| PROFESSOR: | Dr. Douglas Anderson |
| Ivers 234D | |
| 299-4453 (office) | |
| andersod@cord.edu |
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday 12-4; other times by discovery.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Mathematics 402 is required of all senior mathematics majors. First we will seek to understand the historical bases of mathematics, including the contributions made by individuals and cultures, and the problems societies faced that gave rise to mathematical systems. Each student will read a chapter from William Dunham's Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics and deliver it to the class in a 35-40 minute oral presentation. Next we will have each student experience the reading and learning of mathematical material not normally seen in our typical course sequence. Students may choose a theorem from Proofs from THE BOOK, Third Edition, by Martin Aigner and Gunter M. Ziegler, an article from Mathematics Magazine or American Mathematical Monthly, or a topic of their own research, then deliver a 30-40 minute oral presentation to the class.
| GRADING: | ||
| Preparation | 15% | |
| Presentations (2) | 80% | |
| Attendance and Participation | 5% |
COMMENTS:
1. The topics you research and the resultant talks are to be mathematical in content, not just about mathematics.
2. The talks are to be 30-40 minutes in length, depending on the material; this will take planning on your part. You might want to give the talk to friends or a fictitious audience before your actual presentation. You should feel rather well prepared a week ahead of your scheduled talk. You will find that during the last week many unexpected questions will come to mind; it is then that you are really coming to understand the depth of your presentation.
3. The talks are to be well-planned, using teaching aids such as power point, overhead transparencies, class handouts, et cetera as appropriate. We have some supplies available in the departmental office.
4. During and/or after each talk members of the class may ask questions or seek clarifications.
5. Absolutely feel free to stop by to address problem areas that you encounter, or to discuss presentation strategies.
6. Chapters and presentation dates will be reserved on a first come, first served basis.
7. Timeliness on the choice of topics and dates is expected.
| Date | Topic |
| Tuesday, March 6 | Introduction, Number Classifications |
| Thursday, March 8 | Continue Preparation |
| Tuesday, March 13 | Continue Preparation |
| Thursday, March 15 | Chapter 2: James |
| Chapter 4: Kevin | |
| Tuesday, March 20 | Chapter 5: Doug |
| Chapter 6: Tyler | |
| Thursday, March 22 | Chapter 7: Kiz |
| Chapter 8: Chris | |
| Tuesday, March 27 | Chapter 10: Zach |
| Thursday, March 29 | Continue Research |
| Tuesday, April 3 | Continue Research |
| Thursday, April 5 | Continue Research |
| Tuesday, April 10 | Doug: Numbers as Sums of Two Squares |
| Thursday, April 12 | Kevin: Math & Baseball |
| Tuesday, April 17 | Chris: Completing Latin Squares |
| Thursday, April 19 | Kiz: Of Friends and Politicians |
| James: Fermat's Last Theorem | |
| Tuesday, April 24 | Zach: Application of Elementary Group Theory to Central Solitaire |
| Tyler: Stopping Strategies and Gambler's Ruin |