Competition or Collusion? Game Theory in Security, Sports, and Business A CCICADA Homeland Security Module James Kupetz, Luzern County Community College
[email protected] Choong-Soo Lee, St. Lawrence University
[email protected] Steve Leonhardi, Winona State University
[email protected] 1/90 Competition or Collusion? Game Theory in Security, Sports, and Business Note to teachers: Teacher notes appear in dark red in the module, allowing faculty to pull these notes off the teacher version to create a student version of the module. Module Summary This module introduces students to game theory concepts and methods, starting with zero-sum games and then moving on to non-zero-sum games. Students learn techniques for classifying games, for computing optimal solutions where known, and for analyzing various strategies for games in which no optimal solution exists. Finally, students have the opportunity to transfer what they’ve learned to new game-theoretic situations. Prerequisites Students should be able to use the skills learned in High School Algebra 1, including the ability to graph linear equations, find points of intersection, and algebraically solve systems of two linear equations in two unknowns. Knowledge of basic probability (such as should be learned by the end of 9th grade) is also required; experience with computing expected value would be helpful, but can be taught as part of the module. No computer programming experience is required or involved, although students with some programming knowledge may be able to adapt their knowledge to optional projects. Suggested Uses This module can be used with students in grades 10-14 in almost any class, but is best suited to students in mathematics, economics, political science, or computer science courses.