MAT 103 - Symmetries

2012-2013 Catalog Year

A mainly geometrical study of symmetry facilitated by the examination of patterns from various cultures and works of art. Patterns are created by the repetition of a small fundamental design. Those slides, turns and flips (isometries, i.e., functions that preserve distances) that leave a pattern unchanged interact in ways that lead naturally to the abstract, yet fundamental, concept of a group. This course studies such symmetry groups and their use in classifying material culture. Two key concepts are composition of isometries and color-consistency.

Offered: Fall, Spring

credit: 3