Fall 2007 Course Syllabus
Course: 3061.001.
Course Title: Modern Geometry.
Time: Wednesdays, 17:00-19:30.
Place: Tuttleman Learning Center, room 7.
Instructor: Conrad, Bruce P.
Instructor Office: Wachman Hall, room 616.
Instructor Email: bruce.conrad@temple.edu
Instructor Phone: 215-204-2896.
Office Hours: Mondays, 13:40-14:30; Wednesdays, 16:00-16:50; Fridays, 9:00-9:50.
Prerequisites: Linear algebra. I will accept any upper division mathematics course as an alternative.
Textbook: \emph{College Geometry Using the Geometers Sketchpad}, by Barbara Reynolds and William Fenton. Key College Publishing, ISBN 1-931914-54-0. We will also refer to \emph{The Elements}, by Euclid. This text is online at \begin{verbatim} http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/toc.html \end{verbatim}.
Course Goals: Geometry is a broad area, and we cannot touch upon every aspect. In this course you will be introduced to synthetic and transformational geometry. Our goal is to understand what these are, and to become familiar with major results. In the process, we explore the role of models for axiom systems. A second goal is to become proficient with \emph{The Geometers Sketchpad} software and its use in exploring Euclidean, non-Euclidean, and projective geometry.
Topics Covered: \begin{itemize} \item Synthetic geometry (Euclidean, and non-Euclidean) \item Analytic geometry \item Transformational geometry \item Hyperbolic geometry \item Projective geometry \end{itemize}.
Course Grading: Homework, 30\%; Midterm, 20\%; Final, 20\%; Presentation, 20\%, Class participation, 10\%.
Exam Dates: Midterm: October 17. Final: December 12.
Attendance Policy: Please attend each class. You cant afford to miss a whole week.
Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and Services at (215) 204-1280, 100 Ritter Annex, to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which can be accessed here.
Students will be charged for a course unless a withdrawal form is processed by a registration office of the University by the Drop/Add deadline date given below. For this semester, the crucial dates are as follows:
During the first two weeks of the fall or spring semester or summer sessions, students may withdraw from a course with no record of the class appearing on the transcript. In weeks three through nine of the fall or spring semester, or during weeks three and four of summer sessions, the student may withdraw with the advisor's permission. The course will be recorded on the transcript with the instructor's notation of "W," indicating that the student withdrew. After week nine of the fall or spring semester, or week four of summer sessions, students may not withdraw from courses. No student may withdraw from more than five courses during the duration of his/her studies to earn a bachelor's degree. A student may not withdraw from the same course more than once. Students who miss the final exam and do not make alternative arrangements before the grades are turned in will be graded F.
The grade I (an "incomplete") is reserved for extreme circumstances. It is necessary to have completed almost all of the course with a passing average and to file an incomplete contract specifying what is left for you to do. To be eligible for an I grade you need a good reason and you should have missed not more than 25% of the first nine weeks of classes. If approved by the Mathematics Department chair and the CST Dean's office, the incomplete contract must include a default grade that will be used in case the I grade is not resolved within 12 months.