Calculus Research Project: Calculus Research Project

Pre-Post Assessment

On Google, there are lots of sites on how to do these equations, but very little in regards to applying these to the real world.  

Try JSTOR. (enter the login and password: montytech1 at home). This is a scholarly database. Placing quotations around terms such as "first-order differential" will search as one term. You can also click in one of the boxes on the side of your results for specific subjects that apply the equations.

Try Gale Online, our largest database.  After typing in a search, click on the link for All Cross-Searchable Products.  Then, click on the left link for Academic Journals (you will notice many more hits), and then click in the box for Full Text.  Click on Citation Tools. Choose MLA or APA. Copy and paste the citation in Easybib.  Use Ctrl-f to find information quickly in a page.

You will explore the applications of concepts covered over the past several months. This assignment will be your only one for the week of 3/6 to 3/10/17 and will count as your classwork, homework, quiz, and a test grade. 

At the end of the week, you will submit a paper that describes and explains the application of:

• a first-order differential
• a homogeneous equation
• an integral

For each case, you must:

• explain the notation used
• provide a working example within your paper of how the equation is used in practical applications.

It is also worth noting that you may not hand write equations into your paper.  All work must be typed.  Additionally, your paper must adhere to the following criteria:

1. Each equation and application must be unique to the class. If there are 12 groups, I should have 36 equations with 36 applications.
2. Each equation must be cited from a respected authority on mathematics. This means that Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo, etc. are unacceptable. You must use established sources (lecture notes from famous mathematicians, books, journals, magazines).
3. If your citation was written prior to 1950, you must provide an updated example of the application (or equation) in question.
4. Your paper must be written in either MLA or APA format. This means that all of the conventions normally expected on an English paper are also expected on this paper (i.e. in-text citation, a Works Cited or References page, and formatting standards). Do not assume that a Calculus paper does not require proper spelling, grammar, citations, and punctuation.
5. You may pick a partner. You are not REQUIRED to have a partner. 
6. There is no specified length for this paper; you do not need to write an extreme amount of pages in order to successfully complete this assignment.  A one page paper can be just as effective as a 10-page paper.

Use this custom engine to search The Electronic Library of Mathematics. In addition to the key words, add words such as model or equation to narrow the search.  Use Ctrl-f to find information quickly in a page.  Use Easybib to cite the page.  Hint: Use Manual Cite.

Use Easybib for your citations!

Enter the code: montahsma for APA Style citations.