Drop-In Tutoring Changes Spring 2015

Due to lack of need, the following Math Courses will no longer have a drop-in tutoring session: 

Calc. Mgmt. Life & Soc. Sci. II (M202)

The Calculus II (M206)

Theory of Arith. & Geom. (M217)

Geometry for Middle Grades (M218)

If you find you are in need of a tutor for one of these courses, please see your professor.

The following courses will still have drop-in Tutoring from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. in Kettering 219:

Elementary Statistics (M208) - Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays

Discrete Math II (M224) - Wednesdays

Math 450 Senior Seminar Presents "The Probability of Winning a Point, Game, and Set" on Tuesday, March 17

In a sweaty, heated game of racquetball there seems to be little time to think about the mathematics behind the fast-paced game. However, when one steps back from the life threatening sport of racquetball and looks at the probabilities that are incorporated into the game, it makes the sport that much more interesting. Throughout this talk, we will be looking at some of the research of Tom Brown and Brian Pasko and their discoveries of relations of mathematical probabilities to winning a point, a game, and a set in racquetball. Using geometric series and combinations, it is possible to show a player, whether he is better, worse or equally as good as his opponent, and the probability he has of winning a point, a game, and a set.

Math 450 Senior Seminar Presents

"The Probability of Winning a Point, Game, and Set"

by Jacob Ackerman

Tuesday, March 17, 4:30 p.m.

in Patterson 301

All are Welcome!

Happy Pi Day!

Celebrate National Pi Day this Saturday, March 14. Pi Day was created by physicist Larry Shaw at San Francisco's Exploratorium in 1988. It wasn't until 2009 that the U.S. House of Representatives officially recognized March 14 as National Pi Day.


"Pi, an infinite number with no pattern, has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits beyond its decimal point. This year is especially significant since the date, year and time (3/14/15 at 9:26 a.m. and 53 seconds) corresponds with the first 10 digits of Pi (3.141592653...), an occurrence that only happens once a century" (http://northofboston.wickedlocal.com/article/20150311/NEWS/150319900).

Enjoy Pi Day, Saturday, March 14!

Math 450 Senior Seminar Presented "Ford Circles, Continued Fractions, and Rational Approximation" on Tuesday, March 10

The presentation focused on the material presented by Ian Short in his article "Ford Circles, Continued Fractions, and Rational Approximations," which was published in The American Mathematical Monthly in February 2011. Ford Circles are a geometric representation of the relationship between continued fractions and approximation of real numbers by rational numbers. An introduction to some of these essential concepts were presented before delving into the material Short presented which further illuminated the mathematics behind rational approximation of real numbers. Short proves two major theorems along with a series of lemmas and corollaries. By proving these statements, Charles Michel ultimately showed that several of the key properties of continued fraction expansion and Diophantine approximations can be proven using Ford Circles and rewritten in terms of relationships between tangential Ford Circles, at the Math 450 Senior Seminar that was held on Tuesday, March 10.