Tiling theory provides a wonderful opportunity to illustrate both the beauty and utility of mathematics. It has all the relevant ingredients: there are stunning pictures; open problems can be stated without having to spend months providing the necessary background; and there is both deep mathematics and applications. Furthermore, tiling theory happens to be an area where many of the sub-fields of mathematics overlap. Tools can be applied from linear algebra, algebra, analysis, geometry, topology, and combinatorics. As such, it makes for an ideal capstone course for undergraduates or an introductory course for graduate students. This material can also be used for a lower-level course by skipping the more technical sections. In addition, readers from a variety of disciplines can read the book on their own to find out more about this intriguing subject. This book covers the necessary background on tilings and then delves into a variety of fascinating topics in the field, including symmetry groups, random tilings, aperiodic tilings, and quasicrystals. Although primarily focused on tilings of the Euclidean plane, the book also covers tilings of the sphere, hyperbolic plane, and Euclidean 3-space, including knotted tilings. Throughout, the book includes open problems and possible projects for students. Readers will come away with the background necessary to pursue further work in the subject.
Colin Adams, well-known for his advanced research in topology and knot theory, is the author of this exciting new book that brings his findings and his passion for the subject to a more general audience. This beautifully illustrated comic book is appropriate for many mathematics courses at the undergraduate level such as liberal arts math, and topology. Additionally, the book could easily challenge high school students in math clubs or honors math courses and is perfect for the lay math enthusiast. Each copy of Why Knot? is packaged with a plastic manipulative called the Tangle R. Adams uses the Tangle because "you can open it up, tie it in a knot and then close it up again." The Tangle is the ultimate tool for knot theory because knots are defined in mathematics as being closed on a loop. Readers use the Tangle to complete the experiments throughout the brief volume. Adams also presents a illustrative and engaging history of knot theory from its early role in chemistry to modern applications such as DNA research, dynamical systems, and fluid mechanics. Real math, unreal fun!
“But when I turned the handle on the door, suddenly the buzzing went crazy. I slapped my hands over my ears, when I should have jerked the door shut. It flew open, and I was face-to-face with the Weierstrass function. It was the ugliest function I could imagine, with kinks, and kinks on kinks and kinks on those. And it was shrieking in its buzz-like way, vibrating all over like a plucked string. I stood there, frozen for just a second, and then I was sprinting after the others, with the wild frantic buzzing right behind me.” From the twisted imagination of best-selling author Colin Adams (Zombies & Calculus, The Knot Book) comes this tale of sixteen-year-old Kallie trying to escape death at the hands of the exhibits in a mathematics museum. Kallie crosses paths with Carl Gauss, Bertrand Russell, Sophie Germain, G. H. Hardy, and John von Neumann, as she tries to save herself, her dad, and his colleague Maria from the deadly Hairy Ball theorem, the harrowing Hilbert Hotel, the bisecting Ham Sandwich machine, and a variety of other mathematical menaces. It's a wild romp through a mathematical bestiary featuring the bizarre, the exotic, and the counterintuitive. You'll never think of math the same way again.
This collection of humorous stories have a mathematical dimension, or sometimes several. The mathematically adept should get the humor on first readings, the author says, but for other readers, he includes explanatory end notes.
If you're dying to read a novel treatment of calculus, then you should run (don't walk!) to buy Zombies and Calculus by Colin Adams. You'll see calculus come alive in a way that could save your life someday."--Arthur Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College "Before Zombies and Calculus, math was quick to kill my appetite. In fact, math damn near killed me altogether throughout most of college (it is of course a cliche to say that as a math student I was pretty much a zombie). If I had only had this book then . . . at least now I can stomach derivatives as well as a zombie outbreak. That's no small accomplishment! Read Zombies and Calculus--you'll laugh . . . you'll cry . . . you'll multiply."--Steven C. Schlozman, M.D., author of The Zombie Autopsies "Using a fictional, tongue-in-cheek account of an outbreak of a zombie virus at a small liberal arts college, Adams discusses mathematical subjects such as the spread of a disease in a population, differential equations, and tangent vectors. He succeeds in conveying the idea that calculus is useful in numerous aspects of life--including surviving a zombie apocalypse. The book is one of a kind."--Joel Hass, University of California, Davis "Zombies and Calculus shows how calculus can be used to understand many different real-world phenomena, from population growth to Newton's law of cooling. The fast-paced narrative propels readers forward, and Adams's style is humorous and compelling. I laughed out loud, in public, several times while reading this book. I had a hard time putting it down."--Amy N. Myers, Bryn Mawr College "Zombies and Calculus is unlike just about anything I've ever read. It is both an introduction to assorted math concepts and an action-packed adventure story about escaping a zombie invasion. It's also laugh-out-loud funny in many places."--Meredith L. Greer, Bates College
Knots are familiar objects. Yet the mathematical theory of knots quickly leads to deep results in topology and geometry. This work offers an introduction to this theory, starting with our understanding of knots. It presents the applications of knot theory to modern chemistry, biology and physics.
