Mathematics Commons^™

Randomness: Developing An Understanding Of Mathematical Order, Steve Humble

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Is randomness merely the human inability to recognise a pattern that may in fact exist?

The three activities described show how order can be found in seemly random activities. The author has found that by using these activities on randomness, his students have developed a greater understanding of mathematical pattern and sequence. The teaching mathematical concepts in this way, engages and reinforces learning. It puts the ideas learnt into a setting and allows time for those ideas to be developed without any of the maths hang-ups which can sometimes occur in the classroom. By taking the maths beyond the classroom, …

The Constructs Of Phd Students About Infinity: An Application Of Repertory Grids, Serdar Aztekin, Ahmet Arikan, Bharath Sriraman

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Infinity has been one of the more difficult concepts for humanity to grasp. A major component of the research on mathematics education related to infinity has been the study of student’s conceptions and reasoning about calculus subjects, particularly limits and series. Some related studies are about Cantor’s ordinal and cardinal infinity. However since most students at the high school and college level are unfamiliar with symbolic representations and terminology, such as a set theoretic approach, a context (generally geometric) is used for investigating notions of infinity indirectly. In this paper we report on a study on the constructs of PhD …

When Is .999... Less Than 1?, Karin Usadi Katz, Mikhail G. Katz

The Mathematics Enthusiast

We examine alternative interpretations of the symbol described as nought, point, nine recurring. Is "an infinite number of 9s" merely a figure of speech? How are such alternative interpretations related to infinite cardinalities? How are they expressed in Lightstone's "semicolon" notation? Is it possible to choose a canonical alternative interpretation? Should unital evaluation of the symbol .999... be inculcated in a pre-limit teaching environment? The problem of the unital evaluation is hereby examined from the pre-R, pre-lim viewpoint of the student.

Bringing Toric Codes To The Next Dimension, Ivan Soprunov, Jenya Soprunova

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

This paper is concerned with the minimum distance computation for higher dimensional toric codes defined by lattice polytopes in $\mathbb{R}^n$. We show that the minimum distance is multiplicative with respect to taking the product of polytopes, and behaves in a simple way when one builds a k-dilate of a pyramid over a polytope. This allows us to construct a large class of examples of higher dimensional toric codes where we can compute the minimum distance explicitly.

Alternative Technical Efficiency Measures: Skew, Bias, And Scale, William Clinton Horrace, Qu Feng

Center for Policy Research

In the fixed-effects stochastic frontier model an efficiency measure relative to the best firm in the sample is universally employed. This paper considers a new measure relative to the worst firm in the sample. We find that estimates of this measure have smaller bias than those of the traditional measure when the sample consists of many firms near the efficient frontier. Moreover, a two-sided measure relative to both the best and the worst firms is proposed. Simulations suggest that the new measures may be preferred depending on the skewness of the inefficiency distribution and the scale of efficiency differences.

Hybridization And Postprocessing Techniques For Mixed Eigenfunctions, Bernardo Cockburn, Jay Gopalakrishnan, F. Li, Ngoc Cuong Nguyen, Jaume Peraire

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We introduce hybridization and postprocessing techniques for the Raviart–Thomas approximation of second-order elliptic eigenvalue problems. Hybridization reduces the Raviart–Thomas approximation to a condensed eigenproblem. The condensed eigenproblem is nonlinear, but smaller than the original mixed approximation. We derive multiple iterative algorithms for solving the condensed eigenproblem and examine their interrelationships and convergence rates. An element-by-element postprocessing technique to improve accuracy of computed eigenfunctions is also presented. We prove that a projection of the error in the eigenspace approximation by the mixed method (of any order) superconverges and that the postprocessed eigenfunction approximations converge faster for smooth eigenfunctions. Numerical experiments using …

The Fundamental Gap For Hyperbolic Triangles, Dennis Stuart Fillebrown

Honors Theses

In 1983, M. van den Berg made his Fundamental Gap Conjecture about the difference between the first two Dirichlet eigenvalues (the fundamental gap) of any convex domain in the Euclidean plane. Recently, progress has been made in the case where the domains are polygons and, in particular, triangles. We examine the conjecture for triangles in hyperbolic geometry, though we seek an for an upper bound for the fundamental gap rather than a lower bound.

