Mathematics Courses

Number systems and their properties, solving linear and quadratic equations, solving systems of equations, polynomials and factoring, graphing linear and quadratic equations, graphing inequalities, exponents and radicals, operations on rational functions. Should not be needed by students with high school algebra II. Prerequisite: high school algebra I and geometry, or equivalent. 3 credits. Not for General Science majors.

The beauty and significance of mathematics in the history of human thought. Topics include primes, the pigeonhole principle, the Fibonacci sequence, infinity, chaos and fractals. Prerequisites: High school algebra I and geometry, or equivalent. Offered spring of even-numbered years. 3 credits. Not for General Science majors. (QR)

Topics in economic game theory including two-person zero-sum games, Prisoner's Dilemma, n-person competitive and cooperative games. Focus on concepts of strategy, fairness, cooperation and defection, utility and individual rationality. The social impact of individual choices. Prerequisites: High school algebra I and geometry, or equivalent. Offered fall of even-numbered years. 3 credits. Not for General Science majors. (QR)

Study of voting and elections from a mathematical perspective; examination of preferential voting systems with focus on axioms of fairness; weighted voting systems and indices of power; methods of apportionment, paradoxes, and the Electoral College. Prerequisites: High school algebra and geometry, or equivalent. Offered fall of oddnumbered years. 3 credits. Not for General Science majors. (QR)

Mathematical problem solving; understanding the problem, devising a plan to solve the problem, implementing the plan, verifying and communicating the solution. Specific problem strategies and types of problems for which they are appropriate. Emphasis on communication, collaboration and problem-solving strategies. Prerequisites: High school algebra I and geometry, or equivalent. Offered spring of odd-numbered years. 3 credits. Not for General Science majors. (QR)

The mathematics of the elementary school. Problem solving, sets and logic, number and numeration systems, whole number operations and their properties, patterns among natural numbers, the art of guessing, fractions, decimals, ratios and portions, integers, rational and irrational numbers, and the use of calculators. Prerequisite: MATH 105 or equivalent. 4 credits. May be applied to General Science major only with approval of the department chair. (QR)

A continuation of 135. Collection and treatment of data, concepts of probability, measurement, spatial concepts including one, two and three dimensional shapes, congruence, similarity, transformations, graphic and computers including the use of Logo. Prerequisite: 135 or consent of instructor. 4 credits. May be applied to General Science major only with approval of the department chair.

An introduction to probability and statistics including methods of summarizing and describing data, basics of probability, distribution of random variables and probability distributions including the normal curve, inferential statistics including hypothesis testing and decision making, linear regression and correlation. Additional topics may include chi-square analysis and analysis of variance. Prerequisite: 105, or high school algebra I and II and geometry or equivalent. 3 credits. (QR)

Topics in algebra and trigonometry beyond those covered in the second course in high school algebra. Emphasis on concepts, structures and technical competence. Solutions of algebraic equations and inequalities; functions and graphs; exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions; elementary plane analytic geometry. Prerequisite: 105, or high school algebra I and II and geometry, or equivalent. 5 credits.

Review of algebra including equations, inequalities, functions, graphs, logarithms and exponentials. Topics in finite mathematics including matrix algebra and linear programming. Introduction to differential calculus and use in optimization. Applications in business, economics and the social sciences. Prerequisite: 105 or consent of instructor. 5 credits.

Differential and integral calculus of real functions of one variable. Differentiation, the chain rule, the mean-value theorem, the fundamental theorem, limits and continuity, curve sketching. Integration by substitution. Application of the derivative and integral to physics and geometry. Prerequisite: 150 or equivalent. 5 credits.

A continuation of Calculus I to include further techniques of integration, Taylor approximations, sequences and series. Plane analytic geometry, including arc length. Prerequisite: 170 or equivalent. 3 credits.

Functions of several variables; differentiability and continuity; arc length and differential geometry; Taylor's formula; extrema and Lagrange multipliers; multiple integration, line and surface integrals; the theorems of Green, Gauss and Stokes. Prerequisite: 175 or equivalent. 5 credits.

First-order equations, including separation of variables and integrating factors; second-order linear equations, including nonhomogeneous techniques, Laplace transforms and power series methods; linear systems, including eigenvalue methods and matrix exponentials; applications to mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, and economics. Prerequisite: 175 or equivalent. Offered spring. 4 credits. (QR)

Fundamental concepts in abstract mathematics with an emphasis on learning to write mathematical proofs. Topics include logic, sets, relations, functions, proof by contradiction, proof by contrapositive, and mathematical induction. Prerequisite: 170 or consent of instructor. Offered January term. 3 credits.

Topics in the general area of discrete mathematical structures including sets, logic, relations, functions, induction, matrices, basic enumeration, graphs, and Boolean algebra. Prerequisite: 170 or equivalent. Offered fall. 4 credits.

Matrix theory and linear algebra, including real and complex vector spaces, linear transformations and their matrices, systems of linear equations, determinants, similarity, eigenvalues, symmetric and Hermitian matrices. Prerequisite: 170 or equivalent. 4 credits.

Participation in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications. Experience solving real world problems using mathematical methods. Formal presentation of project results. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Offered spring. 1 credit.

