The fraction 16 over 64 has a well known, interesting property. If one incorrectly cancels the sixes, a correct answer of 1 over 4 is obtained. This is an example of a lucky fraction. In this article, the author presents several examples of lucky fractions and proves two interesting properties of these fractions. This article provides students the…

Each ellipse and hyperbola has a circle associated with it called the director circle. In this article, the author derives the equations of the circle for the ellipse and hyperbola through a different approach. Then the author concentrates on the director circle of the central conic given by the general quadratic equation. The content of this…

In discussions with leading educators from many different fields, MAA's CRAFTY (Curriculum Renewal Across the First Two Years) committee found that one of the most common mathematical themes in those other disciplines is the idea of fitting a function to a set of data in the least squares sense. The representatives of those partner disciplines…

Timing stoplights and trying to determine the best way to allocate cycle time to the two directions is discussed. The simple case and improving the model are both considered. (MNS)

Aims for students to use a combination of stochastic ideas to simulate a basketball tournament. Uses the TI-83 calculator in the activity to simulate the binomial distribution. (KHR)

Presented is a method for factoring quadratic equations that helps the teacher demonstrate how to eliminate guessing through establishment of the connection between multiplication and factoring. Included are examples that allow the student to understand the link between the algebraic and the pictorial representations of quadratic equations. (JJK)

Introduces a model of differential equations for students--a very real overpopulation problem is occurring in the Ndumu Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where one species of antelope, the Nyala, is crowding out another species, the Bushbuck. Constructs a competing species model to mathematically describe what is occurring in Ndumu.…

Adds a cropping or harvesting term to the animal overpopulation model developed in Part I of this article. Investigates various harvesting strategies that might suggest a solution to the overpopulation problem without actually culling any animals. (ASK)

Shows how, with little or no electrical background, students can apply Boolean algebra concepts to design and build integrated electrical circuits in the classroom that will reinforce important ideas in mathematics. (PK)

Promotes the use of logistic modeling in high school and early college mathematics, to compare this model to commonly used models, and to give an alternative to the TI-83 built-in logistic-regression key method when that method fails to converge or gives an inappropriate model. (ASK)

Provides a number of basic mathematical models of enrollment trends at a college or university. Seeks to model the effects of retention and recruitment. Utilizes Mathematica in this activity, which introduces students to the notion of modeling something relevant to their campus. (ASK)

Presents a simple method for estimating the volatility of stock prices and uses a spreadsheet to apply the method to actual stock prices. This method is an application of parameter estimation and can be used in an introductory statistics course. (KHR)

Presents two mathematical methods for fitting the logistic curve to population data supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau utilizing computer algebra software to carry out the computations and plot graphs. (JKK)

An individualized project is introduced to accompany a differential equations course with different modules ranging from standard to advanced levels with "Matlab" scripts. (Contains 1 figure.)

Presents a review of microcomputer-based software packages that have been designed for Operations Research, Management Science, and Production and Operations Management. Listed for each package are price for student use, minimum system requirements needed to run the package, and maximum capability constraints. (PK)