The Math Major

CSU Fresno Mathematics Department

Vol 2. No. 3

The Putnam Competition

The fifty-seventh annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition will be held on Saturday, December 6. This is a national level competition of college mathematics students that is run by the Mathematical Association of America. Any undergraduate college student may enter. The deadline for registration is Monday October 14, but if you wish to participate you must contact Dr. Larry Cusick by Thursday October 10 so that the registration materials can be sent in time to meet October 14 deadline. The CSU Fresno mathematics department is offering a $100 first prize and a $75 second prize for the two top scoring Fresno contestants. (To qualify, you must receive a non-zero score--no mean feat in itself.) The Fresno contestants will take the exam in Fresno.

Scholarship Opportunities

The Scholarship Office announced that approximately 900 scholarships, totaling $800,000, will be available to students attending the university during the 1998-1999 academic year.

For more information, contact the Scholarship Office at 278-6572 or apply in person, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. in the Scholarship Office, Joyal Administration Building, Room 219.

Job Search

Career Development and Employment Services is sponsoring two employment days in October:

Career Day on Wednesday, October 1 on the balcony of the University Student Union from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Representatives of approximately 60 organizations from business, industry and government will be available to discuss general career information. For more information, call 278-5050.
Holiday Job Fair on Wednesday, October 8, in the Free Speech Area from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Employers from local retail stores will be available to discuss part-time work opportunities and accept applications for the upcoming holiday season.

Web Watch--Integer Sequences

Integer sequences have interested mathematicians (and standardized test writers) for a long time. What is the pattern in the sequence 2, 3, 3, 5, 10, 13, 39, 43, 172, 177, ...? (From a New York Times puzzle.) How about this gem: 2, 12, 1112, 3112, 132112, 1113122112, 311311222112, ...?

Sloane's On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences is an extraordinary web site that contains a database of over 28,000 integer sequences, with bibliographic information, and a search engine with which you can submit a sequence of integers. Here is an interesting one to try: 0, 1, 3, 1, 1, 4, 1, 0, 7, 1, 0, 226, ... (The answer involves a trigonometric function).

Calculus Help

If you are taking Math 6, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 77 or 81 and are looking for help, there are two places to try

The Math Department Tutorial Lab located in EE 167. Tutors will be there at the following times:
- Monday 8:10 p.m. - 2 p.m.
- Tuesday 8:10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
- Wednesday 10:10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Thursday 8:10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- Friday 8:10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The University Learning Resource Center at LS 137. Math tutors are available there at the following times:
- Monday 9:10 PM - 5 p.m.
- Tuesday 8:10 a.m. - 9 a.m., 10:10 a.m. - Noon, 1:10 p.m. - 5 p.m.
- Wednesday 10:10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Thursday 8:10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
- Friday 9:10 a.m. - Noon.

Student Teaching Deadline

(From Dr. Tuska) The application deadline for EHD 155B (Final Student Teaching) for Spring 1998 is Tuesday September 30. The deadline for EHD 155A (First Semester Student Teaching) forFall 1998 is November 1, 1997.

Problem Corner

Problem 2.2: Find a solution, in integers, of the equation 48x + 17y - 66 z = 9.

Solution to Problem 2.2: (From Dr. Woo) A general solution is of the form

x = -3 + 12 h + 17 k

y = 9 - 30 h - 48 k

z = h

where h = 0, +-1, +-2, ... and k = 0, +-1, +-2, ...

Specific solutions were received from James Dunn, Lina Obeid, Robert Seidel (former student) and Patrick Villa. General solutions were provided by Anar Ahmedov and John Jamison.

New Problem

Problem 2.3: (Due no later than Thursday October 9, 4pm) Prove that the equation a³ + b³ = 2^c has no positive integer solutions with a>b.

Solutions may be delivered to the math department office (for Dr. Cusick) or by e-mail at larryc@csufresno.edu. There is a $75 dollar first prize and a $50 second prize to be awarded at the end of the semester to the student(s) who submit the most correct solutions.

CSU Fresno Math Department Home Page

California State University, Fresno