Math 46, Spring 2009 Home page

Green sheet

Class 21, Th., June 18
 We went over Egyptian fractions, and reviewed.
Here is a recent final exam study guide. Your exam will be very similar
Here's a recent sample problem sheet.
Here are the sample problems with some hints and solutions.

 Class 20, Tue., June 16, 2009
We went over magic square materials connected to a "15 sum" game, and also went over a "magic penny" handout and activity on exponential decay. Complete ch. 8 homework for Thursday.
Hand in Poinsot stars handout by Thursday, if you have not done so yet.

Class 19, Thu., June 11, 2009
We went over material on linear and exponential functions.
Please complete chapter 8 homework for next Thursday.

Class 18, Tue., June 9, 2009
 We went over material on Poinsot stars, and saw connections to magic squares and Latin squares. Please complete the Poinsot star handout by next Tuesday.
Bring a Barbie (or Ken) doll tomorrow (Thursday) for a module on proportion.
We also went over material on linear and exponential functions, from chapter 8.
Please complete homework through the end of chapter 7.

Class 17, Thu., June 4, 2009
We went over decimals, percentages, ratios, proportion.
Turn in chapter 5 homework on Tuesday.
Bring a Barbie (or Ken) doll on Tuesday, we'll do a set of problems related to Barbie's proportions.

Class 16, Tue., June 2, 2009
Exam due on Thursday. We went over decimals, percentages.

Class 15, Thu., May 28, 2009
We worked on take-home exams. I've started a Google groups discussion group for the class. If you did not receive the email notification, email me, and I'll add your email to the list.

Take-home problems are due next Thursday; do not forget the problem about the Iraq war display in the center of campus!

Print out and bring the Poinsot Stars handout to class and we will go over it on Tuesday.

Please do the problem I asked you to complete the other day: create a "story problem" for which the answer would require the calculation 1-1/4 divided by 1/2. Be careful not to create one which requires instead 1-1/4 times 1/2!


Class 14, Tue., May 26, 2009
We did a number of fraction problems to introduce chapter 6. Do the homework in sections 6.1 andf 6.2.

Class 13, Thu., May 21, 2009
Here is take-home exam, and here is corresponding fraction/take away game list.
We went over chapters 3.6 as well as chapter 5 material through the end of chapter 5. Please complete HW through 5.4. Be prepared to turn in chapter 3 homework on Tuesday, and chapter 4 homework on Thursday.

Class 12, Tue., May 19, 2009
We heard reports.

Class 11, Tue., May 12, 2009
We went over group problems

Class 10, Th., May 7, 2009
 We went over material from sections 4.3 and 4.4. Be ready to show group problems on Tuesday.

 Class 9, Tue., May 5, 2009
We went over material from sections 3.5, 4.1, and 4.2. Bring a calculator on Thursday, and we will go over section 3.6.
Homework:
Ch. 3.5 and 4.1

We also assigned the group problems:

 A
 B
 C
 D
3.4, # 21
 Nancy
 Tracy
 Hoa
 Malvina
4.1, # 10,17
 Haidee
 Huang
 Lincy
 Michael
4.1, #18,19
 Laura
 Nikolaus
 Hardeep
 Marissa
4.1, #25,30
 James
 Julia
 Marjorie
 Kimberly
4.2, #9,11
 Luis
 Milana
 Yvonne
 Golnaz
4.3, #19,20
 Katrina
 Jenny

4.4, #13,15
 Jessica
 Gita
 Jill
 Hibo


Class 8, Th., Apr. 30, 2009
We did the "How do you calculate" activity and turned it in. We also learned about the Brazilian street math study. And we looked at alternative multiplication techniques.
Do the section 3.4 homework.

Here's a handout on the Sorting Junk game!

Here's exam 1. Correct any problem you missed, not just by choosing the correct answer, but by writing an explanation in words and symbols as to why that answer is correct. If you do all you missed correctly, you will get back half the points you missed on exam 1. You must turn this in next Thursday, May 7. You must also turn in your scantron form - you'll get it back!

