DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA

NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD

Course Syllabus

Lead Department: Mathematics and Statistics Department

College: College of Science
Course Code: GEMATMW

Class Days and Time: Room:

Team Instructors:
Consultation Hours: ________

ESTIMATED TIME FOR STUDY OF A LEARNING UNIT OUTSIDE CLASS: 14 HRS**

(See Independent Learning Time Allocation)

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course aims to discuss the nature of mathematics leading to appreciation of its practical, intellectual, social, and aesthetic
dimensions. It includes the study of the nature of mathematics and how the perception of this leads to different tools for understanding
and dealing with various aspects of present day living such as managing personal finances, making social choices, appreciating geometric
designs, understanding codes used in data transmissions and security, and dividing limited resources fairly.

UNIVERSITY ELGA: LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO):

On completion of the course, the student is expected to be able to:

Critical thinker Demonstrate knowledge and skills in mathematics to analyze personal and social problems through
Effective communicator the use of mathematical tools and to explain and present solutions effectively in written or oral
Reflective lifelong learner form.

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NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

II. FINAL COURSE OUTPUT:

As evidence of attaining the above learning outcomes, the student is required to do and submit the following during the
indicated dates of the term.

LEARNING OUTCOME REQUIRED OUTPUT DUE DATE

Demonstrate knowledge and skills in mathematics to • Individual Output

analyze personal and social problems through the use
of mathematical tools and to explain and present • Group Output
solutions effectively in written or oral form.

Whenever possible, the students will involve inputs from industry practioners in order for them to see real-life
applications of the mathematics they have learned in the course.

1. For the individual output, a student may choose from any of the following options.
• Financial plan
• Critique of a mathematician’s essay or book
• Mathematical patterns in art designs
• Analysis of the mathematics behind an engineering prototype, algorithm, or mathematical models

2. The group learning output should exhibit the use of mathematical reasoning, writing and proving in tackling
solutions to a range of issues encompassing social, political, economic and financial aspects or involving natural
sciences, technology and the arts.

3. Each learning output may be presented in any of the following forms.

• Infographics
• Digital Stories
• Dance Choreography

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NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

• Art Design
• Mini-magazine (collection of at least 3 articles)
• Song/Rap/Poem
• Storyboard/Comics
• Play (Script, Act)

III. RUBRIC FOR ASSESSMENT:

CRITERIA EXCEPTIONAL SATISFACTORY DEVELOPING BEGINNING

Understanding of Shows complete Shows nearly Shows some Shows very limited
mathematical and in-depth complete understanding of the or minimal
concepts understanding of understanding of the mathematical understanding of
the underlying problem’s concepts and the problem’s
(REASONING) mathematical mathematical principles needed to mathematical
concepts and concepts and solve the problem. concepts and
25%
principles needed principles. principles.
to tackle concepts
and solve problems

Justification of Demonstrates Demonstrates logical Demonstrates logical Demonstrates

Approach logical and valid and valid reasoning and valid reasoning illogical and invalid
reasoning in in presenting all in some arguments reasoning in many
(PROVING) presenting all arguments that cover that cover the arguments.
arguments that the concepts concepts discussed
25%
cover the concepts discussed except for a but there are some
discussed few minor errors major errors in the
discussions

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NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

CRITERIA EXCEPTIONAL SATISFACTORY DEVELOPING BEGINNING

Clarity of Explanation Explanation is Explanation is clear Explanation is Explanation is

well-written, but few simple ambiguous and quite difficult to
(WRITING IN MATH) complete and details are missed. difficult to understand,
unambiguous. Terminologies and understand. Some ambiguous and
25% Terminologies and symbols are used symbols and incomplete.
symbols are used appropriately. notations are used
correctly. inappropriately.
Integration with other Presents concepts Presents concepts Presents concepts Lacks presentation
disciplines that make use of at that make use of at that make use of at of concepts using
least two other least two other least one other other disciplinal
(INTERDISCIPLINARY disciplinal disciplinal disciplinal perspectives
INTEGRATION)
perspectives, and perspectives and perspective but some
25% shows deep shows substantial details are
understanding of understanding inaccurately stated
mathematics as a through innovative
tool in these solutions, but a few
disciplines through disciplinal
innovative connections are
connections among missed.
or solutions based
on varied
disciplinal
perspectives

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NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

IV. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS:

