Towing Icebergs, Falling Dominoes, and Other Adventures in Applied Mathematics (Princeton Puzzlers)

Although we seldom think of it, our lives are played out in a world of numbers. Such common activities as throwing baseballs, skipping rope, growing flowers, playing football, measuring savings accounts, and many others are inherently mathematical. So are more speculative problems that are simply fun to ponder in themselves--such as the best way to score Olympic events. Here Robert Banks presents a wide range of musings, both practical and entertaining, that have intrigued him and others: How tall can one grow? Why do we get stuck in traffic? Which football player would have a better chance of breaking away--a small, speedy wide receiver or a huge, slow linebacker? Can California water shortages be alleviated by towing icebergs from Antarctica? What is the fastest the 100-meter dash will ever be run? The book's twenty-four concise chapters, each centered on a real-world phenomenon, are presented in an informal and engaging manner. Banks shows how math and simple reasoning together may produce elegant models that explain everything from the federal debt to the proper technique for ski-jumping. This book, which requires of its readers only a basic understanding of high school or college math, is for anyone fascinated by the workings of mathematics in our everyday lives, as well as its applications to what may be imagined. All will be rewarded with a myriad of interesting problems and the know-how to solve them.Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions. Although we seldom think of it, our lives are played out in a world of numbers. Such common activities as throwing baseballs, skipping rope, growing flowers, playing football, measuring savings accounts, and many others are inherently mathematical. So are more speculative problems that are simply fun to ponder in themselves--such as the best way to score Olympic events. Here Robert Banks presents a wide range of musings, both practical and entertaining, that have intrigued him and others: How tall can one grow? Why do we get stuck in traffic? Which football player would have a better chance of breaking away--a small, speedy wide receiver or a huge, slow linebacker? Can California water shortages be alleviated by towing icebergs from Antarctica? What is the fastest the 100-meter dash will ever be run? The book's twenty-four concise chapters, each centered on a real-world phenomenon, are presented in an informal and engaging manner. Banks shows how math and simple reasoning together may produce elegant models that explain everything from the federal debt to the proper technique for ski-jumping. This book, which requires of its readers only a basic understanding of high school or college math, is for anyone fascinated by the workings of mathematics in our everyday lives, as well as its applications to what may be imagined. All will be rewarded with a myriad of interesting problems and the know-how to solve them. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions

Although we seldom think of it, our lives are played out in a world of numbers. Such common activities as throwing baseballs, skipping rope, growing flowers, playing football, measuring savings accounts, and many others are inherently mathematical. So are more speculative problems that are simply fun to ponder in themselves—such as the best way to score Olympic events.

Here Robert Banks presents a wide range of musings, both practical and entertaining, that have intrigued him and others: How tall can one grow? Why do we get stuck in traffic? Which football player would have a better chance of breaking away—a small, speedy wide receiver or a huge, slow linebacker? Can California water shortages be alleviated by towing icebergs from Antarctica? What is the fastest the 100-meter dash will ever be run?

The book's twenty-four concise chapters, each centered on a real-world phenomenon, are presented in an informal and engaging manner. Banks shows how math and simple reasoning together may produce elegant models that explain everything from the federal debt to the proper technique for ski-jumping.

This book, which requires of its readers only a basic understanding of high school or college math, is for anyone fascinated by the workings of mathematics in our everyday lives, as well as its applications to what may be imagined. All will be rewarded with a myriad of interesting problems and the know-how to solve them.

Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 14 Chapter 1: Units and Dimensions and Mach Numbers 18 Chapter 2: Alligator Eggs and the Federal Debt 30 Chapter 3: Controlling Growth and Perceiving Spread 39 Chapter 4: Little Things Falling from the Sky 46 Chapter 5: Big Things Falling from the Sky 57 Chapter 6: Towing and Melting Enormous Icebergs: Part I 69 Chapter 7: Towing and Melting Enormous Icebergs: Part II 83 Chapter 8: A Better Way to Score the Olympics 94 Chapter 9: How to Calculate the Economic Energy of a Nation 108 Chapter 10: How to Start Football Games, and Other Probably Good Ideas 124 Chapter 11: Gigantic Numbers and Extreme Exponents 136 Chapter 12: Ups and Downs of Professional Football 148 Chapter 13: A Tower, a Bridge, and a Beautiful Arch 165 Chapter 14: Jumping Ropes and Wind Turbines 183 Chapter 15: The Crisis of the Deficit: Gompertz to the Rescue 194 Chapter 16: How to Reduce the Population with Differential Equations 204 Chapter 17: Shot Puts, Basketballs, and Water Fountains 216 Chapter 18: Balls and Strikes and Home Runs 234 Chapter 19: Hooks and Slices and Holes in One 249 Chapter 20: Happy Landings in the Snow 258 Chapter 21: Water Waves and Falling Dominoes 269 Chapter 22: Something Shocking about Highway Traffic 285 Chapter 23: How Tall Will I Grow? 298 Chapter 24: How Fast Can Runners Run? 315 References 336 Index 342 Paperback ressiue, for the Princeton Puzzler's Series, 2013.