MHF 3404

HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS

COURSE SYLLABUS

FALL SEMESTER 1998

Instructor	Office	Phone	Office hours	E-Mail
M. J. DeLeon	S&E 222	561-297-3341	When in his office and MWF 4:15-4:45	deleonmj@fau.edu

TEXT. An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (Sixth Edition) by Howard Eves.

Booksmart
Oaks Plaza
561-394-6085
Used only, $56.30

University Bookstore
University Center
561-297-3721
New: $82.35
Used:$61.65

PREREQUISITE. Discrete Mathematics (MAD 2104) and some knowledge of calculus.

CATALOG DESCRIPTION OF MHF 3404. Chronological study of the evolution of mathematical thought from primitive counting to the ideas of the 20th century.

COURSE EMPHASIS. A very heavy emphasis will be placed on History of mathematics. Also emphasized will be

Proofs
Solving problems
Writing in a clear and logical manner
Disproving false statements.
Making conjectures

STUDYING ALONE OR STUDYING IN A GROUP Research by Uri Treisman at the University of California at Berkeley suggests that students can improve their performance in mathematics classes if they study in groups with group work being a complement to (not a replacement of) individual study. Group work also has the advantage of promoting a blurring of the distinctions between the academic and social spheres of students' lives. Each student in History of Mathematics should consider forming a study group with two to five other students. Each student in this History of Mathematics class should have the phone number of from two to five students in this class in order to find out what was missed if absent from class.

STUDYING ALL NIGHT. The following is from page 20 of the August 8, 1994 issue of Time magazine. It is unabridged.

Students who think nothing of pulling all-nighters, take note: experiments with both rats and humans have convinced researchers that people who get plenty of sleep are better at learning things. The brain evidently uses its rest periods to consolidate new memories.

PACING YOURSELF. Mathematics is not suitable for cramming. Always review the day's lecture shortly after the lecture and begin the assigned problems while the lecture is fresh in your mind. Do a few problems every day; do not do all the problems at once. A little bit now and a little bit later is good advice for doing homework problems.

BIOGRAPHIES. Biographies of mathematicians will occasionally be given out in class; biographies of mathematicians can also be found in:

Men of Mathematics, E. T. Bell (QA28.B4),
Women in Mathematics, Lynn M. Osen (QA28.083,1974),
Math Equals, Teri Perl
Dictionary of Scientific Biographies (Q141.D5; in the Reference Section).

HOMEWORK. Homework will be assigned at almost every class meeting. Although working on the homework problems with other students in the class is allowed and, when desirable, encouraged, all work written down must be in your own words and you must understand what you have written. Plagiarism is verboten and severe penalties will be imposed for plagiarism.

QUIZZES. Quizzes will be given on Wednesdays. Students may ask on Mondays whether there will be a quiz on the following Wednesday; usually the answer will be yes.

FINAL QUIZ. The final quiz will be on Wednesday, December 9, 1998 during the usual class time and in the usual room.

QUIZ POLICY. F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) said that There is no second act in American life. This applies equally well to History of Mathematics since under no circumstances will a grade on a quiz be replaced or ignored. Get it right the first time -- it's easier that way.

GRADING OF THE QUIZZES AND HOMEWORK PROBLEMS.

Full credit is awarded only when all the necessary work to justify an answer is shown and all the necessary steps of a proof are shown.
Partial credit is awarded only for significant and substantial progress toward a solution (partial credit is not awarded for almost-significant work and partial credit is not awarded for almost-substantial work).
Work that is not very readable (as judged by the instructor) will be rejected. In particular, if you write with a semiliterate scrawl, drop now or, if relevant, contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (Room 175 in the Library, 297-3880).
Credit will be determined by all your legible and easily readable work; if you do not want something to count, cross it out. If something is erased, it must be erased completely.
A correct answer obtained without the necessary work, obtained incorrectly, or obtained by a combination of fortuitous circumstances will not receive credit.
No credit for trial and error unless trial and error is the acceptable way to solve the problem.
You should always check to see whether your answer is reasonable and, when convenient and possible, you should always check your answer. If your answer is unreasonable and you cannot find your error, indicate that your answer is unreasonable.

AWARDING OF GRADES:

Letter Grade	A	A^-	B⁺	B	B^-	C⁺	C	C^-	D⁺	D	D^-
Minimum Quiz Percent Needed	93.0	90.0	87.0	83.0	80.0	77.0	70.0	67.0	64.0	60.0	57.0

EXCEPTIONS TO THE GRADING SCALE. Exceptions to the grading scale indicated above may be made by the instructor in the upward or in the downward direction as follows:

Grade changes in the upward direction are limited to a maximum of one-third of a letter grade (e.g. B^- to B, C to C⁺, or D⁺ to C^-). A change in the upward direction of one-third of a letter grade will be awarded to those who excel in the homework; the closer you are to the next higher grade, the less you have to excel. To excel on the homework, your homework must appear to be your own and must be of high quality with respect to your quiz scores.

Grade changes in the downward direction are limited to a maximum of one full letter grade (e.g. A to B, C⁺ to D⁺, or B^- to C^-). A change in the downward direction of one full letter grade will be given to those whose handwriting is difficult to if not impossible to read or whose written work seems to be written by someone who is barely literate. A change in the downward direction of one-third of a letter grade will be given for each of the following: homework of low quality with respect to quiz scores, written work seems to be written by someone who is semiliterate, or unable or unwilling to correctly write strings of equalities.

Determining whether conditions necessary for an exception to the grading scale are satisfied is the duty of the instructor.