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Secant and Tangent

The names of the trigonometric ratios tangent and secant are derived from the Latin “to touch” and “ ...
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Metaphors and Mathematics 3

In many traditions, Biedermann’s Dictionary of Symbols tells us, “the tree was widely se ...
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Metaphors and Mathematics 1

When asked to describe mathematics we often resort to metaphor rather than attempt to provide strict ...
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Window Patterns

Start with a square piece of paper (like a Post it note), fold and unfold it in half along a mid-lin ...
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Star Polygons

Starting with p (p a positive integer) equally distributed dots (vertices) around a circle. Connecti ...
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Extended Multiplication Tables

A surprisingly interesting structure is the extended multiplication table, shown above for the numbe ...
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Phyllotaxis Spirals 2

If you have already created the phyllotaxis data in Fathom, or opened the data created in TinkerPlot ...
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Metaphors and Mathematics 2

Robert Recorde, author the first English textbook on algebra (published in 1557), chose to give his ...
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Cut-and-Glue Polyhedral Models

Building polyhedral models is a nice way to explore a lot of significant mathematics. The above mode ...
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Phyllotaxis Spirals

  Phyllotaxis is a term used for the patterns that emerge in the growth of plants. Spiral phyll ...
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Polygonal Number Formulas

Polygonal numbers are a mainstay of recreational and school mathematics, providing a nice bridge bet ...
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Sonobe Phizz Duality

Sonobe and phizz modular origami units are assembled into polyhedral models in similar ways, but the ...
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Digit Patterns in Power Sequences

Looking at the last few digits that appear in the numbers that form the sequence b^0, b^1, b^2, b^3, ...
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Higher Polygonal Numbers and Pascal’s Triangle

The third diagonal column in Pascal’s Triangle (r = 2 in the usual way of labeling and numberi ...
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Pi Color Map

John Sims has created a number of pi-related art works. One, the Pi Color Map, can be recreated effe ...
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Digit Patterns in Square Numbers

If You take a look at the square numbers (n^2, n a positive integer), you’ll notice plenty of ...
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