Recent Submissions

  • Math in Origami

    Crow, Kathi; Lorenzo, Anaily (2023-05-01)
    Geometry is not only used for math but also to create art! Geometry is used to create Origami, the ancient Japanese art of folding paper. There are seven origami axioms that can be used to solve general cubic equations through the Beloch fold (corresponds to an origami axiom). Origami is also being used to revolutionize technology, from space, to the least explored environment on Earth, the ocean! NASA James Webb Space Telescope and the ocean robotic device RAD, are just a few of the many new origami-inspired technologies.
  • Guaranteed To Win: Optimal Strategies For Discrete Bidding Games

    Poitevin, Pedro; Brunet, Sophia (2023-05-01)
    Many of us are familiar with two player games, such as Tic-Tac-Toe or chess, where each player alternates taking turns. Players compete against each other, strategically making a move once it’s their turn. The goal of the game is simply to “win”, depending on the rules of the game. We can add an extra layer to these games that creates some mathematical questions. Instead of alternating turns, players are now “bidding” to make a move. Not only does this add more competition, strategy, and excitement to the game, but it also adds mathematical intricacies. We call these Richman games, studied by David Richman in the 1980s. In Richman games, players make a bid (or auction)[1] of a nonnegative number of chips to make a move. The player that bids the most plays their turn, and then “pays” their chips to the other player. By studying Richman games, this paper will explore the optimal bidding strategies to maximize game play. The goal of each player is to win the game - not have the most amount of chips. In order to win the game, players need to have bidding strategies to ensure they are making moves. The proportion of chips a player has in their possession at a certain point, or critical threshold, is crucial within bidding games. We will explore how to find the critical threshold for games, and how it optimizes a player’s chance of winning (also referred to as winning strategies). We will also dissect the use of the tie-breaking advantage when two players bid the game amount of chips. Through these strategies, we will explore a game of bidding Tug O’ War and applications to more extensive games, such as bidding Tic-Tac-Toe.
  • Pebbling And Cover Pebbling Numbers Of Graphs

    Crowe, Kathi; Barbosa, Elle (2022-05-01)
    Cover pebbling is a method in graph theory that was first brought about by Largias and Saks. This topic in graph theory was used to come up with a way to calculate how much of a consumable resource would being needed to begin transportation of said consumable resource. This paper will tackle the basics on cover pebbling, brush upon weight pebbling, and problem 9 of the open problems that can be found in Betsy Crull's paper The cover pebbling number of graphs. Problem 9: What are the cover pebbling number for other graphs G, for example cubes, complete r-partite graphs, etc.
  • Confidence Levels of SSU Education Students in Writing Assessments

    Yakes, Christopher; Ekstrom, Alyssa (2021-05-01)
    Salem State University has a newly accredited 4+1 master’s in education program but has been teaching education for decades. Given the newness of the 4+1 program, are the students getting a good idea of what assessments to write, what they look like, and when to do which type of assessment? This study investigates the confidence levels of SSU Education students in writing assessments based on their experiences and classes that they have taken in the School of Education. In order to examine this question, a survey was completed by students in the education program in which they specified their knowledge on each type of assessment (summative and formative), which classes they have taken, what experiences they have had, and how comfortable they are writing both. It is then analyzed by the classes they have taken the program, their comfortability, and knowledge of each assessment.
  • Exploring The Thirteen Colorful Variations Of Guthrie's Four-Color Conjecture

    Travers, Brian; Keough, Kathryn (2020-05-01)
    Coloring is an important part of graph theory. Historically, it was thought that only four colors could be the minimal number of colors. This paper discusses the Four Color Theorem and how the Four Color Theorem is applied to graphs. This paper gives an overview of several different definitions involved with graphs and shows how to create a dual graph. This paper also discusses how a graph of 12 regions has at least one region bounded by less than five edges. The paper includes several figures which include graphs, dual graphs, and different colorings. The paper also provides a proof which shows mathematically why a graph of 12 regions has at least one region bounded by less than five edges.
  • Ranking College Football Teams Independent of Victory Margins

