Math 480<br>Homework 1

Math 480 - Homework 1 Due Tuesday (second class)

Send email to (eb@cs.umb.edu) with subject line math 280 - python from the email account you want me to use to communicate with you this semester.
Fill out the questionnare -- bring hard copy to class. Here's the TeX source for those of you who know TeX.
Please do this even if you sent me the questionnaire in advance.
Start configuring your computer for this course. Keep a diary of the steps you took, the problems you found and how you did (or didn't) get around them. Turn in hard copy of the diary.
Start the rest of the homework (below, due next Thursday) so that you are ready to ask questions in class on Tuesday!

Due Thursday. There are lots of improvements to be made to the factoring program we are working on. In this as in any programming project you should keep a diary/log of what you do. Comment in your diary about things that were easy right away, things you struggled with, mistakes you made and fixed and learned from.

Is there a largest number python can handle? (Experiment at the >>> prompt. Computing powers can generate big numbers easily. )
Change the test in the loop to
```
possible_factor < sqrt
```
and find an example to show that the program is (sometimes) broken. Explain just when it's broken.
Use the website wolfram alpha www.wolframalpha.com/ to find some large numbers to factor. Experiment to find out where our factor program is too slow to be useful.
Wolfram alpha is very friendly. For example, you can ask it for
```
10 digit prime
```
Speculate about some mathematics questions you might want to explore using python.