In the first parts of this homework, the single general idea is straightforward: describe your mathematical background. The details aren't in the thinking - they are in the directions. Read them carefully and follow them carefully!

The last question asks you to look critically at some numbers. There the thinking matters more.

• Parts 1-5 are due Thursday January 26, at the beginning of class.
• The rest is due Tuesday, January 31, at the beginning of class.

  Your answers to parts 2, 3 and 4 must be typed (nowadays that means printed from a computer file) and clearly labelled on the first page with your name, the course name, the assignment number and the date. Staple the pages together. Just in case they come apart, number the pages and make sure your name appears on each one. Proofread your paper carefully before you submit it. Use the spelling and grammar checker in your word processor (it's not always right, but it is very helpful). Ask a friend or classmate to proofread it too. (It's sometimes difficult and time consuming to type mathematics. If you like, you may leave blank spaces in your documents and fill in mathematical things in legible handwriting.) Keep a copy of your work.

  You cannot submit homework as an email attachment.

1. email contact information. I will use email regularly to communicate with you. So the first order of business is to make sure we can reach one another that way. Here is your assignment. Read it carefully and follow the directions.

   1. From the email account you plan to use for this course (The one UMass has given you, or gmail, or yahoo, or comcast, or verizon, or anything else you choose) write me at eb@cs.umb.edu. The subject line should look like this: Subject: Math 114Q [fill in your full name]
   2. When I receive your email I'll respond.
   3. When you get a response, reply to it.

   When your reply (which I won't acknowledge again!) has been received you will have completed this part of the assignment. Then your name will be on the class mailing list.

   Note: Your email provider should offer you the choice of sending mail as plain text or as a web page (with html). Please always use just plain text.

2. qr attitudes survey Fill out the survey at quantitativereasoning.net/qr-attitudes-survey/. Then send me email telling me you did it (the survey is anonymous).

3. Your qr autobiography. Write a short essay about your experiences dealing with numbers and learning and doing mathematics. Here are some questions you may consider. You need not address them all and you can add others. Don't just answer them one after another as if this were an exam. Treat them as a guide when you organize your answer.
   • What numbers do you pay attention to when you see them? (tuition costs, sports statistics, stock reports, credit card interest charges, tax rates, speed limits, gas prices, efficiency ratings of appliances and light bulbs, ... none?)
   • What numbers do you ignore when you see them?
   • How much mathematics have you studied in school?
   • Have you ever used mathematics other than in school work?
   • Do you enjoy math? Hate it? Tolerate it?
   • What are your fondest hopes for this course? Your worst fears?
   • How might quantitative reasoning fit (or not fit!) into any long range school or career or life plans you have?
   Clearly these are not questions with right or wrong answers (except for you), so there's no point in trying to figure out what I want you to say. Honesty is the best policy.

4. Your computer background. Write a few paragraphs describing your experiences using a computer. Here are questions (like those in Part 2 above) you might consider.
   • How often do you use a computer?
   • What do you do with a computer? email? Surf the internet? Play games? Write papers? Use a spreadsheet? Manage digital photos? Listen to music?
   • Where do you use a computer? Whose computer is it? What kind? How old is it? What software does it run?
   • Will you be able to bring your computer to class?
   • Are you a good touch typist or do you hunt and peck?
   • Do you enjoy computer work? Do you find it annoying and frustrating?

5. Acknowledging intellectual debts. Visit the course home page at www.cs.umb.edu/~eb/114/. Explore the links you find there. Find the discussion of plagiarism. Read it carefully. Then write a brief summary, in your own words, so that I know you have read and understood it.

6. Common Sense Mathematics, Exercise 1.6.2.

7. Common Sense Mathematics, Exercise 1.6.7.

8. Common Sense Mathematics, Exercise 1.6.10.

9. Common Sense Mathematics, Exercise 1.6.12.

10. Find an article in the news with some big interesting numbers in it. Think about those numbers as a Fermi problem -- make sense of them, make sure they fit together, see if they are reasonable. Your answer should say exactly where the article comes from, and also provide a direct quote long enough so that I can check your work without having to look up the original. The article you find must be from the print media, not the web (although you may use an on line version of an article if the original appeared in print).