Math Modeling is taught by Mrs. Burns, and is one of the most unique classes I have ever taken. In previous years of math, we would learn how to solve equations, and often we didn't know the practical application, and then we would be tested on it. This year however, math has been much more engaging and hands-on and has not only taught me new topics, but forced me to apply concepts I already knew in entirely new ways. We have gone over a variety of topics ranging from shuffling, to significance testing, problems involving calculus and trigonometry.
Modeling the Future Challenge is an actuarial challenge I am taking part in with Lindsey Paradise, Heidy Rodriguez, Derek Derosiers, and Sophia Caramanica in a team called Risky Business. The purpose is to have students go through the actuarial process of risk mitigation by developing a mathematical model, and giving a recommendation based on this model. So far, we have completed the first phase of the project, which was the project proposal. While in this phase, we worked on the Ski Resort Quest Scenario as practice while we brainstormed for what our project would be on, and gathered preliminary data. We narrowed down our topic to analyzing the impact climate change has on hikers on the Appalachian Trail.
The Happy Birthday Presentation was the most enjoyable problem I have worked on so far in math this year. I worked with Edward Goodwin and Dylan Whiting to develop a code that gave the day of the week someone was born on after 1901. We were allowed to use the calendar of the current month (October at the time), and the “Basic Information on Calenders” that was provided. While this problem was challenging at first due to leap years, we were able to develop a new method that used January 1, 1901 as an anchor point. At the end of the document, there is a coded solution that was created by Edward to allow the user to enter in their birthdate, and it will give them what day of the week they were born on.