MAT5920 04S
assignments (in class and HW) and daily class log
Class meets MWF. Days enumerated from first day of class. 42 class meeting
days.
- M. We learn how to use Front Page and set up a home page and course
related folder "/5920" with an index file and a test maple worksheet.
We look at the MAPLE worksheet interface.
HW: Read the Preface and Plan of This Book sections of our text
and the on-line course syllabus materials, and the rest of this web page.
Do the MAPLE Help Menu New User Tour sections 1-6, 12.
- W: We reattempt to use Front Page due to the VU web crash Monday, creating
that 5920 folder and a test index file. We create a MAPLE worksheet with
sectioning and export it to html on the hard drive. We then copy the worksheet
and the created webfiles up to our webspace with Frontpage and link them to
our index file. Before next time, we will read the main text of the
introductory chapter (pp.1-15 top) and follow along with the corresponding Tours.mws
worksheet from our
textbook file list
[namely: tours1.mws].
I confess, I do not understand the claim on the middle of p.10 about the
number of factors in 100!.
Try to reason out the same expression for 4! You can see that it produces 3,
but... still why it does this is not so obvious to me, so we must take it on
faith and use it below in this context: just an example.
- F:
In class you may work side by side with a partner on two adjacent
computers, helping each other and discussing what you see when it seems
appropriate, or together on one machine sharing input duty and discussion, or
you may work alone.
[This also applies to this outside class HW, but don't put off doing these
because you have a hard time arranging time to work together.]
We do together in pairs tours1.mws to
get up to speed together.
HW: Do: tourw1a.mws
from Chapter 1.
Try assignment problem toura1a: 3.
Then do tourw1b.mws and try assignment
problem toura1b.mws: 2.
Email me your worksheet (or put it in your 5920 webfolder and email me the
link) if you are stuck on problem toura1a: 3, explaining your difficulty.
Save the "worked" assignment worksheets in your
5920 folder.
M: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, no class.
- W: Finish assignments if not already done, put the worksheets in your 5920
web folder and then email me your two problem worksheet links in the body of
an email, identifying in the email subject line
[mat5920] tourw1a, tourw1b
and then try an exercise from 1.5 that you find interesting, 5 or 7 for
example. Try to play with the idea of the problem if possible, exploring any
aspect of it a bit once you have responded to the specific instructions.
Complete by next class.
- F: Examine bob's "writing enriched version" of problem
1.5.7 to get an idea how to make a
complete self-contained worksheet that not only responds to the problem but
goes a bit further. We discuss problems 5 and 9 about prime pairs to get more
insight.
HW: Read main text of chapter 2 and work through its
funcs2.mws worksheet (check where there
is more text in the book while working through the worksheet).
M: SNOW DAY.
- W: Brief discussion of main chapter 2 worksheet. Then begin first W
worksheet and then try its corresponding assignment worksheet when asked in
the W worksheet, going back and forth.
- F: Discussion? Complete the first W worksheet and assignment worksheet and
move on to the second W worksheet and try its corresponding assignment
worksheet when asked in the W worksheet, going back and forth.
- M: read email comments from bob about these 4 chapter 2 worksheets, clean
yours up, then look at the end of the chapter problems for something that
interests you that you can make into a nice report, or maybe several problems,
always trying to do more that simply requested if possible.
- W: End of chapter exploration. Problem hints/solutions and how to use
them.
- F: Let's finish chapter 2 up this weekend?
- M: Feedback on chapter 2.5 elective problems. Why not stop by my office to
get direct feedback?
I have gotten only a few emails, some of the worksheet links do not work.
Other students I checked for postings on the 5920 pages... we need better
communication for me to handle 8 independent website contents.
check out my 2.5 example worksheet
problems.
- W: Should we start chapter 3 ?
Try to tie up your chapter 2 work today.
Is your 5920 index page up to date thru chapter 2?
For the end of chapter problems, are you comparing your work with the back of
the book when done, to see if you got what the author intended. Try to improve
your approach based on that if possible.
An office visit might help see where each of you is at this point: please stop
by within the next week. Give bob a time slot you hope to make.
- F: Let's spend one more class day on chapter 2. Try 11 (like funcsa2b
problem 3, in fact plot x and 1/3(1+x+x^2), then think about how changing the
initial two values can lead you to other possible limit points, experiment) or 8 (also discuss continuity, differentiability at the origin,
complimentary plots to illustrate what is happening)
- M: Begin the main chapter 3 worksheet, reading along in the book if you
find it easier to read paper than screen.
- W: Continue working thru the assignment sheets.
- F: Post your matra3a and matra3b worksheets, notify me when done. Complete
your 2.5 worksheet and post, notify me to give you feedback. Try to understand
the filter example, i.e., what the code actually does in the final example of
the main worksheet matr3 for the interval from 0 to 1. Think about the values
of N and the range of k values and what polynomial approximations are made on
what subintervals. Why is A an 11x4 matrix?
- M: We should be working in the matrw3b and matra3b worksheets now. Has
anyone thought about the filter example?
- W: ...
- F: We have to pick up the pace. You have to do homework outside class for
us to get through the book and allow time to do a project at the end of the
semester. Look at my end of chapter 3
problem hints.
Do 3.5: problems 7, at least one from (6,8,9), and try some from 1-5.
SPRING BREAK.
- M: A new beginning. I have to make up a midterm grade by Wednesday
morning, based on the current state of your on-line portfolios and my
impression of how you are progressing. Help me here.
