Math 206
Graded Problem(s)/Proof(s) 1
Due Monday February 4

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Instructions and suggestions

You should begin working on this/these problem(s) right away. The sooner you wrap your brain around what a problem is, the better chance you'll have that everything will fall into place in time. Working on the problems in smaller chunks of time over a longer time period will probably work better than putting in several hours on the last day. Believe me!

In addition to working on your own, you should work or confer with one or two other students from the class. However, each of you should write out the solutions for yourself. Make sure you understand what you're writing.

You may seek assistance from me. You may consult our textbook, but you should not actively look for solutions in other books. If you happen to stumble across something in another book that proves to be useful, you should acknowledge this when you write your solution. You should acknowledge on your writeup everyone with whom you collaborated or consulted, including me (if you consult with me).

Writeups may be handwritten, in pencil or ink, but should be legible and yield clear photocopies. You may need to write larger or more neatly and leave more space than is your natural inclination. I should not have to scrutinize the page carefully in order to decipher what you have written.Solutions should be complete and should show your reasoning clearly.

Solutions should be written in standard English (sentences that begin with capital letters and end with periods; paragraphs as appropriate; organized prose; etc.). You may, of course, use formulas, equations, computations, or sketches, but you should incorporate these into your prose. A good idea is to try reading your solution out loud before you turn it in. You should be able to read it (as far as language or style is concerned) as if you were reading a newspaper.

For each problem, your writeup should include a statement of the problem itself, so that you are presenting something that is self-contained and will make sense to you several months from now. The problems, if there are more than one, should be numbered.

Please include a cover page. Leave lots of space for comments, arrange the problems in their proper order, number your pages, and staple the pages together. (The Math Dept office, located in SC 361, will lend a stapler.)

I will consider both the correctness of your final conclusions/answers and the clarity and accuracy of your exposition when I grade these problems. "Correct answers" that are accompanied by incomplete or inaccurate explanations will not receive full credit.

On a separate page, I've included a checklist, largely for your convenience.Use it before you turn your problem(s) in. For each item on the list, verify that you've met that specification as well as you can, and check the item off (or not) as you think fit. For this first set of problems, include your checklist with your problem set, between the cover page (name, title, date) and the (first) problem.

Feel free to see me with questions! Questions by e-mail or in the Q&A conference in our FirstClass conference are also welcome.

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