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I'm not sure the intended audience of this book. They didn't catch my interest either. The pictures are too minimal for early elementary, with content far above them. The grades for whom the content is appropriate would probably find the stories unappealing. To its credit, the book has some interesting sidebars and activities for teacher use. My resources would not have been lacking if I'd passed on this purchase.
Theoni Pappas has written several books of mathematical 'tales' including the well-know Penrose books."Fractals, Googols and other Mathematical Tales" includes a total of 22 topical tales.The table of contents helpfully includes information as to the topic discussed in that tale, as the chapter titles, 'Dr. Spacemath', for example, do not always indicate what the topic is.Unfortunately, if you already have the Penrose books, you will find that at least 9 of the chapters in "Fractals" are repeated from the Penrose books. Several of these have been condensed and it seems as though the author's commentary has been added to some in a purple side-bar in keeping with the style of the rest of the book.While the Penrose books are clearly written for and to those new to the world of mathematics, "Fractals" includes small-print, purple side-bars that seem to be written to a parent/teacher.As in the Penrose books, there is a section in the very back that includes solutions to puzzles and challenges posted in the book.We are big fans of the Penrose books and Theoni Pappas, and while 'Fractals' does indicate topics in the table of contents, I wish that all these books had a good index to make it easier to find tales and activities that are relevant to a student's current topic of study.I was also disappointed that so many of the tales in "Fractals" are repeats from the Penrose books. However, if you do not already have Penrose, this would be a great book to introduce you to Pappas' unique approach to mathematical tales.
C=pi*d. The engineer was right. That means the diameter has to be **multiplied** by "three and a little bit" in order to be equivalent to, or wrap around, the circumference of the circle. It takes "three and a little bit" diameters to get around the circle one time, not one diameter to get around the circle three and a little bit times. Other than that, it was still a pretty good book, though. If you're a teacher with an older class, you can see if they can spot the error.
I believe the quote about the circumference and diameter is worded incorrectly. The circumference would wrap around the diameter 3 and a little times. We all know that the size of the diameter and circumference are proportional (hence pi), but the diameter would never wrap around a circumference 3 and a little times. This is obviously false because the circumference is larger than the diameter. Please check your books to determine if the quote is correct in R. Krapf's review - if so, then the book is WRONG.
I am not sure what R. Krapf "Engineer" (below) was thinking when he/she wrote his/her review.The circumference of a circle (C) is calculated as 2 * pi * r (or pi * 2 * r)Since r is the radius and 1/2 the diameter (d), that means C = pi * dSince pi is about 3.14, that means the book is correct. The diameter of a circle would wrap around (the circumference of) the circle "3 and a little bit"
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