IA Math exploration topic

[BeerTanK]

Hello everyone,

I need help developing my math exploration topic. I want to do something with the programming language Java. I already know the basics of the language, so I am familiar with using it. I just don't know how to turn this into an exploration topic. I was thinking maybe writing a program that will do something related to math, maybe calculator, or something?

Please help me, i'm stuck

[1stblondealternative]

I think that making Java calculator would be too easy for Math IA topic and also you cannot make many connections to the math, rather computer science. If you really want to do something related to Java then I would suggest making a program that is a bit more complicated such as calculating different types of equations and graphing them along. But what I would really suggest is to discard the idea of Java and math, but rather you could do something with trends, such as population trends of some species or even some conuntry, where you can model the functions and consider them.

Source: I take Math SL and Computer Science SL

Good luck!

[ctrls]

^ While statistics and such is a good field, CS-related stuff isn't bad either. I wouldn't really say a certain area is a better choice than the other, rather it's better to focus on what you prefer or do well in.

I'd agree that a calculator would be too simple though, however some extensions may work. In particular, numerical methods for solving certain functions or equations such as the Taylor and Maclaurin series, other things could include the Newton-Raphson method for solving equations (including roots, polynomials, etc) and the Trapezium rule for approximating integrals. All of these methods can be implemented in Java using iterative methods, which would probably work nicely. These methods would extend on what you've learnt already, so difficulty-wise it's probably fine.

For more general CS-related topics algorithms may be a good starting point, however a lot of stuff requires more specific maths which isn't part of the SL course so you'll have to be careful. First thing that comes to mind is asymptotic complexity, since a lot of the maths behind it (depending on the algorithm) is generally straightforward - at least with basic sorting and searching algorithms, etc. Recursion in general is also a pretty interesting topic (though it quickly gets pretty advanced), which ties in with the previous suggestion too.