Math 331: Mathematical Problem Solving with Computers
Serge Ferleger
Spring 2000

• A description of the course, including grading policies, text , etc.
• We suggest you use pine for dealing with email. The tutorial Getting Started with Pine covers all the basic stuff, and a bit more, and the Pine User's Guide has some more information, as well.
• Using a web browser (which you must already be doing if you are reading this) will also be quite handy. The two most popular browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are equally suitable for our needs. You can get them from Instructional Computing, although more recent versions are available from Netscape and Microsoft.
• We will be using Maple extensively. Some locally produced notes (which will change as the semester progresses) are available, either web browsable . Other useful information about using Maple can be found in various places on the web, including a nice collection of some stock answers to maple questions at MIT, a collection of maple resources (including a tutorial or two) at Indiana University, the Maple lab manual from Worcester Polytechnical Institute, and, of course, the home of Maple at Waterloo Maple Software. You can purchase a student version of maple for your own computer, if you want.
• Since we will be doing most of our work (in class at least) on a Unix system, you should look over Using Unix. Also useful are the UNIXhelp tutorial, and sections of UNIX is a four-letter word.

• In order to make it easier for you to keep up with the lectures, we will try to make the Maple worksheets from each lecture to be available here.
• Homework policy: Each exercise is worth 10 points and can be turned in at any time before its ``expiration date''. You can work on any number of problems per homework sheet (none to all, usually 5). However, at the end of the semester, we will expect you to have turned in at least 3/5 of the exercises assigned (approximately 25). If you do more, we will pick your best grades. If you do less, the missing grades will be counted as zeros. This will determine 20% of your final grade for the class.
• How to submit your homework: From a Unix shell, use the command

  submit331 file1 file2 ... filen
  

  where file1, file2, etc. are the Maple worksheets you want to submit.
  We strongly recommend that you use one worksheet per problem, and that you choose appropriate names for your files. For example, suppose that you solved problems 01, 03, 06, saving the corresponding worksheets in the files prob01.mws, prob03.mws, prob06.mws. Then you can submit them by typing

  submit331 prob01.mws prob03.mws prob06.mws
  

  Homework Problems
  Projects
  • The introductory project, dealing with the billiard in a circle, is due on Monday, February 28.
  • The project #1, where you will study dynamics of the maps from quadratic family, is due on Monday, April 3.
  • For the project #2, unlike for the previous one, you have a choice of topics. Please pick one from the following list and email me about your choice. Please do it no later than on April, 25. You will be expected to present a 15 minutes description of the project to the class at the very end of the semester. You are welcome to work in (small) groups. The deadline for the project is May, 3. where you will study dynamics of the maps from quadratic family, is due on Monday, April 3.