A Golden Ratio Activity and
Resource par excellence!
From Mark Wahl
 
1) Scroll below for a neat 2-page Golden Ratio activity
(It will take some extra time to finish loading -- while that happens, read on). Select each
page of it at a time and print it for use with students.
2) Or, if you have been searching for any of the following keywords, a
click on one will take you to an excellent book resource (A
Mathematical Mystery Tour) for weeks of personal, home, or classroom
learning about the Golden Ratio and Fibonacci Numbers:
3) Or you can go to this website and see a selection of
creative books, links, and information on math learning that goes beyond these topics: Mark Wahl Learning Services and
Books.
Now, the Golden Ratio. It has fascinated layman and mathematician for
centuries. It seems like magic that it turns up in such different arenas as pine
cones, earth-moon and planet relationships, the
Cheops Pyramid in Egypt, the Mona Lisa and even our DNA.
Indeed its widespread appearance shows that there is a unifying mathematical principle
that is more subtle than science has thus far been able to define.
Below the line is an activity that is two pages long,
of interest to students aged 10-adult and that requires about fifth-grade math knowledge
to successfully complete. Feel free to select a page at a time
and print the selection for use in a classroom or homeschooling setting.
It is one of many from my popular book A Mathematical Mystery Tour.
Enjoy!
Mark Wahl
A Golden Ratio Activity
A GOLDEN GREEK FACE
Toolbox: Calculator;
metric ruler (measures to mm)
Statues of human bodies considered most perfect by the Greeks had many Golden Ratios. It
turns out that the "perfect" (to the Greeks) human face has a whole flock of
Golden Ratios as well.
You’ll be measuring lengths on the face of a
famous Greek statue (with a broken nose) by using the instructions on this page. Before
you start, notice that near the face on the second page are names for either a location on
the face or a length between two places on the face. Lines mark those lengths or locations
exactly.
Using your cm/mm ruler and the face picture on the
next page, find each measurement below to the nearest millimeter, that is tenth of a cm or
.1cm (___._ cm). Remember, you are measuring the distance or length
between the two locations mentioned. You can use the marking lines to
place the ruler for your measurements. Fill in this table.
a = Top-of-head to chin = ___.__ cm
b = Top-of-head to pupil = ___.__ cm
c = Pupil to nosetip = ___.__ cm
d = Pupil to lip =
___.__ cm
e = Width of nose = ___.__ cm
f = Outside distance between eyes = ___.__ cm
g = Width of head = ___.__ cm
h = Hairline to pupil = ___.__ cm
i = Nosetip to chin = ___.__ cm
j = Lips to chin = ___.__ cm
k = Length of lips = ___.__ cm
I = Nosetip to lips = ___.__ cm
Now use these letters and go on to
the next page to compute ratios with them with your calculator. Remember:
a/g, the first one, means find measurement a divided by measurement g
as a rounded-off 3-decimal-place value.
Go to Mark
Wahl Learning Services and Books then click books to
find info on the book this came from. You'll discover an easy to use, information- packed
web site.Or go directly to A
Mathematical Mystery Tour. Either way, you can order a copy if you wish.
|