This class has two goals: Learn how to develop models by turning real-world situations into mathematical expressions, and how to analyze the resulting mathematics to draw meaningful conclusions about the real-world.

Developing Models: The world is full of interesting interactions between individuals. A group of friends trying to decide where to go out for dinner on a Friday night. A high school filled with a complex web of friendships and rivalries. A commuter deciding to ride a bike to work or drive a car and risk getting caught in traffic.

All these situations and more can be approximated in a mathematical framework. We will learn how to take things in the real world and represent them as mathematical objects.

Analyzing the Math: Once these complex situations have been turned into variables and equations, we can use the myriad powers of math to draw conclusions about the real-life situations we modeled. In this class, we will primarily use calculus and probability to analyze our models. We will also learn how to use computer simulations when our models become to difficult or complicated to analyze using analytic tools.