ASSIGNMENTS
MTH 338 — Spring 2008

Assignments given by number refer to either Roads to Geometry (RG) or Taxicab Geometry (TG).

Term paper deadlines:
  5/9/08: Choose a topic
5/16/08: Project proposal due
5/23/08: Draft of introduction due
5/30/08: Rough draft due
  6/9/08: Final version due
Reading assignments:
Week 1: Skim RG §1.1-§1.2; read RG §1.3-§1.4
Week 2: Read TG §1-§3
Week 3: Read TG §4-§5
Week 4: Review RG §2.6; skim RG §3.2-§3.6; read RG §6.2-§6.3
Week 5: Read RG §6.6; skim RG §6.7
Week 6: Read RG §6.8
Week 7: Skim RG §6.4-§6.5
Week 8: Read RG §7.1-7.2; skim RG §7.3-§7.5
Due 6/4/08
Complete your essay.
Turn in hard copy to me in my office by noon.
Include the corrected copy of your rough draft.
Late submissions will only be accepted if the delay is cleared with me in advance.
Due 5/30/08
Write a rough draft of your entire essay.
Turn in hard copy to me. Include the corrected hard copy of your introduction.
You should submit a complete draft at this time. At a minimum, you should submit a complete introduction and conclusion, and an abbreviated version of the remaining sections.
It is acceptable for now to say, "I will show that taxicab circles are squares," but leave out most of the details. However, it is no longer acceptable to say merely, "I will investigate taxicab circles."
Due 5/28/08
Complete Lab 4, which will be handed out Wednesday in class.
Turn in only a single picture, showing your two triangles, the point and line with respect to which they are perspective (and the lines which show this).
It's easiest if you turn in your picture at the end of Wednesday's lab, but it can also be turned in on Friday, whether or not you were in class Wednesday.
Due 5/23/06
Write (a draft of) the introduction for your essay.
Tell the reader what you are going to do. An appropriate length for this assignment is most of a page.
Post an early draft of your introduction on the Wiki, following the same instructions as before.
Also submit hard copy to me on Friday, together with the corrected copy of your proposal.
You are strongly encouraged to comment on each other's introductions.
"Due" 5/19/08
Complete Lab 3, which was handed out in class today.
If you missed class, you will not have access to a Lénárt sphere, but you are strongly encouraged to try it on your own, either using Geometer's Sketchpad or Spherical Easel, or even some sort of ball you can write on.
You do not need to turn anything in, but you should verify that you obtain the correct formula for the area of a spherical triangle in terms of its angles.
Due 5/16/08
Write a project proposal, consisting of a title and a short description of what you intend to do.
You can present this as an abstract, summarizing the main conclusions, or as an outline, giving a table of contents. An appropriate length for this assignment is roughly half a page.
You are strongly encouraged to post your proposal on the Wiki; further instructions will be made available here later this week. You should also submit hard copy to me on Friday, together with your previously submitted topic choice.
Due 5/9/08
There are two different assignments this week:
Choose a topic for your essay.
Write a few sentences explaining your topic.
Complete Lab 2, which will be handed out in class Monday 5/5.
A brief but polished writeup should be included for the SAS excercise. However, no writeup is needed for the remaining pieces, for each of which it is sufficient to turn in a picture. Do clearly indicate your answer on these pictures: The (optional) equilateral triangle should clearly show the angle measures, and the complete circle intersecting the equator should be clearly indicated. I strongly encourage the completion of the London/Tokyo problem as well, for which it suffices to turn in a single picture showing all of the routings, with city names and distances added by hand.
Due 5/2/08
Complete Lab 1, which will be handed out in class Monday 4/28.
Your writeup should include both a figure and an explanation of the process used. The more you automated your construction, the better for your content score — the exact duplication of a special triangle (right, equilateral, isosceles) is probably better than an approximate duplication of a general triangle, although the merit of the latter will depend on the exact procedure used. If you adjusted things by hand, say so! Your explanation should be complete and well-written; half a page should be about right.
Due 4/28/08
Optional: Rewrite the previous assignment.
Turn this in at the beginning of class Monday along with your previously submitted version, or bring both to my office later in the day for discussion.
A reasonable goal of this writing assignment is to present the problems and their solutions in such a way that you would be likely to understand them 5 years from now without reference to any other materials.
Due 4/21/08
TG §3: 7, 15
TG §4: 13ad
Explain your answers. Use complete sentences. Turn this in at the beginning of class Monday.
Due 4/18/08
Define non-Euclidean geometry.
Yes, this is the same assignment as last week. This time, post a single, group definition of non-Euclidean geometry. Follow the same instructions as last week, and post to the bottom of the same page. But each of you should edit the same definition until you're all happy with it.
Due 4/14/08
TG §2: 2, 4, 5
Explain your answers. Use complete sentences. Turn this in at the beginning of class Monday.
Due 4/11/08
Define non-Euclidean geometry.
Post your definition on the Wiki; follow the instructions under Assignment #2 on the information for students page.
Ouch! The question first posted on the Wiki asks for a definition of Euclidean geometry; that's a typo (now corrected). Sorry about that.
Due 4/7/06
Post at least one comment on your group page about the paragraphs written by the other students in your group.
It's easiest to do this by clicking on the discussion tab at the top of your group page, then editing that page, creating it if necessary. To return to the group page after editing (and saving) your comments, click the article tab.
Due 4/4/08
Write one paragraph describing your interest in mathematics.
See these instructions on how to submit your work.