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Bulletin Archive

This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

Mathematics Introductory Courses

MATH 80Q. Capillary Surfaces: Explored and Unexplored Territory

(S,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to sophomores. Capillary surfaces: the interfaces between fluids that are adjacent to each other and do not mix. Recently discovered phenomena, predicted mathematically and subsequently confirmed by experiments, some done in space shuttles. Interested students may participate in ongoing investigations with affinity between mathematics and physics.

3 units, Win (Finn, R)

MATH 87Q. Mathematics of Knots, Braids, Links, and Tangles

(S,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to sophomores. Types of knots and how knots can be distinguished from one another by means of numerical or polynomial invariants. The geometry and algebra of braids, including their relationships to knots. Topology of surfaces. Brief summary of applications to biology, chemistry, and physics.

3 units, Spr (Wieczorek, W)

MATH 88Q. The Mathematics of the Rubik's Cube

(S,Sem) Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to sophomores. Group theory through topics that can be illustrated with the Rubik's cube: subgroups, homomorphisms and quotient groups, the symmetric and alternating groups, conjugation, commutators, and Sylow subgroups.

3 units, Win (Bump, D)

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