undergrad research courses

Mathematics Department Courses
designed to give
an Introduction to Research for Undergraduates

MAT 160 Mathematical Problems and Games. This one-credit course is intended for students interested in sharpening their problem solving skills and in developing their mathematical intuition and their ability to express mathematical ideas. Since most of the problems involve little formal knowledge of mathematics, students from their first year on may take it, as may non-math majors. Students may also take it more than once. Grading is on a pass/fail basis. Together, the instructor and students look at a variety of problems, some math games, some counting problems, geometric problems etc. The approach is, first, to get the students to come up with ideas about how to tackle a problem, and, then, to have them write down solutions with various levels of formality. Even very bright students find it a challenge to write down watertight arguments. The class meets once a week. Each week the instructor distributes a list of problems and expected the students to hand in attempts/ideas for one or two problems chosen from this list. Fall 2000

MAT 260 Problem Solving in Mathematics. (Course development supported by RAIRE) This 3-credit course aims to give students an opportunity to develop their creativity and intuition in mathematics. Students will do carefully graded problems in several mathematical areas, some of which (for example geometry) will be already familiar. In others (such as problems in elementary number theory) the preparation needed will be minimal and will be provided. The problems that will be discussed will be for the most part non-routine, and will require a considerable amount of creativity to solve. Students will work at their own level, starting with easy problems and continuing as far as they can. They will be encouraged to develop their own ideas and arguments, and then to write them down. Both steps here are challenging, and provide excellent training for later mathematics related courses. The formal prerequisites for the course are MAT 203 or 205 or 211 or AMS 261 or B or better in MAT 132, 142 or 127. Students who are interested in problem solving but who do not want to spend so much time on it should consider taking MAT 160 (above). Spring 2001

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May 3 2000