Math Art – Parabolic Curves - Pinwheel

A ‘Fun with a Ruler’ math/art project that uses parabolic curves to make an interesting ‘pinwheel’ design.

This project involves your students ruling straight lines between 2 dots on a template. When they have finished drawing all of the lines they can give their artwork some colour.

Included:
♦ Template (black or grey dots)
♦ Example
♦ Instructions
♦ Teacher Notes

There are 2 different templates to choose from. One of them is more suitable for older students as more care needs to be taken in ‘congested’ areas of the design. The designs are the same (one just has more dots/lines).

Level of Difficulty:
Your students need to be able to use a ruler to draw straight lines between 2 points (the curves are made with straight lines … it’s like magic!). The designs can look more complicated than they actually are. Concentration is required, but the actual process is not difficult.

Instructions:
Simple, clear, easy-to-follow instructions are provided. One instruction per page (image and a sentence). Display the instructions via a data projector if you have access to one. Otherwise print and enlarge them and/or demonstrate on an enlarged template.

Equipment:
You need a ruler and a pen (black works best). Something to colour with (eg coloured pencils, watercolours, felt tip markers, chalk pastels, dye, etc)

Size:
The design is 17.5cm x 17.5cm. Designed on A4 size paper.


Keywords: string art, math, geometry, patterns, parabolic curves

© Suzanne Welch Teaching Resources