Topics in Contemporary Mathematics (MAT 1171), section 106
Sean L. Forman
Fall, 2001
Office Hours: Monday 9:00-10:00
& 4:30-5:45, Tuesday 1:00-3:45. During this time, I will be in my
office and will be available to answer your questions about homework,
lectures, etc.
Contact Information:
| Office: | 217 Barbelin |
| Office Phone: | x3394 |
| Math Office: | x1540 |
| E-Mail: | sforman@sju.edu |
| Webpage: | http://www.sju.edu/~sforman |
Textbook: Excusions in Modern Mathematics, Fourth
Edition, Tannenbaum & Arnold
Goals: This course introduces
you to recent advances in mathematics and their application to the
social sciences. You should gain both a working knowledge of the
theory and techniques used to solve them computationally.
Topics
we will cover include voting methods and power (Chap. 1 & 2), Graph
Theory (5, 6, & 7), growth - linear and exponential (10), time
permitting, fair division (3 & 4), and probability and counting (15).
Homework: It is imperative that
you do your homework and your reading for this class. Learning
mathematics is mostly about practice and effort. Some assignments
will be for practice, and some assignments will be collected.
The process in which you solve the problem is often more important
than getting the right answer, so very little or no credit will be
given to answers with no explanation or work shown. In addition to
homework, we may have some in-class work that may be collected.
Quizzes: Each day (except days
of tests or the day right after a test) a roll of a six-sided die will
determine if we have a quiz at the beginning of class.
| 1, 2, 3 | no quiz |
| 4 | 1 question |
| 5 | 2 questions |
| 6 | 3 questions |
Tests: There will be three
exams during the semester and a mandatory, cumulative final exam. The
tentative schedule for the exams is:
Thursday, September 27
Thursday, November 1
Thursday, December 6
Grading:
| HW and in class | 5% |
| Quizzes | 15% |
| Tests | 20% (each) |
| Final | 20% |
Attendance: We will be covering
important material and may have a quiz in every class, so missing any
class will in some way hurt your grade. If you know you will be
missing a class or an exam, you are expected to notify me well in
advance, make up exams beforehand, and turn in any homework early. In
cases where you are ill and miss an exam, you will need a note from a
physician in order to make up an exam. If your absence is unexcused,
you will not be able to make up exams. When in doubt, e-mail or call
me. Exceptions may be granted for extended absences.
Academic Honesty: You are
expected to know and follow the University's academic honesty policy.
Both copying other's work and allowing others to copy yours are
violations of this policy. You should work with others on the
homework, but the completed work should be your own. On exams, you
are only permitted to use materials authorized by the instructor, and
use of unauthorized materials or other forms of cheating will result
in a 0 on the quiz or exam, the notification of the
Registrar's office, and potentially an F in the course.
Class Conduct and
Participation: You are expected to respect others comments,
questions, and time. You will be asked to leave the class if your
behavior is disruptive. Cell phones, beepers, and other noisemakers
should be turned off or silenced. Please let me know if you need to
leave class early or will arrive late.
Questions and comments
are encouraged and you should also feel welcome to ask me questions
either in class, during office hours, or by e-mail.
Webpage: My course webpage will
contain information regarding homework, upcoming lectures, tests,
quizzes, and interesting links. The URL is
http://www.sju.edu/~sforman/courses/