Math Modeling is a class taught by Mrs. Burns that is unlike any math class there is. We utilize the skills from our past math classes across the various units, combining our knowledge with that of our peers to learn from each other. Modeling real-life problems collaboratively, there is always a multitude of different approaches that one can take to solve a problem. We began the year working on a shuffling problem set that heavily involved modular arithmetic and base conversions, moving on to Exeter 2 and 3 problems which cover a variety of topics ranging from trigonometry to vectors.
The Epsilon School was an example of one of our very first math modeling projects that we worked in groups on this year. My team consisted of Max Grisanti, Rohan Sarikonda, Kruthi Gundu, and I, and our goal was to effectively distribute seven teachers among nine departments in a school. We took the approach of projecting the number of students in the school for the upcoming year and then using enrollment percentages to calculate the student-to-teacher ratio. From there, we added teachers to the seven departments with the highest of these ratios. Creating models using Excel, we were able to then present this slideshow to the class and justify assumptions that were made throughout the process.
The Birthday Problem of The Week (POW), was an example of a mathematical write-up that we were given. Asked to develop a way to find out the day of the week someone was born based on just the date; we were only given the calendar of the current month to begin developing a strategy. Also working in small groups, my partners Yerin and Kim Kruthi Gundu helped develop a way to determine the date revolving around leap years and the date on January 1, 1901. From there, the number of days from 1901 was calculated and the shifts in each week were found to ultimately get a result. Also including our knowledge of modular arithmetic, we were able to use various math concepts to solve this problem and then share it with other groups who solved it completely differently.