Math 390 - Problem Solving Seminar
UMass Boston
Fall 2015

Course Description: This course is an undergraduate seminar on mathematical problem solving. It is intended for students who enjoy solving challenging mathematical problems and who are interested in learning various techniques and background information useful for problem solving. We will be focusing on the enjoyment, challenges and strategies of mathematics problem solving, with the aim of participation in the Putnam Competition.
Syllabus: [PDF file]
Schedule: TuTh 9:30am - 10:45am, in M-01-415
Help:

Office hours: By appointment, TuTh 8:50am - 9:20am and 11:00am - 12:00pm in S-03-091.
   Please follow this link to schedule a 10 or 20 minute appointment, at least 3 hours in advance. You can stop by my office without a confirmed appointment, but I may be unavailable.

Piazza: Instead of sending questions by email, please use the discussion boards available at piazza.com to post questions and provide answers.

Assignments:
  1. Set 1: Induction (due Thu, Sep 17)
  2. Set 2: Pigeonhole Principle (due Tue, Sep 29)
  3. Set 3: Invariants (due Tue, Oct 6)
  4. Set 4: Counting (due Tue, Oct 13)
  5. Set 5: Games (due Tues, Oct 20)
  6. Midterm - Sat, Oct 24, 2015
  7. Set 6: Combinatorics (due Tue, Oct 27)
  8. Set 7: Number Theory (due Tue, Nov 10)
  9. Set 8: Sequences (due Tue, Nov 17)
  10. Set 9: Complex Numbers (due Tue, Nov 24)
  11. Set 10: Linear Algebra (due Thu, Dec3)
  12. Putnam Competition - Sat Dec 5, 2015

[Back to homepage] [Back to courses]