Logo: University of Surrey
Logo: Department of Mathematics

MAT2047: Curves and Surfaces


 Timetable for Lectures

  Day Time Room   Notes  
       
  Monday 3pm TB06  
  Monday   4pm TB06  
  Tuesday 9am LTB      
  Wednesday 11am AP1  
       
  --- --- TBA ---


Complete Calendar for Spring 2012


 News and Announcements

* The mock exam was held on Monday 14 May. An electronic copy of the mock examination paper is available below for downloading.


* The last lecture of the semester will be Wednesday 16 May. We will discuss the solutions of the mock examination.


* Unassessed coursework #2 is now available for downloading (see below for link). A sketch of the solutions for UCW #2 is now also available for downloading (see below).



 Lecturer

The Lecturer is Prof T.J. Bridges. His office is Room 38 AA 04, and email address is T.Bridges@surrey.ac.uk .


 Introduction and overview

This module introduces the study of curves and surfaces in Euclidean space. The geometry of curves involves the concept of torsion (twisting out of a plane) and curvature (twisting away from a line), and the geometry of surfaces involves the mean and gaussian curvatures (the bending away from a plane). The topics covered include arc length, Frenet frames, calculus on curves and surfaces, tangent vectors of curves and surfaces, geodesics (as shortest paths) on surfaces, normal vector of a surface, and integration along surfaces. Examples of surfaces are spheres, tori, ruled surfaces, surfaces of revolution, and minimal surfaces. Examples from mechanics, computer graphics and other areas are used for illustration. The module consists of five parts
  • Planar curves: representation, arc-length, parametrisation, curvature
  • Space curves: representation, arc-length, parametrisation, curvature, torsion
  • 2D surfaces in 3D: representation, tangent space, normal space, metrics, calculus
  • Paths in surfaces: geodesics, length and speed, parallel transport
  • Curvature of surfaces: mean curvature, gaussian curvature, implications of curvature



 Coursework Information

The coursework component of the module has two components: unassessed problem sheets that are worked out at home, but there is no mark associated with them. They provide preparation for the class tests and the examination. The second component is the class tests. There will be two class tests, the first counts 12% and the second 13% towards the overall mark. After they are handed out, electronic copies of the problem sheets will be available here for downloading.


 Class Tests

There will be two Class Tests in 2012 and the dates and locations will be posted below.

Class test 1 will take place on Wednesday 29 February and it will cover the following topics:

Class test 2 will take place on Wednesday 28 March and it will cover the following topics:


 Assessment timetable

Assessment % of Mark Date Notes
Problem sheet 1   0 %   No specific due date   Available from Monday 20 February
Class Test 1   12 %   Wednesday 29 February   Room: AP1
Problem sheet 2   0 %   No specific due date   Available from Monday 19 March
Class Test 2   13 %   Wednesday 28 March Room: AP1
   
Examination   75 %   Friday 8 June TBA

 Reference Textbook

There is no particular textbook. The lecture notes provide the basic information required for the course. A reference text which covers some of the same material as the lecture course is

Andrew Pressley [2001]  Elementary Differential Geometry,
Springer-Verlag: London, ISBN 1852331526

There are several copies in the University Library, and copies can be purchased through the University of Surrey Bookshop .
New and used copies can also be ordered over the web from http://www.amazon.co.uk

 Past examination papers

The module MAT2047 is new and so there are no past examination papers.
A mock examination was held on Monday 14 May and an electronic copy is available for downloading
here. (available for downloading)

 Links