The paper presents results of two case studies with undergraduate students majoring in applied mathematics and engineering. The first case study deals with students' preferences for and difficulties with application problems and pure mathematics questions in their courses. The students were majoring in applied mathematics and taking a second-year…

Revisits and discusses the polar bear problem that was published in the March 1997 issue. The problem concerns a riddle: If you walk one mile south, one mile east, and one mile north, and end up in the same spot as you started, what kind of bear would you see? (ASK)

Poses a practical woodwork problem in which maximizing the perimeter of a square-based pyramid is required. The pyramid is constructed from four identical trapezia to be cut from a given rectangle of wood. A simple mathematical analysis suggests a number of different strategies for the solution of the problem. (Author/NB)

Describes some real-life problem situations and the mathematical applications used to solve the situations in order to promote an inquiring and problem-posing approach. (MKR)

Explains an application of mathematical modeling within a school setting as well as progressive use of graphing calculators in mathematical modeling. Analyzes students' performances in the process of problem-solving using the problem of baton-passing in relay races. Discusses students' use of their mathematical knowledge and ideas when they used…

Presents a game in which if player is playing a match of this game with an opponent, at each step in the game he has to decide whether to continue or to stop. Helps students to develop a strategy for making such a decision based on the expected gain and related probabilities. (Author/ASK)