A. Where did I learn the most mathematics.

First of all I enjoyed the fact that mathematics was a big focus of this course. I was continually looking up material from a number of sources (textbooks, math dictionaries, internet resources, etc...) to have the background knowledge to complete the material. Sometimes the material was simply refreshing things that had once known while in other areas it was learning it for the first time. It is hard at the end of the year to pin point the key areas where I learned mathematics because in each assignment I strengthen my mathematical base to some degree. If I was to look to one area where the material would have been "new" would be the 11 assignment on polar equations. I had done things with them in calculus but because of time restrictions we were unable to investigate them or their patterns.

B. Where or when was I most satisfied.

I have felt satisfaction in a number of places. First, I enjoyed learning about publishing my work on the web. I found Pagemill 2.0 to be fun to work with and I enjoyed making my work organized and appealing to look at. Second, the piece of software that I had the most fun with was geometer's sketchpad. I gained an appreciation for the complexity and power of sketchpad as I preformed multiple task animations which allowed me to see thousands of situations in a short period of time. Third, I feel satisfied that I was able to complete all of the assignment given. I think that for someone like me who likes to play with math it was hard to know when to quit or to know when enough is enough concerning a writeup. Lastly, I enjoyed working with the other students in the course. There was a great sense of togetherness and a willingness to help each other. It was a nice atmosphere.

C. My Best Work

That is had to say... what defines a best work.. How about you pick...

Assignment #2 Best diagramed work

Assignment #4 Most complete work

Assignment #8 A Good Proof

D. Exploration & new mathematics

Assignment #6 - In this assignment I altered the directrix of a parabola. I found that by holding the construction properties of a parabola to be constant while altering what the directrix I was able to create many new and interesting shapes. It was interesting to see other geometrical patterns emerge as I investigated the parabolic properties.

Assignment #8 - In this assignment I was fascinated by the fact that some obscure relationship in a triangle came out be an integer value of 4. I found the off computer time attempting proofs and digging for what may be pertinent information took a lot of time. I enjoyed the process as I gradually came to the understanding to the key to the proof. It was very rewarding.