Instructor
John E.
McCarthy
Class
TuTh 11.30-1.00 in 114 Cupples II; M 11-12 in 216 Cupples I
Writing Intensive Course
Students in 310W should be aware that the College is currently granting
"WI" credit for a course only if the course is taken during the JUNIOR
year. The Math Department disagrees with this policy and is trying to
ensure that 310W will count for the WI requirement whenever it is taken
(after EComp 100, of course). We don't know if we'll be successful.
Students are always able to file a petition for an exception to this
policy in the College Office but we can't guarantee that it will be
approved.
We just wanted to warn those of you in 310W who are not juniors of
this possible problem.
Office
105 Cupples I
Office Hours M
2:00-3:00, Tu 1:00-2:00, Th: 3:00-4:00.
Phone
935-6753
Text I am writing a book for this course, with co-author Bob Dumas. As we make changes to the manuscript, I shall update the link. Any and all feedback you may have on the manuscript is welcome. Structure and Proof: 11/22/04
Exams There will be two exams in the course:
1) Exam 1 In class, Thursday,
October 14
2) Exam 2 Final exam, on
Friday, December
17, 1-3 pm
Homework
There will be weekly homework sets during the semester, handed out on Tuesday in class and due the following Tuesday. In addition, there will be three writing assignments. Homework Problems
Writing Assignments Writing Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the given date. They will be graded carefully, returned to you, and then you should resubmit them for a second grade. Only the second grade will count towards your course grade.
Prerequisites
Calculus III, 233.
Content
310W is a writing intensive version of 310. Students will attend the regular 310 lectures, but also have an extra lecture on Mondays in which writing per se is discussed.
Basis for Grading
The midterm will be 15% of your grade, the final and the
homework 30% each, and the writing assignments will be 25%.
Homework
Homework is the most important part of the course. Whilst talking
to other people about it is not dis-allowed, too often this
degenerates
into one person solving the problem, and other people copying them
(often justified to themselves by saying "I provide the ideas, X
does
the details" - but the details are the key. If you can't translate
the idea into a real proof, you don't understand the material well
enough).
So I shall introduce the following rules:
(a) You can only talk to some-one else about a problem if you
have made a genuine effort to solve it yourself.
(b) You must write up the solutions on your own. Suspiciously
similar write-ups
will receive 0 points.
Note, too, that a significant part of this course
is learning how to write mathematics. Thus serious attention
will be paid to how the solutions are written up. They should
be written in full English sentences, and it should be clear
what is going on (so, for example, if the argument is lengthy,
dividing the proof into well-marked stages is a good idea).
If you cannot prove something is true in general, but can do
so if you assume an extra hypothesis, you should say so,
and state the extra hypothesis you need. This will earn partial
credit. But if you claim to prove the result in general, whilst
implicitly assuming this hypothesis, you will lose many points.
If you really have no idea how to prove something, don't waffle.
If you have an idea that you cannot make into a rigourous proof,
say
"This is an idea, but I cannot make it into a rigourous proof".
I do expect you to come to class every day, and to participate in class discussions. I also expect you to stay abreast of the material we are covering, and may call on you at any time to answer a question.
Web Pages
The following web page may give some interesting sidelights on the material.
The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
Bibliography
The following books are recommended reading, and will be
discussed in class. All three are on non-circulating reserve in the
Math Library. I expect you to read all of Hardy's book, and parts
of the other two.
I. Lakatos
Proofs and Refutations
M. Aigner and G.M. Ziegler
Proofs from the Book
G.H. Hardy
A Mathematician's Apology