A model of expertise in physics was tested on a sample of 374 college students in 2 different level physics courses. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to expert performance in physics including strategy use, pictorial representation, categorization skills, and motivation, and these…

This study investigates the responses to prior knowledge errors that Calculus I instructors make when assessing students. Prior knowledge is operationalized as any skill or understanding that a student needs to successfully navigate through a Calculus I course. A two part qualitative study consisting of student exams and instructor interviews was…

Parametric differentiation is used to derive the partial fractions decompositions of certain rational functions. Those decompositions enable us to integrate some new combinations of trigonometric functions.

Using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), we examined the extent to which students' mathematics coursework regulates (influences) the rate of growth in mathematics achievement during middle and high school. Graphical analysis showed that students who started middle school with higher achievement took individual mathematics…

The use of "MapleTA"[R] in the assessment of engineering mathematics at Liverpool John Moores University (JMU) is discussed with particular reference to the design of questions. Key aspects in the formulation and coding of questions are considered. Problems associated with the submission of symbolic answers, the use of randomly generated numbers…

I report on the findings from research and literature on (a) use of symbols in mathematics, (b) algebraic/trigonometric expressions, (c) solving equations, and (d) functions and calculus. From these, some insights and implications for teaching and learning are derived.

The typical precalculus book contains the obscure trigonometric identities known as the product-to-sum formulas. They usually get short treatment (or none) in a precalculus course because they are so rarely used. This is unfortunate since they have an interesting history. Before the invention of logarithms they were used to perform multiplications…

The question is addressed of choosing four points on the circumference of an ellipse so that the quadrilateral formed has maximum area. (MP)

The second of three volumes of a mathematics training course for Navy personnel, this document contains material primarily found at the college level. Beginning with logarithms and trigonometry, the text moves into vectors and static equilibrium (physics). Coordinate geometry, conic sections, and the tangents, normals, and slopes of curves follow.…

Brief articles on topological regular solids giving a proof of Euler's Theorem and the Regularity Theorem; calculus theorems; including a limit theorem, the Law of the Man, and the Intermediate Value Theorem, applied to catching calves, drunk cowboys, and the border of Montana Respectively; and a discussion of the inequality tan A<A<sin A…

The notion that the area of an inscribed n-sided polygon approaches the area of a circle as n approaches infinity leads to some interesting limits involving trigonometric functions. (MP)

An identity for sin x/x is proved. Rate of convergence, a geometric interpretation, and an application from physics are discussed. (DT)