Lab 10

Faculty Notes

I've Got Your Number

Mathematics
for
Telecommunications

Prof Mary Kay Abbey
AMATYC – Writing Team Members
Montgomery Community College
Takoma Park, Maryland
 Prof Ellena Reda
AMATYC – Writing Team Members
Dutchess Community College
Poughkeepsie, New York
MWP Logo

Project Grant Team

John S. Pazdar
Capital Community College
Hartford, Connecticut
 		Karen B. Gaines
St Louis Community College – Meremac
St Louis, Missouri
This project was supported, in part,
by the National Science Foundation.
 Peter A. Wursthorn
Capital Community College
Hartford, Connecticut
Opinions expressed are those of the authors
and not necessarily those of the Foundation. 		Patricia L. Hirschy
Asnuntuck Community College
Enfield, Connecticut

#Introduction

This lab can be done with little previous knowledge of the cellular industry. The web site http://www.howstuffworks.com is a great place to start for an explanation of cellular phones. It is written for the general population so students will find it interesting and readable. It contains most of the information needed for the students to do their research for the "Big Picture" portion of the lab. As other possible sources, check the list of web sites at the end of these notes. If students have access to a library that contains engineering textbooks they may also find more information on these topics.

The manner in which you assign the topics in the "Big Picture" is flexible. It is recommended, however, that the presentations be done in the order in which the topics are listed, so that there is a logical progression of information.

Depending on the amount of time available, you may have each student participate in each of the three areas of concentration (tower placement, health and safety, and consumer education), or just assign each group of students a single area.

The web sites listed at the end of these notes just give a sampling of possible sites that contain good information. Simply using any of the main search engines, such as Google or Altavista, (with the keywords cell phones, FCC, cell towers, etc.) will open up the floodgates of information.

#Math Notes

This lab can be done using mathematics typically covered in an intermediate algebra course. Students will be asked to think critically, use their problem solving skills, design tables, draw graphs and solve equations. This material would also be suitable for a college algebra class or a technical mathematics class.

The cellular tower assignment does involve both statistics (very basic) and geometry. Students must take into account overlapping the cells (circles or hexagons) as well as how the signals will actually travel from a given location considering obstructions in the landscape.

The health and safety assignment involves statistics at whatever level you deem required. Students need to understand sampling as well as basic statistics such as mean, median, mode, and standard deviation. If the students have a more sophisticated background in statistics you may ask them to take it a level higher.

The rate plan assignment is a modeling assignment. Students must have a working knowledge of functions (piece-wise), including creating and using them. They should graph the functions to provide a better visual representation.

#Presentation Hints

For the "Big Picture" portion of the lab, students should have both a written and oral report to present. In many cases, it would be helpful if they had visual aids to help describe the topics. Things such as the cellular-cluster structure or information on sound waves are good examples. For the area of concentration portion of the lab, students should again provide both a written and oral report. It is important that they not only report their findings, but also include the mathematical tools they deploy to solve the problem. They also need to include a detailed description of the process they went through to arrive at their specific recommendations or conclusions. The students should provide you with a separate report in which they share their failures or misconceptions that hampered their work and how they worked through them. You may choose to have them do this as a journal-type assignment. Each of these particular reports should be incorporated into the model portfolio.

#Web Sites of Interest

You may choose to point the students in the direction of these web sites or have them find them on their own.

 

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