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History of Mathematics
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Instructor: |
Roger Peck |
Office: |
Science I, Room 120 (behind the Giraffe) |
Office hours: |
Monday, Thursday
3:00-4:00PM, Tuesday 8:00-9:00PM |
Phone: |
664-2246 (office) 664-3151 (Department Office) |
Required Textbooks
A History of Mathematics by Carl Boyer, Uta Merzbach (Contributor), Isaac Asimov (Preface)
ISBN 0-471-54397-7Journey through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics by William Dunham
ISBN 0-14-014739-X
Reading Assignments/Class Participation: Substantial weekly readings will be assigned from the textbooks. These reading assignments will form the basis of class discussions. Additional reading assignments will be distributed occasionally. The lectures will discuss the reading assignment. Each student is required to keep current in the assigned readings and actively participate in the class discussions. Each student will be responsible for leading the discussion at least once during the quarter. Class participation will count for 10% of the grade.
Labs/Projects: Lab projects will be distributed each Tuesday. They are to be completed in groups of two to four students. Written reports are due on the following Monday. Lab projects will count for 10% of the grade.
Mathematics Journal: Each student is responsible for maintaining a personal Mathematics Journal. You should record your mathematical, historical, and personal observations, questions, problems, speculations, quotations, proofs, etc. Some assigned Journal entries may be made in class. The journal will be collected on January 29th, February 26th, and March 12th. The journal will count for 5% of the grade.
Term Paper Prospectus: Each student must submit an abstract, outline, and preliminary bibliography of their Term Paper by February 18th. The Prospectus will count for 5% of the grade.
Term Paper: A ten to fifteen page paper on a mathematical topic, person, or question is due by 5:00pm March 20th (the beginning of the Final Exam period). The paper will constitute 20% of the course grade.
Student Presentation: Each student will give the class a 20 minute presentation on a research topic or question of their choosing. The student presentation will constitute 10% of the grade.
Homework: Five Homework assignments will be collected and graded. Assignments will be made in class at least a week in advance of their due date. Each assignment will be worth 8% (for a total of 40%) of the course grade.
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Maintained by Roger Peck |
