Sources of Mathematical Discovery

This resource, published at a time when teachers had become aware of the tremendous need for motivational topics in mathematics, gives students an appreciation of, and insight into, mathematics and helps adopt an experimental attitude to the teaching and learning of the subject. The book contains ten units.

A Hint of Magic: explores a variety of magic squares, anti magic squares, magic stars, magic triangles, magic circles and a variety of number games.

Topology the Mathematics of Distortion: considers Euler's formula, topological invarients, networks, knots, the Mobius strip, map colouring and other puzzles and teasers.

Pastimes: investigates the path of a ball on a billiards table, betting on racehorsing, the construction of dice and dominoes and the movement of chess pieces.

Pascal’s Triangle: looks at the construction of, and number patterns contained in, Pascal's triangle, the use of Pascal's traingle in probability and coin tossing.

Fibonacci Numbers: explores Fibonnaci sequences, where they occur and how they can be used.

Polyominoes: investigates activities using dominoes, tetrominoes, pentominoes, polyhexes, polyiamonds, MacMahon's colour triangles and the game of trominoes .

Tessellations – mathematical mosaics: explores irregular tessellations, tessellating polyominoids and rep-tiles.

Number Relationships: investigates a variety of number patterns, palindromes, the golden number, the golden section and the golden rectangle.

Mathematics in nature: investigates a variety of spirals, symmetry, polygons, solids, sequences and triangles.

Mathematics in Art: considers ancient art, renaissance art , perspective, curves of pursuit and the art of M. C. Escher.

Sources of Mathematical Discovery is written by Lorraine Mottershead.