Math 55

On a Wednesday morning on the fifth floor of the Science Center, 20 or so students mill about while Professor Joseph D, math 55.

It is also a veritable legend among high schoolers and college students alike, renowned as — allegedly — the hardest undergraduate math class in the country. It has been mentioned in books and articles, has its own Wikipedia page, and has been the subject of countless social media posts and videos. Most recently, Harvard junior Mahad Khan created a TikTok video dedicated to Math 55 that has received over , views to date. Over the years, perception of Math 55 has become based less on the reality of the course itself and more on a cumulative collection of lore and somewhat sensationalist rumors. At the end of the day, however, Math 55 is a class like any other. Below, we take a stab at busting some of the more well known and persistent myths about the class. Or, at the very least, offering an extra layer of clarity.

Math 55

Prerequisites: Mathematical maturity appropriate to a sophomore math class. Credit Option: Students will receive no credit for 55 after taking Computer Science Description: Logic, mathematical induction sets, relations, and functions. Introduction to graphs, elementary number theory, combinatorics, algebraic structures, discrete probability theory. Textbook: Rosen, Discrete Mathematics and its Applications, 8th edition. Week 5: Euclidean algorithm, modular exponentiation, solving congruences, Chinese Remainder Theorem Sections 4. Week 6: Induction and recursion, recursive algorithms Sections 5. Week 7: Counting, pigeon hole principle, permutations and combinations, binomial coefficients, distributions, generalized permutations and combinations Sections 6. Week 8: Discrete probability theory, conditional probability, independence, random variables Sections 7. Week 9: Bayes' Theorem and applications Section 7. Week Recurrence relations Sections 8. Week Relations, transitive closure, equivalence relations, set partitions, partial orders Sections 9. Week Optional topics: Cryptography Section 4.

Students typically typeset their homework in LaTeX and essentially write math 55 own textbook for this class, [3] which ends with a take-home final exam. Why do women avoid classes like Math 55? Download as PDF Printable version.

Math 55 is a two-semester freshman undergraduate mathematics course at Harvard University founded by Lynn Loomis and Shlomo Sternberg. In the past, Harvard University's Department of Mathematics had described Math 55 as "probably the most difficult undergraduate math class in the country. Formerly, students would begin the year in Math 25 which was created in as a lower-level Math 55 and, after three weeks of point-set topology and special topics for instance, in , p -adic analysis was taught by Wilfried Schmid , students would take a quiz. As of , students may choose to enroll in either Math 25 or Math 55 but are advised to "shop" both courses and have five weeks to decide on one. Depending on the professor teaching the class, the diagnostic exam may still be given after three weeks to help students with their decision.

On a Wednesday morning on the fifth floor of the Science Center, 20 or so students mill about while Professor Joseph D. He draws arrows and circles and greek letters on the board. He discusses topologies and neighborhoods and endpoints. Thirty minutes in, Harris pauses drawing his diagrams, which by now take up the entire chalkboard, and turns to face the class. Welcome to Math 55, the undergraduate course surrounded by what is perhaps the most intrigue and infamy of any class at Harvard. Even outside of Harvard, Math 55 has garnered outsized attention. The course has its own Wikipedia page and has inspired many TikToks, one of which has racked up over , views. And for a while, it seemed like the Math Department itself was in on the mythologization of the course. But today, the math department takes a different approach to how they present the course. When Preston C.

Math 55

May 13 Final Exam clarifications: There is a mistake in Question It should ask you to show that the probability is greater than 0. Question 12 b should refer to the edges being colored, as in the rest of the question, not the vertices. May 2 Posted some previous years' final exams and a Midterm 3 for practice. Apr 13 Fixed a mistake in 6. Apr 10 Midterm 2 grades have been released. Apr 6 Fixed a mistake in 6. There are no jokers. A bridge hand is any 13 cards from the deck.

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However, that includes the time dedicated to homework. He discusses topologies and neighborhoods and endpoints. But in fact, they stretch back decades. January 6, The reality is much less shocking and a bit more complicated. Principles of Mathematical Analysis 3rd ed. Archived from the original on May 16, The class is supposedly legendary among high school math prodigies, who hear terrifying stories about it in their computer camps and at the International Math Olympiad. Tools Tools. But while familiarity with proof-based mathematics is considered a plus for those interested in the course, there is no prerequisite for competition or research experience. Archived from the original on December 7,

It is also a veritable legend among high schoolers and college students alike, renowned as — allegedly — the hardest undergraduate math class in the country. It has been mentioned in books and articles, has its own Wikipedia page, and has been the subject of countless social media posts and videos. Most recently, Harvard junior Mahad Khan created a TikTok video dedicated to Math 55 that has received over , views to date.

Department of Mathematics, Harvard University. Since then, the rumor has been that the Math 55 class shrinks by half its original size or more before the first semester is over. These topics typically culminated in the proof of the generalized Stokes theorem , though, time permitting, other relevant topics e. According to Auroux, some students shop Math 55 in the fall and switch to the less intense Math 25 for the remainder of the semester. And over the past five years, less than seven percent of students enrolled in Math 55 were female, according to official course enrollment data. Through , the instructor had broad latitude in choosing the content of the course. A article in The Harvard Crimson reported that only 17 women completed the class between and In five out of the last ten semesters, no women chose to take Math Some view enrolling in the class as proof of their mathematical gumption and competence. However, Auroux is quick to point out that while many graduates of the course do end up in academia, most professional mathematicians have likely never even heard of Math Welcome to Math 55, the undergraduate course surrounded by what is perhaps the most intrigue and infamy of any class at Harvard. Week 5: Euclidean algorithm, modular exponentiation, solving congruences, Chinese Remainder Theorem Sections 4. Week Recurrence relations Sections 8. Principles of Mathematical Analysis 3rd ed. As a college freshman, Lisa J.