Math 114 Descriptions

Course Description for Math 114

Math 114-01A   (Hartz)

The aim of the course is to teach you some mathematics and I hope you will have a fun time learning it.  The class will cover areas of mathematics and uses of mathematics that are different from the areas and uses that you are familiar with.  One area we will emphasize is the relationship between mathematics and the arts, looking at how work in mathematics has influenced the development of art and conversely, how work in art has influenced the development of mathematics

Math 114 02A and 03A (Galovich)

This class will focus on game theory, which uses mathematical tools and ideas to sort out the complexities of behavior in situations of conflict or cooperation.  Such situations call for making rational choices, so game theory could be described as the study of how one makes rational choices:  How should I choose?   How are my choices affected by the choices of others? For example, even a (seemingly) simple game, like tic-tac-toe, involves strategic choices.  The best way to understand the interactions of such choices is to play lots of different types of games and think about them – we will do that, especially early on, and use those experiences to build mathematical language and reasoning skills to apply later in the semester.

Game theory was first developed to study economic behavior, but the approach that game theory offers has made important contributions in many areas, including business, economics, politics and psychology. As time permits, we will read about some of these applications.

MATH 114 -04A (Creed)

This class will look at some contemporary mathematical applications – how mathematics is used in various areas in modern society.  A common theme will be using mathematics to model real-life situations to help make predictions and decisions.  We will look at applications in management (planning  and scheduling, allocation of resources to maximize profit or minimize costs); statistics and probability (obtaining and describing data, data analysis, probability rules and models);  digital applications (ID numbers, bar codes, cryptography); social choice (voting systems, apportionment, game theory); and consumer finance.