Challenge Problem Set 1

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Read the paragraphs below for my recommendations for working through this problem set:

You will have one week and 5 attempts to complete these Challenge Problems. Although each question will involve unique numbers for each student, I encourage you to work with others in study groups to solve these problems. Take group discussions as an opportunity to listen to how other people understand and explain concepts; this can lend new perspectives. At the same time, try to offer your own explanations for difficult concepts. Remember there are often many solutions to a single problem. Trying to teach and explain difficult material to others can solidify your understanding OR can help you pinpoint areas that you still don't entirely grasp. If you exhaust your third attempt at a problem set and are still having difficulty, I encourage you to come to my office hours where we can work problems together.

Challenge Problems Sets are designed to combine multiple concepts into single questions. Where the suggested homework or optional weekly review materials might focus on more straightforward questions, the Challenge Problems represent the highest level of difficulty likely to be seen on exams. That said, problems are seldom, if ever, presented the same way twice. The goal of these problem sets is not to prepare you for all of the possible combinations of difficult questions, but to frame my expectations for excellence. While you will find no new concepts in these problems, there will often be the need to apply what you've learned in new contexts, or scenarios involving multiple ideas from class.

To be successful on Challenge Problems Sets, you should first work through the practice problems outlined below:

• Suggested homework assignments related to the daily readings will be assigned from the textbook (see the lecture schedule for a list of these assigned questions by day); these textbook problems should be considered REQUIRED to be successful in the course, but will not be collected or graded.  As an incentive for completing the suggested problems, the reading and homework questions will be used to help generate quiz questions.
• The OPTIONAL weekly review materials will also be helpful for studying the most typical problems encountered on quizzes and exams. Try to approach problems first without consulting answer keys; this may require patience and frustration, but it's important to formulate solutions as best you can before referencing the textbook or answer. This will help you target what you presently can and cannot solve independently.