Presents a sample lesson plan (suitable for grades 6-10) and examples of other problems useful in teaching data processing skills. The plan (focusing on planning investigations, data collection, and data processing) is based on the Data Processing Operation Guide, a 10-step model of intellectual operations that can be used in problem solving. (JN)

Discusses two mathematical ideas that come from the Incan and Mayan cultures: (1) the quipus, an Incan recordkeeping tool that encoded data via a logical-numerical system on spatial arrays of colored, knotted cords; and (2) the link between recording time and counting in the Mayan culture. (MDH)

Describes the use of the Apple Macintosh and MULTIPLAN spreadsheet to record and analyze test data. Provides step-by-step instructions on data entry, item difficulty and discrimination calculations, test reliability, score distribution, and graphing of distributions. (JM)

Illustrates how teachers or students can use spreadsheets. Shows the layouts, formulas, and data of two cases: budget manager and data manager. Seven references are listed. (YP)

Cryptography is the science that renders data unintelligible to prevent its unauthorized disclosure or modification. Presents an application of matrices used in linear transformations to illustrate a cryptographic system. An example is provided. (17 references) (MDH)

This publication is composed of documentation material and a user's guide for the software used in this course. The materials in this book are extracted from an introductory college mathematics course designed to prepare high school students who have completed Algebra 2 for the variety of mathematics courses encountered in college. The principal…