MAT 475: Problem Solving Seminar, Fall 2023
Instructor: Florian Herzig;
my last name at math dot toronto dot edu
Office Hours (online/zoom): see quercus
TA: David Pechersky
TA Office Hours (online/zoom): see quercus
Official syllabus
Lectures: Tuesdays 3-5pm, Thursdays 2-3pm (in person)
Textbook: Problem-solving strategies by Arthur Engel (click link for online access!)
Another helpful book: Larson's Problem Solving Through Problems.
Final assessment: December 15 (in person)
Some previous course homepages for MAT475:
Course description:
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Problem solving is an important aspect of mathematics, but in many courses you focus more on absorbing
new material. The goal of this class is to introduce you to various methods of problem solving, so that you will
become better at solving math problems and also at writing out solutions.
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Usually, each week we will focus on a new topic. We'll introduce new material on Tuesday and then there
will be a roughly 25-minute long quiz at the beginning of class on the next Tuesday.
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This seminar class is meant to be very interactive. We'll be discussing
lots and lots of problems, and you will split into groups to work on them. Participation will count in this class! Discussing and
presenting your ideas and solutions is a great way to improve your problem solving abilities!
General hints for this course:
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Work in groups. Try small cases. Plug in small numbers. Do examples. Look for patterns. Draw
pictures. Use LOTS of paper. Talk it over. Choose effective notation. Look for symmetry. Divide into
cases. Work backwards. Argue by contradiction. Consider extreme cases. Modify the
problem. Generalize. Don’t give up after five minutes. Don’t be afraid of a little algebra. Sleep on
it if need be. Ask.
Homework:
Weekly homework will be assigned but not collected. Quiz problems will be related to the assignment. Practice is essential in
this course! You are encouraged to work together with other students on homework!
- Week 1 (due Mon Sep 18): Read Chapter 1 (Invariance Principle).
Think about some of the following problems: any on Jacob's sheet, as well as Engel 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 14, 15, 26, 27, 31, 49, 51, 55.
- Week 2 (due Mon Sep 25): Read Chapter 2 (Coloring Proofs).
Think about some of the following problems: any on Jacob's sheet, as well as Engel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 26.
- Week 3 (due Mon Oct 2): Read Chapter 3 (Extremal principle).
Think about some of the following problems: any on Jacob's sheet, as well as Engel 4, 6, 7abcd, 11a, 13 (hint: consider the person who won the most games), 14 (harder), 22 (hard), 27, 28, 32, 33.
- Week 4 (due Mon Oct 9): Read Chapter 4 (Box/pigeonhole principle).
Think about some of the following problems: any on Jacob's sheet, as well as Engel 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 35, 36, 52, 74.
- Week 5 (due Mon Oct 16): Read Chapter 6 (Number Theory).
Think about some of the following problems: any on Jacob's sheet, as well as Engel 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18, 21, 22, 29, 31, 32, 34 (irreducible here means fraction in lowest term), 36, 37, 39, 43, 46, 53, 57, 66, 68, 72, 74, 82, 98 ('pairwise prime' here means coprime, i.e. gcd = 1), 137, 167.
- Week 6 (due Mon Oct 23): Read Chapter 7 (Inequalities).
Think about some of the following problems: Engel 2, 4, 10, 11 (one way is to use the rearrangement inequality), 14, 15, 16, 17, 29 (e.g. induct), 45, 49, 52, 53, 54, 61, 67, 80 (use CS).
- Week 7 (due Mon Oct 30): Read Chapter 8 (Induction).
Think about some of the following problems: any on Jacob's sheet, as well as Engel 7, 10(ab), 15, 16, 17 [note: 2n+1 should be 2n-1!], 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28 [tricky], 37 [note typo: last number should be 100117], 39.
- Week 8 (due Mon Nov 13): Read Chapter 9 (Sequences).
Think about some of the following problems: 1, 2, 3, 5, 17, 18 [solve #3 first!], 20, 22, 27, 49 [typo: show a_k <= 0!], 50, 52, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64.
- Week 9 (due Mon Nov 20): Read Chapter 10 (Polynomials).
Think about some of the following problems: any on Jacob's sheet, as well as Engel 2, 3, 6, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 39, 40, 44, 45, 46, 53, 55.
- Week 10 (due Mon Nov 27): Read Chapter 13 (Games).
Think about some of the following problems: any on Jacob's sheet, as well as Engel 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28.
Marking scheme:
- Quizzes (about 10): 55%
- Participation: 10%
- Final assessment: 35%
There are no make-up quizzes, but the lowest three quiz scores will be dropped.
Academic integrity:
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Please familiarise yourself with the University of Toronto Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. See also a simplified version.
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The University of Toronto treats cases of academic misconduct very seriously. All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following the procedures outlined in the Code. The consequences for academic misconduct can be severe, including a failure in the course and a notation on your transcript. Every year, students get expelled permanently for academic offences.
Accessibility:
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University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations, or have any accessibility concerns about
the course, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible.