ABSTRACT
This chapter explores importance and significance of assumptions behind a mathematical model. In most math classes, the main goal is to learn the theory of some particular mathematical discipline. Every student of mathematics has done some “mathematical modeling” in his/her educational career. These instances of mathematical modeling are typically called “applications” and are used to illustrate how mathematics is implemented in the “real world.” The underlying mathematical model requires knowledge of the proportion of Carbon—14 originally present in the sample. Einstein’s theory of special relativity is really a mathematical model. It is based on several postulates, one of which is that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant to any observer in an inertial frame of reference.
