MATH 1010C Excursions in Mathematics

Abstract

Early on human beings saw the need for counting physical objects and measuring lengths, areas and volumes. In other words, they needed mathematics. This course will focus on understanding the two basic subjects that mathematics deals with numbers and spaces. In particular, we will learn how negative numbers, rational numbers (fractions) and irrational numbers (such as pi and the square root of 2) arise from the simple counting numbers. Also, we will learn how two- and three-dimensional spaces arise from points and lines. In applying mathematics to everyday life, we will be covering geometry, sets, decimals and percentages, the properties of operations on numbers, measurements of length, area, volume and capacity.