    Travers, Brian; Kelly, Ryan (2014-05-17)
    This paper addresses David Mease's formula for ranking college football teams. It is just one of the numerous formulas that can be used by the Bowl Championship Series in ranking the top teams in the country. Mease uses his formula to rank teams independent of victory margins, something not all formulas take into consideration, Winning margin may help teams gain higher ranking in some formulas, so this formula ignores that statistic.
  • N-Queens Problem

    Crowe, Kathi; Reynolds, Ashley (2018-01-01)
    Using combinatorics in this paper, we will discuss three different methods in solving the n-queens problem. We will find the maximum and minimum number of queens we can place on an n x n chessboard. Also, we will use latin squares, latin rectangles and circulant matrices as another method of placing the queens on a chessboard.
  • Mathematical Understandings Of A Rubik's Cube

    Crowe, Kathi; McManus, Erin (2018-01-01)
    Many people are familiar with the 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube as a puzzle or a toy. But, what most people do not realize is that the cube is a great physical visual of a group. The goal of this paper is to discuss the Rubik’s Cube as a group and dive into a specific subgroup of the cube. Through this discussion, we will also explore homomorphisms in the slice group. This paper will also give insight on permutations, commutators, and conjugates in terms of the cube, as well as “God’s number”.
  • Using Matrices And Hungarian Method To Solve The Traveling Salesman Problem

    Crowe, Kathi; Couto, Briana (2018-01-01)
    In this paper, we introduce the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) and solve for the most efficient route of the problem using the steps of the Hungarian method. Specifically, this paper discusses the properties of a TSP matrix, provides the steps for the Hungarian method, and presents examples that apply these concepts to a Traveling Salesman Problem. We do not consider any constraints on the order in which the localities are visited, nor do we take into account possible traffic at differing times. We use examples to show how the Hungarian method is used and why it is an efficient way to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem.
  • Investigation Of Plane Symmetry In Lattice Designs

    Poitevin, Pedro; Sheridan, Katyana (2016-12-01)
    The purpose of this research project is to analyze the scholarly article The Plane Symmetry Groups: Their Recognition and Notation by Doris Schattschneider. In this article, Schattschneider discusses an application of abstract algebra which is useful in art as well as crystallography: frieze groups and wallpaper groups. I was interested in pursuing this topic because it combines mathematics with its applications, particularly with my own interest in chemistry. The article provides a compiled resource of terminology and rules of these groups, but not one which was easily accessible to undergraduate students. In my research, I elaborated on the descriptions of certain types of periodic patterns to add to the accessibility, and analyzed a few designs to prove their classification based on the rules from Schattschneider's article. I found that this resource provided a good source of rules for which mathematical proofs could be based, and proved the classification of two different periodic plane designs.
  • A Combinatorial Method To Producing Portfolios

    Belock, Julie; Koeut, Samuel (2016-12-01)
    There is a lack of research on portfolios and combinatorial methods in finance. In this paper, we outline a new method for producing long-term portfolios of stock using a combinatorial approach. A retrospective data analysis shows that this method produces protable long-term portfolios.
  • Topspin: Oval-Track Puzzle, Taking Apart The Topspin One Tile At A Time

    Travers, Brian; Fitzgerald, Elizabeth (2015-01-01)
    A Topspin “Oval Track” puzzle consists of 20 numbered tiles in an oval-shaped track and a flipping window that reverses the 4 tiles in the window. The solvability of the puzzle uses permutations which are combinations where the order matters. A puzzle is considered solvable if each permutation in can be mapped to a spot in the original position through the three different moves the puzzle can make; a left shift, a right shift, and the flip which reverses the order of the 4 tiles in the window. I wanted to find out what math was involved in solving this puzzle. I had certain topics that I wanted to find out more information about, but the major question I had was “what is the fewest number of moves it takes to solve a puzzle”. Other topics I had were what made a puzzle unsolvable and what other types of puzzles use the same kind of math to solve them. To construct this research, I had read different scholarly articles that talked about the Topspin as well as physically looked at the puzzle and see how it works. I had found that there was no way to determine the fewest number of moves it takes to solve a puzzle since it’s impossible to decide what a “more scrambled” puzzle is compared to another. One scrambled puzzle might look completely different from another, and still have the same number of moves to solve it. In addition to this, I was also able to find that the Rubik’s Cube is solved like the Topspin.