Discussed are the mathematical methods for detecting a variety of common error patterns within the bar-coded identification numbers utilized in conjunction with scanning devices. Schemes for the use of check digits are examined that ensure conditions for detecting errors of specific types, including single digit error, transposition error, twin…

Presents five teaching ideas which incorporate ideas related to baseball. Includes student worksheets. (MKR)

A sample of novel verbal problems which can be solved by using systems of linear equations with free variables is presented. The procedure of Gaussian elimination is used to solve the system. (KR)

The study of aerodynamics using a wind tunnel helps students develop an understanding of the basic scientific concepts of lift, drag, and stability and their applications. Directions for building a wind tunnel in the classroom and activities for using the tunnel are provided. (KR)

Presents an activity in which students use mathematical thinking and applications to analyze Major League Baseball home run data. (ASK)

Demonstrates that the equation of a circle (x-h)2 + (y-k)2 = r2 with center (h; k) and radius r reduces to a quadratic equation x2-2xh + (h2 + k2 -r2) = O at the intersection with the x-axis. Illustrates how to determine the center of a circle as well as a point on a circle. (Author/ASK)

Discusses the mathematics used by Bernard Harris, Jr., the first African American astronaut to walk in space who is also an engineer, physician, medical research scientist, and pioneer space doctor. Includes a mission specialist activity sheet about understanding the magnitude of living in space. (MKR)

Describes what may be called the next step in making the most effective use of real-life problems in collaborative learning exercises for the classroom. Proceeds from two premises: real-life problems should be used to introduce concepts, and students need to experience mathematics as a process. Illustrates a series of group projects that develop…

Part of a series exploring how mathematics is used in the workplace. Software developers and statisticians record data of hockey games and players using statistics accessible to middle school students. (MM)

Provides teaching suggestions for metric units incorporating humor. Includes teaching suggestions and rubrics. Also includes connections to other subject areas in literature, science, and mathematics. (MM)

The motivation of students is of great import to mathematics teachers. Such an abstract powerful language needs to be valued or students will not wish to study it. This article argues that mathematics may be better appreciated through the beauty of the language in which problems are written, respect for the cultures of others and through relevance…

Here we give an example of a problem that could be beneficially investigated by AS/A level students. It is a geometry problem that they can profitably tackle by geometric (especially geometry software) and algebraic means. Such problems naturally lead students to the need for proof--an essential part of mathematics that is often lacking in current…

This article conceptualises a real-like model of a mathematical model as an inverse model. The inverse model draws on the un-complexity of concrete real life operations in order to help students to add concrete meaning to mathematical algorithms. The inverse model is described in the context of a pedagogical perception, which grants students in…

This paper explores the development of students' knowledge of mathematical procedures. Students' tendency to develop rote knowledge of procedures has been widely commented on. An alternative, more flexible endpoint for the development of procedural knowledge is explored here, where students choose to deviate from established solving patterns on…