Moments in math Illustrate its impact. (Mathematics).

Did you know characters and motion in movie animation are created with software that relies on math calculations? Or that math plays a crucial role in current weather forecasting? To learn about these and other applications of math, take a look at the new online teaching resource series from The American Mathematical Society. Called Mathematical Moments, the series is an effort to raise math awareness for middle and high school teachers, administrators and students.

The illustrated "snapshots" are designed to promote appreciation of the role math plays in science, nature, technology and human culture. Each topic is available in two PDF files: the standard version includes an introduction to the topic's math connection and a brief description of the applied math; the short version includes just the introduction and an enlarged image. Among the initial 16 topics are Making Movies Come Alive, Storing Fingerprints, Securing Internet Communication and Mapping the Brain.

AMS spokesman Mike Breen says that site visitors (many of them high school math teachers) have responded positively. "Most of the teachers use them as displays on department bulletin boards or in their rooms," he says.

The AMS continues to create new topics. Recently added were the mathematics of voting, iris recognition and the mathematics and economics of auctions.

www.ams.org/ams/mathmoments.html