Aside from the final output, the student will be assessed at other times during the term by the following:
• Position Paper
• Group Report (Case Study)
• Long Quizzes
• Assignment and Seatwork
• Blog/Video Blog/Journal
• Investagrams Virtual Stocks Portfolio (www.investagrams.com)

V. GRADING SYSTEM:

• Average of Quizzes 20%

• Assignment and Seatwork 15%
• Blog/Journal 15%
• Learning Output
1. Individual 25%
2. Group 25%
Total 100%

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DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA
NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

VI. LEARNING PLAN:

LEARNING TOPIC No. of LEARNING READINGS

OUTCOME Meetings ACTIVITIES

(for
Discussions)

0. Course Introduction 1
Recognize reasoning and 1. Mathematics as a 3 Student self-assessment Cullinane, A
proof as fundamental Language and reflection Transition to
aspects of mathematics and A. Logic and Reasoning Mathematics with
use one’s knowledge and B. Writing Mathematical Seatwork and Proofs
Logical Reasoning, pages
skills in constructing a Proofs Assignments
69-98
convincing argument for the
purpose of solving a How can I view mathematics Skills exercises Nocon &Nocon,
problem as a fundamental tool Essential Mathematics
applicable to a wide range of INDEPENDENT for the Modern World.
disciplines? LEARNING: Mathematical Language,
3 hours** Mathematical
Research on Logic Puzzles Reasoning, pages 7-25
and Math Proofs

Week 2 – 3
Each student is to gather
2-3 logic puzzles and 2
mathematical proofs.

After studying the

solutions of the selected
logic puzzles and the
proofs, the student
submits a paper that

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DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA
NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

LEARNING TOPIC No. of LEARNING READINGS

OUTCOME Meetings ACTIVITIES

(for
Discussions)
explains the solutions and
proof.

Form a solid understanding
of sound financial planning
that involves effective
money management and
reasonable investment
schemes
Submission of
Individual Project
2. Mathematics in Finance 3 Money-Savings Blog Fuscaldo, D. Personal
A. Personal Finances Loans 101: Everything
(savings, Student self-assessment you need to know.
stocks and bonds, and reflection
Nocon &Nocon,
credit card)
Essential Mathematics
B. Taxation Seatwork and for the Modern World.
Assignments Consumer Math, pages
How can I use mathematics 37-77
to gain financial literacy and Skills exercises
profitability?
INDEPENDENT
LEARNING:
4 hours**
Virtual Stocks
(Investagrams portfolio)

Investment Plan

Week 1
Each student is to create
an Investagram account.
With Php300,000 virtual
money, s/he is to invest

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DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA
NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

LEARNING TOPIC No. of LEARNING READINGS

OUTCOME Meetings ACTIVITIES

(for
Discussions)
in stocks and monitor his
profit for a period of 45
days.

Week 4-5
For the investment plan,
the student conducts a
research on the different
investment options that
s/he can pursue. He is to
submit his own
investment plan detailing
the amounts of
investment and expected
returns.

Submission of Initial
Project Proposal
Demonstrate understanding 3. Mathematics in Natural 2 Student self-assessment Tannenbaum,
of the presence of Sciences and the Arts and reflection Excursions in Modern
mathematics in nature and A. Patterns and Isometries Mathematics
B. Fibonacci Sequence and Symmetry, pages 324-
in the arts, and recognize the Seatwork and
339
usefulness of pattern the Assignments Fractals, pages 356-368
recognition in solving real Golden Ratio Fibonacci, Golden Ratio
life problems C. Fractals Skills exercises pages 388-400

INDEPENDENT Shesso, Math for

LEARNING: Mystics,

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DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA
NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

LEARNING TOPIC No. of LEARNING READINGS

OUTCOME Meetings ACTIVITIES

(for
Discussions)
How is mathematics 1 hour** Fibonacci, Golden Ratio,
involved in the design of Creative designs of pages 101-108
creative works? wallpaper, rosette or frieze
patterns

Week 6
The student may create
the designs by hand or
by using any application
(e.g. Geogebra).

