Mathematics

Pitzer’s mathematics courses are designed to serve three purposes: general education; service to courses in social, behavioral and natural sciences; and the basis for the mathematics major.

Pitzer Advisers: D. Bachman, J. Lorenat., B. Acu

General Education in Mathematics

What is mathematics? What are its major methods and conclusions? How is it related to other subjects? What do modern mathematicians do? Several Pitzer courses specifically address these questions. Ones that have been taught in recent years include: The Mathematics of Gambling, Rubik’s Cube and Other Mathematical Puzzles, Doodling in Mathematics Class, 3D Printing, History of Algebra, and Philosophy of Mathematics. These courses cover mathematical material that is exciting and sophisticated and yet accessible to students with a standard high school education in mathematics. As such, they offer students an excellent opportunity to break fresh ground in kinds of mathematics they are not likely to have seen before. All of these courses meet Pitzer’s Educational Objective in Quantitative Reasoning.

The Precalculus and Calculus Sequences

MATH 025 PZ -Precalculus , is designed to prepare students for Calculus I. The course reviews linear, quadratic and polynomial functions, before introducing the exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions. These are the functions most widely used in the quantitative social sciences and natural sciences. MATH 025 PZ  does not fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning Requirement.

MATH 030 PZ , MATH 031 PZ  and MATH 032 PZ  comprise the calculus sequence. The calculus, since it studies motion and change, is the key mathematical tool in understanding growth, decay and motion in the physical, biological, and social sciences. Pitzer offers MATH 030 PZ , MATH 031 PZ  and MATH 032 PZ  each year. Calculus is also offered at the other Claremont Colleges.

We also offer more advanced courses as part of The Claremont Colleges’ Intercollegiate Mathematics program.

AP Credit: A student who has a score of 4 or 5 on the Mathematics Calculus AB examination or on the BC examination, and who then takes MATH 031 PZ , will receive credit for MATH 030 PZ  after passing MATH 031 PZ . Similarly, a student with a score of 4 or 5 on the Calculus BC exam will receive credit for MATH 030 PZ  and MATH 031 PZ  after passing MATH 032 PZ . Likewise, a student who has a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Statistics examination will receive credit for MATH 052 PZ  after passing a college statistics course for which introductory statistics (AP Statistics, MATH 058 PO  , MATH 052 PZ , MATH 052 CM  ) Is a prerequisite; such courses include MATH 157 PO, MATH 158 PO  and MATH 159 PO