In this hands-on College Edge seminar, you’ll explore some of the most visually striking ideas from UW’s first-year math courses by turning them into images, animations, and interactive designs. Instead of focusing on tests or formal proofs, this course invites you to see how mathematics moves, bends, and takes shape in the world around you.

You’ll work with ideas from motion in two dimensions, area and volume, projectiles, and three-dimensional surfaces—drawing from concepts you’ll later encounter in courses like Math 120, 124, 125, and 126. Using tools like Desmos (2D and 3D) and other creative software, you’ll learn how to build your own mathematical visuals using a mix of simple math and imagination.

We’ll build on visuals developed in my precalculus and calculus courses, along with a large collection of interactive experiments and projects. You can explore examples of the kinds of visuals we’ll create here:

https://sites.math.washington.edu/~aloveles/CalcVisuals/

https://www.desmos.com/gallery/b44859f9-ede0-4b97-87d8-b0c9b6d6c233

This course is designed to help you start the autumn quarter feeling confident and curious, with early exposure to key math ideas in a low-pressure, creative environment. No advanced math background is required—just a willingness to explore, experiment, and try things out.

The course culminates in a creative final project where you choose how to communicate a mathematical idea that interests you. Options might include a 3D print, an animation, a short video, or a combination of formats. The goal isn’t to be perfect—it’s to make math visible, personal, and engaging.

Learn more about the instructor of this course:

Teaching Professor Andrew Loveless, UW Department of Mathematics

To sign up for College Edge and reserve your spot in this course, click on the "register now" button below.