Vertices/Intersections – Page 2

#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

2020-05-25 09.29.32 — A circle with a diameter. Multiple line segments connect from the end points of the diameter to another place on the circle.

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

A crocheted knot with the phrase “but if you change some crossings…”

The Challenge:

Look. I get it. Every time I post a knot theory #mathartchallenge, it’s crickets. But I take great pride in my inability to take a hint.

Any (?) knot can be untangled if you change the right (?) crossings from over to under or under to over. So get a knot, and untangle! pic.twitter.com/WBqTKameNR
— Annie Perkins (@anniek_p) May 24, 2020

Materials needed: whiteboard?, pencil/paper?
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: circles counting, knot theory, topology, vertices/intersections

#MathArtChallenge Day 66: Venn Diagrams

A complete 3 set Venn diagram, and an incomplete 4 set Venn diagram.

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 62: Wobblers

The Challenge: Build yourself a wobbler. Wobblers are 2 circle (or 2 ellipse!) constructions that have a constant center of mass. Or rather, a center of mass that doesn’t move up and down as the wobbler rolls. Thus, resulting in a satisfyingly continuous “wobble”.

Materials Needed: cardboard, ruler, boxcutter or scissors
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: algebra, angles, circles, geometry, proportions/ratios, symmetry, vertices/intersections

#MathArtChallenge Day 60: Triangle Incenters ala Matt Henderson

An orange triangle with a large number of folds and lines drawn on it.

The Challenge: Create your own version of Matt Henderson’s triangle incenters.

Materials needed: Paper? Pencil? Origami? Graphing software? (There are lots of options here.)
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: angles, geometry, polygons, symmetry, vertices/intersections

#MathArtChallenge 57: Islamic Geometry – Sheikh Zayed Masjid

A 10 petal flower made with compass and straight edge.

The Challenge: I’m seeing the trees start blossoming around here (MN) so this felt like a good time for this one. I used Samira Mian‘s instructions. If you’re interested in Islamic Geometry, I cannot recommend her enough. Here is my creation, followed by her youtube video.

Materials required: Compass, straight edge, pencil.
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: circles, geometric construction, Islamic geometry, symmetry, vertices/intersections

#MathArtChallenge Day 55: Hyperboloid (George Hart & Elisabeth Heathfield)

Hyperboloid made from wooden skewers and rubber bands.

The Challenge: Build your own Hyperboloid

Materials needed: Skewers, Tiny rubber bands (I was able to get skewers at the grocery store and polybands from Target)
Math concepts you could explore with this challenge: Angles, geometric construction, lines, symmetry, topology, vertices/intersections