Omar Abuzzahab

Department of Mathematics
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6395

Office: DRL 4N29 (this resides in a secluded hallway: look for the green "math TAs ->" sign in the North part of DRL)
Email: omarab (a) sas (dot) upenn (dot) edu
Office Hours: Mon: 5:00-6:00 pm & Wed: 5:00-6:00 pm

Main Page > Spring 2011 - Math 360

Class News




Course Information

Instructor: Keya Zhu
Class Web Page: Math 360 - Spring 2011

Lecture:

T, Th 12:00 - 1:30 pm DRL 4C2

Recitation Sections:

M, W 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in DRL 4C2.


Each week in recitation sessions you will be presenting solutions to homework problems (those that you have already worked on the previous week and handed in) in front of the class at the blackboard. The goal is to practice laying out a mathematical argument and communicating it effectively.

I will also spend time each week answering questions you have on lecture material and assigned problems.

Homework:

You should turn in your HW after lecture to my mailbox in the math office.
Assigned problems for each lecture are given on the proffesor's webpage

  • HW 1 due Thursday, Jan 27 (covers assigned problems from Jan 13 - Jan 20)
  • HW 2 due Thursday, Feb 3 (covers Jan 25 & 27)
  • HW 3 due Thursday, Feb 11 (covers Feb 1st & 3rd)
  • no HW for Feb 17 (midterm week)
  • HW 4 due Thursday, Feb 24: 2.7: 2,3,5 and 2.8: 1,2,3,4,5
  • HW 5 due Thursday, March 3rd (covers Feb 22nd & 24th)
  • HW 6 due Thursday, March 17th (covers March 1st & March 3rd)
  • HW 7 due Thursday, March 24th (covers March 15th & March 17th)
  • no HW for March 31st (midterm week)
  • HW 8 due Thursday, April 7th: 4.6---1,3,4,6 and 4.7---1
  • HW 9 due Thursday, April 14th: 4.7---2,3,4,5
  • HW 10 due Thursday, April 21st (covers April 12th and 14th)
  • HW 11 due Thursday, April 28th (covers April 19th and 21st)


    • About Homework:

    You may work with each other on homework problems.
    Your solution must be entirely in your own words (this generally means writing your solutions alone).

    Grading of Homework problems: From each assignment, selected problems of my choosing are graded out of 10. The rest of the homework is graded on completion or a general level of correctness (fewer details checked). Each homework has the same weight in your recitation grade.



    Presenting Solutions:



    The goal in written mathematics is to communicate a formal proof clearly enough that a reader can understand the proof without special ingenuity on their part. One must therefore have an idea of who the hypothetical reader is. For us, the hypothetical reader is someone who hasn't thought about the problem and therefore doesn't know what details will come up in the proof or how they will be addressed. We assume though that the reader knows what we know outside of the particular problem at hand and, likewise, is as competent with the current material as we are. This means they know the definitions and they are comfortable taking facts for granted that have been proven earlier in the course.

    It is necessary, then, that when we present the solutions to the class that we engage in a little bit of acting - none of us fits the description of the hypothetical reader! The audience should also act the part, asking questions where the solution is ambiguous or unclear. Of course, if you legitimately don't see a step then definitely ask a question too. Likewise for the speaker, feel free to break character and ask a question. (When standing at the blackboard, it is normal to get confused about what you knew when sitting down - don't be ashamed!).

    When you present the problem at the blackboard you should be both speaking and writing your solution. Normally it is a good idea to verbally give an overview or an intuitive idea before you do each step. When you write, you should speak aloud what you are writing, either literally or paraphrasing. To reiterate: you should almost always be speaking, either facing the class (while not writing) or while writing (and speaking what you write). As for what you write, it should be complete sentences and self contained, meaning there should not be an essential step which you spoke but did not write. Make sure to use the whole blackboard instead of erasing a single panel over and over.