Tag: math
creating order in a card deck by shuffling?
by Tony on Oct.21, 2011, under math
Persi Diaconis is a Magician turned mathematics professor has written book titled Magical Mathematics: The Mathematical Ideas That Animate Great Magic Tricks outlining the math behind some of his favorite card tricks. Diaconis was inspired by the work of French mathematician Paul Lévy in the idea of perfect shuffling, taking a standard deck of cards is carefully shuffled eight times and ends up returning precisely to its starting arrangement .
The gaming industry is particularly interested in the efficacy of shuffling as those remaining bits of order in a deck are what card counters use to beat the house.
Another search tool for finding educational resources from NASA
by Tony on Jun.06, 2010, under outreach ideas
Science Mission Directorate Space Science Education has a nice Resource Directory which makes it easy to find activities and other resources by subject area and or grade level. The space math activity which uses LRO images of the Apollo 11 descent stage for teaching measurement techniques is particularly cool.
-
Welcome to UtProsim.com, a collection of space and astronomy outreach ideas and just general spacey stuff. Click on the RSS button above to keep up with updates.
You can also subscribe by email by filling the field below:
Proud member of the SpaceTweep Society
NASA Image of the Day
Launching Balloons to Study Space Weather
In Antarctica in January, 2013 – the summer at the South Pole – scientists released 20 balloons, each eight stories tall, into the air to help answer an enduring space weather question: when the giant radiation belts surrounding Earth lose material, where do the extra particles actually go? This NASA-funded mission is called BARREL, for Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electron Losses. Each balloon launched by the BARREL team floated for anywhere from three to 40 days, measuring X-rays produced by fast-moving electrons high up in the atmosphere.BARREL works hand in hand with another NASA mission called the Van Allen Probes, which travels directly through the Van Allen radiation belts. The belts wax and wane over time in response to incoming energy and material from the sun, sometimes intensifying the radiation through which satellites orbiting Earth must travel. Scientists need to understand this process better, and even provide forecasts of such space weather, in order to protect our spacecraft.› Read MoreImage Credit: NASA
Read More
NASA News- NASA Administrator Visits California Centers, Meets Media May 20, 2013NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will hold media availabilities at all three of the agency's centers in California this week, highlighting progress on the asteroid mission, commercial crew transportation and space technology development. […]
- NASA, Bigelow to Discuss Private Sector Human Space Exploration and Development May 20, 2013NASA and Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas are holding a media availability at 1:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, May 23, to discuss the agency's Space Act Agreement with the company for its insight on collaborating with commercial industry on exploration beyond Earth orbit. Journalists can participate in-person or by teleconference. […]
- NASA Administrator Visits California Centers, Meets Media May 20, 2013
