"Barge Mathematics Individual Competition"

Do math!  Win money!  Free food!

It’s time once again for the BARGE MATHEMATICS INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION, open to first second and third year Lafayette students. Cash prizes of $500.00 for 1^st place, $300.00 for 2^nd place, and $200.00 for 3^rd place are up for grabs, so sharpen your pencils and dive in on Sunday, October 4; donuts @ 9:45am in Pardee 101, exam @ 10am in Pardee 102B and pizza for lunch.  No pre-registration needed, just show up!  Questions?  Please contact Prof. Yuster, yustert@lafayette.edu.

Here’s a sample problem: Many years ago, when trans fats were not of concern, an overarching fast food company began to market chicken scraps welded together into nuggets and deep fried, with dipping sauce to disguise their taste. In those days, nuggets could be purchased in packages of 6, 9, or 20. Thus it was not possible to purchase exactly 13 nuggets, but it was possible to purchase exactly 29. What was the largest number of nuggets it was impossible to purchase exactly? (You may assume that the company had infinitely many nuggets. They didn’t – it just seemed that way.)