Mathematics and science
Games to Make you Smarter
Games like Sudoku, Ken-Ken and SET have rules that are simple enough for a child to
learn them, but sufficient complex to challenge even those who have played them for
years. We'll learn to play these games and explore the math behind them.
Darryl Nester
Global climate change: What we Know
Global climate change is a needlessly controversial topic. This powerpoint lecture
covers the basics of the science of climate change by looking at and correcting common
misconceptions. Some possible solutions are offered.
Daniel Berger
Making Mazes
An exploration of the various procedures used to create mazes – and the "fingerprints"
they leave behind. Along the way, we'll learn a "mind-reading" trick to a-maze your
friends.
Darryl Nester
Population Growth, Rabbits vs. Foxes, Epidemics, and the Zombie Apocalypse: Modeling
with Compartmental Analysis
In the compartmental analysis approach to modeling, we imagine that we have one or
more compartments—a tank full of water, a pond full of fish, a barrel of monkeys,
a bag of cats, a box of squirrels. For each compartment, we specify a starting size,
and the "flow rates" by which things can enter and leave that compartment. Then we
explore what happens as time goes by: If clean water is flowing into a previously-polluted
pond, how long will it take until the pollution has dropped to insignificant levels?
How does the flu spread through an unvaccinated population?
Darryl Nester
For more information or to schedule a speaker, contact the public relations office at news@bluffton.edu at least two weeks prior to your meeting.