Fall 2015
Instructor: Enrique Treviño
Lectures: MWF 9:00 - 9:50 am in Young Hall 117
Office Hours: MW between 10am and 11:30am. You can also arrange a meeting by appointment.
Office: Young Hall 105
Email:
Phone Ext.: #6187
Announcements
The final project is a poster presentation. You will have to be ready to present a draft (a pdf version of your poster) on Wednesday Dec. 2. The
printed version of the poster will be due on Friday Dec. 4. The printout is done in the TRC department in the Library.
On Monday Dec. 7 we will do a poster presentation in the hall of the first floor of Young Hall. We will keep the posters up all day, but you will have to
be next to your poster from 9am to 9:50am.
You will work on the poster in a group of 2 people (I will accept groups of 3 in some cases, but you have to request it via email).
Due on Monday Nov. 23 is the following:
The N is a Number documentary is a biography of Paul Erdős.
The blog post instructions have been emailed to you. You can also find them here.
The blog assignments have been handed out.
Remember to submit a revision of your summer assignment on Monday at class time. Turn in a printed revision and the graded original. Also send a digital copy to my email with the filename "LastNameSummerRevision" with your last name and the file format in .docx or.pdf.
Remember to post a comment on the first post in the course blog by Monday September 7.
Check out this TED talk by mathemagician Arthur Benjamin from Harvey Mudd College. The video is only 15 minutes long and essentially does the tricks I did on Monday. He is much better at squaring and explains his technique but he doesn't let you know how he does the "guessing the digit" trick which I explained today in class. When I saw this video I figured out the trick which is what you saw in class today.
The Colossal Book of Mathematics by Martin Gardner.
A pocket style manual 7th edition by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers.
The textbooks are mandatory.Topics we will cover
Puzzles, paradoxes, and brain teasers have inspired many young people to pursue careers in science, and more than one achievement in mathematics has emerged from the desire to solve difficult puzzles. In this course we will examine many famous (and not-so-famous) puzzles, and explore famous games such as Sudoku and Monopoly, to gain insight into all manner of phenomena. To guide us in our mathematical diversions, we will read essays by Martin Gardner, Ian Stewart, Peter Winkler, Terence Tao, and other popular mathematics writers. In addition, we will view documentaries and conduct group discussions to explore multiple aspects of mathematics.Grading
The course grade will be based on:
Summer Assignment 5%,
Class Participation 15%,
First blog post 10%,
Second blog post 15%,
Third blog post 15%,
Blog participation 15%,
Final Paper 25%.
You are to read Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou with art by Alecos Papadatos, Annie Di Donna. This is widely available at libraries, bookstores and easy to find at amazon.com. After reading the graphic novel you are to write an essay about the graphic novel that answers the following questions:
After getting the assignment back, you are to revise the essay and re-submit the graded essay and the revised essay on Monday September 1st.
The course will have a blog with the name FIYS169: Recreational Mathematics. Each student will submit three posts during the semester at dates provided by me. Each post will have different instructions. The blog will have daily student posts from early September 9th to late November (each day by a student assigned by me). To be able to post, I will send an invitation to grant you access as an author of the blog. You will receive an email requesting that you register a Google account (if you don't already have one). When registering an account, make sure you have your name appear when you post (on your profile settings change your display name to your name).
A brief summary of what you are expected on each blog post is below. More detailed instructions will be given when each assignment is handed out in class.
Finally, to ensure the blog has a life of its own. You will be required to post one comment (or more) on at least 2 posts each week (excluding Homecoming week, Fall Break and Thanksgiving week where you are required only 1 comment). The comment has to be a well-written post of at least 250 words. Your blog participation grade will depend on the quality of these comments. When commenting on a post about a chapter in the book, you need to read the chapter yourself as well.
Class participation
Students are expected to come to every lecture. Students will be expected to read the required readings, pay attention in class and contribute positively to the class. Use of cell phones during class, falling asleep in class and missing class will translate to a lower grade.
Final Paper
There will be a final paper due on December 17 by 11:30am. The details on what will be required for this paper are in this link.
Writing Center
The Writing Center offers free tutorial assistance, information, and resources for every stage of the writing process.
In the online scheduler you can set up an appointment with a writing center tutor. You can also set up a standing appointment (to meet every week at a set time) and you can also have access to a lot of resources the writing center has online.
Accommodations Statement
If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please consult with The Learning and Teaching Center. Since accommodations may require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact the center as soon as possible. For details about the services for students with disabilities and the accomodations process, visit http://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/resources/disability/.
You are also welcome to contact me privately to discuss your academic needs. However, all disability-related accommodations must be arranged through Teryn Robinson at the Learning and Teaching Center.
Last modified on November 21, 2015.