You have a short paper on a subject related to the course that catches your interest due in several weeks, and worth 5% of your grade. Due date Thursday, May 14. Here's the description of the essay:
 Report on an article or chapter from a popular book about mathematics or math education. The report will be one to two pages long, typewritten, (it must be at least 600 words), and will cover the mathematics from one to several chapters of a book from the following list; other books or sources may also be used. You must use published material, not just web sites, unless you get permission from the instructor, and you MUST cite your sources. A short oral report to the class will also be required.
You should include in what you write and talk about:
(1) why you chose this topic,
(2) what you learned, and
(3) what you think about the subject in question.

Examples of books with mathematical content:
The Mathematical Tourist and Islands of Truth, by Ivars Peterson.
Any of the books of Martin Gardner on mathematics (over 15 titles).
Game, Set, Math and Does God Play Dice by Ian Stewart, or other titles on math by Stewart.
The Mathematical Experience by Davis and Hersh.
A Number For Your Thoughts and Numbers At Work and At Play by Stephen P. Richards.
Tilings and Patterns by Grunbaum and Shepard.
Mathematical Snapshots by Steinhaus.
Mathematics: The New Golden Age by Keith Devlin, or other titles by Devlin.
The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose.
The Mathematics of Games by John Beasley.
Archimedes' Revenge by Paul Hoffman
What is Happening in the Mathematical Sciences, ed. by Barry Cipra, Vols 1-5 (on reserve in campus library)

Examples of books with cultural content:
Ethnomathematics by Marcia Ascher.
You can also consult this Multicultural Mathematics Bibliography. Many of the references are in our library, and the bibliography contains call numbers for those that are in the library.
A number of Martin Gardner's books are in the library.

Class 7, Tue., Apr. 28, 2009
We had exam 1, and began to look at other ways of doing arithmetic computations.
Do section 3.3 homework and begin section 3.4.


Class 6, Th., Apr. 23, 2009
We went over some homework, also sections 3.1 and 3.2.
Do homework from those sections (see list at bottom of page.)
Will add problems on the "Counting Lives Lost" exhibit soon.
Here's a study guide for the first exam from last quarter. So far, we've covered most of these topics. Your first exam is Tuesday, bring a half page scantron, most questions will be multiple choice (kind with 50 questions per side, brown or green).
There are solution within the other blog site, but try them first!
Tuesday: turn in ch. 2 homework, also mod. arith. handouts.


Class 5, Tue., Apr. 21, 2009
We went over sections 2.3 and 2.4.
Homework for these sections is at the bottom of this page. Chapter 2 homework will be due next Tuesday.
We also played the "Sorting Junk" game.
These handouts are due Thursday, and constitute a quiz:
Modular arithmetic intro
Patterns and Modular Arithmetic
You should be writing several paragraph journal entry for each class.

Class 4, Th., Apr. 16, 2009
We went over sections 2.1 and 2.2. Homework for these sections is at the bottom of this page.
Pleae complete these handouts and bring to class:

Modular arithmetic intro
Patterns and Modular Arithmetic

Look at the Set site and try to play the game again before class.

You should be writing several paragraph journal entry for each class.


Class 3, Tue., Apr. 14, 2009
We went over problems from chapter 1.1 to 1.3 (Note: these sections were assigned last class, see below).
Homework: Ch. 1.4 and 1.5, see list of problems below.
Be prepared to turn in HW from sections 1.1-1.3.
Bring these handouts to class, we'll answer some questions, then they'll be due Tuesday.
Modular arithmetic intro
Patterns and Modular Arithmetic
Can you figure out a way to fit 51 stars into the US flag, assuming Puerto Rico becomes a state some day?

