Thursday, 27 January 2022 Gimnazija Koper high school students attend the UP FAMNIT Mathematics Day
Yesterday, the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies hosted the traditional Mathematics Day, which was organized for third-year students of the Gimnazija Koper by professors of mathematics at UP FAMNIT.
Accompanied by mathematics teachers, 95 students were divided into three groups and listened to lectures on the applicability of mathematics in everyday life.
Prof. Marko Orel, PhD, explained to the students the connection between mathematics and the operation of CT devices, as it was mathematics that contributed to the development of the first tomographs, which provided a more accurate insight into the human body. Students learned that with the help of mathematical equations, such devices can separate our bones and organs from the air and plot what is going on in our body.
Prof. Aleksander Malnič, PhD, presented three classic ancient Greek problems - how to construct the side of a cube with twice the volume of a given cube, how to divide a given angle into three equal parts and how to construct a square with the same area as a given circle. On the topic of game theory asist. Žiga Velkavrh explained how we can use mathematics to research strategic decision-making in theory and practice.
Mathematics is also often used in biology, especially to understand complex processes in nature, using mathematical models. The useful value of mathematics in biology was lectured by dr. Barbara Boldin. Dr. Nastja Cepak presented the field of cryptography and the use of ciphers in the past and today. Cryptography dates back more than 1,000 years, and with its help we can securely communicate through unsecured channels.
Finally, assoc. prof. Mihael Perman, PhD, explained why we probably encounter many situations in which there are several conflicting statements, which at first glance are all correct. These are paradoxes in probability, and with the students they examined if they were real or apparent.
Lecture by dr. Nastja Cepak
"When teaching mathematics at school, students mostly calculate and use formulas that they have to learn by heart, sometimes it is difficult to imagine the usefulness of mathematics in real life," says Neva Ećimović, professor of mathematics at Gimnazija Koper.
"Theory and good basics are important, so students can upgrade their knowledge, but at the Mathematics Day, which is prepared every year by FAMNIT, they have a very good opportunity to learn mathematics in a different way and get additional motivation to learn, which is sometimes lacking in learning about theory. ” She adds that students are enthusiastic about Mathematics Day every year, because in this way they learn about the usefulness of mathematics.
The Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies of the University of Primorska offers six undergraduate study programs, including Mathematics and Mathematics in Economics and Finance. More information about study programs and studying at Famnit can also be found at the upcoming Information Days, which will take place on 11 and 12 February 2022.
