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SMMG – September 2022Date: September 18, 2022
Time: 12pm-2pm Location: PMA 6.104 Speaker: Cas Monroe Title: The Geometry of "Spot It!" Abstract: Spot it! is a fun picture matching game with a deceptively simple premise: there are 55 cards, each with 8 of 50 potential symbols on their face. Players try to be the first to identify the symbol that matches the card in their hand with the card currently face up in the center of the table. But each pair of cards has exactly one symbol in common -- how can they possibly arrange that? Could we add more cards to this deck and still have this fact hold? Can we make our own Spot It! deck with a different number of symbols? How many cards could that deck have? All these questions (and hopefully some of yours) will be explored (and possibly answered) in this talk! |
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SMMG – October 2022Date: October 2nd, 2022
Time: 12pm-2pm Location: PMA 6.104 Speaker: Addie Duncan Title: Geo(graph)y and Graph Theory Abstract: Many 2-dimensional geometric problems can be solved using tools from an area of mathematics called graph theory. A mathematical graph is like a network of nodes (vertices) and lines (edges) connecting the nodes. We will explore how to formulate two different geography questions in terms of graph theory and use the tools of graph theory to find the answers. First, we will talk about the famous Seven Bridges of Königsberg problem which involves looking for a path across 7 bridges that only crosses each bridge once. This problem, first solved by Euler in 1736, is considered to be the first use of graph theory to solve a math problem. Then we will talk about a more recently solved problem called the Four Color Theorem. This problem is about finding the minimal number of colors needed to color a map such that no countries which share a border have the same color. |
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SMMG – October 2022Date: October 16th, 2022
Time: 12pm-2pm Location: PMA 6.104 Speaker: Luis Torres Title: The different shapes of 2D and 3D spaces Abstract: Since the time we were born, we have only experienced what it's like to live in one 3D space directly. But are there 3D spaces with different shapes? What would it even mean for a 3D space to have a shape different from the one we live in? Could we be inside one of those different spaces right now? In the first half of the talk, we'll build up some intuition for what we mean by the shape of a space by playing games like tic-tac-toe, billiards, and mazes in 2D spaces with different shapes. In the second half of the talk, we'll use the intuition we built up and start exploring 3D spaces different from ours by flying a plane in them. For example, what happens to a cubical room with translucent walls when you glue the ceiling and the floor, glue the left and right walls, and glue the front and back walls? What would you see if you were inside this space? Join us this Sunday to find out and to explore the geometry and topology of 2D and 3D spaces! |
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SMMG – October 2022Date: October 30, 2022
Time: 12pm-2pm Location: PMA 6.104 Speaker: Erin Bevilacqua Title: Different Sizes of Infinity Abstract: Have you heard that there are infinitely many prime numbers? Or that there are different sizes of infinity? Would you believe me if I told you there were the same number of primes as there are rational numbers (numbers that can be written in the form p/q with p and q integers), but this number is small than the amount of real numbers between 0 and 1? In this talk we will explore all of these ideas and learn how to think about different sizes of infinity! |
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The AMC 10/12ADate: Thursday, November 10, 2022
Time: 6:30 – 8:00pm Location: MEZ 1.306 For more information and registration, click here! |
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SMMG – November 2022Date: November 13, 2022
Time: 12pm-2pm Location: PMA 6.104 Speaker: Paulina Hoyos Restrepo Title: Random Walks on Graphs Abstract: Imagine moving in a straight line and flipping a coin each time to decide whether to take a step forward or backwar. Where could you end up after 10, 100, or 1000 steps? How many times could you return to your starting point? This is an example of a random walk on a graph, and the kinds of questions you can ask about them! In this talk, we will learn about graphs, random walks on graphs, and different nice applications of both. |
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The AMC 10/12BDate: Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Time: 6:30 – 7:00pm Location: MEZ 1.306 For more information and registration, click here! |
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SMMG – December 2022Date: December 4, 2022
Time: 12pm-2pm Location: PMA 6.104 Speaker: Amanda Wilkens Title: Mathematically modeling randomness Abstract: Some things in life are random, like the number and locations of old chewing gum pieces on a city sidewalk. We’ll discuss what it means for something to be truly random, examples of randomness in our universe, and come up with a mathematical model for those chewing gum pieces (or trees in a forest, if you prefer). Along the way, we’ll create an almost random number by ourselves, get a true random number from the background noise of space, and see what happens when we flip infinitely many coins. |
SMMG
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Other activities in which SMMG participates:
The American Mathematical Competitions
