Daily Assignments
Week 1: August 25-29
August 25: Mathematical Reasoning
- Section 0 of the notes
- Slides
- A fun article on cases of weird legal terminology
August 27: Voting Systems
Week 2: September 1 – 5
September 1: No Classes for Labor Day
September 3: Two-Candidate Elections
- Homework 1 due
- Sections 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 of the notes
- Slides
Week 3: September 8 – 12
September 8: Criteria for Voting Systems
September 10: Multi-Candidate Criteria
- Homework 2 due
- Section 1.3 of the notes
- Slides
Week 4: September 15 – 19
September 15: Evaluating Voting Systems I
September 17: Evaluating Voting Systems II
- Homework 3 due
- Continue section 1.4 of the notes, through Copeland’s method
- Read the solutions to Quiz 1
- Slideswill be posted here soon
Week 5: September 22 – 26
September 22: Evaluating Voting Systems III
September 24: Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem
- Homework 4 due
- Read section 1.5 of the notes
- Slides
Week 6: September 29 – October 3
September 29: Test 1 on Voting
- Rules
- Plan to take the whole class
- Will have 6-7 questions
- Bring a one-sided handwritten note sheet
- You can bring a calculator but it probably won’t be useful
- Topics
- Two-candidate methods and criteria
- Multi-candidate methods and criteria
- Short proofs and counter-examples
- Drawing conclusions from criteria
-
Read the solutions to Quiz 2
- Before the midterm on Monday September 29, I recommend you work on the following problems in the textbook. All are odd-numbered and thus have solutions in the back of the book. You do not need to submit them to us.
- 1.1
- 1.7
- 2.3
- 2.5
- 3.7
- 3.9
- 4.1
- 4.5
- 5.3
October 1: The Problem of Apportionment
Week 7: October 6 – 8
October 6: Hamilton’s Method
October 8: Jefferson’s Method
- Homework 5 due Wednesday, October 8
- Slides
Week 8: October 13 – 17
October 13: Divisor Methods
- Quiz 3 today
- Slides
October 15: More on Divisor Methods
- Homework 6 due Wednesday, October 15
- Slides
Week 9: October 20 – 24
October 20: Evaluating Apportionment Methods
October 22: Criteria and Impossibility
- Homework 7 due Wednesday, October 22
- Quiz 4 today
Week 10: October 27 – 31
October 27: The Balinski and Young Apportionment Method
October 29: Test 2 on Apportionment
Week 11: November 3 – 7
November 3: Zero-Sum Games
November 5: Strategies, Outcomes, and Saddle Points
Week 12: November 10 – 14
November 10: Probability and Randomness
November 12: Expected Value and Strategies
- Quiz 5 today
Week 13: November 17 – 21
November 17: Solving Zero-Sum Games
November 19: Conflict and Cooperation
Thanksgiving Break: November 24-28
No class! Happy Thanksgiving!
Week 14: December 1 – 5
December 1: Non-Zero-Sum Games
December 3: Strategies in Non-Zero-Sum Games
- Quiz 6 today
Week 15: December 8-10
December 8: Some Important Games
Finals Week
Reading Days
Office Hours Schedule
- TBA close to finals week
Final Exam Monday, December 15 12:40 – 2:40 PM
Syllabus
The course syllabus is available here.
Course notes
Homework
- Homework 1 due Wednesday, September 3
- Homework 2 due Wednesday, September 10
- Homework 3 due Wednesday, September 17
- Homework 4 due Wednesday, September 24
- Homework 5 due Wednesday, October 8
- Homework 6 due Wednesday, October 15
- Homework 7 due Wednesday, October 22
Tests
- Test 1
- Test 2
- Final Exam on Monday, December 15 12:40 – 2:40 PM
Calculators of any sort will not be allowed on tests. I will allow you to bring a cheat sheet in your own handwriting. For midterms I will allow a one-sided cheat sheet, and for the final I will allow a two-sided cheat sheet.
Textbook
The official textbook for Math 1007 is The Mathematics of Politics, Second Edition by E. Arthur Robinson and Daniel H. Ullman. It should be available free online through the library website, and you can buy a hard copy for under $50 if you wish. I will be expecting you to read sections of the textbook and assigning problems out of it.