Info Sheet&Contract

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Carl Libis

OFFICE: 212 Tyler Hall

TELEPHONE: (401) 874-9067

E-MAIL: clibis@math.uri.edu

COURSE SCHEDULE: Section 01 MWF 2:00-2:50 PM Rodman 002

OFFICE HOURS: MWF 9:20-10:00 AM, 1:00-1:50 PM, or by appointment

TEXT: For All Practical Purposes, 6th edition, by COMAP, W. H. Freeman, 2003.

Students who require accommodations and who have documentation from Disability Services (874-2098) should make arrangements with your instructor as soon as possible.

Course Objective: The course is a general education survey course in mathematics. The course is aimed at theneeds of students in non-math intensive majors. You should find the course both interesting and challenging without a heavy reliance on high school mathematics. Indeed, most students will see the material as fresh and different, not at all like "traditional mathematics". Each unit will be a sample of an important branch of mathematics.

Attendance Policy: You are responsible for everything that goes on in class, whether or not you are in attendance. You are expected to be on time for class, remain until class is dismissed, and refrain from any disruptive behavior in class. Failure to observe these rules will jeopardize your enrollment in this class.

Writing Assignment: there will be one research paper due toward the end of the semester. It does not have to belong, 3-5 typed pages. For this assignment, you may pick one of the suggestions given at the end of the chapters that we cover or you may choose a topic from the following list:
multicultural mathematics
history of mathematics
current level of mathematics skills in American high schools
gender and/or race issues in mathematics education
math anxiety
math puzzles
historical figures in mathematics - personal histories
professions and levels of math used for various professions.
Your work will be judged on the basis of relevence to the course, quality of writing, validity of information, interest, and references used.

Evaluation: There are many activities that you will be involved in throughout this course which will count toward your grade. I will use the following point totals to evaluate your effort and successes in learning the material:
Writing Assignment .................................. 100 points
Three exams at 100 points each ............... 300 points
Quizzes/classwork/short projects............... 100 points
Final exam ................................................ 200 points
Total ........................................................ 700 points

Homework: Homework problems from the textbook will be assigned but will not be part of your grade. Short projects may be assigned throughout the semester. The homework problems are the core of the course. The main purpose of the problems is to make you think through and master the ideas of the subject so that you can confidently apply your knowledge in new situations. You will learn a great deal from hones hard work on a problem, even if you don't succeed in solving it. Read the text material before working the problems. The tests will reflect the variety of the homework problems. It is important that you give these problems adequate time and effort.
 
 

Date	Chapter	Lecture Topics	Pages	Suggested Exercises
09/08		Games
09/10	1	Euler Circuits	1-6	1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 13, 20, 21, 25, 27, 28, 34
09/13	1	Finding Euler Circuits	6-10
09/15	1	Circuits with Reused Edges	10-17
09/17	1	Circuits with More Complications	17-19
09/20	2	Hamiltonian Circuits	32-40	1, 3, 11, 14, 16, 27, 29, 34, 40, 41, 43
09/22	2	Hamiltonian Circuits	32-40
09/24	2	Traveling Salesman Problem Strategies for Solving the Traveling Salesman Problem	40-41 41-45
09/27	2	Minimum-Cost Spanning Trees	45-52
09/29	2	Critical-Path Analysis	52-56
10/01		Review
10/04		EXAM 1
10/06	3	Scheduling Tasks
10/08	3	Critical-Path Schedules
10/11		COLUMBUS DAY
10/13	3	Independent Tasks
10/15	3	Bin Packing
10/18	3	Resolving Conflict
10/20	9	The ZIP Code
10/22	9	Bar Codes
10/25	9	Bar Codes
10/27	10	Binary Codes
10/29	10	Encoding with Parity-Check Sums
11/01	10	Cryptography
11/03		Review
11/05		EXAM 2
11/08	19	Fibonacci Numbers, The Golden Ratio
11/10		THURSDAY CLASSES MEET
11/12	19	Balance in Symmetry, Rigid Motions
11/15	19	Preserving the Pattern
11/17	19	Analyzing Patterns, Strip Patterns
11/19	19	Symmetry Groups
11/22	19	Notation for Patterns, Imperfect Patterns
11/24		Review
11/26		THANKSGIVING RECESS
11/29		EXAM 3
12/01		Magic Squares
12/03		Magic Squares
12/06		Magic Squares
12/08		Magic Squares
12/10		Magic Squares
12/13		Magic Squares
12/15		READING DAY
		FINAL EXAM at