SENIOR  COMPS PRESENTATIONS

in Mathematics

  

 

Analyzing The Smarts Pyramid Puzzle

Daniel Park

Crystals are beautiful and fascinating substances that have captivated the attention of the general public and mathematicians alike for hundreds of years.  Their unique characteristics have been the subject of continual study and led to the development of crystallography (i.e. the study of the structures of crystals).  Group theory is an essential tool used in classifying these structures. In particular, crystals can be classified into 32 distinct crystallographic point groups, which are crystallographic groups that leave a common point fixed.  I will discuss the role of Group  Theory in crystallography and its role in determining the point group a crystal belongs to.

 

The Nine Card Trick:
Combinatorics in Magic Tricks

Daniel Perez

Crystals are beautiful and fascinating substances that have captivated the attention of the general public and mathematicians alike for hundreds of years.  Their unique characteristics have been the subject of continual study and led to the development of crystallography (i.e. the study of the structures of crystals).  Group theory is an essential tool used in classifying these structures. In particular, crystals can be classified into 32 distinct crystallographic point groups, which are crystallographic groups that leave a common point fixed.  I will discuss the role of Group  Theory in crystallography and its role in determining the point group a crystal belongs to.

 

Estimating Ratios of the
Means in Survey Sampling

Olivia Smith

Do games and puzzles involving numbers and strategy interest you?  The game of Nim is just that kind of game.  It has been played for hundreds of years under different names.  Nim is a simple, mathematical game in which two-players take turns removing objects from piles until no objects are left.  For such a simple concept, this game has quite a fascinating theory.  In this talk, modular arithmetic and binary numbers are used to develop a winning strategy for this game and variations of the game.  The importance of Nim to the Sprague-Grundy Theory for impartial games will also be discussed.

 

 

 

 

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

4:30pm-6:30pm

Fowler 302

 

**Refreshments Will Be Served**

Everyone is invited!