syllabus
title: Group Theory and Rubik's Cube
number: NSC203
faculty: Jim Mahoney
credits: 2
time: Thu 3:30 - 4:50pm
place: Sci 217
level: introductory
prereq: none
work: weekly assignments and a final project
blurb:
Want to play with puzzles and get credit for it?
This course will help you develop an understanding
of and intuition for group theory, which is the
algebra of symmetry and transformations, by mucking
about with Rubik's Cube, Top Spin, and several other
particularly cool puzzles.
You'll even learn a bit of campanology.
This is a low credit, once per week course
designed as an exposure to some cool math,
not an upper-level proof-oriented math-majors
immersion in group theory. (However, talk
to us if you'd like to do something more
rigorous; you may be able to explore these
ideas in more depth for extra credit.)
