Calculus Mysteries and Thrillers


Book Description

The author presents eleven mathematic problems and their solutions in story form for the reader. The calculus concepts on which the problems are based include; tangent and normal lines, optimization by use of criticla points, inverse trig functions, volumes of solids, surface area integrals, and modeling economic concepts using definite integrals". -- Back cover.




Paradoxes and Sophisms in Calculus


Book Description

Paradoxes and Sophisms in Calculus offers a delightful supplementary resource to enhance the study of single variable calculus. By the word paradox the [Author];s mean a surprising, unexpected, counter-intuitive statement that looks invalid, but in fact is true. The word sophism describes intentionally invalid reasoning that looks formally correct, but in fact contains a subtle mistake or flaw. In other words, a sophism is a false proof of an incorrect statement. A collection of over fifty paradoxes and sophisms showcases the subtleties of this subject and leads students to contemplate the underlying concepts. A number of the examples treat historically significant issues that arose in the development of calculus, while others more naturally challenge readers to understand common misconceptions. Sophisms and paradoxes from the areas of functions, limits, derivatives, integrals, sequences, and series are explored.




Introduction to Real Analysis


Book Description

An accessible introduction to real analysis and its connectionto elementary calculus Bridging the gap between the development and history of realanalysis, Introduction to Real Analysis: An EducationalApproach presents a comprehensive introduction to real analysiswhile also offering a survey of the field. With its balance ofhistorical background, key calculus methods, and hands-onapplications, this book provides readers with a solid foundationand fundamental understanding of real analysis. The book begins with an outline of basic calculus, including aclose examination of problems illustrating links and potentialdifficulties. Next, a fluid introduction to real analysis ispresented, guiding readers through the basic topology of realnumbers, limits, integration, and a series of functions in naturalprogression. The book moves on to analysis with more rigorousinvestigations, and the topology of the line is presented alongwith a discussion of limits and continuity that includes unusualexamples in order to direct readers' thinking beyond intuitivereasoning and on to more complex understanding. The dichotomy ofpointwise and uniform convergence is then addressed and is followedby differentiation and integration. Riemann-Stieltjes integrals andthe Lebesgue measure are also introduced to broaden the presentedperspective. The book concludes with a collection of advancedtopics that are connected to elementary calculus, such as modelingwith logistic functions, numerical quadrature, Fourier series, andspecial functions. Detailed appendices outline key definitions and theorems inelementary calculus and also present additional proofs, projects,and sets in real analysis. Each chapter references historicalsources on real analysis while also providing proof-orientedexercises and examples that facilitate the development ofcomputational skills. In addition, an extensive bibliographyprovides additional resources on the topic. Introduction to Real Analysis: An Educational Approach isan ideal book for upper- undergraduate and graduate-level realanalysis courses in the areas of mathematics and education. It isalso a valuable reference for educators in the field of appliedmathematics.




Introduction to the Mathematics of Computer Graphics


Book Description

This text, by an award-winning [Author];, was designed to accompany his first-year seminar in the mathematics of computer graphics. Readers learn the mathematics behind the computational aspects of space, shape, transformation, color, rendering, animation, and modeling. The software required is freely available on the Internet for Mac, Windows, and Linux. The text answers questions such as these: How do artists build up realistic shapes from geometric primitives? What computations is my computer doing when it generates a realistic image of my 3D scene? What mathematical tools can I use to animate an object through space? Why do movies always look more realistic than video games? Containing the mathematics and computing needed for making their own 3D computer-generated images and animations, the text, and the course it supports, culminates in a project in which students create a short animated movie using free software. Algebra and trigonometry are prerequisites; calculus is not, though it helps. Programming is not required. Includes optional advanced exercises for students with strong backgrounds in math or computer science. Instructors interested in exposing their liberal arts students to the beautiful mathematics behind computer graphics will find a rich resource in this text.




Rediscovering Mathematics


Book Description

Rediscovering Mathematics is aimed at a general audience and addresses the question of how best to teach and study mathematics. The book attempts to bring the exciting and dynamic world of mathematics to a non-technical audience. With so much focus today on how best to educate the new generation and make mathematics less rote and more interactive, this book is an eye-opening experience for many people who suffered with dull math teachers and curricula. Rediscovering Mathematics is an eclectic collection of mathematical topics and puzzles aimed at talented youngsters and inquisitive adults who want to expand their view of mathematics. By focusing on problem solving, and discouraging rote memorization, the book shows how to learn and teach mathematics through investigation, experimentation, and discovery. Rediscovering Mathematics is also an excellent text for training math teachers at all levels. Topics range in difficulty and cover a wide range of historical periods, with some examples demonstrating how to uncover mathematics in everyday life, including: number theory and its application to secure communication over the Internet, the algebraic and combinatorial work of a medieval mathematician Rabbi, and applications of probability to sports, casinos, and gambling. Rediscovering Mathematics provides a fresh view of mathematics for those who already like the subject, and offers a second chance for those who think they don't.