Class 2, Th., Apr. 9, 2009
We went over modular arithmetic, the take-away game, problems from sections 1.2 and 1.3, and pentominoes.
Work on homework from sections 1.1-1.3 (see list below), also continue to work on
Modular arithmetic intro
Patterns and Modular Arithmetic
Due on Tuesday: Math Autobiography, see page 2 of  Green sheet for a description.
Get your textbook!!
Don't forget: write a journal entry for today's class, I may check to see if you have it next class. It should contain a response to the class, what did you learn (or not learn!), what was your experience of the class.
Also, have your portfolio (looseleaf notebook together and bring to class on Tuesday.)

Class 1, Tue., Apr. 7, 2009

We went over the pattern game, and also worked on Take-Away game.
Homework:
(1) Get your textbook! (See green sheet.)
(2) Begin reading Ch. 1. At the bottom of this page, see the complete list of HW problems. Start working on those from section 1.1 (I won't collect them on Tuesday though, since some of you don't yet have the text.)
(3) Here is a handout describing the pattern game we played in class, and showing the pattern we used.
(4) Get a looseleaf notebook, create sections for the following, and bring to class on Tuesday. Expand to two paragraphs today's journal entry giving your thoughts, feelings, response to today's class. Bring this notebook to class Thursday!!
(4) We went over the take-away games, and saw how they were related to the concept of remainder. (a) Two players begin with 11 counters. Each may remove either 1 or 2 counters on a move. The player who removes the last counter wins.
What is the winning strategy, and which player, first or second, has that winning strategy?
(b) What if the players start with 50 counters. Who has the winning strategy, first or second player, and what is that strategy?
(c) Given any starting number of counters, how do you determine who has the winning strategy?

Please print out these handouts, start working on them, and bring them to class on Thursday:
Modular arithmetic intro
Patterns and Modular Arithmetic

(7) Paper due next Tuesday: Mathematical Autobiography, description on page two of the Green Sheet

Here's a complete list of the HW from the textbook:
Ch. 1.1, # 2,4,9,10,11,12,14,15
Ch. 1.2, # 5,8,10,20,24
Ch. 1.3, # 4,7-11,14
Ch. 1.3: # 20,21,24
Ch. 1.4: # 1,9,13-15,19
Ch. 1.5: # 1,3,5,6,7,9,10,12,15
Ch. 2.1 #8,9,11,14.15,16-20,25,26
Ch. 2.2 #1,9,12,13,17,22,28,31,34
Ch. 2.3 # 5,6,7,10,14,18,19,26,27,31
Ch. 2.4 # 1-5,7,9,11,15,17,26,32
Ch. 3.1: # 1-5,9-10,25
Ch. 3.2 # 1,5,10,15,16,20
Ch 3.3 # 1,3,5,9a,d,17,21,25
Ch. 3.4 # 3,17,19-24
Ch. 3.5 # 1-3,8-10,15,16,18,19,20,32
Ch. 3.6 # 1-4 (a) only, 9,18
Ch. 4.1 # 5-9 part a only, 10,13,15,17-19,21,30
Ch. 4.2 # 1-4,8,9
Ch. 4.3 # 1-5 part a only, 6-13,19
Ch. 4.4 # 10, 13,16
Ch. 5.1 # 1-3,7,8,13-16,19,20,22,24
Ch. 5.2: # 1-3 a,b,c, 13,17-22,27,31
Ch. 5.3 # 10-13
Ch. 5.4 # 1-15 part a only, 20,21
Ch. 6.1 # 1-21 odd and part a only, 26,27, 29,30,31
Ch. 6.2 #1-20, part a only.
Ch. 6.1 Also do 26,27,29-31
Ch. 6.2 Also do 28,29,31,33,34
Ch. 6.3 # 1-21, part a only, 29,34
Ch. 7.1 # 1-6 part a only,16-18
Ch. 7.2 # 1-7, part a only, 15-17,19,20,27
Ch. 7.3 #1-3,10,14-16,26
Ch. 7.4 #1-4,5-13,16-18
Ch. 8.1 # 7,8,11,20,23
Ch. 8.2 1-17,24,25,27,28
Ch. 8.3 #24-27, 31,32,34,35

Review problems chapter 1 on page 68-71, do #2,9,14,17,22