I learnt to derive cubic equations and then used that to solve quadratic equations! – See how Laura is getting on in her STEM placement.

The STEM placement students are sending us weekly blogs all about their experience in the world of work! 

Work experience is great and it provides students with many benefits whilst gaining skills and helping choose the right future career path for pupils. Having work experience on a Curriculum Vitae will make a person stand out to employers as they will notice they have motivation and a real passion for work. It will also help to boost a students confidence in themselves!

See how Laura is getting on in her STEM placement. 

Week one - 

"During the first week, I began working on my research project into algebraic structures. This included deriving the cubic equation, and then using that to solve quadratic equations. I learnt how to use the maths software Maple, which allowed me to solve problems much faster. I also had the opportunity to join the summer school, where we worked in groups to produce research posters about chaos theory and the butterfly effect, and then presented them to the other students. As part of the summer school, I attended a maths lecture about number systems and a seminar about cryptography, both of which were very enjoyable and informative."

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Week two - 

"In my second week, my research moved on to looking at groups and fields, and proving whether or not certain sets of numbers could be classed as these. This also allowed me to use other forms of numbers such as matrices. I began working on my paper, and through this learnt a form of software called LaTeX, which is used by mathematicians to write up reports, as it is much easier to use notation or write equations using this rather than word processors such as Microsoft Word."

                         

                                                                                   Week three -                                         

"In my third week, I looked into constructing finite fields out of sets which were not numeric, such as matrices and polynomials. This involved using the basic algebraic structures of groups and the idea of group isomorphic. I also looked at groups made from symmetries of polygons, and whether or not they needed to be abelian groups (ones which are commutative). Many hours this week were also spent continuing to write my research paper, and constructing graphs to help explain ideas such as the polar form of complex numbers and roots of unity."

- Laura