MTH 338 Announcements

ANNOUNCEMENTS
MTH 338 - Spring 2006

6/18/06
All essays have been graded; grades will be submitted tomorrow.: You can pick up your corrected essay from me in my office.
(You may be able to catch me early this week, but then I'll be gone until late July...)

6/9/06
I would appreciate getting an electronic copy of your paper along with the hard copy due Monday.: You do not need to include hand-drawn figures or other items not easily converted to electronic form.; You can post your paper on your group discussion board or email it to me as an attachment.; The use of primitive technology such as floppy disks is also acceptable.

6/7/06
While figures produced by computer are best, it is also acceptable to draw high-quality figures by hand. It is not necessary to scan these figures, although you may of course do so.

6/6/06
Please remember to post your rough draft to your group on Blackboard if you have not already done so, and please provide constructive criticism to members of your group, as per this week's assignment.

6/5/06
Each figure should have a label, such as "Figure 1", and should be referred to as such in the text.
Every source should be referenced briefly in the text.: Any reasonable style is acceptable. Some common conventions are to number your references in square brackets, e.g. [1], or to put the names of the author(s) in parentheses, e.g. (Dray) or (Dray 2006).
Full citation details for each reference should be given in the bibliography.: Again, any reasonable style is acceptable. Citation details include author(s), title, publisher, year. For websites, in addition to the URL you should provide a title, an author if possible, and the date you viewed the site.

5/30/06
Your draft may be double spaced, but this is not necessary. Your final version should not be double spaced.

5/29/06
Here are some examples of online mathematical text.: This paper was converted to HTML for online readers by a professional journal. The published version in PDF format can be found here; the copyright notice can be found here.; This paper was converted by me from TeX to MathML. Further information about MathML is available here, and a print version in PDF format can be found here. Both versions will be published in an online journal after some further reformatting.

5/26/06
The OSU WIC program and the Department of Mathematics will offer the WIC Culture of Writing Award in Mathematics this year for the best undergraduate paper written for a course in the department.: Nominations will be accepted from faculty only; this announcement is for information purposes only

5/24/06
Extended office hours: As many of you have already noticed, I am happy to talk to you about your projects outside of my scheduled office hours. Good times to catch me are MWF from 10-12 and 1-3:30, with some exceptions (M @ 1, F @ 10, sometimes M @ 2).

5/21/06
There will be a Math Major Open Forum to help us evaluate our mathematics major.: The forum for math majors in the secondary teaching option is Thursday, 5/25; the forum for math majors in the regular option is Thursday, 6/1. In each case, the forum will run from 12-12:45 PM in Kidder 108H (the back room at the MLC), and pizza and soft drinks will be provided.

5/18/06
Please remember to include a copy of last week's assignment (the choice of topic), showing my comments, when you turn in this week's assignment (the proposal).

5/9/06
The midterm will be in class next Monday, 5/15.: The exam will cover taxicab geometry, hyperbolic geometry, and elliptic geometry.; The emphasis will be on qualitative understanding, rather than detailed proofs.; A basic acquaintance with the structure of the SMSG postulates is recommended
(i.e. knowing that there are incidence postulates, ruler postulates, etc.).; Expect true/false questions and short answer questions, as well as compuatational questions.; The exam is closed book.

5/8/06
The figures I (tried to) draw in class this morning, showing why the exterior theorem fails, can be found here.: These figures were drawn using the Java applet Spherical Easel to model spherical geomtry.; A similar applet for the Poincaré Disk can be found here.
Wednesday's class will meet in the computer lab in Weniger 226.

5/7/06
A list of potential topics has been posted here.: This would be a good time to reread my advice on how to write mathematical essays.

5/5/06
Instructions for using my Mathematica package for exploring hyperbolic geometry, as used in class today, can be found here.

4/30/06
We will meet tomorrow in the computer lab in Weniger 226, at the other end of the hall from our regular classroom.

4/17/06
Challenge for Wednesday:: Construct the taxicab hyperbola with foci at (-2,-1) and (2,1) and with distance difference 8.

4/14/06
The bookstore says that the books are supposed to be there after 2 PM today. I will put a copy of Monday's assignment on the bulletin board outside my office for those who need it; please return it after making a copy.

4/13/06
The writing assignment due tomorrow should be posted on your group discussion boards.
The homework due Monday should be turned in at the beginning of class.

4/12/06
Challenge for Friday:: Construct the taxicab ellipse with foci at (-3,0) and (3,0) and with distance sum 10.

4/7/06
Blackboard tips and glitches:
Make sure you send email to all members of your group!: In some cases, I have received copies of the first assignment, but others in the group have not.
Using the Group Discussion Board:: To post messages on the Group Discussion Board, you may either start a new thread, or reply to an existing message. The only difference is in how the messages are grouped when you look at the board. When in doubt, start a new thread if you are not actually replying to an existing message; feel free to ignore my suggestion to the contrary in the assignment. Also, if the messages seem to disappear after you read them, you may need to click on "view all messages" next to the "Add New Thread" button.
Do not mix up the Group Discussion Board with the class Discussion Board!: You should be using the Group Discussion Boards for assignments, found under the Group Pages link on the Communications page, not the (class) Discussion Board link on the same page. You may use this latter Discussion Board for comments intended for the whole class, but should not use it to contact your group. Sorry for the confusion.

4/5/06
Challenge for Friday:: Draw a picture of the 13-point projective geometry.
Draw a picture of the 16-point affine geometry.
These geometries are defined in the problems for RG §1.4.

4/3/06
Challenge for Wednesday:: An explorer sets out from camp, travels 1 mile due south, 1 mile due west, and then returns to camp by traveling 1 mile due north. Where can the camp be?

4/2/06
All written work for this course should be typed. Hand-written equations will be accepted, but should be viewed as a last resort. Hand-drawn figures are acceptable, but should be of high quality.: A brief discussion of mathematical wordprocessing formats can be found here.
Each student has been assigned to a group. Click here for further information.