The Challenge: Create the tessellation above using a compass and straight edge.
Materials Needed: Compass, straight edge, possibly grid paper
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, circles, geometric construction, geometry, Islamic geometry, lines, symmetry, vertices/intersections.
#MathArtChallenge Day 72: Stars
The Challenge: Create all of the possible “stars” given a certain number of vertices.
Materials Needed: Pencil/paper
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, arithmetic, circles, combinations & permutations, lines, proportions/ratios, symmetry, vertices/intersections
#MathArtChallenge Day 71: Sona Drawings
Given what’s happening in my community right now, I felt it was necessary to highlight some Black brilliance today.
The Challenge: (Re)create a Sona drawing. I did a couple hours of research yesterday (which is totally insufficient to fully understand it), but what I can tell you is that these drawings originate with the Chokwe people in southwestern Africa, specifically Angola and the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The drawings are told in conjunction with a story, and the goal of most is to draw them in as unbroken a line. Please check out some of the resources below, and if you have others to add, I’d love to see them and link them here.
Materials Needed: grid, pencil, paper, perhaps graphing software.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, counting, geometry, graph theory, proportions/ratios, slope, symmetry, vertices/intersections
#MathArtChallenge Day 70: Spinning Heptagon
The Challenge: This is a modular origami (7 squares) spinning top.
Materials needed: 7 squares of paper. Any paper will do, it doesn’t need to be origami paper.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, geometry, origami, polygons, symmetry, vertices/intersections
#MathArtChallenge Day 69: Another way to construct a rectangle
The Challenge: Construct a rectangle using a compass.
Materials needed: Compass, straight edge, writing utensil
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, circles, geometric construction, geometry, lines, polygons, slope, symmetry, vertices/intersections
#MathArtChallenge Day 68: Unknotting Number
The Challenge:
Materials needed: whiteboard?, pencil/paper?
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: circles counting, knot theory, topology, vertices/intersections
#MathArtChallenge Day 67: Circular Celtic Grid
The challenge: To create this circular grid and then design using it.
Materials needed: Compass OR Desmos geometry.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: circles, proportions/ratios, symmetry
#MathArtChallenge Day 66: Venn Diagrams
The challenge: Create a complete (all 16 spaces) 4 set venn diagram.
Materials needed: Pencil, paper, other??
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: circles, combinations & permutations, graph theory, probability, vertices/intersections
#MathArtChallenge Day 65: Penrose Triangle
The Challenge: Create a penrose triangle.
Materials needed: Pencil, paper, etc.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, isometric grids, perspective, vertices/intersections
#MathArtChallenge Day 64: Anamorphic Raintangle (from woollythoughts.com)
The challenge: Create a rainbow and get it reflected in a curved surface to reveal a rectangle. All credit here to Woolly Thoughts! (They have wonderful things for you to play with there.)
Materials needed: I crocheted mine, which was a fun puzzle to get an even rainbow. They have knitting instructions on their website, but you could just as easily draw this with markers. I used tinfoil as my reflective surface wrapped around a nail polish remover bottle. I bet you all get more creative than myself.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: circles, geometry, perspective, proportions/ratios
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