The KnotLink Game on Families of Whitehead and Pretzel Links

Authors

  • Hunter Adams Seattle University
  • Megan Christensen Seattle University
  • Brooke Friedel Seattle University
  • Allison Henrich Seattle University
  • David Neel Seattle University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46787/pump.v8i.3847

Keywords:

knot; link; game; Whitehead link; pretzel links

Abstract

In this paper, we study the KnotLink Game, a two-player game that can be played on the shadow of a knot or link diagram. This game was introduced by Adams, Henrich, and Stoll, who investigated winning strategies on certain infinite families of rational links. We focus our work on determining winning strategies for two additional infinite families of links: the pretzel link family and a family of Whitehead links.

Author Biographies

Hunter Adams, Seattle University

Hunter Adams graduated from Seattle University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. They now work as a Sales Development Representative at DocuSign.

Megan Christensen, Seattle University

Megan Christensen graduated from Seattle University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and now works with the FDIC as a Financial Institution Specialist.  

Brooke Friedel, Seattle University

Brooke Friedel is a graduate of Seattle University who majored in mathematics with minors in women & gender studies and LGBTQ studies. She loves sewing and reading and is looking forward to seeing where her degree will take her after graduation.

David Neel, Seattle University

David Neel is an associate professor in the Mathematics Department at Seattle University. He is cheerful servant to three cats: Sylvester, Marlowe, and Aki.

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Published

2025-01-24

How to Cite

Adams, H., Christensen, M., Friedel, B., Henrich, A., & Neel, D. (2025). The KnotLink Game on Families of Whitehead and Pretzel Links. The PUMP Journal of Undergraduate Research, 8, 20–46. https://doi.org/10.46787/pump.v8i.3847

Issue

Vol. 8 (2025): PUMP Journal of Undergraduate Research

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Hunter Adams, Megan Christensen, Brooke Friedel, Allison Henrich, David Neel

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The author(s) will retain the copyright, but by submitting the article agree to grant permission to the PUMP Journal of Undergraduate Research to publish, distribute, and archive the article. The author(s) will acknowledge prior publication in the PUMP Journal of Undergraduate Research for all future uses of the article or parts of it.