2018 Fall Course Syllabus - Mathematics 3061.001
Course: Mathematics 3061.001.
Course Title: Modern Geometry I.
Time: MWF 12:00 - 12:50.
Place: Wachman 0010.
Instructor: Edgar Bering.
Instructor Office: Wachman 1021.
Instructor Email: edgar.bering@temple.edu
Instructor Phone: na.
Course Web Page: http://canvas.temple.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday 10:00-11:50 or by appointment.
Prerequisites: (MATH 2061 or MATH 2111) and (MATH 2101 or MATH 2103 or MATH 3061).
Textbook: Geometry, 2nd edition by Brannan, Esplen, and Gray. 1st edition is also usable for the course.
Course Goals: Approach geometric problems from a transformational viewpoint, specifically they will translate between the language of invariants under a transformation and more familiar geometric notions like angle and length. Visualize the motion inherent in the transformational approach. Share these visualizations by building models (physical or virtual) and drawing (or etching) pictures. Master the use of the group structure of the symmetries of a geometry. Use matrix representations to analyze the symmetries of the geometries studied in the class, including: decomposition into reflections, the invariants of a given symmetry, and the relation between the linear algebra of a matrix (determinant, eigenvalues, etc.) and the transformation type (reflection, rotation, etc.). Appreciate the unifying framework of projective geometry in two dimensions and explain how the other geometries arise as sub-geometries of the projective plane. Use visual and tactile intuition to guide the creation of proofs of geometric facts.
Topics Covered: Euclidean, Affine, Projective, Inversive, Spherical, and Hyperbolic geometries in two dimensions. The Kleinian unification of geometry using group theory.
Course Grading: Homework 30% Reading Reflections 10% Take-home Midterm 15% Geometry Project 45% (Outline 5%, Draft 10%, Talk 10%, Model 5%, Final Submission 15%).
Exam Dates: Take home midterm October 17-19. In class presentation December 7 or 10. Final paper due Dec 14.
Attendance Policy: Your attendance and participation is expected at all iterations of our class meetings and assures that you and your colleagues get the full benefit of taking this class. Your absence and/or coming late or leaving early is a detriment to yourself and to your colleagues. Physical presence alone is not sufficient for attendance, you are present if you arrive on time and participate actively in the day's classroom activities. Every third unexcused absence (one week of classes) will lower your grade by one letter (e.g. A- to B- for three absences, A- to C- for six).
Letter Grades: Letter grades for the entire course will be assigned as the weighted average of letter grades from individual assignments. This average will be rounded towards the letter grade assigned for the final project evaluation. A passing grade will only be awarded if more than half of the assessments (by weight) have been passed and the final project evaluation receives a passing grade.
Academic Honesty/Plagiarism: You are expected to do your own work and any form of academic dishonesty-plagiarism and cheating-is as unacceptable in this course as it is across the University and throughout higher education. Plagiarism is defined in the Bulletin as "the unacknowledged use of another person's labor, another person's ideas, another person's words, and another person's assistance. Collaboration will be encouraged in this course, but it is required that students acknowledge their collaborators. Each assignment and task will specify what kind of collaboration is allowed. In all cases unacknowledged collaboration will be considered cheating, even on assignments that allow unlimited collaboration. If you commit an act of academic dishonesty on an assignment other than the geometry project you will receive an F and be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. If you commit an act of academic dishonesty on any portion of the geometry project you will receive an F in the entire project, and consequently fail the course, as well as be referred to the Office of Student Conduct.
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 dropped by the Drop/Add deadline date. Check the University calendar for exact dates.
During the Drop/Add period, students may drop a course with no record of the class appearing on their transcript. Students are not financially responsible for any courses dropped during this period. In the following weeks prior to or on the withdrawal date students may withdraw from a course with the grade of "W" appearing on their transcript. After the withdrawal date students may not withdraw from courses. Check the University Calendar (Opens in new tab/window) for exact dates. See the full policy by clicking here. (Opens in new tab/window)
The grade "I" (an "incomplete") is only given if students cannot complete the course work due to circumstances beyond their control. It is necessary for the student to have completed the majority of the course work with a passing average and to sign an incomplete contract which clearly states what is left for the student to do and the deadline by which the work must be completed. The incomplete contract must also include a default grade that will be used in case the "I" grade is not resolved by the agreed deadline. See the full policy by clicking here. (Opens in new tab/window)