ERIC Number: EJ898327
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Sep
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0025-5769
EISSN: N/A
Chocolate Key Cryptography
Bachman, Dale J.; Brown, Ezra A.; Norton, Anderson H.
Mathematics Teacher, v104 n2 p100-104 Sep 2010
Cryptography is the science of hidden or secret writing. More generally, cryptography refers to the science of safeguarding information. Cryptography allows people to use a public medium such as the Internet to transmit private information securely, thus enabling a whole range of conveniences, from online shopping to personally printed movie tickets to fraud-proof credit cards. To accomplish all this, cryptography must draw from the latest developments in mathematics and computer science, and its consequences define the cutting edge of privacy and intellectual property law. From an education viewpoint, cryptography--as a result of its position at the intersection of mathematics and computer science, its implications for people's daily lives, and its image as an element in international espionage--is a rich field for spurring students to further study in the sciences. This article presents an activity which focuses on how two people might develop a secret key that would be used to produce encryptions and decryptions. This activity uses M&M's[R] for a demonstration by analogy. (Contains 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Intellectual Property, Privacy, Computer Security, Internet, Mathematics, Computer Science, Learning Activities, Technology, Coding, Manipulative Materials, Teaching Methods
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1502. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-3702; Fax: 703-476-2970; e-mail: orders@nctm.org; Web site: http://www.nctm.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A