Over the past 10 years, national conferences and committees investigating the state of American mathematics education have advocated an increased emphasis on problem solving and mathematical modeling situations in the secondary school curriculum. However, little effort has been made to prepare secondary school teachers to use mathematical modeling…

Describes a process of mathematical investigation involving generalized Fibonacci sequences. Provides the derivation using expressions, BASIC programs, and numerical verification. (YP)

This is a collection of Pascal programs that were developed for a 1986 National Science Foundation-sponsored high school teachers' summer workshop. The programs can be used as a means of extending or enriching textbook material in either high school mathematics or Pascal courses. Some suggested uses are: (1) teacher demonstrations in mathematics…

Describes how three dimensional LOGO was used in a workshop session for secondary pupils and mathematics teachers. Provides many commands and output drawings. (YP)

This report includes the framework, the experiences, the benefits, student attitude survey results, typical computer screen output, and BASIC program listings for PROBLEM, a general computer system for homework management in a time-sharing environment that can handle any exercise in which students must calculate numerical results from numerical…

This paper describes a computer simulation of Buffon's needle problem. The problem considers the probability that a needle will cross a line when the needle is thrown in a random way onto the parallel lines a certain distance apart. The paper provides the algorithm and computer program. (YP)

In this middle school mathematics unit two imaginary characters, Horatio and Portia, decide to make their fortune in Quincy Market (Boston, Massachusetts) running a Bull Market cart. In order to solve the problems that they encounter, they need to learn ratio and proportion, map reading, estimation, area and perimeter, population sampling, problem…

This article discusses the analysis of a decision-making process faced by contestants on the television game show "The Price is Right". The included analyses of the original and related problems concern pattern searching, inductive reasoning, quadratic functions, and graphing. Computer simulation programs in BASIC and tables of…

Proposes an alternative means of approximating the value of complex integrals, the Monte Carlo procedure. Incorporating a discrete approach and probability, an approximation is obtained from the ratio of computer-generated points falling under the curve to the number of points generated in a predetermined rectangle. (MDH)

The purpose of this guide is to provide a resource for teacher use in computer mathematics instruction. Although it is not intended to be used as a textbook or a complete course syllabus, the guide does include a set of student objectives which are designed to define the content of a 1-year course in computer mathematics. The major focus of the…

Discusses the use of technology in solving compound interest-rate problems that can be modeled by linear relationships. Uses a graphing calculator to solve the specific problem of determining the amount of money that can be borrowed to buy a car for a given monthly payment and interest rate. (MDH)