Described are some ways in which individual states code driver's license numbers. The encoding of month, date of birth, year of birth, sex, and others involving elementary mathematics and the use of an elaborate system of hashing functions in describing the first, middle, and last names are discussed. (KR)

Presented is a combinatorial problem based on the Hash House Harriers rule which states that the route of the run should not have previously been traversed by the club. Discovered is how many weeks the club can meet before the rule has to be broken. (KR)

This study compared the mathematical competencies and attitudes of elementary education majors (n=171) to a representative college population. Results indicated that elementary education majors possessed more negative attitudes toward mathematics and scored lower in 9 of 10 competency categories than the general college population. Significant…

A University of Redlands (California) calculus course was redesigned to include computer demonstrations and homework assignments in which the computer could play an important role. Comparison of results of this instruction with that using traditional methods suggest the approach using computers has merit. (MSE)

Described is an instructional method that makes use of an electronic spreadsheet for the numerical and graphical introduction of the fundamentals of Taylor polynomials. Included is a demonstration spreadsheet using the expansion polynomial to evaluate the cosine function. (JJK)

Described is a programing application of the software, Mathematica, which allows students to explore the various cases involved in minimizing the sum of squares for the best fit of a regression line. Several examples are included with appropriate software commands. (JJK)

Simple connections between prime numbers, methods for obtaining prime numbers, characteristics of prime numbers, and the relationship of primes to high order numbers are discussed. (CW)

A nationwide survey was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of college remedial mathematics programs. Questionnaires mailed to 200 two- and four-year remedial educators solicited information on teaching techniques, student evaluation, course offerings, faculty qualifications, classroom resources, math labs, time limits on remediation,…

The purpose of this volume is to provide or identify the major sources of information used by the National Science Board Committee in preparing its report: Four public hearings were conducted and testimony received from knowledgeable leaders in higher education, the scientific community, industry, and government. This volume is principally a…

Technological advances during the past few decades have revolutionized many complex systems that influence human activity. As the rate of technological progress accelerates, these systems will become more complex, and new ones will evolve. Citizens in a technological society need to be able to make intelligent choices about how technology will…

This volume contains the papers and comments from the Workshop on Mathematics Education, a special session of the 15th Conference on Stochastic Processes and Their Applications, held in Nagoya, Japan, July 2-5, 1985. Topics covered include: (1) probability; (2) statistics; (3) deviation; (4) Japanese mathematics curriculum; (5) statistical…

Seventeen research reports are arranged under several broad topics of mathematics education. Section 1 concerns language and mathematics learning, with one paper on word problems and one on concept formation. Papers on university level mathematics in Section 2 explore problem solving, characteristics of school leavers, some mathematical aspects of…

With the help of widely available microcomputers, it is possible to demonstrate certain statistical phenomena which students of statistics are usually expected to take on faith. Two demonstrations are described. In the first demonstration, three common types of sampling (simple random, biased, and stratified-random) are used to compare statistics…

This paper is a discussion of algebraic factoring. It is suggested that factoring is frequently presented in textbooks and by teachers without specifying one of the great values of this technique; that is, finding some of the factors of any number that can be generated by a particular polynomial. Concrete examples can help students understand the…

The question of the advisability of incorporating discrete mathematics into the mathematics curriculum is addressed by examining the different types of courses typically offered in the first two years of college and the appropriateness of including discrete mathematics topics in these courses. The introductory section explains how the advent of…