Digital Commons Network^™

Pathways To Success In Pre-College Mathematics, Bob Madsen, Ted Hodgson, Carol Ward

Faculty Publications

Like most tribal colleges, Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC, Lame Deer, MT) offers a sequence of pre-college mathematics courses - Basic Mathematics, Introductory Algebra, and Intermediate Algebra - to assist students who lack college-level skills. To enhance student support, CDKC created the Student Learning Center, which is started by instructors and student interns and offers computer work stations.

Statistical Properties Of Thompson's Group And Random Pseudo Manifolds, Benjamin M. Woodruff

Theses and Dissertations

The first part of our work is a statistical and geometric study of properties of Thompson's Group F. We enumerate the number of elements of F which are represented by a reduced pair of n-caret trees, and give asymptotic estimates. We also discuss the effects on word length and number of carets of right multiplication by a standard generator x0 or x1. We enumerate the average number of carets along the left edge of an n-caret tree, and use an Euler transformation to make some conjectures relating to right multiplication by a generator. We describe a computer algorithm which produces …

To Journey Beyond Infinity, Kent A. Bessey

BYU Studies Quarterly

The notion of infinity has fascinated philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians for millennia. Its enigmatic nature seemed to thwart all attempts to unlock its secrets. Scriptural allusions to the infinite evoke a similar sense of mystery. Few have been as intrigued by the concept of infinity—or as tenacious in trying to understand it—as the German mathematician Georg Cantor. Between 1874 and 1884, Cantor published numerous papers that illuminated some of the shadowy regions of the infinite. He discovered a remarkable realm where half of a pie is as large as the whole, infinity comes in different sizes, and miracles are mathematically …

Reasoning About Motion: A Case Study, Tiffini Lynn Glaze

Theses and Dissertations

Several dance and industrial design students were given the opportunity to attend a non-traditional mathematics course. The nature of this course prompted student interaction and expected collaboration. My research focuses on one dance student, Sara, who did not consider herself a strong mathematics student, but who understood physical motion very well. This paper explores the evolution of Sara's representations for physical motion in a given task, and discusses her reasoning for keeping or dismissing various parts of her representations during the course of this task. I examine first how Sara learns mathematics with understanding in this task, and second how …

Bounding The Number Of Graphs Containing Very Long Induced Paths, Steven Kay Butler

Theses and Dissertations

Induced graphs are used to describe the structure of a graph, one such type of induced graph that has been studied are long paths.

In this thesis we show a way to represent such graphs in terms of an array with two colors and a labeled graph. Using this representation and the techniques of Polya counting we will then be able to get upper and lower bounds for graphs containing a long path as an induced subgraph.

In particular, if we let P(n,k) be the number of graphs on n+k vertices which contains P_n, a path on n vertices, as …

Mathematical Parables, J. W. Cannon

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Another Cautionary Note On Interpreting Regression Results In Family Research: A Comment On Peterson And Gerson (1992), Alan J. Hawkins, Joseph A. Olsen, Richard R. Peterson, Kathleen Gerson

Faculty Publications

Occasionally in the family literature we receive reminders to be cautious about our interpretations of regressions results (e.g., Glenn & Kramer, 1985; Glenn & Shelton, 1983). After all, regression results are stated in the language of mathematics. We must be careful when we translate from the language of mathematics, which is blind to the human situation being represented by the numbers, into language that is meaningful in the human context. This brief not critiques the interpretation of regression results in an article by Peterson and Gerson (1992) that appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Marriage and the …

From Pebbles To Commutators, Donald W. Robinson

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.