Interdisciplinary Lively Application Projects

Interdisciplinary Lively Applications (ILAPs) are small group projects through the cooperation of faculty from mathematics and partner disciplines. These projects will provide teachers with material that can help their students understand mathematical concepts, develop strong mathematical skills and motivate them towards an interest in future subjects accessible through the study of mathematics. Using ILAPs is an important step towards helping students acquire a broad, interdisciplinary outlook towards problem solving.

This volume provides supplemental classroom resource materials in the form of eight project handouts that you can use as student homework assignments. They require students to use scientific and quantitative reasoning, mathematical modeling, symbolic manipulation skills, and computational tools to analyze scenarios, issues, and questions involving one or more disciplines. Sample solutions to the problems, background material, notes to the instructor and a student writing guide are also included.

The prerequisite skills for the eight projects presented in the book range from freshman-level algebra, trigonometry, and precalculus, through calculus, elementary and intermediate differential equations, and discrete mathematics to advanced calculus and partial differential equations. The partner disciplines included in the projects are: mechanics, physics, chemistry, engineering, geography, topography, and exercise physiology. Faculty can use the projects as a supplement to a textbook in any of the following undergraduate areas: precalculus, calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, discrete mathematics, mathematical modeling, advanced calculus, partial differential equations, and numerical computing.

The book also contains several supporting article that describe uses for these projects.

Interdisciplinary Lively Applications (ILAPs) are small group projects through the cooperation of faculty from mathematics and partner disciplines. These projects will provide teachers with material that can help their students understand mathematical concepts, develop strong mathematical skills and motivate them towards an interest in future subjects accessible through the study of mathematics. Using ILAPs is an important step towards helping students acquire a broad, interdisciplinary outlook towards problem solving.

This volume provides supplemental classroom resource materials in the form of eight project handouts that you can use as student homework assignments. They require students to use scientific and quantitative reasoning, mathematical modeling, symbolic manipulation skills, and computational tools to analyze scenarios, issues, and questions involving one or more disciplines. Sample solutions to the problems, background material, notes to the instructor and a student writing guide are also included.

The prerequisite skills for the eight projects presented in the book range from freshman-level algebra, trigonometry, and precalculus, through calculus, elementary and intermediate differential equations, and discrete mathematics to advanced calculus and partial differential equations. The partner disciplines included in the projects are: mechanics, physics, chemistry, engineering, geography, topography, and exercise physiology. Faculty can use the projects as a supplement to a textbook in any of the following undergraduate areas: precalculus, calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, discrete mathematics, mathematical modeling, advanced calculus, partial differential equations, and numerical computing.

The book also contains several supporting article that describe uses for these projects.

Kent State University: The Mathematics Teachers - Cynthia Barb

"Students learn to work collaboratively in problem-solving situations and to communivate possible solutions to problems form various disciplines. A writing guide allows students to report their findings in a technical-report format... These projects also supply a vehicle for communication through which faculty from various disciplines can discuss, create, and implement new curriculum and appreciate the input from these disciplines in a cooperative setting. This books offers a beginning forum for such work."

David C. Arney has an undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy (USMA) and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has taught mathematics at USMA for 14 years and is the author of several mathematics textbooks on dynamical systems and laboratory manuals incorporating the use of technology. His areas of number theory and the history of mathematics; he has written numerous articles in all of these areas. His teaching interests include using computing, writing, history and interdisciplinary applications in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum. David serves as an Associate Director of the Mathematical Contest in Modeling. He is the Head of Department of Mathematical Sciences at USMA.