Mathematics galore! Masterclasses, workshops, and team projects in mathematics and its applications (Q2722654)

Mathematics is amazing in its power and beauty, and the way that it has applications in so many areas. The aim of this book is to stimulate young people to become interested in mathematics, to enthuse, inspire, and challenge them, their parents and their teachers with the wonder, excitement, power, and relevance of mathematics. Written in an informal style, the book describes how a variety of mathematical ideas relate to real life. Each chapter develops mathematical ideas in the context of interesting applications and then gives problem sheets, together with their solutions, and ideas for further work, team projects, and field trips. Topics include: mazes, folk dancing, sundials, magic, castles, codes, number systems, and slide rules. The authors have let themselves explore some areas of mathematics a long way from traditional courses: from mazes to folk dancing, and from knitting to castle design. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEHopefully, everyone of all ages, including young people, parents, teachers, or anyone interested in mathematics, will find this book fun and exiting to read the different chapters and the exercises these contain, and to discover more about mathematics by doing so. The aim of the core part of each chapter is to develop key mathematical ideas and to place them in the context of novel, interesting, and unexpected applications to real-world problems. For example, in the chapter on mazes a reader learns how to amaze his or her friends by cracking a maze and also learn about the theory of networks. In the chapter on sundials, as well as constructing an own sundial, a reader also learns some trigonometry. The main body of each chapter will be accessible to young people from the age of eleven, while some of the ideas for further work should interest, and challenge, older school and university students. This book is meant both to be read and to be used.