We hope you’ve all been swell and relatively unaffected by the flash flood in Courant. This week, we’ll be having a games night with students participating in NYU’s Mathematical Contest in Modeling on the 13th floor lounge. This is a great opportunity to interact with undergraduates who’ve been working on some stellar projects in applied mathematics. Please drop by if you’re interested, and feel free to bring your favorite board games to share with the entire crew.

0. GAMES NIGHT WITH MCM

WHAT: Board Games and Food with MCM’s Participants
WHEN: Thursday, February 16, 7PM
WHERE: WWH 13th Floor Lounge

Hi Everyone,

In preparation for course registration next week, we’ve organized an advising session to provide you with more insight on any quantitative classes you may be considering for next semester.  The Association for Women in Mathematics will be joining us in hosting this event.  Catered refreshments will be provided.

0. COURSE SELECTION ADVICE

WHAT: NYUMS and AWM’s experienced upperclassmen will be available to answer questions about various courses you may want to take next semester to best accommodate your quantitative pursuits at NYU.
WHEN: Thursday, Nov 10, 7PM
WHERE: WWH 13th Floor Lounge
WHY: Get a better perspective on what courses fit your interests and which professors best fit your learning style so you can get the most out of your classes.

Hi Everyone,

We hope you’ll all well and hitting the ground running after your midterms.  This week, we will be hearing a talk given by another stellar faculty member: department chair professor Charles M. Newman, whose research interests span from the study of ultralocal quantum field theory to his more recent work on 2D critical percolation.

Professor Newman received his B.S. in Physics at MIT in 1966.  He later obtained his M.A. and PhD at Princeton, respectively in 1968 and 1971.

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0. FACULTY TALK – PROFESSOR CHARLES M. NEWMAN

WHAT: Introduction to Percolation Models
WHEN: Thursday, Nov 3, 7PM
WHERE: WWH 512
WHY: This is a great opportunity to take a break from your studies and learn about an interesting topic.  Pizza will be served.
ABSTRACT: Percolation models consist of small geometric objects (such as edges or vertices or faces) in a very large or infinite regular structure that are assigned one of two states (like red/white or open/closed or occupied/vacant) at random. There is one parameter p which gives the fraction of small objects assigned the first state (red or open or occupied). As p increases, one studies the large scale connectivity properties of the red or open or occupied objects. The basic percolation phenomenon is that in two or higher dimensional systems, there is a transition value of p where the large scale connectivity changes dramatically.

1. COURSE SELECTION ADVICE

WHAT: Our club’s experienced upperclassmen will be available to answer questions about various courses you may want to take next semester to best accommodate your quantitative pursuits at NYU.
WHEN: Thursday, Nov 11, 7PM
WHERE: WWH 512
WHY: Get a better perspective on what courses fit your interests and which professors best fit your learning style so you can get the most out of your classes.

Hi Everyone,

This is a reminder of the faculty speaker event tomorrow. Come and hear one of Courant’s valued faculty members!

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0. FACULTY TALK – PROFESSOR LEINGANG

WHAT: Constructible Polygons and Euler’s Totient
WHEN: Thursday, Oct 27, 7PM
WHERE: WWH 512
WHY: It’s an opportunity to meet with one of our valued faculty members to get more insight on a fascinating topic.
ABSTRACT: Which regular polygons are constructible with compass and straightedge only? The answer spans 2000 years of geometry and algebra, connecting Euclid’s work to that of Gauss, Galois, and Euler. We will relate the question to the problem of counting the numbers which are relatively prime to a given number, a function called the totient. A number’s totient can be computed quickly from its prime decomposition, and so the constructibility question can be answered by looking at a number’s prime factors. Fermat will make a cameo appearance at the very end.

FUZZY MATH

EASY:

A in five hours a sum can count,

Which B can in eleven j

How much more then is the amount

They both can count in seven?

If a man 6 feet high could walk around the earth on

the equator, how much farther would the top of his head

move than his feet?

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MEDIUM:

I own a lot located in the wealthiest section

of New York City and am desirous of knowing its exact area.

The dimensions according to the deed are exactly 101 rods,

51.5 rods and 49.5 rods respectively.

I guarantee to have just what the deed calls for and wishing

to share my wealth with friends have decided to reward

each of the first 99 sending in correct solutions showing the

exact area of the tract with a .01 interest in the land. You

are only asked to pay the cost of the deed. What is the

area?

A miner asks for room and board at a hotel for fifty

days. He is told that the price is $1 a day. He has no

money, but he has a heavy gold chain with fifty links, each

worth a dollar. He agrees with the landlord to cut the chain

and pay one link each day. At the end of fifty days the

miner will redeem the chain and have it soldered together.

The miner does not wish to cut the chain any more tha n

is necessary. How many links will it be absolutely necessary

for him to cut?

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MAGICAL:

The number nine possesses the most remarkable properties

of any of the numbers 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Many of these properties have been known for centuries

and have excited much interest among both mathematicians

and scholars in general. Because of its wonderful properties

the number nine has been regarded as magical and is often

referred to as the ” magical number. ”

If we were using the duodecimal scale to-day instead of

the decimal, to what number would all the properties of the

number nine belong?

PROPERTIES OF NUMBER NINE

Some of the properties of the ” magic ” number 9 are

as follows :

(a) The sum of the digits of any number which is a multiple

of 9 is either 9 or a multiple of 9. Thus,

l X 9 = 9

2 X 9 = 18

3 X 9 = 27

4 X 9 = 36

5 X 9 = 45

6 X 9 = 54

9 = 9

1 +8 = 9

2 + 7 = 9

3 +6 = 9

4 + 5 = 9

5 + 4 = 9

7 X 9 = 63

8 X 9 = 72

9 X 9 = 81

10 X 9 = OO

11 X 9 = 99

12 X 9 = 108

435 X 9 = 3915.

6 + 3 = 9

7 + 2 = 9

8 + 1 = 9

9 + 0 = 9

9 +9 = 18 = 1 + 8 = 9

1 +0 + 8 = 9

3915 = 3 + 9 + 1 + 5 = 1 8 = 1 + 8 = 9.

This is true for every multiple of 9 . When we have the

factor 9 in a number, it will cling to the expression and will

appear at unexpected times and in a variety of ways. This

is because of its relation to the numerical scale. Whatever

you do, the figure 9 is sure to turn up again. It is impossible

to get rid of it.

(b) If you take a number consisting of any number of digits

and change their order as you please, the number thus obtained

for any arrangement of digits, when divided by 9, will leave the

same remainder.

Thus 2345, 3245, 5234, etc. when divided by 9 in each

case gives the same remainder, 5. This follows because

the sum of the digits is the same for every arrangement.

The remainder from dividing a number by 9 is the same as

the remainder from dividing the sum of its digits by 9.

(c) Take a number consisting of any number of digits.

Form a new number by reversing the order of the digits. The

difference is always divisible by 9.

(d) Take the sum of the digits from any number and the

difference will be divisible by 9.

(e) Take two numbers in which the sums of the digits are the

same, the difference of the two numbers will be divisible by 9.