We're sorry but this page doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue.
Feedback

The Wurzelschnecke (AKA Spiral of Theodorus): Understanding number and creating geometric design

Formal Metadata

Title
The Wurzelschnecke (AKA Spiral of Theodorus): Understanding number and creating geometric design
Title of Series
Number of Parts
13
Author
Contributors
License
CC Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives 4.0 International:
You are free to use, copy, distribute and transmit the work or content in unchanged form for any legal and non-commercial purpose as long as the work is attributed to the author in the manner specified by the author or licensor.
Identifiers
Publisher
Release Date
Language

Content Metadata

Subject Area
Genre
Abstract
This hands-on workshop will explore the Wurzelschnecke ("root snail"), a simple and elegant spiral construction based on right angle triangles, first attributed to Plato's tutor Theodorus of Cyrene in the 5th C BCE and still studied by mathematicians in our time. We will make and view versions of the Wurzelschnecke at a variety of scales and materials, and play with its possibilities in embodied geometric design in architecture, playground equipment, jewelry, mathematical millinery and more. Our focus will be on its potential use in education, supporting understanding of irrational numbers and trigonometry, and in the geometry of design. I'll share examples from earlier workshops with middle school and high school students, math teachers, grad students and faculty. Workshop participants should have the following materials at hand, if possible: paper, pencil or pen, ruler or straightedge with a square corner, scissors, corrugated cardboard. A protractor and/or carpenter's square are optional but might be helpful.