test is an incredible achievement in itself I might join you in the competition next year since I'll be going to college next semester haha.

Out of these 12 questions, I think I could only solve A2, B4 and B6 xD


Take a rest, I think you pretty much deserve it xD

No one in the top 197 got any credit for B6 this year Just saying <3

And I'll be looking forward to competing against you this year

EDIT:

A1 Given a positive integer n, what is the largest k such
that the numbers 1, 2, . . . , n can be put into k boxes so
that the sum of the numbers in each box is the same?
[When n = 8, the example {1, 2, 3, 6}, {4, 8}, {5, 7}
shows that the largest k is at least 3.

This was the easy one I got my 10 points on last year xDD

[hi19hi19]

Re: I got a 3!!!

A1 Given a positive integer n, what is the largest k such
that the numbers 1, 2, . . . , n can be put into k boxes so
that the sum of the numbers in each box is the same?
[When n = 8, the example {1, 2, 3, 6}, {4, 8}, {5, 7}
shows that the largest k is at least 3.

This was the easy one I got my 10 points on last year xDD

hehe that's a silly problem. I think I got dis

If you break it down into cases when n is even or odd you can come up with some pretty simple pairings.
The largest k will correspond to the smallest total sum you can make, which is nessecarily at least n (obviously, since n itself is going to be in one of the boxes)
Total sum of n when n is odd using {1, n-1} {2,n-2} etc until you reach {n} making k = (n/2) +1
Total sum of n+1 when n is even using {1, n} {2, n-1} etc making k = n/2

I suppose they are looking for a classy way to write the solution like k = floor((n+1)/2)

lol I should have taken the 2010 Putnam, coulda gotten dem 10 points in a matter of minutes XD
This thread is really making me miss college... I've been on leave so long the friends I made freshman year will be graduating next spring!
I need to get back in the college system >_<