Foundations of Geometry I
MATH 5200/7200
University of Georgia, Fall 2007
Professor Clint McCrory
Office: 402 Boyd Graduate Studies Research Center, 706-542-2576
Home: 245 Oglethorpe Ave., Athens 30606, 706-353-6517
Email: clint at math dot uga dot edu
Class meetings
Tuesday and Thursday 11:00-12:15
Aderhold 111-113 (Math Ed computer lab)
Office hours
Monday 3:35-4:25
Wednesday 3:35-4:25
Friday 3:35-4:25
or by appointment
Textbook and software
There is no textbook for this course. The software Geometer's Sketchpad (Student Edition) is required. It is available from the University Bookstore for $39.95. It can also be ordered from Key Curriculum Press.
Online homework
Homework will be submitted and graded on the web using courseware developed at Brown University by Professor Thomas Banchoff and his students. You'll be able to read other students' homework solutions and the instructor's comments, make your own comments, and ask questions online. There will also be online discussion topics.
Online homework and discussion (password required)
Syllabus
The course has three parts:
A. Geometer's Sketchpad: constructions and proofs
B. Axioms and basic theorems of plane geometry
C. Trigonometry and coordinate geometry
Exams, homework, and grading
There will be three in-class exams, a final project, and a final exam. The first exam will also have a take-home part. Homework will be assigned almost every class. There will be short assignments Tuesday to Thursday, and longer assignments Thursday to Tuesday. Your grade will be based on the exams, project, homework, and class participation (in class and online). The three exams will count 15% each, homework will count 20%, your project will count 15%, and the final exam will count 20%. Class participation will be considered in borderline cases.
Exam 1 Thursday, September 13 (take-home part due Tuesday, September 18) Exam 1A, Solutions
Project proposals due: Thursday, October 11. Project ideas
Exam 2 Tuesday, October 16 Exam 2, Solutions
Exam 3 Tuesday, November 20 (Thanksgiving week) Exam 3, Solutions
Projects due: Tuesday, November 27
Review for final exam: Friday, December 7, 1:25-2:15, Aderhold 111-113
Final Exam Tuesday, December 11, 12:00-3:00 pm Final Exam
Schedule of project presentations
Tuesday, November 27
- Stephanie Folk and Cynthia Thomas, Egyptian Geometry
- Erica Fletcher and Madison McDuffie, The Pythagorean Theorem
- Dana TeCroney, Archimedes
Thursday, November 29
- Katie Koerten, Kimberly Matthews, and Mandy Whitmire, Geometry from Africa
- Betsy Katz, Mayan Geometry
- Felicia Thrash, Heron's Formula
Tuesday, December 4
- no class (Friday schedule)
Thursday, December 6
- Adam Juhasz, Computer-Aided Design
- Kyle Schultz, Penrose Tilings
Notes from class
Arc angle theorem
Similar triangles
Greek constructions
Constructions and proofs
Review for exam 1
Axioms for plane geometry
Basic theorems
Definitions involving circles
Useful theorems
SAS similarity
AA similarity, SSS similarity
Sine and cosine
Trig addition formulas
Rotation matrices
Coordinates
Coordinate formulas
Equations of lines
Conics
Useful links and references
Schaum's Outline of Geometry - good reference, helpful for review
OIT computer labs in Aderhold and elsewhere - all these labs should now have GSP
(call the help desk)
EITS computer labs in the Student Learning Center and dorms - GSP has been installed in two SLC classrooms (rooms 368, 370)
Geometry from the Land of the Incas - amazing animations
The Math Forum - wonderful resource for teachers
Euclid's Elements - web version by David Joyce at Clark University
Class Web Projects
This page was created on August 9, 2007. It was last revised on December 12, 2007.