To celebrate the 2021 International Day Mathematics, the School of Mathematics held a special event titled "Pi Day · The 120th anniversary of SDU" on the platform of the 8th floor of Block B, Zhixin Building on March 14.The event included not only interesting mathematical games organized by the Student Union and the Mathematical Modeling Association, but also a classical film played by Mr. Hua Luogeng Study and Research Association, attracting hundreds of SDUers. To commemorate the ancient Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi, the International Mathematical Union has designated March 14 each year as International Day of Mathematics, derived from the rounded value of π calculated by the ancient Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi.UNESCO's 40th General Conference decided March 14 as the International Day of Mathematics on November 26, 2019.
The Tower of Hanoi is a puzzle game that is associated with an ancient Indian legend. There were three rods labeled A, B and C. The disks of different sizes stacked on Rod A from top to bottom in a conical shape. The player needed to move all the disks to Rod B, one at a time, with the rule that a larger disk could never be placed on top of a smaller disk. Three levels of difficulty were set according to the number of layers, and the students were rewarded for completing the game.
Sudoku is a logic based mathematical game that originated from Switzerland in the 18th century, using pen and paper for calculation.On the scene, players solved their puzzles on the test paper distributed. They needed to infer the numbers of all remaining spaces based on the known numbers, and satisfy the rule that the numbers in each row, each column, and each thick line palace, are not repeated. Each test paper was printed with four levels of puzzles, and the students were awarded with gifts according to the their results.
Poker 24 is an intellectual card game. The students needed to use the numbers on the given four cards to reach the goal of 24 through mathematical operations, i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Each person was given two minutes, and the prizes were awarded according to the number of answers completed within the specified time.
The Mathematical Modeling Association organized a fun game in which the students exercised their thinking, broadened their minds and learned knowledge in an interesting and relaxed atmosphere, while the Mr. Hua Luogeng Study and Research Association prepared the classic film "Master of Mathematics Hua Luogeng" in tribute to the mathematical master.
Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, once said: "The technical applications of mathematics underpin all areas of our lives today". This special event on the International Day of Mathematics not only provided the students with unique mathematical theme activities, but also effectively exercised their logical thinking and hands-on skills, which truly achieved the three-wide education and five-sided education, and also reflected the beauty and importance of mathematics in daily life. This was well aligned with the proposal to "build 'digital China' and develop digital economy", made by Chen Zengjing, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Dean of Shandong University's School of Mathematics in the recently concluded Two Sessions. We should make efforts to give full play to the advantages of basic disciplines and deliver the mathematical power of SDU to promote high-quality development.