MATHEMATICAL OPERATIONS USED IN ORDINARY OCCUPATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR INCORPORATING THEM IN HIGH-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS

The purpose of this study is to determine the type problems in algebra, geometry, and general mathematics that are most frequently used by high school graduates. The applicability of these mathematical operations to ordinary problems of daily life is to be decided by means of a survey among high school graduates who have had courses in algebra and geometry. An enumeration and analysis of the type problems that are most used by these graduates will give a much better conception of what should be taught in a general mathematics course. This investigation proposes to apply the criterion of usability in the determination of what type problems are best suited to a general mathematics course for secondary schools

Microdensitometer digitization

The importance of performing extensive calculations on microdensitometer data makes entry of the data into a computer mandatory for many types of investigative situations. The previously available facilities in the Photographic Science department have supported only manual data entry techniques. Such techniques are slow and prone to error, greatly limiting use usefulness of the Ansco Model 4 microdensitometer available for student use. This thesis has involved the designated implementation of a low cost digitizatio technique that allows convient gathering, storage, and machine read input of data into the RIT timesharing computer facilities. A conservative increase of two orders of magnitude has been noted with the system compared with manual data entry techniques

Basic Research on the Composition of Heavy Cosmic Rays: The Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder Experiment (TIGER)

Among the most fundamental astrophysical problems is understanding the mechanism by which particles are accelerated to the enormous energies observed in the cosmic rays. That problem can be conveniently divided into two questions: (1) What is the source of the energy and the mechanism for converting the energy of that source into the energy of individual cosmic-ray nuclei, and (2) what is the source of the material that is accelerated and the mechanism for injecting that material into the cosmic-ray accelerator? There is a general consensus that the answer to the first of these questions, for nuclei with energy eV, is that the source of their energy is almost certainly from supernova explosions (e.g., Ginzburg & Syrovatskii, 1964). The answer to the second question is still uncertain, although evidence in favor of a superbubble origin of cosmic rays is becoming quite significant (Higdon et al, 2203 and Binns, 2005 (Submitted to ApJ). There are several ways of interpreting available data that lead to quite different models for the source of the material and its injection mechanism. With the The Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder Experiment (TIGER) instrument we have obtained data that will help to distinguish among these possible models. In the report, the TIGER flights, the instrument itself, results, and a publication list as a result of the work are presented

Review of: Gerald Holton, Science and Anti-Science

Review of : Gerald Holton, Science and Anti-Science (Harvard University Press 1993). LC 92-272; ISBN 0-674-79298-X. Index, notes, preface, sources. [176 pp. Cloth $24.95. 79 Garden St., Cambridge MA 02138.

Bevalac calibration of the SOFIE range and hodoscope detectors

The scintillating optical fiber isotope experiment (SOFIE) is a Cerenkov-dE/dx-Range experiment which was developed initially for balloon flight to study the isotopic composition of cosmic rays in the iron region. The electronic range and hodoscope detectors use scintillating optical fibers to image the tracks of stopping charged particles and to determine their trajectory. The particle range is determined and used together with a Cerenkov measurement to determine the mass of the stopping particle. Preliminary results of a Bevalac calibration performed in August, 1984 with a prototype of the balloon flight instrument, to study the measurement precision in range and trajectory which could be attained with this detector are described

Time-frequency analysis of ship wave patterns in shallow water: modelling and experiments

A spectrogram of a ship wake is a heat map that visualises the time-dependent frequency spectrum of surface height measurements taken at a single point as the ship travels by. Spectrograms are easy to compute and, if properly interpreted, have the potential to provide crucial information about various properties of the ship in question. Here we use geometrical arguments and analysis of an idealised mathematical model to identify features of spectrograms, concentrating on the effects of a finite-depth channel. Our results depend heavily on whether the flow regime is subcritical or supercritical. To support our theoretical predictions, we compare with data taken from experiments we conducted in a model test basin using a variety of realistic ship hulls. Finally, we note that vessels with a high aspect ratio appear to produce spectrogram data that contains periodic patterns. We can reproduce this behaviour in our mathematical model by using a so-called two-point wavemaker. These results highlight the role of wave interference effects in spectrograms of ship wakes.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure