Explore the vast range of titles available.

In Victoria, Australia, senior secondary mathematics students are expected to use technology and thus need to make decisions about using pen-and-paper (P&P) or technology when solving mathematics problems. The predominant technology is a Computer Algebra System (CAS). This study investigated the beliefs about CAS held by twelve Year 11 students as they learnt to use CAS and whether these beliefs were stable over time. These students held a range of beliefs related to the usefulness of CAS, speed of CAS compared to P&P, whether CAS is proper mathematics, choice of CAS or P&P, ease of use, the correctness of answers and solving problems in Mathematical Methods (i.e. the mathematics subject studied). Beliefs are often described as being stable (e.g. McLeod, 1992), but some researchers stress stability needs to be determined empirically rather than being seen as a characteristic of beliefs (e.g. Liljedahl et al., 2012). For this sample of students, stability (rather than instability) is a feature of students’ beliefs about CAS.

SymPy is an open source computer algebra system written in pure Python. It is built with a focus on extensibility and ease of use, through both interactive and programmatic applications. These characteristics have led SymPy to become a popular symbolic library for the scientific Python ecosystem. This paper presents the architecture of SymPy, a description of its features, and a discussion of select submodules. The supplementary material provide additional examples and further outline details of the architecture and features of SymPy.

Dieses Werk stellt eine kompakte und zugleich umfassende Einführung zu Mathematica dar, einem sehr populären und äußerst vielseitigen Computeralgebrasystem, welches auf der Programmiersprache Wolfram Language beruht.

In this paper we review selected significant developments in the use of digital technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics over the last five years. We focus on a number of important topics in this field, including the evolvement of STEAM and critical making as well as the process of redefining learning spaces in the transformation of the mathematics classroom. We also address the increasing use of computer algebra systems and dynamic geometry packages; and the issue of student collaboration online, especially using learning environments and social media. We briefly touch on artificial intelligence systems, including hyper-personalisation of learning, multimodality and videos. We include a brief discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on mathematics education, and lastly on the more theoretical perspective of the epistemology of digital technology and the construct of humans-with-media. We conclude the discussion with some possible concerns and mentioning some possible new topics for research in the field.

The rapid changes in information and communication technology (ICT), the increasing availability of processing power, and the complexity of mathematical software demand a radical re-thinking of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), as well as mathematics education. In the transition to technology-based classrooms, the constant use of educational software is a requirement for sustainable STEAM and mathematics education. This software supports a collaborative and actionable learning environment, develops 21st-century skills, and promotes the adoption of active and innovative methodologies. This paper focuses on learning and teaching mathematics and analyzes the role and utility of ICT tools in education as computer algebra systems (CAS) and dynamic geometry systems (DGS) in implementing active and innovative teaching methodologies related to sustainable STEAM education. Likewise, it highlights the necessity for learners to have extensive knowledge of mathematical theory, an essential asset to ensure the reliable and effective use of mathematical software. Through a practical experiment, this study aims to highlight that a mixed teaching method can significantly improve the sustainability of math knowledge. It provides various solid examples of CAS and DGS applications to emphasize its usage rooted in a mathematical background to enable learners to identify when the computer solution is unreliable. The study highlights that the proper use of CAS and DGS is an efficient method of deepening our understanding of mathematical notions and solving tasks in STEAM subjects and real-life applications. This paper’s goal is to direct our attention to the proper and intelligent use of computer tools, especially symbolic calculators, such as CAS and DGS, without providing an in-depth analysis of the challenges of these technologies. The outcomes of the paper should offer educators and learners new elements of active strategies and innovative learning models that can be immediately applied in education.

We found a lower bound on the rank of a square matrix where every entry in the leading diagonal is neither zero nor one and every entry outside the leading diagonal is either zero or one. The rank of this matrix is at least half its order. Under an additional condition, the lower bound is higher by one. This condition means that some auxiliary system of linear equations has no binary solution. Some examples are provided that show that the lower bound can be achieved. This lower bound on the matrix rank allows the problem of finding a binary solution to a system of linear equations with a sufficiently large number of linearly independent equations to be reduced to a similar problem in a smaller number of variables. Restrictions on the existence of a large set of solutions are found, each differing from the binary one by the value of one variable. In addition, we discuss the possibility of certifying the absence of a binary solution to a large system of linear algebraic equations. Estimates of the time required for calculating the matrix rank in the SymPy computer algebra system are also provided. It is shown that the rank of a matrix over the field of residues modulo prime number is calculated faster than it generally takes to calculate the rank of a matrix of the same order over the field of rational numbers.

The Constraint Satisfaction Problem Dichotomy Conjecture of Feder and Vardi (1999) has in the last 10 years been profitably reformulated as a conjecture about the set SPfin(A)\\sf {SP}_\\textsf {fin}(\\mathbf {A}) of subalgebras of finite Cartesian powers of a finite universal algebra A\\mathbf {A}. One particular strategy, advanced by Dalmau in his doctoral thesis (2000), has confirmed the conjecture for a certain class of finite algebras A\\mathbf {A} which, among other things, have the property that the number of subalgebras of An\\mathbf {A}^n is bounded by an exponential polynomial. In this paper we characterize the finite algebras A\\mathbf {A} with this property, which we call having few subpowers, and develop a representation theory for the subpowers of algebras having few subpowers. Our characterization shows that algebras having few subpowers are the finite members of a newly discovered and surprisingly robust Maltsev class defined by the existence of a special term we call an edge term. We also prove some tight connections between the asymptotic behavior of the number of subalgebras of An\\mathbf {A}^n and some related functions on the one hand, and some standard algebraic properties of A\\mathbf {A} on the other hand. The theory developed here was applied to the Constraint Satisfaction Problem Dichotomy Conjecture, completing Dalmau’s strategy.

This paper analyses student views on an e-learning intervention that incorporated a content development tool and computer algebra systems, aimed at improving performance and applicability of mathematics knowledge. The study deliberately relied on open source tools, with high usability both online and offline, that can be customized to address the peculiarities of mathematics instruction in developing countries. Repeated ANOVA and logistic regression were among the statistical methods used to analyze the data. Key findings showed that usability and detailed feedback were the qualities of computer algebra system that were most desired by students. Content quality, problem solving abilities and internet availability were key factors for mathematical e-learning satisfaction. The research showed that the use of an interactive content development tool and computer algebra systems can help the teachers to be more innovative and adopt project-based examination formats that encourage knowledge applicability. The e-learning tools helped the students to self-regulate and discover their own knowledge, which increased their chances of handling application type problems. Among others, the study recommended set up of mathematical e-laboratories which can be accessed by students for at least 3 days per week.

An artin algebra is called CM-free provided that all its finitely generated Gorenstein projective modules are projective. We show that a connected artin algebra with radical square zero is either self-injective or CM-free. As a consequence, we prove that a connected artin algebra with radical square zero is Gorenstein if and only if its valued quiver is either an oriented cycle with the trivial valuation or does not contain oriented cycles.

Following the simple observation that the interconnection of a set of quantum optical input-output devices can be specified using structural mode VHSIC hardware description language, we demonstrate a computer-aided schematic capture workflow for modelling and simulating multi-component photonic circuits. We describe an algorithm for parsing circuit descriptions to derive quantum equations of motion, illustrate our approach using simple examples based on linear and cavity-nonlinear optical components, and demonstrate a computational approach to hierarchical model reduction.