Math 130: Contemporary Mathematics, Fall 2007

 
     

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Final Poster Project Due 12/6

Final Poster Project Grading Criteria

You may suggest your own topic with instructor consent, or select a topic from the list below.  No two projects can correspond to material covered in the same chapter of the text, and no more than two projects can be done on topics from the same overriding subject area.   You may chose to do a final project instead of the final exam.  These final projects will go beyond the scope of the two course projects and will be presented on the last day of class in poster form. The winning poster will receive fame, glory, and Bistro Bucks.

  • More information on a given project, suggestions for references, etc. can be found in your text.  Unless stated otherwise in the list below, your project should culminate in a 3-5 page paper on your subject (final projects will culminate in a poster presentation).  You should reference all your sources.

  • Grading Criteria

  • Project 1 Sign Ups Due 9/13:  Please select your top two or 3 choices.  I will do my best to give everyone their top choice, but I will cap the number of students that can work on a particular project. 

  • Project 2 Sign Ups Due 11/6:  Project 2 selections are shown in green

  • Final Project Topics are highlighted

  • Final Project Topic Selections Due 11/27

Project Topics

Mathematics of Social Justice Section 01 Section 02
Chapter 1:
A. Ballots (capped at 3) Mike Flores, Mara Engle, Maria Williams Steven Yasumura, Deborah Sapiro, Tyler Defrees
B. Sequential Voting (capped at 3)    Rob Cadigan
C. Instant Runoff Voting (capped at 3) Stephan Garrett, Dave Claire Willis, Skylar Swinford, Colin Young
D. Manipulability of an Election (capped at 3)   Satoshi Nomoto, Spencer Todd, Blair Cuny
E. The 2000 Presidential Election and the Florida Vote (capped at 3) Peter Rosenberg, Dan Alicia Sinz, Michael B., Andrew Korzun
F. Short Story (capped at 5) Hanna Connett, Robert Garcia, Janet Fonseca, Sarah Kutten, Samantha Jake Atwell-S, Ashley Buchheit
Chapter 2: A. The Johnston Power Index (instead of preparing a presentation, write a 3-5 page paper)  (capped at 3) Aaron McKimmy Nancy Garcia
B. The Past, Present, and Future of the Electoral College  (capped at 3) Hayley Weed, Tara Walker, Lauren Lathrop Ildi Hrubos, DeeDee Hayes, Kristin Heyde
C. Mathematical Arguments in Favor of the Electoral College  (capped at 3) Emily Johnson Nicole Russell, Ashley Morey
D. Banzhaf Power and the Law* Natalie Miller, David Reid  
Chapter 3: A. Envy-Free Fair Division  (capped at 3) Katie Martin  
B. Fair Divisions with Unequal Shares  (capped at 3)   Amanda Quesenbury
C. The Mathematics of Forgiveness and Cooperation  (capped at 3) Daniel Kent, Jessica Junke Karleigh Knorr
Chapter 4: A. Dean's Method  (capped at 3) Samantha Post, Karissa Smith  
B. Apportionment Methods and the 2000 Presidential Election  (capped at 3)  Mara Mike Graham, Skylar
D. Rank Index Implementations of Divisor Methods (capped at 3)    
E. The First Apportionment of the House of Representatives* (capped at 5)    
Additional Topics: A. Oregon Measure 47 (1996) "Double Majority":  How does the requirement that tax incentives pass with not only a majority, but with at least 50% of registered voters voting effect Oregon politics?  Determine what voting system best describes Oregon votes on tax initiatives, and how is power distributed among voters and non-voters?  How does this measure effect who votes and who does not vote on tax initiatives?  What is your opinion on this controversial measure?  Karlos Castillo, Shanel Parette, Hayley Weed Katie Vaughan, Sydney Best, Mike G
B. Payday Loans, Title Loans*: Investigate the rates and fees offered at Payday and Title loan companies in the area (contact at least 2 companies).  What is the corresponding APR for these loans?  How does this compare to federal interest rates?  Do these companies target certain segments of our population?  What are the social and economic impacts of these loans?  Sarah Marco Fiallo, DeeDee & Blair
C. Mortgages I: Who Can Buy a House*:  Find the median house price for at least 3 US cities (including Portland).  Find the national average fixed interest rates on 30 year home mortgages with: a. 20% down, and b. 3% down.  For each down payment option, determine what the average monthly mortgage payment (including insurance, taxes, mortgage insurance) would be for the median home price.  Find the median household income for that city and determine whether the 'typical' family could afford to buy a home.  Discuss the social ramifications of your findings.   Emily Felix Jones, Marco
D. Mortgages II: What's With the Mortgage Crisis?*:  Research the history of events which led to the current spike in foreclosure rates.  What types of mortgages are more susceptible to foreclosure and why have these types of loans become more prevalent?  What has been the response to the increase in foreclosures by lenders, and what is the social impact of this response?  How does the increase in US foreclosures effect the global economy? Hayley  Skylar, Rob, Nicole
E. Suggest your own topic   Justin Alvey (Open Primaries in Oregon)

Mathematics of Symmetry, Nature, Art, & Cryptography

Chapter 9: A. Fibonacci Numbers, the Golden Ratio, and Phyllotaxis Karissa, Daniel Nancy, Claire, Steven
  B. The Golden Ratio in Art, Architecture, and Music Natalie, Felix, Lauren, Mara, Karlos, Samantha, Sheila Ashley M, Rob, Ashley B, Justin, Nancy
  D. Figurative Numbers    
  E. The Golden Ration Hypothesis Sarah, Sheila, Jessica, Lauren  
Chapter 11: B. Three-Dimensional Rigid Motions   Satoshi
  C. Penrose Tilings  Peter  Mike G.
Chapter 12: B. Fractals and Music  Janet  
  C. Book Review: The Fractal Murders    
Additional Topics: A. Cryptography: Write a research paper on Cryptography.  Possible topics include famous codes from history, cryptography in literature (examples: The Gold Bug by Edgar Allen Poe, Voyage to the Center of Earth by Jules Verne, The Kamasutra Hindu text), the development of cryptography, etc. Janet, Jessica, Robert, Aaron Marco, DeeDee, Jake
  B. Suggest your own topic  Natalie  

Graph Theory

Chapter 5: B. Computer Representation of Graphs
C. The Chinese Postman Problem Hanna Steven
Chapter 6: B. The Nearest-Insertion Algorithm
C. Computing with DNA
E. The Knight's Tour Karissa & Robert Colin & Jake

Chapter 7:

A. The Kruskal-Steiner Fiber-Optic Cable Network

B. Validating Torricelli's Construction
C. Prim's Algorithm
D. Minimizing with Soap Film