Edge Coloring Bibds And Constructing Moelrs , John S. Asplund

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Chapter 1 is used to introduce the basic tools and mechanics used within this thesis. Some historical uses and background are touched upon as well. The majority of the definitions are contained within this chapter as well.

In Chapter 2 we consider the question whether one can decompose λ copies of monochromatic K_v into copies of K_k such that each copy of the K_k contains at most one edge from each K_v. This is called a proper edge coloring (Hurd, Sarvate, [29]). The majority of the content in this section is a wide variety of …

On Osgood's Criterion For Classical Wave Equations And Nonlinear Shallow Water Wave Equations, Timothy Smith, Greg Spradlin

Publications

The problem on classical solutions for the wave equation and the BBM equation is considered. The equations are considered with a forcing term and sufficient conditions of solvability, existence and uniqueness are established.

Ethnomathematics For Capacity Building In Mathematics Education, Catherine P. Vistro-Yu

Mathematics Faculty Publications

The Mathematics Framework for Philippine Basic Education (MATHTED and SEI, in press), a document that aims to guide the development of curricular contents in mathematics, identifies cultural-rootedness as one of the cognitive values that mathematics education in the Philippines must inculcate. Cultural-rootedness is defined as ?appreciating the cultural value of mathematics and its origins in many cultures, its rich history and how it has grown and continues to evolve?. Ethnomathematics, described as the ?mathematics which is practiced among identifiable cultural groups, such as national tribal societies, labor groups, children of a certain age bracket, professional classes and so on? (D?Ambrosio, …

Situating Sotl Within The Disciplines: Mathematics In The United States As A Case Study, Jacqueline Dewar, Curtis Bennett

Mathematics, Statistics and Data Science Faculty Works

After two decades of work, many in the SoTL community are pondering the future of the SoTL movement. Will it sustain its influence? Will it continue to attract new participants? What role should the disciplines play? From the perspective of mathematics, this paper examines efforts by the Carnegie Academy and individuals within the mathematical community to build disciplinary support for the scholarship of teaching and learning. The authors, both mathematicians and Carnegie scholars, restrict their observations to the efforts undertaken in the United States during the last decade and examine the situation in mathematics in greater depth than has heretofore …

On The Construction Of Explicit Solutions To The Matrix Equation X2ax = Axa, Ed Mosteig, Aihua Li

Mathematics, Statistics and Data Science Faculty Works

In a previous article by Aihua Li and Duane Randall, the existence of solutions to certain matrix equations is demonstrated via nonconstructive methods. A recurring example appears in that work, namely the matrix equation AXA=X2AX, where A is a fixed, square matrix with real entries and X is an unknown square matrix. In this paper, the solution space is explicitly constructed for all 2×2 complex matrices using Gr ̈obner basis techniques. When A is a 2×2 matrix, the equation AXA=X2AXis equivalent to a system of four polynomial equations. The solution space then is the variety defined by the polynomials involved. …

Derived Categories And The Analytic Approach To General Reciprocity Laws. Part Iii, Michael Berg

Mathematics, Statistics and Data Science Faculty Works

Building on the scaffolding constructed in the first two articles in this series, we now proceed to the geometric phase of our sheaf (-complex) theoretic quasidualization of Kubota's formalism for n-Hilbert reciprocity. Employing recent work by Bridgeland on stability conditions, we extend our yoga of t-structures situated above diagrams of specifically designed derived categories to arrangements of metric spaces or complex manifolds. This prepares the way for proving n-Hilbert reciprocity by means of singularity analysis.