Topics in the development of mathematics from ancient times to present. Prerequisites: 175 and INQS 125 or consent of instructor. Offered spring of evennumbered years. 3 credits.

Nonlinear differential equations from a dynamical systems approach. Scalar autonomous equations; elementary bifurcations; linear systems and canonical forms; planar autonomous systems; stability near equilibria including Liapunov functions; periodic orbits and the Poincare-Bendixson theorem; Lorenz equations, chaos and strange attractors; one-dimensional maps including the logistical map. Prerequisites: 200 and 210, or consent of instructor. Offered fall of even-numbered years. 3 credits. (QR)

Geometry as a body of theory developed logically from a given set of postulates. Euclid's definitions and postulates; independence, consistency, and completeness, finite axiomatic systems; modern incidence results of the circle and triangle; duality in synthetic projective geometry; Cartesian and homogeneous coordinates; transformations of the plane. Prerequisite: 250 (may be taken concurrently). Offered fall of even-numbered years. 4 credits.

Combinatorial theory with focus on techniques of enumeration. Topics include generating functions, recurrence relations, inclusion-exclusion, pigeonhole principle. Advanced topics selected from posets, lattices, Polya counting, difference sequences, Stirling numbers, and Catalan numbers. Prerequisites: 175 and at least one of 220, 230, or 250. Offered spring of odd-numbered years. 3 credits.

Discrete and continuous random variables; descriptive statistics of a single random variable; the Central Limit Theorem; applications of confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; linear regression. Prerequisite: 175. Offered fall. 4 credits. (QR)

Properties of the integers. Divisibility, prime numbers, congruence. Chinese Remainder Theorem, Wilson's Theorem, Euler's Theorem. Emphasis on writing proofs in the context of number theory; mathematical induction. Prerequisite: 220, 230, or 250. Offered fall of even-numbered years. 3 credits.

Mathematical methods of examining allocation problems; formulation and solution of linear programming problems, simplex method, and duality; additional topics may include game theory, queuing models, dynamic programming, and/or Markov chains. Prerequisites: 200, 250. Offered spring of odd-numbered years. 3 credits. (QR)

The analysis of real-valued functions; sequences including Cauchy sequences; limits and continuity including uniform continuity; differentiation, the mean value theorem and Taylor's Theorem; the Reimann integral and the fundamental theorem of calculus. Prerequisites: 175, at least one of 220, 230, or 250, and INQS 125. 3 credits. (MWI)

Numerical analysis involving mathematical and statistical methods, use of interactive mathematical software to solve such problems. Topics include: numerical solution of non-linear equations, numerical solution of systems of equations, numerical differentiation and integration, numerical solution of ordinary differential equations, interpolation, curve fitting, analysis of errors. Prerequisites: 200, and 250 (may be taken concurrently). Offered spring of odd-numbered years. 4 credits.

Selected topics not regularly offered at Linfield. 1-5 credits.

Fourier series and the methods of separation of variables; Sturm-Liouville problems; Green's functions; the method of characteristics; Laplace, heat and wave equations, and selected applications. Prerequisites: 200, 210. Offered fall of odd-numbered years. 3 credits.

Basic topics in point set topology. Product, quotient and subspace topologies; metric spaces; closed sets and limit points; connectedness; compactness; the separation axioms; introduction to fundamental group and covering spaces. Prerequisites: 200 and at least one of 220, 230, or 250. Strongly recommended: 370. Offered fall of odd-numbered years. 3 credits.

Topics in graph theory including trees, bipartite graphs, Eulerian and Hamiltonian graphs, matchings, connectivity, coloring, planar graphs. Advanced topics selected from Ramsey theory, pebbling, competitive coloring, and matroids. Prerequisite: 220, 230, or 250. Offered spring of even-numbered years. 3 credits.

Multivariate probability distributions; functions of random variables; point estimators; maximum likelihood estimators; theory of hypothesis testing and power; method of least squares. Prerequisites: 200, 340. Offered spring of even-numbered years. 3 credits.

Basic algebraic structures; groups, rings, and fields. Cosets, normal subgroups, factor groups, ideals, factor rings, polynomial rings. Homomorphisms and isomorphisms. Prerequisite: 220, 230, or 250. Offered fall of odd-numbered years. 4 credits.

Complex numbers and functions; the complex derivative; complex integration; Taylor and Laurent series; residue theory; conformal mapping. Selected applications. Prerequisites: 200, 370. Offered spring of odd-numbered years. 4 credits.

Topology of Rⁿ ; analysis of functions from Rⁿ to R^m ; inverse function theorem; implicit function theorem; measure theory and Lebesgue integration; introduction to Hilbert space theory. Prerequisites: 200, 250, and 370. Offered spring of even-numbered years. 4 credits.

Study of selected topics under an instructor's guidance. For advanced mathematics majors with a high degree of self-reliance. Periodic written and oral reports and, in most cases, a comprehensive final paper. 1-5 credits.

Department capstone course. Examination of the nature of mathematics and its role within the liberal arts. Focus on reading current mathematics and presenting results. Prerequisites: 370 and senior standing, or consent of instructor. Offered spring. 1 credit.