Playing "Who done it?" has gone far beyond the days of "Clue" when guessing games played a key role in solving the crime.

Exponential functions and factorials are leading the way to crime solving on the hit CBS series "Numb3rs." And some area students are getting in on the mathematical action.

Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science math teacher, Claudia Carter, has introduced the crime solving methods of the show to her math modeling class, teaching them lessons based on the math used in the weekly episodes.

"They've gotten really involved," said Carter, who notes, a real-life application of math always peaks interest more than a textbook alone. "It couches the math in an experience they can relate to."

Texas Instruments partnered with CBS in association with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in January of 2005 to provide educational resources based on the series, "Numb3rs."

The first lessons were posted last year in the show's second season, but Carter has been using the show as an educational tool since its debut season.

"Some of the math just fit so well with what we were doing in class," Carter recalled.

Now in its third season, "Numb3rs" has become a staple in Carter's classroom with students watching episodes of the show after solving the math problems related to it.

"We all use math every day," said 17-year-old Rhonda Daughdrill of Wiggins, quoting the show's motto and the title of the education initiative. Daughdrill said the activities can help motivate them to solve more complex math problems and has helped her to realize everyone really does use math every day.

"It's really entertaining. It helps us relate to it better," added Amanda Mixon, 17, of Jackson. "One of the things that makes it really helpful is, they don't just use math, they explain it," commented Christopher Wright, 16, of Gulfport.

This week, the students learned about exponential decay and its application toward radiocarbon dating, a procedure used to find the age of objects, such as bones, that were once part of carbon-based life forms. Charlie, the mathematician on "Numb3rs," explained how to use the procedure to find the age of a skull, retrieved from a Native American burial ground.

"Whenever you put something into real life, the kids are really into the fact that it's not just a textbook kind of thing," said Carter.

Even though the school is for those students who are talented in the areas of math and science, Carter said, there's always room to add real life applications to the classroom experience. "These kids already like math. But it still makes it more meaningful for them."

And Harrison To, 16, of Starkville agrees with that notion. "All the math you learn in school, you think you'll never use and you end up using it. And that's pretty cool."

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Originally appeared in the NUMB3RS Weekly Update E-newsletter.