PUMAS (poo' • mas) -- is a collection of brief examples showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes can be used in interesting settings, including every day life.

The examples are written primarily by scientists, engineers, and other content experts having practical experience with the material. They are aimed mainly at classroom teachers, and are available to all interested parties via the PUMAS web site.

Our goal is to capture, for the benefit of pre-college education, the flavor of the vast experience that working scientists have with interesting and practical uses of math and science.

- Ralph Kahn
Pumas Editor and Founder

Featured PUMAS Example

Matching Birthdays by Phyllis A. Salmons
An interesting and well-known riddle in the area of probability is “The Birthday Problem.” You can find information about this problem in many introductory books in probability, probability and statistics, and math tricks books for laymen. This problem falls in the category of problems called counter-intuitive -- meaning that you may be surprised at the answer.
(view this example)

View the Examples

There are currently 72 examples in the PUMAS Collection.
View the full listing, organized by Example title.

We are always looking for neat examples of Practical Uses of Math And Science.
Please contribute!