Slicing Pizzas, Racing Turtles, and Further Adventures in Applied Mathematics PDF Download

Author: Robert B. Banks
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691154996
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
Paperback reissue 2012; original copyright 1999.

Author: Robert B. Banks
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400843030
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
Have you ever daydreamed about digging a hole to the other side of the world? Robert Banks not only entertains such ideas but, better yet, he supplies the mathematical know-how to turn fantasies into problem-solving adventures. In this sequel to the popular Towing Icebergs, Falling Dominoes (Princeton, 1998), Banks presents another collection of puzzles for readers interested in sharpening their thinking and mathematical skills. The problems range from the wondrous to the eminently practical. In one chapter, the author helps us determine the total number of people who have lived on earth; in another, he shows how an understanding of mathematical curves can help a thrifty lover, armed with construction paper and scissors, keep expenses down on Valentine's Day. In twenty-six chapters, Banks chooses topics that are fairly easy to analyze using relatively simple mathematics. The phenomena he describes are ones that we encounter in our daily lives or can visualize without much trouble. For example, how do you get the most pizza slices with the least number of cuts? To go from point A to point B in a downpour of rain, should you walk slowly, jog moderately, or run as fast as possible to get least wet? What is the length of the seam on a baseball? If all the ice in the world melted, what would happen to Florida, the Mississippi River, and Niagara Falls? Why do snowflakes have six sides? Covering a broad range of fields, from geography and environmental studies to map- and flag-making, Banks uses basic algebra and geometry to solve problems. If famous scientists have also pondered these questions, the author shares the historical details with the reader. Designed to entertain and to stimulate thinking, this book can be read for sheer personal enjoyment.

Author: Robert B. Banks
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400846749
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Although we seldom think of it, our lives are played out in a world of numbers. Such common activities as throwing baseballs, skipping rope, growing flowers, playing football, measuring savings accounts, and many others are inherently mathematical. So are more speculative problems that are simply fun to ponder in themselves--such as the best way to score Olympic events. Here Robert Banks presents a wide range of musings, both practical and entertaining, that have intrigued him and others: How tall can one grow? Why do we get stuck in traffic? Which football player would have a better chance of breaking away--a small, speedy wide receiver or a huge, slow linebacker? Can California water shortages be alleviated by towing icebergs from Antarctica? What is the fastest the 100-meter dash will ever be run? The book's twenty-four concise chapters, each centered on a real-world phenomenon, are presented in an informal and engaging manner. Banks shows how math and simple reasoning together may produce elegant models that explain everything from the federal debt to the proper technique for ski-jumping. This book, which requires of its readers only a basic understanding of high school or college math, is for anyone fascinated by the workings of mathematics in our everyday lives, as well as its applications to what may be imagined. All will be rewarded with a myriad of interesting problems and the know-how to solve them. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Author: Robert B. Banks
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691158185
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Paperback ressiue, for the Princeton Puzzler's Series, 2013.

Author: John A. Adam
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400841011
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
From rainbows, river meanders, and shadows to spider webs, honeycombs, and the markings on animal coats, the visible world is full of patterns that can be described mathematically. Examining such readily observable phenomena, this book introduces readers to the beauty of nature as revealed by mathematics and the beauty of mathematics as revealed in nature. Generously illustrated, written in an informal style, and replete with examples from everyday life, Mathematics in Nature is an excellent and undaunting introduction to the ideas and methods of mathematical modeling. It illustrates how mathematics can be used to formulate and solve puzzles observed in nature and to interpret the solutions. In the process, it teaches such topics as the art of estimation and the effects of scale, particularly what happens as things get bigger. Readers will develop an understanding of the symbiosis that exists between basic scientific principles and their mathematical expressions as well as a deeper appreciation for such natural phenomena as cloud formations, halos and glories, tree heights and leaf patterns, butterfly and moth wings, and even puddles and mud cracks. Developed out of a university course, this book makes an ideal supplemental text for courses in applied mathematics and mathematical modeling. It will also appeal to mathematics educators and enthusiasts at all levels, and is designed so that it can be dipped into at leisure.

