|
| Thursday, April 8, 1999 | Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas |
Vol. 81 | No. 97 |
House examines 'veggie libel' law AUSTIN (AP) - Texas' so-called ''veggie libel'' law might be squashed under a bill left pending Wednesday by a House committee. |
Students to explore math fun By Meredith Cox Many NT students agonize week after week over tough math subjects, such as calculus, geometry, differential equations, and statistics while wondering "Why am I learning this? When am I ever going to use this again?" The NT mathematics department is preparing to answer these questions and many more during Mathematics Awareness Week April 25 through May 1. "Basically, this is a week to make students aware of the different ways math applies to life," said Dr. John Quintinilla of the math faculty. Throughout the week, the department will sponsor a variety of speakers who will be lecturing on real-life applications of mathematics. A speaker from California Polytechic University in San Louis Obispo, Calif., will discuss imaging and the mathematical applications for the use of CAT scans. There will also be many posters displayed in the General Academic Building. These posters are designed by undergraduate students who were assigned the projects in various math classes. The posters will present different types of mathematical applications. Quintinilla's Calculus II class, for example, designed posters that mathematically explain air resistance using examples such as vacuums and hitting golf balls. "Air resistance slows down the motion of a golf ball," Quintinilla said. Similarly, Quintinilla's Calculus I class was assigned to explain exactly where to hit a softball with a baseball bat so that it goes out of the park. Other poster displays will include sky divers illustrating terminal velocity, how the thickness of violin strings determines notes, and how to design the fastest roller coaster. Another traditional highlight of Mathematics Awareness Week will be the annual Integration Bee, which Quintinilla described as, "...a spelling bee with calculus problems." During the Integration Bee, students will be given three to five minutes to find the antiderivatives of given functions. These functions become harder as the contest progresses. If the contestants miss two problems they are immediately disqualified from the next round. The three most sucessful contestants win graphing calculators donated by Texas Instruments, Inc. All NT undergraduate students are welcome to participate; however, Quintinilla suggests that contestants should have ztaken or be currently enrolled in Math 1720 or Calculus II. The theme for this year's Mathematics Awareness Week is Mathematics in Biology. Mathematics is used a great deal in DNA structures. According to Dr. De Witt Sumners of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., geometry and topology are both used in decribing the structure of DNA as well as the changes of the structure due to certain enzymes. Mathematics is also used in understanding how the heart beats and why it fails. Mathematics is also used in understanding how the heart beats and why it fails. Dr. James Paul Keener of the University of Utah decribed how this uses geometry in the orientation of fibers and the thickness of walls. "The general idea behind all of this is for people to understand that there are applications of mathematics beyond integrals. Particularly in biology," Quintinilla said. |
"The general idea behind all of this is for people to understand there are appplications of mathematics beyond integrals." -Dr. John Quintanilla |
