Mathematics

Listed below is a sampling of Web sites from our senior seminar course, History of Mathematics. After taking the other required courses and a sampling of electives, our majors finish their mathematical career at Mount Mercy with this attempt at weaving a unified fabric from the various threads of individual courses. Each student chooses a mathematical theme and spends the semester researching that theme through history, then developing a series of presentations and papers to teach the chosen theme to the rest of the class. Their goal through this is to learn mathematics of some depth and make it clear to their audience of knowledgeable and interested classmates. This is challenged by our decision to merge History of Mathematics with a sister course, History of Mathematics K-6 for elementary education majors who specialize in mathematics; these future teachers research ancient mathematics and Renaissance mathematics, allowing the mathematics majors to focus on the development and accomplishments of modern mathematics.

As a change of pace, both groups end the course by creating a Web site on some other aspect of mathematics; here the goals are showing creativity and making mathematics clear to some more general audience, such as yourself.

The Poincare Model for Lines in Hyperbolic Geometry
Joel Althoff is a 2001 graduate of Mount Mercy College who double-majored in mathematics and computer science. His Web site explains how to think of lines in a geometry that is different from the one we all learned in high school; in addition, he built one applet that will show the hyperbolic line through any two points you pick and another that illustrates how that line is found.

Mathemtatics in Musical Intonation
Craig Morgan is a 2002 graduate of Mount Mercy College with a double major in mathematics and computer science and a minor in religious studies. His Web site examines some of the many ways of tuning the 12-tone scale used by the West, from its invention by Pythagoras to the broader concept of just intonation, then proceeding through Bach’s championing of well-tempering to today’s dominant equal tempering.

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What classes should I take to enter the program?
What will it take to graduate?
Four-Year Plan for Math
How will I gain experience?
What can I do with a mathematics degree from Mount Mercy College?
Who can I talk to?
Outstanding Web Sites by Mount Mercy College Seniors