Math 1313 Liberal Arts Honors Mathematics Course Syllabus

Instructor:       Dr. Cordero
Office:           425 Pickard Hall
Telephone:        817-272-5062
Office hours:     M/W 2:00-3:45 or by appointment.
E-mail:             cordero@uta.edu

Textbook:      The Heart of Mathematics-An invitation to effective thinking By Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird (Key College Publishing)

About the course:  In this course we will consider some of the greatest ideas of humankind-ideas comparable to the works of Shakespeare, Plato, and Michelangelo. The great ideas we will explore here are within the realm of mathematics. In this course we will experience what mathematics is all about by delving into some beautiful and intriguing issues. Some of the topics we will investigate are:

• The pigeonhole principle
• Fibonacci numbers
• Prime numbers, irrational numbers, the real number line
• The meaning of “infinity”
• Pythagora’s Theorem
• The golden rectangle
• The fourth dimension
• The Mobius band and Klein bottle
• Knot theory
• Chaos and fractals
• Probability

Evaluation:

The exams will be on the following dates (subject to change):

Research project:  Students will select a mathematical topic outside of those covered in our class, read and teach themselves any necessary background to understand it and then investigate the topic. Students will work in groups of two or three on this project.

(The format of the groups will be determined at a later date.)  Each group will write a final paper on their findings and present a poster display during the class poster session the last week of classes. Also, each student will write short individual statements regarding the experience. Various interim reports will be collected throughout the term.  Students are invited and encouraged to discuss all phases of the project with the instructor.

Tentative timetable for project: