Math 321 syllabus

Elementary Geometry

Course Description: This course covers the major topics from the secondary school curriculum of plane and solid geometry from a modern viewpoint. Emphasis will be placed on axioms, undefined terms, definitions, theorems, and proofs. Topics include straightedge and compass constructions, Euclidean geometry, Euclidean space, congruence, isometry, reflection, rotation, translation, vectors, parallel postulate, similarity, Pythagorean theorem, coordinate geometry, non-Euclidean geometry, projective geometry, projective space, perspective, homogenous coordinates.
Prerequisites: C or better in MA 320

Suggested Text: Roads to Geometry (Third Edition) by Edward C. Wallace and Stephen F. West, Waveland Press, Inc.
Coverage: Selection of topics from chapters 1 – 7.

Learning outcomes: Upon the successful completion of the course a student will:

write short proofs (direct, by contradiction, and using the contrapositive),
construct geometric figures with straightedge and compass,
state, justify, and apply properties of geometric figures,
manipulate geometric transformations,
apply symmetry of geometric figures,
explain and use the connection between geometry and arithmetic,
state and prove geometric statements using a certain set of axioms,
explain the concept of non-Euclidean geometries and describe some models for them.