Discusses the commercial for Skittles candies and asks the question "How many flavor combinations can you find?" Focuses on the modeling for a Skittles exercise which includes a brief outline of the mathematical modeling process. Guides students in the use of the binomial theorem and Pascal's triangle in this activity. (ASK)

Presents an overview of Chester Finn's and Zalman Usiskin's criticisms of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards and suggestions for improvement to the Standards. (AIM)

Helps students identify the animal that corresponds to the year of their birth according to the Chinese zodiac. Defines the structure of the Chinese zodiac so that the subsets of compatibles and opposites form closed substructures with interesting mathematical properties. (ASK)

Presents an experiment to test the statistical hypothesis that Oreo Double Stuf cookies contain twice as much filling as traditional Oreo cookies. (ASK)

Uses the average-monthly-temperature function as an application of the sine wave. Argues that the attractive aspect of gas bill graphs is that they clearly illustrate that sinusoidal curves are useful and meaningful in an everyday context. (ASK)

The unique factor of the Japanese educational system is the use of entrance examinations. Presents examples and comments on questions from those examinations. (ASK)

Presents results from a study that examined students' understanding of connections between algebraic and graphical representations of functions. Discusses a possible reason for the inadequate and often absent connections that students made between them. (ASK)

Discusses various mathematics topics and focuses on three questions: (1) "What is mathematics?"; (2) "What are good ingredients of teaching/learning mathematics?"; and (3) "What is the role of technology?" (Author/ASK)

Discusses descriptive and normative perspectives of mathematics and of (general) mathematics education which can be found in the didactic literature. Contemplates and evaluates the use of computer algebra systems and offers suggestions for basic knowledge and basic skills in a modern technology-supported mathematics classroom. (Contains 12…

Explores the derivation of empirical models for the stopping distance of a car being driven at a range of speeds. Indicates that the calculation of stopping distances makes an excellent example of empirical modeling because it is a situation that is readily understood and particularly relevant to many first-year undergraduates who are learning or…

The mathematician Charles Dodgson delighted in creating mathematical puzzles for his friends and students. This article describes some items that he included in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and explores ways of helping students become aware of the mathematics in the book. (Contains 6 figures.)

This article describes the pivotal roles that Marin Mersenne played--as a recreational mathematician in search of prime number patterns and as a mentor to young mathematicians and scientists. His work is used as an example for today's mathematics teachers in encouraging students to work together and creating environments that foster success for…

This article offers an engaging student activity that allows them to make a connection between seemingly different topics of drug testing procedure, logistic model, and iterations.

This article describes the variety of strategies that can be used to determine the probability that a player wins a tennis game, given a probability of 60 percent that he or she wins each point. The article suggests strategies for using the problem in 9-12 classrooms.

This article shows how Microsoft Excel's ability to vary parameters with sliders allows students to "stand on the shoulders of giants" and discover characteristics of polynomial functions.