Term paper

. Term paper topics, John Ryan’s Math 1350 (Stat 251), and Math 210 classes.

Students who have not chosen a topic by our class on Novemberl15 will be assigned a topic by yours truly, without any input from the student. The student will be informed of the assigned topic in class or via email.

Each student will write on a single topic. One can pick a topic from the list below, or, as 8] below states, a student may choose his/her own topic, subject to my approval. Clear it with me first!

Each student will research a different topic. Once a student chooses a topic, no other student can choose that topic. You may change topics if you decide you want to. As soon as you decide on a research topic, inform me so I can list your name by that topic. Bolded topics have already been taken. You may choose a topic from

1] Compare Ptolemy’s geocentric theory of planetary motion, with Copernicus’ heliocentric theory of planetary

motion. Discuss the effect Copernicus’ heliocentric theory of planetary motion had on philosophy and the

Catholic Church. Use diagrams to illustrate.

2] List and explain Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. Use diagrams to illustrate the first and second laws. Write an

equation for the third law and explain what the symbols stand for.

3] Explain how Eratosthenes accurately measured the circumference of the earth (ca. 200 BC). Use drawings

to supplement your explanations. (Yes, he assumed that the earth was spherical shaped.)

4] Display a solution to the 12-ball logic problem (It is on the internet, and I can give you a copy). Use diagrams (freehand) to

illustrate the weighings. Remember that the “weighings” only measure equality and inequality, not actual weight such as

pounds, ounces, etc.

5] Solve the problem below and explain fully your reasoning:

Given : a) A man walking across a train bridge is 0.65 of the way across the bridge when he hears a train coming.

b) The speed of the train (vt) = 60 mph.

c) The man can run at top speed (constant) in either direction and just get off of the bridge before the train runs

over him.

Problem: How fast can the man run? Any supplementary explanatory drawings must be drawn yourself. Similar

problems with different numbers are on the internet. You should be able to figure out how to solve the

problem by looking at the other problems and solutions.

6] Write an essay that explains the Monty Hall Problem and its solution. {Brandon Florez]

7) Explain why although the winter solstice (shortest day of the year) is on December 20 or December 21 (in the Northern

Hemisphere), the earliest sunset is about 2 weeks (in Las Cruces) before the winter solstice, and the latest sunrise is

about 2 weeks (in Las Cruces) after the winter solstice.

8) Explain Newton’s three laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation. Explain from a physics point of view. When

applicable, use equations. Explain what the symbols mean. For example, don’t just write F = ma for the 2nd Law.

Moreover, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction” does not adequately explain Newton’s 3rd Law.

Don’t use it. Phrase it differently.

9) Explain the Sieve of Eratosthenes. Demonstrate with an example how an integer greater than one thousand can be

determined to be prime or not prime using the sieve. Choose an odd integer that is not very much larger than 1000 .

10) Explain how Hipparchus measured the precession of the equinoxes.

11) Discuss the controversy that developed about Newton and Leibniz regarding the development of calculus, and how it

affected the development of mathematics.

12) Explain how Ole Roemer measured the speed of light (ca. 1672).

13] Write an essay discussing the contributions to science of any one of the following: Appollonius of Perga (ancient geometer), Archimedes (foremost ancient physicist), Julius Axelrod (neurologist), Ada Byron Lovelace (1st programmer, computer science) , Georg Cantor (math), Arthur Cayley (math), A. L. Cauchy (math), Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, René Descartes (philosopher and founder of analytic geometry), Sylvia Earle (Marine biologist and oceanographer) Albert Einstein (physicist) , Euclid (ancient geometer), Leonhard Euler (math), Michael Faraday (19th century physicist/chemist), Galileo Galilei, Evariste Galois (math), Carl F. Gauss (math), Kurt Gödel (math), Jane Goodall (Legendary primatologist), Stephen J. Gould (paleontologist, evolutionary biologist), Otto Hahn (physicist, co-discoverer of nuclear fision), Werner Heisenberg (physicist), Dorothy Hodgkin (Nobel Prize in Chemistry), Grace Hopper (early computer scientist), Mae Jemison (1st African- American woman NASA astronaut), Antoine Lavoisier (founder of modern chemistry), G. W. Leibniz (philosopher, co-developer of calculus), Rita Levi-Montalcini (Nobel prize winner in physiology (medicine) , Barbara McClintock (physiology, cytogenetics), Lisa Meitner (physicist, co-discoverer of nuclear fision), Gregor Mendel (founder of genetics), Augustus de Morgan (math), Rita Levi Montalcine (neurology), Isaac Newton, Florence Nightingale (founder of nursing and first social statistician), Emmy Noether (math), Louis Pasteur (chemist, microbiologist), Candace Pert (neuroscientist, pharmacologist) Karl Popper (science philosopher, science v. pseudoscience), Joseph Priestly (early chemist), Julia Robinson (math), Bertrand Russell (math), Alan Turing (Math, computer science), Karen Uhlenbeck (mathematician), (Alfred R. Wallace (biologist, contemporary of Darwin), Karl Weierstrass (math), Alfred N. Whitehead (math).

The essay should be at least 3 pages long, single spaced or 5 – 6 pages double spaced, excluding cover page, drawings, and bibliography.

14] A project of the student’s choosing, subject to my approval. Inform me of what topic you propose to research.