Abstract:

Cellular automata have been used successfully in different disciplines, currently attention is directed towards the development of models that are capable of carrying out complex tasks such as cryptography, image processing and turbulence analysis, among others, and that is why we consider it important to introduce concepts and applications in teaching, thus posing a starting point for the study of mathematical models that contemplate the resolution of discrete variable problems. Through the incorporation of laboratory activities in the subject Algebra and Analytical Geometry, it was sought to promote a change of perspective that led us to see the generation of algorithms as a mathematical excellence activity, computer science, as the complementary knowledge for the execution of those algorithms and the correct management of outputs.

The design of strategies was promoted as a starting point for the study of mathematical models that contemplate the resolution of discrete variable problems. In mathematics courses, the creation of a nested list of multidimensional matrices hinders the teaching-learning process, the concrete applications of these concepts give them meaning and collaborate to acquire the mathematical competencies required in the career´s first levels.

A problem to be solved by various areas of science is to know the mathematical mechanisms by which the simplest components of a system acting sequentially can produce behaviours that are difficult to predict because of the great complexity.

The acquisition of mathematical competencies in the development of complex models from simple mathematics can be implemented in the Engineering career as long as teachers are willing to change.

The objective of this presentation is to show an experience where the concepts of Cellular Automata are introduced in the subject Algebra and Analytical Geometry with the purpose of using simulation tools and matrices, basic elements of the treatment of discrete dynamical systems.

Specifically, the work focuses on developing the model called: The game of life, approached from the point of view of matrix operations. In previous works presented in EDUALEARN20, the subject was developed from the perspective of the logic of a structured programming. In this presentation it is interesting to show how the basic operations of matrix algebra that students must know and exercise have a direct relationship with this game. The objective of the class is to develop activities that involve exercises of matrix algebra and also show where it is possible to apply this content of the subject in projects inherent to engineering.

The activity involves an interdisciplinary project to which introduce students from the first years of the Engineering career handling discrete data. Cellular automata have been used successfully in different disciplines, understanding for this reason the authors of this work the importance of introducing concepts and applications in engineering teaching process. Interdisciplinary activities for the construction of computational algorithms as methods to design mathematical objects is a challenge for both teachers and students.

Keywords:

Matrix algebra, discrete models, cellular automata.