We adapt the Lanchester combat model to represent conflict between vampires and humans. It is assumed that vampires attack humans during the hours of darkness whilst humans attack vampires during the hours of light. The right-hand side of the differential equation model therefore depends upon the hour of the day. A key insight is that to answer…

The hanging rope problem is considered. The rope is subject to rotation with the rotation axis being parallel to the rope. Using a continuum model and the basic principles of dynamics, the differential equation governing the motion is derived. The dynamic equilibrium case without vibrational motion is assumed in deriving the equation. The equation…

Mathematical modelling is an interlinking process between mathematics and real-world problems that can be applied as a means to increase motivation, develop cognitive competencies, and enhance the ability to transfer mathematical knowledge to other areas of science, such as engineering disciplines. This study was designed to investigate the effect…

Background/purpose: This study aims to analyze students' ability to solve differential calculus problems in relation to their prior mathematical knowledge (PMK). Materials/methods: A qualitative research design method was employed. Participants in this study were 103 third-semester students at the university enrolled in the Differential Calculus…

Achieving proficiency in fundamental differential calculus concepts remains a persistent challenge for grade 12 students, raising concerns among mathematics teachers and policymakers. Despite the widely acknowledged applications of differential calculus across diverse disciplines, global examination diagnostic reports consistently highlight…

The objective of this work is to show an educational path for combinatorics and graph theory that has the aim, on one hand, of helping students understand some discrete mathematics properties, and on the other, of developing modelling skills through a robust understanding. In particular, for the path proposed to middle-school students, we used a…

Among the problems identified at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, low achievement in mathematical subjects is the most prominent one. This paper documents a qualitative case study undertaken at TVET College in Gauteng with the purpose of exploring the National Certificate Vocational (NC(V)) Level 4 students' errors…

This article makes a case for introducing moving averages into introductory statistics courses and contemporary modeling/data-based courses in college algebra and precalculus. The authors examine a variety of aspects of moving averages and draw parallels between them and similar topics in calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. The…

This research contributes to the need to identify and expand learning environments that encourage undergraduate students to develop collaborative work skills and apply their classroom knowledge to solve real-world problems. Using qualitative methods, we examine the effects of the interaction between two teams of students when solving a…

Special tutorials both online and off-line were experimented in order to provide extra support for the senior pre-service mathematics teachers at an Australian regional university to improve their learning experience and achieve the best possible learning outcomes in an advanced mathematics course focusing on solving ordinary differential…

In this study, we examined one experienced mathematician's class practices, with particular attention to cognitive model described in genetic decomposition. Our findings indicate that students only had limited opportunities to be familiar with the first three steps in genetic decomposition, which may potentially lead students to answer limit tasks…

Recently a teacher friend enquired about the S-I-R equations for disease spread, and what follows was stimulated by that exchange. COVID-19 provides an opportunity to put mathematical flesh on verbal bones such as "self-isolation", "lockdown", "herd immunity", "flattening the curve", "closed…

Single-period inventory models with uncertain demand are very well known in the business analytics community. Typically, such models are rule-based functions, or sets of functions, of one decision variable (order quantity) and one random variable (demand). In academics, the models are taught selectively and usually not completely. Students are…

This study investigated how problem-solving videos can be used in video-mediated professional learning to support secondary preservice mathematics teachers (PMTs) in developing teacher knowledge for noticing student thinking in the context of the derivative concept in calculus. A model of the trajectory of PMTs' noticing was constructed as six…

This study investigates prospective elementary and secondary school mathematics teachers' ways of reasoning about differentiability at a point and corner points while working on a mathematical modelling activity. Adopting a multiple-case study design, the participants of the study were 68 prospective elementary school mathematics teachers enrolled…