UMass Lowell - CyberEd 92.419 Introduction to Mathematica

Kenneth M. Levasseur Department of Mathematical Sciences University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA 01854

Prof. Kenneth Levasseur
Department of Mathematical Sciences
University of Massachusetts Lowell

Email: Kenneth_Levasseur@uml.edu

Philosophy

I believe that in order to really start learning anything as complex as Mathematica , you've got to work toward a significant goal. This is why a project is such a major part of this course.

Required Elements of Projects

1. Your name and email address - This isn't a feature of Mathematica, but it's something that a surprising number of people forget to put on their work.
2. At least one initialization cell that contains expressions that must be evaluated to use your project.
3. A function with at least one option. You will learn how to do this in Week 5.
4. At least one hyperlink either to a part of your project or to the Web.

Sources of Project Ideas

Journals

So far, the best source of project Ideas that I've been able to come up with are mathematics journals. The Journals of the Mathematical Association of America are particularly good sources since they have many articles that are accessible to students. Some of the articles are prepared using a computer algebra system (usually Mathematica or Maple) and occasionally you can find one that can be extended. Note: A project shouldn't be just a matter of replicating a calculation or a graphic - I'm looking for you to make use of Mathematica to explore new ground or clarify difficult concepts. Sometimes, articles written by authors who didn't use a computer algebra systems are also a good choice.

Employment-Related Projects

You are welcome to do a project that is related to your job. It doesn't have to be mathematics, but then again, it you listen to Tom Lehrer, everything is mathematics!

• Mac users click here for "It's Mathematics" in MP3 format.
• Windows users click here for "It's Mathematics" in MP3 format.

More ideas

• The game of "Set"
• Finanical Derivatives
• Genetic Algorithms
• Raw Recruits
• Rationally counting the rational numbers
• Taxicab Geometry
• The decline of 0.400 hitters in baseball
• The Buffon's Needle (Noodle?) problem
• Math-termind (a variation of MasterMind)
• "Persian" Recursion
• Building Quizzes and Tests
• Wheels on Wheels...
• "Wiretap" - a game from Games Magazine
• Wavelets

Evaluation of Projects

I've put together some comments on how I evaluate projects .

Sample Projects from past semesters

When you're done.....

• Every spring, UMass Lowell has a student research day.
• Also every spring, UMass runs a system-wide conference on undergraduate research.
• The Furman University Electronic Journal of Undergraduate Mathematics may publish your work.