Dave Peterson

(Doctor Peterson) A former software engineer with degrees in math, I found my experience as a Math Doctor starting in 1998 so stimulating that in 2004 I took a new job teaching math at a community college in order to help the same sorts of people face to face. I have three adult children, and live near Rochester, N.Y. I am the author and instigator of anything on the site that is not attributed to someone else.

Homogeneous Linear Recurrence Relations

Last week we looked at a recent question about recurrence relations, and I realized it needs a companion article to introduce these ideas. So here we will look at some answers from Ask Dr. Math about the simpler case, including general methods, why they work, and applications.

Non-homogeneous Recurrence Relations

(A new question of the week) A recent question asked us to find errors in solving recurrence relations by the method of undetermined coefficients. We’ll see several things that can go wrong, and correct some misunderstandings.

Advanced Logarithm Problems

(A new question of the week) Here is an interesting collection of problems involving logarithms with different bases, which require some unique thinking. And after we’d worked out a good strategy, another problem arose at a whole new level.

Fine Points on Polygons and Polyhedra

Last time, looking at degenerate polygons, I mentioned some other issues pertaining to the definition of a polygon. Let’s take the opportunity to look at them. This post supplements what was said previously in What is a Polyhedron … Really?