Math 2000 Assignment 1

Spring 2002

Due January 31

Do not wait until the last minute to start the assignment! It’s best to get an early start and work on it in several steps. Do not hesitate to ask for help before the assignment is due! Office hours are on Tuesdays and Thursdays immediately before and after class in Science 132 or by arrangement. Email also works at wbriggs@math.cudenver.edu.

• Assignments must be either typed or hand-written neatly; in the latter case, it is safest to work in pencil. You may use a word processor and write equations and calculations by hand.
• Assignments must be on clean sheets of paper (lined paper is often easier), not torn from a notebook.
• Assignments must include all steps that lead to the final answer. Solutions that require discussion must be written in complete sentences with perfect spelling and grammar.

1. Please read the Prologue of the book.

2. Please read Unit 1A as a warmup. We will not discuss this material in class, but it may be of interest.

3. We will cover the material in Units 1C and 1E in class, so be sure to read these units carefully.

4. Please do exercise 2 of the Prologue. Slightly restated, it asks you to find a current major news story from a newspaper or newsmagazine that has some quantitative aspect to it. Write at least two paragraphs summarizing the issues and explaining how mathematics and quantitative reasoning impact the issues. Please attach the article to your assignment.

5. Please do the following exercises.

Unit 1C: 12, 16, 28, 36, 42

Unit 1E: 6, 8

Just For Fun: This feature provides a fun and optional problem that you are entitled to ignore completely. However, if you start thinking about it, you may lose sleep!

A woman is traveling with a wolf, a goose and a mouse. She must cross a river in a boat that will hold only herself and one other animal. If left unattended by the woman, the wolf will eat the goose and the goose will eat the mouse. How many crossings are required to get all four creatures across the river alive?