Carl Leinbach
Professor Emeritus, Gettysburg College, USA and
Patricia Leinbach
Coroner of Adams County (retired), Pennsylvania, USA

Patricia Leinbach and Carl Leinbach propose to give two consecutive sessions on the topic of “Using Forensic Investigations and Computer Algebra to Motivate the Study of Mathematics.” Each session will remain within the usual Education session format (20-minute lecture, 10-minute question/discussion period).

The first session will deal with the layout of a crime scene based on Patricia’s experience and use actual scene materials to the extent that they do not compromise individual’s rights to privacy to show where mathematics is used and also the type of mathematics. The second session will deal with the student use of CAS to analyse the material and data gathered at the scene of the coroner’s investigation.

This session will be a continuation of the first session on this topic. It will have a much heavier emphasis on the mathematics and use of the CAS in analysing the data and evidence from the crime scene. It will also show ways that students can create their own “crime scene” in a mathematics laboratory session. During the discussion section the presenters will respond to questions concerning the appropriateness and usefulness of incorporating these materials into a mathematics classroom and resources for obtaining ideas and materials for further investigations.

The CAS’s to be used in this session are DERIVE 6 and TI N-spire.