Course: Math 8, Transition to Higher Mathematics, Fall 2015
Lecture: TuTh 2:00pm - 3:15pm, PHELP3519
Instructor: J. Tener
Office: South Hall 6524
Office hours:

  • Tuesday: 10:15am - 11:45am
  • Thursday: 12:00pm - 1:30pm
  • Or by appointment

About the course: The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the fundamental ideas of mathematical logical and mathematical proof. We will formally introduce mathematical concepts like sets, functions, and relations, and use these as the building blocks of our proofs. Students are encouraged to think of this class like an introductory language class. The goal is to learn to read, write, and understand mathematical proofs. Like in langauge classes, participation and practice (like homework!) are essential for developing fluency. Reading the textbook and completing the homework carefully is even more important in this class than in previous math classes you may have taken.

Textbook: The textbook is How to Prove It (Second Edition) by Velleman. It is cheaper on Amazon than at the campus bookstore. We will cover Chapters 1-6 of the text, with additional topics as time permits.

Enrollment: Questions about enrollment and the waitlist should be directed to Math Undergraduate Advising at ugrad@math.ucsb.edu. Priority on the waitlist will be given to those attending ("crashing") class and discussion section.

Discussion sections: Enrollment and attendence in one of the discussion section is mandatory. Both discussion sections meet on Monday and Wednesday evening, and both will be led Gordon Kirby.

Homework: Homework will be assigned weekly on GauchoSpace, and will generally be due in discussion section on Wednesday, subject to announced exceptions. Late homework will not be accepted. Homework is a very important part of the class; it is your chance to practice writing mathematical proofs. You are allowed (and encouraged!) to discuss homework problems with your classmates, but you must write up your solutions by yourself. You are expected to write proofs neatly and clearly, using complete sentences.

Quizzes: There will be weekly quizzes in discussion section on Wednesday, subject to announced exceptions.

Mathlab: There is a special Math Lab for Math 8. The Math 8 Math Lab is in South Hall 4519, and it is staffed by Math 8 TAs on Mondays 12pm-1pm and 2pm-3pm, Wednesdays 1pm-2pm, and Fridays 12pm-1pm.

Exams: There will be one midterm exam, held during the regular lecture on Thursday, October 29th. Accommodations for scheduling conflicts with the midterm must be discussed during the first week of the quarter. The final exam will be held on Tuesday, December 8th from 4pm - 7pm. There will be no makeup exams given in the course, and calculators are not allowed during any exam.

Grading: Your grade will be calculated as follows: Homework 20%, Quizzes 20%, Midterm 30%, Final 30%. Your lowest 2 homework grades and your lowest 2 quiz grades will be dropped. Curves for exam grades will be announced during the quarter. There is no preset number of A's, B's, etc., so you are not competing against your fellow students.