Math 141, Spring 2026

Course Information

Lectures: MWF at Olson Hall 158 at 11:00-11:50am.

Textbook: Geometry of Surfaces by John Stillwell.

Syllabus: The course syllabus contains the basic guidelines for the course.

Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 2:00-2:50pm at MSB 3214 (Casals). Always feel free to ask after class.
Office hours for Teaching assistant to be posted soon.

Teaching Assistants: The Teaching Assistant for our course is Kenton Ke (kke - at - ucdavis.edu) at MSB 3206.

Important Dates: First Day (Mar 30), Midterm Test (May 1), Instruction Ends (Jun 4), Final Exam (Jun 11).
Course can be added until the 12th day of instruction and dropped until the 20th day of instruction.

Problem Sets: Weekly assignments are due on Fridays at 11:00am, at the beginning of class.
Problem Sets must be submitted online through Canvas. Problem Set 1 will be due Friday Apr 10.

Problem Sets

First problem set to be posted soon.

Solutions

Solutions to problem sets posted after due date.

Math Diaries

Monday Mar 30: Introduction to the Geometry of Surfaces.

Examples of Surfaces:

Euclidean Plane

2-Sphere

Torus

Sum of Angles of a Triangle

Euclidean Distance

Properties

Textbook Reading (Mar 30): Sections 1.1 and 1.2.

Mathematical Resources

Books: Chapters 7 and 8 in the book "The Four Pillars of Geometry" by J. Stillwell are aligned with our course. The book contains many interesting material on classical synthetic and projective geometry. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 in his book "Yearning for the Impossible" are also an interesting read. The book "Low-Dimensional Geometry: From Euclidean Surfaces to Hyperbolic Knots" by F. Bonahon is excellent and its Chapter 1 to 6 match well with our course. In addition, Part II in "The Shape of Space" by J.R. Weeks is a good resource (see also this video). If one is to venture into 3-dimensional geometry, the reference is Three-Dimensional Geometry and Topology by W.P. Thurston.

Online resources: The website Math and the Art of M.C. Escher contains insightful texts on geometry, I recommend the section on Non-Euclidean Geometry, especially "The Three Geometries". The webpage NonEuclid contains an interactive Java Software for creating straightedge and compass Constructions in the Hyperbolic Disk Model. The website The Shape of Space contains good materials and lessons on surfaces. To read the classical Euclid's Elements, the website Euclid's Elements is helpful. Finally, playing boardgames in a non-planar board is both instructive and entertaining: the website Topology and Geometry Software contains many interesting games, including a toric tic-tac-toe, hyperbolic Sudokus and curved chess.