Daily Assignments
Week 1: January 12 – 16
- The course syllabus is available here.
January 13: Mathematical Reasoning
- Section 0 of the notes
- A fun article on cases of weird legal terminology
January 15: Voting Systems
- Section 1.1 of the notes
Week 2: January 19 – 23
Week 3: January 26 – 30
Week 4: February 2 – 6
Week 5: February 9 – 13
February 10: Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem
- Quiz 2 today
- [Homework 4 due]
- Read section 1.5 of the notes
February 12: 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
Week 6: February 16 – 20
February 17: The Problem of Apportionment
- Read section 2.1 of the notes
February 19: Hamilton’s Method
Week 7: February 23 – 27
February 24: Jefferson’s Method
- [Homework 5 due]
February 26: Divisor Methods
- Quiz 3 today
Week 8: March 2 – 6
March 3: Divisor Methods II
- [Homework 6 due]
March 5: Evaluating Apportionment Methods
Spring Break: March 9-13
No class! Go have fun!
Week 9: March 16 – 20
March 17: Apportionment Methods and Impossibility
- [Homework 7 due]
March 19: The Best Apportionment Methods
- Quiz 4 today
Week 10: March 23 – March 27
March 24: Test 2 on Apportionment
- Read the [solutions to Quiz 4]
- 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
- Hamilton’s method and Lownde’s method
- Divisor Methods and Critical Divisors
- Short proofs relating criteria
- Understanding criteria and which methods satisfy which criteria
- Interpreting simple algebraic formulas
- Before the midterm on Wednesday October 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.
- 7.5
- 7.7
- 8.3
- 8.9
- 8.13
- 9.1
- 9.5
- 11.5
March 26: Zero-Sum Games
Week 11: March 30 – April 3
March 31: Strategies, Outcomes, and Saddle Points
- [Homework 8 due]
April 2: Probability and Randomness
Week 12: April 6 – 10
April 7: Expected Value and Mixed Strategies
- Quiz 5 today
- [Homework 9 due]
April 9: Nash Equilibria
Week 13: April 13 – April 17
April 14: Solving 2×2 Games
- [Homework 10 due]
April 16: Conflict and Cooperation
Week 14: April 20 – 24
April 21: Some Important Games
- Quiz 6 today
- [Homework 11 due]
April 23: Class Choice: Gerrymandering or the Electoral College
Finals Week
Reading Days
- [Homework 12 due] on Tuesday April 28
Office Hours Schedule
TBD
Final Exam TBD
Syllabus
The course syllabus is available here.
Course notes
Homework
- [Homework 1 due]
Tests
- Test 1 on February 12
- Test 2 on March 24
- Final Exam
- As scheduled by the registrar
- Per the syllabus, you will not be excused from the final if you schedule travel during finals week; if you must buy your plane ticket before the registrar announces final exam, please make sure it departs after May 10.
Calculators will be allowed on quizzes and tests. I particularly encourage you to bring a calculator for tests during unit 2, on apportionment.
For all in-class assignments, I will allow you to bring a cheat sheet you have made. You must physically write on the sheet of paper you bring in; no printouts will be allowed. For quizzes and 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.