Epimorphisms And Boundary Slopes Of 2–Bridge Knots, Jim Hoste, Patrick D. Shanahan

Mathematics, Statistics and Data Science Faculty Works

In this article we study a partial ordering on knots in S³ where K₁≥K₂ if there is an epimorphism from the knot group of K₁ onto the knot group of K₂ which preserves peripheral structure. If K₁ is a 2–bridge knot and K₁≥K₂, then it is known that K₂ must also be 2–bridge. Furthermore, Ohtsuki, Riley and Sakuma give a construction which, for a given 2–bridge knot K_p∕q, produces infinitely many 2–bridge knots K_p′/q′ with K_p′∕q′≥K_p∕q. After characterizing all 2–bridge knots …

Spark-Induced Sparks As A Mechanism Of Intracellular Calcium Alternans In Cardiac Myocytes, Robert J. Rovetti, Xiaohua Cui, Alan Garfinkel, James N. Weiss, Zhilin Qu

Mathematics, Statistics and Data Science Faculty Works

Rationale: Intracellular calcium (Ca) alternans has been widely studied in cardiac myocytes and tissue, yet the underlying mechanism remains controversial.

Objective: In this study, we used computational modeling and simulation to study how randomly occurring Ca sparks interact collectively to result in whole-cell Ca alternans.

Methods and Results: We developed a spatially-distributed intracellular Ca cycling model in which Ca release units (CRUs) are locally coupled by Ca diffusion throughout the myoplasm and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) network. Ca sparks occur randomly in the CRU network when periodically paced with a clamped voltage waveform, but Ca alternans develops as the pacing speeds …

Investigating Mathematical Literacy Through Teacher Language, Alyson Lischka

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators

Communication about mathematical concepts using appropriate terminology is a standard established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. However, international test results show that United States’ students are lagging in mathematical literacy. This case study analyzes the ways in which instructors use language to help students move toward conceptual understanding of mathematical vocabulary. Three mathematics education professors at a mid-size four year institution were observed teaching math classes to students enrolled in elementary or secondary certification programs. Collected data included: audio-recorded observations and field notes, lesson artifacts such as quizzes and handouts, and audio-recorded interviews with each participant. Findings …

[Introduction To] Ordinary And Particial Differential Equations: An Introduction To Dynamical Systems, John W. Cain, Angela M. Reynolds

Bookshelf

Differential equations arise in a variety of contexts, some purely theoretical and some of practical interest. As you read this textbook, you will find that the qualitative and quantitative study of differential equations incorporates an elegant blend of linear algebra and advanced calculus. This book is intended for an advanced undergraduate course in differential equations. The reader should have already completed courses in linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and introductory differential equations.

Evolving Models: A Density-Based Approach To Modeling Sexual Dimorphism And Adaptive Speciation, Audrey Smith

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In this paper, we begin by extending existing deterministic and individual-based ecological models for sexual dimorphism and adaptive speciation into density-based mathematical models describing the density or number of individuals with various trait values, or phenotypes. These density-based models describe the dynamics of a population of males and females using both clonal and sexual reproduction. Each generation, the populations are subject to mating, mutation, and ecological dynamics including infraspecific competition and carrying capacity of the environment. By avoiding individual-based models, we are able to avoid simulations and instead achieve repeatable results.

Implementing these models numerically, we are able to show …

Numerical Solution Of The Five-Moment Ideal Two-Fluid Equations In One Dimension, Marcus Scott

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Plasmas are frequently treated as a single conducting fluid and modeled using the equations of magnetohydrodynamics. However, this regime works better for low-frequency plasmas. High-frequency plasmas may be modeled using the principles of kinetic theory. For plasmas with frequencies between these two extremes, a two-fluid approach can yield better results. In 2006, Ammar Hakim mathematically modeled a plasma with a set of equations called the five-moment ideal two-fluid equations. An attempt is made reproduce those results. A derivation of this set of equations by taking moments of the Boltzmann equation is presented. Electric and magnetic fields contribute to the source …

Assessment Of Utah Bankruptcies By Census Tracts: A Spatial Statistical Approach, Kenneth Pena

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

There are two questions raised when looking at the spatial pattern of the rate of bankruptcies in Utah: (i) are there similarities between the bankruptcy data in adjacent census tracts and (ii) can local cluster and outliers be identified within the data? Specifically, are there similar rates of bankruptcies in bordering census tracts and are there any localized areas of interest where we find extremely high or extremely low rates of bankruptcies? This study uses spatial statistics to perform tests for spatial autocorrelation to address these two questions. It also looks at commonalities in the clusters and differences in the …