Presents an activity in which students predict the growth of the population of the United Stated using three different models. (Author/NB)

In this paper, we examine the use of an ordinary differential equation in modelling the SARS outbreak in Singapore. The model provides an excellent example of using mathematics in a real life situation. The mathematical concepts involved are accessible to students with A level Mathematics backgrounds. Data for the SARS epidemic in Singapore are…

Describes an experimental type of science course which involves theoretical and practical approaches to scientific topics by using mathematics to develop and explain scientific problems and theory. Gives an example of such a course applied to the teaching of physical anthropology. (MLH)

Achievements, limitations, and difficulties of social science simulation efforts are discussed with particular reference to three examples. The pedagogical use of complementary developmental, philosophical, mathematical, and scientific approaches is advocated to minimize potential abuses of social simulation research. (LS)

As part of a project designed to construct a mathematical model of the operation of an academic library, a research team determined the usefulness of a quantitative approach to making decisions about the number of copies of each item that a university library should provide. Using the reserve collection of the University of Lancaster Library as a…

This is a collection of articles dealing with mathematical applications for use by high school teachers and students. The articles are intended to illustrate several themes: (1) how mathematics is applied via construction of mathematical models; (2) the various types of activities in applied mathematics; (3) the role of pure mathematics in applied…

This report considers a university faculty which is divided into k grades. The total size is to remain fixed, but the proportions in the grades may vary. The problem is to find control strategies which will bring about desired changes in these proportions. This report is confined to investigating what can be achieved by controlling the numbers of…

The first part of the teachers' guide for "Finding Models" briefly describes the mathematical background necessary for the student, lists the substantive areas touched on by the problems in the pamphlet, suggests classroom uses for the booklet, and gives background information for the individual chapters. The second part provides complete…

This document, a report of a seminar arranged by the Royal Belgian Society of Engineers and Industrialists, contains 35 papers illustrating the application of modern mathematics in engineering. There are eleven sections: Statistics, Operational Research, Boolean Algebra, Numerical Analysis, Eigenvalues, variations, Integral Equations and…

Sixteen mathematicians from universities, schools and industries met for five days in 1966 to plan a "second round" curriculum which would place greater emphasis on the relevance of mathematics to problems of the real world. Their deliberations are reported in this document. The three main recommendations were that the curriculum should…

Efficient search of items in a store of information, such as books in a library, abstracts of articles, information in a computer data bank or the like, requires that the items most closely connected in content be close together, in order that a person looking for some particular information may concentrate his search on as small a part of the…

A scaling technique known as the Method of Reciprocal Averages has been in use since the early 1930's. This technique yields a set of item response weights for a psychological inventory which maximizes the internal consistency of the inventory for a group of subjects. Although the technique has been used for many years, its mathematical…

This article provides a manipulative demonstration of the relationship between the squares on the sides of a right triangle. Materials are listed and directions are given for the student. Illustrations are included. (Author/MA)

A course is described which gives students experience in creating practical mathematical models of "real" problems, relating the mathematical solutions of the model to the original problem, and recognizing non-mathematical constraints on possible solution approaches. The students assume the role of industrial mathematicians while their tutors play…