White Crane Classroom

Graph theory

Combinatorics is the study of counting. That sounds simple enough, right? You've been counting stuff for years. It turns out that it gets a little more complicated than taking off your shoes when you run out of fingers.

Classroom Format and Style

You'll find as you get further into the classroom that this one gets a little more technical than the ones for our Algebra 1 and geometry classes. Don't let that discourage you from getting started. The material in the first couple of chapters is at a relatively fundamental level that any Algebra 2 student should be able to understand.

Like in our other classrooms, I want to give you a feel for the real mathematics without overwhelming you with technical phrasing. To achieve this, I'll present the core ideas in two different versions, side by side. One version will be in the technically correct language of mathematics. The other will be an "English translation".

Java Issues
Some versions of Internet Explorer have an issue running the Java applets used in this classroom. When you load the first applet you will get two "Syntax error" messages. There are two possible solutions to this. First, you could download the latest version of the Firefox browser. The problem doesn't occur with it. If, for some reason, you absolutely have to use the version of IE currently on your computer then you can click on OK in both dialog boxes and go about your business. The error only occurs the first time you load a page with an applet so you'll only have to do this once.