Cool Investigations in Geometry

CAMT 2011 With Michael Serra

2011 Michael Serra

Resources
Pentominoes Discovering Geometry 4th edition, Serra, pgs: 53, 63, 87, 113 Polyominoes, Solomon Golomb, Charles Scribners Sons Archimedean Tilings Discovering Geometry 4th edition, Serra, pgs: 389-391 Tilings and Patterns, Grunbaum & Shephard W. H. Freeman & Company Picks Formula Discovering Geometry 4th edition, Serra, pgs: 446-448 Origamics Discovering Geometry 5th edition, Serra, Origamics, Mathematical Explorations Through Paper Folding, by Kazuo Haga

A(b,i) = (
A

)b + ( )i + ( )
1/2
E

1/2 5/8

3/8

2/3

5/6

1/6

(1/2) 5 5/24 1/8 1

5/8

Gothic Geometry Discovering Geometry 4th edition, Serra, pgs: 273, 280, 329, 353, 510 Sourcebook of Problems for Geometry, Mabel Sykes, Dale Seymour Publications Website www.michaelserra.net
2011 Michael Serra 2

The Pentomino Challenge

Pentomino Warm-up
1. Find all the Pentominoes. 2. Which Pentominoes can fold into a box without a lid? 3. Find the letter that represents each Pentomino.

The Pentomino Challenge

4. Which of the Pentominoes can tile the plane and what is the fewest number of colors needed for each tiling?

2011 Michael Serra

Archimedean Tilings
When the same combination of regular polygons meet in the same order at each vertex of a tessellation, it is called an Archimedean tiling or a 1-uniform tiling. The Three Pure tilings

Three 1-uniform tilings

4.8.8

___.___.___

___.___.___

There are eleven 1-uniform tilings. Find the other five.

2011 Michael Serra

Picks formula
Austrian mathematician Georg Pick discovered a relationship for the area of figures on a square dot grid. The relationship known as Picks formula relates the number of interior lattice points and boundary lattice points with the area of the figure.
1.5

.5

.5
1

1
4

3 2

A = 1 + .5 = 1.5

A = 1+.5+ 1 = 2.5

A = 12 (1.5+2+3) = 12 6.5 = 5.5

# of boundary points (b) 3 # of interior points (i) 0 1 2 3 4 5 5.5 Area of the polygon 4 5 1.5 2.5 6 7 8

2011 Michael Serra

 2011 Michael Serra

Origamics Puzzle #1
Fold to locate midpoints E, F
D C

Bring C to midline EF
D G

Bring DA
D

Reflect !GBH
D

to DC
G C F

over GH
G B

Unfold. Find the measure of each labeled angle.

A

1/2

1/2 5/8

3/8

2/3

5/6

1/6

(1/2) 5 5/24 1/8 1

5/8

Origamics Puzzle #2
1. Fold so A and B meet, locating point E.
2. Fold so C and E meet. 3. Prove the value s shown are correct.

2011 Michael Serra

Gothic Geometry
The builders of the great Gothic cathedrals were talented geometers. They solved a number of problems using basic geometry tools. For example: How do you construct a circle tangent to three equilateral Gothic arches? How do you draw congruent circles each tangent to two others and internally tangent to a given circle?

Gothic Challenge #1: Explain why this construction works.

Gothic Challenge #2: How do you draw n congruent circles each tangent to two others and internally tangent to a given circle?

2011 Michael Serra