Secret Admirer- A WCoM Valentine's Day Special!

In the Valentine's Day mood? We've got just the thing. Try your hand at this special Valentine's Day math problem!

See the solution below the break!

Advanced Knowledge Problem of the Week

See if you can complete the proof from this week's Advanced Knowledge Problem of the Week, which tests some kernels of knowledge from an array of linear algebra concepts. Let us know how you do in the comments!

See my solution below the break.

Problem of the Week

Celebrate our #sigma with this week's summation Problem of the Week. Let us know how you did in the comments!

Find the solution below.

Super Bowl 50 Stats and Facts

Super Bowl 50

The outcome of the January 24th Conference championships left Patriot and Cardinal fans shocked and disappointed. Watching the game from a local pub in Boston, it felt as though the city came to a complete standstill when the final whistle blew with a 20-18 Bronco victory. If you are like any of the hard-core Patriot fans I know, you will most likely be boycotting the team until they deem themselves worthy again.

Of course, fans are always bitter after their team looses. However, it may have taken some of the edge off if the predictions were not so misleading. Statistics reported by Sportsbook, ODDS Shark, The Denver Post, Vegas Insider and FootballLocks all reported a Bronco-Cardinal face off.

Despite the fact that reports predicted a Bronco victory, a close game by the Patriots was not anticipated, straying fans toward false expectations. This being said, don't loose hope in the power of statistics! On February 7, the Carolina Panthers will face the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. In an interview with CNN, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said: "I keep saying it: We're not finished" while Peyton Manning, Broncos quarterback emphasis his gratitude, "It's a great honor to be going back to the Super Bowl." As both teams and fans are confident in a Super Bowl 50 victory, listed below are February 7th's predictions: 

According to ESPN's Football Power Index:

                                             

The Bleacher Report also predicts a Panther victory: 31 to 17.

Shifting gears to website mediated polls, fans we're asked "Who's going to win Super Bowl 50?"

Result gathered by officials predict: 

Heavy

                                                      

LA Times 

As the Panthers are favored to win, lets hope Carolina fans aren't disappointed! 

If these statistics don't cut it for you, lets take a look at some celebrity predictions.

1. Pierre McGuire - Panthers 

"I think the (Cam) Newton factor is going to be huge. I know Denver's defense is obviously All-World. But I think the combination of (Greg) Olson and Newton make a big different for Carolina, so I give them the edge" 

2. Luc Robitaille - Broncos

"You know, I really like New England, so once Denver won, and I'm a fan of John Elway and how he built that team, and Peyton Manning is such a great story. I'll just say I'm probably going to be rooting for the old guy."

3. Timothy Bradley - Panthers 

"It's very clear to me - Carolina Panthers 31-27" 

4. John Scott - Panthers 

"Geez, I don't know. I don't know. That's a good question. I kind of want the Broncos to win just so Manning can go out (with a win) but I think the Panthers are going to win. They have a good team." 

With this information in mind, it is clear that a team is favored to win. However, odds can always go askew, and until February 7th's Super Bowl, fans will be on their toes. So go ahead and have a Super Bowl party, put on your favorite team's jersey and impress your friends with Super Bowl math facts!

1) Why is the phrase Super Bowl accompanied by a Roman numeral?

For starters, the NFL season spans two calendar years. Purely for aesthetic reasons, marketers decided that it would look better for Super Bowl to be accompanied with roman numerals rather than the years. For example, "Super Bowl XLVIII" - aka, Super Bowl 48 looks far better than "Super Bowl 2013-2014." This year, however, roman numerals were discontinued leaving "Super Bowl L" as "Super Bowl 50." "Some would ask, 'The letter L, what does that associate with?' NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says; The answer, of course, is "Losing." Along with this, the creative team decided that L would not be aesthetically pleasing and the realm of creative design is much greater with the number "50." 

2) Does the coin toss that takes place before the Super Bowl actually matter?

In other words, if a team wins the coin toss does it increase the odds that they will win the game? In a few words, no, according to Jason Marshall, PhD, "the coin toss has no statically significant impact on the outcome of the game." No need to hold of bets till after the coin toss!

3) What scores are possible in football?

This is more of a puzzle than a fact, but we encourage you to try it out! In other words, are there any scores that are impossible?

You will need to know the difference number of points that can be awarded:

• 2 points for the relatively rare safety 
• 3 points for a field goal
• 6 points for a touchdown
• 7 points for a touchdown and a successful extra-point kick
• 8 point for a touchdown and a successful two-point conversation 

Is it possible for a team to score 13 points? How about 37? Try your best to prove why some scores are possible.. or impossible! 

Comment on our social media links or send us a message with your answer! 

Good luck Panthers and Broncos, may the odds be in your favor! 

Advanced Knowledge Problem of the Week

Try your hand at this analysis proof involving continuity and differentiability! It may help to draw a graph so you can visualize what is going on with the function near the origin.

See my solution below, and let us know how you did in the comments!

Problem of the Week

Check out this week's Problem of the Week, which involves a topic from differential equations, the Laplace transform. See if you can figure it out!

The solution can be found below the break.