MAT 118

Welcome to MAT 118

There is much more to mathematics than just calculations and solving equations. In this course we will examine several mathematical topics accessible to students with an understanding of high-school mathematics. These will be selected from among the following: voting methods; the mathematics of money; probability; graphs, paths, and networks; tilings and polyhedra; game theory; and other topics.

For more information, please select General information link in the menu to the left.

Announcements

Announcements are listed in reverse chronological order: the most recent announcement is at the top.

7/1/09 Here is this week's homework assignment: Ch 15, # 42,48,60, 62, 82. Extra Credit: #84. Also do Ch 1, #1, 12, 18, 28, 36. I will post it properly in the 'Syllabus' Section in a day or two.

6/25/09 The power outage and subsequent odor in our classroom caused us to cancel the last hour and a half of class today. I think that was a good decision, and I thank you for your patience and your ability to act in an orderly way. This will not seriously affect the rest of the semester. We still managed to cover all the information needed to do the homework (I only assigned problems for half of chapter 15) so the homework is still due on tuesday, june 30. Here is how the rest of the semester will break down. On Tuesday, we will cover the last half of chapter fifteen and start chapter one. On Thursday we will finish chapter one and do some selected topics from chapter two. The next tuesday (week six) we will finish selected topics from chapter two for up to an hour, and then the next two and a half hours will be a review day- please come prepared with any questions that you have from the entire semester- I also will have provided you with some review questions at this point. Then the final exam will be during class on Thursday, July 9 (the last day of class). This is very nearly what I had already planned to do during the last part of the semester. What we missed during the last hour and a half today was passing out the midterms and then reviewing the midterm exam. Therefore I will post solutions to the midterm online (along with answers to even numbered homework exercises, as promised). Please contact me with any questions that you have. I hope that none of you were negatively affected by the brief time we spent smelling the gas. Have a good weekend!

6/24/09 I have moved to a new office on the fourth floor, room 4-116. So my Tuesday 12:30-1:30pm and Thursday 5:00pm-6:00pm office hours will now be in 4-116.

6/11/09 Since we didn't get to Logistic Equation today, you can turn problem 46 from chapter 10 in with next week's homework if you like. Or you can turn it in with this week's homework.

6/10/09 I have made a small change in the homework assignment, to problem 46 on chapter 10. In problem 46, for the initial population use 140 (instead of .7), and 200 as the carrying capacity. Then find P1 and P2 (the population after one and 2 generations) and then do part C as written.

6/9/09 I have added new office hours (see the General Information tab to the left). As you can see, I have 12 hours a week: plenty of time for you to come and ask questions.

6/8/09 Extra Credit Assignments (Mini-Excursions):Here are the details of how the extra-credit will work, and the assignments you should complete if you want extra credit. There are four mini-excursions in the book. You can do any (or all, or some) of the mini-excursions for up to 2% (for each mini-excursion) extra credit on your final grade. I will grade each mini-excursion individually, and your grade will determine how much extra credit you get. For instance, if you turn in a single mini-excursion and do half of the problems correctly, then you will receive 50% credit, which will translate into .5*2 = 1% added to your final grade. So getting a 50% on the extra credit is still a good thing. You may do the extra credit in groups, each group can have a maximum of 4 people in it (but you are welcome to do them individually). If you do decide to work in a group, email me in advance, with the names of the people in your group. Each person in the group must submit their own copy of the work. If you disagree with someone in your group about an answer, then you can write your own answer on your individual copy of the work, everyone's answers don't have to be the same. In fact, you are encouraged to write your answers in your own words, and use the group element as a way to discuss the problems and try to figure them out. All the extra credit assignments must be turned in by the date of the final exam. Work turned in after the final exam will not be graded. You are also welcome to ask me questions about the extra credit in office hours, but since it is not a required element of the course, I prefer not to answer questions on the extra credit during class time.

Since the extra credit can have a significant benefit to your grade (up to 8%), it will be harder than the homework, and will require a better understanding of the material than is normally required of the average student. Therefore, if you feel that you are really struggling with course the material, the best way to improve your grade is to come to office hours or go to the Math Learning Center, spend extra time reading the book and studying your notes, etc. so that you can do better on the homework and exams. Only after you feel comfortable with the material in class should you attempt to go above and beyond what is required and distinguish yourself by completing the extra credit.

Mini-Excursion 1: This is located after chapter 4. You must do the following exercises: 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 21, 22.
Mini-Excursion 2: This is located after chapter 8. You must do the following exercises: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 16, 17, 18, 19
Mini-Excursion 3: This is located after chapter 12. You must do the following exercises: 1, 2, 9, 10, 14, 21, 23, 24, 26.
Mini-Excursion 4: This is located after chapter 16. You must do the following exercises: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 18

6/4/09: Some people reported having trouble finding the book. I found some used ones on Amazon for about 7 dollars, plus shipping. So this is one option to consider if the bookstores are giving you trouble.

6/2/09: I had some trouble getting the scanner to work, so I wasn't able to upload this week's homework assignment yet. If you have a book,then you can start on the homework now, it is posted in the 'Syllabus' section to the left. it is due June 9th.