Instructor: Jim Wiseman
Office: Buttrick 331
Phone: x6202
Email: jwiseman@agnesscott.edu (I check email much more frequently than voicemail.)
Office hours: Mon 1:30-3:00, Tues 2:30-4:00, and by appointment.
Course information: Available on Moodle and the course website, http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~jwiseman/mat325 .
Required material: The textbook is Shiftlet and Shiftlet, Introduction to Computational Science, 2nd edition, available in the bookstore. The companion website is https://ics.wofford-ecs.org .
Plan: We'll cover most of sections 1, 2, 4-9, and 13, as well as extra material on voting and gerrymandering. Topics include growth and decay, epidemics, computational error, data and randomness, global warming, matrices, networks, and gerrymandering. There's a more detailed schedule at http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~jwiseman/mat325/schedule.html, but it's subject to change.
Assignments and quizzes: You will have some homework assignments that will be turned in in class, as well as some in-class assignments and quick-review quizzes on the material. Assignments will be posted at http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~jwiseman/mat325/assignments.html – you are responsible for checking the assignments, as I won't give them in class.
Projects: There will be four projects throughout the semester. You will work in groups of three (and fill out peer evaluations at the end of each project). For each project, you will turn in a paper and give a presentation in class. There will be more details on the assignments page, http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~jwiseman/mat325/assignments.html .
Honor code and group work: All students are expected to follow the honor code throughout the semester; all projects and assignments should be pledged.
Getting help: My office hours are above - these are times when I'm guaranteed to be in my office and willing to talk. If you want to see me at other times, the best thing to do is to set up an appointment with me by email or after class. Of course, you're welcome to just drop by my office, as long as you don't mind if I'm not there or don't have time to talk.
Finally, I can't emphasize enough that your classmates are your best source of help.
Course goals: Learn to
- Understand and evaluate the use of mathematics in modeling the real world
- Create and use our own mathematical models
- Communicate mathematics effectively, both orally and in writing
Late work: Late work won't be accepted, and you won't be allowed to make up missed exams, except under very exceptional circumstances (e.g., the skunk ape attacks - and even then you should get a note from the skunk ape). In the case of a conflict that you absolutely can't resolve (for example, a religious holiday), you may arrange to take a midterm exam early.
Attendance: I expect you to be at every class, on time. Attendance is mandatory on project presentation days. Tardiness or absence on other days will have no (direct) effect on your grade.
Cell phones: Cell phone use (including texting) is of course not permitted in class. Turn off cell phones, smart phones, etc., before class.
Course evaluation: Your feedback on the course is extremely valuable to me, the math department, and the administration. In particular, I take your comments very seriously and use them to improve the course the next time I teach it. You are responsible for completing an evaluation of the course at the end of the semester.
Title IX: For the safety of the entire community, any incidence of or information about sexual misconduct must be reported immediately to Title IX Coordinator Marti Fessenden (mfessenden@agnesscott.edu, 404-471-6547) or Deputy Title IX Coordinator Karen Gilbert (kgilbert@agnesscott.edu, 404-471-6435).
Inclusion: This course adheres to the principles of diversity and inclusion integral to the Agnes Scott community. We respect people from all backgrounds and affirm people’s decisions about gender expression and identity. Please let me know your preferred name or gender pronoun if different from the class roster.
ADA: Agnes Scott College seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with various abilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, please contact the Office of Academic Advising and Accessible Education (404-471-6150) to complete the registration process. Once registered, please contact me so we can discuss the specific accommodations needed for this course.