Students build using math
Published 9:45 am Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Students in Gale Nelson’s advanced geometry class constructed a Sierpinski tetrahedron in the last few days of school.It is a geometric fractal containing 1,024 small tetrahedrons and stood about 10 feet tall. More than 100 students worked on the structure.
What is a fractal? A fractal is an object which exhibits a repetitive pattern (self-similarity). The most common one seen around us is broccoli. In it there are little baby pieces which are repeated throughout the whole object.
This is the newest area of mathematics. It’s taking century old mathematics and looking at it in a brand new way with the use of computers. The Sierpinski tetrahedron is a geometric, hands-on fractal, made so students can experience the math concept of self-similarity in fractals.