UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
GENERIC ELECTIVE (GE) Courses For
BA/B.Com. Programme
(Effective from Academic Year 2018-19)

PROGRAMME BROCHURE

XXXXX Revised Syllabus as approved by Academic Council on XXXX, 2018 and

Executive Council on YYYY, 2018
 GENERIC ELECTIVE (GE) COURSES
OFFERED TO
B.A,/B.Com. Programme
(Students who are not having Mathematics as a
Discipline Subject can opt for such courses)

Discipline
Ability Skill Specific
Core Enhancement Enhancement Elective
Semester Course Compulsory Course Generic Elective
(DSE)(4)
(12) Course (SEC) (4) (GE) (2)
(AECC)(2) Credits: 6 each
I

II

III

IV

V GE-1
General Mathematics- 1

VI GE-2
General Mathematics- 2

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 Semester V
GE-1: General Mathematics - I

Total Marks: 100 (Theory: 75, Internal Assessment: 25)

Workload: 5 Lectures (per week), 1 Tutorial (per week per student)
Duration: 14 Weeks (70 Hrs.) Examination: 3 Hrs.
Course Objectives: The course aims at introducing number system, fundamental arithmetic
operations, prime numbers and Pythagorean triplets to the students. The concept of matrices and
determinants with their properties are also introduced.
Course Learning Outcomes: The course will enable the students to understand:
i) The contributions of remarkable Mathematicians in the field of mathematics.
ii) The number systems and their properties, also Latin and Magic squares.
iii) Matrices and determinants, inverse of a matrix, Cramer’s rule to solve a systems of linear equations.

Course Contents:

Unit 1: Biographies of Remarkable Mathematicians (Lectures: 10)

A brief introduction to the lives and information on the works of the following Mathematicians:
Euler, Lagrange, Laplace, Fourier, Gauss, Poisson, Cauchy, Abel, Dirichlet, Galois, Weierstrass,
and Riemann.

Unit 2: Number Systems (Lectures: 40)

An overview of number systems, Algebraic and transcedental numbers with some historical
background, Fundamental arithmetic operations, Rules of divisibility, Hierarchy of operations and
Modular arithmetic, Euclidean algorithm, Prime numbers, The sieve of Eratosthenes, Fundamental
theorem of arithmetic, Euclid’s lemma, Fermat numbers, Mersenne numbers and Mersenne primes,
prime testing method of Fermat, Statement and significance of the prime number theorem, Goldbach
conjucture, Twin primes, Uses of prime numbers, Perfect and amicable numbers, Pythagoreans triplets
and its properties, Statement and historic background of Fermat’s Last Theorem, Multiplication
principle, Permutation and combinations, Latin squares and magic squares.
Unit 3: Matrices and Determinants (Lectures: 20)
Matrices, Basic concepts and algebraic operations, Types of matrices, Transpose of a matrix,
Symmetric and skew symmetric matrices, Matrix multiplication and its properties, Powers of square
matrices, Inverse square matrix and its properties, Determinant and its properties, Expansion by rows
and columns, Cofactors, Matrix singularity, Adjoint matrix and calculation of inverse, Cramer’s rule.

References:
1. Andrilli, S., & Hecker, D. (2016). Elementary Linear Algebra (5th ed.). Academic Press,
Elsevier India Private Limited.
2. Gulberg, Jan. (1997). Mathematics from the birth of numbers. W. W. Norton & Company.

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 3. James, Ioan. (2002). Remarkable Mathematicians: From Euler to von Neumann, Cambridge
University Press.

Teaching Plan (GE-1: General Mathematics-I):

Weeks 1 and 2: A brief introduction to the lives and information on the works of the following Mathematicians:
Euler, Lagrange, Laplace, Fourier, Gauss, Poisson, Cauchy, Abel, Dirichlet, Galois, Weierstrass, and Riemann.
[3] Chapters 1 to 5 (up to page 188)

Weeks 3 and 4: An overview of number systems, Algebraic and transcedental numbers with some historical
background, Fundamental arithmetic operations, Rules of divisibility, Hierarchy of operations and Modular
arithmetic, Euclidean algorithm.
[2] Chapter 3 (Sections 3.0, 3.1, and 3.4), and Chapter 4 (Section 4.2 up to page 128)

Weeks 5 and 6: Prime numbers, The sieve of Eratosthenes, Fundamental theorem of arithmetic, Euclid’s
lemma, Fermat numbers, Mersenne numbers and Mersenne primes, Prime testing method of Fermat, Statement
and significance of the prime number theorem, Goldbach conjucture, Twin primes, Uses of prime numbers.
[2] Chapter 3 (Section 3.2)

Weeks 7 and 8: Perfect and amicable numbers, Pythagoreans triplets and its properties, Statement and historic
background of Fermat’s Last Theorem.
[2] Chapter 3 (Section 3.3), and Chapter 9 (Section 9.9, pages 332 to 334).

Weeks 9 and 10: Multiplication principle, Permutation and combinations, Latin squares and magic squares.
[2] Chapter 5 (Sections 5.1 to 5.4, and 5.6 up to page 212)

Weeks 11 and 12: Matrices, Basic concepts and algebraic operations, Types of matrices, Transpose of a matrix,
symmetric and skew symmetric matrices, Matrix multiplication and its properties, Powers of square matrices.
[1] Chapter 1 (Sections 1.4, and 1.5)

Week 13 and 14: Inverse of a square matrix and its properties, Determinant and its properties, Expansion by
rows and columns, Cofactors, Matrix singularity, Adjoint matrix and calculation of inverse, Cramer’s rule.
[1] Chapter 2 (Section 2.4), and Chapter 3 (Sections 3.1 to 3.3)

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 Semester VI
GE-2: General Mathematics – II

Total Marks: 100 (Theory: 75, Internal Assessment: 25)

Workload: 5 Lectures (per week), 1 Tutorial (per week per student)
Duration: 14 Weeks (70 Hrs.) Examination: 3 Hrs.

