Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales

by Theoni Pappas

A treasure trove of stories that make mathematical ideas come to life. Explores math concepts and topics such as real numbers, exponents, dimensions, the golden rectangle in both serious and humorous ways. Stories such as the parable of p, the number line that fell apart, Leonhard the magic turtle and many others offer an amusing and entertaining way to explore and share mathematical ideas regardless of age or background. The reference section following each story is designed as enrichment information for the concepts presented in each story. Has both kids and adults sections for each topic.

Genres: Mathematics, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, Kids

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Theoni Pappas is committed to giving mathematics greater exposure and making it more approachable. Pappas encourages mathematics teachers to share and develop new teaching ideas, methods, and approaches. Her gift to the Mathematics Education Trust (MET) helps teachers in grades 9—12 develop mathematics enrichment materials and lessons complementing a teaching unit implemented in the classroom.

Currently, Pappas is a mathematics educator and consultant. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and her M.A. from Stanford University. She became a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 1967, when she began teaching high school mathematics. Over the years, she has taught basic math, prealgebra, algebra, trigonometry, geometry, precalculus, and calculus.

Through her studies and research, Pappas has developed products that address mathematical ideas, and she has written numerous books, both for the general public and for educational audiences. Her books include More Joy of Mathematics; The Joy of Mathematics; Mathematics Appreciation; Math Talk; Greek Cooking for Everyone; Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales; Mathematical Footprints; The Magic of Mathematics; Math-A-Day; The Music of Reason; Mathematical Scandals; The Adventures of Penrose–the Mathematical Cat; and Math for Kids & Other People Too!
from http://www.nctm.org/resources/content...

Reviews

[Evelyn Saenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning of Fractals, Googols and Other Mathematical Talesreminds me of Flatland A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott. It begins with a 3 dimensional cat landing in a 2 dimensional world but Fractals, Googols and Other Mathematical Talesquickly goes on to other mathematical subjects. From Mobius Strips to Fibinocci rabbits, tangram cats, and the invention of the decimal point, this is a fun read aloud that will get you thinking about, experimenting with and enjoying math in a fun, hands-on, creative way. Great book for middle schoolers and especially homeshoolers of that age.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book introduces math and logic in forms of short stories, in which Penrose the cat appears the most. If you liked this book, you may also like "The Number Devil," which is similar to this one.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic that I enjoyed using with my kids and which helped my mathematical literacy.

[Janet Luch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The numbers in this book tell stories that help the reader remember how they are used. The fictional stories are interesting and often humorous, such as the when Penrose, the cat, meets Lo-shu, the tortoise and learns about magic squares. Since Penrose is a mathematical cat, he learns how to arrange the numbers from 1-9 in a square so that each row, column or diagonal of three add up to 15. There are several puzzles in the book and the answers are included on last few pages.
The stories of the foundation of the mathematical ideas are explained after the fictional story.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has some great stories. A few will be usable in my classroom.

This book claims to be for adults and children, and it makes an attempt. However, I think it presents some stuff that youth wouldn't have in their background (so aimed at adults), but is generally written in a youth friendly way. It seems to fall a little short of both marks.

[♥Xeni♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book when I was like 6 or 7. I never actually read it until just now, but I did look at the pictures, and try out the math things, especially the möbius strip!

It's a really great book, full of "stories" based on math and physics that are short, fun to read and teach you something new!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not quite what I expected, but it is a worthy teacher resource for those who are looking to challenge elementary math students. Each section starts with a story (which I would probably summarize rather than read aloud) to explain a math idea and follows that with a few questions or experiments, and then provides lesser known background information about the topics. Some of the topics covered include: Konigsberg Bridge problem, Mobius strips, Fibonacci sequence, pi, using an abacus, and the lo shu magic square.