Spring 2003 History of Mathematics
Dr. Rhoads and Dr. Sarah

  • Dr. Rhoads' Office Hours
  • Dr. Sarah's Office Hours
  • Campus Pipeline
  • Syllabus and Grading Policies for 3010
  • Syllabus and Grading Policies for 5980
  • Syllabus and Grading Policies for 5125
  • Class Highlights
    •

    Final Projects

    You can pick up your final projects. Final course grades are available at the registrar. WebCT will not be updated. Description   Instructions   Peer Review


    History of Trigonometry by Jane Butts   timeline   references   worksheet goals   worksheet
    History of Ptolemy by Jeniffer Cross   timeline   references   worksheet   reflections
    History of Astronomy by Krista Cornehl   timeline   references   worksheet   grad paper
    History of Logs by Anthony Fogleman   timeline   references   worksheet   reflections
    History of Golden Mean by Mitchell Johnston   timeline   references   worksheet   worksheet   worksheet   reflections
    History of Infinity by Adam Becker   timeline   references   worksheet   reflections
    History of Statistics by Eric Adams   timeline   worksheet
    History of Probability by Leila Bentley
    History of Probability by Scott York
    History of Probability by Richard Riley   timeline   references   worksheet   reflections
    History of Geometry by Jessica Clark   timeline   references   worksheet   reflections
    History of Non-Euclidean Geometry by Ederson Moreira Dos Santos   timeline   references   worksheet   reflections
    History of Tailor Series by Trey McMillian
    History of Integrals by Ben Whitehead   timeline   references   worksheet   reflections
    History of Numerical Methods to Calculate Pi by Andy Yopp   project
    History of Linear Algebra by Melissa Mogensen   timeline   timeline refs   references   worksheet   grad paper
    History of Group Theory by Jonathan Loss   timeline   references   worksheet   grad paper
    History of Public Keys by Sean Allison   timeline   references   worksheet   reflection
    History of Coding by Brent Woodruff


    Jump down to tomorrow's homework which is located above the red lines
     
     
    DUE Date
     
     


    		WORK DUE at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted!
    3010 students should attend unless it is noted that attendance of a specific class date is not necessary (extra credit will be given to 3010 students who attend and contribute to the graduate student only designated classes). Graduate student only work and classes will be denoted in the color purple. Work that is denoted in the color black must be completed by all students.
    May 6 - Tues
    • Final Project Poster Presentation from 9-11:30. Final computer files must be attached onto WebCT.

    Apr 30 - Wed
    • Undergrads can pick up their worksheets with suggestions for improvement from Dr. Sarah, Dr. Rhoads, and the partner you swapped worksheets with. The worksheets will be on Dr. Sarah's door (326) by 5pm.

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    Apr 29 - Tues
    1. Undergrads meet in 203. Bring worksheet to swap with partner. WebCT test 6 (review old WebCT quizzes, know the info contained there (including basic contributions of different cultures along with dates, and the history of the topics we covered along with the dates) and review Euclidean Geometry and Non-Euclidean Geometry and the related readings from the texts.)
    2. Grad only written test in 304

    Apr 28 - Mon
    • Draft 1 of the Worksheet due at 12pm onto Dr. Sarah's door - 326 Walker - .

    Apr 24 - Thur
    1. Read Journey through Genius p. 113-132
    2. Read Burton p. 523-540 and 543-563.
    3. Finish up the activities from class on Tues Apr 15 (see class highlights page).

    Apr 18 - Fri
    • Part 1 of final project due by 5pm onto Dr. Sarah's door - 326 Walker - (Project Bibliography, Timeline and References, and a Worksheet Proposal).

    Apr 17 - Thur
    1. Mandatory 10 minute consultations for undergrads about final project (sign up sheet on Dr. Sarah's door).
    2. Grad review day

    Apr 16 - Wed
    • Final project topic must be approved by Dr. Sarah or Dr. Rhoads

    Apr 15 - Tues
    • WebCT test 5 on calculus.
    • Grad students should finish up activities and readings on DEs from last Tuesday (see the class highlights page) and turn in the answers to the questions

    Apr 10 - Thur
    1. Read Burton p. 355-363, 382-389, 399-404.
    2. Read about topology
    3. Think about a topic for the final project.

