MATH 036 - Insights Into Mathematics
Fall Semester 2003

General Information
Instructor: Dr. James Sellers
Office: 107 Whitmore Laboratory
Office Hours: MW 1:25 - 2:15pm and by appointment
Office Phone: (814) 865-7528
E-mail: sellersj@math.psu.edu
Textbook:   Excursions in Modern Mathematics, Fifth Edition, by Peter Tannenbaum

Key Topics and Concepts
My goal for the course is to cover chapters 1-6 and 10 from the text. Some of the topics which we will cover include:

• Voting theory
• Fair division and apportionment
• Graph theory (Euler and Hamilton circuits)
• Population growth models

Weighting of Course Events

Graded Event	Percentage
Exam 1	20%
Exam 2	20%
Exam 3	20%
Quizzes	10%
E-checks	5%
Final Exam	25%

Exams
Three in-class examinations will be given. The dates of these exams are contained in the "Tentative Class Schedule" below.

NOTE: If you miss an exam without an official excuse (such as illness or official university business), then you will be allowed to take a makeup exam, but with an automatic 25% deduction from the grade. To avoid this deduction, you must notify me with your official excuse before the date and time of the exam. This notification may be performed in person, via e-mail, or by telephone.

Final Exam
The final examination in the course will be comprehensive.  It will be given during the university's final examination week, December 15-19, 2003.  Do not make plans to leave the university before the end of this week.  Travel plans do not constitute an official university excuse for missing an examination or for obtaining a conflict or makeup examination.  Hence, the above note regarding a 25% deduction will be enforced in the event that a student's travel plans conflict with the university's designated final examination period for this course.

Quizzes
Several short quizzes will be given throughout the course of the semester. The dates of these quizzes will be announced in class a few days prior to each quiz. The questions on the quizzes will be similar to the assigned homework problems and the reading done in preparation for class, which is a good motivation for you to complete the assignments. The purpose of the quizzes is to encourage you to keep up with your preparation (and reward you for doing so).

Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts.

Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the
fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.

Based on the University's Faculty Senate Policy 49-20, a range of academic sanctions may be taken against a student who engages in academic dishonesty.  Please see the Eberly College of Science Academic Integrity homepage for additional information and procedures.

Grading
Grades will be assigned using the scale shown in the following table.

Percent	Grade
90-100	A
80-89	B
70-79	C
60-60	D
0-59	F

I retain the right to raise a student's grade for good attitude, class participation and demonstrated progressive improvement of their work. However, this grade raising will not occur often. Note also that these ranges may be adjusted downward and that plus and minus grades will be determined within the appropriate ranges; i.e., in general, the lowest three percentage points of a range will be minus and the highest three percentage points of a range will be plus.

Class Attendance
Although regular classroom attendance will not figure into your grade in a tangible way, I strongly encourage your regular attendance in this class. It should be obvious that attending all classes is extremely beneficial to you. Seeing the material presented in a lecture is extremely helpful as the presentation will often be different than the text in order to clarify and enhance the reading assignments. Having questions answered in class (as well as hearing other students' questions) is also a benefit. Material not present in the text may be presented in class; you will be held accountable for this material on quizzes and exams. Finally, regular attendance demonstrates good stewardship of your time and money.

Suggested Homework
A list of suggested homework problems appears at the end of this syllabus. These homework problems will not be turned in for a grade. The purpose of doing the homework is to better understand the material discussed in the lectures and to prepare oneself for quizzes and exams, not to mention the goal of learning.

I encourage you to do all of the suggested homework, even though it will not be handed in. (As mentioned above, this will help tremendously for the quizzes and exams.) You may work together on these problems if you so desire.

I also encourage you to keep up with the suggested homework and not get behind because it may prove difficult to catch up. Much of this material builds upon previous material, so keeping up with the class will be quite beneficial.

Hopefully Helpful Hints

• Learn for the long term. Strive to retain the knowledge that you acquire. Do not simply try to learn material a couple of days before an exam with the goal of forgetting it right after finals. View the learning of the material as an active process, not a passive one. (You are here to learn, not to receive grades.) Learning is a process, not an event.
• Strive to know the material, to understand it at a very deep level, rather than a superficial one.
• Do the homework with as little help (solutions manuals, friends, etc.) as possible. Balance the use of group learning with individual study so you actually know the material.
• Ask questions, either in class or during office hours.
• Read the textbook before the planned lecture. The tentative schedule of classes gives you a guide as to what to read in advance.
• Carefully study and rework the examples in the text.
• Re-read and rewrite your notes.
• Study for exams progressively, over a long period of time. Begin the studying process at least one week prior to the date of the exam.
• Manage your time wisely. Plan to spend at least two hours outside of class for every hour in class, if not more!
• Get plenty of rest. Staying up late every night is usually not a beneficial practice academically.

Final Comments
I hope your appreciation for mathematics will grow during this semester. Although the applications we cover are limited in scope, the application of mathematics extends to many areas of life.

James Sellers
Director of Undergraduate Mathematics
Penn State University

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Tentative Class Schedule

Day	Date	Material Covered	Other Information
T	9/02	Course Introduction
W	9/03	Chapter 1
F	9/05	Chapter 1
M	9/08	Chapter 1
W	9/10	Chapter 1
F	9/12	Chapter 2
M	9/15	Chapter 2	Quiz - Chapter 1
W	9/17	Chapter 2
F	9/19	Chapter 2
M	9/22	Chapter 3
W	9/24	Chapter 3	Quiz - Chapter 2
F	9/26	Chapter 3
M	9/29	Chapter 3
W	10/01	Chapter 3
F	10/03	Review Day	Quiz - Chapter 3
M	10/06	Exam 1	Chapters 1-3
W	10/08	Chapter 4
F	10/10	No class	Fall Break
M	10/13	Chapter 4
W	10/15	Chapter 4
F	10/17	Chapter 4
M	10/20	Chapter 10
W	10/22	Chapter 10	Quiz - Chapter 4
F	10/24	Chapter 10
M	10/27	Chapter 10
W	10/29	Chapter 10
F	10/31	Chapter 10
M	11/03	Review Day	Quiz - Chapter 10
W	11/05	Exam 2	Chapters 4, 10
F	11/07	Chapter 5
M	11/10	Chapter 5
W	11/12	Chapter 5
F	11/14	Chapter 5
M	11/17	Chapter 5
W	11/19	Chapter 6	Quiz - Chapter 5
F	11/21	Chapter 6
M	11/24	Chapter 6
W	11/26	No class	Thanksgiving Break
F	11/28	No class	Thanksgiving Break
M	12/01	Chapter 6
W	12/03	Review Day	Quiz - Chapter 6
F	12/05	Exam 3	Chapters 5-6
M	12/08	To be determined
W	12/10	Review
F	12/12	Review	Last Day of Classes

As noted above, the university's final examination week for this semester is December 15-19, 2003.  Do not plan to leave the university before the completion of this week.

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Suggested Homework Problems

Chapter	Problems
1	1-40, 45-54, 62
2	1-51, 53
3	1-32, 39-53, 60-62
4	1-23, 25-31, 33-39
5	1-16, 21-40, 45-46, 55, 57, 60, 6667
6	1-42, 49-55, 65
10	1-17, 19-22, 27-32, 47 (a), (b), (d), (f), (g), 48 (a), (c), (e), (f), 51, 53, 56, 61, 63, 69-70