[Math Club meeting this Friday, March 12th at 12:30pm in the MLRC]
- W: let's try to make sure 3a, 3b are finished and posted and have the end
of chapter problems (see last Friday) done by Friday.
- F: Try to complete chapter 3 [email when you are ready for me to check a
newly posted or revised worksheet] and move on to chapter 4.
- M: Outside of class make sure you have completed chapter 3 and notified me
BY EMAIL to check your a3a, a3b and end of chapter files; start the main chapter 4 file
reading the EXTRA stuff in the book as you do this and take
detours when suggested.
- W: see monday. same message.
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/BinomialDistribution.html
see the linear algebra applications list.
- F: Where was everybody Wednesday? Two showed and one had a valid excuse.
Binomial versus normal: plots and
probabilities;
- M: once you post the two assignment worksheets a4a and a4b, email me to
check them and then consider the 4.5 problems and do 5 and 7 or another
equivalent pair (1 random numbers, 1 series tricks).
- W: You should be starting on the 4.5 problems by today.
- F: Finish these over the weekend since Monday we are starting chapter 5 in
class.
- M: Here is the theoretical evaluation
of the probability studied by trial in 4-5-5, and shows how one can take a
problem and go further with it, in this case just using simple calc3 ideas;
Read the startup material on chapter 5 in the text and then go into the
worksheets.
- W: Continue on Chapter 5 in class. Pretty interesting, eh?
Note wrong slope information, resolved by
Google.
- F: Continue on the 4 chapter worksheets. Work outside of class too so we
try a few 5.5 exercises soon.
- M: Once you finish the 5 chapter worksheets, select an interesting 5.5
problem and try to embellish it, creating a nice self-contained report
worksheet; almost any of these problems looks interesting.
Look ahead to chapter 6 and the 3 projects in appendix A and start thinking of
either your own problem to report on in the style that this book has been
leading you to be able to do or choose one of the 3 projects as the capstone
work of the course, to be completed by final exam day.
- W: read your email for commented worksheet feedback and the
Easter message.
Easter break until:
- W: complete 5 (a5a, a5b then work on your 5.5 problem outside of class) and begin
working on the main 3 worksheets of chapter 6 after reading sections 6.1
and 6.2 in the book. Think towards a choice of
"project".
- F: I have fixed the first chapter 6 worksheet and provided a motivating
example after you read the first two sections [motivation
worksheet]
- M: rocket science!
- W: you may work on the project with a partner; look over appendix A and
let me know which one you intend to do or what optional topic of your choice
you would instead like to explore by Friday; update my clipboard on worksheets
to be checked.
- F: I checked your published worksheets and returned them with comments.
Complete them and start working on a
project. Email me your intentions and if you will work with a partner.
- M: Final projects are due on Friday, May 8, but preliminary worksheets
should be discussed with me before then to get corrective advice to make sure
your product is a complete clear report with mathematical discussion
supporting your work.
Because I have a poor memory, please email me your intentions about which
project you will work on and who your partner(s) will be.
- T=F: read your email about course
feedback.
- W=M: course evaluations.
- Final Exam slot meeting to discuss progress on project with each other and
class
5920-01 Sat, May 1, 1:30 - 4:00 . We will not meet. I will be in
my office daily (weekdays) from early morning thru about 4:30 or so each day,
and also reachable by email.
Text Assignments [Discovering Mathematics with Maple]:
Each student will create a folder 5920 of their Villanova web space and use FrontPage
to publish their worksheets in that folder for feedback from bob. Send an email
(subject =[mat5900]) with the
hypertext links to the file addresses when published so I can easily download
the worksheets by clicking on those links (use the full address
http://www.homepage.villanova.edu/first.last/5920/filename.mws in the
body of the email with your message).
Filenames can only contain letters, numbers, dashes, underscores. NO
number signs # since this signals a bookmark string in a web address. Think of a
consistent naming scheme for all the chapters.
Copy the assignment section worksheets a and b and paste into your new worksheet
[filename: chapter1.mws, etc] as a section. Re-label the section by adding the filename
from which it comes. Then enter the section and execute it and add extra input and comment
lines in dark green (to distinguish your remarks from the original
worksheet) to respond to the instructions. Write complete English sentences in your
comments. Try to make this a report which speaks for itself through those comments. You
are encouraged to work together with a partner. Put your name(s) at the top of the file in
comment mode. Keep a current date at the top as well. Give me feedback about how long
these take. If you get stuck, come visit me.
For the end of chapter problems, try to attack them without the hints in the back
first. Then if you get stuck, compare what you are doing with the hints, but explain all
code that you use line by line. First repeat the problem statement at the top of the
worksheet to make it self-contained. Give it a name of your choice. Try to do a bit more
than just respond to exactly the instructions of the problem. See if you can stretch the
problem to go further or help explain.
Keep a backup of your files! Or if you work with a partner, make sure you both have a current
copy so the each one is a backup of the other.
Higher Mathematics
There are lots of interesting topics in Mathematics that require that you go
beyond the content you have learned so far as a math major, either by going more
into depth with things you have already learned, building on that knowledge, or
by delving into something pretty new to you (of course still building on your
existing knowledge base!). Here is a
cute example.
Many interesting applications of linear algebra can be found in the
Anton-Rorres textbook.
26-apr-2004 [back to course homepage]
