BackgroundThe POTW is a program that exists in some form or variation at many of the top colleges and universities across the nation and around the world. Each week, a new ... exciting ... and challenging problem will be posted to this homepage. Interested cadets, faculty, and other individuals outside USMA are welcome and encouraged to participate.Rules of EngagementThe POTW contest will span the entire academic year at West Point, but "Top Guns" (winners) will be identified in three categories for each of the two semesters--Fall 2011 and Spring 2012, and certificates will be awarded to each. The categories are: - Top Cadet
- Top USMA Faculty Member
- Overall Winner (if different from 1 and 2)
All interested parties will have access to the problem at 1200 hours (Noon EST) on Friday of Week "n" and will have until 1600 (4 p.m. EST) on Thursday of Week "n+1" to present their solutions.
Good luck!
Submission of Solutions
Submit to: Dr. Bethany Kubik
How: Email me your solution. Email may take the forms of either: plain text typed into an email message, a word document, excel document, mathematica notebook, or scanned adobe file. Regardless of the submission method, please show your work to the best of your ability. If none of these options works for you, you may drop it off in my office TH214. Please put the time of submission on it with the subject line: POTW
Failure to follow these directions may result in your submission not making into the pile in the correct order!
Scoring
Each problem will be worth a maximum of 10 points, with correctness, completeness and timeliness factoring into one's score. The first correct solution received will be awarded 10 points, the second will get 9 points, and so on. Answers with no work are not complete solutions. The fifth correct respondent will receive 6 points, and each subsequent solution received before the deadline will receive 5 points, if correct. This permits respondents who are unable to get timely access to the problem for a given week to still remain competitive over the course of the term. No documentation is required. Incorrect solutions, regardless of order of submission, will receive a score between 0 and 4 points, based on partial credit of work shown. Scores will be posted around Monday following the problem's closeout on the previous Thursday. Check out your scores at the POTW Scoreboard.