×

Extending the rubber rope: convergent series, divergent series and the integrating factor. (English) Zbl 1293.97053

Summary: A well-known mathematical puzzle regarding a worm crawling along an elastic rope is considered. The resulting generalizations provide examples for use in a teaching context including applications of series summation, the use of the integrating factor for the solution of differential equations, and the evaluation of definite integrals. A number of potential classroom exercises are given.

MSC:

97I30 Sequences and series (educational aspects)
97A20 Recreational mathematics, games (education) (MSC2010)
00A08 Recreational mathematics
40A05 Convergence and divergence of series and sequences
PDFBibTeX XMLCite
Full Text: DOI

References:

[1] Gardner M, Aha! Gotcha: Paradoxes to Puzzle and Delight (1982)
This reference list is based on information provided by the publisher or from digital mathematics libraries. Its items are heuristically matched to zbMATH identifiers and may contain data conversion errors. In some cases that data have been complemented/enhanced by data from zbMATH Open. This attempts to reflect the references listed in the original paper as accurately as possible without claiming completeness or a perfect matching.