FRS 001P - Sec. 001 - (1 unit) - CRN 75088 - W 12:10-1:00pm- 451 Kerr

Symbolic Computing in Maple

Instructor: Jared Tanner, Department of Mathematics, College of Letters and Science

Description: Although it is important for college students to be able to work through sophisticated algebraic problems without the aid of computers, a great deal of time can be wasted doing so. Often at the detriment of learning the underlying material being presented in college courses. This course will introduce students to the symbolic programming language Maple, which will allow them to dramatically decrease time spent on repetitive time consuming problems. Additionally, valuable mathematical ideas prevalent in modern scientific computing will be introduced and analyzed with the aid of computer graphics.

Format: The seminar will meet for fifty minutes weekly for the duration of the ten week quarter. Each meeting will be held in a computer lab with students working simple examples simultaneously with the instructor. This will make for more of a tutorial setting than a traditional lecture course. A reference text will be recommended to assist the students in their weekly assignments. Students will be given short assignments each week to expand and verify their understanding of the Maple programming language. Grading: The composite grade will be determined equally from i) in class sample exercises and ii) weekly assignments.

About the Instructor: Jared Tanner joined the Department of Mathematics in the fall of 2002 as a visiting assistant research professor. His research areas include computational sciences, signal processing, and applied harmonic analysis. The Maple programming language is a tool he often uses in his research.