A BioGraphy of Life: How Graph Theory Makes Mathematics Recognizable, Relevant, and Research-Rich in Biology Education
Author(s): John R Jungck
Interdisciplinary Science Learning Center at the University of Delaware
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Description
Biologists use graphs extensively in ecology, evolution, genetics, developmental biology, and biochemistry: phylogenetic trees, food webs, pedigrees, genetic networks, metabolic pathways, kidney exchange networks, RNA secondary structures. However, they frequently do not know that these representations of their data are mathematical abstractions, generalizations, and visualizations that are amenable to deeper analysis through the use of formal graph theoretic tools: interval graphs, planar graphs, polytopes, trees, Hamiltonian paths, graph grammars will be illustrated with appropriate undergraduate problems.
Cite this work
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
- Jungck, J. R. (2018). A BioGraphy of Life: How Graph Theory Makes Mathematics Recognizable, Relevant, and Research-Rich in Biology Education. QUBES Leadership Team, QUBES Educational Resources. doi:10.25334/Q4MM4N