Knots are familiar objects. Yet the mathematical theory of knots quickly leads to deep results in topology and geometry. This work offers an introduction to this theory, starting with our understanding of knots. It presents the applications of knot theory to modern chemistry, biology and physics.
This collection of humorous stories have a mathematical dimension, or sometimes several. The mathematically adept should get the humor on first readings, the author says, but for other readers, he includes explanatory end notes.
The author's goal for the book is that it's clearly written, could be read by a calculus student and would motivate them to engage in the material and learn more. Moreover, to create a text in which exposition, graphics, and layout would work together to enhance all facets of a student’s calculus experience. They paid special attention to certain aspects of the text: 1. Clear, accessible exposition that anticipates and addresses student difficulties. 2. Layout and figures that communicate the flow of ideas. 3. Highlighted features that emphasize concepts and mathematical reasoning including Conceptual Insight, Graphical Insight, Assumptions Matter, Reminder, and Historical Perspective. 4. A rich collection of examples and exercises of graduated difficulty that teach basic skills as well as problem-solving techniques, reinforce conceptual understanding, and motivate calculus through interesting applications. Each section also contains exercises that develop additional insights and challenge students to further develop their skills.
We see teaching mathematics as a form of story-telling, both when we present in a classroom and when we write materials for exploration and learning. The goal is to explain to you in a captivating manner, at the right pace, and in as clear a way as possible, how mathematics works and what it can do for you. We find mathematics to be intriguing and immensely beautiful. We want you to feel that way, too.
The author's goal for the book is that it's clearly written, could be read by a calculus student and would motivate them to engage in the material and learn more. Moreover, to create a text in which exposition, graphics, and layout would work together to enhance all facets of a student’s calculus experience. They paid special attention to certain aspects of the text: 1. Clear, accessible exposition that anticipates and addresses student difficulties. 2. Layout and figures that communicate the flow of ideas. 3. Highlighted features that emphasize concepts and mathematical reasoning including Conceptual Insight, Graphical Insight, Assumptions Matter, Reminder, and Historical Perspective. 4. A rich collection of examples and exercises of graduated difficulty that teach basic skills as well as problem-solving techniques, reinforce conceptual understanding, and motivate calculus through interesting applications. Each section also contains exercises that develop additional insights and challenge students to further develop their skills.
The author's goal for the book is that it's clearly written, could be read by a calculus student and would motivate them to engage in the material and learn more. Moreover, to create a text in which exposition, graphics, and layout would work together to enhance all facets of a student’s calculus experience. They paid special attention to certain aspects of the text: 1. Clear, accessible exposition that anticipates and addresses student difficulties. 2. Layout and figures that communicate the flow of ideas. 3. Highlighted features that emphasize concepts and mathematical reasoning including Conceptual Insight, Graphical Insight, Assumptions Matter, Reminder, and Historical Perspective. 4. A rich collection of examples and exercises of graduated difficulty that teach basic skills as well as problem-solving techniques, reinforce conceptual understanding, and motivate calculus through interesting applications. Each section also contains exercises that develop additional insights and challenge students to further develop their skills.
The author's goal for the book is that it's clearly written, could be read by a calculus student and would motivate them to engage in the material and learn more. Moreover, to create a text in which exposition, graphics, and layout would work together to enhance all facets of a student’s calculus experience. They paid special attention to certain aspects of the text: 1. Clear, accessible exposition that anticipates and addresses student difficulties. 2. Layout and figures that communicate the flow of ideas. 3. Highlighted features that emphasize concepts and mathematical reasoning including Conceptual Insight, Graphical Insight, Assumptions Matter, Reminder, and Historical Perspective. 4. A rich collection of examples and exercises of graduated difficulty that teach basic skills as well as problem-solving techniques, reinforce conceptual understanding, and motivate calculus through interesting applications. Each section also contains exercises that develop additional insights and challenge students to further develop their skills.
The most successful calculus book of its generation, Jon Rogawski’s Calculus offers an ideal balance of formal precision and dedicated conceptual focus, helping students build strong computational skills while continually reinforcing the relevance of calculus to their future studies and their lives. Guided by new author Colin Adams, the new edition stays true to the late Jon Rogawski’s refreshing and highly effective approach, while drawing on extensive instructor and student feedback, and Adams’ three decades as a calculus teacher and author of math books for general audiences.
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