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Math 5: Numb3rs in Lett3rs & Fi1ms

(Mathematics in Literature and Cinema)

Instructor: Mark Kozek, email: mark.r.kozek {at} dartmouth.edu.

 COURSE

INFO

 

 

SYLLABUS

 

 

READER’S

GUIDE

 

 

HOMEWORK

  

 

HANDOUTS & MISC.

 

THE COURSE INFO: (updated 9/29)

 

Meeting Time: MWF 10-11:05 with x-hour Th 12-12:50 in Cummings 202.

 

Instructor: Mark Kozek, 311 Kemeny, email: mark.r.kozek@dartmouth.edu, phone: 66904.

 

Office Hours: MW 2:15-3:30, Th 12-12:50** (assuming we don’t have class scheduled during this time).

 

Pre-Requisites: High school mathematics and the willingness to explore new areas of mathematics.

 

Textbook: There is no mathematics textbook, per se. Students will receive weekly handouts with mathematical lecture notes or materials. For the literature, there is a Course Reader (available at Wheelock on 9/23), and four required books (also available at Wheelock):

1.    The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martínez,

2.    Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiades and Christos Papadimitriou,

3.    Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture by Apostolos Doxiades, and

4.    Flatland by Edwin Abbott with Notes and Commentary by William Lindgren and Thomas Banchoff.

5.    Arcadia by Tom Stoppard.

 

We will watch at least four mathematical films. These are: Fermat’s Room (2007), Stranger than Fiction (2006), Pi (1998), and Pleasantville (1998). Their viewings will have to take place outside of class: Tuesdays of the designated week from 4:00-6:00 pm in Kemeny 006.

 

General organization: The mathematics in this course is motivated by the mathematics contained or alluded to in eight mathematical works: four books and four films. Each of these pieces will be the central focus for approximately one week of study. The class will meet three days a week and we will often make use of x-hour. Ideally (though this may not be the case every week), one class period per week will follow a math lecture format, during one class period the students will undertake hands-on mathematical group activities, and part of one class period per week will follow a seminar/discussion format (often led by designated students) focusing on the main book or film of that week.

 

Course Website: The course website (www.math.dartmouth.edu/~m5f13/) will be the official and definitive course document/resource. Please check it frequently to ensure you have the most up-to-date course information.

 

Assignments: In addition to completing all reading assignments and math assignments (both individual and in groups) by the due date, students will be expected to:

·       Participate actively in class discussions.

·       Write 1-page reflections/reactions to the eight books/films.

·       Complete one longer quiz focusing on mathematics and many short quizzes focusing on content from viewings and readings.

·       Complete two in-class exams focusing on mathematics (problems, theory and history).

·       Prepare and lead discussions on books/films.

·       Write a final paper.  

 

Grading: Final grades for the course are determined primarily on the basis of performance on the course assignments described above. However, a student's contribution to class discussions will also be taken into account in the determination of the final grade. The formal weightings are reflected in the following point-scheme:

·       Homework and group work: 150 points.

·       Reflections, participation in discussions, leading a discussion, attendance: 150 points.

·       Quizzes: 100 points.

·       Test: 100 points.

·       Test: 100 points.

·       Final paper: 200 points.

Total points: 800

 

Rubric for math problems: Math problems will usually be graded on a five-point scale:

5 pts:

The solution is perfect.

4 pts:

There is one, and only one, minor error in the last line of your solution. This includes things like: +/- error with final answer, transcription error on final line, etc.

3 pts:

Your first few lines are perfectly correct, but something happened thereafter that affected the final solution.

2 pts:

Your first line is perfectly correct, but something happened soon thereafter that affected the final solution. This would include making a +/- error on the second line, or a transcription error on the second line, and then having that affect the outcome of your solution, etc.

1 pt:

Your first line is incorrect: You used the wrong formula, you made a +/- error on the first line, you guessed, etc.

0 pts:

There is no first line to your solution.

   

** Word problems must end with a complete sentence that includes the proper units (if the quantity desired has units).

 

It is possible (though rare) for the instructor to assign grades of 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5. If so, the professor will explain specifically what type of solutions earned that score.

 

In addition points may be deducted from individual problems or from the set in general if the following happens:

·       Not submitting the assignment when it is collected.

·       Turning in a “rough draft” instead of a clean draft of the solution(s).

·       Not addressing part of the question.

·       Not writing clearly.

·       Not justifying your answer completely, clearly or accurately.

·       Not showing all your work (even if you include a correct final answer).

 

When in doubt about how to express your solution, please err on the side of caution: pick the neater, more complete, more rigorous, more precise, etc. variation of the solution.

 

Meeting or contacting the professor: Please do not hesitate to contact the professor about issues pertaining to the course. For meetings, in addition to regularly scheduled office hours (listed above), the professor is available by appointment. To contact the professor, please email or call his office between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. Any emails received in the evening will be replied to by first thing the next business morning, possibly, but not necessarily, sooner.

 

Academic Honor Principle:

On quizzes, exams and the final paper: No help is to be given or received.

On homework or group work: Students are encouraged to work together to do homework problems. For group work problems, students may only work with their group members. What is important is a student’s eventual understanding of the problems, and not how that is achieved. The honor principle applies to homework in the following way. What a student turns in as a homework solution (or a group work solution) is to be his or her own understanding of how to do a problem. Students must state what sources they have consulted, with whom they have collaborated, and from whom they have received help. The solutions you submit must be written by you alone. Any copying (electronic or otherwise) of another person’s solutions, in whole or in part, is a violation of the Honor principle. If you have any questions as to whether some action would acceptable under the Academic Honor Principle, please speak to the professor. (Note: the Academic Honor Principle can be found here http://www.dartmouth.edu/~uja/honor/.)

 

Student Needs: Students with disabilities enrolled in this course and who may need disability-related academic adjustments and services are encouraged to see the professor privately as early as possible in the term. Students requiring disability-related academic adjustments and services must consult the Student Accessibility Services office (301 Collis Student Center, 646-9900, Student.Accessibility.Services@Dartmouth.edu). Once SAS has authorized services, students must show the originally signed SAS Services and Consent Form and/or a letter on SAS letterhead to their professor. As a first step, if students have questions about whether they qualify to receive academic adjustments and services, they should contact the SAS office. All inquiries and discussions will remain confidential.

 

Religious Observances: Some students may wish to take part in religious observances that occur during this academic term. If you have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please meet with the professor before the end of the second week of the term to discuss appropriate accommodations.

 

 

INSTRUCTOR: Mark Kozek, Kemeny 311, email: mark.r.kozek {at} dartmouth.edu.