Submission of Final
Project Proposal
Long Quiz 1
Develop a repertoire of tools 4. Mathematics in 3 Film showing Angel & Porter, A
and principles for analyzing Decision Survey of
conflicts and group Student self-assessment Mathematics with
Sciences
decisions through the use of and reflection Applications
A. Games Voting, pages 779-807
mathematics B. Social choices
Seatwork and Sobecki and Bluman,
Assignments Mathematics in Our
How can I use
mathematics to aid in World
Skills exercises Voting, pages 690-714
wise decision-making?
INDEPENDENT Kolokoltsov and
LEARNING: Malafeyev,
2 hours** Understanding Game
Position paper Theory

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DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA
NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

LEARNING TOPIC No. of LEARNING READINGS

OUTCOME Meetings ACTIVITIES

(for
Discussions)
Prisoner’s Dilemma,
Week 7-8 pages 3-11
The students choose a
situation that involves Nocon &Nocon,
Essential Mathematics
conflict and analyze it
for the Modern World.
using the concept of game
Games, pages 139-150
theory. A written report Social Choices, 157-172
is a required output for
this group activity.

Project Progress
Report 1
Exhibit understanding of the 5. Mathematics in 3-4 Student self-assessment Burger and Starbird,
role of mathematics in Communication and reflection The Heart of
digital communication Technologies Mathematics …
A. Error Correction and Bar Codes, pages 82-94
systems by constructing Seatwork and
Cryptography, pages 95-
diagrams that illustrate the Detection Assignments 106
processes of encoding- B. Encryption and
decoding and encryption- Decryption Skills exercises Nocon and Nocon,
decryption Essential Mathematics
How is mathematics utilized Laboratory work for the Modern World
in the development of the Communicating
digital communication Film showing Efficiently, pages 89-105
system? Communicating
Securely, pages 106-130
INDEPENDENT
LEARNING:
Trappe and
2 hours** Washington,
Introduction to

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DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA
NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

LEARNING TOPIC No. of LEARNING READINGS

OUTCOME Meetings ACTIVITIES

(for
Discussions)
Simulation on related Cryptography with
algorithms Coding Theory
Cryptography, pages 12-
Week 10 33, 137-140
Coding Theory, pages
The student performs
295-301
actual computations that
apply the RSA
Cryptosystem in
enciphering and
deciphering messages.

Show understanding of how
to improve the efficiency of
algorithms by giving an
analysis and presenting a
solution to a real life
problem
Project Progress
Report 2
Long Quiz 2
6. Mathematics for 4-5 Student self-assessment Nocon and Nocon,
Efficiency and reflection Essential Mathematics
for the Modern World
A. Linear Programming Efficiency, pages 189-
B. Shortest Path Problems Seatwork and
226
C. Transportation and Assignments
Assignment Problems Smith, The Nature of
Skills exercises Mathematics
Networks, Graph
How can I use Laboratory work Theory, pages 407-431
mathematics to efficiently Linear Programming,
manage operations? INDEPENDENT pages 843-850
LEARNING:
2 hours**

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DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MANILA
NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

LEARNING TOPIC No. of LEARNING READINGS

OUTCOME Meetings ACTIVITIES

(for
Discussions)
Case study on applications
to logistics and optimization

Week 11-12

For this group activity,

students are asked to
identify one real life
problem and present its
solution using linear
programming. It may also
be an actual
transportation or
assignment problem.

Project Progress
Report 3
Presentation of the Final
Learning Output

The total number of meetings for discussions I have indicated above is 19 (max of 21). There are 2 meetings for the long tests
and 1 meeting for the presentation/submission of final project. Hence, we have about 2-4 meetings allowance for class
suspensions and LASARE classes. This is really tight BUT there are some lessons that can be assigned to the students for self-
study.

VII. REFERENCES

Books

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NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

Angel, A., Abbott, C. and Runde, D. (2016). A Survey of Mathematics with Applications, Pearson.
Burger, E. and Starbird, M. (2005). The Heart of Mathematics, An invitation to effective thinking. Key College Publishing.
Cullinane, M. (2013). A Transition to Mathematics with Proofs. Jones & Bartnett Learning, LLC.
Feder, J. (1998). Fractals. Plenum Press.
Kappraff, J.(2001). Connections, The Geometric Bridge Between Art and Science. World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Kolokoltsov, V. and Malafeyev, O. (2010). Understanding Game Theory. World Scientific.
Lakatos, I. (2015). Proofs and Refutations: The Logic of Mathematical Discovery. Cambridge University Press.
Nocon, R. and Nocon, E. (2018). Essential Mathematics for the Modern World. C & E. Publishing House.
Shesso, R. (2007). Math for Mystics, Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
Sobecki, D. and Bluman A. (2015). Mathematics in Our World. McGraw-Hill.
Smith, K. (2013). Mathematics, Its Power & Utility, Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Sundstrom, T. (2007). Mathematical Reasoning, Writing and Proof. Pearson Education, Inc.
Talwalkar, P. (2014). The Joy of Game Theory, an Introduction to Strategic Thinking, CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Platform.
Tannenbaum, P. (2018). Excursions in Modern Mathematics, Pearson Education, Inc.
Trappe W. and Washington, L. (2002). Introduction to Cryptography with Coding Theory, Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Online Resources

