MA 225-002

Foundations of Advanced Mathematics

Mathematics

MA 225-002 Home Page

Semester: Fall 2011
Meeting time: MWF 11:20 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Meeting place: SAS 1218

Name: Stephen Schecter
E-mail address: schecter@math.ncsu.edu
Office location: SAS 3226
Office hours: 9:10 - 10:00 a.m. MTWHF
Office telephone number: 515-6533
Office fax number: 513-7336

Students will
1. Learn to use the basic language of mathematics (logic, sets, relations, functions).
2. Learn to outline, write and criticize mathematical proofs about numbers, sets, relations, functions, and cardinality.

MA 241 or equivalent.

Smith, Eggen and St. Andre, A Transition to Advanced Mathematics, 7th edition (ISBN: 0495562025), $146.49 from Amazon.

• Chapter 1 (Logic and Proofs): All sections (4-5 weeks)
• Chapter 2 (Sets): Sections 2.1-2.5 (3-4 weeks)
• Chapter 3 (Relations): Sections 3.1 and 3.2 (1-2 weeks)
• Chapter 4 (Functions): Sections 4.1-4.3 (2-3 weeks)
• Chapter 5 (Cardinality): Sections 5.1-5.4 (1-2 weeks)

The final exam is Friday, December 9, 8:00 - 11:00 a.m., in the usual room.

Students are expected to arrive on time, to contribute to group work and class discussions, and to stay until the class ends. Attendance at all meetings of the class is expected. We will take attendance beginning Monday, August 22. Attendance records are used to answer questions from University administrators and academic advisors; they are not used for grading.

I will assign homework regularly by e-mail to be turned in and graded (although I will not necessarily grade all problems). Homework assignments are also listed on the homework page.

You will divide into pairs to do homework assignments. Each pair of students should work on the assignment together and submit one assignment for the pair. Both students in the pair should understand all submitted answers and agree with them. Both students in the pair will get the same grade.

If you are unable to find another student to pair with, or if you prefer to form a group of three, please contact me for permission.

Please feel free to discuss homework all you want with students from other pairs or with me. However, each pair of students should write up solutions itself. You should not (of course) copy them. Please see the University guidelines on academic integrity (Code of Student Conduct, items 7 through 13).

Each homework assignment has a due date. It must be submitted as a single pdf file by 11:45 p.m. on that day through Wolfware. For submission instructions, see the WolfWare FAQ and scroll down to "Submit: How to Submit", or use this direct link.

WolfWare only allows submission of files up to 8 mb. If your file is bigger, you should compress it. With a Mac, open the PDF file in Preview, click on Save As, and choose Reduce File Size from the choices under Quartz Filter.

If you type your homework, for example with Microsoft Word, it should be easy to save it as a pdf file and submit it.

If you write out your homework, you can use a scanner to produce a pdf file. If your scanner produces a different file type, you can use a free web site such as PictureResize to convert it to a pdf file. (After you convert your file, you must click on "Download.")

Alternatively, with a Mac you can click on Print in the File menu, then on PDF in the popup window, then on Save as PDF.

If your scanner produces a separate pdf file for each page, you can use a free web site, such as Merge PDF, or software such as Adobe Acrobat, to merge your separate pdf files into a single pdf file.

There is a scanner available for student use in SAS 2105 (hours).

Once your homework is graded, you can retrieve it through the Retrieve Assignments link on Wolfware.

When I send e-mail to the class, it goes to the address you have given to the University. To see what this address is, go to the Campus Directory and look yourself up. If that is not the e-mail address you want, there is a link that lets you change it.

There will be three tests and a final exam. If you miss a test, I will need a letter documenting the reason. Makeup tests can only be given for reasons such as illness, emergency, participation in a University-sponsored event, required court attendance or military duty, or religious observances as certified by the Department of Student Development.

If you know you will be absent on a test date, you must clear the absence with me in advance and schedule a makeup date. In the case of an unanticipated absence on a test date, you must give me documentation and schedule a makeup date as soon as possible.

See the University policy on attendance and scroll down to "Excused Absences."

• Homework counts 10% of your grade.
• Each in-class test counts 20% of your grade.
• The final counts 30% of your grade.
  
  
• Grade scale: 97 = A+, 93 = A, 90 = A-, etc.

The NC State policy on working with students with disabilities can be found here.

For information on tutoring, look here.

NC State home page