Author: Kam Tim Chau
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 042989435X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 805

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Book Description
This second of two comprehensive reference texts on differential equations continues coverage of the essential material students they are likely to encounter in solving engineering and mechanics problems across the field - alongside a preliminary volume on theory. This book covers a very broad range of problems, including beams and columns, plates, shells, structural dynamics, catenary and cable suspension bridge, nonlinear buckling, transports and waves in fluids, geophysical fluid flows, nonlinear waves and solitons, Maxwell equations, Schrodinger equations, celestial mechanics and fracture mechanics and dynamics. The focus is on the mathematical technique for solving the differential equations involved. All readers who are concerned with and interested in engineering mechanics problems, climate change, and nanotechnology will find topics covered in this book providing valuable information and mathematics background for their multi-disciplinary research and education.

Author: T.S. Michael
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801897041
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
An “accessible and engaging” tool for understanding the branch of mathematics that is so crucial to modern computer science, using real-life problems (Mathematical Reviews). What is the maximum number of pizza slices one can get by making four straight cuts through a circular pizza? How does a computer determine the best set of pixels to represent a straight line on a computer screen? How many people at a minimum does it take to guard an art gallery? Discrete mathematics has the answer to these—and many other—questions of picking, choosing, and shuffling. T. S. Michael’s gem of a book brings this vital but tough-to-teach subject to life using examples from the real world and popular culture. Each chapter uses one problem—such as slicing a pizza—to detail key concepts about counting numbers and arranging finite sets. Michael takes a different perspective in tackling each of eight problems and explains them in differing degrees of generality, showing in the process how the same mathematical concepts appear in varied guises and contexts. In doing so, he imparts a broader understanding of the ideas underlying discrete mathematics and helps readers appreciate and understand mathematical thinking and discovery. This book explains the basic concepts of discrete mathematics and demonstrates how to apply them in largely nontechnical language. The explanations and formulas can be grasped with a basic understanding of linear equations.

Author: James Elander
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1669876284
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
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Author: Rajeev Bansal
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118458176
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
This book covers the study of electromagnetic wave theory and describes how electromagnetic technologies affect our daily lives. From ER to ET: How Electromagnetic Technologies Are Changing Our Lives explores electromagnetic wave theory including its founders, scientific underpinnings, ethical issues, and applications through history. Utilizing a format of short essays, this book explains in a balanced, and direct style how electromagnetic technologies are changing the world we live in and the future they may create for us. Quizzes at the end of each chapter provide the reader with a deeper understanding of the material. This book is a valuable resource for microwave engineers of varying levels of experience, and for instructors to motivate their students and add depth to their assignments. In addition, this book: Presents topics that investigate all aspects of electromagnetic technology throughout history Explores societal and global issues that relate to the field of electrical engineering (emphasized in current ABET accreditation criteria) Includes quizzes relevant to every essay and answers which explain technical perspectives Rajeev Bansal, PhD, is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Connecticut. He is a member of IEEE and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. He is a Fellow of the Electromagnetics Academy. His editing credits include Fundamentals of Engineering Electromagnetics and Engineering Electromagnetics: Applications. Dr. Bansal contributes regular columns to IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine and IEEE Microwave Magazine.

Author: Marcel Danesi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192593781
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
As the famous Pythagorean statement reads, 'Number rules the universe', and its veracity is proven in the many mathematical discoveries that have accelerated the development of science, engineering, and even philosophy. A so called "art of the mind", mathematics has guided and stimulated many aspects of human innovation down through the centuries. In this book, Marcel Danesi presents a historical overview of the ten greatest achievements in mathematics, and dynamically explores their importance and effects on our daily lives. Considered as a chain of events rather than isolated incidents, Danesi takes us from the beginnings of modern day mathematics with Pythagoras, through the concept of zero, right the way up to modern computational algorithms. Loaded with thought-provoking practical exercises and puzzles, Pythagoras' Legacy allows the reader to apply their knowledge and discover the significance of mathematics in their everyday lives.