MATH 131: Fall 2006

1.      Section A: M/W 1:30 - 2:50 pm, Hegeman 106

2.    Section B: T/Th 10:30 - 11:50 pm, Hegeman 106

Exams: There will be a midterm, a final, and a project/presentation. Your grade will be determined by homework(40%), midterm(20%), final exam(20%), and presentations(20%). Tentative exam and project dates are listed below.

Assignments: Homework will be assigned daily and graded weekly. Tentative assignments are below. Assignments in BOLD RED are to be handed in.

 

DAY

Date Section A

Date Section B

Chapters

Topic in class

Assignment

1

9/6

9/5-7

1

Introduction to number theory, squares, primes.

OctaPuzzle

Find the largest prime

Is 1234567 prime?

Puzzle on Info sheet

2

9/11

9/12

1, 2

Pythagorean triples

Find a proof of the Pyth. theorem

Exploration: 1.3, 1.4abc

3

9/13

9/14

2

Pythagorean triples

Read Ch 2, 4

Exploration: 2.3

4

9/18

9/19

4, 5

Fermat’s Last Thm, Divisibility

 

5

9/20

9/21

5

Divisibility, Greatest Common Divisors

Computation: 5.1

Exploration: 5.4

6

9/25

9/26

5, 6

Linear Equations

 

7

9/27

9/28

6

Linear Equations

Computation: 6.1, 6.2

Write a paragraph or two about the film

8

10/2

10/3

Film: Preston Theater

Fermat’s Last Thm.

 

9

10/4

10/5

7

Prime Factorization

Exploration: 7.4

10

10/11

10/12

8

Congruences

Computation: 8.3

11

10/16

10/17

8

Congruences

Computation: 8.5, 8.6

12

10/18

10/19

8, 9

Fermat’s Little Thm

 

13

10/23

10/24

9

Fermat’s Little Thm, Review for midterm

 

14

10/25

10/26

extra

Applications of Modular arithmetic

Midterm given out

Midterm

Computation: 9.1

Reasoning: 9.4

15

10/30

10/31

10

Euler’s Formula

Exploration: 9.2, 9.3 (in class)

 

16

11/1

11/2

11

Euler’s Formula,     Phi Function

Computation: 10.2, 11.1

17

11/6

11/7

11

Chinese Remainder Theorem

Computation: 11.5

18

11/8

11/9

12, 13

Prime Numbers

13.3, soldiers, fact about primes

19

11/13

11/14

14 -15

Mersenne Primes

 

20

11/15

11/16

14-15

Perfect Numbers

Exploration: 14.1, 15.3(a)

21

11/20

11/21

18

Cryptography

 

22

11/27

11/28

16

Successive Squares

16.1

23

11/29

11/30

17

Kth Roots

17.1, 18.1

24

12/4

12/5

18

Cryptography

Computer Lab: 18.4

Respond to my message (k=5,m=1081)

25

12/6

12/7

Extra

Digital Signatures

Computer Lab: 16.3, 16.5, 17.2

26

12/11

12/12

Extra

Cryptography

Digital signatures, in class

 

12/13

12/14

Reg day

Meet about presentations

 

27

12/18

12/19

Presentations

Final exam given out, due the next day

 

28

12/20

12/21

Presentations