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NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

Brown, B. Prim's Algorithm: Minimal Spanning Tree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyLaRffCdk4

Fuscaldo, D. Personal Loans 101: Everything you need to know. Retrieved March 30, 2018 from
https://www.bankrate.com/finance/loans/personal-loans-101.aspx.

Kenny, T. Differences between stocks and bonds. Retrieved March 30, 2018 from https://www.thebalance.com/the-
difference-between-stocks-and-bonds-417069.

Bitcoin: How Cryptocurrencies Work, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kubGCSj5y3k

Cryptography: The Science of Making and Breaking Codes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yFZGF8FHSg&t=58s

David Bailey's World of Escher-like Tessellations, http://www.tess-elation.co.uk.

Fibonacci Sequence: The Nature’s Code. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTlw7fNcO-0&t=46s

Game Theory: The Science of Decision Making, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHS-htjGgSY

Linear Programming: Introduction, http://www.purplemath.com/modules/linprog.htm

The Black Chamber, https://simonsingh.net/The_Black_Chamber/

The enigma of WWII codebreaker Alan Turing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEomYB94TTI

The Enigma Machine Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASfAPOiq_eQ

158,962,555,217,826,360,000 (Enigma Machine) – Numberphile https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2_Q9FoD-oQ

What is a Digital Signature? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIcBpRpiBoc

Blockchain tutorial 6: Digital signature https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKg4PqD01Z0

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NEW LASALLIAN CORE CURRICULUM Mathematics in the Modern World

Public Key Cryptography: RSA Encryption Algorithm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXB-V_Keiu8&t=117s

Mathematics - The Language of the Universe - Full Documentary Films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWkQU99Aoxg

Stock Markets in Plain English Animated https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejjNMnIo3Fg

How Your Money Grow With Stocks? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oOKyFJFYKA

Stock Exchange Explained In 2 Minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3t406oTmss

VIII. CLASSROOM POLICIES

1. As a general policy, no special or make-up tests for missed exams will be given. However, a faculty member may
give special exams for 

a. approved absences (where the student concerned officially represented the University at some function or
activity).
b. absences due to serious illness which require hospitalization, death in the family and other reasons which
the faculty member deems meritorious. 

2. If the student has no valid reason for missing an exam (for example, the student was not prepared to take the
exam) then the student receives 0% for the missed quiz. 

3. Learning outputs are required and not optional to pass the course. 

4. Mobile phones and other forms of communication devices should be on silent 
mode or turned off during class. 

5. Students are expected to be attentive and exhibit the behavior of a mature and responsible individual during class.
They are also expected to come to class on time and prepared. 

6. Sleeping, bringing in food and drinks, and wearing a cap and sunglasses in class are not allowed. 


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7. Students who wish to go to the washroom must politely ask permission and, if given such, they should be back in
class within 5 minutes. Only one student at a time may be allowed to leave the classroom for this purpose.
8. Students who are absent from the class for more than 5 meetings will get a final grade of 0.0 in the course. 

9. Only students who are officially enrolled in the course are allowed to attend the class meetings. 

10. Upon the discretion of the faculty member, a maximum of 3% over and above the 100% criteria for computation of
grades may be given as bonus points, based on recitation, assignments, board work and others.
11. The percentage score conversion table is

Final Grade (%) Equivalent Description

Grade Point

95 - 100 4.0 Excellent

89 - 94 3.5 Superior
83 - 88 3.0 Very Good
78 - 82 2.5 Good
72 - 77 2.0 Satisfactory
66 - 71 1.5 Fair
60 - 65 1.0 Passed
Below 60 0.0 Failed

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