The Hotchkiss School
Mathematics
The mathematics department views the study of math as an exciting, valuable experience that can be challenging and gratifying to all students. Through its program, the department strives to develop an appreciation of the inherent beauty and logic of mathematics, and to equip students with a language and a set of skills that may be applied to other areas of inquiry.
The curriculum is broad and flexible. An experienced faculty allows us to offer many math courses that appear in traditional undergraduate college curriculums, including dynamical systems and fractals, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, and abstract algebra.
In all courses, technology is used when deemed appropriate by the instructor. The technology used may include graphing calculators, Minitab, the Geometer's Sketchpad, and Mathematica.
The department seeks to relate mathematics to varied aspects of daily life. Problems in class might include predicting the weather, calculating tolls on the Maine Turnpike, studying the human ear's perception of musical pitch, or determining how fast a car can stop on a slick surface.
In order to graduate, students must successfully complete our third-year level of mathematics, including geometry.
Note: All students are required to own the Texas Instruments TI-89 calculator. It will be used in all classroom instruction and may be required for use on quizzes, tests, and exams. The latest version may be purchased at the School Bookstore.