Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales | 
 enlarge | Author: Theoni Pappas
Publisher: Wide World Publishing, Tetra
Category: Book
List Price: $10.95
Buy New: $6.07
You Save: $4.88 (45%)
New (20) Used (13) from $4.50
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 48079
Media: Paperback
Pages: 72
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 8.5 x 0.2
ISBN: 0933174896
Dewey Decimal Number: 510
EAN: 9780933174894
Publication Date: February 16, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Softcover. Brand new, never used. Ships the next business day, with tracking and delivery confirmation sent to your email.
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 In response to a recent misguided review April 17, 2006
D. Trible (Planet Earth)
58 out of 59 found this review helpful
Another reviewer reported being dissapointed because the description of pi in the book was "obviously wrong stating that the diameter of a circle would wrap around the circle '3 and a little bit'" and "how can I trust this book knowing that the editors missed such a glaring error?"
It is this reviewer's comment that is 'very confusing' and misleading, not the content of the book.
The definition of Pi is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle; approximately equal to 3.14159265358979323846... Euclid proved that this ratio (Circumference to diameter aka circumference to twice the radius) is always the same, no matter the size of the circle. What he did was inscribe similar regular polygons in any two circles. Then, he increased the number of sides of the inscribed regular polygons. He reasoned that as the number of sides increased, the perimeter of the inscribed polygon gets closer and closer to the circumference of the circle. He also showed that the perimeters of the similar polygons were proportional to the radii of the circles in which they were inscribed. And so, C is proportional to r, in other words C/r is a constant. By convention, pi=C/2r. (I borrowed these particular words from Jim Loy's website, thanks JL!)
Therefore, the statement the book makes is perfectly, mathematically true (QED!) albeit that it substitutes "a little bit" for 0.14159265358979323846... which I find perfectly acceptable for a children's book, don't you?
p.s. I'm an engineer, too. Cheers!
Wish I had this when I was young May 1, 2004
TeresaR (currently IN United States)
45 out of 46 found this review helpful
I discovered this book in a homeschooling catalog (FunBooks.com). The good review in there enticed me to buy it for my then 6 year old, who is a voracious but difficult to please reader. He devoured it, loved it, and insisted that I read it too! The fascinating topics include decimals, magic squares, Fibonacci sequence, tangrams, the abacus, and much more. Some of the stories seem a little silly to me, but then that is probably the appeal for kids. :) This is one of those books that you must own rather than borrow from the library because it covers such a range of topics that your child (and you!) will want and need to refer back to it every so often. In fact, I will likely buy all the other books involving Penrose the Cat if they are as educational and fun as this book is.
Attention Math Teachers November 3, 2004
Michael Hunt (Columbus, OH)
29 out of 29 found this review helpful
This book explores a wide range of mathematical concepts, including many of the traditional "fun" topics like Fibonacci numbers. For each topic (covered on two large pages typically) there is a simple story written to be accessible to even young children, followed by a franker and more mature mathematical discussion. This two part approach makes the text accessible to a wide audience while having a solid mathematical foundation. The articles serve as a solid foundation to spark student interest in further exploration, or stand alone as interesting mathematical shorts. Some of the topics will have direct curricular applications, including articles on the real number system and the transcendental number pi. This is a wonderful text and is suitable for elementary through high school students.
Revieing the reviewer July 25, 2006
M. Hernandez
9 out of 15 found this review helpful
I am not sure what R. Krapf "Engineer" (below) was thinking when he/she wrote his/her review...
The circumference of a circle (C) is calculated as 2 * pi * r (or pi * 2 * r)
Since r is the radius and 1/2 the diameter (d), that means C = pi * d
Since pi is about 3.14, that means the book is correct. The diameter of a circle would wrap around (the circumference of) the circle "3 and a little bit"
math winner! April 24, 2004
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
Amusing, entertaining. Math should be exciting and not boring textbook drills! Get creative, get exploring!
|
|
|
