Quilters have been practicing geometric principles for centuries. Since straight seams are easier to sew than curved ones, the grid naturally evolved as the basis for their designs. This book is a resource for experimenting with traditional patchwork quilt patterns. It provides students a hands-on understanding of geometric concepts. It contains…

Pattern manifests itself in many ways through properties such as symmetry, repetition, translation, and illusion. This guide, appropriate for use with grades 6-12, presents patterns that are formed entirely by straight lines, yet appear to contain or be formed by curves. Exploring these geometrical shapes offers an opportunity to discover various…

The Golden Section, also known as the "Golden Mean" and the "Divine Proportion," is a ratio found in art and nature that has mathematical properties. This book explores these geometric and algebraic properties in a variety of activities. Construction problems, designs using the pentagon and pentagram, and opportunities to work…

Mathematics can be used to analyze musical rhythms, to study the sound waves that produce musical notes, to explain why instruments are tuned, and to compose music. This book explores the relationship between mathematics and music through proportions, patterns, Fibonacci numbers or the Golden Ratio, geometric transformations, trigonometric…

This booklet contains examples of textile designs created by the Shoowa, a subgroup of the Kuba people of Zaire, Africa; the examples were part of the National Museum of African Art exhibition, "Shoowa Design: Raffia Textiles from Zaire." Additional information is provided about the Shoowa people and how Shoowa textiles are used, made,…

This document presents activities and information related to Fibonacci numbers, which are based upon the Golden Ratio, in areas of the arts, sciences, and mathematics. The work is organized into eight chapters: (1) "Origins and Definitions"; (2) "Fibonacci Numbers in Nature"; (3) "Fibonacci Numbers in Art and…

This updated reprint of a classic work presents design analysis of geometric patterns and information helpful to constructing mathematical drawings of industrial and achitectural features. Both simple and complex designs are given. Problems combine both algebra and geometry. The work is divided into six chapters which are further divided into…

This document describes the contributions of African peoples to the science of mathematics. The development of a number system is seen as related to need. Names of numbers, time reckoning, gesture counting, and counting materials are examined. Mystical beliefs about numbers and special meanings in pattern are presented. Reproductions of patterns,…