From: GROVE::GFQD 19-FEB-1997 13:00:08.86 To: MATH_FACULTY CC: Subj: MATHINK - Feb.'97 MATHINK The Voice of IUPÕs Mathematics Department Welcome back, MATHINK readers. With Lisa CerasoÕs departure for a teaching position in Leechburg, Rebecca StoudtÕs maternity leave, and my transformation from a high school mathematics teacher to a grad. assistant, it has taken awhile. But MATHINK is finally back. If you are a new reader, MATHINK is an electronic newsletter for the IUP Mathematics Department whose purpose is to provide information to you. If you have any contributions, suggestions, etc. for upcoming newsletters, please e-mail me (Mary Lou Metz) at GFQD or deposit them in the folder in the Math Dept. office. + + + + + + + + + + + ITÕS A BOY!! Congratulations Drs. Rebecca and Gary Stoudt. Scott Lyter Stoudt entered the world on January 1, 1997 weighing in at 8 lb. 9 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches. + + + + + + + + + + + SUMMER/FALL 97 SCHEDULE OF CLASSES The entire summer and fall Ô97 schedule of classes is now available on the Web. The printed booklet wonÕt be available until March 10, so this is an opposrunity to get a head start on planning your schedule. You can reach the schedule of classes by going to the Campuswide Information System page at http://www.iup.edu/cwis. Follow the link to ÒStudent ServicesÓ and then to ÒRegistrar and Scheduling Center.Ó - Ed Donley * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SAY YES TO YES IUP-YES (Youth Experience in Summer) offers you the opportunity to share your special interests and expertise with children from the surrounding communities during the summer months. The overall goal is to develop positive attitudes toward learning by encouraging, stimulating and challenging children through hands-on learning experiences. Imaginative proposals for one-week courses designed for children of varying abilities in grades K-3 and 4-6 are being sought. If you are interested, please see Mary Lou in Stright 219 MW 12-3:30 and Th. 11-3. Proposal forms are due March 3. Faculty members as well as graduate students are eligible to apply. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ÒNo amount of courses in teaching methods will enable you to explain understandably a point that you do not understand yourself.Ó - George Polya ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ GRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE The 10th annual SSHE Graduate Student Research Conference will be held at Millersville University April 24-25. Student travel funds will be available to students who are accepted to present at this conference. This is a unique opportunity to begin your career. If you are interested please see Mary Lou for an application. (Stright 219 MW 12-3:30 and Th 11-3.) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ How do you count to 10 in Albanian? While not of deep mathematical value, this site is pretty neat. The page has the numbers from 1 to 10 in over 600 languages. Check out http://www.tezcat.com/~markrose/numbers.html and see for yourself! - Gary Stoudt <><><><><><><><><><><> FACULTY COLLOQUIA SCHEDULE FOR SPRING Ô97 Date: February 25 Title: Reports from the Annual Meetings Speaker: Various Speakers. Instit.: IUP Rating: PG Date: March 11 Title: Early Women and African American Mathematicians in America Speaker: Dr. Gary Stoudt Instit.: IUP Rating: G Date: March 25 Title: From a Calculus Problem to Generating Functions Speaker: Dr. Jun-Lue (John) Zhang Instit.: IUP Rating: PG-13 Date: April 8 Title: TBA Speaker: Dr. Mary Enderson Instit.: IUP Rating: TBA Date: April 22 Title: TBA Speaker: Dr. John Henry Steelman Instit.: IUP Rating: PG <><><><><><><><><><><> FACULTY SPOTLIGHT Meet Dr. Janet Scholz who has moved to IUP from Eugene, Oregon. Dr. Scholz completed her BS degree in Mathematics and her MS degree in Mathematics and Computer Science Education at Western Oregon State College. After teaching high school mathematics for 8 years she completed her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at Oregon State University. Dr. Scholz enjoys IUP very much, especially the friendliness of the faculty and students. She did note, though, that the winters here are much colder and snowier than in Oregon. Dr. Scholz teaches Math for Elementary Teachers, College Algebra, and Computers and Calculators in Secondary School Mathematics. In her spare time she enjoys sewing, baton twirling, and hiking. Her favorite saying is from Galileo, ÒMathematics is the alphabet by which God has written the Universe.Ó %%%%%%%%%%%%% ON THE LIGHTER SIDE The Evolution of Math Teaching *1960Õs: A peasant sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His costs amount to 4/5 of the selling price. What is his profit? *1970Õs: A farmer sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His costs amount to 4/5 of the selling price, that is $8. What is his profit? *1970Õs (New Math): A farmer exchanges a set P of potatoes with set M of money. The cardinality of the set M is equal to 10, and each element of M is worth $1. Draw ten big dots representing the elements of M. The set C of production costs is composed of two big dots less than the set M. Represent C as a subset of M and give the answer to the question: What is the cardinality of the set of profits? *1980Õs A farmer sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His production costs are $8, and his profit is $2. Underline the work ÒpotatoesÓ and discuss this with your classmates. *1990Õs: A farmer sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His or her production costs are .80 of his or her revenue. On your calculator, graph revenue vs. costs. Run the POTATO program to determine the profit. DIscuss the result with students in your group. Write a brief essay that analyzes this example in the real world of economics. (Anon. Adapted from the American Mathematical Monthly, Vol 101, No.5 May, 1994) ------- HereÕs another one: ÒWhat is a baby eigensheep called? A lamb, duh!!Ó If you enjoy a little bit of mathematical humor, check out http://www.csun.edu/~hcmth014/comics.html for a lot more jokes, riddles, cartoons, etc. -Mary Lou ThatÕs it for the February MATHINK. Remember if you have any contributions, let me know!