Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Life Cut Short, Cacey L. Wells

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Connecting scholars and students with the human side of mathematics is critical. This poem about Évariste Galois provides a synopsis of his controversial life, while also providing details into his life that some may not be familiar with.

Quasipositive Braids And Ribbon Surfaces, Rachel Snyder

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Meant to serve as an accessible exploration of knot theory for undergraduates and those without much experience in topology, this paper will start by exploring the basics of knot theory and will work through investigating the relationships between knots and surfaces, ending with an analysis of the relationship between quasipositive braids and surfaces in 4-space. We will begin by defining a knot and introducing the ways in which we are able to manipulate them. Following that, we will explore the basics of surfaces, building up to a proof that all surfaces are homeomorphic to a series of disks and bands …

Permission To Add: Math-Teaching Limericks, Marion D. Cohen

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Throughout my years and decades of being a teacher, I have written limericks about every course I’ve taught, and sometimes courses I haven’t taught but reviewed textbooks in. Here I share several of these limericks.

Regression Analysis: Graduation Rate In Kentucky Public High Schools, Rebecca Price

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Kentucky’s Public High School graduation rates vary widely across the rural and urban regions in the state. In addition to their graduation rates, each of these schools have their own unique demographics, funding, teacher-student ratio, etc. that define said school’s identity. This research aims to analyze the aforementioned variables, as well as other variables listed on each school state report card, in order to create a model to predict any school’s graduation rate.

In order to create this model, data was taken on all public high schools in Kentucky from the Kentucky Department of Education’s School Report Card. Data were …