Assignments for Mathematical Sciences Seminar

Day Date Activity Assignment
Wed1/13 Welcome
  • Read the section on Infinity (p. 28) for discussion next time (1/20).
  • Take a look at the topics in the text: pick the one that grabs your interest the most for next time. We'll "vote" to choose some of the other topics we consider during the semester.
  • Consider attending this Friday's seminar, featuring department chair Steve Wilkinson (3:00 in ST 111). Here's his blurb.
Wed 1/20 Infinity Homework for next time (due Wed, 1/27):
  • Visit Ivars Peterson's page of Math Treks (here are some more archived)
  • Type up a well-written one-page summary of a topic of your choice. Describe how you might turn this into a poster presentation.
  • Also: mock up a one-page "poster" packed with information from our text's infinity unit. Draw it as if it were an 8 1/2 x 11 photo of the poster.
Wed 1/27 The end of infinity For next time:
  1. Visit the library, and look over some recent copies of the College Math Journal
  2. Find one article, cite it appropriately, and type up a one-page summary, describing what is interesting to you about the topic. Could it become the inspiration for a poster?
  3. Figure out which of the topics we vote on today should be called the top five. Use a rational scheme, which you could explain. Here's the vote data.
Wed 2/3 Tips and Tricks; Voting Read Fibonacci (p. 44), and the Golden Rectangle (p. 48) sections of your book.

Bring to class some object from nature which illustrates the Fibonacci numbers. It must be an object, separate from yourself!

Wed 2/10 Visit from Glendale and Emmanuel -- postponed!

We'll talk Fibonacci's instead....

Prepare a one-page, typed prelimary proposal of an idea for your poster project. You may have already decided on a topic, or you may be still trying to decide (or, let's face it, you may not have thought of it yet!;). In any event, give me your proposal, so that we can start moving on this. Consider various resources, such as the Mathematics Magazine, College Math Journal, Ivars Peterson, Lewis Carroll, your work, your hobbies, etc.
Wed 2/17 Visit from Glendale and Emmanuel Read the section on Money Math for next time (p. 176).
Wed 2/24 Money Math
  1. Read the section on Fractals, p. 100.
  2. Using the logarithmic spiral for fun (but no profit;): make your own spiral, using my web interface and your own image, and I'll post them on our "website gallery". Try to find some extra mathematical facet of interest (e.g. )
Wed 3/3 Finish Money Math; Start Fractals
  1. Read the section on Chaos
  2. Using the funhouse mirrors for fun (but no profit;): make your own funhouse mirror image, using my web interface and your own image, and I'll post them on our "website gallery".
  3. Please give me a one-page, polished version of your updated project proposal (hand in next time, 3/17).
Wed 3/17 Fractals, with Chaos
  1. More Chaos
Wed 3/24 Chaos in action For next time: read about Genetics (p. 148)

For 4/7: mock up your poster (as we did for "infinity"). This should be a single page, representing your poster presentation. Include a "User's Guide" for me, to the elements of your poster.

Wed 3/31 Genetics of Alex Kuhl (well, not really!) For 4/7: Genetics (p. 148)

For 4/7: mock up your poster (as we did for "infinity"). This should be a single page, representing your poster presentation. Include a "User's Guide" for me, to the elements of your poster.

Wed 4/7 Genetics For 4/15: Please read codes (p. 160). This is very appropriate, given that we just heard from Alex Kuhl about security....
Wed 4/14 Codes For 4/22: My brother will be coming in, to talk about life in the business world as a mathematician/statistician.

For two weeks from now (4/28): hand in the preliminary poster mock-up that I'm returning, and a final iteration (refine the poster, add some references, etc.; include a one-page description of your patter for a visitor). Fill in holes! We're trying to move toward the final product.....

Website maintained by Andy Long. Comments appreciated.