    Apr 8 - Tues
    • **Grad students only class on differential equations**
    • Grad students only: Choose topic for review presentation
    Apr 3 - Thur
    • Finish up the worksheets from Tuesday's class
    Apr 1 - Tues
    • WebCT Test 4 on algebraic structures, algebraic geometry, and calculus
    • Grad students only: Proof from class

    Mar 27 - Thur
    Mar 25 - Tues
    • Class for everyone
    • Grad students only: worksheet

    Mar 20 - Thur
    1. Read Journey through Genius p. 84-112 and 155-160.
    2. If you haven't done so already, finish up the Algebraic Geometry worksheet

    Mar 18 - Tues
    • Revisions on Timeline Assignment

    Mar 6 - Thur
    1. Grad students only: Read An Introduction to Galois Theory,   RSA Coding   and   RSA Coding Continued

    Mar 4 - Tues
    1. Finish up the Parrot's Theorem
    2. Finish up the worksheets from Tues the 25th.
    3. Begin working on the Parrot's Theorem assignment

    Feb 27 - Thur
    1. **Grad students only class on algebraic structures**

    Feb 25 - Tues
    1. Read the Parrot's Theorem pages 252 - 279.
    2. Finish up worksheets and class activities from last Tuesday.
    3. Study for WebCT test 3 (class notes and worksheets from Tuesday Feb 4th, Feb 11, and Feb 18, Burton problems, and recent readings in Journey Through Genius as well as the Parrot's Theorem)

    Feb 20 - Thur
    1. **Grad students only class on linear algebra**
    2. Grad students only: Read Burton p. 596-602
    3. Timeline project for everyone due by 5pm Timeline Maker

    Feb 18 - Tues
    1. Read the Parrot's Theorem pages 220 - 252 .
    2. Read Journey Through Genius pages 133-154.
    Feb 13 - Thurs
    1. Read the Parrot's Theorem pages 195-219 .
    2. Read Burton's History of Mathematics pages 43-45, bottom of 60-66, and 68-72 . These deal with some of the early history of solving equations.
    3. Grad students only: Do exercise #9 on page 646 of Burton's History of Mathematics
    4. Grad students only: Find a point in the Cantor Ternary Set that is not one of the endpoints of a removed interval (i.e. a fraction whose denominator is not a power of 3.)
    5. Grad students only: a.) Show how to construct the Cantor middle fifths set (draw a diagram of the first few stages). b.) Show this set is "small". c.) Show this set is uncountable.

    Feb 11 - Tues
    1. Finish up worksheets and readings from Tues Feb 4 (see class highlights page).
    2. Read the Parrot's Theorem p. 151-194.
    3. Read Journey through Genius p. 245-265.

    Feb 6 - Thur
    1. **Grad students only class**
    2. Project Problems for Everyone which are due by 5pm:
      Burton p. 175 5, 8, 20, 21, 23
      Burton p. 478 1, 2
      Grad only problems: p. 175 6, 12, 25 and p. 478 3a

    Feb 4 - Tues
    1. Review WebCT test 1. (Click on WebCT tests, then on Completed, then on your test (no. 1).)
    2. WebCT test 2 on WebCT test 1 and class materials and discussion from Tues Jan 28 and Thur Jan 30 (you can see the class highlights page for an overview and links to materials).
    3. Read the Parrot's Theorem p. 118-150
    4. Begin working on the project problems which are due on Thursday.

    Jan 30 - Thur
    1. Read the Parrot's Theorem p. 88-118.
    2. Read Journey through Genius p. 68-75.
    3. Read Burton's History of Mathematics: p. 178-179 on the Sieve of Eratosthenes.
    4. Graduate students only read Burton's History of Mathematics : p. 163 - 171 (also recommended for undergraduates with modern algebra or analysis)

    Jan 28 - Tues
    1. Read pages 1 - 44 of The Parrot's Theorem. Graduate students only: Choose one of the instances where mathematics is explained. Write up the mathematics in your own words, include additional examples and try to come up with a proof.
    2. Read pages 45 - 88 of The Parrot's Theorem. Graduate students only: Choose one of the instances where mathematics is explained. Write up the mathematics in your own words, include additional examples and try to come up with a proof.
    3. Finish up searching for the answers to the history quiz from day 1. Be sure to include the web page, reading page number, or other source where you found each answer.

    Jan 23 - Thurs
    • The University has cancelled classes. Today's homework is now due on Tuesday, but you still have additional homework due then too.
    Jan 21 - Tues
    1. Read p. 24-60 in Math Through the Ages A Gentle History for Teachers and Others by Fernando Gouvea and William Berlinghoff
    2. Go to Dr. Sarah's office (326 Walker). Read "African and African American Pioneers in Mathematics," a poster that is located on the bottom of the wall just to the left of her door.
    3. Review classroom activities and homework readings (including the homework readings for today) for WebCT Test 1.
    4. Be sure that you know the password which will successfully get you into campus pipeline (contact x6266 if you have problems).
    Jan 16 - Thur
    1. Read up to p. 24 in Math Through the Ages A Gentle History for Teachers and Others by Fernando Gouvea and William Berlinghoff
    2. Purchase Journey through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics by William Dunham B and The Parrot's Theorem by Denis Guedj (translated by Frank Wynne) (softcover books from the bookstore). 3010 students should also obtain the rental textbook The History of Mathematics by David M. Burton.
    3. Bring the Parrot's Theorem to class.