Mathematical Modeling is a course that provides varying experiences for students across all mathematical backgrounds. Taught by Mrs. Burns, the class provides a multitude of challenge problems and different approaches to solve them, showing us that math problems aren’t confined to just one solution. By focusing on utilizing math to solve real-world problems, students are encouraged to work at their own pace.
One example of challenging problems includes the Battle Grid POW. This problem was extremely interesting, as the hardest part wasn’t finding the solution. Instead, we had to figure out how we found that solution in the first place. This was extremely difficult at first, as my group had trouble in expressing how we found this problem through writing. However, as we dove deeper into the problem, we were able to find a way to explain our procedure for solving the problem. Furthermore, we were able to extend on our work by providing different versions of the problems, as well as potential solutions to those proposed problems.
Another experience I have enjoyed partaking in is the Modeling the Future Challenge (MTFC). The competition provides a problem with risk assessment, and by using math modeling, teams of students need to answer the questions associated with the problem. My team was able to advance to the semi-final round, where we will now research our own problem to identify risks. Overall, this project has been amazing so far, and I’m excited to work on it more!