I've been on the lookout for a way to maintain my coding skills and simultaneously apply my maths knowledge. I'm glad to have found it:
Project Euler provides mathematical problems that require a computer and programming to be solved. For example, in order to even register for the site, one must solve the following problem:
A number is a perfect square, or a square number, if it is the square of a positive integer.
For example,
25is a square number because5^2=5 \times 5=25; it is also an odd square.The first 5 square numbers are:
1,4,9,16,25, and the sum of the odd squares is1+9+25=35.Among the first 290 thousand square numbers, what is the sum of all the odd squares?
I won't give away the answer, in accordance with the Project Euler code of conduct. In fact, on Project Euler's registration page, you'll find an appropriate quote by Plato:
Let none but enquiring minds enter.