Note: Most of the documents posted on this website are in Adobe Acrobat format. You can access these documents using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. In the unlikely event that this software isn't already installed on your computer, it is available as a free download from Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Take a look at descriptions of the three math courses from which you may choose one to satisfy your math requirement. Answering a few questions may help you choose which course is best for you. Note that one or both of the other two courses may be used as General Education elective(s)! (Last updated January 3, 2007.)
Announcements applicable to both MAD1104 and MGF1211:
Posted April 14, 2012: Spring 2012 students have been added, and Winter 2012 students have been deleted, from the View Your Math Grades application (see below). As stated in the syllabus, Spring 2012 students should be sure to change their passwords (which initially are identical to their Student IDs) before the first grades are posted; otherwise, anyone who knows your Student ID will be able to view your grades! The password should be changed to something that is easy for you to remember but difficult for others to guess.
Posted January 5, 2012: Earn extra credit by playing The Traveling Salesman Game! You will be asked for a Personal Identification Number (PIN), which can be found near the top of the report produced by the View Your Math Grades application, starting in Week 6. You will have four weeks to play the game, from the beginning of Week 6 to the end of Week 9. Before you start the project, you might want to view a YouTube video which explains how to play the Traveling Salesman Game. (Note: If your computer's sound is muted, please be sure to un-mute the sound before viewing the video!)
Announcements applicable to MAD1104 only:
None as yet.
Announcements applicable to MGF1211 only:
None as yet.
Math help/tutoring schedule:
The General Education Department has arranged with some of the math faculty to offer help sessions (also known as tutoring) in mathematics for students who desire such assistance. The schedule for these help/tutoring sessions will be posted around the campus as soon after the first day of classes as it is available. For your convenience, you can also view or print the math help/tutoring schedule here. (Last updated March 25, 2012.)
Textbook information:
As described in the syllabi (see above), MAD1104 and MGF1211 each have a required textbook. For specific information, please see the textbook list for AiFL mathematics courses. The textbook list includes links to the least expensive used copies available over the web!
Lecture supplements for MAD1104:
All chapters: The publisher of our textbook provides a companion website which includes some very good multimedia supplements. While you are not required to use the companion website, you may find it to be helpful in aiding your understanding of the required material in the textbook. (Posted April 6, 2003.)
All chapters: During class, we will view five of the twenty-six episodes of a videotape series called For All Practical Purposes: Introduction to Contemporary Mathematics. Meinhardt Library has all twenty-six episodes of the videotape series. If you are absent when a video is screened (see the syllabus for a schedule), you should visit the library to view the missed episode(s). (Posted April 6, 2003.)
Chapter 8: Scheduling a project is much easier if you have a pre-printed grid. No need to run to Office Depot, just print this sheet of graph paper. (Posted December 13, 2003.)
Chapter 1: Although Tim Tebow received more first-place votes, Sam Bradford received the 2008 Heisman Trophy, which is awarded based on a modified Borda Count procedure. (Posted February 23, 2009.)
Chapter 1: Starting in 2010, the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture will be chosen by the Plurality with Elimination method. (Posted February 15, 2010.)
Chapter 1: The July 29, 2005, issue of the Wall Street Journal provides this informative article about the implications for mathematics and physics of different sizes of infinity. (Used with permission from The Wall Street Journal Online.) This is purely for those who may be interested, and is not required. (Posted August 7, 2005.)
Chapter 3: Here is a proof showing that the square root of 2 is irrational. This is purely for those who may be interested, and is not required. (Posted January 11, 2003.)
Chapter 5: If you use Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, or similar drawing (or animation) software, you're using some heavy-duty algebra! For example, take a look at this description of Bézier curves, courtesy of Moshofsky/Plant Creative Services. This is purely for those who may be interested, and is not required. (Posted January 11, 2003.)
Chapter 5: Edward A. Zobel provides this proof of the quadratic formula, constructed by a process known as completing the square. This is purely for those who may be interested, and is not required. (Posted January 11, 2003.)
Chapter 6: The Oswego (NY) School District explains how the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes, in about 250 BC, used geometry to develop a surprisingly accurate estimate of the circumference of the earth! This is purely for those who may be interested, and is not required. (Posted January 11, 2003.)
Chapter 6: Calling all Culinary students! You reduced your sauce for 7 minutes in a 12-inch skillet and the sauce was delicious. Next time, only a 10-inch skillet was available, and the sauce came out watery. What happened? In the November 27, 2010, issue of the Wall Street Journal, Charles Forelle explains in his article on the mathematics of cooking that you should have reduced the sauce 1.44 times as long (i.e., slightly more than 10 minutes) when using the 10-inch skillet. (Used with permission from The Wall Street Journal Online.) This is purely for those who may be interested, and is not required. (Posted November 28, 2010.)
Chapter 7: This one-page discussion concerning permutations and combinations will help you understand these important topics. This is a required part of the course, and a hardcopy of this lecture supplement will be distributed in class. (Posted January 11, 2003.)
Chapter 7: James Guszcza's excellent article (from the July/August 2008 issue of Contingencies, a publication of the American Academy of Actuaries) engagingly explains the importance of probability- and statistics-based analytical thinking in today's business world. (Posted July 23, 2008.)
Chapter 7: In November 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended controversial changes in the scheduling of mammography to detect breast cancer. An article by noted mathematician John Allen Paulos in the December 13, 2009, issue of The New York Times explains some of the mathematics behind the risk analysis. (Posted February 10, 2010.)
If you have trouble logging in to view your grades, you might want to view this YouTube video. The primary purpose of the video is to explain how to play the Traveling Salesman Game for extra-credit; however, the beginning of the video demonstrates how to login to view your grades. (Note: If your computer's sound is muted, please be sure to un-mute the sound before viewing the video!)
Recommended links, books, and videos (not required):
Because the web is constantly changing, some of the links below may become invalid. Please notify me of any "broken links" you may discover. Thanks!
"Was Escher a mathematician or an artist?" That's one of the questions posed near the bottom of the home page of the World of Escher website. What do you think: mathematician or artist? Maybe both?
Michele Emmer, The Fantastic World of M. C. Escher, Film 7 International, 1994. Our own Meinhardt Memorial Library has a copy of this excellent videotape.
Michele Emmer (ed.), The Visual Mind: Art and Mathematics, The MIT Press, 1994. This book is also on the shelves at Meinhardt Library.
Keith Devlin, Mathematics: The Science of Patterns, Scientific American Library, 1994. Meinhardt has this book, too.
Roger B. Nelsen, Proofs Without Words: Exercises in Visual Thinking, The Mathematical Association of America, 1993.
Roger B. Nelsen, Proofs Without Words II: More Exercises in Visual Thinking, The Mathematical Association of America, 2000.
Ernest Nagel, J. R. Newman, and D. R. Hofstadter, Godel's Proof, New York University Press, 2002.
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) describes some applications of mathematics in the fields of Industrial Design (Bicycles and Geometry), Graphic Design (Corporate Logos and Symmetry), and Fashion Design (Weaving and Quadratic Equations -- no kidding!).
So you want to be in pixels? Well, you'll need to hit the math books! PBS's NOVA interviews Ellen Poon, a visual effects supervisor (and mathematician) at Industrial Light & Magic.
Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP), For All Practical Purposes: Introduction to Contemporary Mathematics, Annenberg/CPB, 1987. Meinhardt Library has all twenty-six episodes of this excellent videotape series.