Course Objectives: The course aims at introducing graph theory, perspective geometry and its uses
in art, fractals in nature, Fibonacci sequences and their uses. The solutions to the linear system of
equations using row (column) operations of matrices are also introduced.
Course Learning Outcomes: The course will enable the students to understand:
i) The contributions of remarkable Mathematicians in the field of mathematics.
ii) Perspective geometry and its uses in art, Fractals and Fibonacci sequences
with their applications in nature.
iii) Types of symmetry and patterns by looking at monuments/buildings/ornamental art,
Escher’s art, Golden Ratio.

Course Contents:
Unit 1: Biographies of Remarkable Mathematicians (Lectures: 15)
A brief introduction to the lives and information on the works of the following Mathematicians:
Dedekind, Cantor, Poincare, Hilbert, Moore, Hausdorff, Hardy, Noether, Ramanujan, Alexander,
Banach, and Neumann.

Unit 2: Functions, Perspective Geometry, Symmetry and Fractals (Lectures: 45)

Basics of Graph Theory, the Königsberg Bridge problem, The four-color map problem, Mobius strip
and Klein bottle.

Introduction of functions, Graphs of functions, Increasing and decreasing functions, Even and odd
functions, Location of points of extrema, Inflection, Periodic functions – all via graphs.

Perspective and Projection, Perspective geometry: Lines and points in 2D and 3D, Fundamental
trigonometric functions, Use of perspective in drawing, Historic background, Common tools adopted
by artists for such representations, Analysis of some paintings to spot use of perspective and
techniques.

Types of symmetry, Concrete examples of symmetry groups, Basic tilings, Study of symmetry and
patterns by looking at monuments/buildings/ornamental art, Escher’s art, Golden Ratio, Golden
triangle, Fibonacci sequences in nature.

Shapes and solids, The regular polyhedral, Importance of Platonic solids and mystical significance to
the ancient Greeks.

Fractals in nature, for example snowflakes and coastlines.

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Unit 3: Solving Systems of Linear Equations using Matrix (Lectures: 10)
Solving systems of linear equations, Gaussian elimination method and row operations, Consistent and
inconsistent system, Gauss-Jordon row reduction and echelon form, Homogenous system, Equivalent
system, Row equivalence, Rank of a matrix, Relation between homogenous and rank, Solving a system
using the inverse of coefficient matrix.

References:

1. Andrilli, S., & Hecker, D. (2016). Elementary Linear Algebra (5th ed.). Academic Press,
Elsevier India Private Limited.
2. Gulberg, Jan. (1997). Mathematics from the birth of numbers. W. W. Norton & Company.
3. James, Ioan. (2002). Remarkable Mathematicians: From Euler to von Neumann. Cambridge
University Press.

Teaching Plan (GE-2: General Mathematics-II):

Weeks 1 and 2: A brief introduction to the lives and information on the works of the following Mathematicians:
Dedekind, Cantor, Poincare, Hilbert, Moore, Hausdorff, Hardy, Noether, Ramanujan, Alexander, Banach, and
Neumann.
[3] Chapters 5 to 10 (From pages 195 to 416)

Weeks 3 and 4: Basics of Graph Theory, The Königsberg Bridge problem, The four-color map problem,
Mobius strip and Klein bottle.
[2] Chapter 5 (Section 5.5), and Chapter 11 (Section 11.5)

Weeks 5 and 6: Perspective and Projection, Perspective geometry: lines and points in 2D and 3D, Fundamental
trigonometric functions, Use of perspective in drawing, Historic background, Common tools adopted by artists
for such representations, Analysis of some paintings to spot use of perspective and techniques.
[2] Chapter 11 (Section 11.2 up to page 375), Chapter 13 (Section 13.1), and Chapter 15 (Section 15.1)

Weeks 7 and 8: Introduction of functions, Graphs of functions, Increasing and decreasing functions, Even and
odd functions, Location of points of extrema, Inflection, Periodic functions – all via graphs.
[2] Chapter 10 (Sections 10.0, and 10.1 up to page 344)

Weeks 9 and 10: Types of symmetry, Concrete examples of symmetry groups, Basic tilings, Study of symmetry
and patterns by looking at monuments/buildings/ornamental art, Escher’s art, Golden Ratio, Golden triangle,
Fibonacci sequences in nature.
[2] Chapter 12 (Pages 418 and 419), and Chapter 8 (Section 8.5)

Weeks 11 and 12: Shapes and solids, the regular polyhedral, Importance of Platonic solids and mystical
significance to the ancient Greeks, Fractals in nature, for example snowflakes and coastlines.
[2] Chapter 12 (Sections 12.0, and 12.1 up to page 399), and Chapter 17 (Sections 17.0 to 17.6)

Weeks 13 and 14: Solving system of linear equations, Gauss elimination method and row operations,
Consistent and inconsistent system, Gauss-Jordon row reduction and echelon form, Homogenous system,
Equivalent system, Row equivalence, Rank of a matrix, Relation between homogenous and rank, Solving a
system using the inverse of coefficient matrix.
[1] Chapter 2 (Sections 2.1 to 2.3)