If you want to win at Monopoly, talk to Raphael Hurley (15), who used complex mathematics to identify the best properties to own. "I wanted to find out if some Colaiste an Spioraid Naomh, Bishopstown, Co Cork, said. He was describing the subject of his Esat Telecom Young Scientists Exhibition entry at the RDS yesterday.
Using probability theory, matrices and Markov chain calculations, he decided that the orange properties - Store Street, Dame Street and Pearse Street - were the most attractive. They had high profitability and a low number of turns before breaking even on house and hotel investment.
Contrary to popular assumption, the green properties (Grafton Street, Wicklow and George's Street) are more profitable than the dark blues (Ailesbury Road and Shrewsbury Road) on the basis of Raphael's computations.
No aspect of this popular board game escaped his mathematical scrutiny. The typical Chance card early in the game paid out £37.62 on average, he said, but later in the game they were a liability, costing an average £250 a draw. Community Chest, on the other hand, typically paid out £35.70 a card early in the game and £16.30 on average later on.
This is one game where the bank always loses, ranging from 21p to £2.71 lost on average a turn.
Aside from Jail and Go, Patrick Street (among the red properties) and Dublin airport were the most frequently landed-on squares, Raphael said. He put this down to the probabilities associated with dice throws and the higher probability of rolling a seven on any given turn.
Seamus Bradley (16), Caroline Bradley (15, no relation), and Terence Carmichael (15) of St Patrick's College, Maghera, Co Derry, were into a different game, building a test rig to find the best impact protection for helmets, flooring and other uses. First-time entrants to the competition, their project was appropriately named Crash, Bang, Wallop! They used an impact weight floating on a cushion of air to establish which combinations of soft and rigid foams could provide the best protection for different uses. The rig used light-actuated electronic switches and a computer link to calculate the rebound characteristics of the various foams.
These data were fed into a spreadsheet so theoretical combinations could be developed. The rig could test these combinations to see if they offered the required protection without being damaged.
The three believe their calculations could be used to produce better hurley helmets, specialised flooring for creches and better hunting jackets - tough enough to withstand a gunshot but also resilient enough absorb the force of the impact.
Galen Mac Caba (12) and An drew Sheridan (12) of St Michael's, Ailesbury Road, and Neil Douglas (12) of Newpark Comprehensive School, Blackrock, joined forces to develop a typing robot arm. The unusual step of joining two schools in one project was easily explained, Galen said.
"We are all interested in computers and Star Trek."
