Math 300 Great Moments in Mathematics

Spring 2002

The calendar presented below may change often.  Review it regularly throughout the semester.

Reading assignments are listed for the due date.  Quizzes on the reading of the week are given every Tuesday.

January 2002
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
 14  15

Original Source:
Plimpton 322

 16 17

Read Sections 1.1-1.4
Ancient numerations,
arithmetic, linear eqs
18
21

Martin Luther King Day
22

Read Sections 1.5-1.9
HW: Ch 1 #7, 11, 14
Ancient geometry,
quadratic eqns
23

 
24

Original Source:
Euclid's Elements Book I
25

 
28

 
29

Read Sections 2.1-2.4
HW: Ch 1 #25, 33, 42
Greek mathematics
before Euclid
30

 
31

Euclid's Elements

 
February 2002
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
1
 4 5

Read Chapter 3
HW: Ch 2 #1, 5, 11,
15, 36, 39
Archimedes

 6
7

Apollonius
8
11
12

Read Chapter 4
HW: Ch 3 #6, 10, 12
23, 33
Hellenistic mathematics
13
 14

SPRING HOLIDAY
15
18
19

Read Chapter 5
HW: Ch 4 #1, 2, 3, 4,
15, 22, 24
Nicomachus, Diophantus
20
21

Biographical paper due;
Pappus, Hypatia
22
25
26

Read Sections 6.1-6.4
HW: Ch 5 #6, 7, 12, 19
Mathematics in
Medieval China
27
28

Midterm Exam
(Ch 1-5)

  
March 2002
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
1
4 5

Original Source:
al-Biruni's Exhaustive
Treatise on Shadows

 6 7

Read Sections 6.5-6.9
The Golden Age of
Indian mathematics

 8
11

 
12

Read Chapter 7
HW: Ch 6 #1, 5, 13,
16, 20, 26
Islamic Mathematics:
algebra, combinatorics
13

 
14

Islamic Mathematics:
geometry, trigonometry

 
15

 
18
19

Read Chapter 8
HW: Ch 7 #5, 13,
16, 25, 29, 31
Redicovery of Euclid
in the West, mathematics
in Medieval Europe
20
21

Nicole Oresme 
22
25
26

SPRING
27
28

BREAK
29
April 2002
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
1  2

Read Chapter 9
HW Ch 8: #6, 12,
19, 31, 38, 39
Algebra in Renaissance
Europe

 3  4

Original Source:

Cardano's Ars Magna
5
8
9

Read Chapter 10
Art, navigation and
astronomy: influences
on mathematics
10
11

Logarithms,
Galileo
HW: Ch 9 #4, 14,
25, 29, 31, 33, 37, 41
12
15
16

Read Chapter 11
HW: Ch 10 #1, 5,
8, 14, 22, 27
17
18

Original source paper due;
Analytic geometry,
projective geometry,
early probability
19
22
23

Read Sections 12.1-12.4
HW: Ch 11 #2, 7,
11, 17, 24, 30
Protocalculus,
Power series,
the Fund Thm of Calculus
24
25

Visit to
UC Rare Book Room

 26
29
30

Read Sections 12.5-12.7
Newton

    
May 2002
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
1 2

HW: Ch 12 #6, 11, 17,
23, 25, 36, 40, 46, 47, 49
Leibniz
3
6
 7

Final Exam
4:00 - 5:15

 8 9