101 Careers in Mathematics


Book Description

This third edition of the immensely popular 101 Careers in Mathematics contains updates on the career paths of individuals profiled in the first and second editions, along with many new profiles. No career counselor should be without this valuable resource. The [Author];s of the essays in this volume describe a wide variety of careers for which a background in the mathematical sciences is useful. Each of the jobs presented shows real people in real jobs. Their individual histories demonstrate how the study of mathematics was useful in landing well-paying jobs in predictable places such as IBM, AT & T, and American Airlines, and in surprising places such as FedEx Corporation, L.L. Bean, and Perdue Farms, Inc. You will also learn about job opportunities in the Federal Government as well as exciting careers in the arts, sculpture, music, and television. There are really no limits to what you can do if you are well prepared in mathematics. The degrees earned by the [Author];s profiled here range from bachelor's to master's to PhD in approximately equal numbers. Most of the writers use the mathematical sciences on a daily basis in their work. Others rely on the general problem-solving skills acquired in mathematics as they deal with complex issues.




Mathematics Galore!


Book Description

Mathematics Galore! Showcases some of the best activities and student outcomes of the St. Mark's Institute of Mathematics and invites you to engage the mathematics yourself! Revel in the delight of deep intellectual play and marvel at the heights to which young scholars can rise. See some great mathematics explained and proved via natural and accessible means. Based on 26 essays ( newsletters ) and eight additional pieces, Mathematics Galore! offers a large sample of mathematical tidbits and treasures, each immediately enticing, and each a gateway to layers of surprising depth and conundrum. Pick and read essays in no particular order and enjoy the mathematical stories that unfold. Be inspired for your courses, your math clubs and your math circles, or simply enjoy for yourself the bounty of research questions and intriguing puzzlers that lie within.




Writing Projects for Mathematics Courses


Book Description

Writing Projects for Mathematics Courses is a collection of writing projects suitable for a wide range of undergraduate mathematics courses, from a survey of mathematics to differential equations. The projects vary in their level of difficulty and in the mathematics that they require but are similar in the mode of presentation and use of applications. Students see these problems as real in a way that textbook problems are not, even though many of the characters involved (e.g. dime-store detectives and CEOs) are obviously fictional. The stories are sometimes fanciful and sometimes grounded in standard scientific applications, but the mere existence of the story draws the students in and makes the problem relevant.




Arithmetical Wonderland


Book Description

Arithmetical Wonderland is intended as an unorthodox mathematics textbook for students in elementary education, in a contents course offered by a mathematics department. The scope is deliberately restricted to cover only arithmetic, even though geometric elements are introduced whenever warranted. For example, what the Euclidean Algorithm for finding the greatest common divisors of two numbers has to do with Euclid is showcased. Many students find mathematics somewhat daunting. It is the [Author];'s belief that much of that is caused not by the subject itself, but by the language of mathematics. In this book, much of the discussion is in dialogues between Alice, of Wonderland fame, and the twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee who hailed from Through the Looking Glass. The boys are learning High Arithmetic or Elementary Number Theory from Alice, and the reader is carried along in this academic exploration. Thus many formal proofs are converted to soothing everyday language. Nevertheless, the book has considerable depth. It examines many arcane corners of the subject, and raises rather unorthodox questions. For instance, Alice tells the twins that six divided by three is two only because of an implicit assumption that division is supposed to be fair, whereas fairness does not come into addition, subtraction or multiplication. Some topics often not covered are introduced rather early, such as the concepts of divisibility and congruence.




Proofs Without Words III


Book Description

Proofs without words (PWWs) are figures or diagrams that help the reader see why a particular mathematical statement is true, and how one might begin to formally prove it true. PWWs are not new, many date back to classical Greece, ancient China, and medieval Europe and the Middle East. PWWs have been regular features of the MAA journals Mathematics Magazine and The College Mathematics Journal for many years, and the MAA published the collections of PWWs Proofs Without Words: Exercises in Visual Thinking in 1993 and Proofs Without Words II: More Exercises in Visual Thinking in 2000. This book is the third such collection of PWWs.